{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_63928/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_63928","id":"gutenberg_63928","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63928","summary":null,"tags":["Arabian Peninsula","Category: History - Other","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Islam","Missions -- Arabian Peninsula"],"text":"Transcriber\u2019s Notes\n\nObvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations\nin hyphenation and accents have been standardised but all other\nspelling and punctuation remains unchanged.\n\nThe structure of some tables has been modified to improve legibility\nwithin page width.\n\nFootnotes are located at the end of the book.\n\nItalics are represented thus _italic_, and bold thus =bold=.\n\n\n\n\n Arabia: The Cradle of Islam\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: A TYPICAL ARAB OF YEMEN]\n\n\n\n\n Arabia: The Cradle\n of Islam\n\n Studies in the Geography, People and\n Politics of the Peninsula with an\n account of Islam and Mission-work.\n\n REV. S. M. ZWEMER, F.R.G.S.\n\n INTRODUCTION BY\n REV. JAMES S. DENNIS, D.D.\n\n EDINBURGH AND LONDON\n Oliphant Anderson and Ferrier\n 1900\n\n\n\n\n Printed by\n THE CAXTON PRESS\n 171-173 Macdougal St.\n New York, U.S.A.\n\n\n\n\n DEDICATED\n\n TO\n\n _The \u201cStudent Volunteers\u201d of America_\n\n IN MEMORY OF\n\n THE TWO AMERICAN VOLUNTEERS WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES FOR ARABIA\n\n PETER J. ZWEMER\n\n AND\n\n GEORGE E. STONE\n\n\n\n\n And Jesus said unto him: This day is salvation come to this house,\n forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man is come\n to seek and to save that which was lost.\u2014LUKE xix. 9, 10.\n\n\n\n\n Introductory Note\n\n\nThe author of this instructive volume is in the direct line of\nmissionary pioneers to the Moslem world. He follows Raymond Lull, Henry\nMartyn, Ion Keith-Falconer, and Bishop French, and, with his friend\nand comrade the Rev. James Cantine, now stands in the shining line of\nsuccession at the close of a decade of patient and brave service at\nthat lonely outpost on the shores of the Persian Gulf. Others have\nfollowed in their footsteps, until the Arabian Mission, the adopted\nchild of the Reformed Church in America, is at present a compact and\nresolute group of men and women at the gates of Arabia, waiting on\nGod\u2019s will, and intent first of all upon fulfilling in the spirit of\nobedience to the Master the duty assigned them.\n\nThese ten years of quiet, unflinching service have been full of prayer,\nobservation, study, and wistful survey of the great task, while at the\nsame time every opportunity has been improved to gain a foothold, to\nplant a standard, to overcome a prejudice, to sow a seed, and to win a\nsoul. The fruits of this intelligent and conscientious effort to grasp\nthe situation and plan the campaign are given to us in this valuable\nstudy of \u201cArabia, the Cradle of Islam.\u201d It is a missionary contribution\nto our knowledge of the world. The author is entirely familiar with\nthe literature of his subject. English, German, French, and Dutch\nauthorities are at his command. The less accessible Arabic authors are\neasily within his reach, and he brings from those mysterious gardens of\nspices into his clear, straightforward narrative, the local coloring\nand fragrance, as well as the indisputable witness of original medieval\nsources. The ethnological, geographical, archaeological, commercial,\nand political information of the descriptive chapters brings to our\nhands a valuable and readable summary of facts, in a form which is\nhighly useful, and will be sure to quicken an intelligent interest in\none of the great religious and international problems of our times.\n\nHis study of Islam is from the missionary standpoint, but this does\nnot necessarily mean that it is unfair, or unhistorical, or lacking in\nscholarly acumen. Purely scientific and academic study of an ethnic\nreligion is one method of approaching it. It can thus be classified,\nlabelled, and put upon the shelf in the historical museum of the\nworld\u2019s religions, and the result has a value which none will dispute.\nThis, however, is not the only, or indeed the most serviceable, way of\nexamining, estimating and passing a final judgment upon a religious\nsystem. Such study must be comparative, it must have some standard of\nvalue; it must not discard acknowledged tests of excellence; it must\nmake use of certain measurements of capacity and power; it must be\npursued in the light of practical ethics, and be in harmony with the\ngreat fundamental laws of religious experience and spiritual progress\nwhich have controlled thus far the regenerative processes of human\ndevelopment.\n\nThe missionary in forming his final judgment inevitably compares the\nreligion he studies with the religion he teaches. He need not do this\nin any unkind, or bitter, or abusive spirit. On the contrary, he\nmay do it with a supreme desire to uncover delusion, and make clear\nthe truth as it has been given to him by the Great Teacher. He may\nmake a generous and sympathetic allowance for the influence of local\nenvironment, he may trace in an historic spirit the natural evolution\nof a religious system, he may give all due credit to every worthy\nelement and every pleasing characteristic therein, he may regard its\nsymbols with respect, and also with all charity and consideration the\nleaders and guides whom the people reverence; yet his own judgment\nmay still be inflexible, his own allegiance unfaltering, and he may\nfeel it to be his duty to put into plain, direct, and vigorous prose\nhis irreversible verdict that Christianity being true, Islam is not,\nBuddhism is not, Hinduism is not.\n\nThere he stands; he is not afraid of the issue. His Master is the one\nsupreme and infallible judge, who can pronounce an unerring verdict\nconcerning the truth of any religion. He has ventured to bear witness\nto the truth which his Master has taught him. Let no one lightly\nquestion the value of the contribution he makes to the comparative\nstudy of religion.\n\nThe spirit in which our author has written of Islam is marked by\nfairness, sobriety, and discrimination, and yet there is no mistaking\nthe verdict of one who speaks with an authority which is based upon\nexceptional opportunities of observation, close study of literary\nsources and moral results, and undoubted honesty of purpose.\n\nIt may not be out of place to note the hearty, outspoken satisfaction\nwith which the author regards the extension of British authority\nover the long sweep of the Arabian coast line. His admiration and\ndelight can only be fully understood by one who has been a resident\nin the East, and has felt the blight of Moslem rule, and its utter\nhopelessness as an instrument of progress.\n\nLet this book have its hour of quiet opportunity, and it will broaden\nour vision, enlarge our knowledge, and deepen our interest in themes\nwhich will never lose their hold upon the attention of thoughtful men.\n\n JAMES S. DENNIS.\n\n\n\n\n Preface\n\n\nThere are indications that Arabia will not always remain in its long\npatriarchal sleep and that there is a future in store for the Arab.\nPolitics, civilization and missions have all begun to touch the hem of\nthe peninsula and it seems that soon there will be one more land\u2014or\nat least portions of it\u2014to add to \u201cthe white man\u2019s burden.\u201d History\nis making in the Persian Gulf, and Yemen will not forever remain,\na tempting prize,\u2014untouched. The spiritual burden of Arabia is the\nMohammedan religion and it is in its cradle we can best see the fruits\nof Islam. We have sought to trace the spiritual as well as the physical\ngeography of Arabia by showing how Islam grew out of the earlier\nJudaism, Sabeanism and Christianity.\n\nThe purpose of this book is especially to call attention to Arabia\nand the need of missionary work for the Arabs. There is no dearth of\nliterature on Arabia, the Arabs and Islam, but most of the books on\nArabia are antiquated or inaccessible to the ordinary reader; some\nof the best are out of print. The only modern work in English, which\ngives a general idea of the whole peninsula is Bayard Taylor\u2019s somewhat\njuvenile \u201c_Travels in Arabia_.\u201d In German there is the scholarly\ncompilation of Albrecht Zehm, \u201c_Arabie und die Araber, seit hundert\njahren_,\u201d which is generally accurate, but is rather dull reading and\nhas neither illustrations nor maps. From the missionary standpoint\nthere are no books on Arabia save the biographies of Keith-Falconer,\nBishop French and Kamil Abdul-Messiah.\n\nThis fact together with the friends of the author urged their united\nplea for a book on this \u201cNeglected Peninsula,\u201d its people, religion\nand missions. We have written from a missionary viewpoint, so that\nthe book has certain features which are intended specially for those\nwho are interested in the missionary enterprise. But that enterprise\nhas now so large a place in modern thought that no student of secular\nhistory can afford to remain in ignorance of its movements.\n\nSome of the chapters are necessarily based largely on the books by\nother travellers, but if any object to quotation marks, we would remind\nthem that Emerson\u2019s writings are said to contain three thousand three\nhundred and ninety three quotations from eight hundred and sixty-eight\nindividuals! The material for the book was collected during nine years\nof residence in Arabia. It was for the most part put into its present\nform at Bahrein during the summer of 1899, in the midst of many outside\nduties and distractions.\n\nI wish especially to acknowledge my indebtedness to W. A. Buchanan,\nEsq., of London, who gave the initiative for the preparation of this\nvolume and to my friend Mr. D. L. Pierson who has generously undertaken\nthe entire oversight of its publication.\n\nThe system for the spelling of Arabic names in the text follows in\ngeneral that of the Royal Geographical Society. This system consists,\nin brief, in three rules: (1) words made familiar by long usage remain\nunchanged; (2) vowels are pronounced as in Italian and consonants as in\nEnglish; (3) no redundant letters are written and all those written are\npronounced.\n\nWe send these chapters on their errand, and hope that especially the\nlater ones may reach the hearts of the Student Volunteers for foreign\nmissions to whom they are dedicated; we pray also that the number\nof those who love the Arabs and labor for their enlightenment and\nredemption may increase.\n\n S. M. ZWEMER.\n\n _Bahrein, Arabia._\n\n\n\n\n Table of Contents\n\n\n PAGE\n I\n\n THE NEGLECTED PENINSULA 17\n\n Arabia the centre of Moslem world\u2014Its boundaries\u2014The coast\u2014Physical\n characteristics\u2014Climate\u2014Water-supply\u2014Geology\u2014The\n Wadys\u2014Mountains\u2014Deserts.\n\n II\n\n THE GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS OF ARABIA 25\n\n Natural divisions\u2014Provinces\u2014Political geography\u2014Important\n flora and fauna\u2014Population.\n\n III\n\n THE HOLY LAND OF ARABIA\u2014MECCA 30\n\n Its boundaries\u2014Sacredness\u2014European travellers\u2014Jiddah\u2014Its\n bombardment\u2014The pilgrimage\u2014Mecca\u2014Its location\u2014Water-supply\u2014Governor\u2014The\n Kaaba\u2014The Black Stone\u2014Zemzem\u2014Duty of pilgrimage\u2014The pilgrims\u2014The\n day of sacrifice\u2014The certificate\u2014Character of\n Meccans\u2014Temporary marriages\u2014Superstitions\u2014Mishkash\u2014Schools\n of Mecca\u2014Course of study.\n\n IV\n\n THE HOLY LAND OF ARABIA\u2014MEDINA 45\n\n Taif\u2014Heathen idols\u2014The road to Medina\u2014Sanctity of Medina\u2014The\n prophet\u2019s mosque\u2014Was Mohammed buried there?\u2014The\n five tombs\u2014Prayer for Fatima\u2014Living on the pilgrims\u2014Character\n of people\u2014Yanbo\u2014Importance of Mecca to Islam.\n\n V\n\n ADEN AND AN INLAND JOURNEY 53\n\n The gateways to Arabia Felix\u2014Aden\u2014Its ancient\n history\u2014Fortifications\u2014Tanks\u2014Divisions\u2014Population\u2014Journey\n inland\u2014Wahat\u2014The vegetation of Yemen\u2014A Turkish custom-house\u2014The\n storm in the wady\u2014Taiz\u2014The story of the books.\n\n VI\n\n YEMEN: THE SWITZERLAND OF ARABIA 62\n\n The Jews of Yemen\u2014From Taiz to Ibb and Yerim\u2014Beauty\n of scenery\u2014Climate\u2014Ali\u2019s footprint\u2014Damar\u2014Sana\u2014Commerce\n and manufactures\u2014Roda\u2014From Sana to the coast\u2014The\n terraces of Yemen\u2014Suk-el Khamis\u2014Menakha\u2014Bajil\u2014Hodeidah.\n\n VII\n\n THE UNEXPLORED REGIONS OF HADRAMAUT 72\n\n Von Wrede\u2019s travels\u2014Hal\u00e9vy\u2014Mr. and Mrs. Bent\u2019s\n journeys\u2014Makalla\u2014Incense-trade\u2014The castles and\n palaces\u2014Shibam\u2014Shehr and its ruler\u2014Hadramaut\n and the Indian archipelago.\n\n VIII\n\n MUSCAT AND THE COASTLANDS OF OMAN 78\n\n Boundaries\u2014Population\u2014Government\u2014Muscat\u2014Heat\u2014The\n forts\u2014The town\u2014The gardens\u2014Trade\u2014The coast of Oman\u2014The\n pirate-coast\u2014The Batina\u2014Sib, Barka, Sohar\u2014From\n Muscat to Ras-el-Had\u2014Sur\u2014Carter\u2019s exploration\u2014The Mahrah\n and Gharah tribes\u2014Frankincense.\n\n IX\n\n THE LAND OF THE CAMEL 88\n\n \u201cThe mother of the camel\u201d\u2014Importance of the camel to\n Arabia\u2014Tradition as to creation\u2014Species\u2014The dromedary\u2014An\n illustration of design\u2014Products of the camel\u2014Characteristics\u2014The\n interior of Oman\u2014Chief authorities\u2014Fertility\u2014Caravan-routes\u2014Peter\n Zwemer\u2019s journey\u2014Jebel Achdar.\n\n X\n\n THE PEARL ISLANDS OF THE GULF 97\n\n Ancient history of Bahrein\u2014Origin of name\u2014Population\u2014Menamah\u2014The\n fresh-water springs\u2014The pearl-fisheries\u2014Superstitions\n about pearls\u2014Value and export\u2014Method of diving\u2014Boats\u2014Apparatus\u2014Dangers\n to the divers\u2014Mother-of-pearl\u2014Other\n manufactures\u2014Ruins at Ali\u2014The climate\u2014Political\n history\u2014English protection.\n\n\n XI\n\n THE EASTERN THRESHOLD OF ARABIA 110\n\n The province of Hassa\u2014Katar\u2014The Route inland\u2014Ojeir\u2014Journey\n to Hofhoof\u2014The two curses of agriculture\u2014The\n capital of Hassa\u2014Plan of the town\u2014Its manufactures\u2014Curious\n coinage\u2014The government of Hassa\u2014Katif\u2014Its unhealthfulness.\n\n XII\n\n THE RIVER-COUNTRY AND THE DATE-PALM 119\n\n The cradle of the race\u2014Boundaries of Mesopotamia\u2014The\n Tigris-Euphrates\u2014Meadow lands\u2014The palms\u2014Their\n beauty\u2014Fruitfulness\u2014Usefulness\u2014Varieties of dates\u2014Value\u2014Other\n products\u2014Population\u2014Provinces and districts\u2014The government.\n\n XIII\n\n THE CITIES AND VILLAGES OF TURKISH-ARABIA 128\n\n Kuweit\u2014Fao\u2014Aboo Hassib\u2014Busrah\u2014The river navigation\u2014A\n journey\u2014Kurna\u2014Ezra\u2019s tomb\u2014Amara\u2014The tomb of the\n barber\u2014The arch of Ctesiphon\u2014Bagdad, past and\n present\u2014Population\u2014Trade\u2014Kelleks.\n\n XIV\n\n A JOURNEY DOWN THE EUPHRATES 136\n\n Journey to Hillah\u2014-The route\u2014Kerbela\u2014Down the\n Euphrates\u2014Diwaniyeh\u2014The soldier-guard\u2014Amphibious Arabs\u2014Samawa\u2014Ya\n Ali, Ya Hassan!\u2014Nasariya\u2014Ur\u2014The end of our\n journey\u2014The future of Mesopotamia.\n\n XV\n\n THE INTERIOR\u2014KNOWN AND UNKNOWN 143\n\n What it includes\u2014Its four divisions\u2014(1) \u201cThe empty\n quarter\u201d\u2014Ignorance of this part of Arabia\u2014(2) Nejran\u2014The\n Dauasir-valley and other wadys\u2014Hal\u00e9vy\u2019s travels\u2014Aflaj\u2014The Roman\n expedition to Nejran\u2014(3) Nejd\u2014Its proper limits\u2014The\n zephyrs of Nejd\u2014Soil\u2014Vegetation\u2014Animals\u2014The ostrich\u2014The\n horse\u2014The chief authorities on this part of Arabia\u2014The\n population of Nejd\u2014The character of government\u2014Intercourse\n with Mesopotamia\u2014Chief cities\u2014Hail\u2014Riad\u2014(4)\n Jebel Shammar\u2014The Bedouin-tribes\u2014Division\u2014Character\n and customs\u2014Robbery\u2014Universal poverty.\n\n\n XVI\n\n \u201cTHE TIME OF IGNORANCE\u201d 158\n\n Why so-called\u2014The golden age of literature\u2014The influence of\n Christianity and Judaism\u2014Tribal constitution of\n society\u2014Commerce\u2014Incense\u2014Foreign invasions\u2014Political commotion\u2014The\n condition of women\u2014Female infanticide\u2014The veil\u2014Rights\n of women\u2014Marriage choice\u2014Polygamy and Polyandry\u2014Two\n kinds of marriage\u2014Did Islam elevate woman?\u2014Writing\n in \u201cthe days of ignorance\u201d\u2014Poetry\u2014Mohammed\u2019s\n opinion of poets\u2014The religions\u2014Sabeanism\u2014The Pantheon\n at Mecca\u2014Jinn\u2014Totemism\u2014Tattooing\u2014Names of idols\u2014Allah\u2014Decay\n of idolatry\u2014The Hanifs.\n\n XVII\n\n ISLAM IN ITS CRADLE\u2014THE MOSLEM\u2019S GOD 169\n\n Different views\u2014Carlyle\u2014Hugh Broughton\u2014Borrowed elements\n of Islam\u2014The God of Islam\u2014Palgrave\u2019s portrait\u2014Attributes\n of God\u2014What God is not\u2014Analysis of Islam\u2014Borrowed\n elements of Islam.\n\n XVIII\n\n THE PROPHET AND HIS BOOK 179\n\n The prophet of Islam\u2014Birth of Mohammed\u2014His environment\u2014Factors\n that helped to make the man\u2014Political, religious and\n family factor\u2014Khadijah\u2014Mohammed\u2019s appearance, mind and\n character\u2014His transgression of law\u2014His sensuality\u2014His\n murders\u2014Expeditions\u2014Mohammed, as he became through\n tradition\u2014His glories, favor and power as an intercessor\u2014How\n Moslems regard the Koran\u2014Its character according to\n Dr. Post, Goethe and N\u00f6ldeke\u2014Its names\u2014Contents\u2014Origin\u2014Recension\u2014Its\n beauties\u2014Its defects\u2014Its omissions.\n\n XIX\n\n THE WAHABI RULERS AND REFORMERS 191\n\n The story of past century\u2014The Wahabis\u2014Character of teaching\u2014The\n preacher and the sword\u2014Taking of Mecca and Medina\u2014Kerbela\u2014Mohammed\n Ali\u2014The Hejaz campaign\u2014Ghalye\u2014Turkish\n cruelty\u2014English expedition\u2014Peace\u2014The\n Wahabi dynasty\u2014Abdullah bin Rashid\u2014Rise of Nejd kingdom\u2014Character\n of rule\u2014Hail conquers Riad.\n\n XX\n\n THE RULERS OF OMAN 202\n\n Oman rulers\u2014Seyid Said\u2014Feysul bin Turki\u2014The rebels take\n Muscat\u2014Arab warfare\u2014European diplomacy.\n\n XXI\n\n THE STORY OF THE TURKS IN ARABIA 206\n\n Hejaz\u2014The Sherifs of Mecca\u2014Othman Pasha\u2014Threats to\n assassinate him\u2014Turkish troops in Asir\u2014Losses\u2014The conquest\n of Yemen\u2014Turkish rule\u2014Rebellions\u2014The rebellion of\n 1892\u2014Bagdad, Busrah and Hassa\u2014Taxes\u2014The Turks and\n Bedouins\u2014The army\u2014Character of rule.\n\n XXII\n\n BRITISH INFLUENCE IN ARABIA 218\n\n British possessions\u2014Aden\u2014Socotra\u2014Perim\u2014Kuria Muria\n islands\u2014Bahrein\u2014Her naval supremacy\u2014In the Gulf\u2014German\n testimony\u2014Survey of coasts\u2014Telegraph and\n posts\u2014Slave-trade\u2014Commerce\u2014British India S. N. Co.\u2014Gulf trade\u2014The\n rupee\u2014Trade of Aden\u2014Overland railway\u2014Treaties with\n tribes\u2014The Trucial League\u2014England in Oman\u2014Aden\u2014Makalla\u2014Method\n of \u201cprotection\u201d\u2014British consuls and\n agents.\n\n XXIII\n\n PRESENT POLITICS IN ARABIA 233\n\n Hejaz\u2014Future of Yemen\u2014France in Oman\u2014Russia in the Gulf\u2014The\n Tigris-Euphrates Valley\u2014The greater kingdom\u2014God\u2019s\n providence in history.\n\n XXIV\n\n THE ARABIC LANGUAGE 238\n\n Wide extent\u2014Its character\u2014Renan\u2019s opinion\u2014The Semitic\n family\u2014Their original home\u2014The two theories\u2014Table of the\n group\u2014The influence of the Koran on the Arabic language\u2014Koran\n Arabic not pure\u2014Origin of alphabet\u2014Cufic\u2014Caligraphy\n as an art\u2014Difficulty and beauty of Arabic speech\u2014Its\n purity\u2014Literature\u2014Difficulty of pronunciation\u2014Of its grammar\u2014Keith\n Falconer\u2019s testimony.\n\n XXV\n\n THE LITERATURE OF THE ARABS 251\n\n Division of its literature\u2014The seven poems\u2014The Koran\u2014Al\n Hariri\u2014Its beauty and variety\u2014Arabic poetry in general\u2014Influence\n of Arabic and other languages\u2014English influence\n on the Arabic\u2014The Arabic Bible and a Christian literature.\n\n XXVI\n\n THE ARAB 258\n\n Origin of tribes\u2014Two theories\u2014Yemenite and Ma\u00e4dite\u2014The\n caravan routes\u2014Bedouins and townsmen\u2014Clark\u2019s\n classification\u2014Genealogies\u2014Tribal names\u2014Character of Arabs\u2014Influence\n of neighbors\u2014Their physique\u2014Their\n aristocracy\u2014Intolerance\u2014Speech\u2014Oaths\u2014Robbery\u2014Privilege of\n sanctuary\u2014Generosity\u2014Blood-revenge\u2014Childhood\u2014Fireside talk\u2014Marriage\n among Bedouins\u2014Position of women\u2014Four witnesses\u2014Doughty\u2014Burckhardt\u2014Lady\n Ann Blunt\u2014Hurgronje\u2014Woman despised\u2014The kinds of dwelling\u2014Tents\n and houses\u2014Dress\u2014The staple foods\u2014Coffee, tobacco and locusts.\n\n XXVII\n\n ARABIAN ARTS AND SCIENCES 274\n\n Music of the Arabs\u2014War chants\u2014Instruments of music\u2014Songs\u2014Kaseedahs\n in Yemen\u2014Mecca chants\u2014Science of _Athar_ and\n _Wasm_\u2014Tracking camels\u2014Tribal marks\u2014Medical knowledge\n of the Arabs\u2014Diseases\u2014Remedies\u2014A prescription\u2014The\n Koran\u2019s panacea\u2014A Mecca M. D.\u2014Amulets\u2014Superstitions.\n\n XXVIII\n\n THE STAR-WORSHIPPERS OF MESOPOTAMIA 285\n\n Where they live\u2014Their peculiar religion\u2014Their language\u2014Literature\u2014A\n prayer-meeting of the Star Worshippers\u2014Strange\n ceremonies\u2014The dogmas\u2014Gnostic ideas\u2014Priesthood\u2014Baptisms\u2014Babylonian\n origin.\n\n XXIX\n\n EARLY CHRISTIANITY IN ARABIA 300\n\n Pentecost\u2014Paul\u2019s journey\u2014The Arabs and the Romans\u2014Christian\n tribes of the North\u2014Mavia\u2014Naaman\u2019s edict\u2014Christianity\n in Yemen\u2014Character of Oriental Christianity\u2014The\n Collyridians\u2014Theophilus\u2014Nejran converts\u2014Martyrs\u2014Abraha,\n king of Yemen\u2014Marching to Mecca\u2014The defeat\u2014End\n of early Christianity\u2014The record of the rocks.\n\n XXX\n\n THE DAWN OF MODERN ARABIAN MISSIONS 314\n\n Raymond Lull\u2014Henry Martyn\u2014Why the Moslem world was\n neglected\u2014Claudius Buchanan\u2019s sermon\u2014The Syrian missions\u2014Doctor\n Van Dyck\u2014His Bible translation\u2014Henry\n Martyn, the pioneer\u2014His Arabian assistant\u2014Visit to Muscat\u2014His\n Arabic version\u2014Anthony N. Groves\u2014Dr. John Wilson of\n Bombay\u2014The Bible Society\u2014Opening of doors\u2014Major-General\n Haig\u2019s journeys\u2014Arabia open\u2014Dr. and Mrs. Harpur and\n the C. M. S.\u2014A call to prayer\u2014Bagdad occupied\u2014The present\n work\u2014Missionary journeys to the Jews\u2014William Lethaby\n at Kerak\u2014The North Africa mission among the nomads\u2014Samuel\n Van Tassel\u2014The Christian Missionary Alliance\u2014Mackay\u2019s\n appeal from Uganda\u2014The response.\n\n XXXI\n\n ION KEITH FALCONER AND THE ADEN MISSION 331\n\n Keith Falconer\u2019s character\u2014Education\u2014At Cambridge\u2014Mission\n work\u2014His \u201ceccentricity\u201d\u2014Leipzig and Assiut\u2014How he\n came to go to Arabia\u2014His first visit\u2014Plans for the interior\u2014His\n second voyage to Aden\u2014Dwelling\u2014Illness\u2014Death\u2014The\n influence of his life\u2014The mission at Sheikh Othman.\n\n XXXII\n\n BISHOP FRENCH THE VETERAN MISSIONARY TO MUSCAT 344\n\n \u201cThe most distinguished of all C. M. S. missionaries\u201d\u2014Responds\n to Mackay\u2019s appeal\u2014His character\u2014His letters from\n Muscat\u2014His plans for the interior\u2014Death\u2014The grave.\n\n XXXIII\n\n THE AMERICAN ARABIAN MISSION 353\n\n Its origin\u2014The student band\u2014The first plan\u2014Laid before the\n church\u2014Organization\u2014The Missionary\n Hymn\u2014James Cantine\u2014Syria\u2014Cairo\u2014Aden\u2014Kamil\u2014Journeys of exploration\n to the Gulf and Sana\u2014Busrah\u2014Dr. C. E. Riggs\u2014Death of\n Kamil\u2014Opposition from government\u2014Home administration\u2014Bahrein\n occupied\u2014Lines of work\u2014Muscat\u2014Journey through\n Yemen\u2014The mission transferred to the Reformed Church\u2014Troubles\n at Muscat and Busrah\u2014Dr. Worrall\u2014Journeys in\n Oman\u2014Scripture-sales\u2014First-fruits\u2014Reinforcements.\n\n XXXIV\n\n IN MEMORIAM 367\n\n Peter John Zwemer\u2014George E. Stone.\n\n XXXV\n\n PROBLEMS OF THE ARABIAN FIELD 374\n\n The general problem of missions to Moslems\u2014The Arabian\n problem\u2014What part of Arabia is accessible\u2014Turkish Arabia\u2014Its\n accessibility\u2014Limitations\u2014The accessibility of independent\n Arabia\u2014Climate\u2014Moslem fanaticism\u2014English influence\u2014Illiteracy\u2014The\n Bedouins\u2014The present missionary\n force\u2014Its utter inadequacy\u2014Methods of work\u2014Medical\n missions\u2014Schools\u2014Work for women\u2014Colportage\u2014Preaching\u2014Controversy\u2014What\n should be its character\u2014The attitude\n of the Moslem mind\u2014Fate of converts\u2014Thoughtless and\n thoughtful Moslems\u2014The Bible as dynamite\u2014The right men\n for the work.\n\n XXXVI\n\n THE OUTLOOK FOR MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS 391\n\n Two views of work for Moslems\u2014Christian fatalism\u2014Results in\n Moslem lands\u2014India\u2014Persia\u2014Constantinople\u2014Sumatra and\n Java\u2014Other signs of progress\u2014The significance of persecution\u2014Character\n of converts\u2014Promise of God for victory over\n Islam\u2014Christ or Mohammed\u2014Missionary promises of the\n Old Testament\u2014The Rock of Jesus\u2019 Sonship\u2014Special promises\n for Arabia\u2014Hagar and Ishmael\u2014The prayer of Abraham\u2014The\n sign of the covenant with Ishmael\u2014The third revelation\n of God\u2019s love\u2014The sons of Ishmael\u2014Kedar and Nebaioth\u2014The\n promises\u2014Seba and Sheba\u2014The spiritual boundaries of\n Arabia\u2014Da Costa\u2019s poem\u2014Faith like Abraham\u2014O that Ishmael\n might live before thee.\n\n APPENDIX I\u2014CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 409\n\n \u201d II\u2014TRIBES OF NORTH ARABIA 413\n\n \u201d III\u2014KAAT AND COFFEE CULTURE IN ARABIA 414\n\t \n\t \u201d IV\u2014AN ARABIAN BIBLIOGRAPHY 416\n\n INDEX 427\n\n\n\n\n List of Illustrations\n\n\n PAGE\n\n A TYPICAL ARAB OF YEMEN _Frontispiece_\n\n VIEW OF MECCA AND THE SACRED MOSQUE\n THE REPUTED TOMB OF EVE AT JIDDAH _Facing_ 17\n\n MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMS AT MECCA\n THE SACRED WELL OF ZEMZEM AT MECCA \u201d 30\n\n PILGRIMS AROUND THE KAABA IN THE SACRED MOSQUE\n AT MECCA \u201d 34\n\n THE MECCA CERTIFICATE\u2014A PASSPORT TO HEAVEN \u201d 40\n\n CHRISTIAN COINS USED AS AN AMULET BY MECCAN WOMEN 43\n\n A WOMAN OF MECCA\n A MECCAN WOMAN IN HER BRIDAL COSTUME _Facing_ 44\n\n TRAVELLING IN SOUTHERN ARABIA\n THE KEITH FALCONER MEMORIAL CHURCH IN ADEN \u201d 56\n\n AN ARABIAN COMPASS 71\n\n A CASTLE IN HADRAMAUT 77\n\n THE HARBOR AND CASTLE AT MUSCAT\n READY FOR A CAMEL RIDE IN THE DESERT _Facing_ 80\n\n A BRANCH OF THE INCENSE TREE 87\n\n TENOOF FROM THE EAST 95\n\n THE VILLAGE OF MENAMAH, BAHREIN ISLANDS\n A BAHREIN HARBOR BOAT _facing_ 100\n\n A DATE ORCHARD NEAR BUSRAH\n DATES GROWING ON A DATE-PALM \u201d 122\n\n THE TOMB OF EZRA ON THE TIGRIS RIVER\n RUINS OF THE ARCH OF CTESIPHON NEAR BAGDAD \u201d 132\n\n A PUBLIC KHAN IN TURKISH-ARABIA\n ARAB PILGRIMS ON BOARD A RIVER STEAMER \u201d 140\n\n FOUR FLAGS THAT RULE ARABIA 217\n\n CUFIC CHARACTERS 243\n\n MODERN COPYBOOK ARABIC\n ORDINARY UNVOWELLED ARABIC WRITING 244\n\n MOGREBI ARABIC OF NORTH ARABIA 245\n\n PERSIAN STYLE OF WRITING 246\n\n TITLE PAGE OF AN ARABIC CHRISTIAN PAPER 257\n\n CHURNING BUTTER IN A BEDOUIN CAMP \u201d 266\n\n TRIBAL MARKS OF THE ARABS 279\n\n MANAITIC CURSIVE SCRIPT 287\n\n PASSAGE FROM THE SACRED BOOK OF THE MAND\u00c6ANS 299\n\n FACSIMILE COPY OF THE ARABIAN MISSIONARY HYMN 358\n\n THE OLD MISSION HOUSE AT BUSRAH\n THE KITCHEN OF THE OLD MISSION HOUSE, BUSRAH _Facing_ 360\n\n FOUR MISSIONARY MARTYRS OF ARABIA \u201d 368\n\n THE BIBLE SHOP AT BUSRAH\n INTERIOR OF A NATIVE SHOP \u201d 384\n\n THE RESCUED SLAVE BOYS AT MUSCAT\n THE ARABIAN MISSION HOUSE AT MUSCAT \u201d 400\n\n\n * * * * *\n\n Maps and Diagrams\n\n PTOLEMY\u2019S ANCIENT MAP OF ARABIA _Facing_ 25\n\n ALI BEY\u2019S PLAN OF THE PROPHET\u2019S MOSQUE AT MECCA \u201d 36\n\n PLAN OF THE INTERIOR OF THE HUJRAH AT MEDINA 49\n\n MAP OF THE ISLANDS OF BAHREIN 98\n\n NEIBUHR\u2019S MAP OF THE PERSIAN GULF _Facing_ 110\n\n PALGRAVE\u2019S PLAN OF HOFHOOF 113\n\n DIAGRAMS OF MISSIONARY WORK FOR ARABIA 380, 381\n\n MODERN MAP OF ARABIA _End of Book._\n\n[Illustration: VIEW OF MECCA AND THE SACRED MOSQUE]\n\n[Illustration: THE REPUTED TOMB OF EVE AT JIDDAH]\n\n\n\n\n I\n\n THE NEGLECTED PENINSULA\n\n \u201cIntersected by sandy deserts and vast ranges of mountains it\n presents on one side nothing but desolation in its most frightful\n form, while the other is adorned with all the beauties of the most\n fertile regions. Such is its position that it enjoys at once all the\n advantages of hot and of temperate climates. The peculiar productions\n of regions the most distant from one another are produced here in\n equal perfection. What Greek and Latin authors mention concerning\n Arabia proves by its obscurity their ignorance of almost everything\n respecting the Arabs. Prejudices relative to the inconveniences and\n dangers of travelling in Arabia have hitherto kept the moderns in\n equal ignorance.\u201d\u2014_M. Niebuhr_ (1792).\n\n\nWhat Jerusalem and Palestine are to Christendom this, and vastly more,\nMecca and Arabia are to the Mohammedan world. Not only is this land\nthe cradle of their religion and the birthplace of their prophet,\nthe shrine toward which, for centuries, prayers and pilgrimage\nhave gravitated; but Arabia is also, according to universal Moslem\ntradition, the original home of Adam after the fall and the home of\nall the older patriarchs. The story runs that when the primal pair\nfell from their estate of bliss in the heavenly paradise, Adam landed\non a mountain in Ceylon and Eve fell at Jiddah, on the western coast\nof Arabia. After a hundred years of wandering they met near Mecca,\nand here Allah constructed for them a tabernacle, on the site of the\npresent Kaaba. He put in its foundation the famous stone once whiter\nthan snow, but since turned black by the sins of pilgrims! In proof of\nthese statements travellers are shown the Black stone at Mecca and the\ntomb of Eve near Jiddah. Another accepted tradition says that Mecca\nstands on a spot exactly beneath God\u2019s throne in heaven.\n\nWithout reference to these wild traditions, which are soberly set down\nas facts by Moslem historians, Arabia is a land of perpetual interest\nto the geographer, and the historian.\n\nSince Niebuhr\u2019s day many intrepid travellers have surveyed the coasts\nand penetrated into the interior, but his charge that we are ignorant\nof the real character of the vast peninsula is still true as far as\nit relates to the southern and southeastern districts. No traveller\nhas yet crossed the northern boundary of Hadramaut and explored the\nDahna desert, also called the Roba-el-Khali, or \u201cempty abode.\u201d The vast\nterritory between the peninsula of Katar and the mountains of Oman is\nalso practically a blank on the best maps. Indeed the only noteworthy\nmap of that portion of the peninsula is that of Ptolemy reproduced by\nSprenger in his \u201cAlte Geographie Arabiens.\u201d\n\nArabia has well-defined boundaries everywhere except on the north.\nEastward are the waters of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Ormuz and\nthe Gulf of Oman. The entire southern coast is washed by the Indian\nOcean which reaches to Bab-el-Mandeb \u201cThe Gate-of-tears,\u201d from which\npoint the Red Sea and the Gulf of Akaba form the western boundary. The\nundefined northern desert, in some places a sea of sand, completes the\nisolation which has led the Arabs themselves to call the peninsula\ntheir \u201cIsland\u201d (Jezirat-el-Arab). In fact the northern boundary will\nprobably never be defined accurately. The so-called \u201cSyrian desert,\u201d\nreaching to about the thirty-fifth parallel might better be regarded as\nthe Arabian desert, for in physical and ethnical features it bears much\ngreater resemblance to the southern peninsula than to the surrounding\nregions of Syria and Mesopotamia. Bagdad is properly an Arabian city\nand to the Arabs of the north is as much a part of the peninsula as is\nAden to those of the southwest. The true, though shifting, northern\nboundary of Arabia would be the limit of Nomad encampments, but for\nconvenience and practical purposes a boundary line may be drawn from\nthe Mediterranean along the thirty-third parallel to Busrah.\n\nThus the shores of Arabia stretch from Suez to the Euphrates delta for\na total length of nearly 4,000 miles. This coast-line has comparatively\nfew islands or inlets, except in the Persian Gulf. The Red Sea coast\nis fringed by extensive coral reefs, dangerous to navigation, but\nfrom Aden to Muscat the coast is elevated and rocky, and contains\nseveral good harbors. Eastern Arabia has a low, flat coast-line made\nof coral-rock with here and there volcanic headlands. Farsan, off the\nTehamah coast, famous as the centre for Arab slave-dhows; Perim, where\nEnglish batteries command the gate of the Red Sea; the Kuria-Muria\ngroup in the Indian Ocean; and the Bahrein archipelago in the Persian\nGulf, are the only important islands. Socotra, although occupied by an\nArab population and historically Arabian, is by geographers generally\nattached to Africa. This island is however under the Indian government,\nand, once Christian, is now wholly Mohammedan.\n\nThe greatest length of the peninsula is about 1,000 miles, its average\nbreadth 600, and its area somewhat over 1,000,000 square miles. It\nis thus over four times the size of France or larger than the United\nStates east of the Mississippi River.\n\nArabia, until quite recently, has generally been regarded as a vast\nexpanse of sandy desert. Recent explorations have proved this idea\nquite incorrect, and a large part of the region still considered\ndesert is as yet unexplored. Palgrave, in his \u201cCentral Arabia\u201d gives\nan excellent summary of the physical characteristics of the whole\npeninsula as he saw it. Since his time Hadramaut has been partially\nexplored and the result confirms his statements: \u201cThe general type of\nArabia is that of a central table-land surrounded by a desert ring\nsandy to the south, west and east, stony to the north. This outlying\ncircle is in its turn girt by a line of mountains low and sterile for\nthe most, but attaining in Yemen and Oman considerable height, breadth\nand fertility; while beyond these a narrow rim of coast is bordered by\nthe sea. The surface of the midmost table-land equals somewhat less\nthan one-half of the entire peninsula; and its special demarkations\nare much affected, nay often absolutely fixed, by the windings and\ninrunnings of the Nefud (sandy desert). If to these central highlands\nor _Nejd_, taking that word in its wider sense, we add whatever spots\nof fertility belong to the outer circles, we shall find that Arabia\ncontains about two-thirds of cultivated or at least of cultivatable\nland, with a remaining third of irreclaimable desert, chiefly on the\nsouth.\u201d\n\nFrom this description it is evident that the least attractive part of\nthe country is the coast. This may be the reason that Arabia has been\nso harshly judged, as to climate and soil and so much neglected by\nthose who only knew of it from the captains who had touched its coast\nin the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Nothing is more surprising, than\nto pass through the barren cinder gateway of Aden up the mountain\npasses into the marvellous fertility and delightful climate of Yemen.\nArabia like the Arab, has a rough, frowning exterior but a warm,\nhospitable heart.\n\nFrom the table-land of Nejd, which has an average elevation of about\n3,000 feet above the sea, there is a gradual ascent southward to the\nhighlands of Yemen and Oman where there are mountain peaks as high\nas 8,000 and 10,000 feet. This diversity of surface causes an equal\ndiversity of climate. The prevailing conditions are intense heat and\ndryness, and the world-zone of maximum heat in July embraces nearly\nthe entire peninsula. On the coast the heat is more trying because of\nthe moisture from the enormous evaporation of the land-locked basins.\nDuring part of the summer there is scarcely any difference in the\nregister of the wet and dry-bulb thermometer. In the months of June,\nJuly and August, 1897, the averages of maximum temperature at Busrah\nwere 100\u00b0, 103-1/2\u00b0 and 102\u00b0 F.; and the minimum 84\u00b0, 86-1/2\u00b0 and\n84\u00b0 F. Nejd has a salubrious climate, while in Yemen and Oman on the\nhighlands the mercury even in July seldom rises above 85\u00b0. In July,\n1892, I passed in one day\u2019s journey from a shade temperature of 110\u00b0 F.\non the coast at Hodeidah to one of 55\u00b0 at Menakha on the mountains. At\nSanaa there is frost for three months in the year, and Jebel Tobeyk in\nnorthwest Arabia is covered with snow all winter. In fact, all northern\nArabia has a winter season with cold rains and occasional frosts.\n\nThe geology of the peninsula is of true Arabian simplicity. According\nto Doughty it consists of a foundation stock of plutonic (igneous)\nrock whereon lie sandstone, and above that limestone. Going from\nMoab to Sinai we cross the strata in the reverse order, while in the\ndepression of the gulf of Akaba the three strata are in regular order\nalthough again overtopped by the granite of the mountains. Fossils are\nvery rare, but coral formation is common all along the coast. Volcanic\nformations and lava (called by the Arabs, harrat) crop out frequently,\nas in the region of Medina and Khaibar. In going by direct route from\nthe Red Sea (Jiddah) to Busrah, we meet first granite and trap-rock,\novertopped in the Harrat el-Kisshub by lavas, and further on at Wady\nGerir and Jebel Shear by basalts; at the Nefud el Kasim (Boreyda)\nsandstones begin until we reach the limestone region of Jebel Toweyk.\nThence all is gravel and sand to the Euphrates.\n\nArabia has no rivers and none of its mountain streams (some of which\nare perennial) reach the seacoast. At least they do not arrive there\nby the _overland_ route, for it is a well-established fact that the\nmany fresh water springs found in the Bahrein archipelago have their\norigin in the uplands of Arabia. At Muscat, too, water is always\nflowing toward the sea in abundance at the depth of ten to thirty feet\nbelow the wady-bed; this supplies excellent well-water. In fact the\nentire region of Hasa is full of underground watercourses and perennial\nsprings. Coast-streams are frequent in Yemen during the rain-season and\noften become suddenly full to overflowing dashing everything before\nthem. They are called _sayl_, and well illustrate Christ\u2019s parable of\nthe flood which demolished the house built upon the sand.\n\nThe great wadys of Arabia are its characteristic feature, celebrated\nsince the days of Job, the Arab. These wadys, often full to the brim\nin winter and black by reason of frost but entirely dried up during\nthe heat of summer, would never be suspected of giving nourishment to\neven a blade of grass. They are generally dry for nine and ten months\nin the year, during which time water is obtained from wells sunk in\nthe wady-bed. Wady Sirhan runs in a southeasterly direction from the\nHauran highlands to the Jauf district on the edge of the great Nefud;\nit is fed by the smaller Wady er-Rajel. Wady Dauasir which receives\nthe Nejran streams drains all of the Asir and southern Hejaz highlands\nnorthward to Bahr Salumeh, a small lake, the only one known in the\nwhole peninsula. The Aftan is another important wady running from\nthe borders of Nejd into the Persian Gulf. This wady-bed is marked\non some maps as a river, flowing into the Persian Gulf apparently by\ntwo mouths. It does not exist to-day. The most important water-bed\nin Arabia is the celebrated Wady er-Ruma, only partly explored,\nwhich flows from Hejaz across the peninsula for nearly 800 miles in\na northwesterly direction toward the Euphrates. Were there a more\nabundant rainfall this wady would reach the Shat-el-Arab and give unity\nto the now disjointed water-system of Mesopotamia and north Arabia.[1]\nFor obvious reasons the caravan routes of Arabia generally follow the\ncourse of the wadys.\n\nArabia is also a land of mountains and highlands. The most clearly\ndeveloped system is the extensive range skirting the Red Sea at a\ndistance of from one to three days\u2019 journey from the coast. South\nof Mecca there are peaks of over 8,000 feet; and beyond, the range\nbroadens out to form the Yemen highlands, a corner of the peninsula\nworthy of its old name \u201cArabia Felix.\u201d The mountains along the south\ncoast are more irregular and disconnected until they broaden out a\nsecond time between Ras el Had and Ras Mussendum to form the highlands\nof Oman. Along the gulf coast there are no mountains except an\noccasional volcanic hill like Jebel Dokhan in Bahrein and Jebel Sanam\nnear Zobeir.\n\nThe Nejd is crossed by several ridges of which the best known is Jebel\nShammar running nearly east and west at an altitude of about 6,000\nfeet. Jebel Menakib, Jebel Aared, Jebel Toweyk and Jebel Athal are\nother ranges south of Jebel Shammar and also running in a similar\ndirection toward the southwest and northeast. The Sinai peninsula is a\nrocky limestone plateau intersected by rugged gorges and highest toward\nthe south in the region of Sinai proper.\n\nNext to its wadys and mountains Arabia is characterized chiefly by the\nso-called _Harrat_ or volcanic tracks already mentioned. These black,\ngloomy, barren regions occupy a much wider extent of north Arabia\nthan is generally supposed. The largest is _Harrat Khaibar_, north of\nMedina, the old centre of the Jews in the days of Mohammed. It is over\n100 miles in length and in some parts thirty miles wide. A wilderness\nof lava and lava-stones with many extinct crater heads, craggy, and\nstrewn with rough blocks of basalt and other igneous rocks. In some\nplaces the lava beds are 600 feet deep. Signs of volcanic action are\nstill seen at Khaibar, smoke issuing from crevices and steam from the\nsummit of Jebel Ethnan. A volcanic eruption was seen at Medina as late\nas 1256 A.D.[2] and the hot and sulphur springs of Hasa and Hadramaut\nseem to indicate present volcanic action.\n\nThe sandy-tracts of the so-called Arabian deserts are termed by the\nArabs themselves _nefud_ (drained, exhausted, spent), the name given\non most maps. The general physical features of this \u201cdesert\u201d are those\nof a plain clothed with stunted, aromatic shrubs of many varieties,\nbut their value as pasture is very unequal, some being excellent for\ncamels and sheep, others absolutely worthless. Some nefuds abound in\ngrasses and flowering plants after the early rains, and then the desert\n\u201cblossoms like the rose.\u201d Others are without rain and barren all year;\nthey are covered with long stretches of drift-sand, carried about by\nthe wind and tossed in billows on the weather side of the rocks and\nbushes.[3] Palgrave asserts that some of the nefud sands are 600 feet\ndeep. They prevail in the vast unexplored region south of Nejd and\nnorth of Hadramaut including the so-called \u201cGreat Arabian Desert.\u201d\nAbsolute sterility is the dominant feature here, whereas the northern\nnefuds are the pasture lands for thousands of horses and sheep.\n\n[Illustration: PTOLEMAEUS KARTE VON ARABIA FELI]\n\n\n\n\n II\n\n THE GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS OF ARABIA\n\n\nThe division of Arabia into provinces has always been rather according\nto physical geography than political boundaries. The earliest division\nof the peninsula, and in some respects the most correct, was that\nof the Greek and Roman writers into _Arabia Deserta_ and _Arabia\nFelix_. The latter epithet was perhaps only a mistaken translation\nof _El-Yemen_\u2014the land on \u201cthe right hand,\u201d that is south of Mecca,\nfor the Orientals face east. This is contrasted with Syria which in\nArabic is called \u201c_Es-Sham_\u201d or the land \u201cto the left\u201d of Mecca. The\nthird division, _Arabia Petr\u00e6a_, or \u201cStony Arabia,\u201d first appears in\nPtolemy and is applied to the Sinai district. He limits Arabia Deserta\nto the extreme northern desert and so his map of the entire peninsula\nbears the title of Arabia Felix. The great geographer anticipated all\nmodern maps of Arabia by naming the regions according to the tribes\nthat inhabit them; a much more intelligent method than the drawing of\nartificial lines around natural features and dubbing them with a name\nto suit the cartographer.\n\nThe Arab geographers know nothing of this threefold division into\nsandy, stony, and happy-land. They divide the Island-of-the-Arabs\n(Jezirat-el-Arab) into five provinces.[4] The first is called\n_El-Yemen_ and includes Hadramaut, Mehrah, Oman, Shehr, and Nejran.\nThe second _El-Hejaz_, on the west coast, so called because it is the\nbarrier between Tehama and Nejd; it nearly corresponds to our Hejaz,\nexcluding its southern portion. The third is _Tehama_, along the\ncoast, between Yemen and Hejaz. The fourth is _Nejd_, a term loosely\napplied to all the interior table-lands. The fifth is called _Yemama_\nor _\u2019Arudh_ because it extends all the \u201cwide\u201d way between Yemen (Oman)\nand Nejd. It is important to distinguish between this Arabian division\nand that now nearly everywhere adopted on the maps of the occident;\nmuch confusion has arisen when this distinction was not made.\n\nThe modern division of the peninsula into seven provinces: Hejaz,\nYemen, Hadramaut, Oman, Hasa, Irak and Nejd, is according to political\ngeography and serves all practical purposes, although it is not\nstrictly accurate. Hejaz, the Holyland of Arabia, includes the sacred\ncities of Mecca and Medina. Yemen is bounded by the line of fertility\non the north and east so as to include the important region of Asir.\nHadramaut has no clearly defined boundaries and stretches northward\nto the unknown region of the Dahna. Oman is the peninsula between the\nsouthern shore of the Gulf and the Indian Ocean, while Hasa covers\nthe entire coast district north of El-Katar peninsula (on some maps\ncalled El-Bahrein). Irak-Arabi or Irak is the northern river-country\npolitically corresponding to what is called \u201cTurkish-Arabia.\u201d\n\nAs to the present division of political power in Arabia, it is\nsufficient here to note that the Sinai peninsula and 200 miles of\ncoast south of the Gulf of Akaba is Egyptian; Hejaz, Yemen and Hasa\nare nominally Turkish provinces, but their political boundaries are\nshifting and uncertain. The present Shereef of Mecca at times dictates\nto the Sublime Porte while the Bedouin tribes even in Hejaz acknowledge\nneither Sultan nor Shereef and waylay the pilgrim caravans that come\nto the holy cities unless they receive large blackmail. In Yemen the\nArabs have never ceased to fret under the galling yoke of the Turk\nsince it was put on their shoulders by the capture of Sana in 1873. The\ninsurrection in 1892 was nearly a revolution and again this year (1899)\nall Yemen is in arms. It is very suggestive that in the present revolt\nsome of the Arabs made use of the English flag to secure sympathy.\n\nIn Hasa, the real sovereignty of Turkey only exists in three or four\ntowns while all the Bedouin and many of the villagers yield to the\nDowla, neither tribute, obedience nor love. Irak alone is actually\nTurkish and yields large revenue. But even here Arab-uprisings are\nfrequent. Nominally, however, Turkey holds the fairest province on the\nsouth, the religious centres on the west and the fertile northeast of\nArabia,\u2014one-fifth of the total area of the peninsula.\n\nThe remainder of Arabia is independent of Turkey. Petty rulers calling\nthemselves Sultans, Ameers or Imams have for centuries divided the\nland between them. The Sultanate of Oman and the great Nejd-kingdom\nare the only important governments, but the former lost its glory when\nits seat of power and influence was transferred to Zanzibar. Nejd in\nits widest sense is governed to-day by Abd-el-Aziz bin Mitaab the\nnephew of the late Mohammed bin Rashid, King Richard of Arabia, who\ngained his throne by the massacre of seventeen possible pretenders.\nThe territory of this potentate is bordered southward by Riad and the\nWahabi country. Northward his influence extends beyond the Nefud, right\naway to the Oases of Kaf and Ittery in the Wady Sirhan (38\u00b0 E. Long.,\n31\u00b0 N. Lat.) east of the Dead Sea. The inhabitants of these oases\nacknowledge Abd-el-Aziz as their suzerain paying him a yearly tribute\nof four pounds ($20.00) for each village. The people of the intervening\ndistrict of Jauf also acknowledge his rule which reaches westward to\nTeima. He also commands the new pilgrim-route from the northeast which\nformerly passed through Riad but now touches Hail, the capital of Nejd.\nThe Wahabi movement has collapsed and their political power is broken,\nalthough their influence has extended to the furthest confines of\nArabia.\n\nThe only foreign power dominant in Arabia, beside Turkey, is England.\nAden became a British possession in 1838 and since then British\ninfluence has extended until it now embraces a district 200 miles\nlong by forty broad and a population of 130,000. The Island of Perim\nin the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, the Kuria-Muria Islands on the south\ncoast, and Socotra are also English. All the independent tribes on\nthe coast from Aden to Muscat and from Muscat to Bahrein have made\nexclusive treaties with Great Britain, are subsidized by annual\npayments or presents and are \u201cprotected.\u201d Muscat and Bahrein are in a\nspecial sense protected states since England\u2019s settled policy is to\nhave sole dominion in the Persian Gulf. She has agencies or consulates\neverywhere; the postal system of the Persian Gulf is British; the rupee\nhas driven the piastre out of the market and as ninety-eight per cent.\nof the commerce is in English hands the Persian Gulf may yet become an\nEnglish lake.\n\nArabia has no railroads, but regular caravan routes take their place\nin every direction. Turkish telegraph service exists between Mecca and\nJiddah in Hejaz; between Sanaa, Hodeidah and Taiz in Yemen; and along\nthe Tigris-Euphrates between Bagdad and Busrah connecting at Fao (at\nthe delta) with the submarine cable to Bushire and India.\n\nOf the fauna and flora of Arabia we will not here speak at length.\nThe most characteristic plants are the date-palm of which over 100\nvarieties are catalogued by the Arab peasantry, and which yields a\nstaple food. Coffee, aromatic and medicinal plants, gums and balsams,\nhave for ages supplied the markets of the world. Yemen is characterized\nby tropical luxuriance, and in Nejd is the _ghatha_ tree which grows to\na height of fifteen feet, and yields the purest charcoal in the world.\n\nAmong the wild animals were formerly the lion and the panther, but\nthey are now exceedingly rare. The wolf, wild boar, jackal, gazelle,\nfox, monkey, wild cow (or white antelope) ibex, horned viper, cobra,\nbustard, buzzard and hawk are also found. The ostrich still exists in\nsouthwest Arabia but is not common The chief domestic animals are the\nass, mule, sheep, goats, but above all and superior to all, the camel\nand the horse.\n\nThe exact population of a land where there is no census, and where\nwomen and girls are never counted is of course unknown. The Ottoman\ngovernment gives exaggerated estimates for its Arabian provinces, and\ntravellers have made various guesses. Some recent authorities, omitting\nIrak, put the total population of Arabia as low as 5,000,000. A.H.\nKeane, F.R.G.S., gives the following estimate:[5]\n\n _Turkish Arabia_\n Hejaz, 3,500,000\n Yemen, 2,500,000\n _Independent Arabia_\n Oman, 1,500,000\n Shammar, Bahrein, etc., 3,500,000\n _________\n 11,000,000\n\n\nAlbrecht Zehm in his book \u201cArabien seit hundert Jahren,\u201d arrives at\nnearly the same result:\n\n Yemen and Asir, 2,252,000\n Hadramaut, 1,550,000\n Oman and Muscat, 1,350,000\n Bahrein Katif, Nejd, 2,350,000\n Hejaz, Anaeze, Kasim, and Jebel Shammar, 3,250,000\n _________\n 10,752,000\n\nBut undoubtedly both of these estimates, following Turkish authorities,\nare too high, especially for Hejaz and Yemen. A conservative estimate\nwould be 8,000,000 for the entire peninsula in its widest extent.\nThe true number of inhabitants will remain unknown until further\nexplorations disclose the real character of southeastern Arabia,\nand until northern Hadramaut yields up its secrets. In this, as in\nother respects, the words of Livingstone are true: \u201cThe end of the\ngeographical feat is the beginning of the missionary enterprise.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n III\n\n THE HOLY LAND OF ARABIA\u2014MECCA\n\n \u201cThe Eastern world moves slowly\u2014_eppur si muove_. Half a generation\n ago steamers were first started to Jiddah: now we hear of a projected\n railway from that port to Mecca, the shareholders being all Moslems.\n And the example of Jerusalem encourages us to hope that long before\n the end of the century a visit to Mecca will not be more difficult\n than a trip to Hebron.\u201d\u2014_Burton_ (1855).\n\n \u201cOur train of camels drew slowly by them: but when the smooth Mecca\n merchant heard that the stranger riding with the camel men was a\n Nasrany, he cried \u2018Akhs! A Nasrany in these parts!\u2019 and with the\n horrid inurbanity of their jealous religion he added, \u2018Ullah curse his\n father!\u2019 and stared on me with a face worthy of the Koran.\u201d\u2014_Doughty_\n (1888)\n\n\nIt is a rule laid down in the Koran and confirmed by many traditions\nthat the sacred territory enclosing the birthplace and the tomb of the\nprophet shall not be polluted by the visits of infidels. \u201cO believers!\nonly those are unclean who join other gods with God! Let them not\ntherefore after this their year come near the Sacred Mosque.\u201d (Surah\nix. 27.) Mohammed is reported to have said of Mecca, \u201cWhat a splendid\ncity thou art, if I had not been driven out of thee by my tribe I would\ndwell in no other place but in thee. It is not man but God who has made\nMecca sacred. My people will be always safe in this world and the next\nas long as they respect Mecca.\u201d (Mishkat book XL., ch. xv.)\n\nThe sacred boundaries of Mecca and Medina not only shut out all\nunbelievers, but they make special demands of \u201cpurity and holiness\u201d\n(in the Moslem sense) on the part of the true believers. According to\ntradition it is not lawful to carry weapons or to fight within the\nlimits of the _Haramein_. Its\n\n[Illustration: MOHAMMEDAN PILGRIMS AT MECCA]\n\n[Illustration: THE SACRED WELL OF ZEMZEM AT MECCA]\n\ngrass and thorns must not be cut nor must its game be molested. Some\ndoctors of law hold that these regulations do not apply to Medina, but\nothers make the burial-place of the prophet equally sacred with the\nplace of his birth. The boundaries of this sacred territory are rather\nuncertain. Abd ul Hak says that when, at the time of the rebuilding\nof the Kaaba, Abraham, the friend of God, placed the black stone, its\neast, west, north and south sides became luminous, and wherever the\nlight extended, became the boundaries of the sacred city! These limits\nare now marked by pillars of masonry, except on the Jiddah and Jairanah\nroad where there is some dispute as to the exact boundary.\n\nThe sacred territory of Medina is ten or twelve miles in diameter,\nfrom Jebel \u2019Air to Saoor. Outside of these two centres all of the\nprovince of Hejaz is legally accessible to infidels, but the fanaticism\nof centuries has practically made the whole region round Mecca and\nMedina forbidden territory to any but Moslems. In Jiddah Christians are\ntolerated because of necessity, but were the Mullahs of Mecca to have\ntheir way not a Frankish merchant or consul would reside there for a\nsingle day.\n\nDespite these regulations to shut out \u201cinfidels\u201d from witnessing\nthe annual pilgrimage and seeing the sacred shrines of the Moslem\nworld, more than a score of travellers have braved the dangers of the\ntransgression and escaped the pursuit of fanatics to tell the tale\nof their adventures.[6] Others have lost their life in the attempt\neven in recent years. Doughty[7] tells of a Christian who was foully\nmurdered by Turkish soldiers when found in the limits of Medina in\nthe summer of 1878. Burton at one time barely escaped being murdered\nbecause they suspected him of being an unbeliever.\n\nJiddah, the harbor of Mecca, is distant from the sacred city about\nsixty-five miles, and is in consequence the chief port of debarkation\nand embarkation for pilgrims. It has a rather pretty and imposing\nappearance from the sea, the houses being white and three or four\nstories high, surrounded by a wall and flanked by a half dozen lazy\nwindmills of Dutch pattern! Its streets are narrow, however, and\nindescribably dirty, so that the illusion of an Oriental picture is\ndispelled as soon as you set foot on shore. The sanitary condition of\nthis port is the worst possible; evil odors abound, the water supply\nis precarious and bad, and a shower of rain is always followed by an\noutbreak of fever. The population is not over 20,000 of every Moslem\nnation under heaven, Galilee of \u201cthe believers.\u201d Its commercial\nimportance, which once was considerable, has altogether declined. The\nopening of the Suez canal and the direct carrying of trade by ocean\nsteamers dealt the deathblow to the extensive coast-trade of both\nJiddah and the other Red Sea ports. The people of Jiddah, like those\nof Mecca, live by fleecing pilgrims, and when the traffic is brisk\nand pilgrims affluent they grow rich enough to go to Mecca and set\nup a larger establishment of the same sort. There are hotel-keepers,\ndrummers, guides, money-changers, money-lenders, slave-dealers and\neven worse characters connected with the annual transfer of the\ncaravans of _hajees_ (pilgrims) from the coast inland. The number\nof pilgrims arriving at Jiddah by sea in 1893 was 92,625. In 1880\nMr. Blunt collected some interesting statistics of the total numbers\nattending the pilgrimage at Mecca,[8] and his investigations prove that\nthe overland caravans are steadily becoming smaller.\n\nBefore any pilgrims are allowed to enter Jiddah harbor they are\ncompelled to undergo ten days\u2019 quarantine at Kamaran, an island on the\nwest coast of Arabia; this is the first woe. At Jiddah they remain only\na few days and then having secured their _Mutawwaf_ or official guide\nthey proceed to Mecca. The road is barren and uninteresting in the\nextreme. Halfway to Mecca is El Had where the road divides; one branch\nleads to Taif, the only fertile spot in this wilderness province, and\nthe other proceeds to Mecca, the ancient name of which was Bakkah.\n\nWere we to believe one half of what is said by Moslem writers in\npraise of Mecca it would prove the Holy City to be a very paradise of\ndelights, a centre of learning and the paragon of earthly habitations.\nBut the facts show it to be far otherwise. The location of the city is\nunfortunate. It lies in a hot sandy valley absolutely without verdure\nand surrounded by rocky barren hills, destitute of trees or even\nshrubs. The valley is about 300 feet wide and 4,000 feet long, and\nslopes toward the south. The Kaaba or Beit Allah is located in the bed\nof the valley and all the streets slope toward it, so that it is almost\nclosed in on every side by houses and walls, and stands as it were in\nthe pit of the theatre. The houses are built of dark stone and are\ngenerally lofty in order to accommodate as many pilgrims as possible\nin the limited space. The streets are nearly all unpaved and in summer\nthe sand and dust are as disagreeable as is the black mud in the rainy\nseason. Strangely enough, although the city itself and even the Kaaba\nhave more than once suffered from destructive floods that have poured\ndown the narrow valley, Mecca is poorly provided with water. There are\nfew cisterns to catch the rains and the well water is brackish. The\nfamous well of Zemzem has an abundance of water but it is not fit to\ndrink.[9] The best water is brought by an aqueduct from the vicinity\nof Arafat six or seven miles distant and sold for a high price by a\nwater-trust which annually fills the coffers of the Shereef of\n\n[Illustration: PILGRIMS AROUND THE KAABA IN THE SACRED MOSQUE AT\nMECCA]\n\nMecca. This official is the nominal and often the real governor of the\ncity. He is chosen from the _Sayyids_ or descendants of Mohammed living\nin Hejaz or secures the high office by force. His tenure of office is\nsubject to the approval and authority of the Turkish Sultan, whose\ngarrisons occupy the fort near the town.\n\nThe Sacred Mosque, (Mesjid el Haram) containing the Kaaba or Beit Allah\nis the prayer-centre of the Mohammedan world and the objective point\nof thousands of pilgrims every year. According to Moslem writers it\nwas first constructed in heaven, 2,000 years before the creation of\nthe world. Adam, the first man, built the Kaaba on earth exactly under\nthe spot occupied by its perfect model in heaven. The 10,000 angels\nappointed to guard this house of God seem to have been very remiss in\ntheir duty for it has often suffered at the hands of men and from the\nelements. It was destroyed by the flood and rebuilt by Ishmael and\nAbraham. The legends connected with its construction and history fill\nmany pages of the Moslem traditions and commentaries. The name Kaaba\nmeans a _cube_; but the building is not built true to line and is in\nfact an unequal trapezium.[10] Because of its location in a hollow and\nits black-cloth covering these inequalities are not apparent to the eye.\n\nThe Kaaba proper stands in an oblong space 250 paces long by 200 broad.\nThis open space is surrounded by colonnades used for schools and as\nthe general rendezvous of pilgrims. It is in turn surrounded by the\nouter temple wall with its nineteen gates and six minarets. The Mosque\nis of much more recent date than the Kaaba which was well known as an\nidolatrous Arabian shrine long before the time of Mohammed. The Sacred\nMosque and its Kaaba contain the following treasures: the Black-Stone,\nthe well of Zemzem, the great pulpit, the staircase, and the\n_Kubattein_ or two small mosques of Saab and Abbas. The remainder of\nthe space is occupied by pavements and gravel arranged to accommodate\nand distinguish the four orthodox sects in their devotions.\n\nThe Black-Stone is undoubtedly the oldest treasure of Mecca.\nStone-worship was an Arabian form of idolatry in very ancient times\nand relics of it remain in many parts of the peninsula. Maximus Tyrius\nwrote in the second century, \u201cthe Arabians pay homage to I know not\nwhat god which they represent by a quadrangular stone.\u201d The Guebars or\nancient Persians assert that the black stone was an emblem of Saturn\nand was left in the Kaaba by Mahabad. We have the Moslem tradition that\nit came down snow-white from heaven and was blackened by the touch of\nsin\u2014according to one tradition, that of an impure woman, and according\nto another by the kisses of thousands of believers. It is probably\nan aerolite and owes its reputation to its fall from the sky. Moslem\nhistorians do not deny that it was an object of worship before Islam,\nbut they escape the moral difficulty and justify their prophet by idle\ntales concerning the stone and its relation to all the patriarchs\nbeginning with Adam.\n\nThe stone is a fragment of what appears like black volcanic rock\nsprinkled with irregular reddish crystals worn smooth by the touch\nof centuries. It is held together by a broad band of metal, said to\nbe silver, and is imbedded in the southeast corner of the Kaaba five\nfeet from the ground. It is not generally known that there is a second\nsacred stone at the corner facing the south. It is called Rakn el\nYemeni or Yemen pillar and is frequently kissed by pilgrims although\naccording to the correct ritual it should only be saluted by a touch of\nthe right hand.\n\nThe well of Zemzem is located near the Makam Hanbali, the place of\nprayer of this sect. The building which encloses the well was erected\nin A. H. 1072 (A. D. 1661) and its interior is of white marble. Mecca\nperchance owes its origin as an old Arabian centre to this medicinal\nspring with its abundant supply of purgative waters for the nomads\nto-day go long distances\n\n[Illustration: ALI BEY\u2019S PLAN OF THE PROPHET\u2019S MOSQUE AT MECCA]\n\nto visit sulphur and other springs in various parts of Arabia. The\nwell of Zemzem is one of the great sources of income to the Meccans.\nThe water is carried about for sale on the streets and in the mosques\nin curious pitchers made of unglazed earthenware. They are slightly\nporous so as to cool the water, which is naturally always of a lukewarm\ntemperature, and are all marked with certain mystical characters in\nblack wax. Crowds assemble around the well during the pilgrimage and\nmany coppers fall to the share of the lucky Meccans who have the\nprivilege of drawing the water for the faithful.\n\nThe pilgrimage to Mecca should be performed in the twelfth lunar month\nof the calendar called _Dhu el Haj_. It is incumbent on every believer\nexcept for lawful hindrance because of poverty or illness. Mohammed\nmade it the fifth pillar of religion and more than anything else it\nhas tended to unify the Moslem world. The Koran teaching regarding the\nduties of pilgrims at the Sacred Mosque, is as follows: \u201cProclaim to\nthe peoples a Pilgrimage. Let them come to thee on foot and on every\nfleet camel arriving by every deep defile.\u201d (Surah xxii. 28.) \u201cVerily\nAs Safa and Al Marwa are among the signs of God: whoever then maketh a\npilgrimage to the temple or visiteth it shall not be to blame if he go\nround about them both.\u201d (ii. 153.) \u201cLet the pilgrimage be made in the\nmonths already known and who so undertaketh the pilgrimage therein let\nhim not know a woman, nor transgress nor wrangle in the pilgrimage....\nIt shall be no crime in you if ye seek an increase from your Lord (by\ntrade); and when ye pass swiftly on from Arafat then remember God near\nthe holy Mosque.... Bear God in mind during the stated days; but if any\nhaste away in two days it shall be no fault to him, and if any tarry it\nshall be no fault in him.\u201d (Surah ii. passim.)\n\nFrom the Koran alone no definite idea of the pilgrim\u2019s duties can be\ngleaned; but fortunately for all true believers the Prophet\u2019s perfect\nexample handed down by tradition leaves nothing in doubt and prescribes\nevery detail of conduct with ridiculous minuteness. The orthodox way\nis as follows: arrived within a short distance of Mecca the pilgrims,\nmale and female, put off their ordinary clothing and assume the garb\nof a _hajee_. It consists of two pieces of white cloth one of which\nis tied around the loins and the other thrown over the back; sandals\nmay be worn but not shoes and the head must be left uncovered. (In\nidolatrous days the Arabs did not wear any clothing in making the\ncircuit of the Kaaba). On facing Mecca the pilgrim pronounces the\n_niyah_ or \u201cintention\u201d:\n\n \u201cHere I am, O Allah, here I am;\n No partner hast Thou, here I am;\n Verily praise and riches and the kingdom are to Thee;\n No partner hast Thou, here am I.\u201d\n\nAfter certain legal ablutions the pilgrim enters the Mosque by the\nBab-el-salam and kisses the Black-Stone making the circuit, running,\naround the Kaaba seven times (In idolatrous days the Arabs did this\nin imitation of the motions of the planets; a remnant of their Sabean\nworship.) Another special prayer is said and then the pilgrim proceeds\nto Makam Ibrahim, where Abraham is said to have stood when he rebuilt\nthe Kaaba. There the _hajee_ goes through the regular genuflections and\nprayers. He drinks next from the holy well and once more kisses the\nBlack-Stone. Then follows the running between Mounts Safa and Merwa.\nProceeding outward from the Mosque by the gate of Safa he ascends the\nhill reciting the 153d verse of the Surah of the Cow. \u201cVerily Safa and\nMerwa are the signs of God.\u201d Having arrived at the summit of the mount\nhe turns to the Kaaba and three times recites the words:\n\n \u201cThere is no god but God!\n God is great!\n There is no god save God alone!\n He hath performed His promise\n and hath aided His servant and\n put to flight the hosts of\n infidels by Himself alone!\u201d\n\nHe then runs from the top of Safa through the valley to the summit of\nMerwa seven times repeating the aforesaid prayers each time on both\nhills. This is the sixth day, on the evening of which the pilgrim again\nencompasses the Kaaba. On the next day there is a sermon from the grand\npulpit. On the eighth day the pilgrim goes three miles distant to\nMina, where Adam longed for his lost paradise (!) and there spends the\nnight. The next morning he leaves for Arafat, another hill about eleven\nmiles from Mecca, hears a second sermon, returning before nightfall to\nMuzdalifa, a place halfway between Mina and Arafat.\n\nThe following day is the great day of the pilgrimage. It is called the\nday of Sacrifice and is simultaneously celebrated all over the Moslem\nworld.[11] Early in the morning the pilgrim proceeds to Mina where\nthere are three pillars called, the \u201cGreat Devil,\u201d the \u201cMiddle Pillar\u201d\nand the \u201cFirst One.\u201d At these dumb idols the \u201cmonotheist\u201d flings seven\npebbles and as he throws them says: \u201cIn the name of Allah and Allah\nis mighty, in hatred of the devil and his shame, I do this.\u201d He then\nperforms the sacrifice, a sheep, goat, cow or camel according to the\nmeans of the pilgrim. The victim is placed facing the Kaaba and a knife\nplunged into the animal\u2019s throat with the cry, _Allahu Akbar_. This\nceremony concludes the pilgrimage proper; the hair and nails are then\ncut and the _ihram_ or pilgrims\u2019 garb is doffed for ordinary clothing.\nThree days more are sometimes counted as belonging to the pilgrimage,\nthe eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth days, called _Eyyam-u-tashrik_, or\ndays of drying flesh, because during them the flesh of the sacrifices\nis cut into slices and dried in the sun to be eaten on the return\njourney.\n\nAfter the Meccan pilgrimage most Moslems go to Medina to visit the\ntomb of Mohammed; the Wahabees however consider this \u201cinfidelity\u201d and\nhonor of the creature more than of the Creator. Other Moslems base\ntheir conduct on the saying of the prophet himself, _Man yuhajja wa\nlam ye-zurni fakad jefani_, \u201cwho goes on Haj and does not visit me\nhas insulted me!\u201d The Meccans call themselves \u201cneighbors of God\u201d and\nthe people of Medina \u201cneighbors of the prophet.\u201d For long ages a hot\nrivalry has existed between the two cities, a rivalry which, beginning\nin the taunt or jest, often ends in bloodshed.\n\nThe pilgrim, having completed all legal requirements, is sure to visit\nthe proper authorities and secure a _certificate_ to prove to his\ncountrymen that he is a real Hajee and to substantiate his religious\nboasting in days to come. The certificate is also required when one\ngoes on pilgrimage for a deceased Moslem or a wealthy Moslem who is\nbedridden. In such a case the substitute has all the pleasures (!)\nof the journey at the expense of his principal but the merit goes to\nthe man who pays the bills and who naturally craves the receipt. The\ncertificate is of various forms and contains crude pictures of the holy\nplaces and verses from Koran.\n\nNeedless to relate these certificates cost money, as does everything\nat Mecca save the air you breathe. No honest Moslem ever spoke with\npraise of the citizens of Mecca; many are their proverbs to prove why\nwickedness flourishes in the courts of Allah. And European travellers\nagree that of all Orientals the Meccans take the palm for thoroughgoing\nrascality. Ali Bey dilates on the lewdness of the men and the looseness\nof the women of Mecca. Hurgronje unblushingly lifts the veil that hides\nthe corruption of the sacred temple service with its army of eunuch\npolice, and pictures the slave-market in full swing within a stone\u2019s\nthrow of the Kaaba. Burton thus characterizes the men who live on their\nreligion and grow fat (figuratively) by unveiling its mysteries to\nothers:\n\n[Illustration: PLATE IV.]\n\n[Illustration: PLATE III.]\n\n[Illustration: PLATE II.]\n\n[Illustration: PLATE I.]\n\nTHE MECCA CERTIFICATE, which is given to pilgrims to the sacred city,\nis looked upon by Moslems as practically a passport to heaven. It is\nespecially interesting because of the inside view which it gives of the\nMohammedan religion. At the top of each page are quotations from the\nKoran.\n\nPLATE I. has, at the right-hand upper corner, the representation of\nthe Mosque of Muzdalifa and tents of the Pilgrims; to the left of\nthis, the Mosque of Nimr, near Mount Arafat, and below it, the Mahmals\nof Syria and Egypt, _i.e._, palanquins carried on camels, surmounted\nby flags. To the right is _Mount Arafat_, a sacred mountain about 12\nmiles northeast of Mecca, which, in Moslem tradition, is said to be the\nplace where Adam and Eve met after the fall. The three pillars of Min\u00e1\nrepresented below, are ancient pagan shrines, at each of which every\npilgrim must hurl seven stones at the devil. Near this is pictured the\nMesjed, or Mosque of Taif, the altar of Ishmael, the Dome of Abd-el\nKader in Bagdad, and at the extreme right the Dome of \u201cOur Lord\u201d\nHassein al Kerbela, where thousands of corpses of deceased Persians are\nbrought yearly to be buried. It is northwest of Bagdad, and lies in\nTurkish territory. There are also pictured the birthplaces of Mohammed,\nAli Ibu Abi Talib, Abu Bekr, and Fatimeh, and the Tomb of Amina and\nKhadijah; also two bell-shaped hills, Jebel Thaur and Jebel Nur.\n\nPLATE II. pictures the quadrangular court of the Mecca Haram, within\nwhich is the circular colonnade, enclosing the _Kaaba_ or _Beit Allah_,\nthe House of God. Below the representation of the Kaaba is depicted\nthe famous station of Abraham, a stone 20 inches long by 15 inches\nwide. It is in the shape of a basin, and is buried in the earth. The\nname of Abraham is connected with it from the tradition that he first\nbuilt the Kaaba. Below this may be noticed the famous \u201cBeer Zemzem,\u201d\nor Well of Zemzem, which is claimed to be the water which Hager saw,\nwhen Ishmael was dying of thirst. Around the circle are the praying\nplaces of the Malikis, the Hanafys, the Hanbalys and the Shafi-is,\nthe four great sects of Islam. Around the quadrangle are 20 gates,\nsuch as Bab-su-Nebi, Gate of the Prophet, Gate of Abraham, of Peace,\nof Abbas, of the Mare, the Mule, Safa, of Farewell, of Wisdom, etc.,\netc.,\u2014besides various shrines.\n\nPLATE III. shows representations of the Holy Places of _El Medina_,\nthe tomb of Mohammed. The large dome in the upper left-hand corner is\nthe tomb of Mohammed. Around the page are drawn the mosque of Fatimeh,\nmosque of the Strength of Islam, the mosques of Hamzeh, Abu Bekr, Ali\nand Silman, the tomb of Othman, and various other shrines.\n\nPLATE IV. contains the Holy Shrines of Jerusalem. The Haram-es-Sherif,\nor the quadrangular area once occupied by the temple of Solomon,\noccupies the centre of the page. The Mosque commonly known as the\nMosque of Omar, is here styled \u201cBeit el Mukdas\u201d or the Holy House.\nUnder the dome in the black circle is the \u201cRock of God,\u201d or the\n\u201cSuspended Stone,\u201d which the prophet kicked back when it tried to\nfollow him to heaven. The two footprints of the prophet are pictured\nbelow the rock. Below this are the Scales of \u201cMizan,\u201d in which all\nmen\u2019s deeds are to be weighed at the last day, together with the shears\nwhich cut off the life of men. At the bottom is the great _Bridge of\nSirat_, of vast length, the width of a hair, and sharp as a razor, over\nwhich every mortal must walk barefooted. At the right of it is the pit\nof Jehennam or hell, and to the left Jenneh or Paradise. A hazardous\nfeat it is to make the journey, since on it depends one\u2019s eternal\ndestiny. Around this area are pictured the tombs of David, Solomon,\nMoses and Jacob, and in the right-hand upper corner is seen Jebel, Toor\nSina, or Mount Sinai.\n\n\u201cThe Meccan is a covetous spendthrift. His wealth, lightly won, is\nlightly prized. Pay, pensions, stipends, presents, and the \u2018Ikram\u2019\nhere, as at Medina, supply the citizen with the means of idleness.\nWith him everything is on the most expensive scale, his marriage,\nhis religious ceremonies, and his household expenses. His house is\nluxuriously furnished, entertainments are frequent, and the junketings\nof the women make up a heavy bill at the end of the year. It is a\ncommon practice for the citizen to anticipate the pilgrimage season by\nfalling into the hands of the usurer. The most unpleasant peculiarities\nof the Meccans are their pride and coarseness of language. They\nlook upon themselves as the cream of earth\u2019s sons, and resent with\nextreme asperity the least slighting word concerning the Holy City and\nits denizens. They plume themselves upon their holy descent, their\nexclusion of infidels, their strict fastings, their learned men, and\ntheir purity of language. In fact, their pride shows itself at every\nmoment; but it is not the pride which makes a man too proud to do a\ndirty action. The Meccans appeared to me distinguished, even in this\nfoul-mouthed East, by the superior licentiousness of their language.\nAbuse was bad enough in the streets, but in the house it became\nintolerable.\u201d[12]\n\nTemporary marriages which are a mere cloak for open prostitution are\ncommon in Mecca and are indeed one of the chief means of livelihood to\nthe natives[13]. Concubinage and divorce are more universal than in any\nother part of the Moslem world;[14] sodomy is practiced in the Sacred\nMosque itself[15] and the suburbs of the city are the scene of nightly\ncarnivals of iniquity, especially after the pilgrims have left and the\nnatives are rich with the fresh spoils of the traffic.[16] As might\nbe expected, superstition grows rife in such a soil and under such\ncircumstances. All sorts of holy-places, legends, sacred rocks, trees\nand houses abound. Every Moslem saint who tarried in the city or died\nthere has left something to be remembered and honored.\n\nGross ignorance coupled with equal conceit seems to be the universal\ncharacteristic of the people of Mecca. Modern science is laughed at\nand everything turns, on the Ptolemaic system, around the little world\nof the Koran. Jinn are exorcised; witches and the evil-eye are avoided\nby amulets; in short all the superstitious practices of the Moslem\nworld are cultivated in this centre of world-wide pilgrimage. Astrology\nstill usurps the place of astronomy and it is considered blasphemy\nto profess to know the hour of an eclipse or the day of the new moon\nbefore it is revealed from heaven. Alchemy is the science that attracts\nthe Meccan physician more than the marvels of surgery; potions of\nholy-writ or talismans are still in use for sprains and dislocations.\nTheir ignorance of geography and history beyond the confines of the\npilgrim-world is pathetic. One of the chief Mullahs asked Hurgronje\n\u201chow many days was the caravan journey from Moskop (Russia) to\nAndalusia (Spain)?\u201d A government printing-press has been opened at\nMecca in recent years and an official gazette is published; but even\nTurkish civilization and learning are considered far from orthodox for\ntheir ways partake too much of those of the \u201cinfidels\u201d of the rest\nof Europe. Photography is a forbidden art and money with \u201cimages\u201d of\nqueens and emperors is only used with the prayer _istagfir allah_, \u201cI\nask pardon of God.\u201d On the other hand many old European coins no longer\ncurrent are looked upon as being doubly valuable as amulets and charms.\nOne of these, the _Mishkash_ is supposed to have special virtues for\nnewly-married women.\n\n\u201cThe irony of history,\u201d as Hurgronje remarks, \u201cwas not satisfied that\nat Medina the grave of Mohammed who cursed saint-worship should become\na centre of pilgrimage, but added the circumstance that at Mecca,\nMoslem women, who reject images and Christ-worship, should prize as an\namulet the image of Jesus and an Evangelist.\u201d Of course, the women\nthemselves are in total ignorance of the inscription and character of\nthe coin.\n\n[Illustration: A CHRISTIAN COIN USED AS AN AMULET BY MECCAN WOMEN.[17]]\n\nThere is a great abundance of schools at Mecca but no education.\nEverything is on the old lines, beginning and ending with the Koran,\nthat Procrustean bed for the human intellect. \u201cThe letter killeth.\u201d\nAnd it is the _letter_ first, foremost and always that is the topic\nof study. The youth learn to read the Koran not to understand its\nmeaning, but to drone it out professionally at funerals and feasts, so\nmany chapters for so many shekels. Modern science or history are not\neven mentioned, much less taught, at even the high-schools of Mecca.\nGrammar, prosody, caligraphy, Arabian history, and the first elements\nof arithmetic, but chiefly the Koran commentaries and traditions,\ntraditions, traditions, form the curriculum of the Mohammedan college.\nThose who desire a postgraduate course devote themselves to Mysticism\n(_Tassawaf_) or join an order of the Derwishes who all have their\nrepresentative sheikhs at Mecca.\n\nThe method of teaching in the schools of Mecca, which can be taken as\nan example of the best that Arabia affords, is as follows. The child\nof intellectual promise is first taught his alphabet from a small\nwooden board on which they are written by the teacher; slates are\nunknown. Then he learns the _Abjad_ or numerical value of each letter\u2014a\nuseless proceeding at present as the Arabic notation, originally\nfrom India, is everywhere in use. After this he learns to write down\nthe ninety-nine names of Allah and to read the first chapter of the\nKoran; then he attacks the last two chapters, because they are short.\nThe teacher next urges him through the book, making the pupil read\nat the top of his voice. The greatest strictness is observed as to\npronunciation and pauses but nothing whatever is said to explain the\nmeaning of the words. Having thus _finished_ the Koran, that is,\nread it through once, the pupil takes up the elements of grammar,\nlearning rules by rote both of _sarf_ (inflection) and _nahw_ (syntax).\nThen follow the liberal sciences, _al-mantik_ (logic), _al-hisab_\n(arithmetic), _al-jabr_ (algebra), _al-ma\u2019ana wa\u2019l beyan_ (rhetoric\nand versification), _al-fikh_ (jurisprudence), _al-ak\u00e4id_ (scholastic\ntheology), _at-tafsir_ (exegetics), _ilm ul-usul_ (science of sources\nof interpretation) and lastly, the capstone of education, _al-ahadith_\n(traditions). Instruction is given by lectures; text-books are seldom\nused; lessons begin in the morning and continue for a few hours; in\nthe afternoon they are interrupted by prayer-time. Even at Mecca the\nfavorite place for teaching is in the Mosque-court where constant\ninterruptions and distractions must make it pleasant for a lazy pupil.\n\n[Illustration: A WOMAN OF MECCA]\n\n[Illustration: A MECCAN WOMAN IN HER BRIDAL COSTUME]\n\n\n\n\n IV\n\n THE HOLY LAND OF ARABIA\u2014MEDINA\n\n \u201cWithin the sanctuary or bounds of the city all sins are forbidden;\n but the several schools advocate different degrees of strictness. The\n Imam Malik, for instance, allows no latrin\u00e6 nearer to El Medina than\n Jebel Ayr, a distance of about three miles. He also forbids slaying\n wild animals, but at the same time he specifies no punishment for\n the offence. All authors strenuously forbid, within the boundaries,\n slaying man, (except invaders, infidels and the sacrilegious) drinking\n spirits and leading an immoral life. In regard to the dignity of the\n sanctuary there is but one opinion; a number of traditions testify to\n its honor, praise its people and threaten dreadful things to those who\n injure it or them.\u201d\u2014_Burton_.\n\n\nAbout seventy miles southeast of Mecca is the small but pleasant town\nof Taif, to which the pashas condemned for the murder of Abdul Aziz\nSultan were banished. It is one of the most interesting and attractive\ntowns of all Arabia, being surrounded by gardens and vineyards from\nwhich Mecca has been supplied for ages. The tropical rains last\nfrom four to six weeks at Taif, and good wells abound to water the\ngardens when the rains cease, so that the place is famous for its\ngarden-produce. In close proximity to the barren Mecca district Taif\nis a paradise for the pilgrim and a health resort for the jaundiced,\nfever-emaciated Meccan. At Taif Doughty saw three old stone idols of\n\u201cthe days of ignorance\u201d; _El Uzza_, a block of granite some twenty feet\nlong; another called _Hubbal_, with a cleft in the middle, \u201cby our Lord\nAly\u2019s sword-stroke\u201d; and _El Lat_, an unshapely crag of grey granite.\nThese were earlier stone-gods of the Arab, and now lie forsaken in the\ndirt, while their brother-god, the famous Black-Stone, receives the\nreverence of millions!\n\nThe road from Mecca to El Medina\u2014\u201c_the_ city\u201d\u2014so called because the\nprophet chose it as his home in time of persecution\u2014leads nearly due\nnorth. It is an uninteresting, and for the most part, a forsaken\ncountry that separates the rival cities. Burton writes that it reminded\nhim of the lines,\n\n \u201cFull many a waste I\u2019ve wandered o\u2019er,\n Clomb many a crag, crossed, many a shore,\n But, by my halidome\n A scene so rude, so wild as this,\n Yet so sublime in barrenness,\n Ne\u2019er did my wandering footsteps press,\n Where\u2019er I chanced to roam.\u201d\n\nThere are two caravan-routes, both of which are used by the pilgrims,\nbut the eastern road is used most frequently.[18]\n\nThe region between Mecca and Medina is the home of the ancient poets of\nArabia and is classic ground. The seven Moallakat or suspended poems\nfind their scene in this region. Lebid wrote:\n\n \u201cDeserted is the village\u2014waste the halting place and home,\n At Mina, o\u2019er Rijam and Ghul wild beasts unheeded roam,\n On Rayyan hill the channel lines have left their naked trace,\n Time-worn as primal writ that dints the mountain face.\u201d\n\nEl Medina, formerly called _Yathrib_, is now also called _El Munowera_,\nthe \u201cilluminated,\u201d and devout Moslems commonly claim to see, on\napproaching the city, a luminous haze hanging over its mosques and\nhouses. The legends and superstitions that cluster around the last\nresting-place of the Prophet are not less in number nor less credible\nthan those that glorify the place of his birth, although the town is\nonly about half the size and contains 16,000 inhabitants. It consists\nof three principal divisions: the town proper, the fort and the\nsuburbs. It is surrounded by a wall forty feet high; the streets are\nnarrow and unpaved; the houses are flat-roofed and double-stoned.\n\nThe current dispute, however, for many centuries has been regarding\nthe relative sanctity and importance of the two cities, Mecca and\nMedina. A visit to Medina is called _Ziyarat_, as that to Mecca is\ncalled _Haj_; the latter is obligatory by order of the Koran, while\nthe former is meritorious on the authority of tradition. The orthodox\nfurther stipulate, that circumambulation around the prophet\u2019s tomb at\nMedina is not allowed as around the Kaaba at Mecca nor should men wear\nthe _ihram_, nor kiss the tomb. On the other hand, to spit upon it or\ntreat it with contempt, as the Wahabees did, is held to be the act of\nan infidel. To quote again from Burton: \u201cThe general consensus of Islam\nadmits the superiority of the Beit Allah at Mecca to the whole world;\nand declares Medina to be more venerable than every part of Mecca, and\nconsequently all the earth, except only the Beit Allah. This last is a\n_juste milieu_ view by no means in favor with the inhabitants of either\nplace.\u201d\n\nThe one thing that gives Medina claim to sanctity is the prophet\u2019s\ntomb, and yet there is some doubt as to whether he is really buried\nin the mosque raised to his honor; of course every Moslem, learned\nor ignorant, believes it, but there are many arguments against the\nsupposition.[19] One of these arguments alone would have little value\nagainst so old a tradition and practice, but their cumulative force\ncannot be denied, and throws serious doubt on the question whether the\npresent mosque of the prophet contains any trace of his remains. On the\nother hand pious Moslems affirm that the prophet is not really dead,\nbut \u201ceats and drinks in the tomb until the day of resurrection,\u201d and is\nas much alive as he ever was.\n\n[Illustration: REPORTED ARRANGEMENT OF THE INTERIOR OF THE HUJRAH.]\n\nThe Mesjid-el-Nebi or prophet\u2019s mosque at Medina is about 420 feet\nlong by 340 broad. It is built nearly north and south and has a large\ninterior courtyard, surrounded by porticoes. From the western side we\nenter the _Rauzah_ or prophet\u2019s garden. On the north and west it is\nnot divided from the rest of the portico; on the south side runs a\ndwarf wall and on the east it is bounded by the lattice-work of the\n_Hujrah_. This is an irregular square of about fifty feet separated\non all sides from the walls of the Mosque by a broad passage. Inside\nthere are said to be three tombs carefully concealed inside the iron\nrailing by a heavy curtain arranged like a four-post bed. The Hujrah\nhas four gates, all kept locked except the fourth which admits only the\nofficers in charge of the treasure, the eunuchs who sweep the floor,\nlight the lamps and carry away the presents thrown into the enclosure\nby devotees. It is commonly asserted that many early Moslem saints\nand warriors desired the remaining space for their grave, but that by\nMohammed\u2019s wish it is reserved for \u2019Isa on his second coming and death.\nThe story of a coffin suspended by magnets has of course no foundation\nin fact and may have arisen from the crude drawings of the tombs.\n\nThe _ziyarah_ at the Mosque consists in prayers and alms-giving with\nsilent contemplation on the sacred character of Mohammed. The following\nsample \u201cprayer\u201d offered at the shrine of Fatima, gives some idea of\nwhat is to Christian ears a blasphemous service: \u201cPeace be upon thee,\nO daughter of the apostle of Allah! Thou mother of the excellent seed.\nPeace be upon thee thou Lady amongst women. Peace be upon thee, O Fifth\nof the people of the Prophet\u2019s garment! A pure one, O virgin! Peace be\non thee, O spouse of our Lord, Ali el Murtaza, O mother of Hasan and\nHussein, the two Moons, the two Lights, the two Pearls, the two princes\nof the youth of Heaven, the Coolness of the eyes of true believers!\netc., etc.\u201d The prayers offered at the prophet\u2019s grave are more fulsome\nin their praise and of much greater length. What would the camel-driver\nof Mecca say if he heard them?\n\nAs at Mecca so at Medina the townspeople, one and all, live on the\npilgrims. The keeper of the Mosque is a Turkish Pasha with a large\nsalary and many perquisites; there are treasurers and professors and\nclerks and sheikhs of these eunuchs kept on salary. Sweepers and\nporters, all eunuchs, and guides as at Mecca who live by backsheesh or\nextortion. Water-carriers here too peddle about the brackish fluid by\nthe cupful to thirsty pilgrims. Those who are not in the service of the\nMosque usually keep boarding-houses, or sell prayers which are to be\nmade once a year at the prophet\u2019s tomb, for the absent pilgrim. Most of\nthe officials receive their salaries from Constantinople and Cairo.\n\nThe population of Medina is not less a mixed multitude than that of\nMecca; here also the observation of Zehm holds true, \u201cevery pilgrimage\nbrings new fathers.\u201d Burton testifies, \u201cIt is not to be believed that\nin a town garrisoned by Turkish troops, full of travelled traders,\nand which supports itself by plundering _Hajis_ the primitive virtues\nof the Arab could exist. The Meccans, a dark people, say of the\nMadani, that their hearts are as black as their skins are white. This\nis of course exaggerated; but it is not too much to assert that\npride, pugnacity, a peculiar point of honor, and a vindictiveness of\nwonderful force and patience, are the only characteristic traits of\nArab character which the citizens of El Medina habitually display.\u201d\nIntoxicating liquors are made at Medina and sold, although not openly.\n\nThere are two colleges with \u201clibraries\u201d at Medina and many\nmosque-schools. In Burckhardt\u2019s day he charged the town with utter\nignorance and illiteracy, but now they devote themselves apparently to\nliterature, at least in a measure.\n\nThe climate of Medina is better than that of Mecca and the winters are\ncold and rigorous. Mohammed is reputed to have said, \u201che who patiently\nendures the cold of El Medina and the heat of Mecca, merits a reward in\nparadise.\u201d\n\nReturning from the lesser pilgrimage to Medina the traveller can\nretrace his steps to Mecca, and thence to Jiddah, or go to the\nnearer port of Yanbo (Yembo) and thence return home by steamer or\nsailing-vessel. The distance by camels\u2019 route, between Medina and the\nport is 132 miles, six stages, although a good dromedary can make it\nin two days. At Yanbo the sultan\u2019s dominions in Arabia begin, for\nthe coast northward pertains to Egypt. The town resembles Jiddah in\noutward appearance, has 400 or 500 houses built of white coral rock,\ndirty streets and a precarious water supply. Sadlier, (1820) after his\njourney across the peninsula, visited Yanbo, and describes it as \u201ca\nmiserable Arab seaport surrounded by a wall\u201d; Yanbo has, however, a\ngood harbor, and was in earlier days, a large and important place; it\nhas been identified with Iambia village on Ptolemy\u2019s map a harbor of\nthe old Nabateans.\n\nThus ends our pilgrimage through the Holy Land of Arabia. Let us in\nconclusion ponder the words of Stanley Lane Poole as to the place which\nMecca and the pilgrimage holds in the Mohammedan religion. \u201cIt is asked\nhow the destroyer of idols could have reconciled his conscience to the\ncircuits of the Kaaba and the veneration of the Black-Stone covered\nwith adoring kisses. The rites of the pilgrimage cannot certainly be\ndefended against the charge of superstition; but it is easy to see\nwhy Mohammed enjoined them.... He well knew the consolidating effect\nof forming a centre to which his followers should gather, and hence\nhe reasserted the sanctity of the Black-Stone that \u2018came down from\nheaven\u2019; he ordained that everywhere throughout the world the Moslem\nshould pray looking toward the Kaaba, and enjoined him to make the\npilgrimage thither. Mecca is to the Moslem what Jerusalem is to the\nJew. It bears with it all the influence of centuries of associations.\nIt carries the Moslem back to the cradle of his faith and the childhood\nof his prophet.... And, most of all, it bids him remember that all his\nbrother Moslems are worshipping toward the same sacred spot; that he is\none of a great company of believers united by one faith, filled with\nthe same hopes, reverencing the same thing, worshipping the same God.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n V\n\n ADEN AND AN INLAND JOURNEY\n\n \u201cAden is a valley surrounded by the sea; its climate is so bad that it\n turns wine into vinegar in the space of ten days. The water is derived\n from cisterns and is also brought in by an aqueduct two farsongs long.\u201d\n \u2014_Ibn-el-Mojawir._ (A.D. 1200)\n\n\nArabia is unfortunate because, like a chestnut-burr, its exterior is\nrough and uninviting. In scenery and climate, Yemen fares worst of all\nthe provinces. The two gateways to Arabia Felix are very _infelix_.\nWhat could be more dreary and dull and depressing than the \u201cgloomy\nhills of darkness\u201d that form the background to Aden as seen from the\nharbor? There is no verdure, no vegetation visible; everywhere there\nis the same appearance of a cinder heap. And where can one find a more\nfilthy, hot, sweltering, odorous native town than Hodeidah? Yet these\ntwo places are the gateways to the most beautiful, fertile, populous\nand healthful region of all Arabia.\n\nYemen is best known of all the provinces, and has been quite thoroughly\nexplored by a score of intrepid travellers.[20] Most people, however,\ntravelling in a P. and O. Steamer, calling at Aden for coal, remain in\ntotal ignorance of the fair highlands just beyond the dark hills that\nhide the horizon Yemen extends from Aden to Asir on the north and\neastward into Hadramaut for an indefinite distance. On the earlier maps\nArabia Felix stretched as far as Oman\u2014a great mountainous region with a\ntemperate climate. An Arabian author, describing Yemen as it was before\nthe time of Mohammed, wrote: \u201cIts inhabitants are all hale and strong,\nsickness is unknown, nor are there poisonous plants or animals; nor\nfools, nor blind people, and the women are ever young; the climate is\nlike paradise and one wears the same garment summer and winter.\u201d\n\nThe massive rock promontory of volcanic basalt called Aden, has from\ntime immemorial been the gateway and the stronghold for all Yemen. It\nis generally agreed that Ezekiel, the prophet, referred to Aden when he\nwrote. \u201cHaran and Canneh and _Eden_, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur and\nChilmad, were thy merchants.\u201d The place was fortified and its wonderful\nrock cisterns were probably first constructed by the early Himyarites.\nA Christian church was erected at Aden by the embassy of the Emperor\nConstantius, A.D. 342, and Aden was for a long time in the hands of\nthe Christian kings of Yemen. Then it fell a prey to the Abyssinians\nand next to the Persians, about the time when Mohammed was born.\nAlbuquerque in 1513 with his Portuguese warriors laid siege to Aden for\nfour days, but in spite of scaling-ladders and gunpowder could not take\nthe town. The Mameluke Sultans of Egypt also failed to capture this\nfortress. In 1838 the English took it by storm and have held the place\never since.\n\nAden is now a British settlement, a commercial-centre, a\ncoaling-station and a fortress; the last most emphatically. All the\nlatest improvements in engineering and artillery have been put to use\nin fortifying the place. The ride from Steamer-Point to \u201cthe crater\u201d\nor from the telegraph-station to the \u201cCrescent\u201d gives one some idea of\nthe vast amount of money and labor expended to shape this Gibraltar\nand make it impregnable from land and sea. The isthmus is guarded by\nmassive lines of defence, strengthened by a broad ditch cut out of the\nsolid rock; bastions, casements and tunnels all serve one purpose;\nbatteries, towers, arsenals, magazines, barracks; mole-batteries\ntoward the sea, mines in the harbor, obstruction piers and subservient\nworks;\u2014everything tells of military strength, and the town has always a\nwarlike aspect in perfect accord with its forbidding physical geography.\n\nThe inhabited peninsula is an irregular oval about fifteen miles in\ncircumference; it is in reality a large extinct crater formed of lofty\nprecipitous hills the highest peak of which, Shem Shem, has an altitude\nof nearly 1,800 feet. The varieties of rock are numerous, and vary\nin color from light brown to dark green. Pumice and tufas are very\ncommon, the former is an article of export. Water is very scarce, and\nthere is almost no rainfall during some years. When there is a shower,\nthe nature of the soil and the immense watershed for so small an area\ncause heavy torrents to pour down the valleys. These rare occasions are\nutilized to fill the huge tanks near Aden camp. The tanks were built\nas early as 600 A.D. by the Yemenites who built besides the celebrated\ndam at Marib, and the many similar structures in various parts of\nYemen. Water is also brought by an aqueduct from Sheikh Othman, seven\nmiles distant, but the majority of the population is supplied from\nthe government condensers. In spite of the desert character of the\nsoil and the aridity of the climate Aden is not entirely without\nnatural vegetation. Thomas Anderson of the Bengal Medical Service\nenumerates ninety-four species of plants found on the Aden peninsula,\nsome of which are entirely unique. Most of the plants, however, are\ndesert-dwellers with sharp thorns, an aromatic odor, and yield gums and\nresins.\n\nThe Aden settlement has four centres of population; Steamer-Point, the\nCrescent, the town of Maala and the \u201cCamp\u201d or Aden proper. A road,\nthe only road in fact, extends from Steamer-Point on the west to Aden\nproper on the east, and no one can boast of having seen Aden who has\nnot taken the ride in a _geri_ from the landing-pier to the tanks. The\nAden horses are of all creatures most miserable for the geri-drivers\nwhip their horses much, but feed them little. The Crescent is a\nsemi-circular range of houses and shops crowded against the mountain\nside; with a Hotel de l\u2019Univers and a Hotel de l\u2019Europe (both equally\n\u201cGrand\u201d); caf\u00e9s, shops, banks, and offices. The post office, hospital,\nchurches and barracks are further west toward the telegraph-station. A\ndrive of about two miles brings us to the native town of Maala. Here\nthe road forks, the lower one leading to the barrier-gate and Sheikh\nOthman, and the upper ascending the mountain through the gate of the\nfortifications and by a sharp declivity leading down to the town of\nAden. It is not an Oriental town in its administration, but it has all\nthe motley character of Port Said on its streets. Europeans, Americans,\nAfricans, Asiatics and mixed races are all represented in the crowd\nof the market or the loungers in the streets. The total population is\n30,000, including Chinese, Persians, Turks, Egyptians, Somalis, Hindus,\nParsees, Jews and Arabs from every part of the peninsula. Aden is a\ngreat centre for native shipping, and the dhows and buggalows that sail\nevery year from the Persian Gulf to Yemen and Jiddah alway call at Aden\n_en route_. Also from Oman and Hadramaut the modern Sinbads run their\ncraft into Aden to exchange produce or to lay in supplies for their\nvoyages to the coast of Africa.\n\nThe distance from Aden to Yemen\u2019s old capital, Sana is nearly 200\nmiles in a direct line, but on my second journey thither, in 1894, I\nwas obliged to take a roundabout journey to Taiz, because of an Arab\nuprising. This and the mountainous character of the country made the\ndistance over 250 miles. This route passes through, or near, all the\nimportant towns of Yemen south of Sana.\n\nWith my Bedouin companion, Nasir, I left Sheikh Othman early on the\nsecond morning of July. We reached a small\n\n[Illustration: TRAVELLING IN SOUTHERN ARABIA]\n\n[Illustration: THE KEITH FALCONER MEMORIAL CHURCH IN ADEN]\n\nvillage, Wahat, at noon, the thermometer registering 96\u00b0 in the\nshade. After a short rest we mounted the camels at seven o\u2019clock in\nthe evening for an all-night journey. Our course was through a barren\nregion, and at daylight we entered Wady Mergia, with scanty vegetation,\nresting at a village of the same name under a huge acacia tree. The\nnext day we entered the mountains, where rich vegetation showed a\ncooler climate. We passed several villages, Dar El Kadim, Khoteibah,\nSuk-el-Juma and others. As this was said to be a dangerous part of the\nroad all the caravan, which we joined at Wahat, was on the lookout,\nwith lighted rope-wicks for their flint-locks swinging from their\nshoulders and looking in the dark like so many fireflies. At three\nA.M. we had ascended to the head of the wady and rested for the day at\nMabek. All the houses here are of stone, the booths of date-mats and\ntwigs being only found on the maritime plain of Yemen. During the night\nthere had been talk among the wild Arabs of the village of holding\nme as a hostage to obtain money from the English at Aden! But Nasir\nquieted them with a threefold Bedouin oath that I was not a government\nofficial nor an Englishman, but an American traveller.\n\nThe day after leaving Mabek brought us to the beginning of the happy\nvalleys of Yemen, very different from the torrid coast. A country where\nthe orange, lemon, quince, grape, mango, plum, apricot, peach, apple,\npomegranate, fig, date, plantain and mulberry, each yield their fruit\nin season; where wheat, barley, maize, millet and coffee are staple\nproducts and where there is a glorious profusion of wild flowers\u2014called\n\u201cgrass\u201d by the unpoetic camel-drivers. A land whose mountains lift up\ntheir heads over 9,000 feet, terraced from chilly top to warm valley\nwith agricultural amphitheatres, irrigated by a thousand rills and\nrivulets, some of them perennial, flowing along artificial channels\nor leaping down the rocks in miniature falls. A land where the oriole\nhangs her nest on the dark acacia, the wild doves hide in clefts of the\nrock and the chameleon sports his colors by the wayside under the tall\nflowering cactus. Such is Yemen. The vegetation of Arabia Felix begins\njust before reaching Mufallis, on this route, where a Turkish castle\nand custom-house proclaim the boundary of Ottoman aggression.\n\nBeautiful was the air and scenery on our march. Arab peasants were at\nwork in the fields, plowing[21] with oxen, repairing the walls of the\nterraces and opening the watercourses. The women were all unveiled\nand had the picturesque costume universal in southern Yemen; their\nnarrow trousers were fastened at the waist and ankles, while over their\nshoulders hung long mantle-like garments, low in the neck, girded, and\nfringed at the bottom with embroidered cloth of green or red. Here they\nwear a kind of light turban, but on the Hodeidah coast broad-brimmed\nstraw hats cover the heads of the Yemen belles as they urge their\ndonkeys to market.\n\nAt sunrise we were in sight of the highest peaks to the left of the\nwady-bed. One of them is crowned by a _walli_ or saint\u2019s tomb of Saled\nbin Taka. These tombs are common in Yemen and thousands of people\nvisit them annually to ask intercession, each saint having a special\nday in the Moslem calendar. At Mocha the grave of the Arab sheikh\nAbu-el-Hassan Shadeli, who first discovered the use of coffee, is\nhighly honored by distant pilgrims.\n\nAt eight o\u2019clock on the morning of July fourth we reached the _burj_\ncalled Mufallis and had our first experience of Turkish rule in Yemen.\nUnexpectedly we here stumbled upon a Turkish custom-house, which I\nhad thought was located at Taiz, as the boundary of Turkish Yemen on\nmy maps did not extend further south. An unmannerly negro, calling\nhimself Mudeer of Customs, looked out of a port-hole and demanded my\nascent. Through dirt and up darkness I reached his little room and\nstated my errand and purpose. No kind words or offered backsheesh\nwould avail; \u201c_all_ the baggage must be opened and _all_ books were\nforbidden entrance into Yemen by a recent order,\u201d so he affirmed.\nFirst, therefore, I unscrewed the covers of the two boxes with an old\nbowie-knife. The books, after having been critically examined by eyes\nthat could not read, were seized; next my saddle-bags were searched,\nand every book and map was also confiscated. I was refused even a\nreceipt for the books taken, and to every plea or question the only\nreply was, to go on to Taiz and appeal to the Governor.\n\nDespoiled of our goods, we left the \u201ccustom-house\u201d at eleven A.M.,\ntaking an old man on a donkey armed with a spear, as guide and defence,\nbecause Nasir heard that there was disturbance in this quarter. At two\no\u2019clock we rested for half an hour under the shade of a huge rock in\nthe bed of the wady, and then warned by peals of thunder, we hastened\non, hoping to reach Hirwa before dark. In less than an hour, however,\nthe sky was black, rain fell in torrents, and we found it hopeless\nto attempt to urge the slow camels on through the wady. There was no\nshelter in sight, so we crouched under a small tree halfway up the mud\nbank. The rain turned to hail\u2014large stones that frightened the camels\nso that they stampeded\u2014and we became thoroughly chilled.\n\nWhen the storm ceased, our donkey man came with looks of horror to tell\nus that his poor beast had fallen down the slope and was being swept\naway by the torrent! What had been a dry river bed half an hour before,\nwas now a rushing rapids. We decided to climb up the terraces to a\nhouse which we saw on the mountain side. The camels had preceded us,\nand after a vigorous climb over mud-fields and up the rocks we reached\nthe house and hospitality of Sheikh Ali. Over the charcoal fire, after\ndrinking plenty of _kishr_, (made from the _shell_ of the coffee bean,)\nwe had to listen to a long discussion concerning the lost donkey.\nFinally, matters were smoothed over by my offering to pay one-half the\nprice of the animal on condition that our guide should proceed with us\nto _Hirwa_.\n\nThe next day we were off early. Because of the steep ascents I was\nobliged to walk most of the way, and I sprained my ankle severely.\nIt did not pain me until night, when it was swollen and kept me\n\u201con crutches\u201d for several days. _Hirwa_ is a small Arab village\nwith a weekly market, and we found shelter in the usual coffee-shop\ncharacteristic of Yemen. The following day we reached _Sept Ez zeilah_,\nwhere we found cleaner quarters than the night before. At about\nmidnight a war party of Bedouins came and frightened the peaceful\nvillagers with demands for food, etc. They had just returned from\nsetting fire to a small castle, and, numbering sixty hungry men, were\nnot to be intimidated. They were about to force their way into our\nquarters when Nasir and the women promised to give them food. Within,\nI kept quiet and listened to the noise of grinding and baking and\ncoffee-pounding. Without, some of the Arabs seized a cow belonging to a\npoor woman and butchered it for their feast. At this there was a crying\nof women and barking of dogs and swearing of oaths by the Great Allah,\nsuch as I hope never to hear again. Finally, the Arabs went away with\nfull stomachs, and we slept a broken sleep for fear they might return.\nThe next day we proceeded to Taiz, and arrived at noon, one week after\nleaving Aden.\n\nThe Mutasarrif Pasha, or Governor, was satisfied with my passports,\nand expressed his regrets that the books had been seized at Mufallis,\nbut such was the law. He would, however, allow me to send for them\nfor inspection. What is written here in four lines was the work and\npatience of four weary days! A soldier was sent to Mufallis; I was\nobliged to entrust him with money to pay the custom dues; to hire a\ncamel to carry the books; finally to pay for two sticks of sealing\nwax (price in Taiz one rupee) with which to seal the books and maps\nlest they be tampered with\u2014all this at the order of the enlightened\ngovernment of the Sublime Porte! The first messenger never reached\nMufallis; on the road he was attacked by Arabs, stabbed in the neck,\nrobbed of his rifle, and carried back to the military hospital at\nTaiz. Then there was more delay to find and send a second soldier\nwith the same camel and money and sealing wax, but with a new rifle.\nHe returned with the books safely after five days! No Turk could set\na value on a book, and so the law is that books are taxed by weight,\nboxes included. The customs receipt was attached for \u201c200 kilograms\nJewish books (at twenty piastres a kilo), value, 4,000 piastres,\nand custom dues amounting to 288 piastres.\u201d In the same document I\nwas spoken of as \u201cthe Jew, Ishmail, Dhaif Ullah,\u201d\u2014a rather curious\ncombination of names. I was called a \u201cJew\u201d because of the case of\nHebrew New Testaments; Ishmail was the equivalent for Samuel; and Dhaif\nUllah, my Arabic cognomen.\n\n\n\n\n VI\n\n YEMEN: THE SWITZERLAND OF ARABIA\n\n \u201cIf the Turks would clear out of Yemen, a wonderful field for commerce\n would be thrown open, for the Turkish government is vile and all\n cultivators are taxed to an iniquitous extent.\u201d\u2014_Ion Keith Falconer._\n\n\nWhile waiting at Taiz I had an opportunity to study Yemen town life\nand the system of government, as well as to learn a little about the\ncultivation of coffee and kaat, the two chief products of this part of\nYemen.\n\nTaiz has not often been visited by travellers from the occident, and is\na most interesting place. It is a large fortified village of perhaps\n5,000 inhabitants, the residence of a Mutasarrif whose authority\nextends from the province of Hodeidah to the Aden frontier including\nMocha and Sheikh Seyyid on the coast, recently abandoned by France. The\nplace has five gates, one of which has been walled up, and five large\nmosques in Byzantine style. The largest Mosque is called El Muzafer,\nand has two large minarets and twelve beautiful domes. Taiz was once a\ncentre of learning and its libraries were celebrated all over Arabia.\nFirozabadi, the Noah Webster of the Arabic language, taught in Taiz and\nedited his \u201cOcean\u201d dictionary there. He died at the neighboring town of\nZebid, in 1414 A.D., and his grave is honored by the learned of Yemen.\n\nThe bazaar is not large, but the four European shops kept by Greek\nmerchants are well supplied with all ordinary articles of civilization.\nOne public bath, in splendid condition, and a military hospital show\nOttoman occupation. The fort holds perhaps 1,300 soldiers and the\nresidence of the Mutasarrif is in a beautiful and comfortable little\nbuilding outside of the town. The mosques were once grand but are\nnow ruined and a home for bats; the famous libraries have disappeared\nand the subterannean vaults of the largest Mosque formerly used as\nporticoes for pupils are now Turkish horse-stables. There is a post\noffice and telegraph; the post goes once a week to Hodeidah via Zebid\nand Beit el Fakih, and the telegraph in the same direction a little\nmore rapidly when the wires are in order.\n\nTaiz is girt around by Jebel Sobr, the highest range of mountains in\nsouthern Yemen. Hisn Aroos peak, near the town, has an elevation of\nover 7,000 feet. According to Niebuhr and Defler, on a clear day one\ncan look from the summit of this peak across the lowlands and the Red\nSea into Africa. I was unable to reach the summit as my Arab guide\nfailed me and the days were misty and frequent rains fell.\n\nTaiz is the centre of kaat-culture for all Yemen, and coffee comes here\non its way to Hodeidah or Aden. Amid all the wealth of vegetation and\nfruitage every plant seems familiar to the tourist save kaat. It is a\nshrub whose very name is unknown outside of Yemen, while there it is\nknown and used by every mother\u2019s son, as well as by the mothers and\ndaughters themselves. Driving from Aden to Sheikh Othman, one first\nlearns the _name_. Why are those red flags hoisted near the police\nstations, at intervals on the road, and why are they hauled down as\nsoon as those camels pass? Oh, they are taking loads of kaat for the\nAden market, and the flags are to prevent cheating of the customs.\nOver 2,000 camel loads come into Aden every year, and each load passes\nthrough English territory by \u201cblock-signal\u201d system, for it is highly\ntaxed. As to its _use_, step into a kahwah in any part of Yemen shortly\nbefore sunset, and you will see Arabs each with a bundle of green twigs\nin his lap, chewing at the leaves of kaat.\n\nAt Taiz I first had an opportunity to meet the Jews of the interior of\nYemen. Altogether they number perhaps 60,000 in the whole province.\nThey live mostly in the large towns and very few are agriculturists.\nThey are a despised and down-trodden race, but they say at Sana, that\ntheir condition is not so bad under the Turks as it was under the Arab\nrulers before 1871. The accounts of their origin are discrepant. Some\nsay they are descended from the Jews of the Dispersion, but others\nhold that they were immigrants from the North over 900 years ago.\nThey are more cleanly, more intelligent and more trustworthy than the\nArabs; and although they are out of all communication with the rest of\nthe world and in ignorance of their European countrymen they are not\nignorant of Hebrew and rabbinic learning. Their synagogue near Taiz is\na low stone building, twenty-five by fifteen feet. For furniture it\nhas only a few curtains of embroidered texts, a printed diagram of the\nancient candlestick, with the names of the twelve tribes, and a high\nreading-desk. Such are all the synagogues of Yemen.\n\nAt Taiz the Jews seemed to have grown content under long centuries of\noppression and taxation. Many of the old Moslem laws against infidels,\nsuch as those forbidding them to _ride_, to carry weapons or wear fine\nclothes in public, are still rigorously enforced by custom if not by\nthe government. The Jew is universally despised, yet he cannot be\nspared, for nearly all artisan work is in Jewish hands. The Moslem Arab\nhas learned nothing from the Jew outside of the Koran; but, alas! the\nJew has imbibed many foolish customs and superstitions foreign to his\ncreed from Islam.\n\nWhen the Hebrew Scriptures reached Taiz I was again disappointed, for\nthe Governor would not permit the boxes to be opened, but they were to\nbe sent sealed and under guard to Sana. I afterward learned that the\n\u201cguard\u201d was for me as well as the books, and that the soldier carried a\nletter with this accusation written: \u201cThis is a converted Jew, who is\ncorrupting the religion of Islam, and sells books to Moslems and Jews.\u201d\nI had no alternative but to proceed to Sana; taking a Damar Arab as\nservant, having dismissed the Aden camels.\n\nI left Taiz on a mule July 26th, and arrived at Seyanee the same day.\nThe following night we reached Ibb. Here I was forced to lodge outside\nof the town, as the guard had instructions not to let me \u201csee things.\u201d\nI endured this impatiently, until I learned that our servant had been\nimprisoned on our arrival because he told me the names of the villages\non the route! I then appealed to the Mayor, and on virtue of my\npassports demanded the right of going about the town and the release of\nmy servant. After some delay, both requests were granted. The incident\nis one of many to show the suspicion with which a stranger is regarded\nby the authorities in Yemen. On Saturday the soldier and I hastened on\nto reach the large town of Yerim before Sunday, and rest there, waiting\nfor the baggage camel. It was a long ride of twelve hours, but through\na delightful country everywhere fertile and terraced with coffee\nplantations and groves of kaat.\n\nYerim, with perhaps 300 houses, lies in a hollow of the Sumara range of\nmountains. It has a fortress and some houses of imposing appearance,\nbut the general aspect of the town is miserable. A neighboring marsh\nbreeds malaria, and the place is proverbially unhealthy in this\notherwise salubrious region. Niebuhr\u2019s botanist, Forskal, died here\non their journey in 1763. The road from Ibb to Yerim has perhaps the\nfinest scenery of any part of Yemen; never have I seen more picturesque\nmountains and valleys, green with verdure and bright with blossoms.\nScabiosa, bluebells, forget-me-nots, golden-rod, four-o\u2019clocks and\nlarge oleander-trees\u2014\n\n \u201cAll earth was full of heaven\n And every bush afire with God.\u201d\n\nThe cacti-plants were in full bloom, and measured twenty feet against\nthe mountain passes. Two thousand feet below one could hear the sound\nof the water rushing along the wady-bed or disappearing under the\nbridges that span the valleys. While high above, the clouds were half\nconcealing the summit of the \u201cGazelle Neck\u201d (Unk el-Gazel).\n\nSunday, July 29th, was a cold day at Yerim; early in the morning the\ntemperature went down to 52\u00b0, and at night two blankets were needed.\nNot until nine o\u2019clock was it warm enough for the Yerim merchants to\nopen their shops.\n\nA Jewish family, en route for Taiz, were stopping with us at the\ncaravansari, and at night I spoke for over two hours with them and the\nArabs about Christ. There was no interruption, and I was impressed\nto see the interest of a Jew and Arab alike in what I told them from\nIsaiah liii., reading it in Arabic by the dim candle light, amidst all\nthe baggage and beasts of an Oriental inn. At the little village of\nKhader, eight miles from Waalan, angry words arose from the \u201cguard\u201d\nbecause I tried to speak to a Jew. When I spoke in protest they began\nto strike the Jew with the butt end of their rifles,[22] and when the\npoor fellow fled, my best defence was silence. On my return journey, I\ninadvertently raised trouble again, by mentioning that Jesus Christ and\nMoses were _Jews_\u2014which the Arabs considered an insult to the prophets\nof God.\n\nOn the road beyond Yerim we passed a large boulder with an irregular\nimpression on one side. This is called Ali\u2019s footprint, and the Arabs\nwho pass always anoint it with oil. The steep ascents and descents of\nthe journey were now behind us. From Yerim on to Sana the plateau is\nmore level. Wide fields of lentils, barley and wheat take the place of\nthe groves of kaat and coffee; camels were used for ploughing, and with\ntheir long necks and curious harness, were an odd sight.\n\nThe next halt we made was at Damar, 8,000 feet above sea-level. It is a\nlarge town, with three minaret-mosques and a large bazaar; the houses\nare of native rock, three and four-stories high, remarkably clean and\nwell-built. Inside they are whitewashed, and have the Yemen translucent\nslabs of gypsum for window-panes. From Damar the road leads northeast\nover Maaber and the Kariet en-Nekil pass to Waalan; thence, nearly due\nnorth, to Sana. From Damar to Waalan is thirty-five miles, and thence\nto the capital, eighteen miles more. The roads near the city of Sana\nare kept in good repair, although there are no wheeled vehicles, for\nthe sake of the Turkish artillery.\n\nOn Thursday, August 2d, we entered Sana by the Yemen gate. Three\nyears before I had entered the city from the other side, coming from\nHodeidah; then in the time of the Arab rebellion and now myself a\nprisoner. I was taken to the Dowla and handed over to the care of a\npoliceman until the Wali heard my case. After finding an old Greek\nfriend from Aden, who offered to go bail for me, I was allowed liberty,\nand for nineteen days was busy seeing the city and visiting the\nJews.[23]\n\nSana, anciently called Uzal, and since many centuries the chief city\nof Yemen, contains some 50,000 inhabitants and lies stretched out in a\nwide, level valley between Jebel Nokoom and the neighboring ranges. It\nis 7,648 feet above sea-level. The town is in the form of a triangle,\nthe eastern point consisting of a large fortress, dominating the town,\nand built upon the lowest spur of Nokoom. The town is divided into\nthree walled quarters, the whole being surrounded by one continuous\nwall of stone and brick. They are respectively the city proper,\nin which are the government buildings, the huge bazaars, and the\nresidences of the Arabs and Turks; the Jews\u2019 quarter; and Bir-el-azib,\nwhich lies between the two, and contains gardens and villas belonging\nto the richer Turks and Arabs. The city had once great wealth and\nprosperity, and to-day remains, next to Bagdad, the most flourishing\ncity in all Arabia. The shops are well supplied with European goods,\nand a large manufacture of silk, jewelry and arms is carried on. The\ngovernment quarter, with its caf\u00e9s, billiard-rooms, large Greek shops,\ncarriages, bootblacks, and brass-band reminds one of Cairo. Sana has\nforty-eight mosques, thirty-nine synagogues, twelve large public-baths,\na military hospital with 200 beds, and is the centre of trade for all\nnorthern Yemen and northwestern Hadramaut, as well as for the distant\nvillages of Nejran and fertile Wady Dauasir. Arabs from every district\ncrowd the bazaars, and long strings of camels leave every day for the\nHodeidah coast.\n\nOn August 14th I took an early morning walk to Rhoda, a village about\neight miles north of Sana, and in the midst of beautiful gardens. From\nRoda the direct caravan route leads to Nejran, and from the outskirts\nof the village, looking north, an inviting picture met the eye. A\nfertile plateau stretched out to the horizon, and only two days\u2019\njourney would bring one into the free desert beyond Turkish rule. But\nthis time the way across the peninsula was closed by my bankruptcy;\nrobbed at Yerim in the coffee-shop, and already in debt at Sana, it\nwould have been impossible to proceed, except as a dishonest dervish.\n\nOn the 21st of August I left Sana for Hodeidah, receiving a loan of\ntwenty dollars from the Ottoman government, to be paid back at the\nAmerican consulate. We followed the regular postal route, the same\nwhich I had travelled on my first journey.\n\nThe plateau or table-land between Sana\u2019a and Ban\u00e0n is a pasture\ncountry. The Bedouins live in the stone-built villages and herd their\nimmense flocks on the plain; camels, cows and sheep were grazing by\nthe hundreds and thousands. After Ban\u00e0n begins the difficult descent\nto the coast down breakneck mountain _stairways_ rather than roadways,\nover broken bridges, and through natural arches. Fertile, cultivated\nmountain slopes were on every side, reminding one of the valleys of\nSwitzerland. In one district near Suk-el-Khamis the whole mountain-side\nfor a height of 6,000 feet was terraced from top to bottom. General\nHaig wrote of these terraces: \u201cOne can hardly realize the enormous\namount of labor, toil and perseverance which these represent. The\nterraced walls are usually from five to eight feet in height, but\ntoward the top of the mountain they are sometimes as much as fifteen\nor eighteen feet. They are built entirely of rough stone, laid without\nmortar. I reckon on an average that each wall retains a terrace not\nmore than twice its own height in width, and I do not think I saw a\nsingle breach in one of them unrepaired.\u201d[24]\n\nIn Yemen there are two rainy seasons, in spring and in autumn, so that\nthere is generally an abundance of water in the numerous reservoirs\nstored for irrigation. Yet, despite the extraordinary fertility of the\nsoil and the surprising industry of the inhabitants, the bulk of the\npeople are miserably poor, ill-fed and rudely clothed, because they\nare crushed down by a heartless system of taxation. Every agricultural\nproduct, implement and process is under the heavy hand of an oppressive\nadministration and a military occupation that knows no law. The\npeasantry are robbed by the soldiers on their way to market, by the\ncustom-collector at the gate of each city, and by the tax-gatherer\nin addition. On the way to Sana my soldier-companion stopped a poor\npeasant who was urging on a little donkey loaded with two large baskets\nof grapes; he emptied the best of the grapes into his saddle-bags,\nand then beat the man and cursed him because some of the grapes were\nunripe! No wonder we read of rebellions in Yemen, and no wonder that\nintense hatred lives in every Arab against the very name of Turk.\n\nFrom Suk-el-Khamis, a dirty mountain village,[25] with an elevation\nof over 9,500 feet, the road leads by Mefak and Wady Zaun to the\npeculiarly located village of Menakha. At an altitude of 7,600 feet\nabove sea-level, it is perched on a narrow ridge between two mountain\nranges. On either side of the one street that forms the backbone of\nthe summit are precipices 2,000 feet deep. So narrow is the town that\nthere are places where one can stand and gaze down both sides of the\nabyss at the same time. To reach it from the west there is only one\npath zigzagging up the mountain-side, and from the east it can only\nbe approached by a narrow track cut in the face of the precipice and\nwinding up for an ascent of 2,500 feet. Menakha is the centre of the\ncoffee trade; it has a population of 10,000 or more, one-third of which\nare Jews. There are four Greek merchants, the Turks had 2,000 troops\ngarrisoned in the town, and the bazaars were equal to those of Taiz.\nIts exact elevation is given by Defler, after eighteen observations, as\n7,616 feet above sea-level.\n\nFrom Menakha to the coast is only two long days\u2019 journey; three by\ncamel. The first stage is to Hejjeila, at the foot of the high ranges,\nthence to Bajil, a village of 2,000 people, and along the barren, hot\nplain to Hodeidah. At Bajil the people are nearly all shepherds, and\nthe main industry is dyeing cloth and weaving straw. Here one sees\nthe curious Yemen straw hats worn by the women, and here also the\npeasant-maidens wear no veils. Yet they are of purer heart and life\nthan the black-clouted and covered women of the Turkish towns.\n\nHodeidah by the sea is very like Jiddah in its general appearance. The\nstreets are narrow, crooked and indescribably filthy. The \u201cCasino\u201d is\na sort of Greek hotel for strangers, and the finest house in the city\nis that of Sidi Aaron, near the sea, with its fine front and marble\ncourtyard. The population is of a very mixed character; east of the\ncity in a separate quarter live the _Akhdam_ Arabs, whose origin is\nuncertain, but who are considered outcasts by all the other Arabs. They\nare not allowed to carry arms and no Arab tribe intermarries with them.\n\nFrom Hodeidah there is a regular line of small steamers to Aden, and\nthe Egyptian Red Sea coasting steamers also call here fortnightly. The\ntrade of Hodeidah was once flourishing, but here too Turkish misrule\nhas brought deadness and dullness into business, and taxation has\ncrushed industrial enterprise.\n\n[Illustration: AN ARABIAN COMPASS.]\n\n\n\n\n VII\n\n THE UNEXPLORED REGIONS OF HADRAMAUT\n\n \u201cAs when to them who sail\n Beyond the Cape of Hope, and now are past\n Mozambic, off at sea northeast winds blow\n Sabean odors from the spicy shore\n Of Araby the blest.\u201d\u2014_Milton._\n\n\nWe must take at least a glimpse of the almost unknown region called\nHadramaut.[26] This is a strip of territory stretching between the\ngreat desert and the sea from Aden eastward to Oman. Our knowledge of\nthe interior of this region was almost a perfect blank until some light\nwas thrown on it by the enterprising traveller A. Von Wrede in 1843.\nThe coast is comparatively well known, at least as far as Makalla and\nShehr. The land rises from the coast in a series of terraces to Jebel\nHamra (5,284 feet), which is connected on the northeast with Jebel\nDahura, over 8,000 feet high.\n\nAdolph Von Wrede sailed from Aden to Makalla and thence penetrated\ninland as far as Wady Doan the most fertile spot of all South Arabia.\nThis wady flows northward through the land of the Bni Yssa and the\ndistrict is bordered on the west by Belad-el-Hasan and on the east by\nBelad-el-Hamum. But how far this region extends northward and whether\nthe sandy desert of El Ahkaf (quicksands) really begins with the Wady\nRakhia, a branch of the Doan are points on which Von Wrede throws no\nlight and which are still uncertain. In 1870 the French Jew, Joseph\nHal\u00e9vy, made a bold attempt to penetrate into Hadramaut from Yemen.\nSince then little was added to our knowledge of Hadramaut until 1893\nwhen Shibam, the residence of the most powerful Sultan of Hadramaut\nwas visited by Theodore Bent and his wife. In 1897 they made a second\njourney into the same region which cost Mr. Bent his health and\nafterward his life. From the account of these journeys we quote a few\nparagraphs which set forth clearly the interesting character of this\nalmost unknown country.[27]\n\n\u201cImmediately behind Makalla rise grim arid mountains of a reddish hue,\nand the town is plastered against this rich-tinged background. By the\nshore, like a lighthouse, stands the white minaret of the Mosque, the\nwalls and pinnacles of which are covered with dense masses of seabirds\nand pigeons; not far from this the huge palace where the Sultan dwells\nreminds one of a whitewashed mill with a lace-like parapet; white, red\nand brown are the dominant colors of the town, and in the harbor the\nArab dhows with fantastic sterns rock to and fro in the unsteady sea,\nforming altogether a picturesque and unusual scene.\n\n\u201cNominally Makalla is ruled over by a Sultan of the Al Kaiti family,\nwhose connection with India has made them very English in their\nsympathies, and his Majesty\u2019s general appearance, with his velvet coat\nand jewelled daggers, is far more Indian than Arabian. Really the most\ninfluential people in the town are the money-grubbing Parsees from\nBombay, and it is essentially one of those commercial centres where\nHindustani is spoken nearly as much as Arabian. We were lodged in a\nso-called palace hard by the bazaar, which reeked with mysterious\nsmells and was alive with flies; so we worked hard to get our\npreparations made and to make our sojourn in this uncongenial burning\nspot as short as possible....\n\n\u201cLeaving these villages behind us, we climbed rapidly higher and\nhigher, until, at an elevation of over 5,000 feet, we found ourselves\nat last on a broad level plateau, stretching as far as the eye could\nreach in every direction, and shutting off the Hadramaut from the\ncoast. This is the \u2018mons excelsus\u2019 of Pliny; here we have the vast area\nwhere once flourished the frankincense and the myrrh. Of the latter\nshrub there is plenty left, and it is still tapped for its odoriferous\nsap; but of the former we only saw one specimen on the plateau, for in\nthe lapse of ages the wealth of this country has steadily disappeared;\nfurther east, however, in the Mahra country, there is, I understand, a\nconsiderable quantity left.\n\n\u201cNear Hajarein are many traces of the olden days when the frankincense\ntrade flourished, and when the town of Doani, which name is still\nretained in the Wady Doan, was a great emporium for this trade. Acres\nand acres of ruins, dating from the centuries immediately before\nour era, lie stretched along the valley here, just showing their\nheads above the weight of superincumbent sand which has invaded\nand overwhelmed the past glories of this district. The ground lies\nstrewn with fragments of Himyaritic inscriptions, pottery, and other\nindications of a rich harvest for the excavator, but the hostility\nof the Nahad tribe prevented us from paying these ruins more than a\ncursory visit, and even to secure this we had to pay the Sheikh of the\nplace nineteen dollars; and his greeting was ominous as he angrily\nmuttered, \u2018Salaam to all who believe Mohammed is the true prophet.\u2019\n\n\u201cAt Assab they would not allow us to dip our vessels in their well,\nnor take our repast under the shadow of their Mosque: even the women\nof this village ventured to insult us, peeping into our tent at night,\nand tumbling over the guys in a manner most aggravating to the weary\noccupants.\n\n\u201cOur troubles on this score were happily terminated at Haura, where\na huge castle belonging to the Al Kaiti family dominates a humble\nvillage surrounded by palm groves. Without photographs to bear out\nmy statement, I should hardly dare to describe the magnificence of\nthese castles in the Hadramaut. That at Haura is seven stories high,\nand covers fully an acre of ground beneath the beetling cliff, with\nbattlements, towers, and machicolations bearing a striking likeness to\nHolyrood. But Holyrood is built of stone, and Haura, save for the first\nstory, is built of sun-dried bricks; and if Haura stood where Holyrood\ndoes, or in any other country save dry, arid Arabia, it would long ago\nhave melted away....\n\n\u201cOne of the most striking features of these Arabian palaces is the\nwood-carving. The doors are exquisitely decorated with intricate\npatterns, and with a text out of the Koran carved on the lintel; the\nlocks and keys are all of wood, and form a study for the carver\u2019s art,\nas do the cupboards, the niches, the supporting beams and the windows,\nwhich are adorned with fretwork instead of glass. The dwelling-rooms\nare above, the ground floor being exclusively used for merchandise, and\nthe first floor for the domestics.\u201d\n\nConcerning the chief town of the interior of Hadramaut Mr. Bent writes\nas follows:\n\n\u201cThen he sent us to reside for five more days in his capital of\nShibam, which is twelve miles distant from Al Katan, and is one of\nthe principal towns in the Hadramaut valley. It is built on rising\nground in the centre of the narrowest point of the valley, so that no\none can pass between it and the cliffs of the valley out of gunshot\nof the walls. This rising ground has doubtless been produced by many\ngenerations of towns built of sun-dried bricks, for it is the best\nstrategical point in the neighborhood. Early Arab writers tell us that\nthe Himyarite population of this district came here when they abandoned\ntheir capital at Sabota, or Shabwa, further up the valley, early in our\nera, but we found evident traces of an earlier occupation than this\u2014an\ninscription and a seal with the name \u2018Shibam\u2019 engraved on it, which\ncannot be later than the third century, B.C. And as a point for making\nup the caravans which started from the frankincense-growing district,\nShibam must always have been very important.\n\n\u201cThe town of Shibam offers a curious appearance as you approach; above\nits mud-brick walls with bastions and watch towers appear the tall\nwhitewashed houses of the wealthy, which make it look like a large\nround cake with sugar on it. Outside the walls several industries are\ncarried on, the chief of which is the manufacture of indigo dye. The\nsmall leaves are dried in the sun and powdered and then put into huge\njars\u2014which reminded us of the Forty Thieves\u2014filled with water. Next\nmorning these are stirred with long poles, producing a dark blue frothy\nmixture; this is left to settle, and then the indigo is taken from the\nbottom and spread out on cloths to drain; the substance thus procured\nis taken home and mixed with dates and saltpetre. Four pounds of this\nindigo to a gallon of water makes the requisite and universally used\ndye for garments, the better class of which are calendered by beating\nthem with wooden hammers on stones.\u201d\n\nOf the coast town of Shehr and its ruler Mr. Bent says:\n\n\u201cShehr is a detestable place by the sea, set in a wilderness of sand.\nOnce it was the chief commercial port of the Hadramaut valley, but\nnow Makalla has quite superseded it, for Shehr is nothing but an open\nroadstead and its buildings are now falling into ruins. Ghalib, the\neldest son and heir of the chief of the Al Kaiti family, rules here as\nthe viceregent of his father, who is in India as jemadar or general of\nthe Arab troops, chiefly all Hadrami, in the service of the Nizam of\nHyderabad. Ghalib is quite an Oriental dandy, who lived a life of some\nrapidity when in India, so that his father thought it as well to send\nhim to rule in Shehr, where the capabilities for mischief are not so\nmany as at Bombay. He dresses very well in various damask silk coats\nand faultless trousers; his swords and daggers sparkle with jewels; in\nhis hand he flourishes a golden-headed cane; and, as the water is hard\nat Shehr, he sends his dirty linen in dhows to Bombay to be washed.\u201d\n\nThe Arabs of Hadramaut have been still more in contact with Java\nthan with India. Large colonies of Hadramis emigrated to the Dutch\nArchipelago more than a century ago; intermarriage between the Javanese\nand the Arabs is very common; and the Mohammedanism of the Dutch East\nIndies is entirely of the Hadramaut type. These interesting facts were\nfirst bought to light by Van den Berg, a Dutch scholar in his elaborate\nwork on this province of Arabia and the Arab colonies in Java.[28]\nHis account of Hadramaut is a compilation from the lips of the Arab\nimmigrants, but the description of the manners and customs of the\npeople and their religious peculiarities is from personal observation.\nAltogether, in spite of minor geographical inaccuracies, the book is\nthe best single volume on Southern Arabia and tells the story of Islam\nin the Dutch Archipelago as it is to-day. The Arabs have always been a\nstrong race at colonizing but it is well to note that the influence of\nHadramaut on Java and Sumatra to-day is not less than that of Oman on\nZanzibar and East Africa in the last century. Even Hadramaut will not\nalways remain undiscovered and unremembered. The incense-country of\nantiquity has a future before it even as it has had a glorious past.\n\n[Illustration: A CASTLE IN HADRAMAUT]\n\n\n\n\n VIII\n\n MUSCAT AND THE COASTLANDS OF OMAN\n\n \u201cOman is separated from the rest of Arabia by a sandy desert. It\n is, in fact, as far as communication with the rest of the world is\n concerned, an island with the sea on one side and the desert on\n the other. Hence its people are even more primitive, simple and\n unchanged in their habits than the Arabs generally. Along the coast,\n however, especially at Muscat they are more in contact with the outer\n world.\u201d\u2014_General Haig._\n\n\nIn Arab nomenclature Oman applies only to a small district in the\nvicinity of Muscat, but the name is generally given to the entire\nsoutheastern section of the Arabian peninsula, including everything\neast of a line drawn from the Kuria-Muria islands to the peninsula\nof Katar, anciently called Bahrein. Thus defined it is the largest\nprovince of Arabia and in some respects the most interesting.\nHistorically, politically and geographically Oman has always been\nisolated from the other provinces. Turkish rule never extended this far\nnor did the later caliphs long exercise their authority here. The whole\ncountry has for centuries been under independent rulers called Imams or\nSeyyids. The population, which is wholly Arab and Mohammedan, (save in\nthe coast towns) was derived originally from two different stocks known\nto the Arabs as Kahtani and Adnani or the Yemeni and Muadi. These names\nhave changed since the beginning of the eighteenth century to Hinani\nand Ghaffiri. The Yemen tribes came first and are most numerous. The\ntwo rival races have been in open and continuous feud and antagonism\nand have kept the country in perpetual turmoil. They even inhabit\nseparate quarters in some of the towns, according to Colonel Miles. In\nSomail, about fifty miles inland from Muscat a broad road marks the\ndivision between the two clans. These two parent stocks are subdivided\ninto some 200 different tribes and these again into sub-tribes or\n\u201chouses.\u201d Each family-group has its own Sheikh, a hereditary position\nassumed by the eldest male in the family.\n\nVery few of the tribes of Oman are nomadic; the greater part live in\ntowns and villages along the wady-beds. With the exception of fruits\nof which there is a great variety and abundance, dates are the sole\nfood product and the chief export of the province. Rice is imported\nfrom India. The total population of Oman is estimated by Colonel\nMiles not to exceed 1,500,000. There are numerous towns of 5,000 to\n10,000 inhabitants; Muscat and Mattra are the chief towns on the\ncoast, and are practically united as they are only two miles apart.\nThe climate of Oman on the coast is excessively hot and moist during a\nlarge part of the year, although the rainfall here is only six to ten\ninches annually; in the interior the heat is greatly tempered by the\nelevation, the rainfall is much greater and the climate as pleasant as\nin the highlands of Yemen.\n\nThe Omanese state was at its greatest height of power at the beginning\nof the present century. Then the Sultans of Muscat exercised rule as\nfar as Bahrein to the northwest, had possession of Bunder Abbas and\nLinga in Persia, and called Socotra and Zanzibar their own. At this\ntime the Oman Arabs began their extensive journeys in Africa and, urged\nby the enormous profits of the slave-trade, explored every corner of\nthe great interior of the Dark Continent. At present the authority of\nthe Sultan at Muscat, Seyyid Feysul bin Turki, does not extend far\nbeyond the capital and its suburbs.\n\nIn the early years of the Oman Sultanate, Nizwa was the capital,\nafterward Rastak became the seat of government, but since 1779,\nMuscat has been at once the capital and the key, the gateway and the\ncitadel of the whole country. On approaching Muscat in a British India\nsteamer, the land is first sighted, looming up in one mass of dark\nmountain ranges; closer, one portion of this mass directly over the\ntown of Muscat is seen to be of a dark brown color, crag on crag,\nserrated and torn in a fantastic manner and giving the harbor a most\npicturesque appearance. The town itself shows white against the dark\nmassive rocks, on the summits of which are perched numerous castles and\ntowers. But, though presenting a pleasing prospect from a distance, a\nnearer view reveals the usual features of large Oriental towns,\u2014narrow,\ndirty streets, unattractive buildings, and masses of crumbling walls\nunder the torrid heat of a burning sun and amid all the sweltering\nsurroundings of a damp climate.\n\nThe heat of Muscat is proverbial. John Struys, the Dutchman, who\nvisited this town in 1672, wrote that it was \u201cso incredibly hot and\nscorching that strangers are as if they were in boiling cauldrons or\nsweating tubs.\u201d A Persian, named Abder-Razak, being a Persian, was able\nto surpass all others in exaggerated description and wrote of Muscat in\n1442, \u201cThe heat was so intense that it burned the marrow in the bones,\nthe sword in its scabbard melted like wax, and the gems that adorned\nthe handle of the dagger were reduced to coal. In the plains the chase\nbecame a matter of perfect ease, for the desert was filled with roasted\ngazelles!\u201d It is said that a black bulb thermometer has registered 189\u00b0\nF. in the sun at Muscat and 107\u00b0 even at night, is not unusual during\nthe hottest part of the year. The bare rocks form a parabolic mirror to\nthe sun\u2019s rays from the south and west; add to this the facts that the\nhills shut off the breezes and that Muscat lies on the Tropic of Cancer\nin the zone of greatest heat. According to the witness of a resident,\n\u201cthe climate of Muscat is bad beyond all description. For about three\nmonths in the year, from December to March, it is tolerably cool at\nnight but after the latter month the heat becomes intense and makes\nMuscat rank but little after the Infernal Regions. There is a short\nbreak in the hot weather about the middle of July which generally lasts\na month.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE HARBOR AND CASTLE AT MUSCAT]\n\n[Illustration: READY FOR A CAMEL RIDE IN THE DESERT]\n\nThe most conspicuous buildings of Muscat are the two forts, the relics\nof the Portuguese dominion, which stand out boldly on each side of\nthe town about 100 feet above the sea. They command not only the\nsea-approach, but the town itself and are only accessible by a fine\nstairway cut out of the natural rock. The guns that bristle from the\nforts are nearly all old and comparatively harmless. Several of them\nare of brass and bear the royal arms of Spain; one is dated 1606.\nIn the fort to the right of the harbor, one can still see the ruins\nof a Portuguese chapel. When Pelly visited it in 1865 the following\ninscription was legible.\n\n AVE MAR. GRASA P._EA \u2610s TECUM Etc....\n\nIts translation given by him reads: \u201cHail Mary full of grace, the Lord\nis with thee. Don Phillip III., King of Spain, Don Juan de Acuna of his\ncouncil of war and his captain-general of the artillery in the year\n1605, in the eighth year of his reign in the crown of Portugal, ordered\nthrough Don Quarte Menezes, his commissioner of India, that this\nfortress should be built.\u201d\n\nThe Sultan has also a town residence in half decay like all the other\nstone-built but mud-cemented houses of the natives. The only residences\nwell-built and durable are those of the British resident and the\nAmerican consul. The former occupies the choice location, in a rock\ncleft, where breezes blow from two directions. The bazaar of Muscat\nhas little to boast of; one of the chief industries is the manufacture\nof _Hilawi_ or Muscat candy-paste, which to the acquired taste is\ndelicious, but to the stranger smells of rancid butter and tastes like\nsweet wagon-grease.\n\nThe town is cut off from the plain behind by a substantially built wall\nwhich stretches from hill to hill. This wall is pierced with two gates\nwhich are always guarded and closed a couple of hours after sunset.\nThe moat outside the wall is dry. Beyond it are houses and hundreds of\nmat huts principally inhabited by Beluchis and Negroes. The American\nmission house is also outside of the wall, in this quarter. About\na third of a mile beyond are the gardens of Muscat and the wells,\nprotected by a tower and guard. \u201cThe gardens\u201d are always visited at\nsunset by the strollers for exercise, but they are hardly large enough\n\u201cto supply a week\u2019s food for 100 self-respecting locusts of normal\nappetite.\u201d\n\nThe population of Muscat is of very mixed character, Arabs, Beluchis,\nBanian-Traders, Negroes, Persians, and every other nation that\nfrequents this port of transit. The Arabic spoken in all Oman is a\ndialect quite different from that of Nejd or Yemen but the Arabic of\nMuscat is full of pigeon-English and pigeon-Hindustani. The extensive\nand long intercourse with Zanzibar and East Africa has also had its\ninfluence on the speech and habits of the Muscat Arab trader. The\npresent trade is still very considerable, although less than a century\nago. It is mostly with India, there being little direct trade with\nEngland. The chief exports are dates, fruit, shark-fins, fish, and\nsalt; the imports, rice, sugar, piece-goods, coffee, silk, petroleum\nand arms. The largest export is of dates which nearly all go to the\nAmerican Market. Besides the large number of steamers which call\nat this port, the native merchants own several old British sailing\nvessels, some of them noted clippers in their day, which make one or\ntwo voyages a year and bring profit to their owners. Native boats also\ntransport cargoes landed at Muscat, to the less frequented ports. This\nadds to the importance of Muscat as an _entrep\u00f4t_ for Oman. Mattra\nis the terminus of the caravan-routes from the interior and is in\ncommunication with Muscat by a narrow mountain path and by sea.\n\nThe so-called Pirate coast stretches along the northern boundary of\nOman on the Persian Gulf from El Katar to Ras Musendum and was, even\nas early as Ptolemy\u2019s day, inhabited by wild, lawless Arabs. On his\nmap of Arabia they are named _Ichthiophagoi_, or fish-eaters. Niebuhr\nwrote of this part of Oman, \u201cFishes are so plentiful upon the coast\nand so easily caught, as to be used not only for feeding cows, asses,\nand other domestic animals, but even as manure for the fields.\u201d Sir\nJohn Malcolm, in his quaint sketches of Persia wrote forty years ago:\n\u201cI asked who were the inhabitants of the barren shore of Arabia that we\nsaw. He answered with apparent alarm, \u2018they are of the sect of Wahabees\nand are called Jowasimee. But God preserve us from them, for they are\nmonsters. Their occupation is piracy, and their delight murder, and to\nmake it worse they give you the most pious reasons for every villainy\nthey commit. They abide by the letter of the sacred volume, rejecting\nall commentaries and traditions. If you are their captive and offer\nall to save your life they say, No! It is written in the Koran that it\nis not lawful to plunder the living; but we are not prohibited from\nstripping the dead\u2014so saying they knock you on the head.\u2019\u201d\n\nThanks to English commerce and gunboats these fanatic Wahabis have\nbecome more tame, and most of them have long given up piracy and turned\nto pearl-diving for a livelihood. Hindu traders have settled among\nthem, foreign commerce reaches their bazaars, and the black tent is\nmaking room for the three or four important towns of Dabai, Sharka, Abu\nThubi and Ras-el-Kheima, with growing population and increasing wealth.\n\nThe cape of Musendum and the land back of it, called Ras-el-Jebel is\nvery mountainous, but beyond Ras-el-Kheima, the coast is low and flat\nall the way up the gulf. The villages are all built near the entrance\nof salt-water creeks or marshes, which serve as harbors at high-tide.\nFor the most part the coast is unfertile, but near Sharka there are\npalm-groves, and further inland are oases. The islands off this coast\nare most of them uninhabited.\n\nThe Batina coast is the exception to all the maritime plains that\nsurround so large a part of the peninsula; in western and eastern\nArabia these low sandy plains are nearly barren of all vegetation, but\nhere extensive date plantations and gardens extend almost to the very\nocean beach. Back of the rising plain are the lofty ranges of Jebel\nAkhdar. This fertile coast begins at Sib, about twenty-five miles from\nMuscat, and extends for 150 miles to the neighborhood of Khor Kalba\nwith an average width of about twelve miles. It has many towns and\nvillages; the principal ones are the following. Sib is a scattered town\nchiefly built of mat-huts with two small detached forts. It has a very\nsmall bazaar, but extensive date-groves and gardens. Back of Sib on the\nway up the coast one sees the great bluff of Jebel Akhdar, 9,900 feet\nhigh, and visible over 100 miles out at sea. Barka has a lofty Arab\nfortress, but for the rest mat-huts among date-plantations characterize\nits general appearance. Large quantities of shell fish are collected\nand sent inland; the bazaar is good and some Banian traders are settled\nhere. Passing several islands the next town is Suaik. After it the\nlarger town of Sohar, with perhaps 4,000 people. This town is walled\nwith a high fort in the middle, the residence of the Sheikh. A high\nconical peak, of light color, rises conspicuously about twelve miles\nwest of the town, and with the surrounding date gardens and other trees\nmakes a pretty picture, altogether more green than one would expect on\nArabian coasts. Beyond Sohar the chief villages are, in order, Shinas,\nAl Fujaira, Dibba. The two latter are already beyond the Batina and are\nbetween the high cliffs and the deep sea.\n\nGoing from southeast Muscat down the coast toward Ras-el-Had we\nfirst pass the little village of Sudab and Bunder Jissa. The latter\nis of interest as the place the French were trying to acquire for a\ncoaling-station from the Sultan of Muscat last year. It has a good\nanchorage, is only five miles from Muscat, and an island precipice,\n140 feet high, guards the entrance. After this, Karyat, Taiwa, Kalhat\nand smaller villages passed, we reach Sur. This large, double town is\nsituated on a khor or backwater, with two forts to the westward. The\ninhabitants, numbering perhaps 8,000, consist of two clans of the Bni\nBu Ali and the Bni Janaba, often at feud with each other. The country\ninland is partly cultivated and date groves abound. Sur has always been\na place of trade and enterprise and its buggalows visit India, Zanzibar\nand the Persian Gulf. The people are all bold sailors since many\ngenerations. But Sur also has the unenviable reputation of being even\nnow the centre of illicit slave-trading. Beyond Sur is the headland of\nJebel Saffan and Ras-el-Had, the easternmost point of Arabia, almost\nreaching the sixtieth degree of longitude.\n\nFor a knowledge of the coast beyond Ras-el-Had we are indebted to the\npapers of Assistant Surgeon H.J. Carter in the journal of the Bombay\nbranch of the Royal Asiatic Society.[29] The two great Arab tribes\nthat dwell on this coast are the Mahrah and the Gharah; the former\nreally belong to Hadramaut, but the boundaries drawn on the maps are\npurely artificial and have no significance. Neither tribe is dependent\non the Oman Sultan or acknowledges any allegiance to him. The Mahrah\nare descended from the ancient Himyarites and occupy a coast-line of\nnearly 140 miles from Saihut to Ras Morbat; their chief town is Damkut\n(Dunkot) on Kamar bay. In stature the Mahrahs are smaller than most\nArabs, and by no means handsome; in their peculiar mode of Bedouin\nsalutation they put their noses side by side and breathe softly! They\nsubsist by fishing and are miserably poor; their plains, mountains\nand valleys, except close to Damkut, are sandy and barren. Religion\nthey have scarcely any, and Carter says that they do not even know the\nMoslem prayers, and are utterly ignorant of the teachings of Mohammed.\nTheir dialect is soft and sweet, and they themselves compare it to\nthe language of the birds; it is evidently a corrupted form of the\nancient Himyaric and therefore of great importance in the study of\nphilology.[30]\n\nThe Gharah tribe inhabit the coast between Moseirah island and the\nKuria-Muria islands. Their country is mountainous and cavernous and\nconsists of a white stratified limestone formation 4,000 or 5,000 feet\nabove the sea-level. The upper part of the mountains are covered with\ngood pasturage and their slopes with a dense thicket of small trees\namong which frankincense and other gum trees are plentiful. The whole\ntribe are _troglodytes_, \u201ccave-dwellers,\u201d since nature gives them\nbetter dwellings than the best mud-hut, and cooler than the largest\ntent of Kedar. They are largely nomadic, however, and shift from cave\nto cave in their wanderings. Their wardrobe is not an incumbrance as\nit consists of a single piece of coarse blue cotton wrapped around\nthe loins like a short kilt. The women wear a loose frock of the same\ntexture and color with wide sleeves, reaching a little below the knee\nin front and trailing on the ground behind; the veil is unknown.\nChildren go about entirely naked. Both men and women tattoo their\ncheeks. For weapons they have swords, spears, daggers, and matchlocks.\nTheir food consists of milk, flesh and honey with the wild fruits of\nthe mountains.\n\nThis entire region has been justly celebrated for honey since the days\nof the Greek geographers who enumerate honey and frankincense as its\nchief products. The wild honey of South Arabia collected from the rocks\nand packed in large dry gourds, is fit for an epicure. On Ptolemy\u2019s map\nof Arabia the region inland from this coast is called _Libanotopheros\nRegio_, the place of incense; and by Pliny is termed _regio thurifera_,\nthe region of frankincense. From the earliest times this has been the\ncountry that produces real frankincense in abundance. Once its export\nwas a source of wealth to the inhabitants, for incense was used in\nthe temples of Egypt and India as well as by the Jews, and by all\nthe nations of antiquity. So important was this commerce in the early\nhistory of the world that Sprenger devotes several pages in his Ancient\nGeography of Arabia to describing the origin, extent, and influence of\nfrankincense on civilization. The Arabs were then the general transport\nagents between the east and the west, _i.e._, India and Egypt. The\nQueen of Sheba\u2019s empire grew rich in frankincense-trade; she brought\nto Solomon \u201cspices in abundance,\u201d nor was there \u201cany such spice\u201d or\nbrought in \u201csuch abundance\u201d as that which Queen Sheba gave to Solomon.\n(B.C. cir. 992.)\n\nThe rise of Islam, the overthrow of the old Himyarite kingdom, the\ndiscovery of the passage round the Cape of Good Hope, all these\nco\u00f6perated to destroy the ancient importance and prosperity of Southern\nArabia. At present, frankincense is still exported, but not in large\nquantities. The gum is procured by making incisions in the bark of the\nshrub in May and December. On its first appearance it comes forth white\nas milk, but soon hardens and discolors. It is then collected by men\nand boys, employed to look after the trees by the different families\nwho own the land on which they grow.\n\n[Illustration: A BRANCH OF THE INCENSE TREE.]\n\n\n\n\n IX\n\n THE LAND OF THE CAMEL\n\n \u201cTo see real live dromedaries my readers must, I fear, come to\n Arabia, for these animals are not often to be met with elsewhere,\n not even in Syria; and whoever wishes to contemplate the species\n in all its beauty, must prolong his journey to Oman, which is for\n dromedaries, what Nejd is for horses, Cashmere for sheep, and Tibet\n for bulldogs.\u201d\u2014_Palgrave._\n\n\nAll Oman, but especially the region just described, is called among the\nArabs _Um-el-ibl_, \u201cmother of the camel.\u201d Palgrave, Doughty and other\nArabian travellers agree that the Oman dromedary is the prince of all\ncamel-breeds, and Doughty says they are so highly esteemed at Mecca as\nto fetch three times the price of other camels.\n\nUnless one knows something about the camel one can neither understand\nthe Arab nor his language; without the camel, life in a large part of\nArabia would at present be impossible; without the camel the Arabic\nlanguage would be vastly different. According to Hammer Purgstall, the\nArabic dictionaries give this animal 5,744 different names; there is\nnot a page in the lexicon but has some reference to the camel.\n\nThe Arabs highly value the camel, but do not admire its form and shape.\nThere is an Arab tradition, cited in Burton\u2019s \u201cGold Mines of Midian,\u201d\nto the effect that when Allah determined to create the horse, He called\nthe South Wind and said, \u201cI desire to draw from thee a new being,\ncondense thyself by parting with thy fluidity.\u201d The Creator then took\na handful of this element, blew upon it the breath of life, and the\nnoble quadruped appeared. But the horse complained against his Maker.\nHis neck was too short to reach the distant grass blades on the march;\nhis back had no hump to steady a saddle; his hoofs were sharp and sank\ndeep into the sand; and he added many similar grievances. Whereupon\nAllah created the camel to prove the foolishness of his complaint. The\nhorse shuddered at the sight of what he wanted to become, and this is\nthe reason every horse starts when meeting its caricature for the first\ntime. The camel may not be beautiful, (although the Arabic lexicon\nshows that the words for \u201c_pretty_\u201d and \u201c_camel_\u201d are related) but he\nis surpassingly useful.\n\nThis animal is found in Persia, Asia Minor, Afghanistan, Beluchistan,\nMongolia, Western China, Northern India, Syria, Turkey, North Africa\nand parts of Spain, but nowhere so generally or so finely developed\nas in Arabia. The two main species, not to speak of varieties, are\nthe Southern, Arabian one-humped camel and the Northern, Bactrian\ntwo-humped camel. Each is specially adapted to its locality. The\nBactrian camel is long-haired, tolerant of the intense cold of the\nsteppes and is said to eat snow when thirsty. The Arabian species is\nshort-haired, intolerant of cold, but able to endure thirst and extreme\nheat. It is incredible to Arabs that any camel-kind should have a\ndouble hump. A camel differs from a dromedary in nothing save blood\nand breed. The camel is a pack-horse; the dromedary a race-horse. The\ncamel is thick-built, heavy-footed, ungainly, jolting; the dromedary\nhas finer hair, lighter step, is easy of pace and more enduring of\nthirst. A caravan of camels is a freight-train; a company of Oman\n_thelul_-riders is a limited express. The ordinary caravan travels\nsix hours a day and three miles an hour, but a good dromedary can\nrun seventy miles a day on the stretch. A tradesman from Aneyza told\nDoughty that he had ridden from El Kasim to Taif and back, a distance\nof over 700 miles, in fifteen days! Mehsan Allayda once mounted his\ndromedary after the Friday midday prayer at El-Aly and prayed the next\nFriday in the great Mosque at Damascus about 440 miles distant. The\nHaj-road post-rider at Ma\u2019an can deliver a message at Damascus, it is\nsaid, at the end of three days; the distance is over 200 miles.\n\nThe Arabs have a saying that \u201cthe camel is the greatest of all\nblessings given by Allah to mankind.\u201d One is not surprised that the\nmeditative youth of Mecca who led the camels of Khadiyah, to Syria and\nback by the desert way, should appeal to the unbelievers in Allah and\nHis prophet in the words, \u201c_And do ye not look then at the camel how\nshe is created?_\u201d (Surah lxxxviii. 17 of the Koran.)\n\nTo describe the camel is to describe God\u2019s goodness to the\ndesert-dwellers. Everything about the animal shows evident design. His\nlong neck, gives wide range of vision in desert marches and enables him\nto reach far to the meagre desert shrubs on either side of his pathway.\nThe cartilaginous texture of his mouth, enables him to eat hard and\nthorny plants\u2014the pasture of the desert. His ears are very small, and\nhis nostrils large for breathing, but are specially capable of closure\nby valve-like folds against the fearful Simoon. His eyes are prominent,\nbut protected by a heavy overhanging upper-lid, limiting vision upward\nthus guarding from the direct rays of the noon sun. His cushioned feet\nare peculiarly adapted for ease of the rider and the animal alike.\nFive horny pads are given him to rest on when kneeling to receive a\nburden or for repose on the hot sand. His hump is not a fictional but a\n_real_ and acknowledged reserve store of nutriment as well as nature\u2019s\npacksaddle for the commerce of ages. His water reservoirs in connection\nwith the stomach, enable him when in good condition to travel for\nfive days without water. Again, the camel alone of all ruminants has\nincisor-teeth in the upper jaw, which, with the peculiar structure of\nhis other teeth, make his bite, the animal\u2019s first and main defence,\nmost formidable. The skeleton of the camel is full of proofs of design.\nNotice, for example, the arched backbone constructed in such a way\nas to sustain the greatest weight in proportion to the span of the\nsupports; a strong camel can bear 1,000 pounds\u2019 weight, although the\nusual load in Oman is not more than 600 pounds.\n\nThe camel is a _domestic_ animal in the full sense of the word,\nfor the Arabian domicile is indebted to the camel for nearly all it\nholds. All that can be obtained from the animal is of value. Fuel,\nmilk, excellent hair for tents, ropes, shawls and coarser fabrics are\nobtained from the living animal; and flesh-food, leather, bones and\nother useful substances from the dead. Even the footprints of the camel\nthough soon obliterated, are of special value in the desert. A lighter\nor smaller foot would leave no tracks, but the camel\u2019s foot leaves\ndata for the Bedouin science of _Athar_\u2014the art of navigation for the\nship of the desert. Camel tracks are gossip and science, history and\nphilosophy to the Arab caravan. A camel-march is the standard measure\nof distance in all Arabia; and the price of a milch-camel the standard\nof value in the interior. When they have little or no water the\nmiserable nomads rinse their hands in camel\u2019s water and the nomad women\nwash their babes in it. Camel\u2019s-milk is the staple diet of thousands in\nArabia even though it be bitter because of wormwood pasturage.\n\nAs to the character of the camel and its good or evil nature\nauthorities differ. Lady Ann Blunt considers the camel the most abused\nand yet the most patient animal in existence. Palgrave, on the other\nhand, thus describes the stupidity and ugly temper of the beast: \u201cI\nhave, while in England, heard and read more than once of the docile\ncamel. If docile means stupid, well and good; in such a case the camel\nis the very model of docility. But if the epithet is intended to\ndesignate an animal that takes an interest in its rider so far as a\nbeast can, that obeys from a sort of submissive or half fellow-feeling\nwith its master, like the horse and elephant, then I say that the camel\nis by no means docile, very much the contrary. He will never attempt\nto throw you off his back, such a trick being far beyond his limited\ncomprehension; but if you fall off, he will never dream of stopping for\nyou; and if turned loose it is a thousand to one he will never find\nhis way back to his accustomed home or pasture. One only symptom will\nhe give that he is aware of his rider, and that is when the latter is\nabout to mount him, for on such an occasion, instead of addressing him\nin the style of Balaam\u2019s more intelligent beast, \u2018Am not I thy camel\nupon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day?\u2019 he\nwill bend back his long snaky neck toward his master, open his enormous\njaws to bite, if he dared, and roar out a tremendous sort of groan, as\nif to complain of some entirely new and unparalleled injustice about\nto be done him. In a word he is from first to last an undomesticated\nand savage animal rendered serviceable by stupidity alone. Neither\nattachment nor even habit can impress him; never tame, though not\nwide-awake enough to be exactly wild.\u201d We can bear witness that the\ncamels we have ridden in Hassa and Yemen were altogether more kindly\nthan the ugly creature of Palgrave.\n\nThe chief authorities on the interior of Oman were, until recent date,\nNiebuhr, Wellsted (1835), Whitelock (1838), Eloy (1843) and Palgrave,\n(1863). Palgrave, however, only visited the coast and his account of\nthe interior and its history is pure romance. Later travellers have\nvisited the chief cities of Jebel Achdar and corroborated the accuracy\nof Lieutenant Wellsted in his \u201cTravels in Arabia.\u201d Unfortunately\nWellsted\u2019s acquaintance even with colloquial Arabic was very limited\nand he frankly avows that he encountered serious difficulties in\nunderstanding the people. \u201cWellsted\u2019s map,\u201d says Badger, \u201cis the only\none of the province which we possess drawn up from personal observation\nand ... it affords little or no certain indication of the numerous\ntowns and villages beyond the restricted routes of the travellers. It\nis remarkable and by no means creditable to the British Government in\nIndia, that, notwithstanding our intimate political and commercial\nrelations with Oman, for the last century, we know actually less of\nthat country beyond the coast than we do of the Lake districts of\nAfrica.\u201d[31] Badger wrote in 1860, but although Colonel Miles and\nothers have visited the region of Jebel Achdar, all the country beyond\nis still largely _terra incognita_. No one has ever made the journey\nbeyond the range of mountains or solved the mystery of Western Oman,\nwhich is still a blank on the best maps; nor do we know anything of the\nland 100 miles southwest of Muscat, save by Arab hearsay.\n\nThe highlands of Oman may be divided into three districts; _Ja\u2019alan_\nfrom Jebel Saffan to Jebel Fatlah on the east. _Oman_ proper on the\nJebel Achdar, and _Ez-Zahirah_ on the eastern slopes of Jebel Okdat.\nThe most populous and fertile district is that of Jebel Achdar which\nis also the best known. The fertility of the whole region is wonderful\nand in striking contrast with the barren rocks of so large a part of\nthe coast. With a semi-tropical climate, an elevation of 3,000 to 5,000\nfeet and abundant springs the wadys and oases of Oman have awakened the\ndelight and amazement of every traveller who has ventured to explore\nthem. Water, the one priceless treasure in all Arabia, here issues\nin perennial streams from many rocky clefts and is most carefully\nhusbanded by the ingenuity of the people, for wide irrigation, by means\nof canals or watercourses called _faluj_. Wellsted thus describes\nthese underground aqueducts: \u201cThey are as far as I know peculiar to\nthis country, and are made at an expense of labor and skill more\nChinese than Arabian. The greater part of the surface of the land being\ndestitute of running streams on the surface, the Arabs have sought in\nelevated places for springs or fountains beneath it. A channel from\nthis fountain-head is then, with a very slight descent, bored in the\ndirection in which it is to be conveyed, leaving apertures at regular\ndistances to afford light and air to those who are occasionally sent\nto keep it clean. In this way the water is frequently conducted for\na distance of six or eight miles, and an unlimited supply is thus\nobtained. These channels are about four feet broad and two feet deep\nand contain a clear, rapid stream. Most of the large towns or oases\nhave four or five of these rivulets or _falj_ (plural _faluj_) running\ninto them. The isolated spots to which water is thus conveyed, possess\na soil so fertile that nearly every grain, fruit or vegetable, common\nto India, Arab or Persia, is produced almost spontaneously; and the\ntales of the oases will be no longer regarded as an exaggeration, since\na single step conveys the traveller from the glare and sand of the\ndesert into a fertile tract, watered by a hundred rills, teeming with\nthe most luxurious vegetation.\u201d\n\nThe chief caravan routes inland start from the coast, at Sohar through\nWady-el-Jazy, at Suaik through Wady Thala, at Barka or Sib through Wady\nMithaal and Wady Zailah (alternative routes) at Matra, by the same, and\nat Sur through Wady Falj. On the eastern side of the mountain range the\nchief towns are Rastak, Nakhl and Someil. On the farther side we have\nTenoof, Behilah and Nezwa, all large towns well-watered. \u201cBetween these\nfertile oases one travels[32] sometimes an entire day through stony\nwady, or over volcanic rock, climbing a difficult mountain pass, or\ncrossing a wide sea-like desert, without seeing a habitation or meeting\na fellow-creature except an occasional caravan. Their rifles are swung\nover the shoulders of the riders, and their wild song keeps time with\nthe slow tread of the camels....\n\n\u201cFrom Nakhl it is a long day\u2019s journey to Lihiga at the foot of Jebel\nAchdar. Two other beautifully situated mountain villages, Owkan and\nKoia are in close proximity. Here, as well as on the mountains, dwells\na tribe of hardy mountaineers, the Bni Ryam. In features and habits\nthis tribe is quite distinct from the other Oman tribes. All over these\nmountains the people lead a peaceful life, and the absence of fire-arms\nwas noticeable in comparison with the valley tribes, where each man\ncarries his rifle, often of the best English or German pattern.\n\n\u201cFrom Lihiga we began the ascent, and after a half-a-day of most\ndifficult climbing, reached the top of the pass at noonday, my\nbarometer registering 7,050 feet. Here on a level projecting rock,\nwhich afforded a splendid extended view of the Wady Mestel, where\ndwell the Bni Ruweihah, we had our lunch, and were glad to slake our\nthirst out of the goatskin the guide carried on his shoulder. From\nthe top of the pass we descended to the level table-land at a height\nof 6,200 feet, and at sunset reached the ideally beautiful village of\nSheraegah. It is in a circular ravine several hundred feet in depth,\nand like a huge amphitheatre where grow in terraces, apples, peaches,\npomegranates, grapes and other temperate products in rich profusion.\nIce and snow are frequently seen here during the winter, and in summer\nthe temperature registers no higher than 80\u00b0F. In March we had a\ntemperature of 40\u00b0, and enjoyed a huge fire in the guest-room where a\nhundred Arabs came to visit us, and entertained us with the recitation\nof Arabic poetry. Such an opportunity was not to be neglected, and\nthey, as an agricultural people, were interested in the parable of the\nSower and the explanation....\n\n[Illustration: TENOOF FROM THE EAST.\n\nFrom a pencil sketch by Peter J. Zwemer.]\n\n\u201cWe pressed on over the most difficult mountain roads to Tenoof, at\nthe foot of the mountains on the further side. Nizwa, the old capital\nof Oman, is but three hours\u2019 journey from Tenoof. It has a large\ncircular fort about 200 feet in diameter, built of rough hewn stone\nand cement. We intended to return to Muscat along the valley road via\nSomeil, but the state of affairs at Nezwa made roads through hostile\nterritory unsafe, and we decided to recross the mountains, enjoying\nagain their cool climate and the friendliness of the people. By riding\nlong camel-stages and taking short rests, we were able to reach Muscat\nfrom the top of the mountains in four days, having been absent on the\njourney twenty-one days.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n X\n\n THE PEARL ISLANDS OF THE GULF\n\n \u201c\u2018We are all from the highest to the lowest slaves of one\n master\u2014Pearl,\u2019 said Mohammed bin Thanee to me one evening; nor was\n the expression out of place. All thought, all conversation, all\n employment, turns on that one subject, everything else is mere\n by-game, and below even secondary consideration.\u201d\u2014_Palgrave._\n\n\nHalf way down the Persian Gulf, off the east Arabian coast, between the\npeninsula of El Katar and the Turkish province of El Hassa, are the\nislands of Bahrein.[33] This name was formerly applied to the entire\ntriangular projection on the coast between the salt-sea of the gulf\nand the fresh water flood of the Euphrates; hence its name _Bahr-ein_\n\u201cthe two seas.\u201d But since the days of Burckhardt\u2019s map the name is\nrestricted to the archipelago. The larger island is itself often called\nBahrein, while the next in size is named Moharrek\u2014\u201cplace of burning.\u201d\nThe Arabs say that this was so named because the Hindu traders used it\nfor cremating their dead.\n\n[Illustration: MAP OF THE ISLANDS OF BAHREIN.]\n\nThe main island is about twenty-seven miles in length from north to\nsouth, and ten miles in breadth. Toward the centre there is a slightly\nelevated table-land, mostly barren. Twelve miles from the northern end\nis a clump of dark volcanic hills, 400 feet high, called Jebel Dokhan,\n\u201cMountain of Smoke.\u201d The northern half of the island is well watered\nby abundant fresh-water springs, always lukewarm in temperature. This\npart of the island is covered with beautiful gardens of date-palms,\npomegranate, and other trees. The coast is everywhere low, and the\nwater shallow for a long distance. There is no pier or jetty anywhere,\nso that, except at high water, boats anchor nearly a quarter of a mile\nfrom the shore.\n\nThe total population of the islands is estimated at nearly 60,000,\nall of them Moslems with the exception of about 100 Banian traders\nfrom Sindh, India. Menamah, the large town on the northeast point\nof the island, with perhaps 10,000 inhabitants, is built along the\nshore for about a mile; the houses are mostly poor, many being mere\nmat-huts. This town is the market-place and commercial centre for the\nwhole group. Here is the post office and custom-house and here the\nbulk of the trade is carried on for the whole island. A short distance\nfrom Menamah is the old town of Belad le Kadim, with ruins of better\nbuildings and a fine mosque with two minarets. The mosque is of very\nearly date, for the older Cufic character is on all its inscriptions,\ncovered over in some places by more recent carving and inscriptions in\nlater Arabic.\n\nThe largest spring on the islands is called El Adhari, \u201cthe virgins.\u201d\nIt issues from a reservoir thirty yards across, and at least thirty\nfeet deep, flowing in a stream six or eight feet wide and two feet\ndeep. This is remarkable for Arabia, and gives some idea of the\nabundant supply of water. Under the sea, near the island of Moharrek,\nare fresh-water springs always covered with a fathom of salt water.\nThe natives lower a hollow, weighted bamboo through which the fresh\nwater gushes out a few inches above sea-level. The source of these\nfresh-water springs of Bahrein must be on the mainland of Arabia, as\nall the opposite coast shows a similar phenomena. Apparently the _River\nAftan_ marked on old maps of the peninsula as emptying into the Persian\nGulf near Bahrein was an _underground river_, known to the older\ngeographers.\n\nIf Egypt is the gift of the Nile, Bahrein may well be called the gift\nof the pearl-oyster. Nothing else gave the islands their ancient\nhistory, and nothing so much gives them their present importance.\nThe pearl-fisheries are the one great industry of Bahrein. They\nare carried on every year from June until October, and even for a\nlonger period, if hot weather sets in earlier. Nearly all the island\npopulation are engaged in the work in some way, and during the season\nthere is only one topic of conversation in the coffee-shops and the\nevening-mejlis,\u2014PEARLS. The pearl has this distinction above all other\nprecious stones, that it requires no human hand to bring out its\nbeauties. By modern scientists, pearls are believed to be the result of\nan abnormal secretion, caused by the irritation of the mollusk\u2019s shell\nby some foreign substance\u2014in short, a disease of the pearl-oyster. But\nit is not surprising that the Arabs have many curious superstitions as\nto the cause of pearl-formation. Their poets tell of how the monsoon\nrains falling on the banks of Ceylon and Bahrein find chance lodgment\nin the opened mouth of the pearl-oyster. Each drop distills a gem,\nand the size of the raindrop determines the luck of the future diver.\nHeaven-born and cradled in the deep blue sea, it is the purest of gems\nand, in their eyes, the most precious.\n\n[Illustration: THE VILLAGE OF MENAMAH, BAHREIN ISLANDS.]\n\nNot only in its creation, but in its liberation from its prison-house\nunder ten fathoms of water the pearl costs pain and sacrifice. So far\nas this can be measured in pounds, shillings and pence, this cost is\neasy of computation. The total value of pearls exported from Bahrein\nin 1896 was \u00a3303,941 sterling ($1,500,000). The number of boats from\nBahrein engaged in the fisheries is about nine hundred and the cost\nof bringing one boat\u2019s share to the surface is 4,810 rupees (about\n$1,600).[34] Hundreds of craft also come to the oyster-banks from other\nports on the gulf. It is scarcely necessary to say that the pearl\ndivers do not receive the amount fairly due them for their toil. They\nare one and all victims of the \u201ctruck-system\u201d in its worst form, being\nobliged to purchase all supplies, etc., from their masters. They are\nconsequently so much in debt to him as often to make them practically\nhis slaves. The boats are generally owned by the merchants, and the\ncrew are paid at a low rate for a whole year\u2019s work, only receiving\na small extra allowance when they bring up pearls of special size or\nbrilliancy. In the winter season these divers are out of work, and\nconsequently incur large debts which are charged to the next season\u2019s\naccount. By force of circumstances and age-long practice the islanders\nare also much given to the vice of gambling on the market. Even the\npoorest fisherman will lay his wager\u2014and lose it. It is not the thirty\nthousand fishermen of the gulf with their more than five thousand boats\nwho grow rich in the pearl-fishing business; the real profit falls to\nthose who remain on shore\u2014the Arab and Hindu brokers of Bombay who deal\ndirect with Berlin, London and Paris. A pearl often trebles in value by\nchanging hands, even before it reaches the Bombay market.\n\n[Illustration: A BAHREIN HARBOR BOAT]\n\nThe divers follow the most primitive method in their work. Their boats\nare such as their ancestors used before the Portuguese were expelled\nfrom Bahrein in 1622. Even Sinbad the sailor might recognize every rope\nand the odd spoon-shaped oars. These boats are of three kinds, very\nsimilar in general appearance, but differing in size, called _Bak\u0101re_t,\n_Shua\u00b4ee_ and _Bateel_.[35] All of the boats have good lines and are\nwell-built by the natives from Indian timber. For the rest, all is of\nBahrein manufacture except their pulley-blocks, which come from Bombay.\nSailcloth is woven at Menamah and ropes are twisted of date-fibre in\nrude rope-walks which have no machinery worth mentioning. Even the\nlong, soft iron nails that hold the boats together are hammered out on\nthe anvil one by one by Bahrein blacksmiths.\n\nEach boat has a sort of figure-head, called the _kubait_, generally\ncovered with the skin of a sheep or goat which was sacrificed when the\nboat was first launched. This is one of the Semitic traits which appear\nin various forms all over Arabia\u2014blood-sacrifice\u2014and which has Islam\nnever uprooted. All the fishermen prefer to go out in a boat which has\ncut a covenant of blood with Neptune. The larger boats used in diving\nhold from twenty to forty men, less than half of whom are divers, while\nthe others are rope-holders and oarsmen. One man in each boat is called\n_El M\u016ds\u016dlly_, _i.e._, the one-who-prays, because his sole daily duty\nis to take charge of the rope of any one who stops to pray or eat. He\nhas no regular work, and when not otherwise engaged vicariously mends\nropes and sails or cooks the rice and fish over charcoal embers. He is\ntherefore also called _El Gill\u0101s_, \u201cthe sitter,\u201d very suggestive of his\nsinecure office.\n\nThe divers wear no elaborate diving-suit, but descend clothed only\nin their _fitaam_ and _khabaat_. The first is a true _pince-nez_ or\nclothespin-like clasp for their nostrils. It is made of two thin\nslices of horn fastened together with a rivet or cut out whole in a\nquarter circle so as to fit the lower part of the nose and keep out\nthe water. It has a perforated head through which a string passes and\nwhich suspends it from the divers neck when not in use. _Khabaat_ are\n\u201cfinger-hats\u201d made of leather and thrice the length of an ordinary\nthimble. They are worn to protect the fingers in gathering the\npearl-shells from the sea-bottom; at the height of the pearl season\nlarge baskets full of all sizes of these finger-caps are exposed for\nsale in the bazaar. Each diver uses two sets (_twenty_) in a season.\nA basket, called _dajeen_, and a stone-weight complete the diver\u2019s\noutfit. This stone, on which the diver stands when he plunges down\nfeet-first, is fastened to a rope passing between his toes and is\nimmediately raised; another rope is attached to the diver and his\nbasket by which he gives the signal and is drawn up. The best divers\nremain below only two or three minutes at most, and when they come up\nare nine-tenths suffocated. Many of them are brought up unconscious\nand often cannot be brought to life. Deafness, and suppuration of\nthe ear, due to carelessness or perforated ear-drums, caused by the\nenormous pressure of the water at such depths, are common among divers.\nRheumatism and neuralgia are universal and the pearl-fishers are the\ngreat exception among the Arabs in not possessing beautiful teeth.\n\nSharks are plentiful and it is not a rare thing for them to attack\ndivers. But the Bahrein divers are more fearful of a small species of\ndevil-fish which lays hold of any part of the body and draws blood\nrapidly. Against this monster of the sea they guard themselves by\nwearing an \u201coverall\u201d of white cloth during the early part of the season\nwhen it frequents the banks. Their tales of horror regarding the\ndevil-fish equal those of Victor Hugo in his \u201cToilers of the Sea.\u201d\n\nThe divers remain out in their boats as long as their supply of fresh\nwater lasts, often three weeks or even more. Sir Edwin Arnold\u2019s lines\nare thus not as correct as they are beautiful:\n\n \u201cDear as the wet diver to the eyes\n Of his pale wife who waits and weeps on shore\n By sands of Bahrein in the Persian Gulf;\n Plunging all day in the blue waves; at night,\n Having made up his tale of precious pearls,\n Rejoins her in their hut upon the shore.\u201d\n\nWhen the pearl-oysters are brought up they are left on deck over\nnight and the next morning are opened by means of a curved knife, six\ninches long, called _miflaket_. Before the days of English commerce\nthe mother-of-pearl was thrown away as worthless. Now it has a good\nmarket-value and (after being scraped free of the small parasites that\ninfest the outer shell) is packed in wooden crates and exported in\nlarge quantities. The total value of this export in 1897 was \u00a35,694\n($28,000). The Arabs have asked me in amazement what in the world the\n\u201cFranks\u201d do with empty sea-shells; and some tell idle tales of how\nthey are ground up into pearl dust and pressed into artificial gems, or\nare used as a veneer to cover brick houses.\n\nOn shore the pearls are classified by the merchants, according to\nweight, size, shape, color and brilliancy. There are button-pearls,\npendants, roundish, oval, flat, and perfect pearls; pearls, white,\nyellow, golden, pink, blue, azure, green, grey, dull and black;\nseed-pearls the size of grains of sand and pearls as large as an Arab\u2019s\nreport, emphasized with frequent _wallahs_, can make them. I have seen\na pendant pearl the size of a hazelnut worth a few thousand rupees\nbut there are Arabs who will swear by the prophet\u2019s beard (each hair\nof which is sacred!) that they have brought up pearls as large as a\npigeon\u2019s egg. The pearl brokers carry their wares about tied in bags of\nturkey-red calico; they weigh them in tiny brass scales and learn their\nexact size by an ingenious device consisting of a nest of brass sieves,\ncalled _taoos_, six in number, with apertures slightly differing in\nsize. The pearls are put into the largest sieve first; those that do\nnot fall through its pea-sized holes are called, _Ras_, \u201cchief\u201d; such\nare generally pearls of great price, although their value depends most\non weight and perfection of form. The second size is called _Batu_,\n\u201cbelly,\u201d and the third _Dhail_, \u201ctail.\u201d Color has only a fashion-value;\nEurope prefers white and the Orient the golden-yellow; black pearls are\nnot highly esteemed by Orientals.\n\nBefore they are shipped the large pearls are cleaned in _reeta_ a kind\nof native soap-powder, and the smaller ones in soft brown sugar; then\nthey are tied up in calico and sold in lots by weight, each bundle\nbeing supposed to contain pearls of average equal value. How it is\npossible to collect custom dues on _pearls_ among a people whose\nconsciences rival their wide breast-pockets in concealing capacity,\nsurpasses comprehension. But the thing is done, for the farmer of\nthe custom dues grows rich and the statistics of export are not pure\nguess-work.\n\nThe Bahrein islands also produce quantities of dates, and there is\nan export trade in a remarkably fine breed of asses, celebrated all\nover the Persian Gulf. A good Bahrein donkey is easy to ride and\nalmost as good a roadster as an average horse. The only manufactures,\nbeside sail-sheeting, are coarse cloth for turbans, and reed-mats of\nvery fine texture. The chief imports are rice, timber and piece-goods\nfor which Bahrein is the depot for all eastern Arabia. Three sights\nare shown to the stranger-tourist to the islands of Bahrein: the\npearl-fisheries, the fresh-water springs, and the ancient ruins of an\nearly civilization at the village of Ali. These ruins are the \u201c_bayoot\nel owalin_\u201d the dwellings of the first inhabitants, who are believed\nto have been destroyed by Allah because of their wickedness. An hour\u2019s\nride through the date gardens and past the minarets brings us to the\nvillage of Ali. It can generally be seen from a good distance because\nof the smoke which rises from the huge ovens where pottery is baked.\nThe potter turns his wheel to-day and fashions the native water-jars\nwith deft hand utterly ignorant and careless of the curious sepulchral\ntumuli which cast their shade at his feet. South and west of the\nvillage the whole plain is studded with mounds, at least three hundred\nof them, the largest being about forty feet in height. Only two or\nthree have ever been opened or explored. Theodore Bent in company with\nhis wife explored these in 1889, with meagre results, but no further\ninvestigations have been made though it is a field that may yet yield\nlarge results. M. Jules Oppert, the French Assyriologist, and others\nregard the island as an extremely old centre of civilization and it\nis now well known that the first settlements from ancient Babylonia\nwere in the Persian Gulf which then extended as far north as Mugheir,\nnear Suk-es Shiukh. But those first settlers probably went to the\ncoasts of Africa and to the kingdoms of Southern Arabia, in which\ncase Bahrein was on their line of travel. It must always have been a\ndepot for shipping because of its abundant water-supply in a region\nwhere fresh-water is generally scarce. The mounds at Ali probably date\nfrom this very early period; although no corroboration in the shape\nof cylinders or bricks bearing inscriptions has yet been found, the\ncharacter of the structures found in the mounds is undoubted proof of\ntheir great antiquity.\n\nThe larger mound opened by Bent, now consists of two rock-built\nchambers of very large stones, square masonry, and no trace of an arch\nor a pillar. The lower chamber is twenty-eight feet in length, five\nfeet in width, and eight feet high; it has four niches or recesses\nabout three feet deep, two at the end of the passage and two near its\nentrance. The upper chamber is of the same length as the lower, but its\nwidth is six inches less, and its height only four feet eight inches.\nThe lower passage is hand plastered as an impression of the mason\u2019s\nhand on the side wall still proves. If diggings were made _below_ the\nmounds or other mounds were opened better results might follow, and\nperhaps inscriptions or cylinders would be discovered. A year or two\nago a jar containing a large number of gold coins was found near Ali\nby some native workmen; these however were Cufic and of a much later\nperiod than the mounds. Near Yau and Zillag, on the other side of the\nisland there are also ruins and very deep wells cut through solid rock\nwith _deep_ rope-marks on the curbing; perhaps these also are of early\ndate. On the island of Moharrek there is a place called _Ed Dair_, \u201cthe\nmonastery\u201d with ruins of what the Arabs call a church; whether this\nis of Portuguese date like the castle or goes back to a much earlier\nperiod before Mohammed, we cannot tell.\n\nThe climate of Bahrein is not as bad as it is often described by\ncasual visitors. No part of the Persian Gulf can be called a health\nresort, but neither is the climate unhealthful at all seasons of the\nyear. In March and April, October, November and December the weather\nis delightful, indoor temperatures seldom rising above 85\u00b0 F., or\nfalling below 60\u00b0 F. When north winds blow in January and February it\nis often cold enough for a fire; these are the rainy months of the year\nand least healthful, especially to the natives in their badly-built\nmat-huts. From May to September inclusive is the hot season, although\nthe nights remain cool and the heat is tempered by sea-breezes (called,\n_El Barih_), until the middle of June. Heavy dews at night are\ncommon and make the atmosphere murky and oppressive when there is no\nsea-breeze. Land-breezes from the west and south continue irregularly\nthroughout the entire summer. When they fail the thermometer leaps to\nover one hundred and remains there day and night until the ripples\non the stagnant, placid sea proclaim a respite from the torture of\nsweltering heat. A record of temperature, kept at Menamah village in\nthe summer of 1893, shows a minimum indoor temperature of 85\u00b0 and a\nmaximum of 107\u00b0F., in the shade. The prevailing wind at Bahrein, and\nin fact all over the Gulf, is the _shemm\u0101l_ or Northwester changing\nits direction slightly with the trend of the coast. The air during a\nshemm\u0101l is generally very dry and the sky cloudless, but in winter they\nare sometimes at first accompanied by rain-squalls. In winter they are\nvery severe and endanger the shipping. The only other strong wind is\ncalled _kaus_; it is a southeaster and blows irregularly from December\nto April. It is generally accompanied by thick, gloomy weather, with\nsevere squalls and falling barometer. The saying among sailors that\n\u201cthere is always too much wind in the Gulf or none at all,\u201d is very\ntrue of Bahrein.\n\nThis saying holds true also of the political history of the Gulf.\nBahrein, because of its pearl-trade has ever been worth contending\nfor and it has been a bone of contention among the neighboring rulers\never since the naval battle fought by the early inhabitants against\nthe Romans. After Mohammed\u2019s day the Carmathians overran the islands.\nPortuguese, Arabs from Oman, Persians, Turks and lastly the English\nhave each in turn claimed rule or protection over the archipelago. It\nis sufficient to note here that in 1867, \u2019Isa bin Ali (called _Esau_ in\nCurzon\u2019s \u201cPersia,\u201d as if the name came from Jacob\u2019s brother instead of\nthe Arab form of Jesus!) was appointed ruling Sheikh by the British\nwho deposed his father Mohammed bin Khalifa for plotting piracy.\n\nThe present Sheikh is a typical Arab and spends most of his time in\nhawking and the chase; the religious rule, which in a Moslem land\nmeans the judicial and executive department, rests with the _Kadi_ or\nJudge. There is no legislature as the law was laid down once for all\nin the Koran and the traditions. The administration of _justice_ is\nrare. Oppression, blackmail and bribery are universal; and, except in\ncommerce and the slave-trade, English protection has brought about no\nreforms on the island. To be \u201cprotected\u201d means here strict neutrality\nas to the internal affairs and absolute dictation as to affairs with\nother governments. To \u201cprotect\u201d means to keep matters in _status quo_\nuntil the hour is ripe for annexation. Sometimes the process from the\none to the other is so gradual as to resemble growth; in such a case it\nwould be correct to speak of the growth of the British Empire.\n\nContact with Europeans and western civilization has, however, done much\nfor Bahrein in the matter of disarming prejudice and awakening the\nsluggish mind of the Arab to look beyond his own \u201cIsland of the Arabs.\u201d\nEven as early as 1867, Palgrave could write: \u201cFrom the maritime and\nin a manner central position of Bahreyn my readers may of themselves\nconjecture that the profound ignorance of Nejd regarding Europeans\nand their various classifications is here exchanged for a partial\nacquaintance with those topics; thus, English and French, disfigured\ninto the local _Ingleez_ and _Francees_ are familiar words at Menamah,\nthough Germans and Italians, whose vessels seldom or never visit these\nseas, have as yet no place in the Bahreyn vocabulary; while Dutch and\nPortuguese seem to have fallen into total oblivion. But Russians or\n_Moskop_, that is Muscovites, are alike known and feared, thanks to\nPersian intercourse and the instinct of nations. Beside the policy of\nConstantinople and Teheran are freely and at times sensibly discussed\nin these coffee-houses no less than the stormy diplomacy of Nejd and\nher dangerous encroachments.\u201d\n\nTo the Bahrein Arabs Bombay is the centre of the world of civilization,\nand he who has seen that city is distinguished as knowing all about\nthe ways of foreigners. So anxious are the boys for a trip on the\nBritish India steamer to this Eldorado of science and mystery that they\nsometimes run from home and go as stowaways or beg their passage. This\nclose contact with India has had its effect on the Arabic spoken on\nthe island which, although not a dialect, is full of Hindustani words.\nOf late years there has been a considerable Persian immigration into\nBahrein from the coast between Lingah and Bushire, and next to Arabic,\nPersian is the language most in use.\n\n\n\n\n XI\n\n THE EASTERN THRESHOLD OF ARABIA\n\n\nBeyond Bahrein the mainland stretches westward for eight hundred miles\nacross the province of Hassa and lower Nejd and Hejaz to the Red Sea.\nAs Jiddah is the western port, Bahrein is the eastern port for all\nArabia. It is the gateway to the interior, the threshold of which is\nHassa. Draw a line from Menamah to Katif, then on to Hofhoof (or El\nHassa) and thence back to Menamah, and the triangle formed will include\nevery important town or village of Eastern Arabia. North of that\ntriangle on the coast is the inhospitable barren, thinly populated,\ncountry of the Bni Hajar; south of it is the peninsula of El Katar;\nwestward stretches the sandy desert for five days\u2019 marches to Riad and\nthe old Wahabi country. The region thus bounded is really the whole of\nHassa, although on maps that name is given to the whole coast as far\nas Busrah. But neither the authority of the Turkish government nor the\nsignificance of the word _Hassa_ (low, moist ground) can be said to\nextend outside of the triangle.\n\nThe peninsula of El Katar, about 100 miles long and fifty broad, is\nunattractive in every way and barren enough to be called a desert.\nPalgrave\u2019s pen-picture cannot be improved upon: \u201cTo have an idea of\nKatar my readers must figure to themselves miles on miles of low barren\nhills, bleak and sun-scorched, with hardly a single tree to vary the\ndry monotonous outline; below these a muddy beach extends for a quarter\nof a mile seaward in slimy quicksands, bordered by a rim of sludge and\nseaweed. If we look landwards beyond the hills we see what by extreme\ncourtesy may be called pasture land, dreary downs with twenty pebbles\nfor every blade of grass; and over this melancholy ground scene,\nbut few and far between, little clusters of wretched, most wretched\nearth cottages and palm-leaf huts, narrow, ugly and low; these are the\nvillages, or \u2018towns\u2019 (for so the inhabitants style them) of Katar. Yet\npoor and naked as is the land it has evidently something still poorer\nand nakeder behind it, something in short even more devoid of resources\nthan the coast itself, and the inhabitants of which seek here by\nviolence what they cannot find at home. For the villages of Katar are\neach and all carefully walled in, while the downs beyond are lined with\ntowers and here and there a castle, huge and square with its little\nwindows and narrow portals.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: NEIBUHR\u2019S MAP OF THE PERSIAN GULF.]\n\nThe population of Katar is not large; its principal town is Bedaa\u2019.\nAll the inhabitants live from the sea by pearl-diving and fishing, and\nin the season send out two hundred boats. The whole peninsula with\nits wild Bedouin population is claimed by Turkey and is the dread of\nthe miserable soldiers who are sent there to preserve peace and draw\nprecarious pay while they shake with malaria and grow homesick for\nBagdad. The Arabs are always at feud with the government and it is very\nunsafe outside the walls after sunset.\n\nThe usual route from Bahrein to the interior of Hassa is to cross over\nby boat to Ojeir on the mainland, and thence to travel by caravan\nto Hofhoof. In October, 1893, I took this route, returning from the\ncapital to Katif and thence back to Menamah. Embarking at sunset we\nlanded at Ojeir before dawn the next day and I found my way to a\nTurkish custom-house officer to whom I had a friendly letter from a\nBahrein merchant. Ojeir, although it has neither a bazaar nor any\nsettled population, has a mud-fort, a dwarf flagstaff and an imposing\ncustom-house. The harbor although not deep is protected against\nnorth and south winds and is therefore a good landing-place for the\nimmense quantity of rice and piece-goods shipped from Bahrein into\nthe interior. A caravan of from two to three hundred camels leaves\nOjeir every week. For although the Jebel Shammar country is probably\nsupplied overland from Busrah and Bagdad, the whole of Southern Nejd\nreceives piece-goods, coffee, rice, sugar and Birmingham wares by way\nof Bahrein and Ojeir.\n\nThe whole plain in and about the custom-house was piled with bales\nand boxes and the air filled with the noise of loading seven hundred\ncamels. I struck a bargain with Salih, a Nejdi, to travel in his party\nand before noon-prayers we were off. The country for many hours was\nbare desert, here and there a picturesque ridge of sand, and in one\nplace a vein of greenish limestone. When night came we all stretched\na blanket on the clean sand and slept in the open air; those who\nhad neglected their water-skins on starting now satisfied thirst by\nscooping a well with their hands three or four feet deep and found a\nsupply of water. During the day the sun was hot and the breeze died\naway; but at night, under the sparkling stars and with a north wind\nit seemed, by contrast, bitterly cold. On the second day at noon we\nsighted the palm-forests that surround Hofhoof and give it, Palgrave\nsays, \u201cthe general aspect of a white and yellow onyx chased in an\nemerald rim\u201d As we did not reach the \u201cemerald rim\u201d until afternoon I\nconcluded to remain at Jifr, one of the many suburb villages. Here\nSalih had friends, and a delicious dinner of bread, butter, milk and\ndates, all fresh, was one of many tokens of hospitality. At sunset we\nwent on to the next village, Menazeleh, a distance of about three miles\nthrough gardens and rushing streams of tepid water. The next morning\nearly we again rode through gardens and date-orchards half visible in\nthe morning mist. At seven o\u2019clock the mosques and walls of Hofhoof\nappeared right before us as the sun lifted the veil; it was a beautiful\nsight.\n\nEl Hofhoof can claim a considerable age. Under the name of Hajar, it\nwas next to Mobarrez, the citadel town of the celebrated Bni Kindi\nand Abd El Kais (570 A.D.) Both of these towns, and in fact every\nvillage of Hassa, owe their existence to the underground watercourses,\nwhich are the chief characteristic of the province; everywhere there\nis the same abundance of this great blessing. A land of streams and\nfountains,\u2014welling up in the midst of the salt sea, as at Bahrein;\nflowing unknown and unsought under the dry desert at Ojeir; bubbling\nup in perennial fountains as at Katif; or bursting out in seven hot\nsprings that flow, cooling, to bless wide fields of rice and wheat at\nMobarrez. The entire region is capable of rich cultivation, and yet now\nmore than half of it is desert. There is not a man to till the ground,\nand paradise lies waste except near the villages. Elsewhere Bedouin\nrobbers and Turkish taxes prevent cultivation. _These two are the curse\nof agriculture all over the Ottoman provinces of Arabia._\n\n[Illustration: PALGRAVE\u2019S PLAN OF HOFHOOF.]\n\nHofhoof itself is surrounded by gardens, and its plan gives a good idea\nof the general character of the towns of Arabia. A castle or ruler\u2019s\nhouse; a bazaar with surrounding dwellings and a mud-wall built around\nto protect the whole. The moat is now dry and half filled in with the\nd\u00e9bris of the walls, which are not in good repair. The town is nearly a\nmile and a-half across at its greater diameter, but the houses are not\nbuilt as close together as is the custom in most Oriental towns; here\nis the pleasant feature of gardens _inside_ the walls. The date-palm\npredominates, and indeed comes to wonderful perfection, but the nabak,\nthe papay, the fig and the pomegranate are also in evidence. Indigo is\ncultivated, and also cotton, while all the region round about is green\nwith fields of rice and sugar-cane and vegetables,\u2014onions, radishes,\nbeans, vetches, and maize.\n\nThe population of the city is entirely Moslem, except one Roman\nCatholic Christian, who is the Turkish doctor, and a half dozen Jews.\nThe three Europeans who have previously visited and described Hofhoof\nare, Captain Sadlier (1819), Palgrave (1863), and Colonel Pelly (1865).\nThe first gives the population at 15,000 and Palgrave speaks of 20,000\nto 30,000. In 1871 when the Turkish expedition against Nejd took the\ncity, they reported it to have 15,000 houses and 200 suburb villages(!)\nThis shows the absolute uncertainty of most statistics in regard to\nArabia.\n\nEl Hassa (Hofhoof) is the first stage on the direct caravan route from\neast Arabia to Mecca and Jiddah. Abd Er Rahman bin Salama, the Arab\nSheikh, under the Turkish governor of the Rifa\u2019a quarter of the town\ngave me the following information regarding this route. From Hassa to\nRiad is six days by camel, from Riad to Jebel Shammar nine days; to\nWady Dauasir seven; and from Riad to Mecca eighteen days. That would be\n_twenty-eight days_ to cross the peninsula, not including stops on the\nroad and travelling at the rate of an ordinary caravan, _i. e._, three\nmiles an hour\n\nThe Kaisariyeh or bazaar of Hofhoof is well supplied with all the\nusual requirements and luxuries of the Levant; weapons, cloth, gold\nembroidery, dates, vegetables, dried fish, wood, salted locusts, fruit,\nsandals, tobacco, copper-ware and piece-goods\u2014in irregular confusion as\nenumerated. Public auctions are held frequently in the square or on\nthe plain outside the walls. Here, too, the barbers ply their trade,\nand blacksmiths beat at their anvils under the shade of a date-hut.\nThe Rifa\u2019a quarter has the _best_ houses, while the Na\u2019athal has the\nlargest number; the \u201cEast-end\u201d in Hofhoof being for the rich and the\n\u201cWest-end\u201d for the poor, as is proper in a land of paradoxes.\n\nHassa is celebrated for two sorts of manufacture; cloaks or _abbas_,\nwith rich embroidery in gold and colored thread, delicately wrought and\nof elegant pattern, the gayest and costliest garments of Arabia; and\nbrass coffee-pots of curious shape and pretty form, which, with the\ncloaks, are exported all over Eastern Arabia, even as far as Busrah\nand Muscat. Once trade flourished and the merchants grew rich in this\nland of easy agriculture and fertile soil. But intestine wars, Wahabi\nfanaticism and Turkish indolence, extortion and taxation have taken\naway prosperity, and Hassa\u2019s capital is not what it was in the days of\nold, when the Carmathians held the town.\n\nOne remnant of its former glory remains; a unique and entirely local\ncoinage called the _Toweelah_ or \u201clong-bit.\u201d It consists of a small\ncopper-bar, mixed with a small proportion of silver, about an inch in\nlength, split at one end and with a fissure slightly opened. Along\none or both of its flattened sides run a few Cufic characters, nearly\nillegible in most specimens, but said to read: _Mohammed-al-Saood_,\n_i.e._, \u201cMohammed of the Saood family.\u201d The coin has neither date nor\nmotto, but was undoubtedly made by one of the Carmathian Princes about\nthe year 920 A. D. This Moslem sect owed its origin to a fanatic and\nenthusiast born at Cufa, called Carmath, who first had a following\nabout the year 277 of the Hejira. He assumed the lofty titles, Guide,\nDirector, the Word, the Holy Ghost, the Herald of the Messiah, etc. His\ninterpretation of the Koran was very lax in the matters of ablution,\nfasting, and pilgrimage, but he increased the number of prayers to\nfifty daily. He had twelve apostles among the Bedouins, and his sect\ngrew so rapidly that they could muster in the field 107,000 fanatical\nwarriors. Cufa and Busrah were pillaged and Bagdad taken. In 929 Abu\nTaher stormed the Holy City of Mecca and the Carmathians took away the\nblack stone in triumph to Katif. The centre of their power remained\nat Hassa for some years. Here the coin was struck, which is the only\nremnant of their power and fanaticism. And while the Carmathian\ndoctrines are held in abhorrence, their little bars of copper still\nbuy rice and dates and stick to the hands of the money-changer in the\nbazaar.\n\nIn former days there were gold and silver coins of similar shape. Some\nin silver can yet be found occasionally inscribed with the noble motto\nin Arabic: \u201c_Honor to the sober man, dishonor to the ambitious._\u201d When\nI was in Hofhoof that strange, two-tailed copper-bar was worth half an\nanna and disputed its birthright in the market with rupees and Indian\npaper and Maria Theresa dollars and Turkish coppers. But how changed\nthe bazaar itself would appear to the ghost of some Carmathian warrior\nof the ninth century who first handled a \u201clong-bit.\u201d Even the Wahabis\nhave disappeared and tobacco, silk, music and wine are no longer\ndeadly sins. Of these Moslem Puritans many have left for Riad, and the\nfew that remain stroke their long white beards in horror at Turkish\nEffendis in infidel breeches smoking cigarettes, while they sigh for\nthe golden days of the Arabian Reformer.\n\nThere is a military hospital at Hofhoof with a surgeon and doctor,\nbut at the time of my visit there was a dearth of medicines and\nan abominable lack of sanitation. Few soldiers submit to hospital\ntreatment, preferring to desert or seek furlough elsewhere, and nothing\nis done for the Arab population. Before my coming cholera raged here as\nwell as on the coast, and during my short visit smallpox was epidemic\nand carried off many, many children. Thrice awful are such diseases in\na land where a practical fanaticism, under the pious cloak of religion,\nscorns medicine or preventive measures.\n\nThe government of the province of Hassa is as follows. The _Sandjak_\n(Turkish for administrative division) is divided into three _cazas_,\nNejd, Katar and Katif and a small garrison holds each of these\ncazas; 600 men at Hofhoof, and 300 at Katar and Katif. The governor,\ncalled Mutaserrif Pasha, resides at the capital and _kaimakams_ or\nsub-governors at the other two centres. There are the usual Turkish\ntribunals and each Arab tribe has a representative or go-between to\narrange its affairs with the governor. The principal tribes which at\npresent acknowledge Turkish occupation and submit to their rule are:\nEl Ajeman, El Morah, Bni Hajar, Bni Khaled, Bni Hassam, El Motter, El\nHarb, and El Ja\u2019afer. The Turkish government has opened three schools\nin the province; the total number of pupils according to the Turkish\nofficial report is 3,540. The same report puts the entire population\nof the province at 250,000; this gives a fair idea of the backwardness\nof education even in this province which has always been remarkable\nfor book-learning. The large mosque with its twenty-four arches and\nporticoes, smooth-plastered and with a mat-spread floor is always\nfull of mischievous youth learning the mysteries of grammar and the\ncommonplaces of Moslem theology; but the days of poetry and writing of\ncommentaries on the Koran are in the past; even the Wahabi merchants\ntalk of Bombay and are glad to get hold of an English primer or an\natlas of the new world which is knocking at their door for admittance.\n\nAfter four days spent in the city I accepted an opportunity to return\nnorthward with a caravan; I was not allowed to go, however, until\nafter I had signed a paper, which, because of the unsafety of the road\ndisclaimed all responsibility on the part of the Government should I\ncome to lose life, limb or luggage. A copy of this document is in my\npossession, but the only foe I met in the desert was\u2014fever. On Tuesday\nnoon our small party set out, not going through the large town of\nMobarrez as I had hoped, but turning east and reaching Kilabeejeh at\ntwo o\u2019clock. We passed fountains and streams and fields of rice and\nswamps,\u2014everything very unlike Arabia of the school-geography. In four\nhours, however, we were again in the midst of desert where the sun\nproved too hot for me and I was taken with a fever which did not leave\nme until I returned to Bahrein. The road continued desert all the way\nto Katif. On Wednesday we rode all night under the stars (because of\na false alarm of robbers) until nine o\u2019clock next morning. Then we\nrested at a place called, with bitter irony, Um El Hammam; there are\nno _baths_, no trees, no grass, only a shallow pit of dirty water and\nsmall shrubbery of dates. Here we spent a hot day. On Friday morning\nwe came to the borders of Katif,\u2014palm-groves, wells, and ancient\naqueducts with curious towers and air-holes at intervals. Through\ngardens and around by the large square fort we came to the sea. At the\ncustom-house, again, I found rest and refreshment.\n\nKatif has no good name among Hassa Arabs; its location is low\nand marshy; \u201cits inhabitants are mostly weak in frame, sallow in\ncomplexion, and suffer continually from malaria. The town itself is\nbadly built, woefully filthy, damp and ill-favored in climate. Yet\nit has a good population and brisk trade. The inhabitants are mostly\nShiahs of Persian origin and are held in abhorrence by the Wahabis and\nthe Turks alike as little better than infidels. The present location\nof Katif corresponds to the very ancient settlement of the _Gerrha_ of\nthe Greek geographers but no exploration for ruins has ever been made.\nA Portuguese castle marks _their_ occupation of this coast also during\ntheir supremacy in the gulf. Katif was taken by the Turks in 1871 and\nhas been occupied by them ever since.\n\nThe Arabian coast north of Katif, all the way to Kuweit is without\na single large settlement. Mostly barren and in the hands of the\npredatory and warlike tribe of Bni Hajar, it is very uninteresting and\nentirely unproductive.\n\n\n\n\n XII\n\n THE RIVER-COUNTRY AND THE DATE-PALM\n\n \u201cThe rich plains of Mesopotamia and Assyria which were once cultivated\n by a populous nation and watered by surprising efforts of human\n industry, are now inhabited, or rather ravaged by wandering Arabs. So\n long as these fertile provinces shall remain under the government, or\n rather anarchy of the Turks they must continue deserts in which nature\n dies for want of the fostering care of man\u201d\u2014_Niebuhr_ (1792).\n\n\nWhat changes of history have left their records in ruins and names and\nlegends on the great alluvial plains of Northeastern Arabia! The two\nrivers still bear their Bible names, the Euphrates and _Dijleh_, or\nHiddekel, but nothing else is left which could be called paradise. What\nimpresses the traveller first and most is that so large an extent of\nthis fertile region lies waste and unproductive under an effete rule.\nThe splendor of the past can scarcely be believed because of the ruin\nof the present. Everywhere are traces of ancient empires and yet it\nseems incredible as we watch the half-naked Arabs ploughing through the\nmud-banks with their wild cattle and primitive implements.\n\nWas this the cradle of the human race? Babylon and Nineveh are here\nfor the archaeologist; Ctesiphon, Kufa and Zobeir for the historian;\nBagdad and Busrah (or Bassorah) for old Arabian romance; and Ur of\nthe Chaldees for the Bible student. Since Haroun Rashid went about in\ndisguise how many yet stranger Arabian nights has Bagdad seen! How\nsurprised Sinbad the sailor would be to see the decay of Busrah, yet\nwith a dozen \u201csmoke-ships\u201d in its harbor!\n\nMesopotamia, called by the Arabs _El Jezira_, was formerly limited to\nthe land lying between the two rivers and south of the old wall by\nwhich they were connected above Bagdad. From this point to the Persian\nGulf the district was and is still known as Irak-Arabi, to distinguish\nit from the Irak of Persia. Commonly, however, the name of Mesopotamia\n(Mid-River-Country) is given to the whole northeastern part of Arabia.\nIt has a total area of 180,000 square miles and presents great\nuniformity in its physical as well as its ethnical characteristics.\nArabs live and Arabic is spoken for three hundred miles beyond Bagdad\nas far as Diarbekr and Mardin; but we limit our description to the\nregion between Busrah and Bagdad including the delta at the mouth of\nthe rivers.\n\nNear Bagdad the two giant rivers, after draining Eastern Asia Minor,\nArmenia and Kurdistan, approach quite near together; from thence\nthe main streams are connected by several channels and intermittent\nwatercourses, the chief of which is the Shatt-el Hai. At Kurna the two\nrivers unite to form the Shatt-el-Arab which traverses a flat, fertile\nplain dotted with villages and covered with artificially irrigated\nmeadow-lands and extensive date groves. As far up as Bagdad the river\nis navigable throughout the year for steamers of considerable size.\nIt is entirely owing to the enterprise of English commerce and the\nBagdad-Busrah steamship line that the country, so gloomily described by\nNiebuhr, in 1792, and even by Chesney in 1840, has been developed into\nnew life and prosperity. Even Turkish misrule and oppression cannot do\naway utterly with natural fertility and productiveness; and if ever a\ngood government should hold this region it would regain its ancient\nimportance and double its present population.\n\nTwo features are prominent in the physical geography of this region.\nFirst the flat almost level stretches of meadow without any rise or\nfall except the artificial ancient mounds[36]. The second is the\ndate-palm. The whole length of the country from Fao and Mohammerah\nto the country of the Montefik Arabs above Kurna is one large date\nplantation, on both sides of the wide river. Everywhere the tall\nshapely trees line the horizon and near the lower estuary of the\nShatt-el-Arab they are especially luxuriant and plentiful. Formerly\nevery palm-tree on the Nile, was registered and taxed; but to count\nevery such tree on the Shatt-el-Arab would be an unending task.\n\nThe proper coat-of-arms for all lower Mesopotamia would be a date-palm.\nIt is the \u201cbanner of the climate\u201d and the wealth of the country. There\nmay be monotony in these long groves and rows of well-proportioned\ncolumns with their tops hidden in foliage, but there certainly is\nnothing wearisome. A date garden is a scene of exceeding beauty,\nvarying greatly according to the time of the day and the state of\nthe weather. At sunrise or sunset the gorgeous colors fall on the\ngracefully pendant fronds or steal gently through the lighter foliage\nand reflect a vivid green so beautiful that once seen, it can never\nbe forgotten. At high-noon the dark shadows and deep colors of the\ndate-forests refresh and rest the eye aching from the brazen glare of\nsand and sky. But the forest is at its best, when on a dewy night the\nfull moon rises and makes a pearl glisten on every spiked leaf and the\nshadows show black as night in contrast with the sheen of the upper\nfoliage.\n\nIt was an Arab poet who first sang the song of the date-palm so\nbeautifully interpreted by Bayard Taylor:\n\n \u201cNext to thee, O fair Gazelle!\n O Bedowee girl, beloved so well,\u2014\n Next to the fearless Nejidee\n Whose fleetness shall bear me again to thee\u2014\n Next to ye both I love the palm\n With his leaves of beauty and fruit of balm.\n Next to ye both, I love the tree\n Whose fluttering shadows wrap us three\n In love and silence and mystery.\n\n Our tribe is many, our poets vie\n With any under the Arab sky\n Yet none can sing of the palm but I.\n The noble minarets that begem\n Cairo\u2019s citadel diadem\n Are not so light as his slender stem.\n He lifts his leaves in the sunbeam glance\n As the Almehs lift their arms in dance;\n A slumberous motion, a passionate sigh\n That works in the cells of the blood like wine.\n O tree of love, by that love of thine\n Teach me how I shall soften mine.\u201d\n\nMark Twain compared the palm-tree to \u201ca liberty-pole with a haycock\u201d\non top of it. The truth lies between the poet and the \u201cInnocent\u201d\ntraveller, for the date-tree is both a poem and a commercial product;\nto the Arab mind it is the perfection of beauty and utility.\n\nThe date palm-tree is found in Syria, Asia Minor, nearly all parts of\nArabia and the southern islands of the Mediterranean, but it attains to\nits greatest perfection in upper Egypt and Mesopotamia.[37] Some idea\nof the immense importance of this one crop in the wealth of Mesopotamia\nmay be gained from the statement of an old English merchant at Busrah,\nthat \u201cthe entire annual date-harvest of the River-country might\nconservatively be put at 150,000 tons.\u201d\n\nThe date-tree consists of a single stem or trunk about fifty to eighty\nfeet high, without a branch, and crowned at the summit by a cluster of\nleaves or \u201cpalms\u201d that drop somewhat in the shape of a huge umbrella.\nEach of these palms has long lanceolate leaves spreading out like a\nfan from the centre stem which often attains a length of ten or even\ntwelve feet. In a wild state the successive rows of palms, which mark\nthe annual growth of the tree, wither and contract but remain upon the\ntrunk, producing with every breath of wind the creaking sound so\noften heard in the silence of the desert-night. But where the palms are\ncultivated the old stems are cut away as fast as they dry and are put\nto many different uses. The trunk of the palm-tree therefore presents\nthe appearance of scales which enable a man, whose body is held to the\ntree by a rope noose, to climb to the top with ease and gather the\nfruit. At a distance, these annual _rings_ of the date-palm appear as a\nseries of diagonal lines dividing the trunk. Palm-trees often reach the\nage of a hundred years. The date-palm is di\u0153cious; but in Mesopotamia\nthe pistilate-palms far exceed in number the staminate. Marriage of the\npalms takes place every spring and is a busy time for the husbandman as\nit is no small task to climb all the trees and sprinkle the pollen.\n\n[Illustration: A DATE ORCHARD NEAR BUSRAH.]\n\n[Illustration: DATES GROWING ON A DATE-PALM.]\n\nArabs have written books and Europeans have composed fables on the\nthousand different uses of the palm-tree. Every part of this wonderful\ntree is useful to the Arabs in unexpected ways. To begin at the\ntop:\u2014The pistils of the date-blossom contain a fine curly fibre which\nis beaten out and used in all Eastern baths as a sponge for soaping\nthe body. At the extremity of the trunk is a terminal bud containing a\nwhitish substance resembling an almond in consistency and taste, but\na hundred times as large. This is a great table delicacy. There are\nsaid to be over one hundred varieties of date-palm all distinguished\nby their fruit and the Arabs say that \u201ca good housewife may furnish\nher husband every day for a month with a dish of dates differently\nprepared.\u201d Dates form the staple food of the Arabs in a large part of\nArabia and are always served in some form at every meal. Syrup and\nvinegar is made from old dates, and by those who disregard the Koran,\neven a kind of brandy. The date-pit is ground up and fed to cows and\nsheep so that nothing of the precious fruit may be lost. Whole pits are\nused as beads and counters for the Arab children in their games on the\ndesert-sand. The branches or palms are stripped of their leaves and\nused like rattan, to make beds, tables, chairs, cradles, bird-cages,\nreading-stands, boats, crates, etc., etc. The leaves are made into\nbaskets, fans and string and the _bast_ of the outer trunk forms\nexcellent fibre for rope of many sizes and qualities. The wood of the\ntrunk, though light and porous, is much used in bridge-building and\narchitecture and is quite durable. In short, when a date-palm is cut\ndown there is not a particle of it that is wasted. This tree is the\n\u201cpoor-house\u201d and asylum for all Arabia; without it millions would have\nneither food nor shelter. For one half of the population of Mesopotamia\nlives in date-mat dwellings.\n\nAlthough everywhere the date-culture is an important industry, Busrah\nis the centre of the trade, for here is the principal depot for\nexport. The three best varieties of dates known at Busrah are the\n_Hallawi_, _Khadrawi_ and _Sayer_. These are the only kinds that will\nstand shipping to the European markets. They are packed in layers\nin wooden boxes, or in smaller carton boxes. The average export to\nLondon and New York from Busrah for the past five years has been\nabout _20,000 tons_, nearly one half of which was for the American\nmarket. Other important varieties are _Zehdi_, _B\u00e9rem_, _Dery_ and\n_Shukri_. These are packed more roughly in matting or baskets, and are\nsent along the whole Arabian coast, to India, the Red Sea littoral\nand Zanzibar. There are over thirty other varieties cultivated near\nBusrah for local consumption. Some of them have curious names such as:\n\u201cMother of Perfume,\u201d \u201cSealed-up,\u201d \u201cRed Sugar,\u201d \u201cDaughter of Seven,\u201d\n\u201cBride\u2019s-finger,\u201d \u201cLittle Star,\u201d \u201cPure Daughter\u201d; others have names\nwhich it is better not to translate.\n\nPalgrave and others, with whose verdict I agree, pronounced the\n_Khalasi_ date of El Hassa superior to all other kinds. It has recently\nbeen introduced into Mesopotamia. Palgrave says, \u201cthe literal and not\ninappropriate translation of the name is \u2018quintessence\u2019\u2014a species\npeculiar to Hassa and easily the first of its kind.\u201d The fruit itself\nis rather smaller than the usual _Hallawi_ date, but it is not so dry\nand far more luscious. It is of a rich dark amber color, almost ruddy,\nand translucent; the kernel is small and easily detached, the date\ntastes sweet as sugar and is as far superior to the date bought in the\nAmerican market as a ripe Pippin is to dried apple-rings.\n\nAt Busrah the date season opens in September and keeps every one busy\nuntil the vast harvest is gathered and shipped. The dates for export to\nEurope and America are of prime quality, a box of half a hundred-weight\non board the steamer is worth about three or four shillings wholesale.\nAll poor, wet, and small dates are packed separately in mats or\nbags, and are sent to India as second-quality. The poorest lot are\nsent in mass to the distilleries in England. Thus nothing is lost.\nDate-packers, who put the fruit in layers, receive three or four\n_kameris_ for packing a box. The best packers can only pack four boxes\na day, so that their wages are about a _kran_ (about ten cents) per\nday. They live cheaply on the fruit, and bring all their family, babes\nand greybeards with them to lodge for the season in the date-gardens.\nThe date season in Busrah begins in the early or middle part of\nSeptember and lasts for six or eight weeks. The price of the date-crop\nvaries. It is usually fixed at a meeting held in some date-garden where\nthe growers and buyers play the bull and the bear until an agreement\nis reached. The prices in 1897 were, in the language of the trade:\n\u201c340 Shamis for Hallawis, 280 Shamis for Khadrawis, and 180 Shamis for\nSayer.\u201d Seventeen _Shamis_ are equal to about one pound sterling, and\nthe prices quoted are for a _kara_, about fifty hundred-weights.\n\nThe culture of the date has steadily increased for the past fifteen\nyears. In 1896 the greater part of the country was inundated by heavy\nfloods and over a million date-trees are said to have been destroyed;\nnew gardens are being planted continually. The Arabs of Mesopotamia\ndisplay great skill and unusual care in manuring, irrigating and\nimproving their date-plantations, for they realize more and more that\nthis is no mean source of wealth. One recent use to which export dates\nare put is in the manufacture of vinegar, it would seem, since the\nbeet-sugar industry has proved so profitable, that there must be some\nmethod by which good sugar could be manufactured from date-syrup.\n\nMesopotamia is rich not only in date-groves but in cereals, wool, gums,\nlicorice root and other products. The export of wool alone in 1897 was\nvalued at \u00a3288,700. And the total exports the same year, for the two\nprovinces of Bagdad and Busrah, were put at \u00a3522,960. Busrah is the\nshipping place for all the region round about, and ocean steamers of\nconsiderable size are always in Busrah harbor, during 1897 four hundred\nand twenty-one sailing vessels and ninety-five steamships cleared the\nport, with a total tonnage of 131,846; ninety-one of the steamships\nwere British.\n\nThe population of the two vilayets is given by Cuinet, who follows\nTurkish authorities, as follows:\n\n _Moslems._ _Christians._ _Jews._ _Total._\n Bagdad Vilayet, 789,500 7,000 53,500 850,000\n Busrah Vilayet, 939,650 5,850 4,500 950,000\n\nIn Bagdad vilayet nearly four-fifths of the Moslem population belongs\nto the Sunnite sect, while in Busrah vilayet three-fourths of them\nare Shiahs. The Sabeans are generally reckoned among the Christians,\nalthough these are already sufficiently divided into Latin, Greek\nOrthodox, Greek, Syrian, Chaldean Catholic, Armenian Gregorian,\nArmenian Catholic and Protestants\u2014the last in the smallest minority\npossible and the others chiefly distinguished by mutual distrust and\nunited hatred of Protestantism.\n\nThe vilayet of Bagdad is divided again into three _Sandjaks_ or\ndistricts of Bagdad, Hillah and Kerbela, and that of Busrah likewise\ninto those of Busrah, Amara Muntefik and Nejd[38]. Of these six\ndistricts that of Bagdad is the largest in area and importance and is\nthe centre of military power for both vilayets. The boundaries of\nBagdad Sandjak go as far as Anah on the Euphrates toward the north and\ninclude Kut-el-Amara on the south with both banks of the Tigris. Hillah\nand Kerbela are along the Euphrates with irregular boundaries while the\nMuntefik Sandjak with its provincial town of Nasariya separates them\nfrom that of Busrah. The Sandjak of Amara begins a few miles north of\nthe junction of the two rivers, and the whole frontier toward Persia\nis entirely undefined or at least \u201c_in litigation_,\u201d as the Turkish\nofficial maps have it.\n\nThe two Turkish provinces have all the involved machinery of Turkish\ncivil and military administration. There are plenty of offices and\noffice-holders and constant changes in both. Each province has a\ngovernor-general or _Wali_ and (outside of the governor\u2019s sandjak)\neach district has its _mutaserrif-pasha_ either of the first or second\nclass\u2014those one has to deal with generally prove to be of the latter.\nThen there are _Kaimakams_ for smaller districts or cities, and\nfinally _mudirs_ for villages. At the seat of government, called the\n_Serai_, there is an administrative council, including the _N\u00e4ib_ or\n_kadi_, corresponding to chief-justice; the _defterdar_ or secretary of\nfinance; the _mufti_ or public interpreter of Moslem law; the _nakib_,\netc., etc., etc. There are several courts of justice of different\nrank; the custom-house administration is on the _e pluribus unum_ plan\nand _ne plus ultra_ system. Besides these there are the \u201cRegie des\ntabacs\u201d or the tobacco-monopoly, the post and telegraph administration,\nthe sanitary offices, the salt-inspectors, and, at Kerbela, the\nTarif of corpses levied on imported pilgrims. To describe all these\nsatisfactorily would require a volume.\n\n\n\n\n XIII\n\n THE CITIES AND VILLAGES OF TURKISH-ARABIA\n\n\nKuweit,[39] on the gulf a little south of the river delta, will in all\nprobability\u2014before long, rise in importance and be as well known as\nSuez or Port Said. It has the finest harbor in all Eastern Arabia, and\nis an important town of from 10,000 to 12,000 inhabitants. Here will\nprobably be the terminus of the proposed railroads to bind India and\nthe gulf to Europe by the shortest route. The whole country round about\nbeing practically desert, the place is entirely dependent on its trade\nfor support. It possesses more bagalows (sailing-vessels) than any port\nin the gulf; is remarkably cleanly; has some very well-built houses\nand an extensive dockyard for boat building. The town and tribe are\nnominally under Turkish subjection, although protection is the better\nword, and it is rumored that Kuweit will soon be as much in the hands\nof the English as is Bahrein.\n\nThe Bedouin tribes of Northern Hassa, and even from Nejd, bring\nhorses, cattle and sheep to this place to barter for dates, clothing\nand fire-arms. There is nearly always a large encampment of Bedouins\nnear the town. The route overland from Kuweit to Busrah is across the\ndesert until we come to an old artificial canal; leaving Jebel Sinam to\nthe left the second march brings us to Zobeir, a small village on the\nsite of ancient Busrah, and only a few hours to the present site. At\nZobeir is the tomb of the Moslem leader for whom the town is named.\nThe village contains about 400 houses, and the population is rich and\nfanatical. In the vicinity are gardens where a kind of melon is raised,\nwhich is celebrated in all the region round about for sweetness and\ndelicacy of flavor. The journey from Kuweit to Busrah is generally\nmade, even by natives, in bugalows; while the Persian Gulf steamers,\nnot calling at Kuweit, proceed direct from Bushire to Fao, at the mouth\nof the Shatt-el-Arab. A great hindrance to commerce is the bar formed\nby the alluvial deposit of the immense river as it reaches the gulf.\nAt low tide there is only ten feet of water in the deepest part of the\nchannel, and even at flood tide large steamers must plow their way\nthrough the mud to reach Busrah.\n\nFao is of no importance except as the terminus of the cable from\nBushire. A British telegraph station was established here in 1864. The\nTurkish telegraph system from up the rivers terminates at Fao, and\nhere too they have a representative to govern the place and enforce\nstringent quarantine. The Shatt-el-Arab winds motononously between the\nvast date-orchards or desert banks for about forty miles, until we\nreach the Karun river and the Persian town of Mohammerah. Busrah is\nsixty-seven miles from the bar and between it and Fao there are many\nimportant villages on each bank of the river. Aboo Hassib is perhaps\nthe most important and is a great centre for date-culture and packing.\n\nBusrah consists of the native city\u2014containing the principal bazaars,\nthe government house, and the bulk of the population\u2014and the new town\non the river. The native town is about two miles from the river on a\nnarrow creek, called _Ashar_; a good road runs along the bank, and\nthis road really unites the two parts of the city into one as it is\nlined with dwelling-houses for a large part of the way. Busrah has seen\nbetter days, but also worse. In the middle of the eighteenth century\nit numbered upward of 150,000 inhabitants. In 1825, it had diminished\nto 60,000; the plague of 1831 reduced it further by nearly one-half,\nand after the plague of 1838, scarcely 12,000 inhabitants remained.\nIn 1854, it is said to have had only 5,000 inhabitants. At present\nthe place is growing yearly in population and importance in spite of\nmisgovernment and ruinous taxation. It has every natural advantage\nover Bagdad, except climate, and will yet outstrip the city of the\nold caliphs, if Turkey\u2019s rule mends or ends. The present population\nof the city proper is given by Ottoman authorities at 18,000. Many\nruins all over the plains and in the surrounding gardens tell of its\nformer extent and splendor. At present the native town looks sadly\ndilapidated, and tells the story of neglect and decay. The unexampled\nfilthiness of the streets and the undrained marshes in the environs\nmake the place proverbially unhealthy. This unhygienic condition is not\nimproved by the Ashar Creek being at the same time the common sewer\nand the common water supply for over one-half of the population. The\nwealthy classes send out boats to bring water from the river, but all\nthe poorer people use the creek. Such are the results of an imbecile\ngovernment which could easily drain the marshes and supply every one\nwith great abundance of pure water.\n\nAncient Busrah, near the present site of Zobeir, was founded in 636 A.\nD., by the second Caliph Omar as a key to the Euphrates and Tigris. It\nreached great prosperity, and was the home of poetry and grammatical\nlearning, as Bagdad was the centre of science and philosophy. After\nthe twelfth century the city began to decay, and at the conquest of\nBagdad by Murad IV., in 1638, this entire stretch of country fell\ninto the hands of the Turks. Then the present city took the name of\nBusrah. Later it was in the hands of the Arabs and Persians, and\nfrom 1832 to 1840, Mohammed Ali was in possession. Under the rule of\nMidhat Pasha, governor-general of Bagdad, the city of Busrah arose in\nimportance partly because of the Turkish Steam Navigation Company which\nhe promoted. But it was a dream-life. English commerce and enterprise\naroused the place thoroughly, and the whistle of steamships has kept\nit awake ever since the Suez canal opened trade with Europe by way of\nthe gulf.[40]\n\nIn making the journey from Busrah to Bagdad the traveller has choice\nof two lines of river-steamers: the Ottoman service has six steamers\nand the English company three, but the latter are only allowed to use\ntwo by the Turkish government. For romance, discomfort and tediousness,\nchoose the former; for all other reasons select the latter. I have\ntried both. The English steamers carry the mails to Bagdad and make\nweekly trips; four or five days being required for the journey up\nstream, and three days down, although when the water is low the journey\nmay be long delayed. In bad or shallow places the steamers often\ndischarge a part of their cargo, heave over the shallow part and load\nup again. Of course trade suffers and vast quantities of merchandise\noften lie for weeks at Busrah awaiting shipment. No steps are ever\ntaken by the Ottoman government to counteract the great waste of water\nwhich flows into the marshes. In course of time, unless prevented, this\nwaste will lead to the closing up of the main channel of the Tigris\neven as the Euphrates below Suk-es-Shiukh has become a marsh for lack\nof use.\n\nThe good Steamship _Mejidieh_ with its kindly Captain Cowley, or the\nsister ship _Khalifah_ lies at anchor just off the English Consulate,\nthe blue-peter flies overhead and the decks are overcrowded with all\nsorts and conditions of men\u2014Persians, Turks, Indians, Arabs, Armenians,\nGreeks;\u2014baggage, bales, boxes, water-bottles\u2014chickens, geese, sheep,\nhorses, not to speak of the insect-population on which it is impossible\nto collect freight-charges. The steamers are somewhat after the type\nof the American river-steamers on the Mississippi; but no Mark Twain\nhas yet arisen to immortalize them, although they afford an even\nmore fertile theme. With a double deck and broad of beam they carry\nhundreds of passengers and an astonishing amount of cargo for their\nsize. The accommodation during cool weather is excellent, and during\nthe hot days no one travels for the sake of luxury.\n\nThe first place at which the steamer calls is Kurna at the junction\nof the rivers, and from whence the course is up the Tigris to Bagdad.\nThe Tomb of Ezra, about nine hours from Busrah, is a great place for\npilgrimages by the Jews. It is a pretty spot on the river bank and\npicturesque with its crowd of embarking and disembarking Jews and\nJewesses. The tomb is a domed cloister enclosing a square mausoleum,\nand paved with blue tiles. Over the doorway are two tablets of black\nmarble with Hebrew inscriptions attesting to the authenticity of the\ntomb. It is not improbable that Ezra is buried here, for the Talmud\nstates that he died at Zamzuma, a town on the Tigris. He is said to\nhave died here on his way from Jerusalem to Susa to plead the cause of\nthe captive Jews. Josephus says that he was buried at Jerusalem, but no\nJew of Bagdad doubts that Ezra\u2019s remains rest on the Tigris.\n\nTen hours beyond, we pass also on the west bank, Abu Sadra, a tomb of\nan Arab saint marked only by a reed-hut and a grove of poplars. Next\nis Amara, a large and growing village with a coaling-depot and an\nenterprising population. This place was founded in 1861, and promises\nto become a centre of trade. After passing Ali Shergi, Ali Gherbi, and\nSheikh Saad, small villages, without stopping, the steamer calls at\nKut-el-Amara, a larger place even than Amara, on the east bank, with\nover 4,000 inhabitants.\n\n[Illustration: THE REPUTED TOMB OF EZRA ON THE TIGRIS RIVER.]\n\nAll the way from Busrah to Bagdad, but especially along this part of\nthe river, we pass Bedouin tribes, encamped in the black tents of\nKedar, engaged in the most primitive agriculture or irrigation of their\nland, or rushing along the banks to hail the passing steamer. A hungry,\nimpudent, noisy, cheerful lot they are; filling the merciful with pity\nand moving the thoughtless to laughter, as they scramble up and down\nthe banks into the water to catch a piece of bread or a few dates\nthrown to them.\n\n[Illustration: RUINS OF THE ARCH OF CTESIPHON NEAR BAGDAD.]\n\nMeanwhile we steam along passing Bughela, Azizieh, Bagdadieh and\nreach Bustani Kesra, or the arch of Ctesiphon. The little village of\nSoleiman-Pak is named for the pious man who was the private barber of\nMohammed the prophet. After various wanderings, poor pious Pak was\nburied here, only a short distance from the great arch. A village\nsprang up near the tomb, pilgrims come from everywhere and miracles are\nclaimed to be wrought by him who when alive only handled the razor.\nThe whole region of Mesopotamia is more rich in saints, tombs and\npilgrim-shrines than any other part of Arabia.\n\nThe arch of Ctesiphon is not a shrine but it is well worth a visit.\nIt is the only prominent object that remains of the vast ruins of\nCtesiphon on the east bank of the Tigris, and Seleucia on the west.\nThe arch is now almost in ruins but must once have been the fa\u00e7ade\nof a magnificent building. Its length is 275 feet, and its height is\ngiven variously as eighty-six or one hundred feet; the walls are over\ntwelve feet thick and the span of the magnificent arch is nearly eighty\nfeet. What Ctesiphon was in the days of the Sassanian kings we read in\nGibbon. Now its glory has departed and the tomb of the Barber has more\nvisitors than the ancient throne of the Chosroes. Eight hours after\nleaving Ctesiphon\u2019s ruins, our steamer is in full sight of the city of\nHaroun Rashid.\n\nBagdad is a familiar name even to the boy who reads the Arabian tales\nrather than his geography. It is one of the chief cities of the Turkish\nempire and has a history much older than the empire itself. Founded\nby the Caliph Mansur about the year 765 A. D., it was the capital of\nthe Mohammedan world for five hundred years, until it was destroyed\nby Halakn, grandson of Jengiz Khan. Situated in the midst of what was\nonce the richest and most productive region of the old world it is\nnow no longer queen of the land but rather reminds us of decay and\ndissolution. Its present beauties are only the ruins of former glory.\nThe untidy soldiers slouching about the streets, the evil-smelling\nbazaars and ruined mosques, the rotten bridge of boats that spans the\nriver, the faces of the poor and the miserable who go begging through\nthe streets, indicate the curse of Turkish inanition and oppression.\n\nOn the west bank of the river is the old town enclosed by extensive\norange and date-groves. On the east bank is New-Bagdad, which also\nlooks old enough. Here are the government offices, consulates, and\nthe chief commercial buildings as well as the custom-offices. Bagdad\nis still an important city on many accounts. No other city of the\nTurkish empire is influenced so much by the desert and Arabia as is\nBagdad; and no other stands in such direct contact with the towns in\nthe interior of the peninsula. The Arabic spoken is comparatively pure,\nand Bedouin manners still prevail in many ways in the social life of\nthe people. The city has a very motley population, because of commerce\non the one hand and the number of pilgrim-shrines on the other. The\ntombs of Abd-ul-Kadir, and Abu Hanifah and the gilded domes and\nminarets which mark the resting-places of two of the Shiah Imams\u2014all\ndraw their annual concourse of visitors from many lands and peoples.\nAll the languages of the Levant are spoken on its streets although\nArabic prevails over all. Dr. H.M. Sutton remarks, \u201cI have been at the\nbedside of a patient where in a company of half-a-dozen people we had\noccasion to use five languages, and on another occasion we were in a\ncompany of about forty people in a room where no less than fourteen\nlanguages were represented. The land of Shinar is thus still the place\nof the confusion of tongues.\u201d Bagdad like Busrah has suffered greatly\nby ravages of the plague at various times, but especially in 1830 when\nthe plague was followed by a fearful inundation. In one night, when the\nriver burst its banks 7,000 houses fell and 15,000 people perished.\n\nThe population of Bagdad is at present variously estimated at from\n120,000 to 180,000. Nearly one-third are Jews while the Oriental\nChristians number about 5,000. The trade of Bagdad is large not only\nwith the region southwards and toward Busrah but with Nejd and Northern\nMesopotamia. The import trade from India and Europe to Bagdad is over\n\u00a31,000,000 every year, and the export trade to Europe alone is placed\nat \u00a3522,960 for 1897. The river north of Bagdad is not navigable for\nsteamers but an immense number of _kelleks_ daily arrive from the\nnorth loaded with lumber from Kurdistan and with other products. These\n_kelleks_ are a craft made of inflated goatskins boarded over with\nreeds and matting. The boatmen return with the empty skins overland\nwith the caravan companies. Still more characteristic of Bagdad is\nthe small river-boat called a _kuffe_ or coracle. It consists of a\nperfectly circular hull, six to eight feet in diameter, with sides\ncurving inward like a huge basket, and covered with pitch. This type of\nboat is as old as Nineveh and they are pictured quite accurately on the\nold monuments.\n\nBagdad has more than sixty-eight mosques, six churches and twenty-two\nsynagogues. Of the mosques some, like that of Daood Pasha, are in\nfine condition; others are almost in ruins, and remind one of the\nremark of Lady Ann Blunt: \u201cA city long past its prime, its hose a\nworld too wide for its shrunk shanks.\u201d The feature of Bagdad is of\ncourse the river Tigris, with its swift-flowing tide ever washing the\nmud banks and watering the gardens for miles around. The houses come\ndown close to the water\u2019s edge and some of them have pretty gardens\nalmost overhanging the stream and terraces and verandas\u2014oriental and\npicturesque. The British Residency is perhaps most beautiful in its\nlocation and its frontage on the river; but the other consulates vie\nwith it in displaying to the traveller the strength and hospitality of\nEuropean States. The European community is larger than at Busrah.\n\n\n\n\n XIV\n\n A JOURNEY DOWN THE EUPHRATES\n\n\nThrough the kind assistance of Colonel Mockler, at that time the Bagdad\nConsul General and Resident, in the autumn of 1892, I was able to make\nthe journey from Bagdad across to Hillah and down the Euphrates\u2014a route\nnot often taken by the traveller. After making necessary preparations\nand finding a suitable servant we hired two mules and left the city of\nthe old Caliphs with a caravan for Kerbela. It was in July and we made\nour first halt four hours from Bagdad, sleeping on a blanket under the\nstars. An hour after midnight the pack-saddles were lifted in place and\nwe were off again. It was a mixed company; Arabs, Persians, and Turks;\nmerchants for Hillah and pilgrims to the sacred shrines; women in those\ncurtained, cage-like structures called _taht-i-vans_,\u2014two portable\nzenanas hanging from each beast; dervishes on foot with green turbans,\nheavy canes and awful visages: and to complete the picture a number of\nrude coffins strapped cross-wise on pack-mules and holding the remains\nof some \u201ctrue believers,\u201d long since ready for the holy ground at Nejf\n(Nedjef).\n\nThe caravan travelled along the desert road mostly at night to escape\nthe fearful heat of midday when we sought shelter in public khan.\nNothing could be more uninteresting than the country between Bagdad\nand Babylon at this season of the year. The maps mark six khans on\nthe route, but three of these are in ruins and the others are merely\nstages of a caravan rather than villages or centres of cultivation.\nThe soil appears excellent, but there are no irrigation canals, and\neverything has a deserted appearance. A few low shrubs between the\nmounds and moles of an ancient civilization; mud-houses near the\nkhans and some Arab encampments; camel skeletons shining white by the\nwayside, under a burning sun; and a troop or two of gazelle making for\nthe river-banks\u2014that is all you see until you reach the palm-banked\nEuphrates at Hillah.\n\nThe khans consist of a large enclosure with heavy walls of sun-dried\nor Babylonian brick. In the interior are numerous alcoves or niches,\nten by six feet and four feet above ground; you seek out an empty\nniche and find a resting-place until the caravan starts at midnight.\nIn the centre of the enclosure is a well and a large platform for\nprayer\u2014utilized for sleeping and cooking by late arrivals who find no\nniche reserved as in our case. The rest of the court is for animals and\nbaggage. Usual Arab supplies were obtainable at these resting-places,\nbut every comfort is scarce and the innkeepers are too busy to be\nhospitable.\n\nKhan el Haswa where we arrived the second day is the centre of a small\nvillage of perhaps 300 people. At three in the morning we left Haswa\nbut it was nearly noon when we reached the river, because of a delay\non the road. The bazaar and business of Hillah were formerly on the\nBabylonian side of the stream, but are now principally on the further\nside of the rickety bridge of boats four miles below the ruins of\nBabylon. After paying toll we crossed over and found a room in the Khan\nPasha\u2014a close, dirty place, but in the midst of the town and near the\nriver. Hillah is the largest town on the Euphrates north of Busrah.\nSplendid groves of date-trees surround it and stretch along the river\nas far as the eye can reach. The principal merchandise of the town is\nwheat, barley and dates. Of the Moslem population two-thirds are Shiah,\nand the remaining Sunni are mostly Turks. There are one or two native\nChristians and many Jews, but it is difficult to estimate correctly the\npopulation of Hillah or of any of the towns on the Euphrates. At Hillah\nthe river is less than 200 yards wide and has a much more gentle flow\nthan the Tigris at Bagdad. A short distance northwest of the town is\nKerbela. It is only a village but the spot is visited by thousands of\nfaithful Moslems every year who venerate the twelve Imams of the Shiah\nsect. Here is the tomb of Hosein the grandson of the prophet and the\nson of Ali whom they believe the true successor in the Caliphate. By\nliving or dying here the Shiah devotee has nought to fear for the next\nworld. So strong is this belief that many leave directions in their\nwills to be buried in this hallowed spot. Thousands of corpses are\nimported some even from India\u2014after proper drying and salting\u2014and are\nlaid to rest in the sacred ground. Nejf, south of Hillah, is the place\nof Ali\u2019s martyrdom and is no less sacred for the living and the dead.\n\nAt Kerbela the manufacture of _torbat_ is about the only industry. A\n_torbat_ is a small piece of baked clay about two inches in length,\ngenerally round or oblong, with the names of Ali and Fatima rudely\nengraved on it. Made out of holy-ground, these are carried home by all\npilgrims and are used by nearly every Shiah as a resting-place for\nthe forehead in their prayer prostrations. According to all reports\nKerbela is similar to Mecca in its loose morals and the character of\nits permanent population.\n\nOn July 31st we left Hillah and sailed down the river in a native boat\nsimilar to the \u201cbellum\u201d of Busrah, but without awning. The Euphrates\nis more muddy than the Tigris, and its course, though less sinuous, is\nbroken here and there by shallow rapids.[41] We sailed all night and\ndid not stop until we arrived at Diwaniyeh the following afternoon.\nMany of the villages on the way appeared to have a considerable\npopulation; date-groves were plentiful, and we passed two or three\nMathhab or tombs of Arab Sheikhs, including that reputed to be Job\u2019s,\n\u201cthe greatest of all the sons of the East.\u201d\n\nAt Diwaniyeh I was directed to the Serai, or government-house, where\nthe Muttaserif Pasha of Hillah was forcing taxes from the unwilling\nArabs. I was kindly received, and, probably because of my passport,\nwas entertained at the Pasha\u2019s table. Diwaniyeh has only a small\npopulation, and its importance is due to its wealth of palms and the\nwheat trade, which gives another opportunity for the government to\nestablish a toll-bridge and custom-house.\n\nThe Arabs of this region are notorious for their piracy on native\ncraft, and in 1836 they even attacked the English surveying expedition.\nSo I left the place with a guard of two soldiers\u2014Saadeh and Salim,\nwho were as happy as their names. Patching their uniforms, asleep in\nthe bottom of the boat, eating of our bread and dates, or polishing\ntheir rifles marked \u201c_U. S. Springfield_, Snider\u2019s Pat. 1863,\u201d we\nreached Samawa safely. During the day we passed the hamlets Um Nejis,\nAbu Juwareeb, Rumeitha, and Sheweit. But the general scene was that\nof narrow morass channels branching out from the river, where forests\nof reeds half hid mat-huts and naked Arabs. These river tribes are\nnot true nomads,[42] but live in one place, on fish and the products\nof the river buffalo. It is a strange sight to see a herd of large\nblack cattle swimming across stream, pursued by shouting, swimming and\nswearing herdsmen. And this was once the home of Abraham, the friend of\nGod.\n\nNear Rumeitha there was a large menzil of the Lamlum tribe. Here we\nfastened the boat for the night, as our company was afraid to cross\ncertain rapids by starlight. Some of the Arabs came to our boat, armed\nwith flint-locks and the Mikwar\u2014a heavy stick knobbed with sandstone\nor hard bitumen\u2014in Arab hands a formidable weapon. Most of the people\nwere asleep, and we could get no supplies of any kind except two roast\nfowl from the Turkish garrison in a mud brick fort opposite. Even one\nof these fell to the share of a hungry jackal during the night. We left\nearly in the morning, and after some difficulty in crossing the shallow\nrapids, reached Samawa in four hours. Dismissing the zaptiehs, we found\na room in the Khan of Haj Nasir on the second floor and overlooking the\nbazaar.\n\nIt was the day before Ashera, the great day of Moharram, and the whole\ntown was in funereal excitement. All shops were closed. Shiah were\npreparing for the great mourning, and Sunni sought a safe place away\nfrom the street. As soon as I came the local governor sent word that\nI must not leave the khan under any circumstances, nor venture in the\nstreet, as he would not be responsible for Shiah violence. I remained\nindoors, therefore, until the following day, and saw from the window\nthe confusion of the night of Ashera, the tramp of a mob, the beating\nof breasts, the wailing of women, the bloody banners, and mock-martyr\nscenes, the rhythmic howling and cries of \u201cYa Ali! ya Hassan! ya\nHussein!\u201d until throats were hoarse and hands hung heavy for a moment,\nonly to go at it again. A pandemonium, as of Baal\u2019s prophets on Carmel,\nbefore the deaf and dumb God of Islam,\u2014monotheistic only in its book.\n\u201cThere is no god but God,\u201d and yet to the Shiah devotees of Moharram,\n\u201cHe is not in all their thoughts.\u201d The martyr caliphs of Nejf are their\nsalvation and their hope, the Houris\u2019 lap.\n\n[Illustration: A PUBLIC KHAN IN TURKISH-ARABIA.]\n\nBetween Samawa and Nasariya, the next important town, we passed the\nvillages: Zahara, El Kidr, Derj Kalat, (where there is a Turkish Mudir\nand a telegraph station on the Hillah-Busrah wire) Luptika, El Ain, Abu\nTabr and El Assaniyeh. The river begins to broaden below Samawa, and\nits banks are beautiful with palms and willows. We were again delayed\nat a toll-bridge; there must be taxes everywhere in Turkey, on ships\nand on fishermen, on boats and on bridges, on tobacco and on salt;\nbut this taxing of the same cargo at every river port is peculiar.\n\n[Illustration: ARAB PILGRIMS ON BOARD A RIVER STEAMER.]\n\nNasariya is a comparatively modern town and better built than any\non the Euphrates river. Its bazaar is large and wide, and the\ngovernment-houses are imposing for Arabdom. A small gunboat lies\nnear the landing, and this floating tub, with its soldier guard and\nbugle-call, represents the only civilization that has yet come to the\nEuphrates valley, and is a thing of wonder to the Arabs. Opposite\nNasariya are two large walled enclosures, wheat granaries protected\nfrom Arab robbers. Three hours west are the ruins of Mugheir\u2014Ur of the\nChaldees.\n\nOur meheleh sailed down the river before daylight and five hours later\ncame to Suk el Shiukh, \u201cthe bazaar of old men.\u201d Abd el Fattah, in\nwhose Persian kahwah we found a place, is a cosmopolitan. He had seen\n\u201cFranjees\u201d before, had been to Bombay, Aden and Jiddah, knew something\nof books, a little less of the gospel, and spoke two English words, of\nwhich he was very proud, \u201cStop her\u201d and \u201cSend a geri.\u201d He was a model\ninnkeeper, and had it not been for his tea and talk, the three days of\nstifling heat under a mat-roof would have been less tolerable.\n\nSouth of Suk el Shiukh the river widens into marshes, where the channel\nis so shallow that part of the cargo of all river boats is transferred\nto smaller craft. On account of this delay, we ran short of provisions\nbefore reaching Kurna, and our boatmen were such prejudiced sectarians\nthat it required argument and much backsheesh to bargain for some\nrice and the use of their cooking-pot. We were \u201cnejis,\u201d \u201ckafir,\u201d and\nwhat not, and the captain vowed he would have to wash the whole boat\nclean at Busrah from the footprints of the unbelievers. Between Suk\nand the junction of the two rivers to form the Shatt-el-Arab at Kurna,\nthere are many wide, waste marshes, growing reeds and pasture for the\nbuffalo\u2014a breeding place for insect life and the terror of the boatmen\nbecause of the Me\u2019dan pirates. We were three days on this part of the\nriver, and often all of us were in the water to lift and tug the boat\nover some mud-bank. El Kheit is the only village of any size the whole\ndistance, but the Bedouin of the swamp, who live half the time in the\nwater and have not arrived at even the loincloth stage of civilization,\nare a great multitude. At length we reached Kurna and thence, by the\nbroad, lordly, Shatt-el-Arab to the mission-house at Busrah.\n\nWhat is to be the future of this great and wealthy valley, which\nonce supported myriads and was the centre of culture and ancient\ncivilization? Will it evermore rest under the blight of the fez and the\ncrescent? The one curse of the land is the inane government and its\nruthless taxation. The goose with the golden egg is killed every day in\nTurkey\u2014at least robbed to its last _nest-egg_. The shepherd-tribes, the\nvillagers, the nomads, the agricultural communities, all suffer alike\nfrom the same cause. When and whence will deliverance come? Perhaps a\npartial reply to these two questions will be found if we read between\nthe lines in our chapter on the recent politics of Arabia. A _Turkish_\nrailroad in the Euphrates valley would rust; but a railroad under\nany other government would develop a region capable of magnificent\nimprovement.\n\n\n\n\n XV\n\n THE INTERIOR\u2014KNOWN AND UNKNOWN\n\n \u201cThe central provinces of Nejd, the genuine Wahabi country, is to the\n rest of Arabia a sort of a lion\u2019s den on which few venture and yet\n fewer return.\u201d\u2014_Palgrave._\n\n \u201cA desert world of new and dreadful aspect! black camels, and uncouth\n hostile mountains; and a vast sand wilderness shelving toward the dire\n impostor\u2019s city.\u201d\u2014_Doughty._\n\n\nThe region which, for want of a more definite name, we may call the\nInterior includes four large districts. Three of these have been\ncomparatively well explored and mapped, but the fourth is utterly\nunknown. These districts are: Roba\u2019-el-Khali, Nejran with Wady Dauasir,\nNejd proper, and Jebel Shammar.\n\nIt is surprising that at the close of the nineteenth century there\nshould remain so many portions of our globe still unexplored. We\nhave better maps of the north pole and of the moon than we have of\nSoutheastern Arabia and parts of Central Asia. A triangle formed by\nlines drawn from Harrara in Oman to El Harik in Southern Nejd, thence\nto Marib in Yemen and back to Harrara will measure very nearly 500\nmiles on each of its upper sides and 800 on the base. This triangle,\nwith an area of 120,000 square miles is as utterly unknown to the world\nat large as if it were an undiscovered continent in some polar sea.\nNever has it been crossed by any European traveller or entered by an\nexplorer. It includes all the _hinterland_ of the Mahrah and Gharah\ntribes, all western Oman and the so-called Roba\u2019-el-Khali (literally,\n\u201cempty abode\u201d) of the Dahna desert, as well as that mysterious region\nof El Ahkaf to which the Koran refers and which is said by the Arabs\nto be a sea of quicksands, able to swallow whole caravans.\n\nOn most maps the region in question is left blank; others designate\nit as an uninterrupted desert from Mecca to Oman; while Ptolemy\u2019s map\ndescribes the region as producing myrrh and abounding in Arab tribes\nand caravan-routes. Whatever we know of the country at present must be\nthe result of Arab hearsay booked by travellers in the coast-provinces.\nThe few names of places given in the Roba\u2019-el-Khali would _not_ lead\none to suppose that \u201cuninterrupted desert\u201d was its only characteristic\nfeature. In the north are Jebel Athal (the Tamarisk Mountains), and\nWady Yebrin. Wady Shibwan and Wady Habuna seem to extend at least some\ndistance into the triangle from the west, while, in the very centre\nwe have the very unusual names for a desert region Belad-ez-Zohur\n(Flower-country) and El-Joz (the nut-trees). There is no doubt that a\nlarge part of the region is now desert and uninhabited; but it may not\nalways have been so and may hold its own secrets, arch\u00e6ological and\ngeographical.\n\nAn Arab of Wady Fatima told Doughty, what the divine partition of the\nworld was in the following words: \u201cTwo quarters Allah divided to the\nchildren of Adam, the third part He gave to Gog and Magog, a manikin\npeople, parted from us by a wall, which they shall overskip in the\nlatter days; and then will they overrun the world. Of their kindred be\nthe gross Turks and the misbelieving Persians; but you, the Engleys\nare of the good kind with us. The fourth part of the world is called\nRoba\u2019-el-Khali, the empty quarter.\u201d Doughty adds, \u201cI never found any\nArabian who had aught to tell, even by hearsay, of that dreadful\ncountry. Haply it is Nefud, with quicksands, which might be entered\ninto and even passed with milch dromedaries in the spring weeks. Now my\nhealth failed me; otherwise I had sought to unriddle that enigma.\u201d It\nstill awaits solution. In Oman they say it is only twenty-seven days\u2019\ncaravan march overland to Mecca right through the desert; perhaps from\nthe Oman highlands one could more easily penetrate into the unknown and\nget safely to Riad if not to Yemen.\n\nNejran, celebrated as an ancient Christian province of Arabia and\nsacred by the blood of martyrs, lies north of Yemen and east of the\nAsir country. Together with the Dauasir-Wady region it forms a strip\nof territory about 300 miles long and 100 broad, well-watered and even\nmore fertile than the best parts of Yemen[43]. The intrepid traveller,\nHal\u00e9vy (1870) first visited this region from Yemen and found a large\nJewish population in the southern part. He visited the towns Mahlaf,\nRijlah and Karyet-el-Kabil, penetrated Wady Habuna but could not\nsucceed in reaching Wady Dauasir. He describes the fertility of the\nWadys and the extensive date-plantations of this part of Arabia in\nterms of greatest admiration. Ruins and inscriptions are plentiful.\nIn Wady Dauasir the Arabs say that the palm-groves extend three\ndromedary-journeys. The people are all agricultural Arabs but, as\nin Oman, they live in continual feud and turmoil because of tribal\njealousies and old quarrels.\n\nThe region east of Wady Dauasir is called Aflaj or Felej-el-Aflaj, two\ndays\u2019 journey distant, here there are also palm-oases. It is six days\u2019\njourney thence to Riad, but the way is rugged, without villages.[44]\nIt was along Wady Dauasir that I had hoped to make the overland\njourney from Sana to Bahrein in 1894, once beyond Turkish espionage\nthe way would have been open. According to the testimony of Hal\u00e9vy\nthe inhabitants of Nejran and Wady Dauasir are not fanatical. Nowhere\nin Yemen are the Jews treated so kindly as by the Arabs of Nejran.\nThis entire region must also be classed with the fertile districts of\nArabia. Water is everywhere abundant coming down from the Jebel Rian,\nfifteen days\u2019 journey from Toweyk and from the southern ranges of Jebel\nBan and Jebel Tumra. The inhabitants of Nejran and of Southern Dauasir\nare heretical Moslems. They belong to the Bayadhi sect like the people\nof Oman,[45] and are supposed to be followers of Abd-Allah-bin-Abad\n(746 A. D.).\n\nHistorically, Nejran is of special interest because here it was that\nthe Roman army of 11,000 men sent by Augustus C\u00e6sar under \u00c6lius Gallus\nto make a prey of the chimerical riches of Arabia Felix came to grief.\nThe warriors did not fall in battle but, purposely misled by the\nNabateans, their allies, they marched painfully over the waterless\nwastes in Central Arabia six months; the most perished in misery and\nonly a remnant returned. Strabo, writing from the mouth of Gallus\nhimself, who was his friend and prefect of Egypt, gives a description\nof the Arabian desert that cannot be improved: \u201cIt is a sandy waste\nwith only a few palms and pits of water; the acacia thorn and the\ntamarisk grow there; the wandering Arabs lodge in tents and are camel\ngraziers.\u201d\n\nNejd\u2014the heart of Arabia, the genuine Arabia, the Arabia of the\npoets\u2014is properly bounded,\u2014on the east, by the Turkish province of\nHasa; on the south by the border of the desert near Yemama; on the\nwest by Hejaz in its widest extent to Khaibar; and on the north by\nJebel Shammar. Thus defined it includes the regions of El-Kasim,\nEl-Woshem, El-Aared, and Yemama. The \u201cZephyrs of Nejd\u201d are the pregnant\ntheme of many an Arab poet and in these highlands, the air is crisp and\ndry and invigorating, especially to the visitors from the hot and moist\ncoast provinces. It was such a poet who wrote in raptures of the Nejd\nclimate:\n\n \u201cThen said I to my companion while the camels were hastening\n To bear us down the pass between Menifah and Demar.\n \u2018Enjoy while thou canst the sweets of the meadows of Nejd;\n With no such meadows and sweets shalt thou meet after this evening.\u2019\n Ah! heaven\u2019s blessing on the scented gales of Nejd,\n And its greensward and groves glittering from the spring showers;\n And thy dear friends when thy lot was cast in Nejd\u2014\n Months flew past, they passed and we knew not,\n Nor when their moons were new nor when they waned.\u201d\n\nAs to the real and prosaic features of the country, Nejd is a plateau\nof which Jebel Toweyk is the centre and backbone. Its general height\nabove the sea is about 4,000 feet, but there are more lofty ledges and\npeaks, some as high as 5,500 feet. These highlands are for the most\nclothed with fine pasture; trees are common, solitary or in little\ngroups; and the entire plateau is intersected by a maze of valleys\ncut out of the sandstone and limestone. In these countless hollows is\nconcentrated the fertility and the population of Nejd. The soil of the\nvalleys is light, mixed with marl sand and pebbles washed down from the\ncliffs. Water is found everywhere in wells at a depth of not much over\nfifteen feet and often less; in Kasim it has a brackish taste, and the\nsoil is salty, but in other parts of Nejd there are traces of iron in\nit. The climate of all Nejd, according to Palgrave, is perhaps one of\nthe healthiest in the world. The air is dry, clear and free from all\nthe malarial poison of the coast; the summers are warm but not sultry,\nand the winter air is biting cold. The usual monotony of an Arabian\nlandscape is not only enlivened by the presence of the date-palm near\nthe villages, but by groups of Talh, Nebaa\u2019 and Sidr, the Ithl and\nGhada Euphorbia\u2014all of them good-sized shrubs or trees.[46]\n\nNejd is pasture land, so that its breed of sheep are known all over\nArabia; their wool is remarkably fine, almost equal to Cashmire in\nsoftness and delicacy. Camels abound; according to Palgrave, Nejd is\n\u201ca wilderness of camels.\u201d The color is generally brownish white or\ngrey; black camels are found westward and southward in the inhospitable\nHarra-country toward Mecca. Oxen and cows are not uncommon. Game is\nplenty, both feathered and quadruped. Partridges, quail, a kind of\nbustard; gazelle, hares, jerboa, wild-goat, wild-boars, porcupine,\nantelope, and a kind of wild-ox (wathyhi) with beautiful horns. Snakes\nare not common, but lizards, centipedes and scorpions abound. The\nostrich is also found in western Nejd as well as in Wady Dauasir. The\nBedouin hunt them to sell the skins to the Damascus feather merchants\nwho come down with the Haj every year to Mecca; forty reals (dollars)\nwas the price paid in Doughty\u2019s time for a single skin\u2014a small fortune\nto the poor nomad. Mounted on their dromedaries they watch for the\nbird and then waylay it, matchlock ready to hand. The Arabs esteem the\nbreast of the ostrich good food; the fat is a sovereign remedy with\nthem and half a _finjan_ (the measure of an Arab coffee-cup), is worth\nhalf a Turkish mejidie. The ostrich is no longer as common in Arabia as\nformerly, and in many parts of the peninsula the bird is unknown even\nby name.\n\nNejd is a land of camels and horses. But although a fine breed of\nthe latter exist it is a common mistake to suppose that horses are\nplentiful in Central Arabia and that every Arab owns his steed.\nDoughty says \u201cthere is no breeding or sale of horses at Boreyda or\nAneyza nor any town in Nejd.\u201d Most of the horses shipped from Busrah or\nKuweit to Bombay are not from Nejd, although originally of Nejd-breed,\nbut come from Jebel Shammar and the Mesopotamian valley. He who would\nknow all about the beauty of the Nejd horse must visit the Hail stables\nwith Palgrave who \u201cgoes raving mad\u201d about the animals; or he can read\nLady Ann Blunt\u2019s \u201cPilgrimage to Nejd\u201d in search of horses; better still\nlet him buy that remarkable book by Colonel Tweedie: THE ARABIAN HORSE,\n_His country and His people_. In this volume the horse is the hero and\nArabs are grooms and stable-boys. The Arab is more kind to his horse\nthan to any other animal. No Arab dreams of tying up a horse by the\nneck, a tether replaces the halter, one of the animal\u2019s hind-legs being\nencircled about the pastern by a light iron ring or leather strap,\nand connected with a chain or rope to an iron peg. Nejdi horses are\nspecially valuable for great speed and endurance. They are all built\nfor riding and not for draught, to the unprofessional eye they do not\nseem at all superior to the best horses seen in London or New York\nCity, but I leave the matter to the authorities mentioned.[47]\n\nThe government of Nejd indicates what the independent rulers of Arabia\nare like. Doughty testifies that the sum of all he could learn from\nthe mouth of the Arabs themselves of Ibn Rashid\u2019s government (now in\nthe hands of Abd-el-Aziz bin Mitaab, his nephew) was this: \u201cHe makes\nsure of them that may be won by gifts, he draws the sword against\nhis adversaries, he treads down them that fear him and he were no\nright ruler, hewed he no heads off!\u201d Some of the nomads consider the\nprince of Nejd a tyrant, but the villagers generally are well content.\nForsooth it is better for them to have _one_ tyrant than _many_, as in\nthe days before the political upheaval that unified central Arabia.\nOther of the more religious folk of Nejd cannot forget the bloody path\nby which Ibn Rashid gained his seat of power and call him \u201c_Nejis_,\n(polluted), a cutter-off of his kinsfolk with the sword.\u201d\n\nLavish sums in the eyes of the starved Bedouin are spent on hospitality\nbut all guests are pleased and depart from the pile of rice to praise\nGod and the Amir of Nejd. Daily, in the guest-room, according to\nDoughty, one hundred and eighty messes of barley-bread with rice and\nbutter are served to the men freely; a camel or smaller animal is\nkilled for the first-class guests and the total expense of his famous\nhospitality is not over \u00a31,500 annually. The revenues are immense and\nIbn Rashid\u2019s private fortune had grown large even when Doughty visited\nhim in 1877. He has cattle innumerable and \u201c40,000 camels\u201d; some 300\nblooded mares and 100 horses; over 100 negro slaves; besides private\nriches laid up in silver metal, land at Hail and plantations in Jauf.\n\nContrasted with the Turkish provinces of Arabia the subjects of the\nAmir of Nejd enjoy light taxation and even the Bedouin warriors who are\nin the service of the Nejd ruler receive better wages than the regular\ntroops of the Sultan. From the descrip-\n\ntion of Mr. and Mrs. Blunt and Doughty at Hail, one cannot but feel\nthat the government of Nejd is much more liberal and less fanatical\nthan it was in the old days of the Wahabis as described by Palgrave.\nThe old Wahabi power is now broken forever and Nejd is getting into\ntouch with the world through commerce. Kasim already resembles the\nborder-lands and the inhabitants are worldly-wise with the wisdom of\nthe Bombay horse-dealers. Many of the youth of Nejd visit Bagdad,\nBusrah and Bahrein in their commercial ventures. Says Doughty, \u201call\nNejd Arabia, east of Teyma, appertains to the Persian Gulf traffic and\nnot to Syria [as does western Nejd]: and therefore the foreign color of\nNejd is Mesopotamian.\u201d He marvelled at the erudition of the Nejd Arabs\nin spite of their isolation until he found that even here newspapers\nhad found their way in recent years. English patent medicines are sold\nin the bazaar of Aneyza and the Arabs are somewhat acquainted with the\nwonders of Bombay and Calcutta. Palgrave found the inhabitants of Kasim\nand southern Nejd far more intelligent than those of the north. Except\nfor the four large towns of Hail, Riad, Boreyda and Aneyza, Nejd has\nno large centres of population. Bedouin tribes are found everywhere\nand villagers cultivate the fertile oases even in the desert; but the\npopulation is not as dense as in Oman or Yemen nor even as in Nejran\nand Wady Dauasir.\n\nHail, the present capital of Nejd, may have a population of ten\nthousand within its walls. It lies east of Jebel Aja, a granite range\n6,000 feet high ending abruptly at this point. The city is on a\ntable-land 3,500 feet above the sea. The Amir\u2019s castle is a formidable\nstronghold occupying a position of immense natural strength in the\nJebel Aja. Blunt visited this place in 1878, but does not give its\nexact site, \u201clest the information might be utilized by the Turks under\npossible future contingencies.\u201d We have three pen-pictures of Hail:\nthat of Palgrave who drew a plan of the city; the description of\nDoughty with his plan of the Amir\u2019s residence and\n\nguest-house; and the sketches of Lady Ann Blunt on her pilgrimage. It\nis a walled town with several gates, a large market-place, the palaces\novertopping all and mosques sufficient for the worshippers. It is a\nclean, well-built town, according to Doughty and pleasant to live in\nsave for the awe of the tyrant-ruler. Its circuit may be nearly an\nhour, in the centre of the walled enclosure stands the palace; near it\nthe great mosque and directly opposite the principal bazaar. The great\ncoffee-hall where the Amir gives his audiences is eighty feet long\nwith lofty walls and of noble proportions. It has long rows of pillars\n\u201cupholding the flat roof of ethel timbers and palm-stalk mat-work,\ngoodly stained and varnished with the smoke of the daily hospitality.\nUnder the walls are benches of clay overspread with Bagdad carpets.\nBy the entry stands a mighty copper-tinned basin or \u2018sea\u2019 of fresh\nwater with a chained cup, from thence the coffee-server draws and\nhe may drink who thirsts. In the upper end of this princely _kahwa_\n(coffee-house) are two fire-pits, like shallow graves, where desert\nbushes are burned in colder weather; they lack good fuel, and fire is\nblown commonly under the giant coffee-pots in a clay hearth like a\nsmith\u2019s furnace.\u201d\n\nThe palace castles are built in Nejd with battled towers of clay-brick\nand whitened on the outside with _jiss_ or plaster; this in contrast\nwith the palm-gardens in the walled-enclosure give the town a bright,\nfresh aspect. Outside the walls, the contrast of the Bedouin squalor\nand the rusty black basalt rocks lying in rough confusion is intense.\nHail lies in the midst of a barren country and is an oasis not by\nnature but by the pluck and perseverance of its founders. The Shammar\nArabs settled here from antiquity and the place is mentioned in the\nancient poem of Antar.\n\n_Er-Riadh_ or Riad (the \u201cgardens-in-the-desert\u201d) was the Wahabi\nmetropolis of Eastern Nejd and of all the Wahabi empire. The city lies\nin the heart of the Aared country, enclosed north and south by Jebel\nToweyk and about 280 miles southeast of Hail. It is a large place\n(according to Palgrave of 30,000 population!), but nothing is known\nof its present state, as no European traveller has visited it since\nPalgrave. The general appearance of Riad, according to our guide is\nlike that of Damascus. \u201cBefore us stretched a wide open valley, and\nin its foreground, immediately below the pebbly slope on whose summit\nwe stood, lay the capital, large and square, crowned by high towers\nand strong walls of defence, a mass of roofs and terraces, where,\novertopping all, frowned the huge but irregular pile of Feysul\u2019s royal\ncastle, and hard by it rose the scarce less conspicuous palace, built\nand inhabited by his eldest son, Abdallah. All around for full three\nmiles over the surrounding plain, but more especially to the west and\nsouth, waved a sea of palm-trees above green fields and well-watered\ngardens; while the singing, droning sound of the water-wheels reached\nus even where we had halted at a quarter of a mile or more from\nthe nearest town-walls. On the opposite side southward, the valley\nopened out into the great and even more fertile plains of Yemama,\nthickly dotted with groves and villages, among which the large town\nManhufah, hardly inferior in size to Riad itself, might be clearly\ndistinguished.... In all the countries which I have visited, and they\nare many, seldom has it been mine to survey a landscape equal to this\nin beauty, and in historical meaning, rich and full alike to the eye\nand the mind. The mixture of tropical aridity and luxuriant verdure,\nof crowded population and desert tracts, is one that Arabia alone\ncan present, and in comparison with which Syria seems tame and Italy\nmonotonous.\u201d[48]\n\nUndoubtedly the population of Riad has diminished since the seat of\ngovernment was transferred to Hail; at present it has even less trade\nand importance than Hofhoof (Hassa) since the Turkish occupation.\n\nJEBEL SHAMMAR and the northwestern desert, remain to be considered.\nThe chief characteristics of this region are the extensive _Nefuds_ or\nsandy-deserts and the nomad population. Jebel Shammar more than any\npart of Arabia is the tenting ground for the sons of Kedar. Everywhere\nare the black-worsted booths\u2014the houses of goat-hair, so celebrated in\nArabic poetry and song. Place-names on the map of this country are not\nvillages or cities but watering-places for cattle and encampments of\nthe tribes from year to year. From the Gulf of Akaba to the Euphrates,\nand as far north as their flocks can find pasture, the nomads call the\nland their own. Many of them are subject to the government of Nejd and\npay a small annual tribute; some are nominally under Turkish rule and\nothers know no ruler save their Sheikh and have no law save that of\nimmemorial Bedouin custom.\n\nBurckhardt discourses of these people like one who has dwelt among\nthem, tasting the sweet and bitter of their hungry, homely life. He\ndescribes their tents and their simple furniture, arms, utensils, diet,\narts, industry, sciences, diseases, religion, matrimony, government,\nand warfare. He tells of their hospitality to the stranger; their\nrobbery of the traveller; their blood-revenge and blood-covenants;\ntheir slaves and servants; their feasts and rejoicings; their domestic\nrelations and public functions; their salutations and language; and\nhow at last they bury their dead in a single garment, scraping out a\nshallow grave in hard-burned soil and heaping on a few rough stones to\nkeep away the foul hyenas.\n\nBurckhardt devotes a considerable portion of his book to an enumeration\nof the Bedouin-tribes and their numerous subdivisions. These will prove\nof great service to those who visit or cross the northern part of the\nPeninsula. The most important tribe is that of the _Anaeze_. They are\nnomads in the strictest acceptation of the word, for they continue\nduring the whole year in almost constant motion. Their summer quarters\nare near the Syrian frontiers and in winter they retire into the heart\nof the desert or toward the Euphrates. When the tents are few they are\npitched in a circle and called _dowar_, in greater numbers, they encamp\nin rows, one behind the other, especially along a rivulet or wady-bed;\nsuch encampments are called _Nezel_. The Sheikh\u2019s or chief\u2019s tent has\nthe principal place generally toward the direction whence guests or\nfoes may be expected. The Anaeze tents are always of black goat\u2019s-hair;\nsome other tribes have stuff striped white and black. Even the richest\namong them never have more than one tent unless he happen to have a\nsecond wife who cannot live on good terms with the first; he then\npitches a smaller tent near his own. But polygamy is very unusual among\nthe Bedouin Arabs, although divorce is common. The tent furniture is\nsimplicity itself; camel-saddles and cooking utensils with carpets and\nprovision skins, are all the Arab housewife has to look after.\n\nSince the days of Job the Bedouin have been a nation of robbers. \u201cThe\noxen were plowing and the asses feeding beside them; and the Sabeans\nfell upon them and took them away, yea they have slain the servants\nwith the edge of the sword.\u201d (Job i. 14.) The Bedouin\u2019s hand is\nagainst every man in all Jebel Shammar to this day. The tribes are in\na state of almost perpetual war against each other; it seldom happens,\naccording to Burckhardt, that a tribe enjoys a moment of general peace\nwith all its neighbors, yet the war between two tribes is not of long\nduration. Peace is easily made and easily broken. In Bedouin parlance\na salt covenant is only binding while the salt is in their stomachs.\nGeneral battles are rarely fought, and few lives are lost; to surprise\nan enemy by sudden attack, or to plunder a camp, are the chief objects\nof both parties. The dreadful effects of \u201cblood-revenge\u201d (by which\nlaw the kindred of the slain are in duty bound to slay the murderer\nor his kin) prevent many sanguinary conflicts. Whatever the Arabs\ntake in their predatory excursions is shared according to previous\nagreement. Sometimes the whole spoil is equally divided by the Sheikh\namong his followers; at other times each one plunders for himself. A\nBedouin raid is called a _ghazu_, and it is worthy of remark that the\nearliest biographer of Mohammed, Ibn Ishak, so designates the wars of\nthe prophet of God with the Koreish. The Anaeze Bedouin never attack\nby night, for during the confusion of a nocturnal assault the women\u2019s\napartments might be entered, and this they regard as treachery. The\nfemale sex is respected even among the most inveterate enemies whenever\na camp is plundered, and neither men, women nor slaves are ever taken\nprisoners. It is war only for booty. The Arabs are robbers, seldom\nmurderers; to ask protection or _dakheil_ is sure quarter, even when\nthe spear is lifted. Peace is concluded generally by arbitration in\nthe tent of the Sheikh of a third tribe friendly to both combating\ntribes. The most frequent cause of war is quarrels over wells or\nwatering-places and pasture grounds, just as in the days of the\npatriarchs.\n\n\u201cThe Bedouins have reduced robbery,\u201d says Burckhardt, \u201cin all\nits branches to a complete and regular system, which offers many\ninteresting details.\u201d These details are very numerous, and the stories\nof robbery and escape given by the Arabian chroniclers, or told at the\ncamp-fires, would fill a volume. One example will suffice us. Three\nrobbers plan an attack on an encampment. One of them stations himself\nbehind the tent that is to be robbed, and endeavors to excite the\nattention of the nearest watch-dogs. These immediately attack him; he\nflies, and they pursue him to a great distance from the camp, which is\nthus cleared of those dangerous guardians. The second robber goes to\nthe camels, cuts the strings that confine their legs and makes as many\nrise as he wishes. He then leads one of the she-camels out of the camp,\nthe others following as usual, while the third robber has all this time\nbeen standing with lifted club before the tent-door to strike down any\none who might awake and venture forth. If the robbers succeed they then\njoin their companion, each seizes the tail of a strong leading-camel\nand pulls it with all his might; the camels set up a gallop into the\ndesert and the men are dragged along by their booty until safe distance\nseparates them from the scene of robbery. They then mount their prey\nand make haste to their own encampment.\n\nBefore we lightly condemn the robber we must realize his sore need.\nAccording to Doughty and other travellers three-fourths of the\nBedouin of Northwestern Arabia suffer continual famine and seldom\nhave enough to eat. In the long summer drought when pastures fail and\nthe gaunt camel-herds give no milk they are in a sorry plight; then\nit is that the housewife cooks her slender mess of rice secretly,\nlest some would-be guest should smell the pot. The hungry gnawing of\nthe Arab\u2019s stomach is lessened by the coffee-cup and the ceaseless\n\u201ctobacco-drinking\u201d from the nomad\u2019s precious pipe. The women suffer\nmost and children languish away. When one of these sons-of-desert\nheard from Doughty\u2019s lips of a land where \u201cwe had an abundance of the\nblessings of Allah, bread and clothing and peace, and, how, if any\nwanted, the law succored him\u2014he began to be full of melancholy, and to\nlament the everlasting infelicity of the Arabs, whose lack of clothing\nis a cause to them of many diseases, who have not daily food nor\nwater enough, and wandering in the empty wilderness, are never at any\nstay\u2014and these miseries to last as long as their lives. And when his\nheart was full, he cried up to heaven, \u2018Have mercy, ah Lord God, upon\nThy creature which Thou createdst\u2014pity the sighing of the poor, the\nhungry, the naked\u2014have mercy\u2014have mercy upon them, O Allah!\u2019\u201d\n\nAs we bid farewell to the tents of Kedar and the deserts of North\nArabia let us say amen to the nomad\u2019s prayer and judge them not harshly\nin their misery lest we be judged.\n\n\n\n\n XVI\n\n \u201cTHE TIME OF IGNORANCE\u201d\n\n \u201cThe religious decay in Arabia shortly before Islam may well be taken\n in a negative sense, in the sense of the tribes losing the feeling\n of kinship with the tribal gods. We may express this more concretely\n by saying that the gods had become gradually more and more nebulous\n through the destructive influence exercised, for about two hundred\n years, by Jewish and Christian ideas, upon Arabian heathenism \u201c\u2014_H.\n Hirschfeld_, in the \u201cJournal of the Royal Asiatic Society.\u201d\n\n\nIn order to understand the genesis of Islam we must know something of\nthe condition of Arabia before the advent of Mohammed. We shall then\nbe able to discover the factors that influenced the hero-prophet and\nmade it possible for him so powerfully to sway the destinies of his own\ngeneration and those that were to follow.\n\nMohammedan writers call the centuries before the birth of their Prophet\n_wakt-el-jahiliyeh_\u2014\u201cthe time of ignorance\u201d\u2014since the Arabs were then\nignorant of the true religion. These writers naturally chose to paint\nthe picture of heathen Arabia as dark as possible, in order that the\n\u201cLight of God,\u201d as the prophet is called, might appear more bright in\ncontrast. Following these authorities Sale and others have left an\naltogether wrong impression of the state of Arabia when Mohammed first\nappeared. The commonly accepted idea that he preached entirely new\ntruth and uplifted the Arabs to a higher plane of civilization is only\nhalf true.[49]\n\nNo part of Arabia has ever reached the high stage of civilization under\nthe rule of Islam which Yemen enjoyed under its Christian or even its\nJewish dynasties of the Himyarites. Early Christianity in Arabia, with\nall its weakness, had been a power for good. The Jews had penetrated to\nnearly every portion of the peninsula long before Mohammed came on the\nscene.[50]\n\nIn the \u201cTime of Ignorance\u201d the Arabs throughout the peninsula were\ndivided into numerous local tribes or clans which were bound together\nby no political organization but only by a traditional sentiment\nof unity which they believed, or feigned to believe, a unity of\nblood. Each group was a unit and opposed to all the other clans.\nSome were pastoral and some nomadic; others like those at Mecca and\nTaif were traders. For many centuries Yemen had been enriched by the\nincense-trade and by its position as the emporium of Eastern commerce.\nSprenger in his ancient geography of the peninsula says that: \u201cThe\nhistory of the earliest commerce is the history of incense and the\nland of incense was Arabia.\u201d The immense caravan trade which brought\nall the wealth of Ormuz and Ind to the West, must have been a means of\ncivilization to the desert. The tanks of Marib spread fertility around\nand the region north of Sana was intersected by busy caravan-routes.\nW. Robertson Smith goes so far as to say that \u201cIn this period the name\nof Arab was associated to Western writers with ideas of effeminate\nindolence and peaceful opulence ... the golden age of Yemen.\u201d\n\nThe Arabs had enjoyed for several thousand years, an almost absolute\nfreedom from foreign dominion or occupation. Neither the Egyptians, the\nAssyrians, the Babylonians, the ancient Persians nor the Macedonians\nin their march of conquest ever subjugated or held any part of Arabia.\nBut before the coming of the Prophet the proud freemen of the desert\nwere compelled to bend their necks repeatedly to the yoke of Roman,\nAbyssinian and Persian rulers. In A. D. 105, Trajan sent his general,\nCornelius Palma, and subdued the Nabathean kingdom of North Arabia.\nMesopotamia was conquered and the eastern coast of the peninsula was\ncompletely devastated by the Romans in A. D. 116. Hira yielded to the\nmonarchs of Persia as Ghassan did to the generals of Rome. Sir William\nMuir writes, \u201cIt is remarked even by a Mohammedan writer that the\ndecadence of the race of Ghassan was preparing the way for the glories\nof the Arabian prophet.\u201d In other words Arabia was being invaded by\nforeign powers and the Arabs were ready for a political leader to break\nthese yokes and restore the old-time independence. Roman domination\ninvaded even Mecca itself not long before the Hegira. \u201cFor shortly\nafter his accession to the throne, A. D. 610, the Emperor Heraclius\nnominated Othman, then a convert to Christianity, ... as governor\nof Mecca, recommending him to the Koreishites in an authoritative\nletter.\u201d[51] The Abyssinian wars and invasions of Arabia during the\ncentury preceding Mohammed are better known. Their dominion in Yemen,\nsays Ibn Ishak, lasted seventy-two years, and they were finally driven\nout by the Persians, at the request of the Arabs.\n\nArabia was thus the centre of political schemes and plots just at the\ntime when Mohammed came to manhood, the whole peninsula was awake to\nthe touch of the Romans, Abyssinians and Persians, and ready to rally\naround any banner that led to a national deliverance.\n\nAs to the position of women in this \u201cTime of Ignorance\u201d the cruel\ncustom of female infanticide prevailed in many parts of heathen Arabia.\nThis was probably due, in the first instance, to poverty or famine, and\nafterward became a social custom to limit population. Professor Wilken\nsuggests as a further reason that wars had tended to an excess of\nfemales over males. An Arab poet tells of a niece who refused to leave\nthe husband to whom she had been assigned after capture. Her uncle was\nso enraged that he buried all his daughters alive and never allowed\nanother one to live. Even one beautiful girl who had been saved alive\nby her mother was ruthlessly placed in a grave by the father and her\ncries stifled with earth. This horrible custom however was not usual.\nWe are told of one distinguished Arab, named _Saa-Saa_, who tried to\nput down the practice of \u201cdigging a grave by the side of the bed on\nwhich daughters were born.\u201d\n\nMohammed improved on the barbaric method and discovered a way by\nwhich not some but _all_ females could be buried alive without\nbeing murdered\u2014namely, the veil. Its origin was one of the marriage\naffairs of the prophet with its appropriate revelation from Allah.\n_The veil was unknown in Arabia before that time._ It was Islam\nthat forever withdrew from Oriental society the bright, refining,\nelevating influence of women. Keene says that the veil \u201clies at the\nroot of all the most important features that differentiate progress\nfrom stagnation.\u201d The harem-system did not prevail in the days of\nidolatry. Women had rights and were respected. In two instances,\nbeside that of Zenobia, we read of Arabian _queens_ ruling over their\ntribes. Freytag in his Arabian Proverbs gives a list of female judges\nwho exercised their office in the \u201ctime of ignorance.\u201d According to\nN\u00f6ldeke, the Nabathean inscriptions and coins prove that women held an\nindependent and honorable position in North Arabia long before Islam;\nthey constructed expensive family graves, owned large estates, and were\nindependent traders. The heathen Arabs jealously watched over their\nwomen as their most valued possession and defended them with their\nlives. A woman was never given away by her father in an unequal match\nnor against her consent. \u201cIf you cannot find an equal match,\u201d said\nIbn Zohair to the Namir, \u201cthe best marriage for them is the grave.\u201d\nProfessor G. A. Wilken[52] adduces many proofs to show that women had a\nright in every case to choose their own husbands and cites the case of\nKhadijah who offered her hand to Mohammed. Even captive women were not\nkept in slavery, as is evident from the verses of Hatim:\n\n \u201cThey did not give us Taites, their daughters in marriage;\n But we wooed them against their will with our swords.\n And with us captivity brought no abasement.\n They neither toiled making bread nor made the pot boil;\n But we mingled them with our women, the noblest,\n And bare us fair sons, white of face.\u201d\n\nPolyandry and polygamy were both practiced; the right of divorce\nbelonged to the wife as well as to the husband; temporary marriages\nwere also common. As was natural among a nomad race, the marriage bond\nwas quickly made and easily dissolved. But this was not the case among\nthe Jews and Christians of Yemen and Nejran. Two kinds of marriage\nwere in vogue. The _mota\u2019a_ was a purely personal contract between a\nman and woman; no witnesses were necessary and the woman did not leave\nher home or come under the authority of her husband; even the children\nbelonged to the wife. This marriage, so frequently described in Arabic\npoetry, was not considered illicit but was openly celebrated in verse\nand brought no disgrace on the woman. In the other kind of marriage,\ncalled _nikah_, the woman became subject to her husband by capture or\npurchase. In the latter case the purchase-money was paid to the bride\u2019s\nkin.\n\nThe position of women before Islam is thus described in Smith\u2019s\n\u201cKinship and Marriage in Early Arabia.\u201d \u201cIt is very remarkable that\nin spite of Mohammed\u2019s humane ordinances the place of woman in the\nfamily and in society has steadily declined under his law. In ancient\nArabia we find ... many proofs that women moved more freely and\nasserted themselves more strongly than in the modern East.... The\nArabs themselves recognized that the position of woman had fallen ...\nand it continued still to fall under Islam, because the effect of\nMohammed\u2019s legislation in favor of women was more than outweighed by\nthe establishment of marriages of dominion as the one legitimate type,\nand by the gradual loosening of the principle that married women could\ncount on their own kin to stand by them against their husbands.\u201d[53]\n\nIn \u201cthe time of ignorance\u201d writing was well known and poetry\nflourished. Three accomplishments were coveted\u2014eloquence, horsemanship\nand liberal hospitality. Orators were in demand, and to maintain the\nstandard and reward excellence there were large assemblies as at Okatz.\nThese lasted a whole month and the tribes came long journeys to hear\nthe orators and poets as well as to engage in trade. The learning of\nthe Arabs was chiefly confined to tribal history, astrology and the\ninterpretation of dreams; in these they made considerable progress.\n\nAccording to Moslem tradition the science of writing was not known\nin Mecca until introduced by Harb, Father of Abu Scofian, the great\nopponent of Mohammed, about A.D. 560. But this is evidently an error,\nfor close intercourse existed long before this between Mecca and Sana\nthe capital of Yemen where writing was well known; and in another\ntradition Abd el Muttalib is said to have _written_ to Medina for help\nin his younger days, _i.e._, about 520 A. D. Both Jews and Christians\nalso dwelt in the vicinity of Mecca for two hundred years before the\nHegira and used some form of writing. For writing materials they\nhad abundance of reeds and palm-leaves as well as the flat, smooth\nshoulder-bones of sheep. The seven poems are said to have been written\nin gold on Egyptian silk and suspended in the Kaaba.\n\nIn the earlier part of his mission Mohammed despised the poets for the\ngood reason that some, among them a poetess, wrote satirical verses\nabout him. The Koran says \u201cthose who go astray follow the poets\u201d (Surah\n26: 224) and a more vigorous though less elegant denouncement is\nrecorded in the traditions (Mishkat Bk. 22, ch. 10): \u201cA belly full of\npurulent matter is better than a belly full of poetry.\u201d When two of the\nheathen poets, Labid and Hassan embraced Islam, the prophet became more\nlenient, and is reported to have said \u201cpoetry is a kind of composition\nwhich if it is good, it is good, and if it is bad, it is bad!\u201d\n\nConcerning the religion of the heathen Arabs the Mohammedan writer\nAsh-Shahristani says: \u201cThe Arabs of pre-islamic times may, with\nreference to religion be divided into various classes. Some of them\ndenied the Creator, the resurrection and men\u2019s return to God, and\nasserted that Nature possesses in itself the power of bestowing life,\nbut that Time destroys. Others believed in a Creator and a creation\nproduced by Him out of nothing but yet denied the resurrection. Others\nbelieved in a Creator and a creation but denied God\u2019s prophets and\nworshipped false gods concerning whom they believed that in the next\nworld they would become _mediators_ between themselves and God. For\nthese deities they undertook pilgrimages, they brought offerings to\nthem, offered them sacrifices and approached them with rites and\nceremonies. Some things they held to be Divinely permitted, others to\nbe prohibited. This was the religion of the majority of the Arabs.\u201d\nThis is remarkable evidence for a Mohammedan who would naturally\nbe inclined to take an unfavorable view. But his absolute silence\nregarding the Jews and Christians of Arabia is suggestive.\n\nWhen the Arabian tribes lost their earliest monotheism (the religion\nof Job and their patriarchs) they first of all adopted Sabeanism or\nthe worship of the hosts of heaven. A proof of this is their ancient\npractice of making circuits around the shrines of their gods as well\nas their skill in astrology. Very soon however the star-worship became\ngreatly corrupted and other deities, superstitions and practices\nwere introduced. Ancient Arabia was a refuge for all sorts of\nreligious-fugitives, and each band added something to the national\nstock of religious ideas. The Zoroastrians came to East Arabia; the\nJews settled at Kheibar, Medina, and in Yemen; Christians of many sects\nlived in the north and in the highlands of Yemen. For all pagan Arabia\nMecca was the centre many centuries before Mohammed. Here stood the\nKaaba, the Arabian Pantheon, with its three hundred and sixty idols,\none for each day in the year. Here the tribes of Hejaz met in annual\npilgrimage to rub themselves on the Black Stone, to circumambulate\nthe Beit Allah or Bethel of their creed and to hang portions of their\ngarments on the sacred trees. At Nejran a sacred date-palm was the\ncentre of pilgrimage. Everywhere in Arabia there were sacred stones\nor stone-heaps where the Arab devotees congregated to obtain special\nblessings. The belief in jinn or genii was well-nigh universal,\nbut there was a distinction between them and gods. The gods have\nindividuality while the jinn have not; the gods are worshipped, the\njinn are only feared; the god has one form; the jinn appear in many.\nAll that the Moslem world believes in regard to jinn is wholly borrowed\nfrom Arabian heathenism and those who have read the Arabian Nights know\nwhat a large place they hold in the everyday life of Moslems.\n\nThe Arabs were always superstitious, and legends of all sorts cluster\naround every weird desert rock, gnarled tree or intermittent fountain\nin Arabia. The early Arabs therefore marked off such sacred territory\nby pillars or cairns and considered many things such as shedding of\nblood, cutting of trees, killing game, etc, forbidden within the\nenclosure. This is the origin of the _Haramain_ or sacred territory\naround Mecca and Medina. Sacrifices were common, but not by fire. The\nblood of the offering was smeared over the rude stone altars and the\nflesh was eaten by the worshipper. First fruits were given to the gods\nand libations were poured out; a hair-offering formed a part of the\nancient pilgrimage; this also is imitated to-day.\n\nW. Robertson Smith tries to prove that _totemism_ was the earliest\nform of Arabian idolatry and that each tribe had its sacred animal.\nThe strongest argument for this is the undoubted fact that many of the\ntribal names were taken from animals and that certain animals were\nregarded as sacred in parts of Arabia. The theory is too far-reaching\nto be adopted at haphazard and the author\u2019s ideas of the significance\nof animal sacrifice are not in accord with the teaching of Scripture.\nIt is however interesting to know that the same authority thinks the\nArabian tribal marks or _wasms_ were originally totem-marks and must\nhave been tattooed on the body even as they are now used to mark\nproperty. The _washm_ of the idolatrous Arabs seems related to their\n_wasms_ and was a kind of tattooing of the hands, arms and gums. It was\nforbidden by Mohammed but is still widely prevalent in North Arabia\namong the Bedouin women.\n\nCovenants of blood and of salt are also very ancient Semitic\ninstitutions and prevailed all over Arabia. The form of the oath was\nvarious. At Mecca the parties dipped their hands in a pan of blood and\ntasted the contents; in other places they opened a vein and mixed their\nfresh blood; again they would each draw the others\u2019 blood and smear it\non seven stones set up in the midst. The later Arabs substituted the\nblood of a sheep or of a camel for human blood.\n\nThe principal idols of Arabia were the following; ten of them are\nmentioned by name in the Koran.\n\n _Hubal_ was in the form of a man and came from Syria; he was the god\n of rain and had a high place of honor.\n\n _Wadd_ was the god of the firmament.\n\n _Suwah_, in the form of a woman, was said to be from antediluvian\n times.\n\n _Yaghuth_ had the shape of a lion.\n\n _Ya\u2019ook_ was in the form of a horse, and was worshipped in Yemen.\n Bronze images of this idol are found in ancient tombs.\n\n _Nasr_ was the eagle-god.\n\n _El Uzza_, identified by some scholars with Venus, was worshipped at\n times under the form of an acacia tree.\n\n _Allat_ was the chief idol of the tribe of Thakif at Taif who tried to\n compromise with Mohammed to accept Islam if he would not destroy their\n god for three years. The name appears to be the feminine of Allah.\n\n _Manat_ was a huge stone worshipped as an altar by several tribes.\n\n _Duwar_ was the virgin\u2019s idol and young women used to go around it in\n procession; hence its name.\n\n _Isaf_ and _Naila_ stood near Mecca on the hills of Safa and Mirwa;\n the visitation of these popular shrines is now a part of the Moslem\n pilgrimage.\n\n _Habhab_ was a large stone on which camels were slaughtered.\n\nBeside these there were numerous other gods whose names have been\nutterly lost and yet who each had a place in the Pantheon at Mecca.\nAbove all these was the supreme deity whom they called \u1f41 \u03b8\u03b5\u1f78\u03c2, the God,\nor _Allah_. This name occurs several times in the ancient pre-islamic\npoems and proves that the Arabs knew the one true God by name even in\nthe \u201ctime of ignorance.\u201d To Him they also made offerings though not of\nthe first and best; in His name covenants were sealed and the holiest\noaths were sworn. Enemy of _Allah_ was the strongest term of opprobrium\namong the Arabs then as it is to-day. Wellhausen says, \u201cIn worship\n_Allah_ had the last place, those gods being preferred who represented\nthe interests of a particular circle and fulfilled the private desires\nof their worshippers. Neither the fear of _Allah_ nor their reverence\nfor the gods had much influence. The chief practical consequence of\nthe great feasts was the observance of a truce in the holy months; and\nthis in time had become mainly an affair of pure practical convenience.\nIn general the disposition of the heathen Arabs, if it is at all truly\nreflected in their poetry, was profane in an unusual degree. The\nancient inhabitants of Mecca practiced piety essentially as a trade,\njust as they do now; their trade depended on the feast and its fair on\nthe inviolability of the Haram and on the truce of the holy months.\u201d\n\nThere is no doubt that at the time of Mohammed\u2019s appearance the old\nnational idolatry had degenerated. Many of the idols had no believers\nor worshippers. Sabeanism had also disappeared except in the north of\nArabia; although it always left its influence which is evident not only\nin the Koran but in the superstitious practices of the modern Bedouins.\nGross fetishism was the creed of many. One of Mohammed\u2019s contemporaries\nsaid, \u201cWhen they found a fine stone they adored it, or, failing that,\nmilked a camel over a heap of sand and worshipped that.\u201d The better\nclasses at Mecca and Medina had ceased to believe anything at all. The\nforms of religion \u201cwere kept up rather for political and commercial\nreasons than as a matter of faith or conviction.\u201d[54]\n\nAdd to all this the silent but strong influence of the Jews and\nChristians who were in constant contact with these idolaters and we\nhave the explanation of the _Hanifs_. These Hanifs were a small number\nof Arabs who worshipped only _Allah_, rejected polytheism, sought\nfreedom from sin and resignation to God\u2019s will. There were Hanifs at\nTaif, Mecca and Medina. They were in fact seekers of truth, weary of\nthe old idolatry and the prevalent hollow hypocrisy of the Arabs. The\nearliest Hanifs of whom we hear, were Waraka, the cousin of the prophet\nMohammed, and Zeid bin Amr, surnamed the Inquirer. Mohammed at first\nalso adopted this title of Hanif to express the faith of Abraham but\nsoon after changed it to Moslem.\n\nIt is only a step from Hanifism to Islam. Primary monotheism,\nSabeanism, idolatry, fetishism, Hanifism, and then the prophet with the\nsword to bring everything back to monotheism\u2014monotheism, as modified\nby his own needs and character and compromises. The time of ignorance\nwas a time of chaos. Everything was ready for one who could take in the\nwhole situation, social, political and religious and form a cosmos.\nThat man was Mohammed.\n\n\n\n\n XVII\n\n ISLAM IN ITS CRADLE\u2014THE MOSLEM\u2019S GOD[55]\n\n \u201cIslam was born in the desert, with Arab Sabeanism for its\n mother and Judaism for its father; its foster-nurse was Eastern\n Christianity.\u201d\u2014_Edwin Arnold._\n\n \u201cA Prophet without miracles; a faith without mysteries; and a morality\n without love; which has encouraged a thirst for blood, and which began\n and ended in the most unbounded sensuality.\u201d\u2014_Schlegel\u2019s Philosophy of\n History._\n\n \u201cAs we conceive God, we conceive the universe; a being incapable of\n loving is incapable of being loved.\u201d\u2014_Principal Fairbairn._\n\n\nLibraries have been written, not only in Arabic and Persian, but in\nall the languages of Europe, on the origin, character and history of\nIslam, the Koran and Mohammed. Views differ \u201cas far as the east is from\nthe west\u201d and as far as Bosworth Smith is from Prideaux. The earlier\nEuropean writers did not hesitate to call Mohammed a false prophet and\nhis system a clever imposture; some went further and attributed even\nsatanic agency to the success of Islam and to the words of the prophet.\nCarlyle, in his \u201cHeroes and Hero-worship,\u201d set the pendulum swinging to\nthe other side so far that his chapter on the Hero-prophet is published\nas a leaflet by the Mohammedan Missionary Society of Lahore. So little\ndid Carlyle understand the true nature of Islam that he calls it \u201ca\nkind of Christianity.\u201d What Carlyle said was only the beginning of a\nseries of apologies and panegyrics which appeared soon after and placed\nMohammed not only on the pedestal of a great reformer but \u201ca very\nprophet of God,\u201d making Islam almost the ideal religion. Syeed Ameer\nAli succeeds in his biography in eliminating every sensual, harsh and\nignorant trait from the character of the noted Meccan; and the recent\nvaluable book of T. W. Arnold, professor in Aligarh College, India,\nattempts to prove most elaborately that Mohammedanism was propagated\nwithout the sword.\n\nIn contrast to this read what Hugh Broughton quaintly wrote in 1662:\n\u201cNow consider this Moamed or Machumed, whom God gave up to a blind\nmind, an Ishmaelite, being a poor man till he married a widow; wealthy\nthen and of high countenance, having the falling sickness and being\ntormented by the devil, whereby the widow was sorry that she matched\nwith him. He persuaded her by himself and others that his fits were\nbut a trance wherein he talked with the angel Gabriel. So in time\nthe impostor was reputed a prophet of God and from Judaism, Arius,\nNestorius and his own brain he frameth a doctrine.\u201d In our day, the\ncritical labors of scholars like Sprenger, Weil, Muir, Koelle and\nothers have given us a more correct idea of Mohammed\u2019s life and\ncharacter. The pendulum is still swinging but will come to rest between\nthe two extremes.\n\nWe have not space to give the story of Mohammed\u2019s life or of the\nreligion which he founded. An analysis of the religion has been\nattempted by means of two tables, one showing its development from\nits creed and the other the philosophy of its origin from outside\nsources.[56] The result of a century of critical study by European and\nAmerican scholars of every school of thought has certainly established\nthe fact that Islam is a composite religion. It is not an invention\nbut a concoction; there is nothing novel about it except the genius\nof Mohammed in mixing old ingredients into a new panacea for human\nills and forcing it down by means of the sword. These heterogeneous\nelements of Islam were gathered in Arabia at a time when many religions\nhad penetrated the peninsula, and the Kaaba was a Pantheon. Unless one\nhas a knowledge of these elements of \u201cthe time of ignorance,\u201d Islam\nis a problem. Knowing, however, these heathen, Christian and Jewish\nfactors, Islam is seen to be a perfectly natural and understandable\ndevelopment. Its heathen elements remain, to this day, perfectly\nrecognizable in spite of thirteen centuries of explanation by the\nMoslem authorities. It is to the Jewish Rabbi Geiger that we owe\nour first knowledge of the extent to which Islam is indebted to the\nJews and the Talmud. Rev. W. St. Clair Tisdall has recently shown\nhow Mohammed borrowed even from the Zoroastrians and Sabeans, while\nas to the amount of Christian teaching in Islam, the Koran and its\ncommentators are evidence.\n\nThere is a remarkable verse in the twenty-second chapter of the\nKoran, in which Mohammed seems to enumerate all the sources that\nwere accessible to him in forming his new religion; and at that time\nhe seems to have been in doubt as to which was the most trustworthy\nsource. The verse reads as follows: \u201c_They who believe and the Jews and\nthe Sabeans and the Christians and the Magians_ (Zoroastrians) _and\nthose who join other gods to God, verily God shall decide between them\non the day of Resurrection._\u201d\n\nThe God of Islam. GIBBON CHARACTERIZES THE FIRST PART OF the Moslem\u2019s\ncreed as \u201can eternal truth \u201c\u2014(\u201cthere is no god but God\u201d); but very much\ndepends on the character of the God, who is affirmed to displace all\nother gods. If _Allah\u2019s_ attributes are unworthy of deity then even the\nfirst clause of the briefest of all creeds, is false. There has been a\nstrange neglect to study the Moslem idea of God and nearly all writers\ntake for granted that the God of the Koran is the same being and has\nlike attributes as Jehovah or the Godhead of the New Testament. Nothing\ncould be further from the truth.\n\nFirst of all the Mohammedan conception of Allah is purely negative.\nGod is unique and has no relations to any creature that partake of\nresemblance. He cannot be defined in terms other than negative. As the\npopular song has it,\n\n \u201cKullu ma yukhtaru fi balik\n Fa rabbuna mukhalifun \u2019an thalik\u2014\u201d[57]\n\nAbsolute sovereignty and ruthless omnipotence are his chief attributes\nwhile his character is impersonal\u2014that of a monad. Among the\nninety-nine beautiful names of God, which Edwin Arnold has used in his\npoem \u201cPearls of the Faith,\u201d the ideas of fatherhood, love, impartial\njustice and unselfishness are absent. The Christian truth \u201cGod is love\u201d\nis to the learned, blasphemy and to the ignorant an enigma. Palgrave,\nwho certainly was not biased against the religion of Arabia and who\nlived with the Arabs for long months, calls the theology of Islam\n\u201cthe pantheism of force.\u201d No one has ever given a better account of\n_Allah_, a more faithful portrait of Mohammed\u2019s conception of deity\nthan Palgrave. Every word of his description tallies with statements\nwhich one can hear daily from pious Moslems. Yet no one who reads\nwhat we quote in all its fullness will recognize here the God whom\nDavid addresses in the Psalms or who became incarnate at Bethlehem and\nsuffered on Calvary. This is Palgrave\u2019s statement:\n\n\u201cThere is no god but God\u2014are words simply tantamount in English to the\nnegation of any deity save one alone; and thus much they certainly mean\nin Arabic, but they imply much more also. Their full sense is, not only\nto deny absolutely and unreservedly all plurality, whether of nature\nor of person, in the Supreme Being, not only to establish the unity\nof the Unbegetting and Unbegot, in all its simple and uncommunicable\nOneness, but besides this the words, in Arabic and among Arabs, imply\nthat this one Supreme Being is also the only Agent, the only Force,\nthe only Act existing throughout the universe, and leave to all beings\nelse, matter or spirit, instinct or intelligence, physical or moral,\nnothing but pure, unconditional passiveness, alike in movement or in\nquiescence, in action or in capacity. The sole power, the sole motor,\nmovement, energy, and deed is God; the rest is downright inertia and\nmere instrumentality, from the highest archangel down to the simplest\natom of creation. Hence, in this one sentence, \u2018La Il\u0101h illa All\u0101h,\u2019 is\nsummed up a system which, for want of a better name, I may be permitted\nto call the Pantheism of Force, or of Act, thus exclusively assigned to\nGod, who absorbs it all, exercises it all, and to whom alone it can be\nascribed, whether for preserving or for destroying, for relative evil\nor for equally relative good. I say \u2018relative,\u2019 because it is clear\nthat in such a theology no place is left for absolute good or evil,\nreason or extravagance; all is abridged in the autocratic will of the\none great Agent: \u2018sic volo, sic jubeo, stet pro ratione voluntas\u2019; or,\nmore significantly still, in Arabic, \u2018Kem\u0101 yesha\u2019o,\u2019 \u2018as he wills it,\u2019\nto quote the constantly recurring expression of the Koran.\n\n\u201cThus immeasurably and eternally exalted above, and dissimilar from,\nall creatures, which lie levelled before him on one common plane of\ninstrumentality and inertness, God is one in the totality of omnipotent\nand omnipresent action, which acknowledges no rule, standard, or limit\nsave his own sole and absolute will. He communicates nothing to his\ncreatures, for their seeming power and act ever remain his alone, and\nin return he receives nothing from them; for whatever they may be,\nthat they are in him, by him, and from him only. And secondly, no\nsuperiority, no distinction, no pre\u00ebminence, can be lawfully claimed\nby one creature over its fellow, in the utter equalization of their\nunexceptional servitude and abasement; all are alike tools of the\none solitary Force which employs them to crush or to benefit, to\ntruth or to error, to honor or shame, to happiness, or misery, quite\nindependently of their individual fitness, deserts, or advantage, and\nsimply because he wills it, and as he wills it.\n\n\u201cOne might at first think that this tremendous autocrat, this\nuncontrolled and unsympathizing power, would be far above anything\nlike passions, desires or inclinations. Yet such is not the case, for\nhe has with respect to his creatures one main feeling and source of\naction, namely, jealousy of them lest they should perchance attribute\nto themselves something of what is his alone, and thus encroach on his\nall-engrossing kingdom. Hence he is ever more prone to punish than to\nreward, to inflict than to bestow pleasure, to ruin than to build.\n\n\u201cIt is his singular satisfaction to let created beings continually feel\nthat they are nothing else than his slaves, his tools, and contemptible\ntools also, that thus they may the better acknowledge his superiority,\nand know his power to be above their power, his cunning above their\ncunning, his will above their will, his pride above their pride; or\nrather, that there is no power, cunning, will, or pride save his own.\n\n\u201cBut he himself, sterile in his inaccessible height, neither loving\nnor enjoying aught save his own and self-measured decree, without son,\ncompanion, or counsellor, is no less barren for himself than for his\ncreatures, and his own barrenness and lone egoism in himself as the\ncause and rule of his indifferent and unregarding despotism around. The\nfirst note is the key of the whole tune, and the primal idea of God\nruns through and modifies the whole system and creed that centres in\nhim.\n\n\u201cThat the notion here given of the Deity, monstrous and blasphemous as\nit may appear, is exactly and literally that which the Koran conveys,\nor intends to convey, I at present take for granted. But that it indeed\nis so, no one who has attentively perused and thought over the Arabic\ntext (for mere cursory reading, especially in a translation, will not\nsuffice) can hesitate to allow. In fact, every phrase of the preceding\nsentences, every touch in this odious portrait has been taken, to the\nbest of my ability, word for word, or at least meaning for meaning from\nthe \u201cBook\u201d the truest mirror of the mind and scope of its writer. And\nthat such was in reality Mahomet\u2019s mind and idea is fully confirmed by\nthe witness-tongue of contemporary tradition.\u201d\n\nThe Koran shows that Mohammed had in a measure a correct knowledge of\nthe _physical_ attributes of God but an absolutely false conception of\nhis _moral_ attributes. This was perfectly natural because Mohammed had\nno idea of the nature of sin\u2014moral evil\u2014or of holiness\u2014moral perfection.\n\nThe Imam El Ghazzali a famous scholastic divine of the Moslems says of\nGod: \u201cHe is not a body endued with form nor a substance circumscribed\nwith limits or determined by measure. Neither does He resemble bodies,\nas they are capable of being measured or divided. Neither is He a\nsubstance nor do substances exist in Him; neither is He an accident nor\ndo accidents exist in Him. Neither is He like to anything that exists;\nneither is anything like to Him; nor is He determinate in quantity\nnor comprehended by bounds nor circumscribed by the differences of\nsituation nor contained in the heavens.... His nearness is not like\nthe nearness of bodies nor is His essence like the essence of bodies.\nNeither doth He exist in anything; neither does anything exist in Him.\u201d\nGod\u2019s will is absolute and alone; the predestination of everything\nand everybody to good or ill according to the caprice of sovereignty.\nFor there is no Fatherhood and no purpose of redemption to soften the\ndoctrine of the decrees. Hell must be filled and so Allah creates\ninfidels. The statements of the Koran on this doctrine are coarse and\nof tradition, blasphemous. Islam reduces God to the category of the\nwill; He is a despot, an Oriental despot, and as the _moral_-law is not\nemphasized He is not bound by any standard of justice. Worship of the\ncreature is heinous to the Moslem mind, and yet Allah punished Satan\nfor not being willing to worship Adam. (Koran ii. 28-31.) Allah is\nmerciful in winking at the sins of the prophet but is the avenger of\nall unbelievers in him.\n\n A God-machine, a unit-cause\n Vast, inaccessible\n Who doles out mercy, breaks His laws\n And compromises ill.\n\n A God whose law is changeless fate,\u2014\n Who grants each prophet-wish\u2014\n For prayer and fasting opes heaven\u2019s gate,\n And pardons for backsheesh.\n\nThis is _not_ \u201cthe only True God\u201d whom we know through Jesus Christ and\nso knowing have life-eternal. \u201cNo man knoweth the Father but the _Son_\nand he to whom the Son revealeth Him. He who denies the incarnation\nremains ignorant of God\u2019s true character. As Fairbairn says, \u201cthe love\nwhich the _Godhead_ makes immanent and essential to God, gives God an\naltogether new meaning and actuality for religion; while thought is not\nforced to conceive Monotheism as the apotheosis of an Almighty will or\nan impersonal ideal of the pure reason.\u201d Islam knows no Godhead, and\nAllah is not love.\n\n\n Transcribers Note: To fit within page and layout constraints this\n Chart the linked tabular format. The\n section beginning with A; Faith and B:Practice Appears to derrive\n equally from \"The Doctrine of God\" and \"The Doctrine of Revelation\"\n so has been abstracted and linked from the position the author seems\n to have intended. General notes have been abstracted and displayed as\n footnotes.\n\n ANALYSIS OF ISLAM AS A SYSTEM, DEVELOPED FROM IT\u2019S CREED.\n \u201cThere is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his apostle.\u201d\n\n The Doctrine of God\n (Negative.)\n \u201cThere is no god but God.\u201d\n [Pantheism of Force]\n 1. His names\n of the _essence_, _Allah_ (_the absolute unit_)\n of the attributes,\u2014_Ninety-nine names_\n 2. His attributes\n The physical emphasized above the _moral_.\n Deification of _absolute force_.\n 3. His nature\n Expressed by a series of _negations_\n \u201cHe is _not_.\u201d\n To second section\n The Doctrine of Revelation: (Positive.)\n \u201cMohammed is the apostle of God.\u201d\n [The sole channel of revelation and abrogates former revelations.]\n I. By the KORAN\n (Wahi El Matlu)\n Revelation, verbal, and which teaches the twofold demands of\n Islam:\u2014\n [The Book]\n II. By TRADITION\n (Wahi gheir Matlu)\n Revelation by example of\n the perfect prophet\n [The Man]\n 1. Records of what Mohammed _did_ (Sunnat-el-fa\u2019il) (example)\n 2. Records of what Mohammed _enjoined_ (Sunnat-el-kaul) (precept)\n 3. Records of what Mohammed _allowed_ (Sunnat-el-takrir)\n (license)[A]]\n A. The Sunnite Traditions: (collected and recorded by the\n following six authorities)\n 1. Buchari A. H. 256[B]]\n 2. Muslim \u201d 261[B]\n 3. Tirmizi \u201d 279[B]\n 4. Abu Daood \u201d 275[B]\n 5. An-Nasaee \u201d 303[B]\n 6. Ibn Majah \u201d 273[B]\n B. The Shiah Traditions: (five authorities)\n 1. Kafi A. H. 329\n 2. Sheikh Ali \u201d 381\n 3. \u201cTahzib\u201d \u201d 466[C]\n 4. \u201cIstibsar\u201d \u201d 466[C]\n 5. Ar-Razi \u201d 406\n III. Other Authority\n a. Among the _Sunnites_:\n IJMA\u2019A or unanimous consent of the leading companions of\n Mohammed concerning I.\n KIYAS or the deductions of orthodox teachers from sources\n I. and II.\n b. Among the _Shiahs_:\n The doctrine of the twelve IMAMS\u2014beginning with _Ali_ who\n interpret I. and II.\n\nSecond Section\n\n A. Faith:\n (what to believe)\n \u201cIman\u201d\n 1. In God\n 2. Angels\n (angels, jinn, devils)\n 3. Books\n Modern Moslems believe that 104 \u201cbooks\u201d were\n sent from heaven in the following order:\n To Adam\u2014ten books\n \u201d Seth\u2014fifty\n \u201d Enoch\u2014thirty\n \u201d Abraham\u2014ten\n These are utterly lost.\n \u201d Moses\u2014the TORAH\n \u201d David\u2014the ZABOOR\n \u201d Jesus\u2014the INJIL\n These are highly spoken of in the Koran but are now\n in corrupted condition and have been abrogated by\n the final book.\n \u201d _Mohammed_\u2014the KORAN (eternal in origin; complete and\n miraculous in character; supreme in beauty and\n authority.)\n 4. Last Day (Judgement)\n 5. Predestination\n 6. Prophets\n A. _The Greater_:\n Adam\u2014\u201cChosen of God\u201d\n Noah\u2014\u201cPreacher of God\u201d\n Abraham\u2014\u201cFriend of God\u201d\n Moses\u2014\u201cSpokesman of God\u201d\n Jesus\u2014called \u201cWord of God and \u201cSpirit of God.\u201d\n MOHAMMED, (_who has 201 names and titles_)\n Enoch, Hud, Salih,\n Ishmael, Issac,\n Jacob, Joseph, Lot,\n Aaron, Shuaib,\n Zakariah, John,\n David, Solomon,\n Elias, Job, Jonah,\n Ezra, Lukman,\n Zu-el-kifl and\n Alexander the Great,\n Elisha.\n B. _The Less_: Of these there have been thousands.\n Twenty-two are mentioned in the Koran:\n 7. Resurrection\n B. Practice\n (what to do)\n \u201cDin\u201d [_the five pillars_]\n 1. Repetition of Creed\n 2. _Prayer_ (five times daily) including:\n 1. Purification\n washing various parts of the body three times ac\u2019d\u2019g\n to fourteen rules\n 2. Posture (prostrations)\n facing the kiblah (Mecca)\n prostrations\n genuflections\n 3. Petition\n Declaration\n the Fatihah or first Surah.\n Praise and confession\u2014the Salaam.\n 3. Fasting (month of Ramadhan)\n 4. Alms giving (about 1-40 of income.)\n 5. Pilgrimage\n _Mecca_ (incumbent)\n Medina (meritorious but voluntary)\n Kerbela, Meshed Ali, etc., (Shiahs)\n\n [A] Verbally handed down from mouth to mouth and finally _sifted_ and\n recorded by both sects:\n\n [B] Not one of them flourished until _three cenruries_ after Mohammed.\n\n [C] By Abu Jaafar.\n\n\n ANALYSIS OF THE BORROWED ELEMENTS OF ISLAM.\n\n\n I. From HEATHENISM\n\n (As existing in Mecca or prevalent\n in other parts of Arabia.)\n\n a. Sabeanism:\n\n Astrological superstitions, _e. g._, that meteorites are\n cast at the devil.\n\n Oaths by the stars and planets. (Surahs 56, 53, etc.)\n\n Circumambulation of Kaaba\u2014and, perhaps, the _lunar_ calendar.\n\n b. Arabian Idolatry:\n\n Allah (as _name_ of supreme deity), used in old poets and\n worshipped by Hanifs.\n\n Mecca\u2014centre of religious pilgrimage\u2014The black-stone, etc.\n\n Pilgrimage\u2014_in every detail_: dress, hair offerings,\n casting stones, sacrifice, running.\n\n Polygamy, slavery, easy divorce, and social laws generally.\n\n Ceremonial cleanliness, forbidden foods, _circumcision_.\n\n c. Zoroastrianism:\n\n Cosmogony\u2014The different stories of the earth. Bridge over\n hell.\n\n Paradise\u2014Its character\u2014the _houris_=pairikas of Avesta.\n\n Doctrine of _Jinn_ and their various kinds. Exorcism of jinn\n (Surah 113, 114).\n\n d. Buddhism:\n\n The use of the rosary.\n\n (See Hughes\u2019 Dict. of Islam.)\n\n\n II. From JUDAISM\n\n (The Old Testament but more especially\n the _Talmud_ as the source of Jewish\n ideas prevalent in Arabia just\n before Mohammed.)\n\n A. Ideas and Doctrines:\n\n (According to the divisions\n of Rabbi Geiger.)\n\n 1. Words that represent Jewish ideas\n (and are _not_ Arabic but Hebrew.) _Taboot_ (ark); _Torah_\n (law); _Eden_; _Gehinnom_; _Rabbi_, _Abbar_=teacher;\n _Sakinat_=Shekinah; _Taghoot_ (used hundreds of times\n in Koran)=error; _Furkan_, etc., etc., etc.\n\n 2. Doctrinal views.\n\n _Unity of God._\n\n Resurrection.\n\n Seven hells and seven heavens.\n\n Final judgment. Signs of last day.\n\n Gog and Magog.\n\n 3. Moral and Ceremonial laws.\n\n Prayer. Its time, posture, direction, etc.\n\n Laws regarding impurity of body. Washing\n with water or with sand.\n\n Laws regarding purification of women, etc.\n\n 4. Views of life\n\n Use of \u201cinshallah\u201d; age of discretion corresponds to\n Talmud.\n\n B. Stories and Legends:\n\n (According to Rabbi Geiger.)\n\n Adam, Cain, Enoch; the fabulous things in Koran are\n _identical_ with Talmud.\n\n Noah\u2014the flood\u2014Eber (Hud)\u2014Isaac,\u2014Ishmael\u2014_Joseph_.\n Cf. Koran with Talmud.\n\n Abraham\u2014His idolatry\u2014Nimrod\u2019s oven\u2014Pharao\u2014the calf\u2014(taken\n from Talmud.)\n\n Moses\u2014The fables related of him and Aaron are old Jewish\n tales.\n\n Jethro (Shuaib); Saul (Taloot); Goliath (Jiloot), and\n _Solomon_ especially. Cf. Talmud.\n\n III. From CHRISTIANITY\n\n (Corrupt form, as found in the\n apocryphal gospels.)\n\n \u201c_Gospel of Barnabas._\u201d\n\n 1. Reverence for New Testament\u2014Injil\u2014(Zacharias, John, Gabriel).\n\n 2. Respect for religious teachers; the Koran references to\n priests and monks.\n\n 3. Jesus Christ\u2014His names\u2014Word of God, Spirit of God, etc.\u2014Puerile\n miracles\u2014_Denial of crucifixion_. (Basilidians, etc.)\n\n 4. The Virgin\u2014Her sinlessness\u2014and the apostles\u2014\u201chawari\u201d an\n _Abyssinian_ word meaning \u201cpure ones.\u201d\n\n 5. Wrong ideas of the Trinity. As held by Arabian heretical sects.\n\n 6. Christian legends as of \u201cSeven Sleepers,\u201d \u201cAlexander of the\n horns,\u201d \u201cLokman\u201d (=\u00c6sop.)\n\n 7. A fast month. Ramadhan to imitate lent.\n\n 8. Alms-giving as an essential part of true worship.\n\n \u201cThe Koran could not\n have been composed by\n any except God....\n Will they say he forged\n it? Answer bring therefore\n a chapter like unto\n it.\u201d\u2014THE KORAN. (Surah Yunas.)\n\n\n\n\n XVIII\n\n THE PROPHET AND HIS BOOK\n\n\nIn 570 A. D. Abdullah the son of Abd el Muttalib a Mecca merchant went\non a trading trip from Mecca to Medina and died there; the same year\nhis wife, Amina, gave birth to a boy, named _Mohammed_, at Mecca. One\nhundred years later the name of this Arab lad, joined to that of the\nAlmighty, was called out from ten thousand mosques five times daily,\nfrom Muscat to Morocco, and his new religion was sweeping everything\nbefore it in three continents.\n\nWhat is the explanation of this marvel of history? Many theories have\nbeen laid down and the true explanation is probably the sum of all\nof them. The weakness of Oriental Christianity and the corrupt state\nof the church; the condition of the Roman and Persian empires; the\ncharacter of the new religion; the power of the sword and fanaticism;\nthe genius of Mohammed; the partial truth of his teaching; the\ngenius of Mohammed\u2019s successors; the hope of plunder and love of\nconquest;\u2014such are some of the causes given for the early and rapid\nsuccess of Islam.\n\nMohammed was a prophet without miracles but not without genius.\nWhatever we may deny him we can never deny that he was a great man with\ngreat talents. But he was not a self-made man. His environment accounts\nin a large measure for his might and for his method in becoming a\nreligious leader. There was first of all the political factor. \u201cThe\nyear of the elephant\u201d had seen the defeat of the Christian hosts of\nYemen who came to attack the Kaaba. This victory was to the young and\nardent mind of Mohammed prophetic of the political future of Mecca and\nno doubt his ambition assigned himself the chief place in the coming\nconflict of Arabia against the Roman and Persian oppressors.\n\nNext came the religious factor. The times were ripe for religious\nleadership and Mecca was already the centre of a new movement. The\nHanifs had rejected the old idolatry and entertained the hope that a\nprophet would arise from among them.[60] There was material of all\nsorts at hand to furnish the platform of a new faith; it only required\nthe builder\u2019s eye to call cosmos out of chaos. To succeed in doing\nthis it would be necessary to reject material also; a comprehensive\nreligion and a compromising religion, so as to suit Jew and Christian\nand idolater alike.\n\nThen there was the family factor, or, in other words, the aristocratic\nstanding of Mohammed. He was not a mere \u201ccamel-driver.\u201d The Koreish\nwere the ruling clan of Mecca; Mecca was even then the centre for all\nArabia; and Mohammed\u2019s grandfather, Abd el Muttalib, was the most\ninfluential and powerful man of that aristocratic city. The pet-child\nof Abd el Muttalib was the orphan boy Mohammed. Until his eighth year\nhe was under the shelter and favor of this chief man of the Koreish.\nHe learned what it was to be lordly and to exercise power, and never\nforgot it. The man, his wife and his training were the determinative\nfactors in the character of Mohammed. The ruling factor was the mind\nand genius of the man himself. Of attractive personal qualities,\nbeautiful countenance, and accomplished in business, he first won the\nattention and then the heart of a very wealthy widow, Khadijah. Koelle\ntells us that she was \u201cevidently an Arab lady of a strong mind and\nmature experience who maintained a decided ascendency over her husband,\nand managed him with great wisdom and firmness. This appears from\nnothing more strikingly, than from the very remarkable fact that she\nsucceeded in keeping him from marrying any other wife as long as she\nlived, though at her death, when he had long ceased to be a young man\nhe indulged without restraint in the multiplication of wives. But as\nKhadijah herself was favorably disposed toward Hanifism, it is highly\nprobable that she exercised her commanding influence over her husband\nin such a manner as to promote and strengthen his own attachment to the\nreformatory sect of monotheists.\u201d\n\nMohammed married this woman when he had reached his twenty-fifth year.\nAt the age of forty he began to have his revelations and to preach his\nnew religion. His first convert, naturally perhaps, was his wife, then\nAli and Zeid his two adopted children; then his friend, the prosperous\nmerchant, Abu-Bekr. Such was the nucleus for the new faith.\n\nMohammed is described in tradition as a man above middle height, of\nspare figure, commanding presence, massive head, noble brow, and\njet-black hair. His eyes were piercing. He had a long bushy beard.\nDecision marked his every movement and he always walked rapidly.\nWriters seem to agree that he had the genius to command and expected\nobedience from equals as well as inferiors. James Freeman Clarke says\nthat to him more than to any other of whom history makes mention was\ngiven:\n\n \u201cThe monarch mind, the mystery of commanding,\n The birth-hour gift, the art Napoleon\n Of wielding, moulding, gathering, welding, banding\n The hearts of thousands till they moved as one.\u201d\n\n\nAs to the moral character of Mohammed there is great diversity of\nopinion and the conclusions of different scholars cannot be easily\nreconciled. Muir, Dods, Badger, and others claim that he was at first\nsincere and upright, himself believing in his so-called revelations,\nbut that afterward, intoxicated by success, he used the dignity of his\nprophetship for personal ends and was conscious of deceiving the people\nin some of his later revelations. Bosworth Smith and his like, maintain\nthat he was \u201ca very Prophet of God\u201d all through his life and that the\nsins and faults of his later years are only specks on the sun of his\nglory. Older writers, with whom I agree, saw in Mohammed only the skill\nof a clever impostor from the day of his first message to the day of\nhis death. Koelle, whose book is a mine of accurate scholarship and\nwhose experience of many years mission-work in Moslem lands qualifies\nhim for a sober judgment, sees no striking contrast between the earlier\nand later part of Mohammed\u2019s life that cannot be easily explained\nby the influence of Khadijah. He was _semper idem_, an ambitious\nenthusiast choosing different means for the same end and never very\nparticular as to the character of the means used.\n\nAside from the question of Mohammed\u2019s sincerity no one can apologize\nfor his moral character if judged according to the law of his time,\nthe law himself professed to reveal or the law of the New Testament.\nBy the New Testament law of Jesus Christ, who was the last prophet\nbefore Mohammed and whom Mohammed acknowledged as the Word of God, the\nArabian prophet stands self-condemned. The most cursory examination of\nhis biography proves that he broke repeatedly every sacred precept of\nthe Sermon on the Mount. And the Koran itself proves that the Spirit of\nJesus was entirely absent from the mind of Mohammed. The Arabs among\nwhom Mohammed was born and grew to manhood also had a law, although\nthey were idolaters, slave-holders and polygamists. Even the robbers of\nthe desert who, like Mohammed, laid in wait for caravans, had a code\nof honor. Three flagrant breaches of this code stain the character\nof Mohammed.[61] It was quite lawful to marry a captive woman whose\nrelatives had been slain in battle, but not until _three months after\ntheir death_. Mohammed only waited three days in the case of the Jewess\nSafia. It was lawful to rob merchants but not pilgrims on their way to\nMecca. Mohammed broke this old law and \u201crevealed a verse\u201d to justify\nhis conduct. Even in the \u201cTime of Ignorance\u201d it was incest to marry\nthe wife of an adopted son even after his decease. The prophet Mohammed\nfell in love with the lawful wife of his adopted son Zeid, prevailed\non him to divorce her and then married her immediately; for this also\nhe had a \u201cspecial revelation.\u201d But Mohammed was not only guilty of\nbreaking the old Arab laws and coming infinitely short of the law of\nChrist, he never even kept the laws of which he claimed to be the\ndivinely appointed medium and custodian. When Khadijah died he found\nhis own law, lax as it was, insufficient to restrain his lusts. His\nfollowers were to be content with four lawful wives; he indulged in ten\nand entered into negotiations for matrimony with thirty others.\n\nIt is impossible to form a just estimate of the character of Mohammed\nunless we know somewhat of his relations with women. This subject\nhowever is of necessity shrouded from a decent contemplation by the\nsuperabounding brutality and filthiness of its character. A recent\nwriter in a missionary magazine touching on this subject says, \u201cWe must\npass the matter over, simply noting that there are depths of filth in\nthe Prophet\u2019s character which may assort well enough with the depraved\nsensuality of the bulk of his followers ... but which are simply\nloathsome in the eyes of all over whom Christianity in any measure or\ndegree has influence.\u201d We have no inclination to lift the veil that\nin most English biographies covers the family-life of the prophet of\nArabia. But it is only fair to remark that these love-adventures and\nthe disgusting details of his married life form a large part of the\n\u201clives of the prophet of God\u201d which are the fireside literature of\neducated Moslems.\n\nConcerning the career of Mohammed after the Hegira, or flight from\nMecca (622 A. D.) a brief summary suffices to show of what spirit\nhe was. Under his orders and direction the Moslems lay in wait for\ncaravans and plundered them, the first victories of Islam were the\nvictories of highwaymen and robbers. Asma, the poetess who assailed the\ncharacter of Mohammed, was foully murdered in her sleep by Omeir, and\nMohammed praised him for the deed. Similarly Abu Afik, the Jew, was\nkilled at the request of Mohammed. The story of the massacre of the\nJewish captives is a dark stain also on the character of the prophet\nwhose mouth ever spoke of \u201cthe Merciful and Compassionate.\u201d After the\nvictory, trenches were dug across the market-place and one by one the\nmale-captives were beheaded on the brink of the trench and cast in it.\nThe butchery lasted all day and it needed torch-light to finish it.\nAfter dark Mohammed solaced himself with Rihana a Jewish captive girl,\nwho refused marriage and Islam, but became his bond-slave. It is no\nwonder that shortly after, Zeinab, who had lost her father and brother\nin battle, tried to avenge her race by attempting to poison Mohammed.\n\nIn the seventh year of the Hegira Mohammed went to Mecca and instituted\nfor all time the Moslem pilgrimage. The following year he again set\nout for Mecca at the head of an army of 10,000 men and took the city\nwithout a battle. Other expeditions followed and up to the day, almost\nthe hour, of his death the prophet was planning conquests by the sword.\nIt is a bloody story from the year of the Hegira until the close of\nthe Caliphates. He who reads it in Muir\u2019s volumes cannot but feel the\nsad contrast between the early days of Islam and the early days of\nChristianity. The germ of all _sword-conquest_ must be sought in the\nlife and book of Mohammed. Both consecrate butchery in the service of\nAllah. The successors of Mohammed were not less unmerciful than was the\nprophet himself.\n\nThus far we have considered Mohammed from a critical standpoint and\nhave written facts. But the Mohammed of history and the Mohammed of the\npresent day Moslem biographers are two different persons. Even in the\nKoran, Mohammed is human and liable to error. Tradition has changed\nall that. He is now sinless and almost divine. The two hundred and\none names given him by pious believers proclaim his apotheosis. He\nis called Light of God, Peace of the World, Glory of the Ages, First\nof all Creatures and names yet more lofty and blasphemous. He is at\nonce the sealer and concealor of all former prophets and revelations.\nThey have not only been succeeded but also supplanted by Mohammed. No\nMoslem prays _to_ him, but every Moslem daily prays for him in endless\nrepetition. He is the only powerful intercessor on the day of judgment.\nEvery detail of his early life is surrounded with fantastical miracles\nand marvels to prove his divine commission. Even the evil in his life\nis attributed to divine permission or command and so the very signs of\nhis character are his endless glory and his sign of superiority. God\nfavored him above all creatures. He dwells in the highest heaven and\nis several degrees above Jesus in honor and station. His name is never\nuttered or written without the addition of a prayer. \u201cYa Mohammed\u201d is\nthe open sesame to every door of difficulty, temporal or spiritual.\nOne hears that name in the bazaar and in the street, in the mosque\nand from the minaret. Sailors sing it while raising their sails;\n_hammals_ groan it to raise a burden; the beggar howls it to obtain\nalms; it is the Bedouin\u2019s cry in attacking a caravan; it hushes babies\nto sleep as a cradle song; it is the pillow of the sick and the last\nword of the dying, it is written on the door-posts and in their hearts\nas well as since eternity on the throne of God, it is to the devout\nMoslem the name above every name; grammarians can tell you how its\nfour letters are representative of all the sciences and mysteries by\ntheir wonderful combination. The name of Mohammed is the best to give\na child and the best to swear by for an end of all dispute in a close\nbargain. The exceeding honor given to Mohammed\u2019s name by his followers\nis only _one_ indication of the place their prophet occupies in their\nsystem and holds in their hearts. From the fullness of the heart the\nmouth speaketh. Mohammed holds the keys of heaven and hell. No Moslem,\nhowever bad his character, will perish finally; no unbeliever, however\ngood his life, can be saved except through Mohammed. One has only to\nquestion the Moslem masses or read a single volume of the traditions to\nprove these statements.\n\nIslam denies a mediator and an incarnation but the \u201cStory of the Jew\u201d\nand similar tales put Mohammed in the place of a mediator without an\nincarnation, without an atonement, without holiness. Our Analysis of\nthe Moslem creed shows how all the later teaching which so exalted\nMohammed was present in the germ. \u201c_La ilaha illa Allah_\u201d is the\ntheology, \u201c_Mohammed er rasool Allah_,\u201d the complete Soteriology of\nIslam. The logical necessity of a perfect mediator was at the basis of\nthe _doctrine of Tradition_. Islam has, it claims, a perfect revelation\nin the letter of the Koran; and a perfect example in the life of\nMohammed. The stream has not risen higher than its sources.\n\nTHE BOOK OF ISLAM. When Mohammed Webb the latest American champion of\nIslam spoke at the Chicago Parliament of religions in praise of the\nKoran and its teaching, Rev. George E. Post, M. D., of Beirut deemed\nit a sufficient reply to let the book speak for itself. He said: \u201cI\nhold in my hand a book which is never touched by 200,000,000 of the\nhuman race with unwashen hands, a book which is never carried below\nthe waist, a book which is never laid upon the floor, a book every\nword of which to these 200,000,000 of the human race is considered the\ndirect word of God which came down from heaven. I propose without note\nor comment to read to you a few words from the sacred book and you may\nmake your own comments upon them afterward.\u201d After quoting several\nverses to show that Mohammed preached a religion of the sword and of\npolygamy, he added: \u201cThere is one chapter which I dare not stand before\nyou, my sisters, mothers and daughters, and read to you. I have not the\nface to read it; nor would I like to read it even in a congregation of\nmen. It is the sixty-fourth chapter of the Koran.\u201d\n\nWhat sort of a book is this revelation of Mohammed of which parts are\nunfit to read before a Christian audience and which yet is too holy to\nbe touched by other than Moslem hands? A book which the orthodox Moslem\nbelieves to be uncreated and eternal, all-embracing and all-surpassing,\nmiraculous in its origin and contents. A book concerning which Mohammed\nhimself has said, \u201cIf the Koran were wrapped in a skin and thrown\ninto the fire it would not burn.\u201d Goethe described it thus: \u201cHowever\noften we turn to it, at first disgusting us each time afresh it soon\nattracts, astounds, and in the end enforces our reverence. Its style in\naccordance with its contents and aim is stern, grand, terrible\u2014and ever\nand anon truly sublime. Thus this book will go on exercising through\nall ages a most potent influence.\u201d And N\u00f6ldeke writes, \u201cif it were not\nfor the exquisite flexibility and vigor of the Arabic language itself,\nwhich, however is to be attributed more to the age in which the author\nlived than to his individuality, it would scarcely be bearable to read\nthe later portions of the Koran a second time.\u201d Goethe read only the\ntranslation; and N\u00f6ldeke was master of the original. It is as hopeless\nto arrive at a unanimous verdict regarding the Koran as it is to reach\nan agreement regarding Mohammed.\n\nThe book has fifty-five noble titles on the lips of its people but is\ngenerally called _the Koran_ or \u201cThe Reading.\u201d It has one hundred and\nfourteen chapters, some of which are as long as the book of Genesis and\nothers consisting of two or three sentences only. The whole book is\nsmaller than the New Testament, has no chronological order whatever and\nis without logical sequence or climax. What strikes the reader first\nof all is its jumbled character; every sort of fact and fancy, law and\nlegend is thrown together piecemeal. The four proposed chronological\narrangements, by Jorlal-ud-Din, Muir, Rodwell and N\u00f6ldeke are in utter\ndisagreement. Only two of Mohammed\u2019s contemporaries are mentioned in\nthe entire book and his own name occurs only five times. The book\nis unintelligible to the average Moslem without a commentary, and I\ndefy any one else to lead it through, without the aid of notes, and\nunderstand a single chapter or even section.\n\nWe will not stop to consider the fabulous account which Moslems give\nof the origin of the Koran and how the various chapters were revealed.\nAlthough Moslems claim that the book was eternally perfect in form\nand preserved in heaven, they are compelled to admit that it was\nrevealed piecemeal and at various times and places by Mohammed to his\nfollowers. It was recorded in writing, after the rude Arab fashion,\n\u201con palm-leaves and sheep-bones and white stones\u201d to some extent; but\nfor the most part was preserved orally by constant repetition. Omar\nsuggested to Abu-Bekr after the battle of Yemama that since many of\nthe Koran reciters were slain, it would be the part of wisdom to put\nthe book of God in permanent form. The task was committed to Zaid, the\nchief amanuensis of Mohammed and the resulting volume was entrusted to\nthe care of Hafsa, one of the widows of the prophet. Ten years later\na recension of the Koran was ordered by the Caliph Othman and all\nprevious copies were called in and burned. This recension of Othman,\nsent to all the chief cities of the Moslem world, has been faithfully\nhanded down to the present. \u201cNo other book in the world has remained\ntwelve centuries with so pure a text.\u201d (Hughes.) The present variations\nin editions of the Arabic Koran are numerous but none of them are, in\nany sense important. The present Koran is the same book that Mohammed\nprofessed to have received from God. Out of its own mouth will we judge\nthe book; and we cannot judge the book without judging the prophet.\n\nWe will speak later of the poetical beauties of the Koran and of its\nliterary character. We do not deny also that there are in the Koran\ncertain moral beauties, such as its deep and fervent trust in the one\nGod, its lofty descriptions of His Almighty power and omnipresence, and\nits sententious wisdom. The first chapter and the verse of the throne\nare examples.\n\n\n \u201cIn the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.\n Praise be to God, Lord of all the worlds!\n The Compassionate, the Merciful!\n King on the Day of Judgment!\n Thee do we worship, and to Thee do we cry for help!\n Guide Thou us on the right path!\n The path of those to whom Thou art gracious!\n Not of those with whom Thou art angered, nor of those who go astray.\u201d\n\n \u201cGod! there is no God but He; the living, the Eternal\n Slumber doth not overtake Him, neither sleep.\n To Him belongeth whatsoever is in heaven and on the earth.\n The preservation of both is no weariness unto Him.\n He is the high, the mighty.\u201d\n\nThe great bulk of the Koran is either legislative or legendary; the\nbook consists of laws and stories. The former relate entirely to\nsubjects which engrossed the Arabs of Mohammed\u2019s day\u2014the laws of\ninheritance, the relation of the sexes, the law of retaliation, etc\u2014and\nthis part of the book has a local character. The stories on the other\nhand go back to Adam and the patriarchs, take in several unknown\nArabian prophets or leaders, centre around Jesus Christ, Moses and\nSolomon and do not venture beyond Jewish territory except to mention\nAlexander the Great and Lukman (\u00c6sop).\n\nFrom the analytical tables it is not very difficult to see whence the\nmaterial for the Koran was selected. Rabbi Geiger\u2019s book, recently\ntranslated into English, will satisfy any reader that Hughes is\nnearly right when he says, \u201cMohammedanism is simply Talmudic Judaism\nadapted to Arabia plus the apostleship of Jesus and Mohammed.\u201d But it\nis _Talmudic_ Judaism and not the Judaism of the Old Testament. For\nthe Koran is remarkable most of all not because of its contents but\nbecause of its omissions. Not because of what it reveals but for what\nit _conceals_ of \u201cformer revelations.\u201d The defects of its teaching are\nmany. It is full of historical errors and blunders. It has monstrous\nfables. It teaches a false cosmogony. It is full of superstitions. It\nperpetuates slavery, polygamy, religious intolerance, the seclusion\nand degradation of woman and petrifies social life. But all this is of\nminor importance compared with the fact that the Koran professing to\nbe a _revelation_ from God does not teach the way to reconciliation\nwith God and seems to ignore the first and great barrier to such\nreconciliation, viz: SIN. Of this the Old and New Testaments are always\nspeaking. Sin and salvation are the subject of which the _Torah_ and\nthe _Zaboor_ and the _Injil_ (Law Prophets and Psalms) are full. The\nKoran is silent or if not absolutely silent, keeps this great question\never in the background.[62]\n\nIt is a commonplace of theology that \u201cto form erroneous conceptions\nof sin is to fall into still graver errors regarding the way of\nsalvation.\u201d Mohammed, as is evident from his whole life, had no deep\nconviction of sin in himself; he was full of self-righteousness. His\nideas, too, of God, were _physical_, not _moral_; he saw God\u2019s power,\nbut never had a glimpse of His holiness. And so we find that there is\nan inward unity binding together the prophet and his book as to their\nreal character in the light of the gospel. With _such_ ideas of God,\n_such_ a prophet and _such_ a book, it is easy to understand why the\nMohammedan world became what it is to-day. These bare outlines of the\nsystem of Islam are all that are necessary to indicate its nature and\ngenus. Allah\u2019s character as the revealer, Mohammed\u2019s character as the\nchannel of the revelation, and the revelation itself, show us Islam in\nits cradle.\n\n\n\n\n XIX\n\n THE WAHABI RULERS AND REFORMERS\n\n \u201cNothing is so easy to appreciate as true Christian commerce. It\n is a speaking argument, even to the lowest savage, for a gospel of\n truth and love, and yet more to the races sophisticated by a false\n civilization.\u201d\u2014_Principal Cairns._\n\n\nThe history of the Arabian Peninsula has never yet been written.\nMany books describe certain periods of its history from the time of\nthe earlier Arabian rulers, but there is no volume that tells the\nstory from the beginning in a way worthy of the subject. It would be\ninteresting to search out the earliest records and trace the Himyarite\ndynasties to their origin; to learn the story of the Jewish immigrants\nwho settled in Medina, Mecca and Yemen even before the Christian Era;\nto follow the Arabs in their conquests under the banner of the prophet;\nto watch the sudden rise of the Carmathians and follow them in their\ncareer of destruction; to search the old libraries and rediscover the\nromantic story of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English in Arabian\nwaters;\u2014but our space limits us to the story of the past century.[63]\n\nTo understand the present political conditions and recent history of\nArabia, we must go back to the year 1765, which marks the rise of\nthe remarkable Wahabi movement, which was at the bottom of all the\npolitical changes that the Peninsula has seen since that time. This\nmovement was the renaissance of Islam, even though it ended in apparent\ndisaster, and was politically a splendid fiasco. The Wahabi reform\nattracted the attention of Turkey to Arabia; its influence was felt in\nIndia to the extent of declaring a _jihad_ or religious war against\nthe government, and compelled England to study the situation and send\nrepresentatives to the very heart of Arabia.\n\nBeginning with the Wahabi dynasty, the history of the past century in\nArabia centres in the rulers of Nejd and Oman, the Turkish conquests\nand the English influence and occupation. The strong independent\ngovernment of Nejd under Ibn Rashid and his successor, Abd-ul-Aziz,\nwould have been an impossibility except for the result of the Wahabi\nmovement, in demonstrating the weakness of Turkish rule. And it was for\nfear of the Wahabi aggressions that Turkey strengthened her Arabian\npossessions and invaded Hassa.\n\nMohammed bin Abd-ul-Wahab was born at Ayinah in Nejd, in 1691.\nCarefully instructed by his father in the tenets of Islam according\nto the school of Hambali, the strictest of the four great sects.[64]\nAbd-ul-Wahab visited the schools of Mecca, Busrah and Bagdad, to\nincrease his learning. At Medina, too, he absorbed the deepest\nlearning of the Moslem divines and soaked himself in the \u201csix correct\nbooks\u201d of traditions. In his travels he had observed the laxity of\nfaith and practice which had crept in, especially among the Turks\nand the Arabs of the large cities. He tried to distinguish between\nthe essential elements of Islam and its later additions, some of\nwhich seemed to him to savor of gross idolatry and worldliness. What\nmost offended the rigid monotheism of his philosophy was the almost\nuniversal visitation of shrines, invocation of saints and honor paid\nto the tomb of Mohammed. The use of the rosary, of jewels, silk, gold,\nsilver, wine and tobacco, were all abominations to be eschewed. These\nwere indications of the great need for reform. The earlier teaching\nof the companions of the prophet had been set aside or overlaid by\nlater teaching. Even the four orthodox schools had departed from the\npure faith by allowing pilgrimage to Medina, by multiplying festivals\nand philosophizing about the nature of Allah. Therefore it was that\nAbd-ul-Wahab preached reform not only, but proclaimed himself the\nleader of a new sect. His teaching was based on the Koran and the early\ntraditions.\n\nThis movement is chiefly distinguished from the orthodox system in the\nfollowing particulars:\n\n 1. The Wahabis reject _Ijma_ or the agreement of later interpreters.\n\n 2. They offer no prayers to prophet, wali, or saint, nor visit their\n tombs for that purpose.\n\n 3. They say Mohammed is _not yet_ an intercessor; although at the last\n day he will be.\n\n 4. They forbid women to visit the graves of the dead.\n\n 5. They allow only four festivals, _Fitr_, _Azha_, _\u2019Ashura_ and\n _Lailat El Mobarek_.\n\n 6. They do not celebrate Mohammed\u2019s birth.\n\n 7. They use their knuckles for prayer-counting, and not rosaries.\n\n 8. They strictly forbid the use of silk, gold, silver ornaments,\n tobacco, music, opium, and every luxury of the Orient, except perfume\n and women.\n\n 9. They have anthropomorphic ideas of God by strictly literal\n interpretation of the Koran texts about \u201cHis hand,\u201d \u201csitting,\u201d etc.\n\n 10. They believe _jihad_ or religious war, is not out of date, but\n incumbent on the believer.\n\n 11. They condemn minarets, tombstones, and everything that was not in\n use during the first years of Islam.\n\nThere is no doubt that Abd-ul-Wahab honestly tried to bring about\na reform and that in many of the points enumerated his reform was\nstrictly a return to primitive Islam. But it was too radical to last.\nIt took no count of modern civilization and the ten centuries that had\nmodified the very character of the Arabs of the towns not to speak\nof those outside of Arabia. Yet the preaching of the Reformer found\nwilling ears in the isolation of the desert. As in the days of Omar,\nthe promise of reform in religion was made attractive by the promise\nof rich booty to those who fought in the path of God and destroyed\ncreature-worshippers. Mohammed Abd-ul-Wahab was the preacher, but\nto propagate his doctrine he needed a sword. Mohammed bin Saud, of\nDeraiyah, supplied the latter factor and the two Mohammeds, allied by\nmarriage and a common ambition, began to make converts and conquests.\nThe son of Bin Saud, Abd-ul-Aziz, was the Omar of the new movement,\nand his son Saud even surpassed the father in military prowess and\nsuccessful conquest. Abd-ul-Aziz was murdered by a Persian fanatic\nwhile prostrate in prayer in the mosque at Deraiyah, in 1803. Saud\nat this very time was pushing the Wahabi conquest to the very gates\nof Mecca. On the 27th of April, 1803, he carried his banner into the\ncourt of the Kaaba and began to cleanse the holy place. Piles of pipes,\ntobacco, silks, rosaries and amulets were collected into one great\nheap and set on fire by the infuriated enthusiasts. No excesses were\ncommitted against the people except that religion was forced upon\nthem. The mosques were filled by public \u201cwhips\u201d who used their leather\nthongs without mercy on all the lazy or negligent. Everybody, for a\nmarvel, prayed five times a day. The result of his victory at Mecca\nwas communicated by the dauntless Saud in the following na\u00efve letter\naddressed to the Sultan of Turkey:\n\n \u201cSAUD TO SALIM\u2014I entered Mecca on the fourth day of Moharram in the\n 1218th year of the Hegira. I kept peace toward the inhabitants. I\n destroyed all things that were idolatrously worshipped. I abolished\n all taxes except those that were required by the law. I confirmed the\n Kadhi whom you had appointed agreeably to the commands of the prophet\n of God. I desire that you will give orders to the rulers of Damascus\n and Cairo not to come up to the sacred city with the _Mahmal_[65] and\n with trumpets and drums. Religion is not profited by these things. May\n the peace and blessing of God be with you.\u201d\n\nThe absence of long salutations and the usual phrases of honor is\ncharacteristic of all Wahabi correspondence. In this respect it is a\ngreat improvement on the excessive lavishment of titles and honors so\nusual among Moslems, especially among the Persians and the Turks.\n\nBefore the close of the year Saud avenged his father\u2019s death by\nattacking Medina and destroying the gilded dome that covered the\nprophet\u2019s tomb. As early as 1801 parties of plundering Wahabis had\nsacked the tomb of Hussein and carried off rich booty from the sacred\ncity of Kerbela. According to the official inventory this booty\nconsisted of vases, carpets, jewels, weapons innumerable; also, 500\ngilded copper-plates from the dome, 4,000 cashmire shawls, 6,000\nSpanish doubloons, 350,000 Venetian coins of silver, 400,000 Dutch\nducats, 250,000 Spanish dollars and a large number of Abyssinian slaves\nbelonging to the mosque.[66] Their raids and conquests extended in\nevery direction so that in a few years the Wahabi power was supreme in\nthe greater part of Arabia.\n\nA single illustration will show the great Saud\u2019s[67] prudence and\ncelerity in action. When he invaded the Hauran plains, in 1810,\nalthough it was thirty-five days\u2019 journey from his capital, yet the\nnews of his approach only preceded his arrival by two days, nor was it\nknown what part of Syria he planned to attack, and thirty-five villages\nof Hauran were sacked before the Pasha of Damascus could make any\ndemonstrations for defence!\n\nMeanwhile the Sublime Porte remained inactive and nothing was done to\nregain the sacred territories. It was deemed impossible to reach Mecca\nfrom Damascus with any large body of soldiers through hostile territory\nwhere supplies were scarce. Salvation was expected from Egypt; and it\nwas hoped that an expedition by sea might succeed in taking Jiddah and\nthence advance upon Mecca. Mohammed Ali began preparations in 1810, and\nin the summer of 1811 an expedition under his son Touson Pasha was sent\nout from Suez. In October the fleet arrived at Yenbo and the troops\ntook the town. Ghaleb the Sherif of Mecca proved false to the Wahabis\nand made negotiations with the Turkish commander to hand over the\ntown. In January the army occupied Medina but at Bedr the troops were\nattacked by Wahabis and utterly routed.\n\nAll through this first campaign the cruelty and treachery of the Turks\nwas shocking even to the mind of their Bedouin allies. None of their\npromises were kept; the skulls of the enemy slain were constructed\ninto a sort of tower near Medina; Ghalib, the Sherif, was betrayed and\nin violation of the most sacred promises he was taken prisoner and\ndeported; wholesale butchery of the wounded and mutilation of the slain\nwere common.\n\nA second army under Mustafa Bey advanced toward Mecca and also took\npossession of Taif. Although the five cities of the Hejaz were now in\nthe hands of the Turks the Wahabi power was not yet broken. Mohammed\nAli Pasha himself proceeded from Egypt with another army; he had great\ndifficulty in securing transportation and provisions. Finally he landed\nhis troops at Jiddah and went on to Mecca, planning to attack Taraba\nthe great Wahabi centre of the south, as Deraiyah was the capital\nof the north. Here the enemy had gathered in great numbers under an\nAmazon leader, a widow named Ghalye who ruled the Begoum Arabs. She was\nreported to be a sorceress among the Turks and stories of her skill and\ncourage inspired them with fear. When the attack was made the Wahabis\ncame off victorious and so harassed the army of occupation that during\n1813 and the beginning of 1814 they remained perfectly inactive. Later\nthe Turks made a sea attack on Gunfida, the port south of Jiddah, and\ncaptured it. The Wahabis however captured the wells that supplied the\ntown, made a sortie and the Turkish troops fled panic-stricken, to\ntheir ships. Discontentment arose among the Turkish troops. Supplies\nfailed and wages were in arrears. Mohammed Ali changed now his tactics\nand tried to bribe the Bedouin chiefs to desert the Wahabi leaders. At\nthis time the Turkish army consisted of nearly 20,000 men and yet the\ncampaign dragged on without a definite victory.[68]\n\nThe greatest battle was fought at Bissel near Taif where Mohammed Ali\ndefeated the Wahabis with great slaughter. Six dollars were offered\nfor every Wahabi head and before the day ended 5,000 bloody heads\nwere piled up before the Pasha. About 300 prisoners were taken and\noffered quarter. But on reaching Mecca the cruel commander impaled\nfifty of them before the gates of the city; twelve suffered a like\nhorrible death at every one of the ten coffee-houses, halting places\nbetween Mecca and Jiddah; the remainder were killed at Jiddah and their\ncarcasses left to dogs and vultures.\n\nBut the battle went against the Turks when they met the desert and its\nterrors. Hunger, thirst, fevers and the Bedouin robbers attacked the\ncamp. In one day a hundred horses died; the soldiers were dissatisfied\nand deserted. At length Mohammed Ali made proposals of peace to\nAbdullah bin Saud the Wahabi chief, and when Saud entered Kasim with\nan army the negotiations were concluded and peace was declared. But\npeace was not kept, and Ibrahim Pasha, the son of Mohammed Pasha was\ndespatched with a large expedition against the Wahabis in August, 1816.\n\nWhile Egypt was attacking the Wahabi strongholds from the west, with\ninfinite trouble and dubious results, the greatest loss the Wahabi\ngovernment had yet suffered, was from a blow dealt by the British.\nIn 1809 an English expedition went from Bombay against the piratical\ninhabitants of their chief castle and harbor, Ras-el-Kheimah. The\nplace was bombarded and laid in ashes.\n\nIbrahim Pasha accomplished by intrigue and bribery what his father\nfailed to do by force of arms. After a series of advances one tribe\nafter another was detached from the Wahabi government. At last without\na battle the capital Deraiyah was taken, Abdullah captured, sent to\nConstantinople and there publicly executed on December 18th, 1818.\n\nThe Turks were naturally jubilant over their success and thought\nthey had made an end of the hated Wahabis. They soon learned their\nmistake. No sooner was the army of Ibrahim Pasha withdrawn than the\nold spirit rehabilitated the fallen empire with the old time strength\nof fanaticism. The army of the Pashas could not govern or even occupy\nthe vast territories they had overrun. Within a few years Turki the\nson of the late Amir was proclaimed Sultan of Nejd, recovered all and\nmore than his father\u2019s territories, and by the judicious payment of a\nsmall tribute and yet smaller honor to the Egyptian Khedive retained\nthe throne until he was murdered in 1831. His son and successor,\nFeysul, took the reins of government and was rash enough to repudiate\nthe Egyptian Suzerainty. Nejd was again invaded. Hofhoof and Katif were\ntemporarily occupied by Egyptian and Turkish troops and Feysul was\nbanished to Egypt.[69]\n\nFeysul died in 1865, having returned from his banishment in 1843 and\nruling alone and supreme for all those years. His son Abdullah, who had\nacted as regent during the later years of Feysul, succeeded to the\nthrone. But there was a rival in his brother Saud. Intrigues, treasons\nand violence were hatching in the palace courts even before the death\nof Feysul. The dagger and the coffee-cup of poisoned beverage have\nalways been favorite weapons in seating and unseating the rulers of\nArabia. A prolonged fight ensued between the two brothers. Saud was at\nfirst successful but Abdullah flying to Turkey invited the aid of that\npower with the result that an expedition from Bagdad ended in formally\nand permanently occupying El Hassa as a Turkish province.\n\nAt the time of Saud\u2019s death, in 1874, the conflict was renewed, but\nAbdullah ultimately regained the supremacy and was ruler at Riad until\n1886, when events occurred that heralded the rise of another power in\nNejd, based on political intrigue and the sword rather than on religion\nand fanaticism.\n\nWhen Turki the Amir was murdered by his own cousin, Meshari, and Feysul\nsucceeded to the throne, there was present at Riad in the army an\nobscure youth from Hail, Abdullah bin Rashid. He it was who entered\nthe palace by stealth, stabbed Meshari, and helped to restore Feysul\nto his father\u2019s seat as ruler. His valor and loyalty were rewarded\nby bestowing upon him the governorship of his own native province\nShammar; he was also granted a small army to strengthen the Wahabi\nrule in that region. He soon became almost as strong as his master and\nshowed himself an expert in all the intrigue and skill possible to the\nArabs. He extended his personal influence on all sides, built a massive\npalace at Hail and defeated all who plotted his destruction. Hired\nassassins dogged him on the streets, but Abdullah escaped every danger\nand his star remained in the ascendant. In 1844 he died suddenly,\nleaving unaccomplished ambitions and three sons, Telal, Mitaab, and\nMohammed. Telal, the eldest son, was proclaimed ruler and was ever more\npopular than his father had been, and no less successful as a ruler.\nHe strengthened his capital, invited merchants from Busrah and Bagdad\nto reside there, and gradually but surely established his entire\nindependence of the Wahabi ruler at Riad. Tormented, however, by an\ninternal malady he shot himself in 1867. His younger brother, Mitaab,\nwho succeeded, ruled very briefly and was murdered by his nephews, the\nsons of Telal, within a year. Meanwhile, the third son of Abdullah\nbin Rashid, Mohammed, had been a refugee at the Riad capital. But\nhis ambitions now found their opportunity and his true character was\nrevealed. By permission of the Amir Abdullah bin Feysul he went back to\nHail. He commenced by stabbing his nephew Bander who had usurped the\nthrone; he then killed the five remaining children of his brother Telal\nand became undisputed Amir at Hail in 1868. During the next eighteen\nyears he consolidated his authority. His rule was after the Arab\nheart\u2014with a rod of iron and lavish hospitality; continual executions\nand continual feasting.\n\nThe Arabs at Bahrein tell many almost incredible tales of Mohammed bin\nRashid\u2019s stern justice and speedy method of executing it, as well of\nhis cruelty to those who resisted his will. In those days the public\nexecutioner\u2019s sword was always wet with blood; men were tied to camels\nand torn asunder; but the desert-roads were everywhere safe and robbers\nmet with no mercy. As an indication of his wealth and hospitality\nit is related that he constructed in the courtyard of his palace a\nstone-cistern of great size always kept filled with that best of\nBedouin dainties, clarified butter (_dihn_). A bucket and rope were at\nhand and oil was dealt out as freely as water to the honored guests of\nthe great ruler.\n\nIn the year 1886 the long-looked for opportunity came for Mohammed\nbin Rashid to complete the work of Telal. He not only aspired to be\nindependent of the Riad rulers but to make Riad, the Saud dynasty\nand all the Wahabi state a dependency of his Nejd kingdom. In that\nyear Amir Abdullah bin Feysul was seized and imprisoned by two of his\nnephews, one of whom usurped the throne. Mohammed, as a loyal subject,\nmarched to the rescue, deposed the pretender, but carried the Amir\nhimself to Hail, leaving a younger brother as his deputy governor. The\ngreat empire of the Sauds was virtually ended; henceforth it was the\ngreen and purple banner of Rashid and not the red and white standard of\nthe Wahabis that ruled all central Arabia.\n\nMohammed bin Rashid had shown supreme diplomatic ability in all his\ndealings with the Turks from the day of his power until his death. He\nhumored their vanity by professing himself an ally of the Porte; he\npaid a small annual tribute to the Sherif of Mecca in recognition of\nthe Sultan. But for the rest he never loved the Turk except at a good\ndistance. None of the Arabs of the interior have forgotten the perfidy,\ntreachery and more than Arab cruelty of the Egyptian Pashas in their\ncampaigns.\n\nIn 1890 a final attempt was made by the partisans of the old dynasty\nto rebel against the Amir and secure the independence of Riad. It was\nfruitless; and the severe defeat of the rebels proved it final. In the\nyear 1897 Mohammed bin Rashid died and his successor Abd-el-Aziz bin\nMitaab now rules his vast dominions. He is less stern but not less able\nthan his illustrious predecessor.\n\n\n\n\n XX\n\n THE RULERS OF OMAN\n\n\nBefore we turn to the history of the Turks in Arabia a word is\nnecessary regarding the rulers of Oman\u2014that province unique in Arabia\nfor its isolation from all the other provinces in the matter of\npolitics. Prior to the appearance of the Portuguese in the Persian\nGulf (1506) Oman had been governed for nine hundred successive years\nby independent rulers called Imams; elected by popular choice and not\naccording to family descent. From that time until 1650 the Portuguese\nremained in power at Muscat. In 1741 Ahmed bin Said, a man of humble\norigin, a camel-driver, rose by his bravery to be governor of Sohar,\ndrove the Persians who had succeeded the Portuguese, out of Muscat\nand founded the dynasty that has ever since ruled Oman. As early as\n1798 the East India Company made a treaty with the Sultan of Muscat\nto exclude the French from Oman. This fact is important to show the\ncharacter of the recent incident at Muscat.\n\nSeyid Said, who ruled from 1804 to 1856, had constant struggles against\nthe Wahabi power who threatened his territory. With England he joined\nthe war against the Wahabi pirates; and made treaties in 1822, 1840 and\n1845 to suppress the slave-trade. On the death of Said the Sultanate of\nOman and Zanzibar was divided. Seyid Thowani reigned at Muscat while a\nyounger brother reigned at Zanzibar. Thowani was assassinated at Sohar\nin 1866. Salim, his son, succeeded him, although he was suspected of\npatricide. Then there was an interregnum under a usurper until Seyid\nTurki another son of Said took the throne in 1871. Continual rebellion\nmarked his period of rule. But he was friendly to the English and in\nreturn for the abolition of free traffic of slaves between Africa and\nZanzibar the English government allowed him an annual subsidy of a\nlittle over \u00a36,000 a year. In 1888 the Sultan died and his son, Feysul\nbin Turki, succeeded him. His rule was mild, from the palace at Muscat\nhis influence was not far-reaching; rebellions, inter-tribal wars and\nplots of one mountain-chief against another mark all the years of\nhis reign up to date. In February, 1895, there was a serious Bedouin\nuprising in which the Arabs took the town and looted it. The Sultan\nhimself barely escaped and was for a time a prisoner in his fort while\nthe town was in the hands of the enemy. The cause of the trouble was a\ndifference as to the amount of yearly tribute a certain Sheikh Saleh\nof Samed should pay the Muscat ruler. From November, 1894, the rebels\ncollected arms and strengthened their numbers until on February 12th of\nthe following year they were ready to strike the desired blow. As this\nepisode was characteristic of all Arab warfare we quote a brief account\nof it sent at the time by a resident at Muscat to the Bombay press:\n\n \u201cOn February 12th Abdullah, the leader of his father\u2019s (Sheikh\n Saleh\u2019s) troops, with a retinue of perhaps 200 armed Bedouins arrived\n at Muscat in a scattered and peaceable manner, and obtained an\n audience with the Sultan. A musket salute was fired, and no attack\n was thought of. The Sultan presented the leader with a purse of $400\n and a liberal allowance of rice, dates, coffee, and the famous Muscat\n \u201chalwa\u201d for the men. The Bedouins although armed were allowed to go\n and come as they choose and no attack was feared. Sheikh Abdullah\n himself sat for a time in the bazaar and received the salaams of the\n people who kissed his hand in respect. When evening came the Sultan\n requested the men to encamp outside of the gates, the only means of\n entrance and exit through the old Portuguese walls. Although failing\n to comply with the request the Bedouins claimed none but peaceful\n intentions. At 8 P. M. when according to custom the gates were closed,\n perhaps one-half of the Bedouins were within the walls. This was\n their Trojan horse. Shortly after midnight the gates were attacked,\n the few customary guards being easily overcome, and thrown open to the\n large numbers of Bedouins who up to this time had been hiding in a\n neighboring mosque. Both the small gate leading to the bazaar and the\n larger one to the west of the town were easily taken, and the Bedouins\n then advanced to the Sultan\u2019s palace, effected an entrance and rudely\n awoke the Sultan and his family from their sleep. Seyyidi Esel after\n a courageous struggle of a few minutes, (in which he shot two of the\n attacking party,) escaped by a small door opening to the sea and fled\n to one of the two forts which command the city as well as the harbor.\n His brother escaped to the other. Each of these forts is manned by\n a force of perhaps fifty men and has several old twelve pounder\n Portuguese guns.\n\n \u201cThe forts opened fire at once upon the palace which the Bedouins now\n occupied. The Bedouins took possession of the town closing the gates\n and stationing armed men through the bazaar and streets in the early\n hours of the 13th of February.\n\n \u201cA few shops containing muskets and ammunition were opened, and the\n contents robbed. The Sultan\u2019s palace was completely looted and all his\n personal property either destroyed or sold at any price. On account\n of the suddenness of the attack there was but a small number of the\n Sultan\u2019s soldiers in readiness. These repaired to the forts and opened\n fire upon the Bedouin invaders with both the guns of the foils and\n muskets. For three days we were the witnesses of the extraordinary\n spectacle of a Sultan bombarding his own palace; no attempt was made\n to meet the rebels on the streets. By order of the invading captain\n the portion of the town inhabited by British subjects was not entered.\n Until Sunday evening things remained about the same. The attack from\n the forts was continued day and night. The Bedouins did not answer\n the fire but remained in the palace and streets holding possessions\n but making no attack on the forts. Within the town, although it\n is in possession of the enemy, all was orderly and quiet. Unarmed\n people were allowed to pass to and fro and guards were stationed in\n the bazaar to prevent plunder. Reinforcements were expected by both\n parties. On Monday morning a body of about 1,000 arrived from the\n coast towns in aid of the Sultan. They encamped beneath the fort in\n command of the Sultan, and at about 8 A. M. made an attack on the\n invaders, which became so serious a danger to the British subjects\n that the Political Agent Major J. H. Sadler ordered a cessation of\n hostilities at 1 P. M. until 8 P. M. giving the British subjects an\n opportunity to sojourn to the sheltered village of Makalla. More\n reinforcements to the Sultan\u2019s troops arrived at 6 P. M. and encamped\n beneath the fort throwing temporary barricades across the streets\n at several advantageous points. The main body of the Bedouins were\n waiting to reinforce just outside Matral which village was however\n still in the hands of the Sultan. At 8 A. M. on Monday H. M. S. Sphina\n arrived from Bushire and at 2 P. M. the R. I. M. S. Lawrence.\u201d\n\nThe British gunboats, contrary to the expectations and fond hopes of the\npopulation of Muscat, did not interfere in the matter. For reasons of\ndiplomacy they left the Sultan to fight his own battles and when the\nrebels were finally persuaded to leave saddled the poor Sultan with\na large bill for the damage incurred by British subjects during the\nattack.\n\nIn 1894 a French consulate was established at Muscat; as the French\nhave no commerce to speak of in this part of the world the object of\nthe consulate was evidently political. Of the intrigues that resulted,\nthe alleged sale of a coaling-station to France and the British\nattitude toward the matter we will speak later.\n\n\n\n\n XXI\n\n THE STORY OF THE TURKS IN ARABIA\n\n \u201cNo one travels in Turkey with his eyes open without seeing that her\n government is a curse on mankind. Fears, feuds and fightings make\n miserable the councils of her rulers. They are bloodsuckers fastened\n on the people throughout her dominions drawing from each and all\n the last drop of blood that can be extracted. Turkey skillfully\n and systematically represses what Christian nations make it their\n business to nurture in all mankind as manhood. In her cities there\n are magnificent palaces for her sultans and her favorites. But one\n looks in vain through her realm for statues of public benefactors.\n There are no halls where her citizens could gather to discuss\n policies of government or mutual obligations. Their few newspapers\n are emasculated by government censors. Not a book in any language\n can cross her borders without permission of public officers, most of\n whom are incapable of any intelligent judgment of its contents. Art\n is scorned. Education is bound. Freedom is a crime. The tax gatherer\n is omnipotent. Law is a farce. Turkey has prisons instead of public\n halls for the education of her people. Instruments of torture are the\n stimulus to their industries.\u201d\u2014_The Congregationalist_, April 8, 1897.\n\n\nIn reviewing the story of the Turks in Arabia, we will begin with\nHejaz, the most important province of Turkey in Arabia, continue with\nYemen, the most populous, and end with the Mesopotamian vilayets which\nwere her richest possessions.\n\nIt is not generally understood how highly the Sultan values his Arabian\nprovinces. It is on them and on them alone that he can base his claim\nto the title of caliph. The possession of the Holy Cities in the hands\nof the Sultan makes him the chief Mohammedan ruler; there his name is\nblessed daily in the great mosques; in the eyes of all the pilgrims\nfrom every part of the Moslem world Turkey is the guardian of the\nKaaba. How many thousands of Mohammedans daily in the mosques of India\nand Java call for blessings on the head of Abd-ul-Hamid the Caliph who\nwould never pray for Abd-ul-Hamid the Sultan.\n\nMecca, and Hejaz generally, was governed by the early Caliphs until 980\nA. D., when it passed under the rule of the first Sherif, Jaafar.[70]\nUnder Suleiman the magnificent (1520-1566) the Ottoman Empire reached\nthe zenith of its power and greatness; at that time Arabia too was\nreckoned a Turkish possession, and the entire peninsula was included on\nthe maps of Turkish Asia. But, as we have seen, at the beginning of the\npresent century the Wahabis and not the Turks were the real rulers of\nArabia. The Arabs have never taken kindly to the rule of the Turk, but\nthe province of Hejaz, once snatched from the hand of the Wahabis, has\never since been held by the Sublime Porte. Plots of rebellion have been\nthick and Sherifs have succeeded Sherifs but the fort that frowns over\nMecca has always a strong Turkish garrison and the Pashas eat the fat\nof the land at the expense of the people.\n\nActual Turkish rule was declared over the whole of Hejaz in 1840. At\nthat time Abd-el-Mutalib was made Great Sherif of Mecca, but there was\ncontinual trouble between the Sherif and the Pasha. The religious head\nof the holy city would not bow to the political head; the anti-slave\ntrade regulations although only very slightly enforced caused riots.\nThe Sherif was deposed and Mohammed bin \u2019Aun declared ruler in his\nplace. On June 15th, 1858, the murder of certain Christians at Jiddah\nbrought England into collision with the rulers of Hejaz. Jiddah was\nbombarded and the gate to the holy city was held by the Christian\npowers until the required indemnity was paid and the murderers\npunished. The next Sherif appointed was Abdullah. During his time the\nopening of the Suez Canal brought Turkey much nearer to Mecca and\ninspired the religious zealots with the fear that now the Christian\nfleets would attack the whole coast of Hejaz! For had not the vizier of\nHaroun el Rashid dissuaded that monarch from his plan to dig the canal\nlest the gateway to the Holy Cities would then be too accessible to the\ninfidels?\n\nThe Ottoman government introduced other horrors into the quiet\nseclusion of the ancient city of Mecca; Jiddah was connected with the\nRed Sea cable; a wire carried the world to Mecca and put the Pasha in\ndaily touch with the Sublime Porte; afterward it was extended to Taif,\nand the Turks were masters of their own army corps, so that the Sherifs\ncould not act in secret. It was even attempted to raise a Meccan\nregiment for the Russian war.\n\nIn 1869 the whole complicated bureaucratic system was introduced at\nMedina, Jiddah, Mecca and Taif. Abdullah was a great favorite as\nSherif, both to the Arabs and the Turks; he was mild and given to all\nsorts of compromise so that he managed to please both parties which\nare always at war in Mecca. His brother Husein succeeded as Sherif but\nwas murdered in 1880. In the same year the aged Abd-el-Mutalib for the\nthird time became Sherif and although at first very popular he soon\nwon the hatred of the conservative Meccans by his cruelty and of the\nTurks by his double-dealing. On request of the people of Mecca for his\ndeposition, Othman Pasha came to Hejaz and although he did not depose\nthe aged Sherif, managed to outwit him in governing the city. In 1882\nAun-er-Rafik, a brother of Husein, became Sherif. Troubles between the\ndual powers of government became thick and the Bedouin tribes took the\noccasion for a general uprising. Rafik fled to Medina and could not\nreturn until Othman Pasha was deposed. Since then the old struggle\ncontinues.\n\nThe Arabs in Hejaz have no love for the Turks or for any Turkish\nruler; the Bedouin tribes hate the very sight of a red fez and the\ntown-dweller is ground down with taxation. Aside from militarism there\nhave been no public improvements in either of the Holy Cities since the\nStar and Crescent waved from their forts. The \u201cpantaloon-wearing\u201d Turks\nare considered little better than \u201cChristian dogs\u201d by the pious folk of\nMecca. Have they not introduced the abomination of quarantine instead\nof the old time simple trust in Allah? Have they not acquiesced to the\nresidence of Christian consuls at Jiddah? And what is worse, have they\nnot interfered with the free importation of slaves and the manufacture\nof eunuchs for the residents of Mecca?\n\nThe following literal translation of a placard posted everywhere in\nMecca, at the end of the year 1885, may give the best insight into the\nrelations that exist between the Turk and the Arab in the cradle of\nIslam:\n\n \u201c\u2018And who does not rule according to the revelation of Allah he is an\n infidel.\u2019\u2014_Koran_ v. 48.\n\n \u201cBe it known to you, ye people of Mecca, that this accursed Wali\n intends to introduce Turkish laws into the holy city of Allah,\n therefore beware of sloth and awake from sleep. Do not suffer the laws\n to be executed for they are only the opening of the door to further\n legislation. Our proof is that the Wali Othman Pasha proposed his plan\n to divide Mecca into four quarters and to appoint three officers for\n each quarter. This plan he laid before the city council and when they\n declared it was impossible to do this in Mecca the accursed replied,\n Is Mecca better than Constantinople? We will carry the plan through\n by force. For this reason, O Meccans, an association has been formed\n called the Moslem Club and whoever desires to enter it let him make\n inquiries. The object of the association is to assassinate this cursed\n Wali and his chief of police. He who cannot join us let him utter his\n complaint before Allah in the holy house that the public safety is\n endangered while the present ruler lives. And this cursed Wali also\n attempts to secure the administration of the annual corn-shipment from\n Egypt. And remember also how the accursed butchered the sons of the\n Sherif and his slaves and exposed their heads at Mecca. What sort of\n deeds are these? More atrocious than those at Zeer. So that whoever\n kills this man will enter paradise without rendering an account. The\n purpose of dividing the city appointing Sheikhs for each quarter is\n nothing else than a pretext for new taxations as the Cursed himself\n let out before the council.\n \u201cIn the name of the\n \u201cJEMIAT-EL-ISLAMIYEH.\u201d\n\nThe same people who promised paradise to the murderer of Othman Pasha\nrebelled against his successor Safwet Pasha and will rebel as long as\nthe character of the Meccan remains what it is. Those who dream that\nthe Turk will make Mecca the centre of their power when Constantinople\nfalls, know not the condition of affairs among the proud fanatics of\nHejaz who will never allow Mecca to become anything but the city of the\nSherifs. And as for the Bedouin tribes, they blackmail every pilgrim\ncaravan and draw heavy subsidies from Constantinople to keep the peace.\nJiddah is in decay and the pilgrim-traffic is not as flourishing as it\nwas a decade ago. Even in Hejaz the days of Ottoman rule are numbered.\n\nBetween Hejaz and Yemen is the region of Asir. Its population has been\ncelebrated from the earliest times for personal bravery and courage.\nMountain-dwellers they love freedom; belonging to the Zaidee sect they\nhate the Sunnites. And these two reasons united made them abominate the\nTurks. In order to extend Ottoman power southward and reconquer Yemen\nfor the Sublime Porte it was necessary to pass through the territory\nof the Asir Arabs. From 1824 to 1827 the Turkish troops carried six\nsuccessive campaigns against the brave highlanders but were in every\ncase repulsed with great loss. In 1833 and 1834 the attempt was again\nmade; a desperate battle was fought on August 21st of the latter\nyear, the Turkish troops were victorious. But the Arabs rallied, made\nsorties on the garrisons, famine reigned, fever killed off many and in\nSeptember the Turks again withdrew, defeated. In 1836 a final attempt\nwas made to conquer Asir; this was with greater loss than ever before.\nTo this day the entire region between Taiz and Roda (a few miles north\nof Sana) is really independent, although marked as Turkish on the maps.\nThe Ottoman troops are bold to fight the Yemen Arabs to the very gate\nof Sana but they grow pale when they hear of an expedition against the\ndare-devil Bedouins of Asir who fight with the ferocity of the American\nIndian and the boldness of a Scotch Highlander.\n\nThe story of the Turks in Yemen is very modern. In 1630 they were\ncompelled to evacuate Yemen by the Arabs and they did not set foot in\nthe capital again until 1873. In 1871 the Imam of Yemen lived his life\nin peace, secluded and sensual like an oriental despot in the palace\nat Sana. Looked upon by the Arabs as a spiritual Sultan he was great,\nbut also powerless to hold in check the depredations and robberies of\nthe many tribes under his nominal sway. Things went from bad to worse.\nTrade almost ceased on account of the attacks on the caravans that left\nfor the coast. The Sana merchants, quiet and respectable Arabs, saw\nnothing but ruin before them, and considering solely the benefits that\nwould accrue to themselves by such a step invited the Turks to take the\nplace. They did not consult the large agricultural population or the\neffect of Turkish rule on the peasantry, otherwise there would have\nbeen an equally cordial invitation to the Turks to stay out of Yemen.\n\nThe Turks needed no urging at this time, when they were strengthening\ntheir hold on Mesopotamia, extending their conquests in Hassa and\ntrying to obtain the mastery of the Hejaz Bedouins. It fell in most\nadmirably with their plans, and an expedition set out at once. In\nMarch, 1872, an army under command of Ahmed Mukhtar Pasha reached\nHodeidah. On April 25th the army entered Sana twenty thousand strong\nand the city opened its gates without a battle. The conquest of the\ncountry now proceeded; a force was sent to the region of Kaukeban,\nnorth of Sana, another to the southern district of Anes and still\nanother to Taiz and Mocha. The conquest toward the south was limited\nby the presence of England at Aden. For when the Turkish army advanced\nto the domain of the independent Sultan of Lahaj who had a treaty\nwith England, the British Resident at Aden sent a small force of\nartillery and cavalry to occupy the Lahaj territory. In consequence of\nrepresentations made at the same time by the English government to the\nSublime Porte, the Turkish army withdrew in December, 1873. In 1875 the\ntribes bordering the southern boundary of Yemen rebelled against Turkey\nbut the rebellion was crushed.\n\nWhen the army took Sana the Imam was deposed, but on account of his\nreligious influence over the Arabs was permitted to reside in the city,\nreceiving a pension on condition that he would exert himself in behalf\nof Ottoman rule. This he fulfilled until his death when the birthright\nas Imam passed to his relative Ahmed-ed-Din who also was nothing loth\nto receive the honor of the Arabs and the money of the Turks.\n\nSana received a certain amount of civilization, more prestige and still\nmore commercial prosperity than in the older days. As for the country\nin general it was divided and subdivided into provincial districts\nand sub-districts; the peasantry were taxed and taxed again; military\nroads were constructed by forced labor. The hill-tribes, who in the\ntimes of the Imam had been left undisturbed in their agriculture and\nwho boasted an independence of centuries, were now little better than\nslaves. Extortion ruined them, they hated the personality of the Turks\nwhose religion was not as their own; discontent smouldered everywhere\nand was ready to burst into a flame. And this discontent was increased\nfrom year to year as the caravan-drivers returned from their long\njourneys to Aden and told of the greatest marvel ever heard of\u2014a\nrighteous government and a place where justice could not be _bought_,\nbut belonged to every one\u2014even the black skinned ignorant Somali. When\nwe remember that over 300,000 camels with their drivers enter Aden from\nthe north every year we can realize how widespread was this news. I can\ntestify to the world-wide difference between the municipal government\nof Aden cantonment and that of the capital of Yemen under the Turks\nas I saw it in 1891. When the Turks accused England of fomenting the\nrecent rebellions in Yemen they were right to the extent that if the\nYemen peasantry had not seen the blessed union of liberty and law at\nAden they would not seek to rise against the Turks.\n\nIn the summer of 1892 a body of 400 Turkish troops were sent to\ncollect by force the taxes due from the Bni Meruan who inhabit the\ncoast north of Hodeidah. The Turks were surprised by a large body of\nArabs and nearly annihilated. Wherever the news travelled the people\nrose in arms. Tribal banners long laid away were unfurled and the cry\n\u201clong live the Imam\u201d rang through mountain and valley. A new Jehad\nwas proclaimed and Ahmed-ed-Din was unwillingly forced to take the\nleadership against the Turks. When the rebellion broke out the Turks\nhad only about 15,000 men in the whole of Yemen; and cholera had\nwrought havoc among these. Ill-fed, ill-clothed, and unpaid; badly\nhoused in the rainy and cold mountain villages, they could nevertheless\nfight like devils when led by their commanders. The Imam escaped from\nSana, and a few days later the capital was besieged by an enormous\nforce of Arabs. All the unwalled cities fell an easy prey to the\nrebels, Menakha was taken after a short struggle; Ibb, Jibleh, Taiz,\nand Yerim all declared themselves for the Imam. The Arabs treated their\nfoes with respect after their victory;[71] they were feeding Turkish\nprisoners at the Imam\u2019s expense and in many cases money was given the\nsoldiers to enable them to escape to Aden.\n\nMeanwhile telegrams were sent to Constantinople from Sana and Hodeidah\nbeseeching assistance. The whole of Yemen, with the exception of the\ncapital and two smaller towns in the north with Hodeidah on the coast,\nwas in the hands of the rebels. An expedition reached Hodeidah, under\ncommand of Ahmed Feizi Pasha, formerly governor of Mecca, which after\nbombarding the villages on the coast north of Hodeidah, marched to the\nrelief of Sana. Without opposition the army reached Menakha and took\nthe town by storm; matchlocks and fuse-guns could not hold out against\nfield-guns and trained troops. About thirty miles beyond a desperate\nattempt was made to stop the army of relief; in a narrow defile the\nrebels under Seyid es-Sherai took up their position and for twelve days\nwithstood cavalry, infantry and artillery assaults; then they were\ndriven back and retired into the mountains. By hurried marches the\ntroops reached Sana and took the city. Military law was proclaimed and\na universal massacre of prisoners took place. A reward was offered for\nthe head of every rebel. Camel-loads of heads were brought into Sana\nevery day. The troops were turned loose to plunder the villages. There\nis no nation in the world that can put down a rebellion as rapidly\nas the Turks when they have a good-sized army, but they have great\nobjection to any one seeing the process.\n\nBy the end of January, 1893, all the cities of Yemen were reconquered\nand the main roads were again open. But the spirit of rebellion lived\non and the brave mountaineers withdrew to the inaccessible defiles and\npeaks only to plot further mischief. Telegraph-wires were cut; soldiers\nwere shot on the road; and once and again bold attempts were made to\nblow up the Pasha\u2019s house in Sana with gunpowder. In 1895 there was\nrebellion in the north. In 1897-98 all Yemen was again in arms and the\nuncertain and conflicting reports that reach the coast only emphasize\nthe serious character of the uprising.\n\nOn the map and in Turkish official reports the boundaries of Yemen join\nthose of Hejaz and extend many miles _east_ of Sana. This has never\nbeen and is not now correct. Twenty-five miles north and east of Sana\nthere is no one who cares for a Turkish passport or dares to collect\nTurkish taxes.\n\nAs to the future of Turkey in Yemen it is difficult to surmise. Rather\nthan risk further rebellions the Sultan may adopt a conciliatory\npolicy. But Yemen is too far from Constantinople to be governed from\nthere. Extortion is the only way open to a Pasha to enrich himself and\nfor soldiers to get daily bread where wages are not paid on time. When\nthe Pasha has filled his pocket his successor will try it a second time\nand come to grief. Rebellion will be the chronic state of Yemen as long\nas Turkey rules at Sana. The leopard cannot change his spots.\n\nWe now turn to notice the rule of the Turks in Northeastern Arabia,\nand in their newly-acquired province of Hassa. Bagdad was taken by\nthe Turks in 1638 and that city has ever since been the capital of a\nTurkish Province. It is unnecessary to enter here into the succession\nof Pashas and rulers and the attempts to subjugate the Bedouin Arabs.\nIn 1830 the great plague visited all Mesopotamia and when epidemic was\nat its height the river burst its banks and in one night 15,000 people\nperished. In 1884 the vilayet of Busrah was separated from that of\nBagdad and has since remained under its own governor. The two provinces\nhave all the machinery of Ottoman rule in working order. Except for an\noccasional outbreak among the Montefik Arabs, Turkey has no trouble to\nhold Mesopotamia in her grasp. Nor is she at all willing that this rich\nprovince should even dream of passing under other rulers. In the year\n1891 the Turkish Official Bulletin gave the total revenue from taxation\nin the Bagdad vilayet alone at 246,304 Turkish pounds.\n\nIt may be interesting to note in passing the various sources of\ntaxation-money. They are in brief: tax on Arab tents, exemption from\nmilitary service, tax on sheep, buffaloes, camels, tax on mines (salt),\ntax on special privileges, tax on forests and timber, tax on fishing,\ncustom dues, tax on shipping, on irrigation, on farming improvements;\n\u201creceipts from tribunals\u201d (\u00a33,000 tax on justice!) and beside all\nthis \u201ctaxes diverses\u201d and \u201crevenues diverses\u201d to make up the budget.\nAll this is legal, ordinary taxation. But the actual conditions of\nTurkish misrule made it impossible to exercise the inalienable rights\nof \u201clife, liberty and the pursuit of happiness\u201d without continual\nbacksheesh to every official.\n\nThe population of Mesopotamia, Moslem and Jew and Christian are\nthoroughly weary of Turkish misrule, but no one dares to lift up a\nvoice in protest. They have become accustomed to it; and there is\nnothing else but to bear it patiently. As for the nomads they have\neither, like the Montefik, settled down along the rivers to cultivate\nthe soil and eke out a miserable existence, or, like the Aneyza and\nShammar tribes, they are as thoroughly independent of the Sultan as\nwhen they first appeared in his borders.\n\nTurkish Arabia on the north is represented on most maps by a regular\ncurved line starting from the Persian Gulf and ending at the Gulf\nof Akaba; but the line is purely imaginary. Turkish rule does not\nextend far south of the banks of the Euphrates, and the whole desert\nregion from Kerbela to the Dead Sea and the Hauran is practically\nindependent.[72] Outside of Bagdad and Busrah even the river towns are\nfrequently threatened by the nomads, and Turkish soldiers have often to\nguard the river steamers against pirates. Military rule is in vogue two\nhundred years after the occupation of the country, and the nomads are\nnomads still. The commander-in-chief of the Sixth Ottoman army corps\nresides at Bagdad, and a good number of soldiers occupy the barracks in\nthe city of the old caliphs.\n\nIn Turkey all Moslems over twenty years of age are liable to military\nconscription, and this liability continues for over twenty years.\nNon-Moslems pay an annual exemption tax of about six shillings per\nhead. The army consists of _Nizam_ or regulars, _Redif_ or reserves,\nand _Mustahfuz_ or national guard. The infantry are supposed to be all\narmed with Martini-Peabody rifles, but in Mesopotamia older patterns\nare still in use. The life of a Turkish soldier is not enviable; and\nnone of them would be volunteers for government service. The Turkish\nnavy is represented in the Persian Gulf and on the rivers by one or two\nthird-rate cruisers and a small river gunboat.\n\nThe result of the calling of Turkey into the Wahabi quarrel between\nthe two sons of Feysul, was the occupation of Katif and Hassa by the\nOttoman government. Since that time (1872) Hassa has been a part of the\nBusrah vilayet, and the Pasha, who resides at Hofhoof, has the title\nMutaserif Pasha of Nejd. Continual troubles with the Arabs mark the\nhistory of the occupation of Hassa; the caravan routes are not as safe\nas in the dominions of the Amir of Nejd; the whole country shows decay\nand lack of government; taxation of the pearl fishers has driven many\nof them to Bahrein; the peninsula of Katar is occupied by a garrison,\nbut that does not prevent continual blood feuds and battles between\nthe Arab tribes. The Ottoman government has established an overland\npost-service between Hofhoof and Busrah as between Bagdad and Damascus,\nbut both routes are unsafe and slow. Most of the Hofhoof merchants use\nthe British Post Office at Bahrein; and so do the government officials.\n\n[Illustration: Flags that rule Arabia.]\n\n\n\n\n XXII\n\n BRITISH INFLUENCE IN ARABIA\n\n \u201cThe English, said the old Arab Sheikh in reply, are like ants; if one\n finds a bit of meat, a hundred follow.\u201d\u2014_Ainsworth._\n\n \u201cOman may, indeed, be justifiably regarded as a British dependency.\n We subsidize its ruler; we dictate its policy; we should tolerate no\n alien interference. I have little doubt myself that the time will\n come ... when the Union Jack will be seen flying from the castles of\n Muscat.\u201d\n\n \u201cI should regard the concession of a port upon the Persian Gulf to\n Russia by any power as a deliberate insult to Great Britain, as a\n wanton rupture of the _status quo_ and as an international provocation\n to war; and I should impeach the British minister, who was guilty of\n acquiescing in such surrender, as a traitor to his country.\u201d\n \u2014_Lord Curzon_, Viceroy of India.\n\n\nIn sketching the relations of England to the peninsula, we will\nconsider: Her Arabian possessions and protectorates; her supremacy\nin Arabian waters, her commerce with Arabia; her treaties with Arab\ntribes; and her consulates and agencies in Arabia.\n\nOf all British possessions in Arabia, Aden is by far the most\nimportant, on account of its strategic position as the key not only of\nall Yemen, but of the Red Sea and all Western Arabia. Aden was visited\nas early as 1609 by Captain Sharkey of the East India Company\u2019s ship\n\u201cAscension.\u201d He was at first well received, but afterward imprisoned\nuntil the inhabitants had secured a large ransom. Two of the Englishmen\non board refusing to pay were sent to the Pasha at Sana. In 1610\nan English ship again visited Aden and the crew were treacherously\ntreated. In 1820, Captain Haines of the Indian navy visited Aden, and\nin 1829 the Court of Directors entertained the idea of making Aden\na coaling-station, but the idea was abandoned. In consequence of an\noutrage committed on the passengers and crew of a buggalow wrecked\nnear Aden, an expedition was despatched against the place by the\nBombay government in 1838. It was arranged that the peninsula of Aden\nshould be ceded to the British. But the negotiations were anything but\nfriendly, and in January, 1839, a force of 300 Europeans and 400 native\ntroops in the \u201cVolage\u201d and \u201cCruizer\u201d bombarded and took the place by\nstorm.\n\nThis was the first new accession of territory in the reign of Queen\nVictoria. Immense sums of money have been spent in fortifying this\nnatural Gibraltar and in improving its harbor. Four times the Arabs\nhave attempted to take Aden by land, each time with fearful loss and\nwithout success. By sea Aden is impregnable; only the initiated know\nthe strength of its mole-batteries, mines, forts and other defences;\nand every year new defences are constructed and old ones strengthened.\nAden has become a great centre for trade, and is one of the chief\ncoaling depots in the world. It bars the further advance of Turkey into\nSouth Arabia, guarantees independence and good government to all the\nneighboring petty states, and is an example of good government to all\nArabia and the African coast. The settlement is politically subject\nto the Bombay Presidency and is administered by a Resident with two\nassistants. Since the opening of the Suez canal, trade has steadily\nincreased and Turkish custom extortions at Hodeidah direct the caravan\ntrade more and more to Aden from every part of Yemen.\n\nThe island of Socotra and the Kuria Muria islands are also attached\nto Aden, together with the Somali Coast in Africa. Socotra has an\narea of 1,382 square miles and about 10,000 inhabitants. It came\nunder British protection in 1886 by treaty with its Sultan. The Kuria\nMuria group was ceded to the British by the Sultan of Muscat, for the\npurpose of landing the Red Sea cable; the islands are five in number\nand have rich guano deposits. The island of Kamaran is also classed\nas belonging to the British Empire.[73] It is a small island in the\nRed Sea, some miles north of Hodeidah; it is only fifteen miles long\nand five wide, and has seven small fishing-villages. But it has a\ngood sheltered anchorage and is the quarantine Station for all Moslem\npilgrims from the south to Mecca.\n\nThe Bahrein Islands are also included in the British Empire, although\nTurkey still claims them as her own and the native ruler imagines that\nhe is independent. \u201cThe present chief Sheikh Isa owes the possession\nof his throne entirely to British protection which was instituted in\n1867. Sheikh Isa was again formerly placed under British protection in\n1870 when his rivals were deported to India.\u201d The Political Resident\nat Bushire superintends the government of the islands to as great an\nextent as is deemed diplomatic.\n\nPerim at the southern end of the Red Sea was taken possession of in\n1799 by the East India Company and a force was sent from Bombay to\ngarrison the island. But it was found untenable at that time as a\nmilitary position and the troops were withdrawn. Perim was reoccupied\nin the beginning of 1857. The lighthouse was completed in 1861, and\nquarters were built for a permanent garrison.[74]\n\nWe may also consider the possessions of Egypt in Arabia as practically\nunder English protection. Since the British occupation, the peninsula\nof Sinai and the Red Sea litoral on the Arabian side, nearly as far as\nYembo is under the Governor-General of the Suez canal.\n\nEngland not only possesses the key positions on the coasts of Arabia,\nbut has for many years held the naval supremacy in all Arabian waters.\nAs the Dutch succeeded the Portuguese and established trading-stations\nin the Persian Gulf and in the Red Sea, so England followed the Dutch.\nThe East India Company was at Aden and Mocha in the beginning of\nthe seventeenth century, and in 1754 the English East India Company\nestablished itself at Bunder Rig, north of Bushire, and later at\nBushire itself, supplanting the Dutch. The island of Karak in the north\nof the Gulf was twice occupied by the British, in 1838 and in 1853.\nAfter the bombardment of Bushire in 1857 and of Mohammerah in the same\nyear, hostilities ceased and Karak was again evacuated. The island\nof Kishm, in the southern part of the Gulf, was during the greater\npart of the present century, a British military or naval station. The\nIndian naval squadron had its headquarters first at El Kishm, then at\nDeristan and finally for many years at Bassadore. In 1879 because of\nthe insalubrity of the climate the last company of Sepoys was withdrawn\nto India. But the island is still in a sense considered British. As\nearly as 1622 the Persians and the British expelled the Portuguese from\nOrmuz and shortly after, in common with the Dutch and French set up\ntrading factories at Gombrun, (now Bunder Abbas). In 1738 the English\nCompany established an agency at Busrah and much of their Gulf business\nwas shifted to that port. Since 1869 there has been a telegraph station\nat Jask with a staff of six English officials; here the land and marine\nwires of the Indo-European telegraph meet and join India to the Gulf.\n\nThe Sultanate of Oman, since 1822, has been in the closest relations\npossible with British naval power. At several critical periods in Oman\nhistory, it was Great Britain that helped to settle the affairs of\nstate. In 1861 a British commissioner arbitrated between two claimants\nfor the rule of Muscat and Zanzibar, then one kingdom, and divided\nthe Sultanate. Since 1873 the Sultan of Muscat has received an annual\nsubsidy from the British government. Near Cape Musendum, on the Arabian\nside of the Gulf, the British once occupied a place called Malcolm\u2019s\nInlet when they were laying the telegraph cable from Kerachi to the\nGulf in 1864. Five years later it was transferred to Jask. From 1805\nto 1821 there were British naval encounters with the pirates of the\nGulf, and since that date all piracy in these waters has ceased.[75]\nBritish naval supremacy established peace at Bahrein and has protected\nits native government since 1847. When in 1867 the native ruler, \u201ca\ncrafty old fox\u201d as Curzon calls him, broke the treaty, the bombardment\nof Menamah brought further proof of British naval supremacy. Kuweit\nwas for a time (1821-22) the headquarters of the British Resident\nat Busrah; and, semi-independent of Turkey, is now becoming wholly\ndependent on England\u2014another indication of British naval supremacy.\nEven at Fao, Busrah and Bagdad British gunboats often keep the peace\nor at least emphasize authority. In a word Great Britain holds the\nscales of justice for all the Persian Gulf litoral. She guarantees a\n_pax Brittanica_ for commerce, she taught the Arab tribes that rapine\nand robbery are not a safe religion; where they once swept the sea with\nslave-dhows and pirate-craft they have now settled down to drying fish\nand diving for pearls. For the accomplishment of this subject England\nhas spent much both in treasure and in lifeblood. Witness the graves of\nBritish soldiers and marines in so many Gulf ports. The testimony of an\noutsider, is given in a recent article in the _Cologne Gazette_, which\nthus describes the political and naval supremacy of England in Eastern\nArabia and the Persian Gulf:\n\n\u201cA disguised protectorate over Oman and control over the actions of the\nSultan of Muscat; actual protectorate over Bahrein; coaling station on\nthe island of Kishm, in the Straits of Ormuz; presence of a political\nResident at Bushire who, with the help of an association called the\nTrucial League, decides all disputes between Turkish, Arab, and Persian\nchiefs in the Persian Gulf.... This league gives the English a constant\npretext for intervention; the object of keeping peace and policing the\ngulf is only a pretence.... All events on the Persian Gulf, however\ndisconnected apparently, are really dependent on each other through\nthe Trucial League. It is a confused tangle of hatreds and jealousies\nwhose threads are united in the hands of the Resident at Bushire....\nRussia shows an indifference which is quite incomprehensible\nconsidering the interest she has and must have in these affairs. One\ncould recount numerous instances where English agents have injured\nRussian interests without meeting with any opposition. The Russian\nConsul in Bagdad is thrust into the background by the activity of his\nBritish colleague. Southern Persia, the gulf, Eastern Arabia, and\nthe Land of Oman have fallen completely within the English sphere of\ninfluence. This state of affairs has not been officially ratified, but\nexists as a fact. That will last till some movement comes about to\nrestore the proper balance. Meanwhile, the English are the masters.\nThey are so accustomed to manage the whole Persian Gulf that if the\nleast thing occurs that they have not foreseen or themselves arranged\nthey completely lose all self-control.\u201d\n\nBut the supremacy of England in the Gulf and on the other coasts of\nArabia is hers not only because of gunboats and gunpowder. It is most\nof all by the arts of peace that she has established and glorified her\npower on the Arabian litoral. It must never be forgotten, for example,\nthat the magnificent surveys of the entire 4,000 miles of Arabian coast\nwere the work of British and Indian naval officers; by means of this\nsurvey, completed at great cost, commerce has been aided and navigation\nof the dangerous waters east and west of Arabia has been made safe.\nEngland too is the only power that has established lighthouses; _e.\ng._, at Aden, Perim, in the Red Sea and lately on Socotra. England laid\nthe cables that circle Arabia; from India to Bushire and Fao connecting\nwith the Turkish overland telegraph system; from Aden to Bombay and\nfrom Aden to Suez through the Red Sea. These cables were not the work\nof a day but were laid with great expense and opposed by the very\ngovernments they were intended to benefit.\n\nAgain, Arabia has two postal systems and two only. In the Turkish\nprovince of Yemen there is a weekly post between the capital and the\nchief towns to the coast; in Hejaz there is a post to Mecca; and in\nMesopotamia and Hasa there is another Turkish postal system notorious\nfor its slowness and insecurity. For the rest all of Eastern and\nSouthern Arabia are dependent on the Indian Postal system; the whole\ninterior is ignorant of a post office or of a postman. The government\nof India has post offices at Muscat, Bahrein, Fao, Busrah and Bagdad\nwith regular mail service, and the best administration in the world.\nThe English post carries the bulk of the mail between Busrah and\nBagdad while Bahrein is really the post office for all Eastern Arabia;\npearl-merchants at Katar and in Hasa mail their letters at Bahrein and\neven the Turkish government needs the English post to communicate with\nBusrah from Hasa.\n\nEngland has also earned her supremacy in Arabian waters by honest\nattempts to put a stop to the slave-trade, in accord with the\nAnti-slave Trade treaties between the powers. She is the only power\nwhose navy has acted in seizing slave-dhows, liberating slaves and\npatrolling the coast. The work has not always been done thoroughly or\nvigorously, but that it has been done at all, places England first\namong the powers that sail in Arabian waters.\n\nWhere the Union Jack proclaims naval supremacy, there the red\nmercantile flag of England follows the blue and carries commerce; the\ntwo go together, and although of different color are the same flag\nto Englishmen. The world-wide commercial activity of Great Britain\nhas touched every part of the Arabian coast and British wares from\nManchester and Birmingham have penetrated to every secluded village of\nNejd, and are found in every valley of Yemen.\n\nThe mercantile navigation of the Gulf as it now exists is the creation\nof the last thirty years, and is largely to be attributed to the\nstatesmanship of Sir Bartle Frere. It was he who, when at Calcutta\nas a member of Lord Canning\u2019s Supreme Council, befriended the young\nScotchman, William Mackinnon, who was planning a new shipping business\nbeyond his slender means; and a subsidy was granted to Mackinnon\u2019s new\nline of Steamers. Thus it was that the British India Steam Navigation\nCompany was launched which first opened trade not only with Zanzibar\nbut in the Persian Gulf. In 1862 not a single mercantile steamer\nploughed the Persian Gulf. A six-weekly service was then started,\nfollowed by a monthly, a fortnightly and finally by a weekly steamer.\nFrom Busrah there are two lines of English steamers direct for London.\nThe British India was the pioneer line and still holds the first\nposition, although there are other lines that do coasting trade with\nIndia.\n\nThus English commerce controls not only the markets of both sides of\nthe Gulf, but of all Northwestern Arabia and as far beyond Bagdad\nas piece-goods and iron-ware can be carried on camels. There is not\na spool of thread in Nejd or a jack-knife in Jebel-Shammar that did\nnot come up the Persian Gulf in an English ship. All of Hassa eats\nrice from Rangoon and thousands of bags are carried in British ships\nto Bahrein to be transported inland by caravan. Not only is the\nsteamshipping mostly in English hands, but many of the native buggalows\nfly the British flag and the chief merchants are Englishmen or British\nsubjects from India. The Rupee is the standard of value along the whole\nArabian coast from Aden to Busrah. In the interior the Maria Theresa\ndollar has long held sway, but even that is becoming scarce among the\nBedouins and they have little preference between the \u201c_abu bint_\u201d\n(the Rupee with a girl\u2019s head) and the \u201c_abu tair_\u201d (\u201cthe father of a\nbird\u201d\u2014the eagle on the Austrian dollar). For a time a French line of\nsteamers ran in the Gulf but the project was abandoned, though there is\nnow a rumour of its revival.[76]\n\nAden is the commercial centre for all Southern Arabia and the enormous\nincrease of its trade since 1839 is proof of what English commerce has\ndone for Yemen. Mocha is dead, and Hodeidah is long since bedridden,\nbut Aden is alive and only requires a railroad to Sana to become the\ncommercial capital of all Western and Southern Arabia. That railroad\nwill be built as soon as the Turk leaves Yemen\u2019s capital; God hasten\nthe day. After the occupation of Aden in 1839 until the year 1850\ncustoms dues were levied as in India but at that time it was declared\na free port. During the first seven years the total value of imports\nand exports averaged per year about 1,900,000 Rupees, in the next seven\nyears the annual average rose to 6,000,000 Rupees, and it has been on\nthe increase ever since, until it now is over 30,000,000 Rupees; nor\ndid this annual average include the trade by land which is also large.\n\nThe Suez canal is another indication of the prestige which English\ncommerce has in the Red Sea and along the routes of traffic that circle\nArabia. In 1893 the gross tonnage that passed through the canal was\n10,753,798; of this 7,977,728 tons passed under the English flag which\nmeans that nearly four-fifths of the trade is English. In the same year\nthe number of vessels passing through the canal was 3,341 of which\n2,405 belonged to Great Britain.\n\nThe proposed Anglo-Egyptian railway across the north of Arabia will\njoin the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. To shorten the time of\ncommunication between England and her Eastern Empire is evidently a\nmatter of the highest importance, not only for commerce and post, but\nin the event of war, mutiny or other great emergency. The first surveys\nfor this overland railway were made as early as 1850, by the Euphrates\nExpedition under General Chesney. The scheme was warmly advocated in\nEngland by Sir W. P. Andrew, the Duke of Sutherland and others, but\nalthough it still awaits execution the plan comes up again every few\nyears with new advocates and new improvements. Once it was to be the\nEuphrates Valley railway coming down to Bagdad and Busrah or to Kuweit\n(Grane) by way of Mosul. Now the plan proposed is to open a railway\nfrom Port Said due eastward across the Peninsula along the thirtieth\nparallel of latitude to Busrah. A branch would deviate a little to\nthe south to the port of Kuweit which was also the proposed terminus\nof the Euphrates Valley line on which a select committee of the House\nof Commons sat twenty-five years ago. From Busrah the main line would\ncross the Shatt-el-Arab and the Karun by swing-bridges and follow the\ncoast-line of the Persian Gulf and Makran to Kerachi. Such a line would\nreduce the time occupied in transit between London and Kerachi to eight\ndays.[77] Whether this route or any other is followed is a matter of\nminor importance. The fact that since 1874 England has been to the\nfront in the matter of the overland railroad puts it beyond a doubt,\nthat when the railway is built its terminus at least will be under\nEnglish control and most probably the whole road will represent English\ncapital and enterprise.\n\nMeanwhile there is intelligence that Turkey has made a concession to\nGerman capitalists for the extension of the Anatolian railways to\nBagdad. The line which runs from the Asiatic shores of the Bosphorus\nto Angora is in the hands of a German syndicate and the terms of\nthe concession contain compulsory clauses under which, in certain\neventualities, the Turkish government can compel the syndicate to\nextend the road to Sivas and ultimately to Bagdad.[78] But politically\nGreat Britain has little to fear from the spread of German influence\nin the Levant and Mesopotamia. The editor of an influential English\npaper says, \u201cEvery mark expended by the Germans upon public works in\nthe Asiatic dominions of the Sultan helps to build up the bulwark\nagainst the menace of Russia. And the creation of a German railway in\nAsia Minor will, in a limited degree tend to identify the interests of\nGermany and Great Britain.\u201d Nevertheless England would never grant a\nterminus or harbor to a German railroad syndicate on the Persian Gulf.\n\nGreat Britain has treaties or agreements of some sort with every tribe\nand settlement of Arabs from Aden to Muscat and thence to Bahrein.\nEngland has two kings for Arabia; the first lives at Bushire and is\ncalled the British Resident and Consul General, the other with a\nsimilar title lives at Aden. Of the Bushire Resident Lord Curzon wrote,\n\u201cOne or more gunboats are at the disposal of the British Resident\nat Bushire who has also a despatch boat for his own immediate use\nin the event of any emergency. Not a week passes but, by Persians\nand Arabs alike, disputes are referred to his arbitration, and he\nmay with greater truth than the phrase sometimes conveys be entitled\nthe Uncrowned King of the Persian Gulf.\u201d To the energy and political\ncapacity of Colonel Ross and his capable predecessor, Sir Lewis Pelly,\nthis royal throne owes its foundation. All the treaties made by\nEngland with the Arab tribes on the Eastern coast of Arabia are here\ninterpreted and enforced.\n\nThe treaties made with the chiefs of Bahrein and with the tribes on\nthe so-called Pirate coast embraces clauses to enforce the maritime\npeace of the Gulf, to exclude foreign powers from the possession of\nterritory, to regulate or abolish the slave-traffic and to put down\npiracy. Since 1820 various treaties of truce have been concluded with\nthe warlike Arabs on the coast south of Katar and have been frequently\nrenewed or strengthened. In 1853 a Treaty of Perpetual Peace was made\nwith other tribes[79] which provided that there should be a complete\ncessation of hostilities at sea and that all disputes should be\nreferred to the British Resident. The contracting parties were called\nTrucial Chiefs and the treaty is known as the Trucial Arrangement or\nLeague. Beside these treaties the English have an exclusive treaty\nwith the Sheikh of Bahrein to such a degree, that the islands are\npractically a British protectorate.\n\nAlthough there are no formal treaties with the tribes along the Hassa\ncoast and Katar, these being under Turkish rule, that region is not\ndisregarded by Great Britain, nay Nejd itself finds a place in the\nadministration reports of the Persian Gulf, Political agency whenever\nthe horizon in that part of the peninsula shows a storm cloud though it\nbe no bigger than a man\u2019s hand. The claims of the Porte to sovereignty\nover El Katar are not admitted by the British government[80] and are\nthe cause not only of diplomatic controversy but of actual interference\non the part of the British when necessary.\n\nThe great benefits that have followed the treaties of peace with the\nArab tribes are manifest most of all by a comparison of that part of\nthe Arabian coast under English supervision and the long stretch from\nKatif to Busrah which is Turkish. The former enjoys peace and the\ntribes have settled down to commerce and fishing, there is safety for\nthe traveller and the stranger everywhere; the latter is in continual\nstate of warfare, there is neither commerce nor agriculture and the\nentire coast is utterly unsafe because of the _laissez faire_ policy of\nTurkey.\n\nTurning to Oman we find, in the words of Lord Curzon, that, treaty\nsucceeding treaty, \u201cit may be justifiably regarded as a British\ndependency.\u201d The recent history of Muscat has only hastened the day\nwhen \u201cthe Union Jack will be seen flying from the castles of Muscat.\u201d\nThe Bedouin revolt and their occupation of the town resulted in\nsaddling the unhappy Sultan with a large bill for damages sustained by\nBritish subjects. The episode of the French coaling-station cost the\nSultan his annual subsidy. Thus from the side of finance he is doubly\ndependent on English clemency.\n\nThe second British king of Arabia resides at Aden. There he is at once\nPolitical Resident and commander of the troops. His authority extends\nnot only to the settlement of Aden proper but includes supervision of a\nterritory 200 miles long by forty broad with a population of 130,000.\nMany of the neighboring tribes are subsidized and all of them are bound\nby treaty to Great Britain. What the Bushire Resident is for the Gulf\nthat the Aden Resident is for the Southern litoral of the Peninsula.\nMoreover the Island of Socotra is also under the Resident at Aden\nand the Island of Perim. The ruler of Makalla in Hadramaut is under\nspecial treaty with England; although the newspaper report, that Great\nBritain had declared a protectorate over all Southern Arabia, has no\nfoundation.[81]\n\nIn the tribes which are bound by treaty with Britain a patriarchal\nsystem of supervision seems to prevail. Good children are rewarded and\nbad ones are punished. Nothing escapes the eye of the political parent;\none has only to read the yearly Administration reports to find many\nstriking and sometimes amusing examples. We quote from the Residency\nReport of Muscat for 1893-94 verbatim: \u201cOne case of breach of the\nmaritime peace of the Gulf occurred in which the Sultan was advised to\ninflict a fine of Rs. 50 (about sixteen dollars) on Mehdibin-Ali, the\nSheikh of the Kamazarah tribe of Khassab, for proceeding with a party\nof armed men by sea to Shaam with the object of prosecuting a certain\nclaim his wife had against the estate of her deceased father. After\nsome months\u2019 delay the attendance of the Sheikh was enforced at Muscat\nand the fine was recovered.\u201d The same report tells how the government\nof India acknowledged the kindness shown to the shipwrecked crew of the\nS. S. Khiva in April, 1893, by the Sultan of Muscat, \u201cby presentation\nto His Highness of a handsome telescope and watch.\u201d Every year all the\ntribal chiefs who have proved \u201cgood boys\u201d receive some yards of bright\nflannel, a new rifle or a pair of army pistols. But the patriarchal\nsystem works well; and there are few Arabs who would like English\npower in the Gulf or near Aden to grow less; all express admiration\nfor English _rule_, if not for English politics. In Arabia too the old\npromise of Noah is finding its fulfillment to-day. \u201cGod shall enlarge\nJaphet and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem.\u201d Shem never took a\nbetter guest into his tent than when he signed a treaty of perpetual\npeace with England on his coasts.\n\nEngland has consulates and consular agents at more places in Arabia\nthan has any other power and her consuls exercise more authority and\nhave greater prestige. In nearly every case they were first appointed\nand have therefore had longer time to extend their influence. At\nJiddah, Hodeidah, and on the island of Kamaran there are British\nconsulates or vice-consulates; and there are reports of a consulate\nat Sana. At Makalla there is a British agent. Muscat, Bagdad, Busrah,\nBushire and Mohammerah all have consulates, with different degrees\nof authority and position, all exercising power of some sort in\nArabia. Bahrein, Lingah, Sharka, Bunder Abbas, and other points in\nthe Gulf have British agents. At Jiddah, Hodeidah and Aden there are\nseveral consulates beside the English. Muscat has for some years had\nan American consul and in 1894 the French established a consulate\nthere. Russia has no representative in the Gulf save at Bagdad; nor\nhas Germany. None of the European powers, save England, have agents at\nany of the Arabian ports in the Gulf nor do the ships of their navies\noften visit this part of the world. In fact so little do the Arabs know\nof other consuls than English, that their words for agent, _wakil_,\nand for consul, _baljoz_, always signify to them British officers or\nappointees.\n\n\n\n\n XXIII\n\n PRESENT POLITICS IN ARABIA\n\n \u201cThe signs of the times show plainly enough what is going to happen.\n All the savage lands in the world are going to be brought under\n subjection to the Christian Governments of Europe. The sooner the\n seizure is consummated, the better for the savages.\u201d\u2014_Mark Twain._\n\n\nWhile Turkey continues in power the western coast of Arabia will see no\nchange and everything will be quiet in Hejaz. If however the trouble\nbetween the Sherifs of Mecca and the Sublime Porte should reach a\ncrisis or Moslem fanaticism at Jiddah should endanger the lives of\nChristians, we may expect England, and perhaps France and Holland to\ninterfere as did England in 1858.[82] Regarding Yemen there is more\nprobability of a great political change in the near future. Aden is\na cinder-heap, but Sana has a fine, cold climate and is the capital\nof a rich mountain region capable of extraordinary development. There\nare those who desire to see England assume a protectorate over all\nYemen, and if ever the Arabs should turn out the Turks, England would\nbe almost compelled to step in and preserve peace for her allied\ntribes near Aden. Long since the army at Aden has felt the need of a\nhill-station and only the Crescent keeps the English troops penned up\nin an extinct crater where life at best is misery.\n\nThe southern part of Arabia is of such a character geographically\nand the coast so barren that it offers no attractions to the most\nambitious land-grabber. Oman, like Yemen, is fertile and has in\naddition certain mining possibilities. Until recent years England was\nthe only foreign power that claimed an interest in the heritage of\nthe Sultan of Muscat. Now France is on the scene and is apparently\nunwilling that British power should increase in Oman or the Gulf. The\nalleged lease of a coaling-station to France by the Sultan of Muscat\nin February, 1899, was only the beginning of French opposition made\nmanifest. Her establishment of a consulate at Muscat, her relations to\nthe slave-trade, her attempt to subsidize a line of French steamers\nin the Gulf, her secret agents recently travelling in the Gulf\u2014all\nthese were only ripples that show which way the current flows. So far\nEngland has had free play in Oman; now another power has appeared.\nThe coaling-station incident was soon settled to the satisfaction\nof all Englishmen, and in a thoroughly English way. Under threat of\nbombardment the Sultan repudiated his agreement with the French and by\nway of punishment for his misconduct his annual stipend was stopped.\nWhether France will continue to seek to increase her influence in\nthe Gulf remains to be seen. It is certain that English policy is\nstrenuously opposed to allowing one square foot of Oman territory to\npass into the hands of France or any other foreign power.\n\nIn April, 1899, it was announced that Russia had entered the Persian\nGulf as a political power and acquired the harbor of Bunder Abbas in\nPersia as a terminus for her proposed railway. Since that time this\nhas been officially denied both at Teheran and St. Petersburg and also\nstoutly reasserted with new proofs by the English press and the press\nof India. It is undoubtedly news of a sensational character if it be\ntrue. The presence of Russia in the Persian Gulf would probably change\nthe future history of all its litoral and help to decide the future\npartition of Arabia and Mesopotamia. All things seem to be moving\ntoward a crisis in this region of the east. And if the battle for\nempire and for possession of the keys to the gateway of India should be\nfought in the Persian Gulf the possible consequences are too vast to be\nsurmised. What England\u2019s policy would be in case there is truth in the\nalleged Russian aggression, is summarized in a recent article in the\n_Times_ of India:\n\n\u201cIt remains to consider what steps should be taken by Great Britain\nin view of the new development in Gulf politics. It may be taken for\ngranted that Russia will not attempt to take possession of Bunder\nAbbas for a considerable time to come. She will make every effort to\ndeny the existence of the advantage she has gained until a convenient\nopportunity arises for putting her plan into execution. In the\nmeantime, Great Britain can be well content to remain quiet, and to\nimitate her adversary by playing a waiting game. It will possibly be\nsuggested that by again occupying Kishm, and by seizing Ormuz, the\nvalue of Bunder Abbas to Russia could at once be neutralized to a large\nextent. That is doubtless true; but it is material to point out that\nlittle is to be gained by precipitate action, that these points of\nvantage can be occupied with facility at any time, and that the true\npolicy of Great Britain is to endeavor to preserve the _status quo_ for\nas long a period as possible.\n\n\u201cMeanwhile, there are many methods by which British power and influence\nin the Gulf can be safeguarded. We understand that the Admiralty has\nalready decided to strengthen the naval force maintained in Persian\nwaters, and that the Admiral commanding the East Indies squadron will\nin future give the Gulf a larger share of his personal supervision. But\nthis is not enough. The staff of political officers in the Gulf needs\nto be enlarged.... Then, too, more telegraph cables are needed. Muscat\nis now shut off from communication with the rest of the world, although\nthe port was once linked up with Aden by cable. A line should be laid\nfrom Muscat to Jask forthwith, and another branch should connect Jask\nwith Bunder Abbas and Lingah. More political agents should be stationed\nin the hinterland between Bunder Abbas and Seistan, with roving\ncommissions, if necessary. One other matter needs urgent attention.\nRussia now possesses the sole right to construct railways in Persia,\nunder an agreement which, after being in existence ten years, expires\nthis year. Is anything being done to prevent the renewal of this\nobjectionable concession, which is deeply opposed to British interests\nin the Shah\u2019s dominions? It is in the highest degree important that\nGreat Britain should secure a share in the concessions for roads and\nrailways which will certainly be granted by the Persian government in\nthe near future. Unfortunately, the gaze of the British public is so\nsteadily concentrated upon China that it is unable to perceive dangers\nwhich threaten the empire in a far more vital place. There must soon\nbe a rude awakening. It is not in China, but in Persia and the Persian\nGulf, that the centre of political strife and international rivalry in\nAsia will soon be fixed.\u201d\n\nWith the event of Russia in the Gulf and her Persian policy, with\nFrance envious of England\u2019s growing prestige in this Orient, with\nGermany at work building railways and Turkey\u2019s days numbered, what is\nto be the future of the fertile provinces of Busrah and Bagdad? Will\nEngland continue to hold the upper hand in every part of Arabia and\nwill some future Lord Cromer develop the Euphrates-Tigris valley into\na second Egypt? The battle of diplomacy is on. European cabinets,\nbacked by immense armies and navies are playing a game involving\ntremendous issues\u2014issues not only tremendous to themselves and to\nthe populations of Arabia and Persia, but involving the interest of\nanother King and the greatest Kingdom. The event toward which history\nand recent politics in Arabia have so far been moving is \u201cthe one far\noff Divine event\u201d of the Son of God. Not only to the missionary but to\nevery Christian the study of the politics of Arabia makes evident the\ngreat Providential hand of God in the history of the Peninsula during\nthe past century. Jesus Christ holds the key to the situation. All the\nkings of the earth are in His hand and to whomsoever He gives power or\nprivilege, the end will be the glory of His own name and the coming of\nHis own kingdom; also in Arabia.\n\n\n\n\n XXIV\n\n THE ARABIC LANGUAGE\n\n \u201cArabic grammars should be strongly bound, because learners are so\n often found to dash them frantically on the ground.\u201d\u2014_Keith Falconer._\n\n \u201cIt is a language more extended over the face of the earth and which\n has had more to do with the destiny of mankind than any other, except\n English.\u201d\u2014_Rev. Geo. E. Post, M. D._, Beirut.\n\n \u201cWisdom hath alighted upon three things\u2014the brain of the Franks,\n the hands of the Chinese and the tongue of the Arabs.\u201d\u2014_Mohammed\n ed-Damiri._\n\n\nTwo religions contend for the mastery of the world; Christianity and\nIslam. Two races strive for the possession of the dark continent,\nthe Anglo-Saxon and the Arab. Two languages have for ages past\ncontested for world-wide extension on the basis of colonization and\npropagandism\u2014the English and the Arabic. To-day about seventy millions\nof people speak some form of the Arabic language, as their vernacular;\nand nearly as many more know something of its literature in the Koran\nbecause they are Mohammedans. In the Philippine islands the first\nchapter of the Koran is repeated before dawn paints the sky red. The\nrefrain is taken up in Moslem prayers at Pekin and is repeated across\nthe whole of China. It is heard in the valleys of the Himalayas and\non \u201cthe roof of the world.\u201d A few hours later the Persians pronounce\nthese Arabic words and then across the Peninsula the muezzins call\nthe \u201cfaithful\u201d to prayer. At the waters of the Nile, the cry \u201c_Allahu\nakbar_\u201d is again sounded forth ever carrying the Arab speech westward\nacross the Sudan, the Sahara and the Barbary States until it is last\nheard in the mosques of Morocco.\n\nThe Arabic Koran is a text-book in the day-schools of Turkey,\nAfghanistan, Java, Sumatra, New Guinea, and Southern Russia. Arabic is\nthe spoken language not only of Arabia proper but forces the linguistic\nboundary of that peninsula 300 miles north of Bagdad to Diarbekr and\nMardin, and is used all over Syria and Palestine and the whole of\nnorthern Africa. Even at Cape Colony there are daily readers of the\nlanguage of Mohammed. As early as 1315 Arabic began to be taught at the\nuniversities of Europe through the missionary influence of Raymund Lull\nand to-day the language is more accurately known and its literature\nmore critically investigated at Leiden than at Cairo and at Cambridge\nthan in Damascus.\n\nA missionary in Syria who is a master of the Arab tongue thus\ncharacterizes it, \u201cA pure and original speech of the greatest\nflexibility, with an enormous vocabulary, with great grammatical\npossibility, fitted to convey theological and philosophical and\nscientific thought in a manner not to be excelled by any language\nexcept the English, and the little group of languages which have been\ncultivated so happily by Christianity in Central Europe.\u201d Ernest Renan,\nthe French Semitic scholar, after expressing his surprise that such\na language as Arabic should spring from the desert-regions of Arabia\nand reach perfection in nomadic camps, says that the Arabic surpasses\nall its sister Semitic languages in its rich vocabulary, delicacy of\nexpression, and the logic of its grammatical construction.[83]\n\nThe Semitic family of languages is large and ancient, although not\nas extensive geographically nor so diverse as those of Indo-European\nfamily. Some maintain[84] that the Semites were ancient immigrants from\nthe region northeast of Arabia. They hold that before the formation of\nthe different Semitic dialects the Semites everywhere used a name for\nthe camel (_jemel_) which still appears in all of the dialects. They\nhave however no names in common for the date-palm, the fruit of the the\npalm nor for the ostrich, therefore, in their first home, the Semites\nknew the camel but did not know the palm. Now the region where there is\nneither date-palm nor ostrich and yet where the camel has lived from\nthe remotest antiquity is the central table-land of Asia near the Oxus.\nVon Kremer holds that from this region the Semites migrated to Babylon\neven before the Aryan emigration; the Mesopotamian valley is the oldest\nseat of Semitic culture.\n\nOthers[85] hold that the original home of the Semites was in the south\nof Arabia whence they gradually overspread the peninsula, so that, as\nSprenger expresses it, \u201cAll Semite are successive layers of Arabs.\u201d The\narguments for this theory are briefly given by Sayce:[86] \u201cThe Semitic\ntraditions all point to Arabia as the original home of the race. It is\nthe only part of the world which has remained exclusively Semites. The\nracial characteristics\u2014intensity of faith, ferocity, exclusiveness,\nimagination\u2014can best be explained by a desert origin.\u201d De Goeje\nlays stress on the fine climate of Central Arabia and the splendid\nphysical development of the Arab as additional proof together with the\nindisputable fact that \u201cof all Semitic languages the Arabic approaches\nnearest to the original mother-tongue as was conclusively demonstrated\nby Professor Schrader of Berlin.\u201d\n\nThe following table will show at a glance the position of Arabic\nin the Semitic family group, _dead languages being put in italics_.\nArabic, ancient and modern belongs to the South Semitic group and at\nan early period supplanted the Himyaritic in Yemen, although the Mahri\nand Ehkeli dialects are still used in the mountains of Hadramaut.[87]\nIt was practically the only conquering language on the list and is the\nonly one that is growing in use.\n\n\n TABLE OF SEMITIC LANGUAGES.\n\n NORTHERN:\n EASTERN\n _Babylonian._\n _Assyrian._\n WESTERN (Aramaic)\n Eastern\n Syriac.\n Mandean.\n _Nabathean._\n Western\n _Samaritan._\n _Jewish Aramaic_ (as Targums and Talmud).\n _Palmyrene._\n _Egyptian Aramaic._\n\n CENTRAL:\n _Ph\u0153nician._\n Hebrew.\n _Moabite_ and _Canaanitish dialects_.\n\n SOUTHERN:\n ARABIC (Ishmaelite)\n One written language but Modern Dialects in speech.\n Maltese [?].\n Morocco.\n Algerian, etc.\n Egyptian.\n Syrian.\n Yemen.\n Bagdadi.\n Omanese, etc.\n _Himyaritic_\n Mahri.\n _Ehkeli._\n Ethiopic (Joktanite)\n _Old Geez._\n Tigre.\n Tigrina.\n Amharic.\n Harari.\n\nThere are to-day over one hundred Arabic newspapers and magazines\nregularly published and which together have an immense circulation in\nall parts of the Arabic-speaking world.\n\nWhile the Arabic language has now acknowledged supremacy above all its\nsisters, in its historical and literary development it was last of\nthem all. Not until the seventh century of our era did Arabic become,\nin any sense, important. The language received its literary birthright\nand its inspiration through the illiterate prophet who could not read\nbut who set all the Eastern world to studying his book. The Arabic\nliterature of the days before Mohammed has a high literary character,\nbut with all its beauty it was only the morning star that ushered\nin the sunrise. When once the Koran was promulgated, literature and\ngrammar and the sciences all spoke Arabic. It was the renaissance of\nthe dead and dying East. Whatever effect the Koran may have had on\nthe social life and morals of a people, no one denies that it was\nthe Koran and that alone which rescued Arabic from becoming a local\nidiom. Again this Koran was the unifying factor of the new religion,\nsweeping everything down before it; not only did it unify the hostile\ntribes of Arabia but melted all their dialects into one and established\nan ever-abiding classical standard for the remotest student of the\nlanguage of revelation. We do not of course hold, as do the Arabs, that\nthe Arabic of the Koran is absolutely without a parallel in grammatical\npurity and diction. The contrary has been proved by N\u00f6ldeke and Dozy.\nThe latter states that the Koran is \u201cfull of bastard-Arabic and has\nmany grammatical blunders, which are at present unnoticed, since the\ngrammarians have kindly constructed rules or exceptions to include even\nthese in the list of unapproachable style and perfection.\u201d\n\nThe origin and history of the Arabic alphabet is exceedingly\ninteresting. All writing was originally pictorial, the next stage\nbeing that of the ideogram. Perhaps a trace of this earliest writing\nstill remains in the _wasms_ or tribal marks of the Bedouin. Scholars\nmaintain that the earliest Semitic writing we possess of certain date\nis that on the Moabite Stone, discovered by the missionary Klein in\n1868. Almost of equal age is the Cyprus and Sidon alphabet, and that\nof the Ph\u0153nicians, found on ancient coins and monuments. The date of\nthis writing is put at 890 B. C. On these monuments and coins the\nsystem of orthography is already so carefully developed as to prove\nthat the Semites understood the art centuries before that date. The\noldest forms of these Semitic alphabets are in turn derived (Hal\u00e9vy,\nN\u00f6ldeke) from the Egyptian hieratic characters. The oldest inscriptions\nfound in North Arabia by Doughty and Enting, in the Nabatean character,\nand in South Arabia by Hal\u00e9vy and others in Himyaritic character, are\nboth written, like modern Arabic, from right to left. Although the\ncharacters do not resemble each other, this would seem to indicate a\ncommon origin. The intimate connection of the present Arabic alphabet\nwith the Hebrew or Ph\u0153nician, is shown not only by the forms of the\nletters, but by their more ancient numerical arrangement called by the\nArabs _Abjad_, and which corresponds with the Hebrew order.\n\n[Illustration: CUFIC CHARACTERS.]\n\nAccounts differ even among the Arabs as to who adapted or invented\nthe present Arabic alphabet from the older Cufic forms. Some even\nhold that they both developed simultaneously out of the Himyaritic.\nThe Cufic, it is true, is found on old monuments and coins from the\nPersian Gulf to Spain, and is a square, apparently more crude kind of\nwriting. But the cursive script (now called _Naskhi_) seems to have\nbeen in use also long before Mohammed\u2019s time, the Arab historians to\nthe contrary notwithstanding, for the exigencies of daily life. That\nwriting was known at Mecca before the era of Mohammed is acknowledged\nby Moslem tradition and the close intercourse with Yemen long before\nthat time would certainly indicate some knowledge of Himyaritic. Syriac\nand Hebrew were also known in Mecca and Medina because of the Jewish\npopulation, and it is not improbable that this may have had influence\non the present form of the Arabic alphabet.\n\n[Illustration: MODERN COPYBOOK STYLE OF ARABIC (VOWELED.)]\n\n[Illustration: ORDINARY ARABIC HANDWRITING (UNVOWELED.)]\n\nIt is not without reason that Mohammed\u2019s cognomen for Jew and Christian\nalike was, \u201cthe people of the _Book_.\u201d At first, like the Hebrew,\nArabic had no vowel-points or diacritical marks. In the earliest Cufic\nKoran manuscripts these have the form of accents, horizontal lines\nor even triangles. The Arabs tell many interesting stories about the\ncause and occasion of their invention by Abu Aswad ad Duili or by Nasr\nbin \u2019Asim. In each case the awful sin of mispronouncing a word in the\nKoran leads to the device of vowel-points as a future preventative.\nAccording to another tradition it was Hasan-el-Basri (who died A. H.\n110) that first pointed the Koran text with the assistance of Yahya bin\nY\u00e1mar. The vowel-points, so called, were in reality the abbreviated\nweak-consonants and were placed, in accordance with the sound of these\nletters, when so pronounced. The vowel-points and diacritical marks\nare always found in copies of the Koran, but seldom in other books\nand never in epistolary writing. They are considered by the Arabs\nthemselves as at best a necessary evil, except for grammarians and\npurists. The story is told that an elaborate piece of Arabic penmanship\nwas once presented to the governor of Khorasan under the Caliph al\nMamun, and that he exclaimed, \u201cHow beautiful this would be if there\nwere not so much coriander seed scattered over it!\u201d\n\n[Illustration: MOGREBI ARABIC OF NORTH AFRICA (UNVOWELED.)]\n\nThe demand for perfect accuracy in copying the Koran in every detail of\npoint and accent, led the Arabs to glorify the art of caligraphy, and,\nas they followed neither painting nor sculpture because of their creed,\nthey naturally put all their artistic taste into their manuscripts.\nBrilliantly colored and adorned with gold on delicately tinted\nparchment, or paper, the fanciful chapter-headings and the elegant\ntracery of each letter in the book make such an old manuscript Koran a\nreal work of art. Three names are recorded of those who in the early\ndays of Islam were the Raphaels and Michael Angelos of the reed-pen;\nWazir Muhammed bin Ali, Ali bin Hilal al Bauwab, and Abu-\u2019d-Dur bin\nYakut al Musta\u2019sami. As time went by there arose various schools of\nthis art; chiefly distinguished as the Magrib-Berber or Western, and\nthe Turko-Arab or Eastern style. In the decorations of the Alhambra the\nwestern school shows some of its most finished art, while Damascus and\nCairo mosques show the delicate \u201cArabesque\u201d traceries of the lighter\noriental school. It is in manuscripts, however, that the best work is\nfound; some of these are of priceless value and exceeding beauty. Even\nto-day there are Arab penmen whose work commands a good price as _art_\nand gives them a position in society as it did the monkey, described in\nthe Arabian Nights, who improvised poetry in five styles of caligraphy\nfor the astonished king.\n\n[Illustration: PERSIAN STYLE EXTENSIVELY USED IN EASTERN ARABIA.]\n\nThe Arabic language is distinguished among those that know it for its\n_beauty_, and among those who are learning it for its _difficulty_. To\nthe Arabs their language is not only the language of revelation, but\nof the Revealer himself. Allah speaks Arabic in heaven, and on the day\nof judgment will judge the world in this \u201clanguage of the angels.\u201d All\nother tongues are vastly inferior in grammatical construction, and what\nelse could they be since the Koran with its classical perfection has\nexisted before all words, uncreated, written on the preserved tablet\nin heaven, the daily delight of the innumerable company of angels! As\nRenan says, \u201camong a people so preoccupied with language as the Arabs,\nthe _language_ of the Koran became as it were a second religion, a\nsort of dogma inseparable from Islam.\u201d But the innate beauty of the\nlanguage is acknowledged by all who have made it a study, whether born\non the soil of Arabia or educated in the universities of Europe. From\nthe days of the Dutch scholars, De Dieu, Schultens, Schroeder and\nScheid, and the Swiss Hottinger to the times of N\u00f6ldeke, Gesenius and\nRenan, the praises of Arabic have been proclaimed in Europe, and its\nstudy pursued with a devotion that almost amounted to a passion.\n\nThe elements of beauty in this language are many. There is first its\nlogical structure, which, we are told, surpasses that of any other\nlanguage. Even the order of the alphabet is more logical as regards\nform than the Hebrew; its grammar is altogether logical; the exceptions\nto its rules can be formed, so to say, into a syllogism. Palmer\u2019s and\nLansing\u2019s grammars show how this logical structure can be discovered in\nthe minutest detail, so that, _e. g._, the three short vowels control\nthe forms not only, but the significance of roots, and are the key to\nthe interpretation of all grammatical mysteries.\n\nA second element of beauty is found in the lexical richness of the\nArabic. Its boundless vocabulary and wealth of synonyms are universally\nacknowledged and admired. A dictionary is called a _Kamoos_ or\n\u201cDeep Ocean\u201d where \u201cfull many a gem of purest ray serene, the dark\nunfathomed caves\u201d conceal for the diligent student. Renan tells of\nan Arab linguist who wrote a book on the 500 names given to the lion\nin literature; another gives 200 words for serpent. Firozabadi, the\nArabian Webster, is said to have written a sort of supplement on the\nwords for honey and to have left it incomplete at the _eightieth_ word;\nthe same authority asserts that there are over 1,000 different terms in\nArabic for sword and, judging from its use by the Arabs, this appears\ncredible. De Hammer Purgstall, a German scholar, wrote a book on the\nwords relating to the _camel_ and finds them, in Arabic literature,\nto the number of 5,744. But this remarkable exhibition loses some of\nits grandeur when truth compels us to state that many of the so-called\nsynonyms are epithets changed into substantives or tropes accidentally\nemployed by some poet to conform to his rhyme. It is also true that the\nwealth of synonym is limited in Arabic to a certain class of words;\nin other departments of thought, ethics for example, the language is\nwofully poor, not even having a distinctive word for conscience.\n\nA third point of beauty in the Arabic language is its purity as\ncompared with other Semitic languages or even all other languages.\nThis was partly due to the geographical location of the Arabs and is\nstill due to their early literature together with the Koran which has\nput a classical standard into the hands of every schoolboy and has\nprevented, by the law of religion, both development and deterioration.\n\u201cWhile other languages of the same family became dead and while\nmany of their forms and meanings changed or disappeared, the Arabic\nremained comparatively pure and intact excepting perhaps the temporary\ncorruption which necessarily occurred during the Moslem conquests and\nforeign applications of the first four Caliphs.\u201d[88]\n\nThe Arabic race occupied at first a circumscribed territory and came\nlittle into contact with the surrounding nations so that the forces\nwhich produce linguistic decay were absent. The only thing that will\npreserve a language pure next to isolation is a classical literature.\nEnglish has changed less since Shakespeare\u2019s time than it did in the\ninterval between him and Chaucer. So too with Arabic. Had it not been\nfor the Koran and its cognate literature, by this time the people\nof Syria, Egypt, Morocco and Oman would perhaps scarcely understand\neach other, and their written language would differ vastly; but the\nexistence of this literature has kept the written language a unit and\nput a constant check on the vagaries of dialect.\n\nThe last, and chief element of beauty in the Arabic tongue is\nundoubtedly its wonderful literature. In poetry alone, the Arabians\ncan challenge the world; in grammar, logic and rhetoric the number of\ntheir works is legion; while both at Bagdad and Cordova Arab historians\nand biographers filled whole libraries with their learning; in Cordova\nthe royal library contained 400,000 volumes. Algebra and Astronomy are\nspecially indebted to the Arabs; all the sciences received attention\nand some of them addition from the Arabian mind.\n\nThe Arabic tongue is not only beautiful but it is difficult,\nexceedingly difficult, to every one who attempts to really master it.\nOne of the veteran missionaries of Egypt wrote, in 1864, \u201cI would\nrather traverse Africa from Alexandria to the Cape of Good Hope, than\nundertake a second time to master the Arabic language.\u201d The first\ndifficulty is its correct pronunciation. Some Arabic letters cannot be\ntransliterated into English, although certain grammars take infinite\npains to accomplish the impossible. The gutturals belong to the desert\nand were doubtless borrowed from the camel when she complained of\noverloading. There are also one or two other letters which sorely try\nthe patience of the beginner and in some cases remain obstinate to the\nend. Then the student soon learns, and the sooner the better, that\nArabic is totally different in construction from European tongues and\nthat \u201cas far as the East is from the West\u201d so far he must modify his\nideas as to the correct way of expressing thought; and this means to\ndisregard all notions of Indo-European grammar when in touch with the\nsons of Shem. Every word in the Arabic language is referred to a root\nof three letters. These roots are modified by prefixes, infixes and\nsuffixes, according to definite models, so that from one root a host\nof words can be constructed and vice versa, from a compounded word\nall the servile letters and syllables must be eliminated to find the\noriginal root. This digging for roots and building up of roots is not a\npastime at the outset because of the extent of the root-garden. Dozy\u2019s\n_supplement_ to Lane\u2019s Monumental Arabic Lexicon has 1,714 pages. So\nlarge in fact is the vocabulary of Arabic writers that the classics\nrequire copious explanatory notes for the Arabs themselves and some of\nthem have written notes on the notes, to explain the difficult words\nused in explaining others more difficult. Moreover Arabic literature is\nso vast in its extent that acquaintance with the vocabulary of a dozen\nauthors in one line of literature does not yet enable the student to\nappreciate the language of other works. You may be able to read the\nKoran tolerably well and understand its diction and yet when you turn\nto the Arabian Shakespeare or Milton find yourself literally at sea, in\nthe _Kamoos_, and unable to understand a single line.\n\nThe regular verb in Arabic has fifteen conjugations, two voices, two\ntenses, and several moods; the irregular verbs are many and mysterious\nto the beginner although grammarians try to make them appear easier\nby demonstrating that all their irregularities are strictly logical,\nnot the result of linguistic perversity but foreseen calculation and\nprovidential wisdom. Is it not \u201cthe language of the angels\u201d?\u2014even the\nbroken-plurals?\n\nAs a final testimony to the difficulties of the Arabic language listen\nto Ion Keith Falconer. After passing the Semitic Languages Tripos at\nCambridge under Dr. Wright, and taking a special course in Arabic at\nLeipzig, he writes from Assiut in Egypt: \u201cI am getting on in Arabic,\nbut it is most appallingly hard.... I have learned a good deal and can\nmake myself intelligible to servants and porters. I have a teacher\nevery day for two hours and translate from a child\u2019s reading book.\u201d\nAfter _five years_ of further study he writes once more from Aden\n(Jan. 17, 1886), \u201cI am learning to speak Arabic quite nicely but it\nwill be long before I can deliver real discourses.\u201d And this man was\nan all-around scholar with a passion for languages. Without any doubt\nArabic _is_ one of the most difficult languages in the world to acquire\nwith any degree of fluency, and progress in its attainment means\nceaseless plodding and endless diligence.\n\n\n\n\n XXV\n\n THE LITERATURE OF THE ARABS\n\n\nThe literature of the Arabs is either pre-Islamic or post-Islamic;\nthe former has as its chief classics the Muallak\u0101t or seven suspended\npoems, the latter finds its centre and apex as well as its origin and\ninspiration in the Koran. The seven ancient poems, still extant, are\nalso called _Muthahabat_ or the \u201cgolden poems,\u201d and it is generally\nadmitted by Arabic scholars that this was indeed the golden age of Arab\nliterature. Zuhair, Zarafah, Imru-l-Kais, Amru-ibn-Kulsum, Al Harith,\n\u2019Antar and Labid were the authors of these poems and all but the last\nwere idolaters, and belong to what the conceit of Islam calls \u201cthe Time\nof Ignorance.\u201d These poems furnished the model ever afterward for later\nwriters and, according to Baron de Slane, are remarkable for their\nperfection of form and exhibit a high degree of linguistic culture.\n\nBut the Koran has eclipsed all that ever went before it or came after\nit in the eyes of the Arabs. It is the paragon of literary perfection\nas well as of moral beauty. Its style is inimitable because it is\nDivine in the highest sense of the word. To criticise its diction is to\nbe guilty of blasphemy and to compare it with other literature is to\ncommit sacrilege. There is no doubt that the chief charm of the Koran\nfrom a literary standpoint is its musical jingle and cadence. It is\nsuch as the Arabs, the earliest masters of rhyme, love, and servilely\nimitate in all their later prose works. Our English translations of\nthe Koran, although accurate, (and even idiomatic, as Palmer\u2019s) cannot\nreproduce this; in consequence the book appears vapid, monotonous and\nto the last degree wearisome and uninteresting. Attempts have been made\nby Burton and others to acquaint English readers with this element of\nbeauty in Mohammed\u2019s revelation. The following[89] is almost equal to\nthe Arabic itself, and, to say the least, sounds more interesting than\nSale\u2019s prose version of the same passage:\n\n \u201cI swear by the splendor of light\n And by the silence of night\n That the Lord shall never forsake thee\n Nor in His hatred take thee;\n Truly for thee shall be winning\n Better than all beginning\n Soon shall the Lord console thee, grief no longer control thee,\n And fear no longer cajole thee.\n Thou wert an orphan-boy, yet the Lord found room for thy head.\n When thy feet went astray, were they not to the right path led?\n Did He not find thee poor, yet riches around thee spread?\n Then on the orphan-boy, let thy proud foot never tread,\n And never turn away the beggar who asks for bread,\n But of the Lord\u2019s bounty ever let praise be sung and said.\u201d\n\nIt is not to be expected that all the transcendant excellencies and\nmiraculous beauties which Moslem commentators find in the Koran should\nunveil themselves to cold, unsympathizing western gaze, but that the\nbook has a certain literary beauty no one can deny who has read it\nin the original. As Penrice says in his preface to his Dictionary of\nthe Koran, \u201cBeauties there are many and great; ideas highly poetical\nare clothed in rich and appropriate language, which not unfrequently\nrises to a sublimity far beyond the reach of any translation; but it\nis unfortunately the case that many of those graces which present\nthemselves to the admiration of the finished scholar are but so many\nstumbling-blocks in the way of the beginner; the marvellous conciseness\nwhich adds so greatly to the force and energy of its expressions cannot\nfail to perplex him while the frequent use of the ellipse leaves in his\nmind a feeling of vagueness not altogether out of character in a work\nof its oracular and _soi-disant_ prophetic nature.\u201d\n\nThe greatest literary treasure of the Arabs next to the Koran is the\n_Mak\u0101mat_ of Al Hariri. No one of polite scholarship would dare profess\nignorance of this great classic, and the reader of these \u201cAssemblies\u201d\nis introduced to every branch of Mohammedan learning\u2014poetry, history,\nantiquities, theology and law. Recently Hariri has been translated\ninto English by Chenery and an earlier translation by Preston has also\nbeen printed. Stanley Lane-Poole reviewing these translations thus\ncharacterizes this Shakespeare of the Arabic world:\n\n\u201cIt is difficult, no doubt, for most Westerns to appreciate the\nbeauties of this celebrated classic. There is no cohesion, no\nconnecting idea, between the fifty separate \u2018Assemblies,\u2019 beyond\nthe regular reappearance of an egregious Tartufe, called Abu-Zeyd,\na Bohemian of brilliant parts and absolutely no conscience, who\nconsistently extracts alms from assemblies of people in various cities,\nby preaching eloquent discourses of the highest piety and morality,\nand then goes off with his spoils to indulge secretly in triumphant\nand unhallowed revels. Even in this framework there is no attempt at\noriginality; it is borrowed from Hamad\u00e2ni, the \u2018Wonder of the Age.\u2019\nThe excellence lies in the perfect finish: the matter is nothing;\nthe charm consists in the form alone. Yet this form is, to English\nreaders, exotic and artificial. Among its special merits, in the eyes\nof Easterns, is the perpetual employment of rimed prose. To us this\nis apt to seem at once monotonous and strained, with its antithetic\nbalance in sense, and jingle of sound; but to the Arabs, as to many\nprimitive peoples, either riming or assonant prose was from early times\na natural mode of impassioned and impressive speech. It is the mode\nadopted constantly and without strain in the Koran, and it is the mode\ninto which an historian, such as Ibn-el-Ath\u00eer, falls naturally when he\nwaxes eloquent over a great victory or a famous deed....\n\n\u201cBut if we do not care for rimed prose, there is plenty besides in\nHariri to minister to varied tastes. In these wonderful \u2018Assemblies,\u2019\nwe shall find every kind of literary form, except the shambling and\nthe vulgar. Pagan rhetoric, Moslem exhortation, simple verse, elaborate\node, everything that the immeasurable flexibility of the Arabic tongue\nand the curious art of a fastidious scholar could achieve\u2014all is here,\nand we may take our choice.\u201d\n\nWhat is said by this scholarly critic of Hariri holds true of most\nArabic poetry, it lacks unity of idea and sobriety of expression. All\nis intense. Every beautiful eye is a narcissus; tears are pearls; teeth\nare pearls or hail-stones; lips are rubies; the gums, pomegranate\nblossoms; piercing eyes are swords, and the eyelids, scabbards; a\nmole is an ant creeping to suck the honey from the lips; a handsome\nface is a full-moon; an erect form is the letter alif as penned by\nWazir Muhammed; black hair is night; the waist is a willow-branch or a\nlance, and love is always passion. Far-fetched allusions abound and the\n_sense_ at every turn must do homage to the _sound_. In the judgment of\nBaron de Slane the two notable exceptions to the rule are Al Mutanabbi\nand Ibn El Farid who exhibit a daring and surprising originality often\napproaching the sublime and, in the case of the latter, mystic reveries\nand spiritual beauties of no mean order.\n\nThe influence of the Arabic language on other tongues and peoples has\nalso been great, ever since the rise of Islam. The Persian language\nadopted the Arabic alphabet and a large number of Arabic words and\nphrases; so that, as Renan remarks, in some Persian books all the\nwords are Arabic and only the grammar remains in the vernacular. As\nfor Hindustani, three-fourths of its vocabulary consists of Arabic\nwords or Arabic words derived through the Persian. The Turkish language\nalso is indebted for many words taken from the Arabic and uses the\nArabic alphabet. The Malay language, with the Moslem conquest, was\nalso touched by Arabic influence and likewise adopted its alphabet.\nIn Africa its influence was yet more strongly felt. The language\nextended over all the northern half of the continent and is still\ngrowing in use to-day. The geographical nomenclature of the interior\nis Arabic and Arabs preceded Livingstone, Stanley and Speke in all\ntheir journeys. The languages of the southern Sudan, the Hausa, and\neven those of Guinea borrowed largely from the Arabic. Europe itself\ndid not escape the influence of the conquering Semitic tongue. Spanish\nand Portuguese betray a vast number of Arabic words and idioms. French\nand English are also indebted to Arabic in no small degree for many\nscientific and technical words introduced at the time of the crusades\nand even earlier. Here is a partial list of those which we received\ndirectly or indirectly from the Arab tongue, as given in Skeat\u2019s\nEtymological Dictionary and arranged into sentences; every word in\nitalics is of Arabic origin.\n\n \u201cThe _Nabob Mohammedan Magazine_ relates, that years after the\n _Hegira_, a _saracen caliph_ or _Mameluke sultan_, sat with\n his _mussulman emir_, _admiral_, _vizier_, _moslem mufti_ and\n _Koran-munshee_, (who knew _alchemy_ and _algebra_ and could\n _cipher_ the _azimuth_ and _nadir_ to _zero_), _sheikh_ of the\n _hareem_, _muezzin_ and _tariff-dragoman_ of the _arsenal_, under a\n _carob_-tree, on _sofas_ of _mohair-mattress_ covered with _jerboa-_\n and _gazelle-skins_, drinking _coffee_, _saffron-elixer_, _arrack_,\n _alcohol_ and _syrup_ of _senna, carraway_ and _sumach_. For tonic\n they also had _rose-attar_, _artichokes_, _alkaline-nitre_ in\n _myrrh_, _taraxacum_, _otto-sherbet_, and _naphtha_ in _amber_ cups.\n The _Sultan\u2019s_ infant daughter wore a _carmine cotton_ and-_muslin\n chemise_ or _diaper_ with a _civet talisman_ and _jasper amulet_;\n she played a _Tartar lute_. Suddenly a _giaour Bedouin assassin_\n with an _assagai_ and _hookah-masque_ came down on them from behind\n an _alcove_ of the neighboring _arabesque mosque minaret_ like a\n _sirocco-simoon_ or _monsoon_ and killed them all.\u201d\n\nMost of these words came from the Arabic through other languages such\nas French and Spanish; others were directly transferred from the Arabic\nto English; and still others have passed the long journey from Arabic\nto Greek, to Latin, to Italian, to French and thence to English. The\nword _magazine_ is perhaps the best example of how an Arabic-root\nfound shelter in the soil of all the European languages and grew into\nmanifold significations from its original meaning with the Arabs,\n_ghazana_ = to collect or store.\n\nIn modern days, especially since the opening of the Suez canal, the\nEnglish language is beginning to exert its influence on Arabic. In\nEgypt, Syria and the Persian Gulf many English commercial terms are\nbeing adopted into the language and the newspapers spread their use\neverywhere.\n\nLast, but not least, there is the immense, incalculable influence\non the Arabic-tongue for all time exerted by the toil and sacrifice\nof the early missionaries to Syria through their college and press\nin giving to the world a modern Christian and scientific literature\nand that crowning work of Drs. Eli Smith and C. V. A. Van Dyck\u2014the\nArabic Bible. The mission press at Beirut has four hundred and eighty\nthree volumes on its catalogue and prints about twenty-five million\npages annually.[90] The Arabic Bible \u201cone of the noblest literally\nmonuments of the age\u201d will yet prove a mighty influence in purifying\nand ennobling the language and preserving its classical diction to\nthe utmost bounds of the Arab-world. There was only one Koran and\nthere will be only one Arabic Bible\u2014the finished product of American\nscholarship and her best gift to the Mohammedan world.\n\n[Illustration: TITLE PAGE OF A CHRISTIAN PAPER PRINTED IN ARABIC.]\n\n\n\n\n XXVI\n\n THE ARAB\n\n \u201cChildren of Shem! Firstborn of Noah\u2019s race\n And still forever children; at the door\n Of Eden found, unconscious of disgrace,\n And loitering on while all are gone before;\n Too proud to dig, too careless to be poor\n Taking the gifts of God in thanklessness,\n Not rendering aught, nor supplicating more,\n Nor arguing with Him if He hide His face.\n Yours is the rain and sunshine, and the way\n Of an old wisdom, by our world forgot,\n The courage of a day which knew not death;\n Well may we sons of Japhet, in dismay,\n Pause in our vain mad fight for life and breath,\n Beholding you\u2014I bow and reason not\u201d\u2014_Anon._\n\n\nConcerning the origin of the tribes and people that now inhabit\nthe Arabian peninsula there is disagreement among the learned. It\nis generally held that the original tribes of Northern Arabia are\ndescendants of Ishmael. This is also the tradition of all Arab\nhistorians. As to the South Arabians, who occupied their highlands with\nthe Hadramaut coast for centuries before the Ishmaelites appeared on\nthe scene there are two opinions. Some believe them to be descendants\nof Joktan (Arabic _Kahtan_) the son of Heber and therefore, like\nthe Northern Arabs, true Semites. Others think that the earliest\ninhabitants of South Arabia were Cushites or Hamitic; while some German\nscholars hold that in the earlier Arabs the children of Joktan and of\nCush were blended into one race.\n\nAmong the Ishmaelites are included not only Ishmael\u2019s direct\ndescendants through the twelve princes,[91] but the Edomites,\nMoabites, Ammonites, Midianites and probably other cognate tribes.\nThe names of the sons of Ishmael in relation to their settlements and\nthe traces of these names in modern Arabia is a subject which has been\ntaken up by Bible dictionaries but which still offers an interesting\nfield for further study. The Arabs themselves have always claimed\nAbrahamic descent for the tribes of the north. The age-long, racial\nanimosity between the Yemenites and M\u0101adites seems to confirm the\ntheory of two distinct races inhabiting the peninsula from very early\ntimes; and they remain distinct until to-day in spite of a common\nlanguage and a common religion. \u201cThe animosity of these two races to\neach other is unaccountable but invincible. Like two chemical products\nwhich instantly explode when placed in contact, so has it always been\nfound impossible for Yemenite and M\u0101adite to live quietly together.\nAt the present day the Yemenite in the vicinity of Jerusalem detests\nthe M\u0101adite of Hebron, and when questioned as to the reason of their\neternal enmity has no other reply but that it has been so from time\nimmemorial. In the time of the Caliphs the territory of Damascus was\ndesolated by a murderous war for two years, because a M\u0101adite had taken\na lemon from the garden of a Yemenite. The province of Murcia in Spain\nwas deluged with blood for seven years because a M\u0101adite inadvertently\nplucked a Yemenite vine-leaf. It was a passion which surmounted every\ntie of affection or interest. \u2018You have prayed for your father: why do\nyou not pray for your mother?\u2019 a Yemenite was asked near the Kaaba.\n\u2018For my mother!\u2019 said the Yemenite, \u2018How could I? She was of the race\nof M\u0101ad.\u2019\u201d[92]\n\nThe Yemenites at a very early period founded the strong and opulent\nHimyarite Kingdom. The Himyarites were the navigators of the East and\nthey were celebrated for their skill in manufacture as well as for\nenterprise in commerce; they had a written language, inscriptions\nin which were discovered all over south Arabia during the present\ncentury. The M\u0101adite or Ishmaelite Arabs on the contrary were more\nnomad in their habits and were masters of the caravans which carried\nthe enormous overland trade by the two great trunk-lines of antiquity,\nfrom the East to the West. One of these lines extended from Aden,\n(Arabia Emporium of Ptolemy) along the western part of the peninsula\nand through Yemen to Egypt; the other extended from Babylon to Tadmor\nand Damascus. A third route, nearly as important, was also in the hands\nof the Ishmaelite Arabs, by Wady Rumma and Nejd to the old capital of\nthe Himyarites, Mareb.[93] These caravans unified the Arabian peninsula\nand fused into one its two peoples; the northern Arabs receiving\nsomewhat of the southern civilization and the southern Arabs adopting\nthe language of the north. But the decline in the caravan trade brought\ndisaster to Arabia; the ship of the desert found a competitor in the\nships of the sea. Old settlements were broken up, great cities, which\nflourished because of overland trade, were abandoned and whole tribes\nwere reduced from opulence to poverty. In this time of transition,\nlong before the birth of Mohammed, the Arabic nation as it is known to\nmodern history seems to have been formed.\n\nThe modern Arabs classify themselves into Bedouins and town-dwellers;\nor, in their own poetic way, _ahl el beit_ and _ahl el h\u2019eit_,\n\u201cthe people of the tent,\u201d and \u201cthe people of the wall.\u201d But this\nclassification is hardly sufficient, although it has been generally\nadopted by writers on Arabia. Edson L. Clark, in his book, The Arabs\nand the Turks, gives five classes: \u201cBeginning at the lowest round of\nthe ladder we have first the sedentary or settled Arabs. .. who though\nstill many of them dwelling in tents have become cultivators of the\nsoil. By their nomadic brethren these settled Arabs are thoroughly\ndespised as degraded and denationalized by the change in their mode\nof life. Secondly, the wandering tribes in the neighborhood of the\nsettled districts, and in constant intercourse with their inhabitants.\nBoth these classes, but more especially the latter, are thoroughly\ndemoralized.... The third class consists of the Arabs of the Turkish\ntowns and villages; but they too are a degenerate class both in\nlanguage and character.... The fourth class consists of the inhabitants\nof the towns and villages of Arabia proper, who by their peculiar\nsituation have remained more secluded from the rest of the world than\neven the wandering tribes.... Finally the great nomadic tribes of the\ninterior, still preserving unchanged the primitive character, habits\nand customs of their race.\u201d This last class and this alone are the real\nBedouins.\n\nIn addition to this classification according to civilization there\nis the universal genealogical classification; and no people in the\nworld are fonder of genealogies than the Arabs. The names of tribes\nand families go back, in many cases to pre-islamic days. The earliest\ntribal-names, therefore, are either taken from animals or totem-names,\nlike Panthers, Dogs, Lizards, _e. g._, _Anmar Kilab_, _Dibab_, etc.;\nplace-names transformed afterward by the genealogists into ancestors,\n_e. g._, _Hadramaut_, _Hau\u0101b_; or from idols and idol-worship, _e. g._,\n_Abd el Kais_, _Abd al Lat_, etc. But the later system of genealogies\nas given by the Arabs are utterly unreliable because they are so\nevidently artificial. The backbone of the system was the pedigree of\nMohammed and this is notoriously untrustworthy. \u201cDummy ancestors\u201d were\ninserted in order to connect a particular but unimportant tribe with\na distinguished one, and Hamdani himself tells us that he found it a\ncommon practice of obscure desert groups to call themselves by the name\nof some more famous tribe.[94]\n\nCharacter is difficult to define. To depict the moral physiognomy of a\nnation and their physical traits in such a way that nothing important\nis omitted and no single characteristic exaggerated at the cost of\nothers. This difficulty is increased in the case of the Arabs, by their\ntwofold origin and their present twofold civilization. That which is\ntrue of the town-dweller, is not always true of the Bedouin and vice\nversa. Moreover the influence of the neighboring countries must be\ntaken into account. Eastern Arabia has taken color by long contact with\nPersia; this is seen in speech, architecture, food and dress. Southern\nArabia, especially Hadramaut, has absorbed East Indian ideas. While\nWestern Arabia, especially Hejaz, shows in many ways its proximity to\nEgypt. Not losing sight of these distinctions, which will account for\nmany exceptions to the general statements made, what is the character\nof the Arabs?\n\nPhysically, they are undoubtedly one of the strongest and noblest races\nof the world. Baron de Larrey, surgeon-general of the first Napoleon,\nin his expeditions to Egypt and Syria, says: \u201cTheir physical structure\nis in all respects more perfect than that of Europeans; their organs\nof sense exquisitely acute, their size above the average of men in\ngeneral, their figure robust and elegant, the color brown; their\nintelligence proportionate to their physical perfection, and without\ndoubt superior, other things being equal, to that of other nations.\u201d\n\nThe typical Arab face is round-oval, but the general leanness of the\nfeatures detracts from its regularity; the bones are prominent; the\neyebrows long and bushy; the eye small, deep-set, fiery black or a\ndark, deep brown. The face expresses half dignity, half cunning, and is\nnot unkindly, although never smiling or benignant. The teeth are white,\neven, short and broad. The Arabs have very scanty beards as a rule,\nbut those of the towns often cultivate a patriarchal beard like the\ntraditional beard of the prophet. The figure is well-knit, muscular,\nlong-limbed, never fat. The arms and legs are thin, almost shrunken,\nbut with muscles like whip-cords. As young men the Bedouins are often\ngood-looking, with bright eyes and dark hair, but the constant habit of\nfrowning to protect the eyes from the glare of the sun, soon gives the\nface a fierce aspect; at forty their beards turn grey and at fifty they\nappear old men.\n\nIt is a common mistake to consider the Arabs democratic in their ideas\nof society. The genuine Arab was and is always an aristocrat. Feuds\noriginate about the precedence of one family or tribe over another;\nmarriage is only allowed between tribes or clans of equal standing; the\nwhole system of sheikh-government is an aristocratic idea; and as final\nproof there still exists a species of caste in South Arabia, while in\nNorth Arabia the Ma\u2019adan Arabs of Mesopotamia and the _Suleyb_ of the\ndesert are little better than Pariahs as regards their neighbors. It is\nwith a heavy heart that any Arab sees set over him a man of less noble\nextraction than himself. The religion of Arabia has made its people\nfanatics, although according to N\u00f6ldeke, \u201cfanaticism is characteristic\nof all Semitic religions.\u201d But he forgets the real distinction between\nintolerance of another religion on ethical grounds as in the case of\nJudaism, and the infinitely hard, one-sided, crude exclusiveness of\nIslam.\n\nThe Arabs rarely have the power of taking in complex unities at a\nglance; the talent for arrangement is absent. An Arab carpenter cannot\ndraw a right angle, nor can an Arab servant lay a tablecloth square\non the table. The old Arab temple called a cube (Kaaba) has _none_\nof its sides or angles equal; their houses show the same lack of\nthe \u201ccarpenter\u2019s eye\u201d to-day. Streets are seldom parallel, even the\nstreet, so-called, was not _straight_ in Damascus. The Arab mind loves\nunits, not unity; they are good soldiers, but poor generals; there is\nno partnership in business; and no public spirit; each man lives for\nhimself. That is the reason why Yemen cannot shake off the yoke of the\nTurk, and this explains why the smallest towns in Arabia have a great\nmany little mosques. The Arab has a keen eye for particulars, great\nsubjectivity, nervous restlessness, deep passion and inward feeling,\nand yet joined with strong conservatism and love of the past. In\neverything he follows old models and traditions; witness their poetry\nand their tent-life\u2014in Arab phrase, termed their \u201chouses of hair\u201d and\ntheir \u201chouses of poetry.\u201d As a result of their language-structure,\nthe Arabs have naturally a strong tendency to a pointed, sharp speech\nof epigrammatic brevity, but also go to the other extreme of ornate\ntautology. The former is characteristic of the desert; the latter of\nthe towns. Eloquence and poetry are still worshipped. The only fine\nart which Arabs admire is that of caligraphy; and those who have seen\nfinished specimens of an Arab master-penman, must acknowledge that in\nthem are all the elements of painting and sculpture.\n\nThe Arabs are polite, good-natured, lively, manly, patient, courageous\nand hospitable to a fault. They are also contentious, untruthful,\nsensuous, distrustful, covetous, proud and superstitious. One must\nalways keep in mind this paradox in dealing with an Arab. As Clark\nexpresses it, \u201can Arab will lie and cheat, and swear any number of\nfalse oaths, in a pecuniary transaction; but when once his faith is\npledged he can be implicitly trusted, even to the last extremity.\u201d\nThere are Arab oaths such as _wallah_, which are intended to confirm\nfalsehoods and signify nothing. There are others, such as the threefold\noath, with _wa_, _bi_ and _ti_ as particles of swearing, which not even\nthe vilest robber among them dare break. Grammatically, the two oaths\nare nearly the same.\n\nRobbery is a fine art among the nomads; but the high-minded Arab robs\nlawfully, honestly and honorably. He will not attack his victims in\nthe night; he tries to avoid all bloodshed by coming with overwhelming\nforce; and if his enterprise miscarries, he boldly enters the first\ntent possible, proclaims his true character and asks protection. The\n_Dakheil_, or privilege of sanctuary, the salt covenant, the blood\ncovenant and the sacredness of the guest, all prove that the Arabs\nare trustworthy. And yet, in the ordinary affairs of life, lying and\ndeception are the rule and seldom the exception. The true Arab is\nniggardly when he buys, and will haggle for hours to reduce a price;\nand yet he is prodigal and lavish in giving away his goods to prove his\nhospitality.\n\nAccording to Burckhardt, the Arab is the only real lover of the\nOrient; if he limits this to the Bedouin-Arab he is correct. In matters\nof love and marriage the Arab of the towns is what Mohammed, the Meccan\nmerchant was, after the death of the old lady Khadijah. But Arabic\npoetry of the times of ignorance does occasionally breathe the true\ntale of love and chivalry; and the desert Arabs as a rule are not\npolygamists nor given to divorce.\n\nIt was a law among the ancient Arabs that whoever sheds the blood of\na man owes blood on that account to the family of the slain. This law\nof blood-revenge was confirmed by the Koran and is a sacred right\neverywhere in Arabia. An Arab is considered degenerate who accepts a\nfine or any consideration save blood for blood. This law is both the\ncause of continual feuds, and tends to terminate them without much\nbloodshed. Arabs of the town and of the desert will quarrel for hours\nwithout coming to blows; it is not cowardice that prevents an open\nencounter, but the fear of shedding blood and blood-revenge.\n\nFamily life among the Arabs is best studied by looking at child-life\nin the desert and at the position of women among the Bedouin and the\ntown-dwellers. In no part of the world does the newborn child meet\nless preparation for its reception than among the Bedouin. A land\nbare of many blessings, general poverty and the law of the survival\nof the fittest, has made the Arab mother stern of heart. In the open\ndesert under the shade of an acacia bush or behind a camel, the Arab\nbaby first sees the daylight. As soon as it is born the mother herself\nrubs and cleans the child with sand, places it in her handkerchief\nand carries it home. She suckles the child for a short period, and\nat the age of four months it already drinks profusely of camels\u2019\nmilk. A name is given to the infant immediately; generally from some\ntrifling incident connected with its birth, or from some object\nwhich attracts the mother\u2019s fancy. Moslem names such as Hassan Ali\nor Fatimah, are extremely uncommon among the true Bedouins; although\nMohammed is sometimes given. Beside his own peculiar name every\nBedouin boy is called by the name of his father and tribe. And what is\nmore remarkable, boys are often called after their sisters, _e. g._,\n_Akhoo Noorah_, the brother of Noorah. Girls\u2019 names are taken from the\nconstellations, birds, or desert animals like _Gazelle_.\n\nIn education the Arab is a true child of nature. His parents leave him\nto his own sweet will; they seldom chastise and seldom praise. Trained\nfrom birth in the hard school of nomad life, fatigue and danger do\ncontribute much to his education. Burckhardt says, \u201cI have seen parties\nof naked boys playing at noonday upon the burning sand in the middle\nof summer, running until they had fatigued themselves, and when they\nreturned to their fathers\u2019 tents they were scolded for not continuing\nthe exercise. Instead of teaching the boy civil manners, the father\ndesires him to beat and pelt the strangers who come to the tent; to\nsteal or secrete some trifling article belonging to them. The more\nsaucy and impudent children are the more they are praised since this is\ntaken as an indication of future enterprise and warlike disposition.\nBedouin children, male and female, go unclad and play together until\ntheir sixth year. The first child\u2019s festival is that of circumcision.\nAt the age of seven years the day is fixed, sheep are killed and a\nlarge dish of food is cooked. Women accompany the operation with a\nloud song and afterward there is dancing and horseback riding and\nencounters with lances. The girls adorn themselves with cheap jewelry\nand tent-poles are decorated with ostrich feathers. Altogether it is a\ngala-day.\n\n[Illustration: CHURNING BUTTER IN A BEDOUIN CAMP.]\n\nThe Bedouin children have few toys but they manage to amuse themselves\nwith many games. I have seen a group of happy children, each with a pet\nlocust on a bit of string, watching whose steed should win the race.\nThe boys make music out of desert-grass winding it in curious fashion\nto resemble a horn, and calling it _Masoor_. In Yemen and Nejd a sling,\nlike David\u2019s, with pebbles from the brook is a lad\u2019s first weapon.\nAfterward he acquires a lance and perhaps an old discarded bowie-knife.\nThe children of the desert have no books.[95] But, of paper, they\nhave the Book of Nature. This magnificent picture book is never more\ndiligently studied than by those little dark eyes which watch the sheep\nat pasture or count the stars in the blue abyss from their perch on a\nlofty camel\u2019s saddle in the midnight journeyings.\n\nWhen the Bedouin lad grows up, and begins to swear by the few\nstraggling hairs on his chin, he cannot read a letter, but he knows men\nand he knows the desert. The talk heard at night around the Sheikh\u2019s\ntent or the acacia-brush fireside is much like the wisdom of the book\nof Job. A philosophy of submission to the world as it is; a deification\nof stoicism or patience; a profound trust that all will end well at\nlast. Sad to say even the little nomads, with their ignorance of all\nreligion, share in the fanatical antagonism of their elders toward the\nChristian religion and Christians. One of their games, in Nejd, is to\ndraw a cross on the desert sand and then defile it; they learn that\nall outside the pale of Mohammed\u2019s creed are _kafirs_ and to please\nAllah are glad to throw stones at any wayfaring Nasrani. Little do\nthe Bedouins and still less do their children, however, know of the\nreligion of Islam. The Koran is not a book for children\u2019s minds and of\nsuch is not the kingdom of Mohammed.\n\nThe Bedouin child early puts away childish things. To western eyes\nthe children of Arabia appear like little old men and women; and the\ngrown-up people have minds like children. This is another paradox\nof the Arab-character. At ten years the boy is sent to drive camels\nand the girl to herd sheep; at fifteen they are both on the way to\nmatrimony. He wears the garb of a man and boasts a matchlock; she takes\nto spinning camel hair and sings the songs of the past. Their brief\nchildhood is over. In the towns marriage takes place even earlier; and\nthere are boys of eighteen who have already divorced two wives.\n\nAmong the Bedouins polygamy is not common nor is it among the poorer\nArabs of the towns. The marriage ceremony among the Bedouins is\nas simple as it is long and complex among the townsmen. After the\nnegotiations which precede the marriage contract, the bridegroom comes\nwith a lamb in his arms to the tent of the girl\u2019s father and there\ncuts the lamb\u2019s throat before witnesses. As soon as the blood falls on\nthe ground the contract is sealed; feasting and dancing follow, and\nat night the bride is conducted to the bridegroom\u2019s tent where he is\nawaiting her arrival. Dowrys are paid more generally and more largely\nin the towns than in the desert. Among certain Arab tribes a demand\nof money for the hand of a bride would be deemed scandalous. From a\nwestern standpoint the women of the Bedouin stand on a higher platform\nof liberty and justice than those of the towns where the Koran has\ndone its work on one half of society to repress intellect and degrade\naffection, and sensualize the sexual relation to the last degree. On\nthe other hand divorce is perhaps more common among the Bedouins,[96]\nthan among the city Arabs. Burckhardt met Arabs not yet forty-five\nyears of age who were known to have had above fifty wives. Concerning\nthe marriage-contract in the towns, the ceremony, the divorce\nproceedings, and the methods by which that is made legal which even the\nlax law of Islam condemns, the less said the better.\n\nOn the position of women in Arabia we quote four unimpeachable\nwitnesses who have nothing in common save their knowledge of the\nsubject; there is truth on both sides where they differ; where they\nagree there is no question of certainty as to the fact.\n\nDOUGHTY, the Christian explorer, whose volumes are a mine of\ninformation says:[97] \u201cThe female is of all animals the better, say\nthe Arabians, save only in mankind. Upon the human female the Semites\ncast all their blame. Hers is, they think, a maleficent nature, and\nthe Arabs complain that \u2018she has seven lives.\u2019 The Arabs are contrary\nto womankind, upon whom they would have God\u2019s curse; some, they say,\nare poisoners of husbands and there are many adulteresses.... The\n_horma_ [_i. e._, woman] they would have under subjection; admitted\nto an equality, the ineptitude of her evil nature will break forth.\nThey check her all day at home and let her never be enfranchised from\nservitude. The veil and the jealous lattice are rather of the obscene\nMohammedan austerity in the towns; among the mild tent-dwellers in the\nopen wilderness the housewives have a liberty as where all are kindred;\nyet their hareem are now seen in the most Arabian tribes half-veiled.\u201d\n\nBURCKHARDT, the time-honored authority on things Arabian, writes: \u201cThe\nBedouins are jealous of their women, but do not prevent them from\nlaughing and talking with strangers. It seldom happens that a Bedouin\nstrikes his wife; if he does so she calls loudly on her _wasy_ or\nprotector who pacifies the husband and makes him listen to reason....\nThe wife and daughters perform all the domestic business. They grind\nthe wheat in the handmill or pound it in the mortar; they prepare the\nbreakfast and dinner; knead and bake the bread; make butter, fetch\nwater, work at the loom, mend the tent-covering and are, it must be\nowned, indefatigable. While the husband or brother sits before the tent\nsmoking his pipe.\u201d\n\nLADY ANN BLUNT, who travelled among the tribes of the Euphrates\nvalley with her husband, speaks thus from a woman\u2019s standpoint. \u201cOf\nthe Bedouin women a shorter description will be enough. As girls they\nare pretty in a wild picturesque way and almost always have cheerful,\ngood-natured faces. They are hard-working and hard-worked, doing all\nthe labor of the camp.... They live apart from the men but are in no\nway shut up or put under restraint. In the morning they all go out to\ngather wood for the day, and whenever we have met them so employed they\nhave seemed in the highest possible spirits.... In mental qualities the\nwomen of the desert are far below the men, their range of ideas being\nextremely limited. Some few of them, however, get real influence over\ntheir husbands and even, through them, over their tribes. In more than\none Sheikh\u2019s tent it is in the woman\u2019s half of it that the politics of\nthe tribe are settled.\u201d\n\nSNOUCK HURGRONJE, the Dutch traveller who spent an entire year\n(1884-85) in Mecca thus characterizes the position of women in Arabian\ntowns:[98]\n\n \u201cWhat avail to the young maiden the songs of eulogy which once in\n her life resound for her from the mouth of the singing-woman, but\n which introduce her into a companionship by which she, with her whole\n sex, is despised? Moslem literature, it is true, exhibits isolated\n glimpses of a worthier estimation of woman, but the later view, which\n comes more and more into prevalence, is the only one which finds\n its expression in the sacred traditions, which represent hell as\n full of women, and refuse to acknowledge in the woman, apart from\n rare exceptions, either reason or religion, in poems, which refer\n all the evil in the world to the woman as its root; in proverbs,\n which represent a careful education of girls as mere wastefulness.\n Ultimately, therefore, there is only conceded to the woman the\n fascinating charm with which Allah has endowed her, in order to afford\n the man, now and then in his earthly existence, the prelibation of the\n pleasures of Paradise, and to bear him children.\u201d\n\nThe poems which revile womankind, and of which the Dutch traveller\nspeaks, are legion. Here are two examples in English translation from\nBurton:\n\n \u201cThey said, marry!\u2014I replied,\u2014\n Far be it from me\n To take to my bosom a sackful of snakes.\n I am free why then become a slave?\n May Allah never bless womankind.\u201d\n\n \u201cThey declare woman to be heaven to man;\n I say, Allah, give me Jehannum, not this heaven.\u201d\n\nThree kinds of dwellings are found in Arabia. There is the _tent_, the\ndate-palm hut, and the house built with mortar of stone or mud-brick.\nThe tent is distinctive, in a general sense, of the interior and of\nNorthern Arabia; the palm-hut of the coast and of South Arabia; while\nhouses of brick and mortar exist in all the towns and cities. The\nevolution of the house is from goats\u2019-hair to matting, and from matting\nto mud-roof. Each of these dwellings is called _beit_, \u201cthe place where\none spends the night.\u201d\n\nThe Bedouin tent[99] consists of nine poles, arranged in sets of three\nand a wide, black goats\u2019-hair covering so as to form two parts; the\nmen\u2019s apartment being to the left of the entrance and the women\u2019s\nto the right, separated by a white woollen carpet hanging from the\nridge-pole. The posts are about five to seven feet in height; the\nlength of the tent is between twenty and thirty feet, its depth at the\nmost is ten feet. The only furniture consists of cooking utensils,\npack-saddles, carpets, water-skins, wheat-bags and millstones.\n\nThe date-palm hut is of different shapes. In Hejaz and Yemen it is\nbuilt like a huge beehive, circular and with a pointed roof. In Eastern\nArabia it consists of a square enclosure with hip-roof generally steep\nand covered with matting or thatch-work. At Bahrein the Arabs are very\nskillful in so weaving the date-fronds together and tightening every\ncrevice that the huts keep out wind and rain-storms most successfully.\nThe average size date-hut can be built for twenty or thirty Rupees\n(seven to ten dollars) and will last for several years.\n\nThe stone-dwellings of Arabia are as different in architecture and\nmaterial as circumstance and taste can make them. In Yemen large\ncastle-like dwellings crown every mountain and frown on every valley;\nstone is plentiful and the plan of architecture inherits grace and\nstrength from the older civilization of the Himyarites. In Bagdad,\nBusrah and East Arabia Persian architecture prevails, with arches,\nwind-towers, tracery and the veranda-windows. While the architecture\nof Mecca and Medina takes on its own peculiar type from the needs\nof the pilgrimage. Generally speaking the Arabs build their houses\nwithout windows to the street, and with an open court; the harem-system\ndictates to the builder, even putting a high parapet on the flat-roof\nagainst jealous eyes. Bleak walls without ornament or pictures are\nalso demanded by their surly religion. All furniture is simple and\ncommonplace; except where the touch of western civilization has\nawakened a taste for mirrors, marble-top tables and music-boxes.\n\nIn dress there is also much variety in Arabia. Turkish influence is\nseen in the Ottoman provinces and Indian-Persian in Oman, Hassa and\nBahrein. The Turkish _fez_ and the _turban_ (which are not Arabian) are\nexamples. The common dress of the Bedouin is the type that underlies\nall varieties. It consists of a coarse cotton shirt over which is worn\nthe abba or wide square mantle. The headdress is made with a square\ncloth, folded across and fastened on the crown of the head by a circlet\nof woollen-rope called an _\u2018akal_. The color of the garment and its\nornamentation depends on the locality; likewise the belt and the\nweapons of the wearer. Sandals of all shapes are used; shoes and boots\non the coast indicate foreign influence. The dress of the Bedouin woman\nis a wide cotton gown, with open sides, generally of a dark blue color,\nand a cloth for the head. The veil is of various shapes; in Oman it has\nthe typical Egyptian nose-piece with only the middle part of the face\nconcealed; in the Turkish provinces of East Arabia, thin black cloth\nconceals all the features. Nose and earrings are common. All Arab\nwomen also tattoo their hands and faces as well as other parts of their\nbodies, dye with henna and use antimony on their eyelashes for ornament.\n\nThe staple foods of Arabia are bread, rice, ghee (or clarified butter,\nwhich the Arabs call _semu_) milk, mutton and dates. These are found\neverywhere and coffee is the universal beverage. Other foods and\nfruits we have considered in our study of the provinces. Tea is now\nwidely used but was known scarcely anywhere less than twenty years\nago. Tobacco is smoked in every village and the Bedouins also are\npassionately fond of the weed; even the Wahabi religious prohibition\ndid not drive out desire for the universal narcotic. There is one\narticle of food we have left unmentioned, _locusts_. These are quite a\nstaple in the grocers\u2019 shops of all the interior towns of Arabia. They\nare prepared for eating by boiling in salt and water, after which they\nare dried in the sun. They taste like stale shrimps or dried herring.\nThe coast-dwellers still live largely on fish and in the days of\nPtolemy they were called _Ichthiophagoi_.\n\n\n\n\n XXVII\n\n ARABIAN ARTS AND SCIENCES\n\n\nEven Islam could not suppress the Arab\u2019s love for music nor diminish\nhis regard for the great poets of \u201cthe days of ignorance.\u201d For be it\nknown that, although one can buy Austrian mouth-organs in the bazaar\nat Jiddah, and harmonicas from Germany in the toy-shop at Hofhoof,\nmusic is generally held by Moslems, even to-day, to be contrary to\nthe teaching of the prophet. Mafia relates that when he was walking\nwith Ibn Omar, and they heard the music of a pipe the latter put his\nfingers into his ears and went another road. Asked why, he said: \u201cI was\nwith the prophet, and when he heard the noise of a musical pipe, he\nput his fingers into his ears; and this happened when I was a child.\u201d\nThus it comes to pass that by the iron law of tradition, more binding\nto the pious Moslem ofttimes than the Koran itself, the Mohammedan\nworld considers music at least among the doubtful amusements for true\nbelievers. And yet both before and after the advent of the morose\nlegislator, Arabia has had its music and song. But music in Mohammedan\nlands is ever in spite of their religion, and is never, as is the case\nwith Christianity, fostered by it.\n\nAmong the ancient Arabs poetry and song were closely related. The\npoet recited or chanted his own compositions in the evening mejlis,\nor more frequently at the public fairs and festivals, especially the\nnational one held annually at Okatz. Here it was that the seven noble\nfragments still extant of their earliest literature were first read\nand applauded, and accounted worthy (if this part of the story be not\nfabulous) to be suspended, written in gold, in the Kaaba.\n\nIt is unfortunate that the Arabs, with all their wealth of language\nand literature, have no musical notation, so that we can only surmise\nwhat their ancient tunes may have been. Were the early war songs of\nOmar and Khalid sung in the same key as this modern war chant of the\nGomussa tribe, as interpreted by Lady Ann Blunt?\n\n[Illustration: Music score]\n\n[Illustration: Music score]\n\nAnd did Sinbad the sailor sing the same tune on his voyages down the\nPersian Gulf to India which now the Lingah boatmen lustily chant as\nthey land the cargo from a British India steamer? Or was it like\nthis sailors\u2019 song on the Red Sea? To both of these questions the\nonly answer is the unchangeableness of the Orient; and this puts the\nprobability, at least, so far that the sailors of to-day could easily\njoin in Sinbad\u2019s chorus.\n\nThe people of Jauf, in Northern Arabia, are most famous for music at\nthe present day, according to Burckhardt. They are especially adept\nat playing the _Rebaba_. This may well be considered the national\ninstrument of music. It is all but universal in every part of the\npeninsula, and as well-known to all Arabs as the bag pipe is to the\nScotch. I have heard the highland shepherd boys of Yemen play on a set\nof reed-pipes rudely fastened together with bits of leather thong.\nThe drum _tabl_, is common among the town Arabs, and is used at their\nmarriage and circumcision feasts; but all over the desert one only\nhears the rebaba. It is simplicity itself in its construction, when\nmade by the Bedouins; the finer ornamental ones are from the cities. A\nbox frame is made ready, a stick is thrust through, and in this they\npierce an eye-hole for a single peg; a kidskin is then stretched upon\nthe hollow box; the string is plucked from a mare\u2019s tail, and setting\nunder it a bent twig for the bridge, their music is ready.\n\nTime and measure are often very peculiar and hard to catch, but they\nare kept most accurately, and Ali Bey gives an example which he says,\n\u201cexhibits the singularity of a bar divided into five equal portions, a\nthing which J.J. Rousseau conceived to be practicable, but was never\nable to accomplish.\u201d Here it is as he gives it; it strikingly resembles\nthe boatmen\u2019s song at Bahrein:\n\n[Illustration: Music score]\n\nThe singing one commonly hears, however, is much more monotonous than\nthis, and the tune nearly always depends on the whim of the performer\nor singer, sometimes, alas, on his inability to give more than a\ncertain number of variations!\n\nAntar, one of their own poets, has said that the song of the Arabs is\nlike the hum of flies. A not inapt comparison to those who have seen\nthe \u201cfly bazaar\u201d in Hodeidah or Menamah during the date season, and\nheard their myriad-mouthed buzzing. Antar, however, lived in the \u201ctimes\nof ignorance,\u201d and most probably referred to the chanting of the camel\ndrivers, which is bad enough. Imagine the following sung in a high\nmonotonous key with endless repetition.\n\n \u201cYa Rub sallimhum min el tahdeed\n Wa ija\u2019ad kawaihum \u2019amd hadeed.\u201d\n\nThat is to say, being freely interpreted:\n\n \u201cOh Lord, keep them from all dangers that pass\n And make their long legs pillars of brass.\u201d\n\nTo a stranger that which seems most peculiar in Arab song is their\nlong drawn-out tones at the close of a bar or refrain, sometimes\nequivalent to three whole notes or any number of beats. Doughty did\nnot appreciate it, apparently, for he writes \u201cSome, to make the\nstranger cheer, chanted to the hoarse chord of the Arab viol, making\nto themselves music like David, and drawing out the voice in the nose\nto a demensurate length, which must move our yawning or laughter.\u201d\nThere are, however, singers and singers. I remember a ruddy Yemen lad\nwho sang us _kasidahs_ during a heavy rain-storm in an old Arab caf\u00e9\nnear Ibb. The singer was master of his well-worn rebaba, and its music\nseemed to overmaster him. Now his hand touched the strings gently, and\nthen again swept over them with a strong nervous motion, awakening\nmusic indeed. His voice, too, was clear and sweet, although I was\nnot enough versed in Arabic poetry to catch the full meaning of his\nwords. It may have been the surroundings or the jovial companionship\nof friendly Arabs after my Taiz seclusion and a weary journey up the\nmountain passes, but I have never heard sweeter music in Arabia, and\nhave often heard worse elsewhere. God bless that travelling troubadour\nof Yemen!\n\nHere is a Mecca song for female voices, as given by Ali Bey in his\ntravels (1815), and a second sung by the women of Hejaz in a more\nmonotonous strain:\n\n[Illustration: Music Score]\n\nSuch songs are called _asamer_; love-songs are called _hodjeiny_,\nand the war song is known as _hadou_. Arabic prosody and the science\nof metres is exceedingly extensive and seemingly difficult. What we\ncall rhyme is scarcely known, and yet every verse ends with the same\nsyllable in a stanza of poetry.\n\nIn Mecca as well as in other \u201creligious\u201d centres there is a sort of\nsacred-music of which Hurgronje gives several specimens. They are\nchants in honor of the prophet or prayers for him which are sung at the\n_Moleeds_ or festivals in memory of Mohammed. Here are two of them.\n\n[Illustration: Music score. Interspersed with text.\n\n {Sal la \u2019llah a la Mu-hammad\n {Pray for mo-ham-med, O God,\n\n Sal-la \u2019llah \u2019a-laih-wa-sal-lam\n Pray, O God, for him and peace.\n]\n\n[Illustration: ditto\n\n Mar-ha-ba-ya, nur-el ain-ni mar-ha-ba\n mar-ha-ba jid el Hu-sain-i mar-ha-ba\n mar-ha-ba ya mar-ha-ba-ya, mar-ha-ba-a-a-a-a.\n\n\nMost generally, however, music is looked upon as decidedly secular,\nespecially all instrumental music. The desert Arabs know no religious\nsong and only sing of love and war in their old wild way. It is only\nat a distance from the mosque and away with the caravan, that Ghanim\nclears his throat and sings in a voice that can be heard for a mile as\nwe leave him behind:\n\n[Illustration: Music score]\n\nThe Arabs of the desert have a reading-book all their own called\n_Athar_; and a writing all their own called _wasm_. No Bedouin so\nignorant but he can read _Athar_ and none so dull but he can write his\n_wasm_.\n\n[Illustration: TRIBAL MARKS or WASMs of the ARABS.]\n\n_Athr_ or _ilm el athar_ is the science of footsteps; and like the free\nIndians of America, the Arab is keen to study and quick to judge from\nsand tracks of both men and animals. The genuine Arab who has made\n_athar_ a study can tell the track of a friend from that of a foe, and\ncan distinguish the tribe or even the clan; he knows from the depth of\nthe footprint whether the camel was loaded or lame; whether the man\npassed yesterday or a week before; from the regularity or irregularity\nhe judges of fatigue or of pursuit. If the camel\u2019s forefeet dig deeper\nthan the hind he concludes the animal had a weak breast; from the offal\nhe knows whence the camels came and the character of their pasture.\nBurckhardt writes of instances where camels were traced six days\u2019\njourneys after being stolen, and identified.\n\nTo identify property it must be marked, therefore, the kindred science\nof _wasm_ has its place. A _wasm_ is a Bedouin trade-mark or ideograph\nto label his property, real and personal. Their origin is unknown,\nalthough Doughty says that they ofttimes resemble Himyaritic letters\nand may therefore come from Yemen. Each family or tribe has its own\ncattle-brand or token. Not only is personal property such as cattle\nmarked with the _wasm_ but the Bedouin put their mark on rocks near\nfavorite wells or pastures. These signs are the only certain records\nof former occupation of tribes. Many of the tribes have two or three\ndifferent _wasms_; these belong to family groups.\n\nThe medical knowledge and medical treatment of the Arabs deserve some\nnotice. The Arabs think themselves always ailing and never fail to\nconsult a _hakim_ or doctor when there is opportunity. The hakeem is\nsupposed to know both their malady and its cure by simple observation;\nto tell the physician for what cause they seek him would be an insult\nto his wisdom and for him to ask them settles the matter that he is\nnot a true hakeem. The common diseases of Arabia are the following,\naccording to Arab nomenclature:\u2014_El Kibd_, _i. e._, the liver, or all\nvisceral infirmities; _er rihh_, literally, \u201cthe wind,\u201d or rheumatics\nand neuralgia; _humma_, fevers; _tah\u0101l_ or ague-cake; _el-hasa_ or\nstone; ophthalmia; \u201cfascination\u201d or hysterics, (as when they say a man\nhas a jinn or a child has been looked at by the evil-eye); leprosy,\nphthisis, dropsy, stranguria, ulcers and senile itch. For any and all\nof these ailments, beside others not so common, yet sometimes epidemic\nlike smallpox and cholera, the Arabs seek a hakeem. All medicine, save\namulets, charms and exorcisms, is called _dawa_. Their pharmacopia is\nnot large but quite remarkable; in addition to such simple herbs of the\ndesert as their hareem collect and dry they use in grave emergencies\nthat which is har\u0101m (forbidden) and unclean. Patients have come to me\nfor a small piece of swine\u2019s flesh (which they suppose all Christians\neat) to cure one in desperate straits. Doughty tells how among the\nBedouins they give the sick to eat of the carrion-eagle and even seethe\nasses\u2019 dung for a potion.\n\n_Kei_ or actual cautery is a favorite cure for all sorts of diseases;\nso also is _khelal_ or perforating the skin surface with a red-hot iron\nand then passing a thread through the hole to facilitate suppuration.\nScarcely one Arab in a hundred who has not some _kei_-marks on his\nbody; even infants are burned most cruelly in this way to relieve\ndiseases of childhood. Where _kei_ fails they have resource to words\nwritten on paper either from the Koran, or, by law of contraries,\nwords of evil, sinister import. These the patient \u201ctakes\u201d either by\nswallowing them, paper and all, or by drinking the ink-water in which\nthe writing is washed off. Blood-letting is also a sovereign remedy for\nmany troubles. The Arab barber is at once a phlebotomist, cauterizer,\nand dentist. His implements\u2014one can hardly call them instruments\u2014are\nvery crude and he uses them with some skill but without any mercy.\nGoing to the proper place in any large Arab town you may always see\na row of men squatting down with bent back to be bled; cupping and\nscarifying are the two methods most in vogue, although some are quite\nclever in opening a vein. The science of medicine in the towns is\nnot much in advance of that of the desert\u2014more book-talk but even\nless natural intelligence. A disease to be at all respectable must be\nconnected with one of the four temperaments or \u201chumors of Hippocrates.\u201d\n\nMedicines are hot and cold, wet and dry; and the same fourfold\nclassification distinguishes all ailments. There are four elements\nonly, and the stars must be favorable to induce a rapid cure. Whatever\nis prescribed must be solid and material; if it is bitter and painful\nso much the better. Rough measures act more strongly on the imagination\nand faith-cure is a reality in such cases. Burton gives this sample of\na correct prescription:\n\n \u201cA.\u201d[100]\n\n \u201cIn the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful, and blessings\n and peace be upon our Lord the apostle and his family and his\n companions one and all. But afterward let him take bees-honey and\n cinnamon and album gr\u00e6cum of each half a part and of ginger a whole\n part, which let him pound and mix with the honey and form boluses,\n each bolus the weight of a Mithkal, and of it let him use every day a\n Mithkal, on the saliva, (that is to say, fasting, the first thing in\n the morning). Verily its effects are wonderful. And let him abstain\n from flesh, fish, vegetables, sweetmeats, flatulent food, acids of all\n descriptions, as well as the major ablution and live in perfect quiet.\n So shall he be cured by the help of the King the healer, _i. e._, the\n Almighty. And the peace.\u201d\n\nHoney has always been a panacea in Arabia on authority of the Koran and\ntradition. The only reference to medicine in the revelation of Mohammed\nis this ignorant statement: \u201cFrom the bee\u2019s belly comes forth a fluid\nof variant hue which yieldeth medicine to man.\u201d (Surah xvi. 71.)\nThis being the only remedy prescribed by Allah, it is no wonder that\ntradition affirms its efficacy as follows: \u201cA man once came to Mohammed\nand told him that his brother was afflicted with a violent pain in his\nbelly; upon which the prophet bade him give him some honey. The fellow\ntook his advice but soon came again and said that the medicine had done\nno good. Mohammed answered: \u2018Go and give him more honey, for God speaks\ntruth and thy brother\u2019s belly lies,\u2019 and the dose being repeated the\nman was cured.\u201d[101] Coriander-seeds, peppermint, cinnamon, senna,\niris-root, saffron, aloes, nitrates, arsenious-earth, pomegranate-rind,\ndate-syrup and vinegar\u2014such are some of the common household remedies\nof Arabia. All Arab women profess a knowledge of herbs and the art of\nhealing so that the \u201chakeem\u201d can scarcely make a living if he clings\nsolely to his profession. A Mecca \u201cM.D.,\u201d says Hurgronje, was also\nwatch-maker, gun-smith and distiller of perfume; to fill up his idle\nhours he did a little silver-plating and dealt in old coins! Yet this\nman was at the head of the profession in Mecca and was able, so they\nsaid, to transmute the base metals and write very powerful charms.\n\nThe following are used as amulets in Arabia: a small Koran suspended\nfrom the shoulder; a chapter written on paper and folded in a leather\ncase; some names of God or their numerical values; the names of the\nprophet and his companions; greenstones without inscriptions; beads,\nold coins, teeth, holy earth in small bags. Amulets are not only worn\nby the Arabs themselves and to protect their children from the evil-eye\nbut are put on camels, donkeys, horses, fishing-boats and sometimes\nover the doors of their dwellings. The Arabs are very superstitious\nin every way. In Hejaz if a child is very ill the mother takes seven\nflat loaves of bread and puts them under its pillow; in the morning\nthe loaves are given to the dogs\u2014and the child is not always cured.\nRings are worn against the influence of evil-spirits; incense or\neven-smelling compounds are burned in the sick-room to drive away\nthe devil; mystic symbols are written on the walls for a similar\npurpose. Love-philtres are everywhere used and in demand; and nameless\nabsurdities are committed to insure successful child-birth. The\nchild-witch, called _Um-el subyan_, is feared by all mothers; narcotics\nare used freely to quiet unruly infants and, naturally, mortality is\nvery large. Of surgery and midwifery the Arabs as a rule are totally\nignorant and if their medical-treatment is purely ridiculous their\nsurgery is piteously cruel, although never intentionally so. In all\neastern Arabia _blind_ women are preferred as midwives, and rock-salt\nis used by them against puerpural hemmorrhage. Gunshot-wounds are\ntreated in Bahrein by a poultice of dates, onions and tamarind; and the\naccident is guarded against in the future by wearing a \u201clead-amulet.\u201d\n\nThere are many other superstitions in no way connected with the\ntreatment of the sick. Tree-worship and stone-worship still exist in\nmany parts of Arabia in spite of the so-called \u201cpure monotheism\u201d of\nIslam. Both of these forms of worship date back to the time of idolatry\nand remain as they were partly by the sanction of Mohammed himself, for\ndid he not make a black-pebble in the Kaaba, the centre of his system\nof prayer? Sacred trees are called _Manahil_, places where angels or\njinn descend; no leaf of such trees may be plucked and they are honored\nwith sacrifices of shreds of flesh, while they look gay with bits of\ncalico and beads which every worshipper hangs on the shrine. Just\noutside of the Mecca gate at Jiddah stands one of these rag-trees with\nits crowd of pilgrims; in Yemen they are found by every wayside.[102]\n\n\n\n\n XXVIII\n\n THE STAR-WORSHIPPERS OF MESOPOTAMIA[103]\n\n \u201cIn a remote period of antiquity Sabeanism was diffused over Asia\n by the science of the Chaldeans and the arms of the Assyrians. They\n adored the seven gods or angels who directed the course of the seven\n planets and shed their irresistible influence on the earth.... They\n prayed thrice each day, and the temple of the moon at Haran was the\n term of their pilgrimage.\u201d\u2014_Gibbon._\n\n\nIn the towns along the lower Euphrates and Tigris, especially at Amara,\nSuk es Shiukh, Busrah and Mohammerah, there dwell an interesting\npeople, variously known as Sabeans, Nasorians, or St. John Christians.\nThey call themselves Mand\u00e6ans, and though numbering only four or five\nthousand, they are and have always been entirely distinct from the\nJews, Moslems and Christians among whom they have dwelt for centuries.\nTheir origin is lost in obscurity although the few scholars who have\nstudied the subject trace their history through the maze of their\nreligion to ancient Babylonia and Chaldea. In this remnant of a race\nand religion we seem to have an example of the oldest form of idolatry,\nStar-worship, and many of their mysterious customs may throw a\nside-light upon the cult of ancient Babylonia. Mand\u00e6ism is not only of\ndeep interest as \u201cthe only existing religion compounded of Christian,\nheathen and Jewish elements,\u201d[104] but it affords another proof of\nthe early spread of religious ideas in the East, and the Babylonian\norigin of much that is supposed to be Alexandrian Gnosticism in a\nsemi-Christian, semi-pagan garb.\n\nIn the English Bible the name _Sabeans_ is perplexing, and although\nused of three different tribes or peoples, none of these are any way\nrelated to the present Mand\u00e6ans unless those mentioned in Job. Sabean\nis also the term used in the Koran, where it undoubtedly applies to the\npeople and proves that when Islam arose their numbers and settlements\nwere far from unimportant. The Koran recognizes them as distinct from\nidolaters, and places them with Jews and Christians as people of the\nbook.[105] From this it is evident that the Sabeans could not have\nbeen, as some allege, a minor Christian sect or identical with the\nHemero-Baptists. Although giving special honor to John the Baptist,\n_they can in no sense be called Christians_.\n\nIsolated by a creed, cult and language of their own, the Sabeans[106]\nlove their isolation and do not intermarry with strangers nor accept\na proselyte to their faith. Nearly all of them follow one of three\ntrades. They raise the finest dairy produce of Mesopotamia; they build\na peculiar kind of light canoe, called _Mashhoof_, and all others\nare silver-smiths. No traveller should visit their villages without\ncarrying away specimens of their beautiful inlaid-work, black metal on\nsilver and gold. A peaceful people they are, industrious, though mostly\npoor and seldom affording trouble to their Turkish rulers. Both men\nand women have a remarkably fine physique; tall, of dark complexion,\ngood features, and with long black beards, some of the men are typical\npatriarchs, even as we imagine Abraham who left their present country\nfor Haran. On ordinary days their dress does not distinguish them from\nMoslems or Jews, but on feast days they wear only white. Their women go\nabout unveiled; they are rather taller and have a more masculine cast\nof features than Moslem women.\n\n_Specimens of_ MAND\u00c2ITIC CURSIVE-SCRIPT _with transliteration and\ntranslation_.\n\n [Mand\u00e2itic:] = \u00c0ssooda h\u0101vilak = peace be to you.\n\n [Mand\u00e2itic:] = kethk\u016dm skawee = how much is it?\n\n [Mand\u00e2itic:] = ana libba kabeelak = I love you much.\n\n [Mand\u00e2itic:] = kasbah we dahwah = silver and gold.\n\n [Mand\u00e2itic:] = hofshaba rabba = great day (Sunday)\n\n [Mand\u00e2itic:] = atran hofshaba = Monday.\n\n [Mand\u00e2itic:] = aklatha = Tuesday.\n\n [Mand\u00e2itic:] = arba = Wednesday\n\n [Mand\u00e2itic:] = hamsha = Thursday.\n\n [Mand\u00e2itic:] = shitta = Friday.\n\n [Mand\u00e2itic:] = shuvah = Saturday.\n\nThe two great things that distinguish the Sabeans are their language\nand their religion. Both are remarkable. The former because of its\nlong preservation among a dying people, and the latter as the most\nremarkable example of religious syncretism.\n\nNaturally the bazaar-talk of all the river-country is Arabic; all\nSabeans speak it and a goodly proportion read and write it; but beside\nthis they have a household language of their own, the language of their\nsacred books, which is called Mand\u00e2itic. It is so closely related to\nSyriac that it might almost be called a dialect, yet it has an alphabet\nand grammar of its own, and their writing and speech is not fully\nintelligible to the Syriac-speaking Christians from Mosul. Wright says\nthat their alphabet characters most resemble the Nabathean and their\nlanguage that of the Babylonian Talmud.[107] One peculiarity is the\nnaming of the letters with the \u0101 vowel and not as in other Semitic\nlanguages by special names. The oldest manuscripts of the Mand\u00e2itic\ndate from the sixteenth century, and are in European Libraries (Paris\nand Oxford). But according to N\u00f6ldeke the golden period of their\nliterature, when their religious books received their final and\npresent form, was 650-900 A. D. At present few can read or write their\nlanguage, although all can speak it, and from religious motives they\nrefuse to teach those outside of their faith even the first lesson,\nexcept secretly.\n\nAlthough meeting Sabeans for years and being their guest on frequent\njourneys up and down the rivers, I could find no satisfactory answer\nto the question what their real faith and cult were. The popular story\nthat they turn to the North Star when they pray and \u201cbaptise\u201d every\nSunday was all that Moslems or Christians could tell. Books of travel\ngave fragmentary, conflicting and often grossly erroneous statements.\nAccording to some accounts they were idolaters, others classed them\nwith Christians. An anonymous article in the London _Standard_, Oct.\n19, 1894, entitled, \u201cA prayer meeting of the Star-worshippers,\u201d\ncuriously gave me the key to open the lock of their silence. Whoever\nwrote it must have been perfectly acquainted with their religious\nceremonies, for when I translated it to a company of Sabeans at Amara\nthey were dumbfounded. Knowing that I knew _something_ made it easy for\nthem to tell me more. The article referred to was in part as follows:\n\n \u201cIt happens to be the festival of the Star-worshippers celebrated on\n the last day of the year and known as the _Kanshio Zahlo_, or day of\n renunciation. This is the eve of the new year, the great watch-night\n of the sect, when the annual prayer-meeting is held and a solemn\n sacrifice made to Avather Ramo, the Judge of the under world, and\n Ptahiel, his colleague; and the white-robed figures we observe down\n by the riverside are those of members of the sect making the needful\n preparations for the prayer-meeting and its attendant ceremonies.\n\n \u201cFirst, they have to erect their _Mishkna_, their tabernacle or\n outdoor temple; for the sect has, strange to say, no permanent house\n of worship or meeting-place, but raise one previous to their festival\n and only just in time for the celebration. And this is what they are\n now busy doing within a few yards of the water, as we ride into the\n place. The elders, in charge of a _shkando_, or deacon, who directs\n them, are gathering bundles of long reeds and wattles, which they\n weave quickly and deftly into a sort of basket work. An oblong space\n is marked out about sixteen feet long and twelve broad by stouter\n reeds, which are driven firmly into the ground close together, and\n then tied with strong cord. To these the squares of woven reeds and\n wattles are securely attached, forming the outer containing walls\n of the tabernacle. The side walls run from north to south, and are\n not more than seven feet high. Two windows, or rather openings for\n windows, are left east and west, and space for a door is made on the\n southern side, so that the priest when entering the edifice has\n the North Star, the great object of their adoration, immediately\n facing him. An altar of beaten earth is raised in the centre of the\n reed-encircled enclosure, and the interstices of the walls well daubed\n with clay and soft earth, which speedily hardens. On one side of the\n altar is placed a little furnace of dark earthenware, and on the\n other a little handmill, such as is generally used in the East for\n grinding meal, together with a small quantity of charcoal. Close to\n the southern wall, a circular basin is now excavated in the ground,\n about eight feet across, and from the river a short canal or channel\n is dug leading to it. Into this the water flows from the stream, and\n soon fills the little reservoir to the brim. Two tiny cabins or huts,\n made also of reeds and wickerwork, each just large enough to hold a\n single person, are then roughly put together, one by the side of the\n basin of water, the other at the further extremity of the southern\n wall, beyond the entrance. The second of these cabins or huts is\n sacred to the _Ganzivro_ or high priest of the Star-worshippers, and\n no layman is ever allowed to even so much as touch the walls with his\n hands after it is built and placed in position. The doorway and window\n openings of the edifice are now hung with white curtains; and long\n before midnight, the hour at which the prayer-meeting commences, the\n little _Mishkna_, or tabernacle open to the sky, is finished and ready\n for the solemnity.\n\n \u201cToward midnight the Star-worshippers, men and women, come slowly down\n to the _Mishkna_ by the riverside. Each, as he or she arrives, enters\n the tiny wattled hut by the southern wall, disrobes, and bathes in the\n little circular reservoir, the _tarmido_, or priest, standing by and\n pronouncing over each the formula, \u2018_Eshmo d\u2019ha\u00ef, Eshmo d\u2019manda ha\u00ef\n madhkar elakh_\u2019 (\u2018The name of the living one, the name of the living\n word, be remembered upon thee\u2019). On emerging from the water, each one\n robes him or herself in the _rasta_, the ceremonial white garments\n peculiar to the Star-worshippers, consisting of a _sadro_, a long\n white shirt reaching to the ground; a _nassifo_, or stole round the\n neck falling to the knees; a _hiniamo_, or girdle of woollen material;\n a _gabooa_, square headpiece, reaching to the eyebrows; a _shalooal_,\n or white over-mantle; and a _kanzolo_, or turban, wound round the\n _gabooa_ headpiece, of which one end is left hanging down over the\n shoulder. Peculiar sanctity attaches to the _rasta_, for the garments\n composing it are those in which every Star-worshipper is buried, and\n in which he believes he will appear for judgment before Avather in the\n nether world _Materotho_. Each one, as soon as he is thus attired,\n crosses to the open space in front of the door of the tabernacle, and\n seats himself upon the ground there, saluting those present with the\n customary _Sood Havilakh_, \u2018Blessing be with thee,\u2019 and receiving in\n return the usual reply, _Assootah d\u2019ha\u00ef havilakh_, \u2018Blessing of the\n living one be with thee.\u2019\n\n \u201cThe numbers increase as the hour of the ceremonial comes nearer, and\n by midnight there are some twenty rows of these white-robed figures,\n men and women, ranked in orderly array facing the _Mishkna_, and\n awaiting in silent expectation the coming of the priests. A couple\n of _tarmidos_, lamp in hand, guard the entry to the tabernacle, and\n keep their eyes fixed upon the pointers of the Great Bear in the sky\n above. As soon as these attain the position indicating midnight, the\n priests give a signal by waving the lamps they hold, and in a few\n moments the clergy of the sect march down in procession. In front are\n four of the _shkandos_, young deacons, attired in the _rasta_, with\n the addition of a silk cap, or _tagha_, under the turban, to indicate\n their rank. Following these come four _tarmidos_, ordained priests\n who have undergone the baptism of the dead. Each wears a gold ring on\n the little finger of the right hand, and carries a tau-shaped cross\n of olive wood to show his standing. Behind the _tarmidos_ comes the\n spiritual head of the sect, the _Ganzivro_, a priest elected by his\n colleagues who has made complete renunciation of the world and is\n regarded as one dead and in the realms of the blessed. He is escorted\n by four other deacons. One holds aloft the large wooden tau-cross,\n known as _derashvod zivo_, that symbolizes his religious office; a\n second bears the sacred scriptures of the Star-worshippers, the _Sidra\n Rabba_, \u201cthe great Order,\u201d two-thirds of which form the liturgy of the\n living and one-third the ritual of the dead. The third of the deacons\n carries two live pigeons in a cage, and the last a measure of barley\n and of sesame seeds.\n\n \u201cThe procession marches through the ranks of the seated worshippers,\n who bend and kiss the garments of the _Ganzivro_ as he passes near\n them. The _tarmidos_ guarding the entrance to the tabernacle draw back\n the hanging over the doorway and the priests file in, the deacons and\n _tarmidos_ to right and left, leaving the _Ganzivro_ standing alone\n in the centre, in front of the earthen altar facing the North Star,\n Polaris. The sacred book _Sidra Rabba_ is laid upon the altar folded\n back where the liturgy of the living is divided from the ritual of\n the dead. The high priest takes one of the live pigeons handed to him\n by a _shkando_, extends his hands toward the Polar Star upon which he\n fixes his eyes, and lets the bird fly, calling aloud, \u2018_Bshmo d\u2019ha\u00ef\n rabba mshabbah zivo kadmaya Elaha Edmen Nafshi Eprah_,\u2019 \u2018In the name\n of the living one, blessed be the primitive light, the ancient light,\n the Divinity self-created.\u2019 The words, clearly enunciated within, are\n distinctly heard by the worshippers without, and with one accord the\n white-robed figures rise from their places and prostrate themselves\n upon the ground toward the North Star, on which they have silently\n been gazing.\n\n \u201cNoiselessly the worshippers resume their seated position on the\n ground outside. Within the _Mishkna_, or tabernacle, the _Ganzivro_\n steps on one side, and his place is immediately taken by the senior\n priest, a _tarmido_, who opens the _Sidra Rabba_ before him on the\n altar and begins to read the _Shomhotto_, \u2018confession\u2019 of the sect, in\n a modulated chant, his voice rising and falling as he reads, and ever\n and anon terminating in a loud and swelling _Mshobbo havi eshmakhyo\n Manda d\u2019ha\u00ef_, \u2018Blessed be thy name, O source of life,\u2019 which the\n congregants without take up and repeat with bowed heads, their hands\n covering their eyes.\n\n \u201cWhile the reading is in progress two other priests turn, and prepare\n the _Peto elayat_, or high mystery, as they term their Communion. One\n kindles a charcoal fire in the earthenware stove by the side of the\n altar, and the other grinds small some of the barley brought by the\n deacon. He then expresses some oil from the sesame seed, and, mixing\n the barley meal and oil, prepares a mass of dough which he kneads and\n separates into small cakes the size of a two-shilling piece. These\n are quickly thrust into or on the oven and baked, the chanting of the\n liturgy of the _Shomhotto_ still proceeding with its steady sing-song\n and response, _Mshobbo havi eshmakhyo_, from outside. The fourth\n of the _tarmidos_ now takes the pigeon left in the cage from the\n _shkando_, or deacon, standing near him, and cuts its throat quickly\n with a very sharp knife, taking care that no blood is lost. The little\n cakes are then brought to him by his colleague, and, still holding\n the dying pigeon, he strains its neck over them in such a way that\n four drops fall on each one so as to form the sacred _tau_, or cross.\n Amid the continued reading of the liturgy, the cakes are carried round\n to the worshippers outside by the two principal priests who prepared\n them, who themselves pop them direct into the mouths of the members,\n with the words \u2018_Rshimot bereshm d\u2019ha\u00ef_,\u2019 \u2018Marked be thou with the\n mark of the living one.\u2019 The four deacons inside the _Mishkna_ walk\n round to the rear of the altar and dig a little hole, in which the\n body of the dead pigeon is then buried.\n\n \u201cThe chanting of the confession is now closed by the officiating\n _tarmido_, and the high priest, the _Ganzivro_, resuming his former\n place in front of the Sacred Book, begins the recitation of the\n _Massakhto_, or \u2018renunciation\u2019 of the dead, ever directing his prayers\n toward the North Star, on which the gaze of the worshippers outside\n continues fixed throughout the whole of the ceremonial observances\n and prayers. This star is the _Olma d\u2019noora_, literally \u2018the world\n of light,\u2019 the primitive sun of the Star-worshippers\u2019 theogony, the\n paradise of the elect, and the abode of the pious hereafter. For\n three hours the reading of the \u2018renunciation\u2019 by the high priest\n continues, interrupted only, ever and anon, by the _Mshobbo havi\n eshmakhyo_, \u2018Blessed be thy name,\u2019 of the participants seated outside,\n until, toward dawn, a loud and ringing _Ano asborlakh ano asborli ya\n Avather_, \u2018I mind me of thee, mind thou of me O Avather,\u2019 comes from\n the mouth of the priest, and signalizes the termination of the prayers.\n\n \u201cBefore the North Star fades in the pale ashen grey of approaching\n dawn, a sheep, penned over night near the river, is led into the\n tabernacle by one of the four _shkandos_ for sacrifice to Avather and\n his companion deity, Ptahiel. It is a wether, for the Star-worshippers\n never kill ewes, or eat their flesh when killed. The animal is laid\n upon some reeds, its head west and its tail east, the _Ganzivro_\n behind it facing the Star. He first pours water over his hands, then\n over his feet, the water being brought to him by a deacon. One of the\n _tarmidos_ takes up a position at his elbow and places his hand on\n the _Ganzivro\u2019s_ shoulder, saying _Ana shaddakh_, \u2018I bear witness.\u2019\n The high priest bends toward the North Star, draws a sharp knife from\n his left side, and, reciting the formula, \u2018In the name of Alaha,\n Ptahiel created thee, Hibel Sivo permitted thee, and it is I who slay\n thee,\u2019 cuts the sheep\u2019s throat from ear to ear, and allows the blood\n to escape on to the matted reeds upon which the animal is stretched\n out. The four deacons go outside, wash their hands and feet, then flay\n the sheep, and cut it into as many portions as there are communicants\n outside. The pieces are now distributed among the worshippers, the\n priests leave the tabernacle in the same order as they came, and with\n a parting benediction from the _Ganzivro_, _Assootad d\u2019hai havilakh_,\n \u2018The benison of the living one attend thee,\u2019 the prayer-meeting\n terminates, and the Star-worshippers quietly return to their homes\n before the crimson sun has time to peep above the horizon.\u201d\n\nWhat a mosaic of ceremonies and what a mixed cult in this river-bank\nprayer-meeting! The Sabeans of Amara tell me that every minute\nparticular is correctly described, and yet themselves do not furnish\nthe clew to the maze. Here one sees Judaism, Islam and Christianity, as\nit were engrafted on one old Chaldean trunk. Gnosticism, star-worship,\nbaptisms, love-feast, sacrifice, ornithomancy and what not in one\nconfusion. The pigeon sacrifice closely corresponds outwardly to\nthat of the Mosaic law concerning the cleansing of a leper and his\nbelongings and is perhaps borrowed from that source.[108] But how\nAnti-Jewish is the partaking of blood and the star-worship.[109] The\ncross of blood seems a Christian element, as does also the communion of\nbread, but from a New Testament standpoint this is in discord with all\nthat precedes.\n\nNevertheless a complete system of dogma lies behind this curious cult\nand one can never understand the latter without the former. Sabeanism\nis _a book religion_; and it has such a mass of sacred literature\nthat few have ever had the patience to examine even a part of it.\nThe _Sidra Rabba_, or Great Book, holds the first place. The copy I\nexamined contains over five hundred large quarto pages of text divided\ninto two parts, a \u201cright\u201d and a \u201cleft hand\u201d testament; they begin at\ndifferent ends of the book and they are bound together so that when\none reads the \u201c_right_,\u201d the \u201c_left_\u201d testament is upside-down. The\nother name for the Great Book is _Ginza_, Treasure. It is from this\ntreasure-house that we chiefly gather the elements of their cosmogony\nand mythology.[110]\n\nFirst of all things was Pera Rabba the great Abyss. With him \u201cShining\nether\u201d and the Spirit of Glory (_Mana Rabba_) form a primal triad,\nsimilar to the Gnostic and ancient Accadian triads. Kessler goes so far\nas to say that it is the same. From Mana Raba who is the king of light,\nemanates _Yardana Rabba_, the great Jordan. (This is an element of\nGnosticism) Mana Rabba called into being the first of the \u00e6ons, Primal\nLife, or _Hayye kadema_. This is really the chief deity of the Sabeans,\nand all their prayers begin by invoking him. From him again proceed\nsecondary emanations, _Yushamim_ (_i.e._, Jah of heaven) and _Manda\nHayye_, messenger of life. This latter is the mediator of their system,\nand from him all those that accept his mediation are called _Mand\u00e4ee_.\nYushamim was punished for attempting to raise himself above Primal\nLight, and now rules the world of inferior light. Manda still \u201crests\nin the bosom of Primal light\u201d (_cf._ John i. 18), and had a series\nof incarnations beginning with Abel (Hibil) and ending with John the\nBaptist! Besides all these there is yet a third life called \u2019_Ateeka_,\nwho created the bodies of Adam and Eve, but could not give them spirit\nor make them stand upright. If the Babylonian trinity or triad has its\ncounterpart in the Mand\u00e4en _Pera_, _Ayar_ and _Mana Rabba_, then _Manda\nHayye_ is clearly nothing but the old Babylonian Marduk (Merodach),\nfirstborn, mediator and redeemer. _Hibil_, the first incarnation of\nManda, also has a contest with darkness in the underworld even as\nMarduk with the dragon Tiamat.\n\nThe Sabean underworld has its score of rulers, among others these rank\nfirst: _Zartay_, _Zartanay_, _Hag_, _Mag_, _Gaf_, _Gafan_, _Anatan_\nand _Kin_, with hells and vestibules in plenteous confusion. Hibil\ndescends here, and from the fourth vestibule carries away the female\ndevil _Ruha_ the daughter of Kin. This Ruha, Kessler affirms, is really\nan anti-Christian parody of the Holy Spirit, but from conversation\nwith the Sabeans I cannot believe this to be true. By her own son _Ur_\nRuha becomes the mother of all the planets and signs of the zodiac.\nThese are the source and controllers of all evil in the world and\nmust therefore be propitiated. But the sky and fixed stars are pure\nand clear, the abode of Light. The central sun is the Polar Star,\nwith jewelled crown standing before the door of Abath\u016br, or \u201cfather\nof the splendors.\u201d These \u201csplendors,\u201d \u00e6ons, or primary manifestations\nof deity, are said to number three hundred and sixty, (a Semitic way\nof expressing many), with names borrowed from the Parsee angelology\n(Zoroastrianism). The Mand\u00e6ans consider all the Old Testament saints\nexcept Abel and Seth false prophets (Gnosticism).[111] True religion\nwas professed by the ancient Egyptians, who, they say, were their\nancestors. Another false prophet was _Yishu Mashiha_ (Jesus Christ),\nwho was in fact an incarnation of the planet Mercury. John the Baptist,\n_Yahya_, appeared forty-two years before Christ and was really an\nincarnation of Manda as was Hibil. He baptized at Jordan, and, by\nmistake also administered the rite to Jesus.\n\nAbout 200 A. D., they say, there came into the world 60,000 saints\nfrom Pharaoh\u2019s host and took the place of the Mand\u00e6ans who had been\nextirpated. Is not this a possible allusion to the spread of the\nGnostic heresy and the coalescence of certain Gnostics with the\nthen Sabean community? They say that their high priest then had his\nresidence at Damascus; that is, their centre of religion was between\nAlexandria and Antioch, the two schools of Gnosticism.\n\nMohammed, according to their system, was the last false prophet, but\nhe was divinely kept from harming them, and they flourished to such an\nextent that at the time of the Abbasides they had four hundred centres\nof worship in Babylonia.\n\nThe Mand\u00e6an priesthood has three grades; _tarmida_ or _ta\u2019amida_\n(\u201cdisciple\u201d or \u201cbaptism\u201d), _shkanda_ (\u201cdeacons\u201d), and the _Ganzivra_\n(\u201chigh priest,\u201d literally the keeper of the Ginza or Great Book). The\nlate Ganzivra was Sheikh Yahya, a man of parts and well-versed in\ntheir literature, who long lived at Suk-es-Shiukh. Their present high\npriest is called Sheikh Sahn and was at one time imprisoned at Busrah\non charge of fomenting a rebellion of the Arab tribes near Kurna at the\njunction of the Tigris and Euphrates.\n\nThe Sabeans observe six great feasts beside their weekly sabbath\n(Sunday). One of the feasts celebrates the victory of Abel in the world\nof darkness, another the drowning of Pharaoh\u2019s army, but the chief\nfeast, _Pantsha_, is one of Baptism. It is observed in summer, and all\nSabeans are obliged to be baptized by sprinkling three times a day for\nfive days. The regular Sunday baptisms by immersion in running water\nare largely voluntary and meritorious: these latter correspond to the\nMoslem laws of purifications and take place after touching a dead body,\nthe birth of a child, marriage, etc.\n\nThe moral code of the Sabeans is that of the Old Testament in nearly\nevery particular. Polygamy is allowed to the extent of five wives, and\nis even recommended in the Sidra Rabba but is seldom indulged in. They\ndo not circumcise; this is important, proving that they are not of\nArab origin. They have no holy places or churches except those we have\ndescribed which are built for a single night on the riverside.\n\nThe story that they go on pilgrimage to Haran[112] and visit the\nPyramids as the tomb of Seth[113] is apparently a myth. They are\nfriendly to Christians of all sects and love to give the impression\nthat because they honor the Baptist they are more closely related to\nus than are the Jews and Moslems. Of course they deny that they do not\naccept Jesus as a true Prophet, as they do all those other articles of\ntheir belief, which they deem wisest or safest to keep concealed.\n\nAll our investigations end as we began, by finding that the Sabeans\n\u201cworship that which they know not,\u201d and profess a creed whose origin\nis hidden from them and whose elements, gathered from the four corners\nof the earth, are as diverse as they are incongruous. Who is able to\nclassify these elements or among so much heterogeneous _d\u00e9bris_ dig\ndown to the original foundations of the structure? If we could, would\nwe not, as in so many other cases, come back to Babylonia and the\nmonuments?\n\n[Illustration: Page of script]\n\n\n\n\n XXIX\n\n EARLY CHRISTIANITY IN ARABIA\n\n \u201cAnd some fell among thorns.\u201d\u2014_Matthew_ xiii. 7.\n\n \u201cBut while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat\n and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up and brought\n forth fruit then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the\n house-holder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good\n seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them,\n An enemy hath done this.\u201d\u2014_Matthew_ xiii. 25-28.\n\n\nIt is recorded in the Acts of the apostles that Arabians, or Arabian\nproselytes, were present at the Jewish feast of Pentecost. We must\ntherefore go back to Apostolic times to find the beginnings of\nChristianity in Arabia. Whether these Arabians were from the northern\npart of the peninsula bordering on Syria, from the dominions of the\nArabian king Hareth (Aretas), or came as Jewish proselytes from distant\nJewish colonies of Yemen, must ever remain uncertain. In any case they\ndoubtless carried back to their homes something of the Pentecostal\nmessage or blessing. The New Testament references to Arabia are not\ndisconnected and unique, but stand in closest relation to the whole Old\nTestament revelation of God\u2019s dealings with Ishmael and his descendants.\n\nIn Paul\u2019s letter to the Galatians,[114] he writes, \u201cNeither went I\nup to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went to\nArabia, and returned again unto Damascus.\u201d What did the great apostle\nto the Gentiles do in Arabia? A consideration of this question will\ngive us a better standpoint to review the later rise of Christianity\nnot only in North Arabia, but in Nejran and Yemen. \u201cA veil of thick\ndarkness,\u201d says Lightfoot, \u201changs over St. Paul\u2019s visit to Arabia.\u201d\nThe particular part of Arabia visited, the length of his stay, the\nmotive of his going, the route taken and what he did there,\u2014all is\nleft untold. We can draw the map and tell the story of all but the\nfirst great journey of the apostle. Certainly the first journey of the\nnew Saul of Tarsus cannot have been without some great purpose. The\nprobable length of his stay, which is by some put at only six months,\nbut which may have been two years,[115] would also indicate some\nimportance in the event.\n\nVisions and revelations to this Elijah and Moses of the new\ndispensation there may have been while he tarried in the desert, but\nit is scarcely probable to suppose that at this critical juncture in\nearly church history so long a time should have been occupied with\nthese only. Therefore, we find the earliest commentators of the opinion\nthat Paul\u2019s visit to Arabia was his first missionary journey, and\nthat he \u201cconferred not with flesh and blood,\u201d but went into Arabia\nto preach the gospel.[116] \u201cSee how fervent was his soul,\u201d says\nChrysostom, \u201che was eager to occupy lands yet untilled, he forthwith\nattacked a barbarous and savage people, choosing a life of conflict and\nmuch toil.\u201d The idea that Paul went to preach immediately after his\nconversion is natural; and that he should, as the Gentile apostle, seek\nfirst that race which was also a son of Abraham and heir of many Old\nTestament promises and whose representatives were present at Pentecost,\nis not improbable.\n\nBut if Paul went to Arabia and preached the gospel, where and to\nwhom did he go? A certain reply to these questions is unattainable\nsince revelation is silent, but (1) The place was most probably the\nSinaitic peninsula, or the region east of Sinai (Rawlinson). (2) There\nis more than one reason to hold with Jerome and later writers that he\nwent to a tribe where his mission was unsuccessful as regards visible\nresults. (3) The only people of the desert then, as now, were Arab\nBedouin, and of the probability that Paul also knew their life and\ncustoms, Robertson Smith gives a curious illustration in an allusion to\nGalations vi. 17, when speaking of tattoo marks in religion.[117]\n\nNow was there an Arab tribe in the days of Paul, in the region\nsouthwest of Damascus, to whom a missionary came with a new and strange\nmessage which was not favorably received, and yet whom and whose\nmessage those Arabs could not forget?\n\nWe find a curious legend taken up with other nomad d\u00e9bris into the\nmaelstrom of Mohammed\u2019s mutterings that may help to answer the\nquestion. It is about the Nebi Salih or \u201cgood prophet,\u201d who came to\nthe people of Thamud,[118] and whose person and mission is as much a\nmystery to Moslem commentators as Paul\u2019s visit to Arabia is to us.\nEuropean critics suggest his identity with Shelah of Genesis xi. 13!\nbut etymology and chronology both afford the most meagre basis. Palmer\noffers a theory that Nebi Salih is none other than the \u201crighteous\nprophet\u201d Moses;[119] but the difficulty is that this puts the legend\ntoo far back in history. It is not probable that the people of Thamud\n\u201chewed out mountains into houses,\u201d such as are found to-day as early as\nin the days of Moses. Nor does Old Testament indicate a time when Moses\nwent to Arabs with a Divine message. Moreover, the legend is evidently\na _local_ one that came to the knowledge of Mohammed, or it would\nhave been better known to him who borrowed so largely from the former\nprophets; and if it is a _local_ legend, it is not a legend of Moses,\nfor he is mentioned more than seventy-seven times in the Koran, and\nhis story was well known in Arabia, at least as far as Yemen.\n\nThe pith of the legend underlies the bark; what says the Koran? Nebi\nSalih came as a \u201cbrother,\u201d[120] and said, \u201cO, my people, worship God.\nYe have no God but Him.[121] There has come to you an evident sign\nfrom your Lord.[122] ... And remember how He made you vice-regents\nafter \u2019Ad, and stablished you in the earth ... and remember the\nbenefits of God.[123] Said the chiefs of those who were big with\npride _from amongst his people_ (Pharisees or Jews from Damascus?) to\nthose who believed amongst them: Do ye know that Salih is sent from\nhis Lord? (_i. e._, his Lord is not your true God). They said, We do\nbelieve in that with which He is sent, (gospel?) \u201cSaid those who were\nbig with pride, Verily, in what ye do believe we disbelieve.\u201d The\npassage is again significant: \u201cAnd he turned away from them (back to\nDamascus?) and said, O, my people, I did preach unto you the message\nof my Lord,[124] and I gave you good advice, but ye love not sincere\nadvisers.\u201d Does not this story have points of contact with what might\nhave been the experiences of a man like Paul among such a people?\n\nThe fact that there is a so-called tomb of Nebi Salih at El Watiyeh\n(Palmer) does not weigh much for or against any theory as to the\nidentity of the prophet. Arabia has tombs of Job on the Upper\nEuphrates, of Eve at Jiddah, of Cain at Aden, and of other \u201cprophets\u201d\nwhere there is a demand for it. But it is interesting to learn from the\nlearned author of _The Desert of the Exodus_: \u201cThe origin and history\nof Nebi Salih is quite unknown to the present Bedouin inhabitants, but\nthey nevertheless regard him with more national veneration than even\nMoses himself.\u201d If revered more than Moses, why not was he later than\nMoses\u2014greater than Moses\u2014even _Saul of Tarsus_? Whether this theory be\nonly far-fetched or whether it has confirmation in the early spread of\nChristianity in North Arabia the sequel may show.\n\nHistorical Christianity in Arabia had two centres, so that the study\nof its early rise and progress takes us first to the tribes furthest\nnorth, in the kingdoms of Hirah and Ghassan and then to fertile Yemen\nand Nejran.\n\nDespite the growth of the Roman Empire eastward in the days of Pompey,\nthe Arabs of Syria and Palmyra retained their independence and resisted\nall encroachment. Under Odenathus the Palmyrene kingdom flourished,\nand reached the zenith of its power under his wife and successor, the\ncelebrated Zenobia. She was defeated by Aurelian, and Palmyra and its\ndependencies became a province of the Roman Empire. It is natural\ntherefore to expect that Christianity was introduced into this region\nat an early period. Such was the case. Agbarus, so celebrated in the\nannals of the early church, was a prince of the territory of Edessa\nand Christianity had made some progress in the desert in the time\nof Arnobius.[125] Bishops of Bostra, in Northwest Arabia (not to be\nconfounded with Busrah), are mentioned as having been present at the\nNicene council (325 A. D.) with five other Arabian bishops.[126] The\nArabian historians speak of the tribe of Ghassan as attached to the\nChristian faith centuries before the Hegira. It was of this tribe that\nthe proverb became current: \u201cThey were lords in the days of ignorance\nand stars of Islam.\u201d They held sway over the desert east of Palestine\nand of Southern Syria. The name of Mavia or Muaviah is mentioned by\necclesiastical writers as an Arab queen who was converted to the faith\nand in consequence formed an alliance with the emperor and accepted a\nChristian Bishop, named Moses, ordained by the primate of Alexandria.\nHer conversion took place about A. D. 372. Thus we find that the\nprogress of Christianity increased in proportion as the Arabs became\nmore intimately connected with the Romans.\n\nAn unfortunate circumstance for the progress of Christianity in North\nArabia was its location between the rival powers of Rome and Persia. It\nwas a sort of buffer-state and suffered from both sides. The Persian\nmonarchs persecuted the Christian Arabs and one of their Arab allies, a\npagan, called Naaman, forbade all intercourse with Christians, on the\npart of his subjects. This edict we are told[127] was occasioned by the\nsuccess of the example and preaching of Simeon Stylites, the pillar\nsaint, celebrated in Tennyson\u2019s picture-poem. This desert-friar who was\nhimself an Arab by birth, was a preacher after the heart of the stern,\naustere, half-starved Bedouin. His fame spread even into far-off Arabia\nFelix.[128] The stern edict of Naaman was withdrawn, however, and he\nhimself was only prevented from embracing the faith by his fear of the\nPersian king.\n\nAmong the first monks to preach to the nomad tribes was Euthymius who\nseems to have been a medical missionary working miracles of healing\namong the ignorant Bedouins. One of the converted Arabs, Aspebetus,\ntook the name of Peter, was \u201cconsecrated\u201d by Juvenal, patriarch\nof Jerusalem, and became the first bishop of the tribes in the\nneighborhood of Southern Palestine.\n\nThe progress or even the existence of Christianity in the kingdom\nof Hirah seems to have been always uncertain as it was dependent on\nthe favor of the Khosroes of Persia. Some of the Arabs at Hirah and\nKufa were Christian as early as 380 A. D. One of the early converts,\nNoman abu Kamus, proved the sincerity of his faith by melting down a\ngolden statue of the Arabian Venus, worshipped by his tribe, and by\ndistributing the proceeds among the poor. Many of the tribe followed\nhis example and were baptized.[129] To understand the importance of\nthis spread of Christianity in North Arabia we must remember that this\nwas the age of caravans and not of navigation. Palmyra, the centre of\nthe trade from the Persian Gulf, owed its importance and power to the\ntrans-Arabian traffic with Persia and the East. Irak and Mesopotamia\nwere then a part of Arabia and were ruled by Arabian dynasties.\n\nIt was in Southwestern Arabia, however, that Christianity exerted even\ngreater power and made still larger conquests. We cannot but wish that\nthe story of its success, trials and extinction had been given us in\nsome purer form with more of the gospel and less of ecclesiasticism.\nHad that early Christianity been gold instead of glitter it would not\nhave perished so easily in the furnace of persecution or disappeared so\nutterly before the tornado-blast of Islam.\n\nThe picture of the Christian church of this period (323-692 A. D.) as\ndrawn by faithful historians is dark indeed. \u201cMore and more the church\nbecame assimilated and conformed to the world, church discipline grew\nlax, and moral decay made rapid progress. Passionate contentions,\nquarrels and schisms among bishops and clergy filled also public\nlife with party-strife, animosity and bitterness. The immorality\nof the court poisoned the capital and the provinces. Savagery and\nlicentiousness grew rampant.... Hypocrisy and bigotry took the place\nof piety among those who strove after something higher, while the\nmasses consoled themselves with the reflection that every man could\nnot be a monk.... The shady side of this period is dark enough but a\nbright side and noble personages of deep piety, moral earnestness,\nresolute denial of self and the world are certainly not wanting.\u201d[130]\nNot only was religious life at a low level in all parts of christendom\nbut heresies were continually springing up to disturb the peace or to\nintroduce gigantic errors. Arabia was at one time called \u201cthe mother\nof heresies.\u201d The most flagrant example was that of the Collyridians,\nin the fourth century, which consisted in a heathenish distortion of\nmariolatry. Cakes were offered to the Holy Virgin, as in heathen times\nto Ceres.\n\nAt what time Christianity was first introduced into Arabia Felix is\nuncertain. This part of Arabia was in a measure shut off from the\nworld of the Romans until the expedition of \u00c6lius Gallus. Before the\ncoming of Christianity the Yemenites were either idolaters or Sabeans.\nThe large numbers of Jews in Yemen was an additional obstacle to the\nearly spread of the faith as they were always bitterly hostile to\nthe missionaries. The legend that St. Bartholomew preached in Yemen\non his way to India need not be considered; nor the more probable\none of Frumentius and his success as first bishop to Himyar. In the\nreign of Constantius, Theophilus, the deacon of Nicomedia, a zealous\nArian, was sent by the emperor to attend a magnificent embassy to the\ncourt of Himyar and is said to have prevailed on the Arabian king to\nembrace Christianity. He built three churches in different parts of\nYemen, at Zaphar, Aden and Sana, as well as at Hormuz in the Persian\nGulf. No less than four bishoprics were established and the tribes\nof Rabia Ghassan, and Kodaa were won to the faith. Ibn Khalikan, the\nArabian historian, enumerates as Christian tribes, the Bahrah, Tanoukh\nand Taglab. In Nejran, north of Sana, and Yathrib there were also\nChristians.\n\nArabian idolatry was very tolerant and afforded throughout the\nthird and fourth centuries an equally safe asylum to the persecuted\nZoroastrians, Jews and Christians who settled in various parts of the\nPeninsula. The kings of Himyar were themselves idolaters but allowed\nevery other sect great freedom, including the Christians. But no sooner\ndid the followers of Judaism gain power than persecution began. About\nthe year 560, Dzu Nowass, ruler of Himyar, revolted against his lord\nthe Abyssinian king, Elesbaan, and, instigated by the Jews, began to\npersecute the Christians. All who refused to renounce their faith were\nput to death without respect of age or sex, and the villages of Nejran\nwere given over to plunder. Large pits were dug, filled with fuel, and\nmany thousands of monks and virgins were committed to the flames.\n\nSpeedy punishment, however, overtook Dzu Nowass when the Abyssinian\nhosts invaded Yemen. The Christian conquerors avenged the massacre on\nits perpetrators, the Jews, with heathen fury. The whole fertile tract\nwas once more a scene of bloodshed and devastation. The churches built\nbefore the days of Dzu Nowass were again rebuilt on the site of their\nruins and new bishops were appointed in place of the martyrs. A short,\nthough desperate, civil war, resulting in the proclamation of Abraha\nas king of Yemen, did not disturb the steady growth of Christianity.\nPaying tribute only to the Abyssinian crown, and at peace with all the\nArab tribes, Abraha was loved for his justice and moderation by all his\nsubjects and idolized by the Christians for his burning zeal in their\nreligion. Large numbers of Jews, convinced by a public dispute and a\nmiracle at Dhafar, were baptized. Many idolaters were added to the\nchurch; new schemes of benevolence were inaugurated; the foundations\nwere being laid for a magnificent cathedral at Sana; in short Christian\nYemen seemed at the dawn of its Golden Age in the year 567 A. D.\n\nWhat delayed its coming and how did the power of Abraha lose its\nprestige? The story is gleaned from Moslem and Christian writers; it\nis the last sad chapter in the short history of early Christianity in\nArabia and the preface to the chronicles of Islam. So important is it\nconsidered that the synopsis of it is embodied in the Koran for the\nperpetual delight of Moslems. (Surah of the Elephant.)\n\nIn the early fall of the year 568, the caravans of Arabs, which came\nalong the level road leading from Rhoda, bordered with rich vineyards\nand fig-orchards, stopped, on entering Sana, because of a crowd that\nstood gazing at a large piece of parchment nailed on the side wall of\nthe entrance to the city. It was a royal proclamation written in large\nHimyaritic letters. A townsman in the long dress of a public teacher\nstood before it and read aloud to the motley crowd that paused as\nthey came to morning market from the neighboring villages. Stately\ncamels, bearing huge loads of dates, were urged by their drivers, who\ngood-humoredly exchanged greetings with their Christian brethren;\ndonkeys, nearly hidden between baskets of luscious grapes, jostled a\ngroup of Jewish money-changers sitting in the gate; a score of women,\ndark-eyed and in picturesque peasant dress, were carrying their empty\ngerbies to the wells\u2014but one and all moved with curiosity, stood for a\nmoment to listen.\n\nThe presbyter, for such he was, read as follows:\n\n\u201cI, Ibraha, by the grace of God and Jesus Christ our Saviour, king of\nYemen, taking counsel and advice of the good Gregentius, bishop of\nDhafar, and having completed the building of the cathedral to the glory\nof God and in memory of our victory over the idolaters, do now and\nhereby proclaim that all the Arab tribes who annually visit the heathen\nshrine at Mecca, are expected to cease going thither and to come with\ntheir caravans of merchandise to worship the true God, on a shorter and\nmore convenient journey to our magnificent church at Sana, the capital,\non penalty of a levy to be put by me on all caravans of tribes that\nrefuse to obey this proclamation. And be it furthermore known to all\nthe tribes of Koreish....\u201d The reader was rudely interrupted by a party\nof Bedouin who drove their dromedaries right through the gate and up\nthe street with such fury that some of the crowd barely escaped being\nrun over.\n\n\u201cIt is a troop of those accursed Kenanehs,\u201d said Ibn Choza to his\ncompanion. \u201cThey were born without manners\u2014wild asses of the desert.\u201d\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered the other; \u201cand who insult our good king with their\nnickname of El Ashram,\u2014the split nosed,\u2014because of the scar that\nremains since his encounter with the heathen Aryat.\u201d \u201cIf such as these,\nAbood, do not obey this latest order from our Christian king, we\u2019ll try\nthe spears of my Modarites, and then woe betide their caravans of semn\nand their fertile palms. Not all the three hundred gods of the Kaabeh\ncould save them from the righteous wrath of Abraha.\u201d\n\nThe new cathedral, whose ruined foundations yet testify as to its size\nand solidity, had been completed for some months, and on the morrow\nthe good bishop was expected from Dhafar to preach to the crowds that\nthronged Yemen\u2019s capital at the feast. This year more strangers than\never before crowded the markets; many were come, in obedience to the\nproclamation, even from distant Yathrib and from beyond Nejran, to\nengage in commerce and religion at once,\u2014the universal custom of the\nArabs. The autumn rains were over and a fresh breeze from Jebel Nokum\nincreased the cold, felt by such strangers especially, as came for the\nfirst time from the hot coast to an elevation of 9,000 feet.\n\nNight fell on the towers and palaces of Sana, and there was no light in\nthe streets except that of stars shining with northern brilliancy from\nbetween drifting clouds. Just before midnight, a solitary Arab hurried\nalong one of the narrow paths, too narrow to be called a street, which\nled from the caravanseri to the church. His face and form were wrapped\nin a long sheepskin cloak, but his erect bearing, vigorous step, and\nthe carved silver handle of the curved dagger, half hidden in his\nbelt, betrayed one of the Kenaneh tribe. Stealthily looking around,\nhe stopped before one of the windows of the cathedral; lifted himself\nto the granite ledge, dextrously used his dagger to remove one of the\nlarge panes of talc-stone (still used in all Sana), and jumped inside.\nHe lingered only a few moments, came out as he went in, and hurried off\ntoward the way of the North gate.\n\nOn the morrow a cry arose from the early worshippers, carried on the\nlips of every Christian in Sana, till it echoed through market and\nstreet: \u201c_Abraha\u2019s church has been defiled!_ Dung is on the altar, and\nthe holy cross is smeared with ordure! \u2019Tis the work of the accursed\nKenaneh\u2014the signal of revolt for the idolaters of the North!\u201d There was\ntumult in Sana. In vain Gregentius endeavored to quiet the populace\nby his eloquence. Adding fuel to the flame, came the news on the\nsame day of the defeat of the Modarites and the death of Ibn Choza,\nwhom the king had sent on an expedition to a rebellious tribe in Wady\nDauasir. Abraha\u2019s wrath was doubly inflamed by the profanation of his\nchurch and the death of his captain. He publicly vowed to annihilate\nthe idolatrous Koreish, as well as the Kenaneh, and to demolish their\ntemple at Mecca. Before nightfall that vow was the rallying-cry in the\nsoldiers\u2019 quarter and the toast in every Jewish wine shop of Sana.\n\nThe expedition was soon on its way. Abraha rode foremost, seated on\nhis milk-white elephant, caparisoned with plates of gold. On his head\nwas a linen cap covered with gold embroidery, and from which descended\nfour chains. He wore a loose tunic covered with pearls and Yemen akeek\nstone, over his usual dress; while his muscular arms and short neck\nwere almost hidden with bracelets and chains of gold in the Abyssinian\npattern; for arms he had a shield and spears. After him came a band\nof musicians, and then the nobles and warriors, under command of\nthe valiant Kais. Than him no better leader could have been chosen.\nMourning the untimely death of his brother, Ibn Choza, slain by the\ntreacherous arrow of Orwa, he sought a personal revenge even more than\nthe honor of his religion and his king, and was prepared to risk all\nin fulfillment of the expedition. The army, increased by volunteers\nat every village on their route, by forced marches over two hundred\nmiles of mountain road, reached Jebel Orra, weary and footsore. What is\nonly a usual journey to the Bedouin of the North, was a succession of\nhardships to the Yemen troops, accustomed as they were to mountain air,\nplenty of water and the rich fertility of their native valleys. No less\ndid the herd of elephants suffer from the fatigue of distance and the\nscarcity of pasturage and water. Every day the advance was made with\nincreasing difficulty.\n\nMeanwhile the Koreish had not been idle. Rumor never runs faster than\nin the desert. All those who loved Mecca, that oldest historic centre\nof all Western Arabia, rallied to the standard of the Koreish. It was\nthe Kaaba, with its three hundred and sixty idols, against the Cross.\nNo sooner was Abraha\u2019s approach known, than Dzu Neffer, Ibn Habib\nand other chiefs at the head of the tribes of Hamedan and Chethamah\ngathered to oppose the advance. A desperate conflict followed, but the\ncamels were frightened at the sight of the elephants, nor could the\ndesert Arabs withstand an assault of such large numbers.\n\nThe news of defeat struck the Koreish with the greatest consternation,\nand Abd-ul-Mutalib, grandfather of the future prophet, who was guardian\nof the Kaaba, took council with all the chiefs of the allies. A swift\nmessenger was sent to Abraha offering a third part of the wealth of\nall Hejaz as a ransom for the sacred Beit Ullah. The king, however,\nwas inflexible, and his followers cried: \u201cVengeance for the desecrated\nCross in our sanctuary! No ransom from the idolaters! Down with the\nKaaba!\u201d Finally Abd-ul-Mutalib himself came to seek audience. He was\nadmitted to Abraha\u2019s presence and honored with a seat by his side; but\nArab tradition says he came only to ask about the loss of some camels,\nand told Abraha that the Lord of the Kaaba would defend it himself!\n(Such sublime faith does Moslem tradition put into the mouth of the\nprophet\u2019s ancestors, even though the anachronism proves its falsehood.)\n\nOn the following day Kais led the advance through the narrow valley\nthat leads into the city. Here a grievous surprise awaited the host\nof The Elephant. To supplement the faith of Abd-ul-Mutalib, the Arabs\nlaid in ambush, and before day-dawn every one of the Koreish had\noccupied his place on the heights on either side of the pass, hidden\nbehind the rough masses of boulder and trap that to this day make the\nwhole hillside a natural battery. No sooner had the elephants and\ntheir riders entered the defile, than a shower of rocks and stones\nwas incessantly poured upon them by their assailants. The unwieldly\nanimals, mad with fright and pain, trampled the wounded to death,\nand confusion was followed by headlong flight, although the unequal\ncontest lasted until sunset. It was the Thermopyl\u00e6 of Arabian idolatry,\nforever after celebrated in the Koran chapter of _The Elephant_. The\nbattle affords a miracle, however, to the Moslem commentator by the\neasy change of a vowel, which makes \u201cmiraculous birds\u201d with hell-stones\nin their beaks God\u2019s avengers, instead of the \u201ccamel-troops\u201d of the\nKoreish. Two months after the victory that prophet was born whose\ncharacter and career sealed the fate of early Christianity in Arabia,\nalready decided on the fatal day when Abraha mounted his elephant and\nleft Sana for revenge.\n\nThe division of the Northern tribes between the Persians and Romans,\nfollowed by the defeat of the Yemen hosts, brought anarchy to all\ncentral Arabia. The idolaters of Hirah and Ghassan overran the south,\nand the weak reign of Yeksoum, son of Abraha, could not stay the decay\nof the Christian state. Even the Persian protectorate only delayed its\nfinal fall. The sudden rise of Islam, with its political and social\npreponderance, consummated the blow. \u201cWith the death of Mohammed,\u201d says\nWright, \u201cthe last sparks of Christianity in Arabia were extinguished,\nand it may be reasonably doubted whether any Christians were then left\nin the whole peninsula.\u201d[131]\n\nIn 1888, Edward Glaser, the explorer, visited nearly every part of\nYemen and among his discoveries were many ancient inscriptions. From\nMareb, the old Sabean capital, he brought back over three hundred, one\nof which dates from 542 A. D., and is considered by Professor Fritz\nHommel the latest Sabean inscription. It consists of one hundred and\nthirty-six lines telling of the suppressed revolt against the Ethiopic\nrule then established in Yemen. The inscription opens with the words:\n\u201cIN THE POWER OF THE ALL-MERCIFUL, AND HIS MESSIAH AND THE HOLY GHOST.\u201d\nThis and the scarcely recognizable ruins of the cathedral at Sana are\nthe only remnants of Christianity that remain in Arabia Felix.\n\n\n\n\n XXX\n\n THE DAWN OF MODERN ARABIAN MISSIONS\n\n \u201cIt surely is not without a purpose that this widespread and powerful\n race [the Arabs] has been kept these four thousand years, unsubdued\n and undegenerate, preserving still the vigor and simplicity of its\n character. It is certainly capable of a great future; and as certainly\n a great future lies before it. In may be among the last peoples\n of Southwestern Asia to yield to the transforming influences of\n Christianity and a Christian civilization. But to those influences it\n will assuredly yield in the fullness of time.\u201d\u2014_Edson L. Clark._\n\n \u201cEvery nation has its appointed time, and when their appointed time\n comes they cannot keep it back an hour nor can they bring it on.\u201d\u2014_The\n Koran._\n\n\nIslam dates from 622 A. D., but the first Christian missionary to\nMohammedans was Raymund Lull, who was stoned to death outside the\ntown of Bugia, North Africa, on June 30, 1315. He was also the first\nand only Christian of his day who felt the extent and urgency of the\ncall to evangelize the Mohammedan world. His constant argument with\nMoslem teachers was: Islam is false and must die. His devotion and\nhis pure character coupled with such intense moral earnestness won\nsome converts, but his great central purpose was to overthrow the\npower of Islam as a system by logical demonstration of its error;\nin this he failed. His two spiritual treatises are interesting, but\nhis _Ars Major_ would not convince a Moslem to-day any more than it\ndid in the fourteenth century. His life is of romantic interest and\nhis indefatigable zeal will always be a model and an inspiration to\nmissionaries among Moslems.[132] But he lived before his time and his\nage was unworthy of him.\n\nNothing was done to give the gospel to Arabia or the Mohammedans\nfrom the time of Raymund Lull to that of Henry Martyn, the first\nmodern missionary to the Mohammedans. The histories of these two men\ncontain all that there is to be written about missionary work for the\nMohammedan world from 622 until 1812, so little did the Church of God\nfeel its responsibility toward the millions walking in darkness after\nthe false prophet.\n\nTo the Protestant Church of the eighteenth century Arabia and the\nLevant presented no attractions or appeal. The Turks, as representing\nthe Mohammedan world, were remembered as early as 1549, it is true, by\nthe English Book of Common Prayer, in the collect for Good Friday,[133]\n(which dates from the Sarum Missal). No effort was made, however, to\ncarry the gospel to them or to any part of their empire, until long\nafter other far more distant regions had been reached. Even Carey\ndid not have the Moslem world on his large program. It was Claudius\nBuchanan who first aroused an interest in the needs of the Moslem\nworld. On his return from India he told, on February 25, 1809, in his\nsermon at Bristol, the story of two Moslem converts, one of whom had\ndied a martyr to Christ. In his _Christian Researches_ he propounds a\ncomprehensive scheme for the evangelization of the Levant. The Church\nMissionary Society sent out missionaries, and in 1819 the American\nBoard began work for Moslems by sending Pliny Fisk and Levi Parsons to\nSyria.\n\nThis modern beginning of the gospel in Asia Minor had an indirect\nbearing on the future evangelization of Arabia and was a part of the\nDivine preparation. The journeys of Eli Smith and H. G. O. Dwight\nbrought the American churches face to face with the whole problem of\nmissions in that region. The Syrian Mission through its press at Malta\n(1822) began the assault on the citadel of Islam\u2019s learning. In 1833\nthe press was removed to Beirut; and from that day until now it has\nbeen scattering leaves of healing throughout all the Arabic-speaking\nworld. When in 1865 Dr. Van Dyck wrote the last sheet of \u201ccopy\u201d of the\nArabic Bible translation and handed it to the compositor, he marked an\nera of importance not only to Syria and Asia Minor, but to the whole\nof Arabia, greater than any accession or deposition of sultans. That\nBible made modern missions to Arabia possible; it was the result of\nseventeen years of labor; \u201cand herein is that saying true, One soweth,\nand another reapeth ... other men labored and ye are entered into their\nlabors.\u201d Whatever special difficulties and obstacles missionaries to\nArabia have met or will meet, the great work of preparing the Word of\nGod in the language of the people and a complete Christian literature\nfor every department of work, has already been accomplished by others;\nand accomplished in such a way that the Arabic Bible of Beirut will\nalways be the Bible for Oman and Nejd and the most inland villages of\nYemen and Hadramaut.\n\nThe history of direct effort to reach the great Arabian peninsula\nbegins with Henry Martyn. It is deeply interesting to follow the\ngradual unfoldings of the Divine Providence in the reintroduction of\nthe gospel into Arabia thirteen centuries after Christianity had been\nblotted out in that land by the sword of Mohammed and his successors.\nIn more than one sense Henry Martyn was the pioneer missionary to\nArabia. He first came into contact with the Arabs through his study of\ntheir language and his employment of that remarkable character, Sabat,\nas his munshee and co-worker. Sabat and his friend Abdullah were two\nArabs of notable pedigree, who, after visiting Mecca, resolved to see\nthe world. They first went to Cabul, where Abdullah entered the service\nof the famous Ameer Zeman Shah. Through the efforts of an Armenian\nChristian he abjured Islam and had to flee for his life to Bokhara.\n\u201cSabat had preceded him there and at once recognized him on the street.\n\u2018I had no pity,\u2019 said Sabat afterward, \u2018I delivered him up to Morad\nShah, the king.\u2019 He was offered his life if he would abjure Christ. He\nrefused. Then one of his hands was cut off and again he was pressed to\nrecant. \u2018He made no answer, but looked up steadfastly toward heaven,\nlike Stephen, the first martyr, his eyes streaming with tears. He\nlooked at me, but it was with the countenance of forgiveness. His other\nhand was then cut off. But he never changed, and when he bowed his head\nto receive the blow of death all Bokhara seemed to say, What new thing\nis this?\u2019 Remorse drove Sabat to long wanderings, in which he came to\nMadras, where the government gave him the office of mufti or expounder\nof the law of Islam in the civil courts. At Vizagapatam he fell in with\na copy of the Arabic New Testament as revised by Solomon Negri and sent\nout to India in the middle of last century by the Society for Promoting\nChristian Knowledge. He compared it with the Koran and the truth fell\non him like a flood of light. He sought baptism in Madras at the hands\nof the Rev. Dr. Kerr and was named Nathaniel. He was then twenty-seven\nyears of age. When the news reached his family in Arabia, his brother\nset out to destroy him, and, disguised as an Asiatic, wounded him with\na dagger as he sat in his house at Vizagapatam. He sent him home with\nletters and gifts to his mother, and then gave himself up to propagate\nthe truth he had once in his friend Abdullah\u2019s person, persecuted to\nthe death.\u201d[134] These two were doubtless the first fruits of modern\nArabia to Christ.\n\nIt was doubtless in a great degree Sabat who directed Martyn\u2019s thoughts\nand plans toward Arabia and the Arabs. On the last day of the year 1810\nhe wrote in his diary: \u201cI now pass from India to Arabia, not knowing\nwhat things shall befall me there.\u201d His purpose in leaving India was\npartly his broken health but more his intense longing to give the\nMohammedans of Arabia and Persia the word of God in their own tongues.\nOn his voyage from Calcutta to Bombay he composed tracts in Arabic,\nspoke with the Arab sailors and studied the Koran and Niebuhr\u2019s travels\nin Arabia. From Bombay he sailed for Arabia and Persia in one of the\nships of the old Indian navy going on a cruise in the Persian Gulf. He\nreached Muscat on April 20, 1811, and writes his first impressions in\na letter to Lydia Grenfell: \u201cI am now in Arabia Felix; to judge from\nthe aspect of the country it has little pretensions to the name, unless\nburning, barren rocks convey an idea of felicity; but as there is a\npromise in reserve for the sons of Joktan, their land may one day be\nblessed indeed.\u201d He attempted to go inland for a short distance, but\nwas forbidden by the soldiers of the Sultan of Muscat.\n\nEvery word of Henry Martyn\u2019s journal regarding Arabia is precious, but\nwe can quote only one more passage: \u201cApril 24. Went with one English\nparty and two Armenians and an Arab who served as guard and guide to\nsee a remarkable pass about a mile from the town and a garden planted\nby a Hindu in a little village beyond. There was nothing to see, only\nthe little bit of green in this wilderness seemed to the Arab a great\ncuriosity. I conversed a good deal with him, but particularly with his\nAfrican slave, who was very intelligent about religion. The latter knew\nas much about his religion as most mountaineers, and withal was so\ninterested that he would not cease from his argument till I left the\nshore.\u201d\n\nMartyn did not tarry long at Muscat but his visit was \u201ca little bit of\ngreen in this wilderness\u201d and the prayers he there offered found answer\nin God\u2019s Providence long afterward. On all his voyage to Bushire he\nwas continually busy with his Arabic translation; the people of Arabia\nwere still first in his heart for he expresses himself as desirous\nfinally \u201cto go to Arabia circuitously by way of Persia.\u201d His longing\nto give the Arabs the Scripture began in India and intensified his\ndevotion to the study of Hebrew. Had Martyn\u2019s chief assistant in the\nArabic translating, Sabat, been a better scholar their New Testament\nversion would have proved abidingly useful. As Sabat\u2019s knowledge of\nthe language proved very faulty their Arabic Testament did not remain\nin use. It was first printed at Calcutta in 1816, and although it\naccomplished a good work in common with other old translations, all\nhave been superseded by the wonderfully perfect version of Eli Smith\nand Van Dyck. It was not due to Martyn, however, that the Arabic\nlanguage had no worthy version of the Bible until 1860. In his diaries\nfor September 8 and 9, 1810, we read these remarkable entries: \u201cIf my\nlife is spared, there is no reason why the Arabic should not be done in\nArabia, and the Persian in Persia as well as the Indian in India.\u201d ...\n\u201cArabia shall hide me till I come forth with an approved New Testament\nin Arabic.\u201d ... \u201cWill government let me go away for three years before\nthe time of my furlough arrives? If not I must quit the service, and I\ncannot devote my life to a more important work than that of preparing\nthe Arabic Bible.\u201d\n\nThese facts about Martyn\u2019s life show at how many points it touched\nArabia; his purposes, his prayers, his studies, his translations, his\nfellow-worker, and his visit to Muscat. But more than all these was the\nresult for Arabia of Martyn\u2019s influence and the power of his spirit to\ninspire others.\n\nIn 1829 Anthony N. Groves, a dentist of Exeter, taking the commands\nof Christ literally, sold all he had and, in the spirit of Martyn,\nbegan his remarkable attempt at mission work in Bagdad. His work was\nstopped twice, by the plague and by persecution, and the story of\nhis life reveals how great were the obstacles which he vainly tried\nto surmount.[135] From that day until long years after Northern and\nEastern Arabia were waiting once more for the light. The only effort\nmade in the Gulf was by Dr. John Wilson of Bombay who, before 1843,\nsent Bible colporteurs once and again by Aden and up the Persian Gulf;\n\u201che summoned the Church of Scotland to despatch a mission to the Jews\nof Arabia, Busrah and Bombay. A missionary was ready in the person of\nWilliam Burns who afterward went to China, the support of a missionary\nat Aden was guaranteed by a friend and Wilson had found a volunteer\n\u2018for the purpose of exploring Arabia\u2019 when the disruption of the Church\nof Scotland arrested the movement.\u201d[136] It was Henry Martyn\u2019s life\nthat inspired John Wilson in 1824. It was the Free Church of Scotland\nthat afterward took up the work of Ion Keith Falconer the pioneer\nof Yemen. So God\u2019s plans find fulfillment.[137] Even Muscat was not\nleft without a witness in those years of waiting. It appears that the\ncaptain of an American ship which called at Muscat every year for a\ncargo of dates was a godly man and used to distribute Arabic Bibles and\nTestaments, even before the Bible Society extended its work to this\nplace.\n\nAs early as 1878 the British and Foreign Bible Society sent Anton\nGibrail from Bombay to Bagdad on a colporteur-journey. And about the\nsame time the South Russia agent of the Society, Mr. James Watt,\nvisited Persia and Bagdad and pressed the needs of this field on the\ncommittee of the Bible Society. He was seconded in his efforts by\nRev. Robert (now Canon) Bruce, a Church Missionary Society Missionary\nin India. Arrangements were made between the two societies by which\nBible work was opened in Bagdad under the supervision of Mr. Bruce.\nIn December, 1880, a Bible depot was opened. Since then the work has\ngone on continuously and extended, through the Arabian Mission, to the\nentire east coast of Arabia.\n\nThe first reference to the needs and opportunities for work in Western\nArabia appears in the Annual Report of the British Bible Society for\n1886, where the opening of a Bible depot at Aden is announced with\nthe hope that it would lead to \u201cthe circulation of the Holy Bible on\na larger scale and in a variety of languages.\u201d Ibrahim Abd el Masih\nwas the first in charge of this depot, and his name was attached to\nthe call for prayer from South Arabia issued after the death of Keith\nFalconer. Colporteurs from Egypt and from Aden of the British and\nForeign Bible Society have once and again visited the Arabian Red Sea\nports and penetrated to Sana, the capital of Yemen.\n\nBetween the years 1880 and 1890 more than one appeal went forth for\nArabia\u2019s need. Old Doctor Lansing of the American U. P. Mission in\nEgypt who for over thirty years had labored there waiting for the dawn\nof a brighter day, when he heard of one of these appeals, was all on\nfire, to start for Yemen. \u201cFor some years,\u201d wrote an American minister\nin the far West, \u201cI and my people have been praying for Arabia.\u201d\n\nThe Wahabi reformation in its time attracted the interest of those\nwho studied the political horizon. The bombardment of Jiddah in 1858\ncompelled attention to Mecca and the pilgrimage, while from 1838, when\nEngland became mistress of Aden, until 1880 commerce and exploration\nwas specially active on all the Arabian coast. It was during this\nperiod that the Anglo-Indian naval officers Mor\u00easby, Haines, Elwon,\nSaunders, Carless, Wellsted and Cruttenden carefully surveyed the\nentire Arabian coast. What they did for commerce, Major-General F. T.\nHaig did for missions in Arabia. He it was who first made the extensive\njourney all around the coast of Arabia and into the interior of Yemen.\nHis articles pleading for the occupation of the Peninsula reached Keith\nFalconer and finally decided his choice of a particular field, in the\nwide Mohammedan world, to which his thoughts were already turned. It\nwas also the experience and counsel of this man of God that helped to\ndetermine the final location as well as the preliminary explorations\nof the American missionaries of the Arabian mission in 1890-92. The\nreports of General Haig are even to-day the best condensed statement\nof the needs and opportunities in the long neglected Peninsula while\nhis account of the problems to be met and the right sort of men to meet\nthem will always remain invaluable until the evangelization of Arabia\nis an accomplished fact.\n\nIn 1886 General Haig was asked by the committee of the Church\nMissionary Society to undertake an exploration of the Red Sea coast\nof Arabia and Somaliland with a view to ascertaining the openings\nfor missionary effort. He set out from London on October 12th, 1886,\nreaching Alexandria on the 19th, and proceeded by way of the Red Sea\ncoast in an Egyptian steamer to Aden, calling at Tor, Yanbo, Jiddah,\nSuakin, Massawa and Hodeidah. Dr. and Mrs. Harpur of the Church\nMissionary Society were already at Aden seeking an opening for mission\nwork; the former accompanied General Haig back to Hodeidah and occupied\nthat place for a time as the first _medical_ missionary in Arabia.\nGeneral Haig then took the journey inland by the direct route to Sana\nwith Ibrahim, the British and Foreign Bible Society colporteur and\nfrom Sana they went straight across Yemen to Aden. Shortly afterward\nGeneral Haig proceeded to Muscat and up the Persian Gulf calling at\nall the ports. From Busrah he journeyed along the river to Bagdad and\nthence across the Syrian desert by the overland post route to Damascus.\nIt was this long and difficult journey which formed the basis of two\npapers[138] entitled: \u201cOn both sides of the Red Sea,\u201d and \u201cArabia as a\nMission Field.\u201d[139]\n\nA few brief extracts from these papers will interest the reader and\nshow the character of this first appeal to evangelize the land of the\nArabs. Writing of Yemen he says; \u201cWe have in this southwestern part\nof Arabia a great mountainous country with a temperate climate, and a\nhardy laborious race. This hill-country and its races extend northward\ninto Asir, eastward into Hadramaut for an indefinite distance, while\nto the northeast they extend inland as far as the borders of the great\ndesert. The finest and most warlike races are those to be found to\nthe north and northeast of Sana. These have never yet submitted to\nthe Turkish yoke; in fact the limits of the Turkish territory to the\neast of Sana are only a few miles distant from that place. Is it not\nof extreme importance in connection with the evangelization of all\nSouthern Arabia that the gospel should be preached and the Word of God\nbrought to these hardy mountaineers? They are mostly Zeidiyeh, a sect\nakin to the Shiahs in doctrine, but I saw no trace of fanaticism among\nthem, rather they seemed everywhere willing to listen to the truth. For\nthe most part I suspect they are but poor observers of the prescribed\nreligious practices of Islam. During the whole of my travels in Yemen\nI never once saw a man at prayer, and in only a few of the larger\nvillages is there a mosque. The women are particularly accessible; in\nthe villages they wear no covering to the face, and those that we met\nat the khans, or inns, were always ready to come forward and talk. The\nlittle girls used frequently to run into our room, and, if invited,\nwould come and sit down by our side. Ignorance is, I should say, the\npredominant characteristic of the whole population\u2014ignorance of their\nown religion, ignorance of the simplest elements of truth. I believe\nthat an evangelist, thoroughly master of the language, Arabic, might go\nfrom village to village all over Yemen preaching, or quietly _speaking_\nthe gospel.\u201d\n\nThis testimony is true. But the challenge has never yet been accepted\nand all the highlands are still waiting for the first news of the\ngospel. Speaking of the capital of Yemen the report goes on: \u201cSana is\na most important point. _It is impossible to exaggerate its importance\nfrom a missionary point of view._ It is in the centre of the finest\nraces of Southern Arabia, and if a mission could be established there,\nits influence would extend on all sides to a multitude of tribes\notherwise shut out from the gospel.\u201d\n\nAfter reviewing in detail the open doors in every part of Arabia, and\nspeaking of the special obstacles at each point together with the best\nmethods of inaugurating work, he writes toward the end of his report:\n\u201c_In one degree or another then, all Arabia is, I consider, open to\nthe gospel._ It is as much open to it as the world generally was in\napostolic times, that is to say, it is accessible to the evangelist\nat many different points, at all of which he would find men and women\nneeding salvation, some of whom would receive his message, while\nothers would reject it and persecute him. In some parts of the country\nhe would not be molested or interfered with by the ruling powers; in\nothers, as in Turkish Arabia, he might be arrested and even deported.\nDangerous fanatics are, I believe, seldom met with but occasionally\nthe missionary might come across such, and then the consequences might\nbe more serious. But what if his lot were even worse than this, if he\nwere hunted from village to village, and persecuted from city to city?\nOur Lord contemplated no other reception for His disciples when He sent\nthem forth. This was in fact His ideal of the missionary life....\n\u2018When they persecute you in this city, (abandon the country? No.) flee\nye into another.\u2019 The evangelist in Arabia need expect nothing worse\nthan this and even this would probably be of rare occurrence.... There\nis no difficulty then about preaching the gospel in Arabia if men can\nbe found to face the consequences. The real difficulty would be the\nprotection of the converts. Most probably they would be exposed to\nviolence and death. The infant church might be a martyr church at first\nlike that of Uganda, but that would not prevent the spread of the truth\nor its ultimate triumph.\u201d The most remarkable thing about this report,\nwhich occupies only forty pages, is its prophetic character, its\npermanent value and the fact that it touches every phase of the problem\nstill before us.\n\nThe immediate result of General Haig\u2019s report was the determination\nof the Church Missionary Society to leave Aden and Sheikh Othman to\nKeith Falconer and the Free Church of Scotland, while Dr. and Mrs.\nHarpur went to Hodeidah to try the possibilities of work in that\ncity. There the skill of a Christian physician would have more of\nstrategic power than in Aden itself which had two hospitals under\ngovernment service. Everything was hopeful at the outset and the people\nflocked in large numbers to the dispensary. Evangelistic work was\ncarried on, and Dr. Harpur wrote: \u201cI try to read of the birth, death\nand resurrection of Christ including Isaiah liii., and the simplest\nparables.\u201d One or two of the Arabs became specially interested and read\nthe Bible very eagerly. But the Turkish governor found objection and\nrequired a Turkish diploma from the missionary, or to have his diploma\nacknowledged at Constantinople. Work was at a standstill. Dr. Harpur\nwas compelled to return to England on account of severe illness and\nHodeidah was not again entered. In his letter to the _Church Missionary\nIntelligencer_, dated April 12th, 1887, we read:\n\n \u201cShould the way be closed _now_, we trust that God will open it in\n His own time, and whenever that time may be, I want now to say that\n since I came here my great desire has been, and will continue to be,\n that I might be allowed to live and work among the people of Yemen.\n God knows best, wherever our work may be. Owing to the uncertainty\n that exists about my diplomas being ratified, and being in the\n meantime effectually stopped from any work, it seems advisable for us\n to go back to Aden, there to wait until we get directions from the\n Committee, using the time there for the study of the language. There\n is a door here, as far as the people themselves are concerned, and I\n trust we may not have to leave these poor people who have not rejected\n the gospel. What a cause there is for prayer for them to Him who is\n King of Kings and Lord of Lords.\u201d\n\nAbout the same time, a remarkable call to prayer was sent out by the\nlittle band of workers in South Arabia, who were left to mourn the\nsudden death of their spiritual leader, Ion Keith Falconer. It was the\nfirst call to prayer issued for Arabia and it did not remain unheeded:\n\n PRAYER FOR THE SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL IN SOUTH ARABIA.\n\n\u201cWe earnestly invite united intercession to Almighty God for the people\nof this land, that He will open doors for the preaching of the gospel,\nand prepare the hearts of all to receive it.\n\nWe trust that many will respond to this request, and unite with us in\nsetting apart a special time every Tuesday for prayer for the above\nobject. We are, yours faithfully,\n\n (Signed.) F. I. HARPUR, M. B.,\n Church Missionary Society.\n ALEX. PATERSON, M. B. C. M.,\n Free Church Mission.\n MATTHEW LOCHHEAD,\n Free Church Mission.\n IBRAHIM ABD EL MESSIAH,\n _Yemen, S. Arabia._ B. and F. Bible Society.\u201d\n\nWhile the Church Missionary Society did not continue work at Hodeidah,\nthey were already occupying the extreme northeast corner of Arabia\nand had begun work in Bagdad, the old city of the caliphs, with its\ncommanding situation on the Tigris, and its large, Arab population.\nIn 1882 Bagdad was occupied as an outpost of their Persia Mission\non recommendation of Dr. Bruce. Rev. T. R. Hodgson was the first\nmissionary there, but he afterward went into the service of the British\nand Foreign Bible Society and greatly extended its work in the Persian\nGulf. He was succeeded by Dr. Henry Martyn Sutton and others. The\nmission has had hard struggles with the Turkish officials and its\nconverts were compelled to flee. The medical work has had a vast and\nextensive influence in all the region round about, and at present\nthe mission-staff is larger than ever before and the school recently\nopened is flourishing. Mosul has been taken over from the American\nPresbyterian Board by the Church Missionary Society, and in the words\nof one of their missionaries, \u201cwe are watching for an opportunity of\ncarrying the gospel into the very heart of Central Arabia, where the\nindependent Prince of Nejd holds rule, across whose territory runs one\nof the principal routes for pilgrims to Mecca.\u201d\n\nAs early as 1856 Rev. A. Stern made missionary journeys to Sana, Bagdad\nand other parts of Arabia to visit the Jews with the gospel. That\nremarkable missionary to the Jews, Joseph Wolff, the son of a Bavarian\nRabbi and who was baptized by a Benedictine monk in 1812, also visited\nthe Jews of Yemen and Bagdad in his wanderings.[140]\n\nIn 1884, Mr. William Lethaby, a Methodist lay-preacher from England,\nwith his faithful wife, began a mission among the wild Arabs at Kerak\nin the mountains of Moab; so populous and important is this mountain\nfortress in the eyes of the nomads that they call it El Medina, \u201cthe\ncity.\u201d This pioneer effort, after some years of struggle, was taken\nup by the Church Missionary Society in connection with their Palestine\nmission. Mr. Lethaby, after journeying in East Arabia, and attempting\nin vain to cross the Peninsula from Bahrein westward (1892), is now in\ncharge of the Bible Society\u2019s depot at Aden.\n\nAs early as 1886 the North Africa Mission attempted to reach the\nBedouin tribes of Northern Arabia in the vicinity of Homs. Mr. Samuel\nVan Tassel, a young Hollander, of New York, trained at Grattan\nGuinness\u2019 Institute, went out under their direction and accompanied\na Bedouin chief on his annual migration into the desert in 1890. He\nfound good opportunities among the nomads for gospel-work, so that the\ndoor to him seemed \u201cwide-open,\u201d but Turkish official jealousy of all\nforeigners who have dealings with the Bedouin tribes, put an end to\nhis work and compelled its abandonment. His experiences, however, as\nthe first one who lived and worked for Christ among the nomads in the\nblack tents of Kedar is valuable for the future. The door of access\nwas not closed by the Bedouins themselves, but by the Turks. Mr. Van\nTassel found the Arabs very friendly, and willing to hear the Bible\nread, especially the Old Testament. He found none of the fanaticism of\nthe towns, and even persuaded the sheikhs to rest their caravans on the\nSabbath day. It is interesting to note that the North Africa Mission\nwas led to enter North Arabia through the representations of General\nHaig, then one of their council. At present they have no workers in\nArabia, although that name still finds a place in their reports every\nmonth with the pathetic rehearsal:[141] \u201cNorthern Arabia is peopled by\nthe Bedouin descendants of Ishmael; they are not bigoted Moslems, like\nthe Syrians, but willing to be enlightened. This portion of the field\nis sadly in need of laborers.\u201d\n\nIn 1898 the Christian and Missionary Alliance of New York again called\nattention to the needs of Northern Arabia through Mr. Forder, formerly\nof the Kerak mission. He attempted to enter into the interior, by way\nof Damascus, but met with an accident, which prevented the undertaking.\n\nBefore sketching the lives of the two great pioneer missionaries to\nArabia, we must chronicle the appeal for the dark peninsula that\ncame from the heart of the Dark Continent. Not only because this\nappeal belongs to the early dawn of Arabian missions, but because of\nits remarkable character and its author. Henry Martyn in 1811 wrote\nat Muscat, \u201cthere is a promise in reserve for the sons of Joktan\u201d;\nAlexander Mackay, from Uganda in 1888, took up the strain, and, in\nclosing his long plea for a mission to the Arabs of Muscat, wrote: \u201cMay\nit soon be said, \u2018This day is salvation come to this house forasmuch as\nhe also is a son of Abraham.\u2019\u201d\n\nThis plea, written only two years before Mackay\u2019s death, and dated,\nAugust, 1888, Usambiro, Central Africa, is a great missionary document\nfor two reasons; it breathes the spirit of Christianity in showing\nlove to one\u2019s enemies and it points out the real remedy against the\nslave-trade. And yet Mackay accompanied his carefully written article\nwith this modest letter: \u201cI enclose a few lines on a subject which has\nbeen weighing on my mind for some time. I shall not be disappointed\nif you consign them to the waste-paper basket, and shall only be too\nglad if, on a better representation on the part of others, the subject\nbe taken up and something definite be done for these poor Arabs, whom\nI respect, but who have given me much trouble in years past. The best\nway by which we can turn the edge of their opposition and convert their\nblasphemy into blessing is to do our utmost for their salvation.\u201d[142]\n\nIn this article Mackay pleads for Arabia for Africa\u2019s sake and asks\nthat \u201cMuscat, which is in more senses than one the key to Central\nAfrica,\u201d be occupied by a _strong_ mission. \u201cI do not deny,\u201d he\nwrites, \u201cthat the task is difficult; and the men selected for work in\nMuscat must be endowed with no small measure of the Spirit of Jesus,\nbesides possessing such linguistic ability as to be able to reach not\nonly the ears, but the very _hearts_ of men.\u201d He pleads for half a\ndozen men, the pick of the English universities, to make the venture\nin faith. His continual reason for the crying need of such a mission\nis the strong influence it would exert in Africa because of the Arab\ntraders. \u201cIt is almost needless to say that the outlook in Africa will\nbe considerably brightened by the establishment of a mission to the\nArabs in Muscat.\u201d \u201cThe Arabs have helped us often and have hindered us\nlikewise. We owe them therefore a double debt, which, I can see no more\naffective way of paying than by at once establishing a strong mission\nat their very headquarters\u2014Muscat itself.\u201d\n\nMackay was not unaware of the great difficulties of work among\nMohammedans and in Arabia; he calls it \u201ca gigantic project\u201d and terms\nArabia \u201cthe cradle of Islam.\u201d But his faith is so strong, that at the\nvery beginning of his article he quotes the remarkable resolution of\nthe Church Missionary Society passed on May 1st, 1888, regarding work\nfor Mohammedans.[143]\n\nThe effect of Mackay\u2019s pleading was that the veteran Bishop French took\nup the challenge and laid down his life at Muscat. That life has \u201csuch\nlinguistic capacity as to be able,\u201d evermore \u201cto reach not only the\nears but the very _hearts_ of men\u201d in a way even far above the thought\nof Alexander Mackay of Uganda.\n\n\n\n\n XXXI\n\n ION KEITH FALCONER AND THE ADEN MISSION\n\n \u201cMy sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my\n courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry\n with me to be a witness for me, that I have fought His battles, who\n now will be my rewarder.... So he passed over and all the trumpets\n sounded for him on the other side.\u201d\u2014_Bunyan\u2019s Pilgrim\u2019s Progress._\n (Death of Valiant for Truth.)\n\n\nIon Keith Falconer and Thomas Valpy French, both laid down their lives\nfor Christ after a brief period of labor in the land they so dearly\nloved. Keith Falconer died at the age of thirty after having spent only\n_ten months_, all-told, on Arabian soil; Bishop French was sixty-six\nyears old when he came to Muscat and lived only ninety-five days after\nhis arrival. But both gave\n\n \u201cOne crowded hour of glorious life,\u201d\n\nto the cause of Christ in Arabia and left behind them an influence,\npower and inspiration which\n\n \u201cIs worth an age without a name.\u201d\n\nIon Grant Neville Keith Falconer,[144] the third son of the late Earl\nof Kintore, was born at Edinburgh, Scotland, on the 5th of July, 1856.\nAt thirteen years of age he went to Harrow to compete for an entrance\nscholarship and was successful. He was not a commonplace boy either\nin his ways of study or thoughts on religion. With a healthy ambition\nto excel and yet with a kindly modesty he made friends of those\nwhom he surpassed and loved those who were his inferiors. Manliness,\nmagnanimity, piety and unselfishness, rare traits in a lad, were in him\nconspicuous. He loved outdoor sports and excelled in athletics as well\nas in his studies. At twenty he was President of the London Bicycle\nClub and at twenty-two the champion racer in Great Britain.\n\nOne paragraph taken from the close of one of his letters gives us a\nglimpse of the boy at school and throws light on his future choice of\na profession. It is dated July 16th, 1873: \u201c ... Charrington sent me a\nbook yesterday which I have read. It is called _Following Fully_ ...\nabout a man who works among the cholera people in London so hard that\nhe at last succumbs and dies. But every page is full of Jesus Christ,\nso that I liked it. And I like Charrington because he is quite devoted\nto Him, and has really given up all for His glory. I must go and do\nthe same soon: how I don\u2019t know.\u201d This same year he left Harrow, and,\nafter spending a year with a tutor exclusively in mathematics, entered\nCambridge. His intentions were at first to compete for honors in\nmathematics but after careful thought he changed his plans and began to\nread for honors in the Theological Tripos.\n\nDuring his college days he also distinguished himself as a master\nin his two favorite pursuits, bicycling and shorthand. On the later\nsubject he wrote the article in the Encyclopedia Britannica. He\nhad a fine intellect, tremendous power of application and a genius\nfor plodding. His knowledge of Hebrew was extraordinary; he wrote\npost-cards in that language to his professor on every conceivable\nsubject, and translated the hymn, \u201cLead Kindly Light\u201d as a pastime.\nNo wonder that he received the highest honor in that language that\nCambridge can give and passed with ease the Semitic languages\nexamination at the close of his course.\n\nBut in all his studies and pastimes he did not cease to show that\nhe was first of all a Christian and had the missionary spirit.\nBy evangelistic work at Barnwell and Mile-End, alone and with his\nfriend, Mr. F. N. Charrington, he labored to reach the poor and\ndown-trodden. For the work in London he became at once treasurer and\ncontributor of $10,000 and his work at Mile-End Road is held in loving\nremembrance by the present workers. Here doubtless it was that his\nthoughts first turned to the regions beyond. For in a letter dated\nJune 12th, 1881, from Stepney Green, he writes: \u201cIt is overwhelming\nto think of the vastness of the harvest-field when compared with the\nindolence, indifference and unwillingness on the part of most so-called\nChristians, to become, even in a moderate degree, laborers in the same.\nI take the rebuke to myself. ... To enjoy the blessings and happiness\nGod gives, and never to stretch out a helping hand to the poor and the\nwicked, is a most horrible thing. When we come to die, it will be awful\nfor us, if we have to look back on a life spent purely on self, but,\nbelieve me, if we are to spend our life otherwise, we must make up our\nminds to be thought \u2018odd\u2019 and \u2018eccentric\u2019 and \u2018unsocial,\u2019 and to be\nsneered at and avoided.... The usual centre is SELF, the proper centre\nis GOD. If, therefore, one lives for God, one is _out of centre_ or\n_eccentric,_ with regard to the people who do not.\u201d\n\nAfter his final examination at Cambridge, he turned his whole attention\nto Arabic; why, he himself knew not, except that he loved the language;\nit was God\u2019s plan in his life. To secure special advantages he went\nfirst to Leipzig in October, 1880, and afterward to Assiut, Egypt. The\nSemitic scholar was becoming an Arab and fell in love with the desert\neven then. He wrote from Assiut, after some months of study: \u201cI am\nmeditating a camel-ride in the desert. I mean to go from here to Luxor\non a donkey, camping out every night, and from Luxor to Kossair, on the\nRed Sea, on a dromedary. ... I shall learn two things by doing this\njourney, Arabic and cooking.\u201d An attack of fever prevented the journey,\nand Falconer returned to England. Even there his engrossing study\nwas Arabic, in which he was now reading such difficult books as the\nMo\u2019allakat and Al Hariri; as he expressed it, \u201cI expect to peg away at\nthe Arabic dictionary till my last day.\u201d\n\nIn March, 1884, he married Miss Gwendolen Bevan; they took a journey\nto Italy, and then settled at Cambridge, where Keith Falconer lectured\nand studied. In the spring of 1885 he published his Kalilah and Dimnah,\ntranslated from the Syriac, with notes; a lasting monument to his\nSemitic scholarship and an example of his wide general learning.[145]\n\nToward the end of the year 1884 his thoughts first began to be\ndefinitely drawn to the foreign mission field, but as yet without any\nspecial choice of field. A summary of the papers written on Arabia, by\nGeneral Haig, for the _Church Missionary Intelligencer_ was published\nin _The Christian_, in February, 1885, and fell under the eyes of\nKeith Falconer. The idea of evangelizing Arabia took hold of him with\nDivine power. His whole soul answered, \u201cHere am I, send me.\u201d The\nimmediate outcome was a request for an interview with General Haig,\nwhom he accordingly met in London on February 21st, 1885, \u201cto talk\nabout Aden and Arabia.\u201d He determined to go to Aden and see the field\nfor himself. Only two questions did he stop to consider: First, as to\nthe healthfulness of the place, and then whether he should go out as a\nfree lance or should associate himself more or less closely with some\nexisting society. Warmly attached to the Free Church of Scotland from\nhis childhood, he met the Foreign Mission Committee of that church and\nhis project was recognized by them. On October 7th he left, with his\nyoung wife, for Aden, and arrived there on October 28th. They remained\nuntil March 6th of the following spring.\n\nThe first missionary report of this pioneer in South Arabia indicates\nwhat he thought of the field; and why he decided to make Sheikh\nOthman, and not Aden, the centre of future work; it also sets forth the\nmethods which Keith Falconer proposed to adopt for the evangelization\nof Arabia. The following extracts are of especial interest:\n\n \u201cThe population of Aden is made up of (1) Arabs, all Moslems, mostly\n Sunnis of the Shafii sect; (2) Africans, mostly Somalis who are all\n Shafii Moslems; (3) Jews; (4) Natives of India, mostly Moslems, the\n rest being Hindus, a few Parsis, and a few Portuguese from Goa. In\n 1872, for every five Arabs there were less than three Somalis; but I\n am told that now they are numerically equal. The Arabs and Somalis\n together make up the great bulk\u2014about four-fifths\u2014of the whole. In\n 1872 the Jews numbered 1,435; they are now reckoned at more than\n 2,000. The Europeans, the garrison, and camp-followers number about\n 3,500. The climate of Aden is, for the tropics, unusually healthy.\n The port-surgeon, who has been here five years, assures me that a\n missionary need have no fear on the score of health. This is due to\n the scarcity of rain and vegetation, and to the constant sea-breezes.\n The summer heat is severe and depressing, but not unhealthy. There\n can be little doubt that Aden, from the fact of its being a British\n possession, from its geographical position, its political relations\n with the interior, its commerce with Yemen, its healthy climate, and\n its mixed Arab-Somali population, is, humanly speaking a good centre\n for Christian work among the Moslems of Arabia and Africa.\n\n \u201cThe next question is, how and where precisely to begin? My own notion\n is to establish a school, industrial orphanage, and medical mission\n at Sheikh Othman. The children are far more hopeful than the adults,\n and the power to give medical aid would be not only very useful in\n Sheikh Othman, but invaluable in pushing into the interior. There are\n numbers of castaway Somali children in Aden whose parents are only\n too willing that they should be fed and cared for by others. These,\n as well as orphans, might be gathered and brought up in the faith\n of Christ, _nemine contradicente_. It would be necessary to teach\n the children to work with their hands, and I think that a carpenter\n or craftsman of some kind from home or from India should be on the\n mission staff. But the chief object of the institution would be to\n train native evangelists and teachers; and a part of their training\n should be _medical_. With a slight, rough-and-ready knowledge of\n medicine and surgery, they would find many doors open to them. In\n the school, reading by means of the Arabic Bible and Christian\n books, writing, and arithmetic would be taught to all; and English,\n historical geography, Euclid, algebra, and natural science to the\n cleverer children. A native teacher, procurable from Syria or Egypt,\n would be very valuable, and I think a necessity at first. If it\n were known in the interior that a competent medical man and surgeon\n resided in Sheikh Othman, the Arabs who now come to Aden for advice\n would stop short at our mission-house; and the surgeon would have\n considerable scope both in Sheikh Othman, El-Hautah, and the little\n country villages, not to speak of the opposite African country. Of\n course the treatment of surgical cases would involve the keeping of a\n few beds. The medical missionary should be a thoroughly qualified man,\n as natives often delay to come for advice until disease has become\n serious and complicated. The port-surgeon has impressed this upon me\n several times. It should be mentioned that the native assistant at the\n Sheikh Othman dispensary often finds that Arabs come to Sheikh Othman\n to be treated, and, deriving no benefit, refuse to go on to Aden, and\n return home. The institution should stand in a cultivated plot or\n garden. This would render it far more attractive, and would greatly\n benefit the children. It would be possible to arrange for this in\n Sheikh Othman, where there is plenty of water, and the soil is good;\n but not in Aden, where almost utter barrenness is everywhere found.\n\n \u201cMy reasons, then, for perferring Sheikh Othman are:\n\n \u201c1. We should not be seriously competing with government\n institutions. In fact, I am told that the government would be glad\n to be relieved of the necessity of keeping up a dispensary at Sheikh\n Othman.\n\n \u201c2. The climate is fresher and less enervating than that of Aden. From\n its position it has the benefit of any sea-breeze which may blow, and\n the soil absorbs heat without giving it out again. On the other hand,\n in Aden, the high, black, cinder-like rocks often obstruct the breeze,\n store heat in the day, and give it out at night. Thus the nights in\n Sheikh Othman are markedly cooler than in Aden.\n\n \u201c3. There is abundance of water, and the soil is capable of\n cultivation\u2014a fact proved by the two fine private gardens there, not\n to speak of the government garden. But at Aden the soil is utterly\n barren, and all water must be paid for. It is either condensed, or\n procured by an aqueduct, or from a well sunk 120 feet in the solid\n rock. The water from the latter is quite sweet, and sometimes handed\n round after dinner in wineglasses!\n\n \u201c4. I am told on the best authority that it would be very difficult\n to get a suitable site in Aden, whereas there are plenty in Sheikh\n Othman. Besides any number of building sites, two very large garden\n sites are vacant. The latter I have inspected, and the one I am\n recommended to take as having the best soil is admirably situated\n between the old village and the new settlement. It occupies the space\n between them. I can have the whole or the half of it _granted_ to me\n at a nominal quit-rent.\n\n \u201c5. Sheikh Othman is eight miles on the road to the interior, and so\n in closer contact with the tribes, and removed from the influence of\n the bad and unchristian example set by so many Europeans.\n\n \u201cOn the other hand, it must be borne in mind that the population of\n Sheikh Othman\u2014about 6,500\u2014is comparatively small, though likely to\n increase somewhat; and that it is very shifting, not more than some\n 1,500 being permanently resident. The last objection, however, applies\n to Aden as well.\u201d\n\nIn another portion of the same report, after telling of the importance\nof Aden as a missionary centre, he emphasizes the fact that \u201cMore\nthan a quarter of a million camels, with their drivers, enter and\nleave Aden yearly with produce from all parts of Yemen. The great\nmajority of these pass through Sheikh Othman, where they make a halt\nof several hours on the journey to Aden.\u201d No one acquainted with Aden\nand its vicinity and reading Keith Falconer\u2019s letters can fail to\nbe struck with the fact that from the outset he had his plans made\n_for the interior_, and that Sheikh Othman was only the first stage\nwhich he intended to use as a base of operations. He wrote to General\nHaig about the same time as the date of his report: \u201cI have made up\nmy mind that the right place for me to settle at is Sheikh Othman,\nnot Aden. This will leave Aden and Steamer Point open to the Church\nMissionary Society. Though I do not think that a medical missionary\nwould have much scope in Aden, I think that a Bible and tract-room\nand preaching-hall might be started there.... I hope to visit Lahej\nsoon, but fear I shall be unable to go to Sana. I should not know\nwhere to leave my wife. When I have a colleague at Sheikh Othman with\na wife, the two ladies can be together while the husbands go to Sana\nand elsewhere. If the Church Missionary Society missionaries come here\nI trust we shall find ways and means of co\u00f6perating and helping one\nanother.\u201d\n\nIn February, 1886, Keith Falconer went with a Scotch military doctor\nto Lahej, the first large village beyond Sheikh Othman, in the middle\nof an oasis, and then governed by an independent \u201cSultan.\u201d In March,\nhaving completed his preliminary survey of the field and decided on\nchoice of a location, he sailed for England, not to tarry there, but\nto prepare for the final exodus to Arabia. \u201cFor,\u201d says his biographer,\n\u201cthe soldier of the Cross had counted the cost, had weighed with the\nutmost care every risk and had taken his final resolve. The manner in\nwhich he told his friends this was very characteristic of the man ...\nwho goes forth to the fight ready to spend and be spent in the cause\nof Christ.\u201d In May he met the General Assembly of the Free Church and\nmade his famous address on Mohammedanism and missions to Mohammedans.\nIn order to begin the work at Aden, a second missionary, a medical man,\nwas desired. Although the man was not yet found, Keith Falconer made\nthe generous proposal to pay the sum of \u00a3300 ($1,500) annually to the\nFree Church for the new missionary\u2019s salary. He had already offered to\npay the expenses of himself and his wife, and had agreed to take upon\nhimself the whole cost of the building of the mission-house. He laid on\nthe missionary altar not only his talent of learning but that of money,\nand was in truth \u201can honorary missionary.\u201d\n\nThe time between Keith Falconer\u2019s arrival in England and his return\nto Arabia was crowded full of life and activity, but only the most\nimportant events can be narrated. He received the gratifying but\naltogether unexpected offer of the post of Lord Almoner\u2019s professor\nof Arabic at Cambridge, which he accepted, becoming the successor\nof Edward H. Palmer and Robertson Smith. He prepared the lectures\nrequired, choosing for his subject \u201cThe Pilgrimage to Mecca.\u201d He read\nall the books on the subject in many languages, even learning the Dutch\ngrammar in order to understand a work in that language. He visited\nhospitals in search of an associate for Arabia. He selected his library\nand furniture to take to Aden and disposed of his house-lease. He\nacted as judge at the Young Men\u2019s Christian Association Cycling Club\nraces in Cambridge. He went to Glasgow to meet Dr. Stewart Cowen who\nwas appointed his co-worker to Arabia. He tried to insure his life in\nfavor of the mission-work at Mile-End; but while the insurance office\ndeclared him \u201cFirst-Class,\u201d they refused to grant the policy when they\nheard of his proposed place of residence. He gave several farewell\naddresses in Scotland and delivered his Cambridge lectures just on the\neve of leaving for Arabia. All this work was crowded into six months\u2019\ntime by the man who, like Napoleon, did not have the word _impossible_\nin his vocabulary. How well the work was done is proved by his\nlectures, the article in the Encyclopedia and his farewell addresses.\nWhat could be finer and stronger than these last sentences from his\nfarewell address at Glasgow which still ring with power:\n\n \u201cWe have a great and imposing war-office, but a very small army ...\n while vast continents are shrouded in almost utter darkness, and\n hundreds of millions suffer the horrors of heathenism or of Islam,\n the burden of proof lies upon you to show that the circumstances in\n which God has placed you were meant by Him to keep out of the foreign\n mission field.\u201d\n\nDr. Cowen arrived at Aden on December 7th, 1886, and Keith Falconer a\nday later, by the Austrian steamship \u201cBerenice.\u201d He wrote, \u201cWe stopped\nat Jiddah, but to my great disappointment quarantine prevented me from\ngoing on shore. I gazed long at the hills which hid Mecca from us.\u201d\n\nMrs. Keith Falconer arrived a fortnight later. But the new missionaries\nwere unfortunate at the outset in obtaining a suitable dwelling. The\nstone bungalow, which they expected to occupy at Sheikh Othman until\na mission-house was built, could not be rented; after considerable\ndifficulty they managed to secure a large native hut, about forty\nfeet square, which, with certain changes, appeared suitable for\nthe emergency. A shed, erected by Keith Falconer, served them as a\ndispensary, and on January 11th, he wrote, \u201cOur temporary quarters\nare very comfortable and the books look very nice.\u201d Everything went\nwell for a time and arrangements were made to begin building the\nmission-house. A tour was taken to Bir Achmed and the gospel was\npreached every day by word and work, although some of the party were\ndown with fever nearly all the time.\n\nEarly in February, 1887, they were cheered by the visit of General\nHaig, returning from his Yemen journey; but very soon after things\nbegan for the first time to be clouded over. On February 10th,\nreturning from a tour inland, Keith Falconer was seized with a high\nfever which continued for three days and then began to abate, but did\nnot leave him entirely. Mrs. Keith Falconer also had a severe attack\nof fever, and both went for a change to Steamer Point for three weeks,\nafter which they returned to their \u201chut\u201d at Sheikh Othman. On May 1st,\nKeith Falconer wrote to his mother, \u201cYou will be sorry to hear that\nI have been down with yet another attack ... this makes my seventh\nattack. This rather miserable shanty, in which we are compelled to\nlive, is largely the cause of our fevers ... we expect to begin living\nin the new house about June 1st, though it will not be finished then.\u201d\nBut this letter did not reach her until after the telegram had told\nthe news that God had called His servant to Himself. On Tuesday, May\n10th, after continued fevers and two restless nights, he went to sleep,\nand in the morning ... \u201cone glance told all. He was lying on his back\nwith eyes half open. The whole attitude and expression indicated a\nsudden and painless end, as if it had taken place during sleep, there\nbeing no indication whatever of his having tried to move or speak.\u201d On\nthe evening of the next day he was laid to rest, \u201cIn the cemetery at\nAden by British officers and soldiers\u2014fitting burial for a soldier of\nChrist, who, with armor on and courage undaunted, fell with face to the\nfoe. The martyr of Aden had entered God\u2019s Eden. And so Great Britain\nmade her first offering\u2014a costly sacrifice\u2014to Arabia\u2019s evangelization.\u201d\n\nKeith Falconer did not live long, but he lived long enough to do\nwhat he had purposed, (and to do it after God\u2019s plan not his own)\n\u201c_to call attention to Arabia_.\u201d The workman fell but the work did\nnot cease. The Free Church asked for one volunteer to step into his\nplace, and thirteen of the graduating class of New College responded.\nBy the story of Keith Falconer\u2019s life ten thousand lives have been\nspiritually quickened to think of the foreign field and its claims.\nHe, \u201cbeing dead, yet speaketh,\u201d and will continue to speak until Arabia\nis evangelized. Every future missionary to Arabia and every friend of\nmissions who reads Falconer\u2019s life will approve the appropriateness of\nthe simple inscription on his grave at Aden:\n\n TO\n THE DEAR MEMORY OF\n THE HON. ION KEITH FALCONER,\n THIRD SON OF\n THE EARL AND COUNTESS OF KINTORE,\n WHO ENTERED INTO REST\n AT SHEIKH OTHMAN, MAY 11, 1887,\n AGED 30 YEARS.\n\n \u201cIf any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and, where I am, there shall\n also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.\u201d\n\nThe influence of Keith Falconer\u2019s consecration was widely felt at the\ntime of his death and has been felt ever since. His biography has\nbecome a missionary classic, and has passed through six editions. The\nPresbytery of the Scotch Church in Kafraria, South Africa, resolved\nin October, 1887, that \u201csteps be taken to prepare a memoir of the\nlate Hon. Ion Keith Falconer, to be printed in _Kafir_ as a tract for\ncirculation among the native congregations with a view to impress them\nwith an example of self-sacrifice.\u201d\n\nThe mission at Sheikh Othman was continued. Through the generosity of\nKeith Falconer\u2019s mother and widow stipends for two missionaries were\nguaranteed. Dr. Cowen returned to England, but Rev. W. R. W. Gardner\nand Dr. Alexander Patterson came to the field. For a time Mr. Matthew\nLochhead, from the mission among the Kabyles in Morocco, also joined\nthem. A school for rescued slaves was started, but the children\u2019s\nhealth failing they were transferred to Lovedale in Africa. In 1893,\nRev. J. C. Young, M. D., was sent out as a medical missionary to\nenforce the Rev. Mr. Gardner who with Mrs. Gardner was then alone; Dr.\nPaterson and Mr. Lochhead having left for reasons of health. Rev. and\nMrs. Gardner went to Cairo in 1895, and the following year Dr. Young\nwas joined by Dr. and Mrs. W. D. Miller. In 1898 Mrs. Miller died, and\nDr. Miller returned home. At present the mission staff consists of Rev.\nDr. Young and Dr. Morris, who joined the mission in 1898.\n\nDespite these frequent changes and short periods of service, the Keith\nFalconer mission has not been at a standstill. Each of the faithful\nband used their special talent and individuality in removing somewhat\nfrom the vast mountain of Moslem prejudice and opposition \u201cto make\nstraight in the desert a highway for our God.\u201d The immediate interior\naround Aden has been frequently visited; the mission dispensary is\nknown for hundreds of miles beyond Sheikh Othman. We record with\nregret that Keith Falconer\u2019s wish to go to Sana remains unfulfilled on\nthe part of the mission. A school for boys has been started, and the\nsmall \u201cshanty\u201d for the sick has grown into a fully equipped mission\ndispensary, which treated over 17,800 out-patients in 1898. A much\nneeded and most hopeful work among the soldiers is carried on in\nSteamer Point (Aden) and the Keith Falconer Memorial Church is filled\nevery Sabbath with those who love to hear the old gospel.\n\n\n\n\n XXXII\n\n BISHOP FRENCH THE VETERAN MISSIONARY TO MUSCAT\n\n\nIf it was Keith Falconer\u2019s life and death that sealed the missionary\nlove of the church to Aden, it was the death of Thomas Valpy\nFrench[146] that turned many eyes to Muscat. Bishop French it was who\nsignalized the completion of his fortieth year of missionary service by\nattacking, single handed, the seemingly impregnable fortress of Islam\nin Oman. He is called by Eugene Stock, \u201cthe most distinguished of all\nChurch Missionary Society missionaries.\u201d\n\nWe are tempted to describe this man\u2019s early mission work in founding\nthe Agra college and protecting the native Christians in the mutiny;\nhis pioneer work in Derajat; his founding of the St. John Divinity\nSchool at Lahore; his controversies with the Mohammedans; and his\nmanifold labors as the first Bishop of Lahore, but we can only\nchronicle here the closing years of his useful life. After forty\nyears of \u201clabors abundant\u201d and \u201cjourneyings oft\u201d he resigned his\nbishopric to travel among Arabic-speaking people and learn more of\ntheir language. He visited the Holy Land, Armenia, Bagdad and Tunis,\neverywhere diligently seeking to learn Arabic, and persuade the Moslems\nof the truth of Christianity. He became, as some one expressed it, a\n\u201cChristian fakir\u201d for the sake of the gospel and desired to end his\nlife as he began it, in pioneer missionary-work.\n\nAs we have said it was Mackay of Uganda who riveted the bishop\u2019s\nattention to Muscat. Such a plea from such lips could not but touch\nthe heart of such a veteran. No one else came forward, so how could\nhe refuse? He knew that age and infirmities were coming upon him, but\nhe wanted to die a missionary to Mohammedans. He had, to use his own\nwords, \u201can inexpressible desire\u201d to preach to the Arabs. He was willing\nto begin the work on his own account with the hope that the Church\nMissionary Society would take it up.\n\nWhat was the character of this lion-heart who dared to lift his grey\nhead high and respond _alone_, to Mackay\u2019s call for \u201chalf a dozen men,\nthe pick of the English Universities to make the venture in faith\u201d?\nOne who was his friend and fellow-missionary for many years wrote:\n\u201cTo live with him was to drink in an atmosphere that was spiritually\nbracing. As the air of the Engadine is to the body, so was his intimacy\nto the soul. It was an education to be with him. To acquire anything\napproaching his sense of duty was alone worth a visit to India. He\ndemanded implicit obedience from those whom he directed, and often\nthe cost was considerable. If any were unwilling to face a risk, he\nfell grievously in the bishop\u2019s estimation. There was nothing that he\nthought a man should not yield\u2014home, or wife, or health\u2014if God\u2019s call\nwas apparent. But then every one knew that he only asked of them what\nhe himself had done, and was always doing. How shall I speak of his\nunworldliness? India is full of tales of this; of acts that often led\nto somewhat humorous results. There was no in season or out of season\nwith him. He was always on his Master\u2019s business. No biography, it is\nsaid, will be complete that does not show this side of his character.\nTo outsiders frequently it seemed to lead him into inconsistencies.\nIt did not seem incongruous for him to turn to the lady next to him,\nat a large luncheon party, and begin to discuss the heavenly Bride of\nChrist; neither was it strange when hymn-books were distributed at\na large reception he held at Government House (kindly lent for the\nbishop\u2019s sojourn there), and the evening party was closed with hymns\nand prayer.\u201d\n\nRev. Robert Clark of the Punjab, Church Missionary Society, testifies:\n\u201cWhen he first began his work in Agra, he studied about sixteen hours a\nday. He taught in his school, he preached in the bazaars, he instructed\ninquirers for baptism, he prepared catechists for ordination, he was\nengaged in writing books, at the same time that he was learning Arabic,\nPersian, Urdu, Sanscrit, and Hindi with munshis. Such excellence few\ncan attain to, because few can safely follow in his steps in this\nrespect. But all can copy his example of prayerful labor. When he spent\nhis holidays in travels and in preaching excursions far and near, he\nshowed us how to spend every hour of relaxation in the most profitable\nway. When he refused to possess even a very ordinary conveyance,\nbecause he thought that a missionary should go on foot, and declined to\nuse anything but the most common furniture for his house, he set us an\nexample of self-abnegation, and showed us what, in his opinion, should\nbe the attitude of the missionary before the world. When he spent his\nearliest mornings with God, with his Hebrew Bible and Greek Testament\nbefore him, he often invited some friend to sit by him to share with\nhim the rich thoughts which the Word of God suggested to his mind.\u201d\n\nThis was the man who in solitary loneliness, without one friend to\nstand at his side, planted and upheld till death the banner of the\ncross where it had never been planted before. In the hottest season of\nthe year, with a little tent and two servants he was preparing to push\ninland when death interposed and gave rest to the veteran of sixty-six\nyears. \u201cWe fools accounted his life madness, but he is numbered among\nthe children of God and his lot is among the saints.\u201d (Wisdom of\nSolomon v. 4, 5.) Only Judas can \u201chave indignation saying to what\npurpose is this waste?\u201d This broken box of exceeding precious ointment\nhas given fragrance to the whole world.\n\nWe will let Bishop French tell his own brief story of the work at\nMuscat, beginning with the time when we travelled together down the\nRed Sea both in quest of God\u2019s plan for us in Arabia.[147]\n\n _Near Aden, Jan. 22d, 1891._\n\n \u201cBoisterous winds and turbulent seas have racked my brain sorely, and\n I have seldom had such torture in this line. But we are close to the\n Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, and hope to reach Aden some twelve hours\n hence. I should have been sorry to miss Hodeidah, where I had a long\n day (spite of difficulty of reaching it by _sambuca_ or small boat\n of broad and heavy build), returning to ship in the evening. I left\n my friends, Maitland and a young American missionary, and made my\n way straight out through a gate of one of the stout city walls, into\n the country beyond, where are palm-groves and some fairly imposing\n stuccoed country-houses of merchants and men of rank. Under an arcade\n (as the sun was to be feared) I got a little congregation together,\n some learned, others unlearned, and addressed them for over an hour,\n eliciting the opposition of one or two of the _ulum\u0101_, or educated\n men. For the first time in this part of my journey, my mouth seemed\n a little opened and heart enlarged to witness for Christ, and a few\n seemed really struck and interested. I tried to get entrance into a\n mosque or two, as of old time into Afghan mosques with Gordon and\n others, but failed to find the proper Imams within. I secured the\n lower steps of a flight of steps leading up to the private residence\n of a high Turkish officer, in rich uniform, a general of army here,\n not knowing whose steps I was occupying. However, the old gentleman\n came down (as a Roman centurion in old time might have done) and\n took his seat, with a few others, on his own doorstep, and listened\n with singular docility and thankfulness, and begged my blessing\n on his office, and his fulfillment of its arduous duties. After\n first leave-taking, he sent down to me a beautiful walking-stick of\n lemon-wood, so I had to mount the steps to express my gratitude and\n acknowledgment of his singular courtesy and friendship. Then came\n a still more enthusiastic and affectionate leave-taking still, and\n warm kissing of hands, to Maitland\u2019s astonishment. I certainly never\n experienced such kindness and friendship from any Turkish official\n before in any quarter. I trust the message may have struck his heart.\n Anyhow, he gladly accepted a copy of the whole Bible\u2014this is one of\n the most bigoted of Arab cities.\n\n \u201cThere was an excellent colporteur here this week, of the Bible\n Society, Stephanos, a Jewish convert, I believe, and excellent Arabic\n scholar. The Wali, or viceroy of the city, has forbidden his carrying\n Arabic Bibles into the interior, though the Hebrew ones for the Jews\n at Sennaa are passed, some six days, into the mountains. In Jidda\n itself, I had some small measure of encouragement, but not nearly so\n much as in Hodeidah, which has now outstripped Mocha as a thriving\n trade centre in those parts.\u201d\n\n _Muscat, Gulf of Oman,\n February 13th, 1891._\n\n \u201cI arrived here on Sunday last with Mr. Maitland, of the Cambridge\n Delhi Mission, whom I met in Egypt, and who spends a few weeks for his\n health\u2019s sake with me, perhaps until Easter. We did not like throwing\n ourselves on the British Consul here, as we thought it might embarrass\n him to entertain Christian missionaries on their first arrival here;\n and we had very great difficulty in finding even the meanest quarters\n for the first day or two, but are now in quarters in an adjoining\n village, more tolerable as regards necessary comforts, belonging to\n the American Consul, who is agent for a New York house of business. I\n have written to India for a Swiss-cottage tent, as a resource in case\n of no possible residence being available here, or anything approaching\n even the English village public-house, or Persian caravanserai. In the\n adjoining hills such a tent might give shelter during the hot weather,\n if the Arabs will tolerate the presence of a Christian missionary.\n \u201cOf possibilities of entrance of a mission, I feel it would be\n premature to speak yet. We are pushing on our Arabic studies, and I\n am glad to find how much more intelligible my Arab teaching is than\n in Tunis and Egypt. I hope soon to find a Sheikh of some learning,\n to carry on translations in Arabic under his guidance, if life and\n health be spared. I feel most thankful to feel myself again in a\n definite temporary centre, at least of missionary effort. \u2018Patience\n and long-suffering with joyfulness\u2019 I would humbly and heartily\n desire to cultivate, as most appropriate to my present condition and\n circumstances. The British Consul, a very polite and courteous and\n high principled man, is hopeless as to any effect being produced on\n the Oman Arabs, and feels his position precludes him from making\n common cause with any effort for making proselytes among them. So when\n Maitland goes I shall be pretty lonely here, not for the first time,\n however, and I only pray that the loneliness may help me to realize\n more fully the blessed Presence which fills, strengthens, animates,\n and supports.\u201d\n\nHis last letter written from Muscat to the Church Missionary Society is\ndated April 24th, 1891. A portion of it is as follows:\n\n \u201cPatience here, as elsewhere (and more than in most scenes I have\n visited), is a great prerequisite. I still live alone in a borrowed\n house, a spare one belonging to the American Consul here, and, rough\n as it is, it is amply sufficient for a missionary, and is in the heart\n of the town. I cannot get many\u2014very few, indeed\u2014to come to my house\n and read, which is naturally one of my great objects. They ask me into\n their shops and houses sometimes, to sit and discuss on the great\n question at issue between us and them, some Beluchees, mostly Arabs;\n and the latter I vastly prefer, and consider more hopeful. There are\n some Hindus in the crowded bazaars, but I see little of them\u2014partly\n because of the noise of narrow streets and traffic, and partly because\n I do not wish to be tempted away from the Arabic. Most of the few\n Hindu traffickers living here understand Arabic.\n\n \u201cThere is much outward observance of religious forms; there are crowds\n of mosques; rather a large proportion of educated men and women too;\n the latter take special interest in religious questions, and sometimes\n lead the opposition to the gospel. They have large girls\u2019 schools and\n female teachers. There is a lepers\u2019 village nigh at hand to the town.\n I occupied for the second time this morning a shed they have allotted\n me, well roofed over; and those poor lepers, men and women, gathered\n in fair numbers to listen. Chiefly, however, I reach the educated men\n by the roadside or in a house-portico, sometimes even in a mosque,\n which is to me a new experience. Still there is considerable shyness,\n occasionally bitter opposition; yet bright faces of welcome sometimes\n cheer me and help me on, and I am only surprised that so much is\n borne with. I have made special efforts to get into the mosques, but\n most often this is refused. The Moolahs and Muallims seem afraid of\n coming to help me on in my translations, or in encountering with me\n more difficult passages in the best classics. This has surprised\n and disconcerted me rather; but I have been saved in the main from\n anything like depression, and have had happy and comfortable proofs of\n the Saviour\u2019s gracious Presence with me. The Psalms, as usual, seem\n most appropriate and answerable to the needs of such a pioneer and\n lonely work....\n\n \u201cIf I can get no faithful servant and guide for the journey into\n the interior, well versed in dealing with Arabs and getting needful\n common supplies (I want but little), I may try Bahrein, or Hodeidah\n and Sennaa, and if that fails, the North of Africa again, in some\n highland; for without a house of our own the climate would be\n insufferable for me\u2014at least, during the very hot months\u2014and one\u2019s\n work would be at a standstill. But I shall not give up, please God,\n even temporarily, my plans for the interior, unless, all avenues being\n closed, it would be sheer madness to attempt to carry them out.\u201d\n\nHe never reached the interior, for he received a sunstroke on his way\nfrom Muscat to the neighboring village, Mattra, in an open boat. He was\nremoved to the Consulate but scarcely regained consciousness except to\nutter a \u201cGod bless you\u201d to the Consul, Colonel Mockler. He died on May\n14th, 1891. The very manner of his death fulfilled, more than he ever\nthought, his own words in one of his letters from Muscat: \u201cIn memory\nof Henry Martyn\u2019s pleadings for Arabia, Arabs and the Arabic, I seem\nalmost trying at least to follow more directly in his footsteps and\nunder his guidance, than even in Persia or India, however incalculable\nthe distance at which the guided one follows the leader!\u201d\n\nThe grave of Bishop French is in the bottom of a narrow ravine circled\nby black rocks and reached by boat, by rounding the rocky point to the\nsouth of Muscat. Here are many graves of sailors of the Royal marine\nand others who died on this burning and inhospitable coast. Here also\nrests the body of Rev. George E. Stone, the American Missionary, who\nwas called home in the summer of 1899, after a short period of service.\n\nIN MEMORY OF THOMAS VALPY FRENCH, BISHOP MISSIONARY.\n\n Where Muscat fronts the Orient sun\n \u2019Twixt heaving sea and rocky steep,\n His work of mercy scarce begun,\n A saintly soul has fallen asleep:\n Who comes to lift the Cross instead?\n Who takes the standard from the dead?\n\n Where, under India\u2019s glowing sky,\n Agra the proud, and strong Lahore,\n Lift roof and gleaming dome on high,\n His \u201cseven-toned tongue\u201d is heard no more:\n Who comes to sound alarm instead?\n Who takes the clarion from the dead?\n\n Where white camps mark the Afghan\u2019s bound,\n From Indus to Suleiman\u2019s range,\n Through many a gorge and upland\u2014sound\n Tidings of joy divinely strange:\n But there they miss his eager tread;\n Who comes to toil then for the dead?\n\n Where smile Cheltonian hills and dales,\n Where stretches Erith down the shore\n Of Thames, wood-fringed and fleck\u2019d with sails,\n His holy voice is heard no more\n Is it for nothing he is dead?\n Send forth your children in his stead!\n\n Far from fair Oxford\u2019s groves and towers,\n Her scholar Bishop dies apart;\n He blames the ease of cultured hours\n In death\u2019s still voice that shakes the heart.\n Brave saint! for dark Arabia dead!\n I go to fight the fight instead!\n\n O Eastern-lover from the West!\n Thou hast out-soared these prisoning bars;\n Thy memory, on thy Master\u2019s breast,\n Uplifts us like the beckoning stars.\n We follow now as thou hast led;\n Baptize us, Saviour, for the dead!\n \u2014_Archdeacon A. E. Moule._\n\n\n\n\n XXXIII\n\n THE AMERICAN ARABIAN MISSION\n\n \u201cOur ultimate object is to occupy the interior of Arabia.\u201d\u2014_Plan of\n the Arabian Mission._\n\n \u201cTo such an appeal there can be but one reply. The Dutch Reformed\n Church when it took up the mission originally commenced on an\n independent basis as the Arabian Mission, did so with full knowledge\n of the plans and purposes of its founders, which, as the very title\n of the mission shows, embraced nothing less than such a comprehensive\n scheme of evangelization as that above described.\u201d\u2014_Major-General F.\n T. Haig._\n\n \u201cIt is not keeping expenses down, but keeping faith and enthusiasm\n up, that gives a clear balance sheet. Give the Church heroic\n leadership, place before it high ideals, keep it on the march for\n larger conquests, and the financial problem will take care of itself.\n If the Church sees that we are not going to trust God enough to\n venture upon any work for Him till we have the money in sight, it will\n probably adopt the same prudence in making contributions, and our\n good financiering will be with heavy loss of income.\u201d\u2014_The Christian\n Advocate._\n\n\n\u201cThe Arabian Mission was organized August 1st, 1889, and its first\nmissionary, Rev. James Cantine, sailed for the field October 16th of\nthe same year. In order to trace the steps that led to the organization\nof this first American Mission to Arabia, we must go back a year\nearlier.\n\nIn the Theological Seminary of the Reformed (Dutch) Church at New\nBrunswick, New Jersey, the missionary spirit was especially active\nduring the year 1888. This was fostered by members of the faculty who\nhad a warm love for that work, by a missionary lectureship recently\ninaugurated, by the missionary alumni of the seminary, and by some\nof the students themselves who brought missions to the front. Among\nthese students were James Cantine and Philip T. Phelps of the senior\nclass, and Samuel M. Zwemer of the middle class, who had individually\ndecided to work abroad, God willing, and who used to meet for prayer\nand consultation regarding the choice of a field of labor. The first\nmeeting of this band was held on October 31st, 1888, and the topic\ndiscussed was, \u201cwhat constitutes a call to the Foreign field?\u201d After\nthat they met almost every week, and gradually the idea took shape of\nbanding themselves together to begin pioneer work in some one of the\nunoccupied fields. Tibet and Central Africa were mentioned; but their\nthoughts generally seemed to unite on some Arabic-speaking country\nespecially Nubia or the upper Nile. The Seminary library was ransacked\nfor information on these fields, without definite results. At the\nend of November the band decided to consult with their Hebrew and\nArabic professor, Rev. J. G. Lansing, D. D., who, being of missionary\nparentage and full of the missionary passion, warmly welcomed their\nconfidence and from that time became associated with them in their\nplans. After some time it was mutually agreed that God called them to\npioneer work in some portion of the Mohammedan world in or adjacent to\nArabia.\n\nOver against this Divine call there appeared a great human difficulty:\nthe fact that the church to which they belonged and owed allegiance\nconducted no missions in the Mohammedan world. The Mission Board of\nthat church was already burdened with a debt of $35,000, and therefore\nit was improbable that they would establish such a work in addition to\ntheir other mission work. In spite of these obstacles, however, it was\ndecided, February 11, 1899, to make formal application to the Board,\nand on May 23d the following plan was drawn up, and presented to the\nBoard of Foreign Missions:\n\n \u201cWe the undersigned desiring to engage in pioneer mission work in\n some Arabic-speaking country, and especially in behalf of Moslems and\n slaves, do at the outset recognize the following facts:\n\n 1. The great need and encouragement for this work at the present time.\n\n 2. The non-existence of such mission work under the supervision of our\n Board of Foreign Missions at the present time.\n\n 3. The fact that hitherto little has been done in the channels\n indicated.\n\n 4. The inability of our Board to inaugurate this work under its\n present status.\n\n Therefore, that the object desired may be realized, we respectfully\n submit to the Board, and with their endorsement to the church at\n large, the following propositions:\n\n 1. The inauguration of this work at as early a time as possible.\n\n 2. The field to be Arabia, the upper Nile or any other field,\n subject to the statement of the preamble, that shall be deemed most\n advantageous, after due consideration.\n\n 3. The expenses of said mission to be met (_a_) by yearly\n subscriptions in amounts of from five to two hundred dollars; the\n subscribers of like amounts to constitute a syndicate with such\n organization as shall be deemed desirable; (_b_) by syndicates of such\n individuals, churches and organizations as shall undertake the support\n of individual missionaries, or contribute to such specific objects as\n shall be required by the mission.\n\n 4. These syndicates shall be formed and the financial pledges made\n payable for a term of five years.\n\n 5. At the expiration of this period of five years the mission shall\n pass under the direct supervision of our Board as in the case of\n our other missions. Should the Board still be financially unable,\n syndicates shall be re-formed and pledges re-taken.\n\n 6. In the meantime the mission shall be generally under the care of\n the Board ... through whose hands its funds shall pass.\n\n 7. The undersigned request the approval of the Board to this\n undertaking in general, and particularly in the matter of soliciting\n subscriptions.\n\n (Signed.) J. G. LANSING,\n JAS. CANTINE,\n P. T. PHELPS,\n S. M. ZWEMER.\u201d\n\nThis plan was first presented to the Board on June 3d, when it was\nprovisionally accepted to be referred to the General Synod. On June\n11th, the Synod, after a long and ardent discussion, referred the\nwhole matter back to the Board, asking them \u201ccarefully to consider the\nwhole question and, should the Board see their way clear, that they be\nauthorized to inaugurate the mission proposed.\u201d On June 26th the Board\nmet and passed the following resolution:\n\n \u201c_Resolved_, That, while the Board is greatly interested in the\n proposition to engage in mission work among the Arabic speaking\n peoples, the work in which the Board is already engaged is so great\n and so constantly growing, and the financial condition of the Board\n is such (its debt at that time being $35,000), that the Board feels\n constrained to decline to assume any responsibility in the matter.\n\n \u201cIf, however, during the next four months, such a degree of interest\n in Foreign Missions should be developed in the churches as to reduce\n the amount to which the treasury is now overdrawn to a small fraction,\n then the Board would feel inclined to favor that important enterprise.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile the plan had been fully discussed in the church papers,\nand although there were warm friends of the enterprise who earnestly\nplead by pen and purse for its inauguration, the current generally\nran dead against the proposal, and much cold water was thrown on the\nenterprise.[148]\n\nHow those felt who were most concerned in the decision was expressed\nby Professor Lansing, on their behalf, in the following words: \u201cThe\nwriter and the individuals named are deeply grateful to General Synod\nfor its hearty reception and advocacy of the proposed mission. And,\non the other hand, they not only have no word of complaint to utter\nin regard to the action of the Board, but are grateful to the Board\nfor the careful consideration they have given the matter, and deeply\nsympathize with them in the sorrow which they and all must feel in\nconnection with the adverse action taken. But this does not discharge\nthe responsibility. A responsibility Divinely imposed is not discharged\nby any admission of existing human difficulty.... When God calls we\nmust obey, not object. And also when God calls to some specific work,\nthen He must have some way by which that work can be done.\u201d\n\nAfter much thought and prayer a plan was adopted for conducting this\nwork. The motto of the new mission appeared at the head: \u201cOh that\nIshmael might live before Thee.\u201d After the preamble, similar to the\noriginal plan, there are the following sections:\n\n \u201c1. This missionary movement shall be known as The Arabian Mission.\n\n 2. The field, so far as at present it is possible to be determined,\n shall be Arabia and the adjacent coast of Africa.\n\n 3. Selected by and associated with the undersigned shall be a\n Committee of Advice, composed of four contributors, to assist in\n advancing the interests of this mission.\n\n 4. In view of the fact that this mission is of necessity\n undenominational in its personnel and working, contributions are\n solicited from any and all to whom this may come, without reference to\n denominational adherence.\n\n 5. The amount required to carry on the work of this mission will\n be the sum necessary to meet the equipment and working expenses of\n the individuals approved of and sent to engage in the work of this\n mission. No debt shall be incurred and no salaries be paid to other\n than missionaries.\n\n 6. It is desired that the amount subscribed _shall not interfere with\n the individual\u2019s regular denominational contributions to foreign\n missions_....\n\n 7. Of the undersigned the first party shall be Treasurer, and have\n general oversight of the interests of the mission at home and as such\n shall render an annual statement, while the missionaries in the field\n shall have the direction of those interests abroad....\u201d\n\nThe rough draft of this plan was drawn up at Pine Hill Cottage, in the\nCatskills, on August 1st. A few days later, while the band was at the\nold Cantine homestead, Stone Ridge, New York, Dr. Lansing composed the\nArabian Mission hymn, which will always be an inspiration to those who\nlove Arabia; but it will never be sung with deeper feeling than it was\nfor the first time, in an upper room, by three voices.\n\n[Illustration: THE ARABIAN MISSIONARY HYMN.\nFacsimile of the original copy composed by Prof. J. G. Lansing in 1889,\nat Stone Ridge, N. Y.]\n\nWhen the plan was published, the Rubicon was crossed, although not\nwithout the loss of one name from among the signers. Contributions\nbegan to come in, the Committee of Advice was selected, and the\nmission was incorporated. Among other tokens of favor the mission\nreceived at this juncture from Catherine Crane Halstead, a legacy, of\nnearly five thousand dollars\u2014the largest gift, and the only legacy\nreceived by the Arabian Mission in the past decade. This unexpected and\nprovidential donation was encouraging and enabled the mission to begin\nwork immediately.\n\nOn October 1st James Cantine was ordained by the Classis of Kingston\nin the Fair Street Reformed Church and he sailed for Syria on October\n16th, stopping at Edinburgh to consult with the Free Church of\nScotland Committee regarding cooperation with their mission at Aden.\nThe proposition was cordially welcomed but was not acted upon since\nat Sheikh Othman, it was afterwards mutually agreed that more would\nprobably be accomplished if the missions worked separately. The second\nmember of the band to leave for the field was ordained by the Classis\nof Iowa, at Orange City, and sailed on June 28th, 1890.\n\nThe two pioneers left Syria for Cairo at the end of November to meet\nProfessor Lansing who was in Egypt for his health. On December 18th Mr.\nCantine left by direct steamer for Aden, and on January 8th, 1891, the\nwriter followed in an Egyptian coasting steamer, desiring to call at\nJiddah and Hodeidah, and to meet General Haig, who was then at Suakin\nin charge of rescue work for orphans after the war.[149] My journey\ndown the Red Sea was made in company with the aged Bishop French,\nthough neither of us ever heard of the other before we met on the train\nto take the same ship at Suez. We then learned for the first time that\nboth were bound for the same point with the same object, to preach\nChrist to the Arabs.\n\nFrom Aden the two American missionaries made it their first task to\nexplore the points suggested by General Haig for missionary occupation.\nOne, Mr. Cantine, journeyed northward to the country of the Sultan\nof Lahaj, while the other sailed along the southern coast in company\nwith Kamil, the Syrian convert from Islam. This earnest young disciple\nhad become acquainted with Mr. Cantine in Syria, and early expressed\na desire to join in the work for Arabia. He loved the Scriptures\nand never shrank from obstacles which stood in the way of faith or\nservice. His biography, by Dr. Henry Jessup, shows what he surrendered\nfor Christ; only the day of days will show how much he accomplished\nfor Arabia. On May 26th, 1891, Mr. Cantine sailed to visit Muscat and\nthe Persian Gulf, with the understanding that his co-laborer should\nmeanwhile attempt the journey to Sana and study the possible openings\nfor work in Yemen. The news of Bishop French\u2019s death had already\nreached Aden. Mr. Cantine tarried at Muscat a fortnight, after which he\nvisited Bahrein and other ports of the Gulf, going on finally to Busrah\nand Bagdad. The importance of Busrah as a mission centre was evident.\nIn population, accessibility and strategic location it was superior to\nother places in Eastern Arabia. Here seemed to be the place to drive\nthe opening wedge.\n\nMeanwhile a twenty-days\u2019 journey to Sana and the villages of Yemen\non the Hodeidah route, had shown the importance of Sana as a centre\nof operations, as is shown from the following written at that time:\n\u201cIt has advantages of large population, central location, importance\nof position and healthfulness of climate. Mail comes weekly and a\ntelegraph connects with the outside world. Its disadvantages are,\na Turkish government and the consequent difficulties of open and\naggressive work. Like the road from Hodeidah to Sana, it will be\nuphill work, through mountains and strong places, but in both cases\nyou reach Arabia Felix.\u201d On meeting Mr. Cantine at Busrah, however,\nthe arguments for Yemen were set aside, and it was agreed that it was\nbest to make Busrah the first headquarters. It was never thought at the\ntime that Yemen\u2019s highlands would, after ten years, still be without a\nmissionary.\n\n[Illustration: THE OLD MISSION HOUSE AT BUSRAH.]\n\n[Illustration: THE KITCHEN OF THE OLD MISSION HOUSE, BUSRAH.]\n\nDr. M. Eustace was then at Busrah, doing dispensary-work for the poor\nand acting as physician to the European community. He welcomed the\nmissionaries and worked with them heartily until he was transferred\nto the Church Missionary Society hospital at Quetta. His departure\nemphasized the power of a medical missionary among Moslems, and the\nmissionaries made a strong plea for a physician to join them. In\nJanuary, 1892, the Board of Trustees sent out Dr. C. E. Riggs, a man\nwith testimonials of his standing as a physician and a member of an\nEvangelical church, but who, shortly after reaching the field, avowed\nhis disbelief in the divinity of Christ. His commission was revoked\nand he soon returned to America. After several strange adventures this\nsingular yet lovable man reached Chicago, was converted under the\npreaching of D. L. Moody at the World\u2019s Fair, and died at his home in\nNew Orleans about a year later. It was a long way to the Father\u2019s house\nbut proves the power of prayer, and that God never forgets His own.\n\nOn June 24th of the same year faithful Kamil, rightly named Abd El\nMessiah (servant of Christ), was called to his reward. His illness was\nso sudden and the circumstances that attended his death so suspicious\nthat we cannot but believe that he died a martyr by poison. He was the\nstrongest man of the mission in controversy with Moslems, and a most\nlovable character, so that the report of that year truthfully states,\n\u201cour loss in his death is unmeasured.\u201d\n\nThese two successive blows were very serious and now two other losses\nfollowed. Yakoob, another Moslem convert, who had been in mission\nemploy, and whose wife received baptism at Busrah, was arrested and\nprevented from returning to our field. Also one of the two efficient\ncolporteurs employed by the mission, left to seek his fortune in\nAmerica. The continued illness of Dr. Lansing in the home land and\na decrease in contributions likewise cast a shadow on the work. But\nfaith grew stronger by trial. In the quarterly letter, near the close\nof this year, we read: \u201cThe experience of the missionaries ever\nsince arriving at Aden, their tours along the coast and inland, the\nopportunities for work along the Euphrates, the Tigris and the Gulf,\nand the deep consciousness that our mission is called of God to carry\nthe gospel into the interior of Arabia\u2014all prompt us to make a special\nplea at this time for additional workers. There are several points near\nBusrah where permanent work should be inaugurated without delay, and\nplaces like Bahrein, Muscat or Sana are equally, perhaps more, open to\nthe gospel than Busrah itself.... _If the Arabian mission is to be true\nto its name and purpose, it must occupy Arabia._\u201d This was followed\nby an appeal for five new men and the request that, should means be\nlacking to send them out, salaries be reduced, \u201cconfident that the best\nway to increase contributions is by extending our work and trusting\nthat God will provide for the future.\u201d\n\nThe mission was at this time passing through a period of determined\nopposition and open hostility on the part of the Turkish local\ngovernment. Colporteurs were arrested; the Bible shop sealed up; books\nconfiscated; and a guard placed at the door of the house occupied by\nthe missionaries. A petition was sent to the Sublime Porte to expel\nthe mission. But the opposition was short-lived and the petition never\naccomplished its purpose. In December Rev. Peter J. Zwemer joined the\nmission in Busrah. The difficulties in the way of securing a residence\nwere at first very great and frequent change of abode was detrimental\nto the work. Arrangements were likewise made during this year to carry\non all the Bible work for the British and Foreign Bible Society in the\nregion occupied by the mission.\n\nThe chief event of the next year was the occupation of Bahrein as a\nsecond station. Although the first attempt to open a Bible shop and to\nsecure a residence on the islands was fraught with exceeding difficulty\nand much opposition, the attempt was successful, and at the close of\nthe first year over two hundred portions of Scripture had been sold. A\njourney was made into the province of Hassa and the eastern threshold\nof Arabia was thus crossed for the first time by a missionary. At\nBusrah the evangelistic work and Bible circulation made progress, but\nmedical work was at a standstill. Cholera visited both stations and\ngreatly interfered with the work; many people fled from Busrah, and\nat Bahrein the total number of deaths was over five thousand. Peter\nZwemer kept lonely watch on the islands at that time; his only servant\ndied of cholera and he himself could not get away as no ship would take\npassengers.\n\nEarly in 1894 the good news came that Dr. James T. Wyckoff had been\nappointed to join the mission. Sailing on January 6th, and going via\nConstantinople to secure his Turkish diploma he arrived at Busrah in\nMarch. But the joy of welcoming a medical missionary was short-lived,\nfor after a brief stay at Busrah he went to Bahrein where a severe\nattack of chronic dysentery soon compelled him to return to Busrah\nand subsequently to Kerachi and America. Thus the mission lost its\nthird medical missionary, and his successor did not come out until the\nfollowing year.\n\nMuscat was visited by Peter Zwemer as early as December, 1893, and his\nreports of this port as a prospective centre for work in Oman were so\nencouraging after several exploration journeys, that it was decided to\nallow him to occupy the station.\n\nDuring the summer of 1894, the writer, at the request and expense of\nthe Mildmay Mission to the Jews, made a journey to Sana, to distribute\nHebrew New Testaments. It was also hoped that it would be possible for\nhim to cross from Sana to Bahrein, by way of Wady Dauasir. But the\ntheft of all his money even before reaching Sana and his arrest by the\nTurks, prevented the attempt.\n\nAfter many trials incident to the economical administration of the\nmission at home, negotiations were concluded in June, 1894, by\nwhich it was transferred to the management and care of the Board of\nForeign Missions of the Reformed Church. The distinct existence of\nthe corporation is still preserved, but the trustees are chosen from\namong the members of the Foreign Mission Board. No other departures\nfrom former methods were made, save that the administration was now in\nexperienced hands and at less expense than formerly. The change was\ncordially accepted by nearly all the missionaries and the contributors;\nnow no one questions its wisdom and benefit.\n\nThe year 1895 was another trying year to the mission, but there\nwere also blessings. The departure of Rev. James Cantine to America\non furlough, after nearly seven years in Arabia, necessitated the\ntransferral of the writer to Busrah and so left Bahrein practically\nuncared for. The missionaries and native helpers suffered more than\nusual from the enervating climate, and touring from both Muscat and\nBahrein was made impossible for a large part of the year by tribal wars\nand troubles. In February the Bedouins attacked Muscat and captured\nthe town; the place was given over to pillage and over two hundred\nlives were lost; the mission-house and shop were looted and Peter\nZwemer took refuge at the British consulate. At Bahrein a similar\ntrouble threatened for months and terror reigned, but the disturbance\nnever reached the islands and the unruly Arabs were punished by\nEnglish gunboats. At Busrah the Bible work was stopped by the Turkish\nauthorities; the shop closed and colporteurs arrested. The arrival of\nDr. H. R. Lankford Worrall at Busrah, on April 21st, with a Turkish\ndiploma, once more gave the mission the golden key to the hearts of\nthe people. Dr. Worrall has used it faithfully, although his severe\nillness the first summer almost made the mission despair of the health\nof doctors.\n\nMr. Cantine visited the churches in America and greatly stimulated\ninterest, prayer and offerings, although no new missionaries were found\nwilling and suitable for the field.\n\nAt the end of the year Amara was opened as an out-station in the midst\nof much opposition but greater blessing. Even during this year earnest\ninquirers in this fanatical river village gladdened the hearts of the\nworkers.\n\nWork for the women of Eastern Arabia was begun in 1896 by Amy Elizabeth\nWilkes Zwemer, who left the Church Mission Society mission at Bagdad\nto be married to Rev. S. M. Zwemer. First at Busrah, then at Bahrein\nand Kateef she inaugurated the work which only a woman can do in Moslem\nlands. Extensive tours were made by the colporteurs and by Peter\nZwemer. The entire region north of Muscat as far as Someil and Rastak,\neven to Jebel Achdar, was penetrated by the missionary and colporteurs.\nOne of the latter visited the so-called \u201cpirate coast\u201d south of Katar\nand sold over a hundred portions of Scripture. The following table\nshows the increase of Scripture sales by the mission at all of its\nstations. More than five-sixths of these copies were sold to Moslems:\n\n 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900\n 620 825 1,760 2,313 2,805 1,779 2,010 2,464 over 3,700\n\nAt Busrah first fruits were gathered after these years of sowing in\ntwo remarkable cases. A soldier at Amara accepted Christ and came to\nBusrah for instruction; this man has since \u201csuffered the loss of all\nthings\u201d and \u201cwitnessed a good confession\u201d wherever he has been dragged\nas an exile or driven as an apostate. Another convert was a middle-aged\nPersian who was deeply convicted of sin by reading a copy of Luke\u2019s\ngospel in the dispensary at Busrah. He was a consumptive, and after\nfinding peace in Christ, left Busrah for Shiraz.\n\nIn the autumn Mr. Cantine returned to the field, but the following\nFebruary Mr. and Mrs. S. M. Zwemer departed on furlough, so that, with\nno reinforcements, the mission-staff remained insufficient. The work\nat Bahrein not only stood still, but, because of the unfaithfulness of\na native helper, retrograded. Muscat was, on the contrary, increasing\nin importance. A school was begun by Mr. P. J. Zwemer, when eighteen\nhelpless African boys, rescued from a slave-dhow, were handed over to\nhis care. The little hand press in the mission-house sent forth its\nfirst message; a tract comparing Christ and Mohammed, which stirred\nthought as well as opposition. It was the first Christian writing ever\nprinted in Arabia and its simple message is prophetic: \u201cMohammed or\nChrist, on whom do you rely?\u201d\n\nAbout this time the American Bible Society took over the work of Bible\ndistribution at Bahrein and Muscat by an annual appropriation to the\nmission which enabled it to extend this department of work.\n\nAt Busrah the medical work drew many within hearing of the gospel and\nDr. Worrall was able to open work at Nasariyeh. At Amara the seed once\nmore fell on good soil, and a small band of inquirers came together for\nprayer, but the harvest is not yet.\n\nAt the close of 1897, Rev. F. J. Barny, supported by the young people\nof the Marble Collegiate Church, New York City, came to the field, and\nbegan language study.\n\nThe year 1898 is fresh in the memory of all those who are interested\nin the Arabian Mission. During it Peter Zwemer, after having gone to\nAmerica, was called to his reward and four new missionaries sent out\ninto the harvest field to sow the seed of the kingdom. Two of them,\nMiss Margaret Rice (now Mrs. Barny) and Rev. George E. Stone, sailed\nwith Mr. and Mrs. S. M. Zwemer on their return in August. The other\ntwo, Dr. Sharon J. Thoms and Dr. Marion Wells Thoms, of the University\nof Michigan, came to the field in December, 1898. Mr. Stone has now\nalso gone to his reward\u2014the third of the Arabian Mission to lay down\nhis life for Arabia.\n\n\n\n\n XXXIV\n\n IN MEMORIAM\u2014PETER J. ZWEMER AND GEO. E. STONE\n\n\nA skillful and loving hand has laid a wreath of immortelles on the\nunknown grave of Kamil; his biography will live. We can only briefly\nrecord our love and admiration for those other two of the Arabian\nMission, who \u201cloved not their lives unto the death,\u201d but \u201chazarded\ntheir lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d\n\nPETER JOHN ZWEMER was born at South Holland, Illinois, near Chicago, on\nSeptember 2d, 1868. His childhood was spent in a loving Christian home\nsurrounded by gracious influences and the prayers of godly parents. In\n1880 he entered the preparatory department of Hope College, Holland,\nMichigan, and was finally graduated from the college in 1888. He\nwas the only one of his class to choose the foreign field, and for\nit he sought special preparation after graduation, by work as Bible\ncolporteur in Western Pennsylvania and New York, and a year of teaching\nin Iowa. In 1892 he was graduated from the New Brunswick Theological\nSeminary, and on September 14th, of the same year, was ordained at\nGrand Rapids, Michigan, and sailed for Arabia on October 19th. From\nthe day of his arrival on the field to the day of his death his first\nthought was gospel work for the Arabs. He was of a practical turn\nof mind, and had no visionary ideas nor desire for martyrdom, but a\nsturdy, steady purpose to make his life tell. He was eager to meet\nmen, keen to grasp opportunities, a cosmopolitan in spirit always and\neverywhere. A student of character rather than of books, he preferred\nto make two difficult journeys rather than report one. He loved to\nteach and knew how to do it. Sympathy for the weak and suffering and a\nhatred for all shams were prominent traits. He endeared himself even to\nthose from whom he differed in opinion or conduct by his whole-hearted\nsincerity and earnest advocacy of his views. Arabia was to him a school\nof faith; his Christian character ripened into full fruitage through\nmuch suffering. Mr. Cantine wrote of him:\n\n\u201cOur personal relations were perhaps more intimate than those usually\nknown by the missionaries of our scattered stations. I was at Busrah to\nwelcome him when in 1892 he responded to our first call for volunteers,\nand was also the one to say good-bye a few months ago as he left behind\nhim the rocks and hills of Muscat and Oman, among which the precious\ncruse of his strength had been broken for the Master\u2019s service. His\ncourse was more trying than that of the others of our company, as he\ncame among us when the impulse and enthusiasm which attach to the\nopening of a new work were beginning to fail, and before our experience\nhad enabled us to lessen some of the trials and discomforts of a\npioneer effort. A thorough American, appreciating and treasuring the\nmemory of the civilization left behind, he yet readily adapted himself\nto the conditions here found. Of a sensitive nature, he keenly felt any\nroughness from friend or foe, but I never knew him on that account to\nshow any bitterness or to shirk the performance of any recognized duty.\n\n\u201cOf those qualities which make for success in our field he had not a\nfew. His social instincts led him at once to make friends among the\nArabs, and while his vocabulary was still very limited, he would spend\nhours in the coffee-shops and in the gathering-places of the town.\nHis exceptional musical talents also attracted and made for him many\nacquaintances among those he was seeking to reach, besides proving\na constant pleasure to his associates and a most important aid in\nall our public services. And many a difficulty was surmounted by his\nhopefulness and buoyancy of disposition, which even pain and sickness\ncould not destroy.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: Hon. Ion Keith Falconer\nRev. Peter J. Zwemer\nBishop Valpy French\nKamil Abdel Messiah\nFOUR MISSIONARY MARTYRS OF ARABIA.]\n\nHis short period of service in Arabia was longer than that of either\nKeith Falconer or Bishop French and although their lives have perhaps\nexerted a much wider influence, his has left larger fruitage on Arabian\nsoil. Of his sickness and death the Rev. H. N. Cobb, D. D., Secretary\nof the mission wrote:\n\n\u201cWhen the station at Muscat was opened in 1893 it was assigned to him.\nFrom that time until May of the present year Muscat was his home.\nThere he remained alone most of the time. Frequent attacks of fever\nprostrated him, unsanitary and unpleasant conditions surrounded him,\nthe heat, constant and intense, often overwhelmed him; still he clung\nheroically to his post, uttering no word of complaint, and quitting\nit only when mission business made it necessary, or tours were to\nbe undertaken along the coast or in the interior, or when prolonged\nattacks of fever and the preservation of life made a limited absence\nimperative. When one considers all that he endured, the wonder is not\nthat he died, but that he lived as long as he did. No higher heroism\nfought, suffered and at last succumbed at Santiago. He had become so\nmuch reduced by repeated attacks of fever and rheumatism that it was\nthought wise last year that he should leave Arabia and come home. His\ndesire was to remain until next year, 1899, but in the early part\nof this year it became evident that he must not remain. When in the\nlatter part of May he left Arabia, his weakness was so great that he\nwas carried on board the steamer. On the homeward way, though writing\nback cheerfully concerning his improvement to those whom he had left\nbehind, he grew gradually worse, and when he arrived in this country\non the evening of July 12, was taken immediately to the Presbyterian\nHospital through the kind assistance of a student for orders in the\nRoman Catholic Church. Those who have visited him there, and they have\nbeen many, have been struck by his cheerfulness, his hopeful courage,\nhis anxious desire to recover, that he might return to his field and\nwork, and yet his willing submission to his Father\u2019s will.\u201d\n\nHe clung to life with a grip of steel and laughed at the idea the\ndoctors had of his approaching death because he could not believe that\nhis work was done. \u201cI have done nothing yet and when I go back this\ntime I will be ready to begin work,\u201d were his words. Yet he had no fear\nof death. His eye never turned away from Arabia; he longed to plant\nthe plough once more in the stony soil of Oman and to teach the most\nignorant the way of life. From his dying bed he sent to the committee\na report regarding changes necessary in the house at Muscat. His hand,\nalmost too weak to hold a pen, wrote on October 7th: \u201cDear father\u2014I am\nslowly but surely improving and may be home soon. Now the board has\nauthorized me to complete the building-fund. I have just secured $100\nfor a Muscat touring boat. Dr. and Mrs. Thoms sailed this morning for\nArabia, _laus Deo!_ I felt sorry I could not divide myself and go with\nthem ... patiently longing I wait His time.\u201d\n\nEven later than this, when he could no longer write, he dictated\nletters regarding the work at home and in the field. On the evening of\nTuesday, October 18th, 1898, six weeks after his thirtieth birthday he\nquietly fell asleep. \u201cHis time\u201d had come. After a brief service, the\nbody was taken by loving hands to Holland, Michigan, and laid to rest\nin the sure and certain hope of a glorious resurrection. But his heart\nrests in Arabia and his memory will remain longest where he suffered\nmost and where his fellowship was so blessed.\n\n \u201cO blest communion! fellowship divine!\n We feebly struggle, they in glory shine\n Yet all are one in Thee for all are Thine.\n Hallelujah!\n\n \u201cAnd when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,\u2014\n Steals on the ear the distant triumph-song\n And hearts are brave again and arms are strong.\n Hallelujah!\u201d\n\n\n GEORGE E. STONE.\n\nOn the twenty-sixth of June, 1899, George E. Stone died of heat\napoplexy at the coast town of Birka a few miles east of Muscat. On\nThursday the twenty-second of that month, in company with a colporteur,\nhe left Muscat, for a few days change. He was in fairly good health,\nalthough suffering from boils. Monday morning he had a little fever;\nin the afternoon it came again and in a few hours he had departed. His\nbody was taken to Muscat by the colporteur and there buried near the\ngrave of Bishop French.\n\nRev. George E. Stone was born on September 1st, 1873, at Mexico, Oswego\nCounty, New York. He was graduated from Hamilton College in 1895, and\nfrom the Auburn Theological Seminary in 1898. Toward the close of his\nstudies his thoughts were drawn to the foreign field and he became a\n\u201cstudent volunteer.\u201d The reason for his decision was characteristic\nof the man. As he himself expressed it in his inimitable five-minute\nspeech at the General Synod: \u201cI tried in every possible way to avoid\ngoing to the foreign field but I had no peace. I go from a sense of\nobedience.\u201d He first heard of the special needs of Arabia through a\nformer classmate who represented Union Seminary at the New Brunswick\nInter-Seminary Conference in November, 1897. Shortly after he wrote for\ninformation about the field, and without further hesitancy he applied\nand was accepted. Ordained by the Presbytery of Cayuga at Syracuse, he\nsailed with the mission party in August, 1898.\n\nGeorge Stone was a man of much promise; altogether a character of one\npiece without seam or rent. Sturdy, manly, straightforward, humble and\nhonest to the core. He was entirely unconventional and did not know\nwhat it was to try to make a good impression. He was simply natural.\nWith native tact and Yankee wit was joined a keen sense of duty and\na willingness to plod. Confessing that he was never intended for a\nlinguist he yet, by sheer application, made remarkably rapid progress\nin Arabic. He made friends readily and was faithful to sow beside all\nwaters. No one could travel with him and not know that he was a fisher\nof men; yet he was never obtrusive in his method. He had a splendid\nconstitution, and looked forward to a long life in Arabia, but God\nwilled otherwise.\n\nHe was at Bahrein from October 9th until February 14th, when he left\nfor Muscat to take the place of Rev. F. J. Barny, who had been ill\nwith typhoid and was going on sick-leave to India. He was the only\nperson available at the time, although it was not a pleasant task for\na novice to be suddenly called to take care of a station of which he\nknew little more than the name. Without a word of demur he left Bahrein\nat three hours\u2019 notice and sailed for Muscat. There he remained alone,\nbut faithful unto death, until June, when Rev. James Cantine arrived to\ntake charge of the work. His letters were always cheerful; he seemed to\ngrasp the situation, and with all its difficulties to see light above\nthe clouds. The following sentences from a few of his letters show what\nsort of man he was. They were written in ordinary correspondence and\nwith no idea that the words would ever be treasured:\n\n\u201cI was pretty certain that I should be sent to Muscat later on, but had\nno idea of going so soon. However, it is all right. Anything that has\nbeen prayed over as much as your decisions at Busrah, must have been\ndirected of God, and I have been under His orders for some time....\nI have had two or three fevers, but they are small affairs, sick one\nday and well the next. No further news. I can only add my thankfulness\nto God for the way He has led me through the last two months and for\ngiving me a share from the beginning in actual mission-work.... Many\nthanks for the report. I can learn a great deal from it to help out my\nignorance. I do feel like a baby before this great work but, as the\ndarkies used to sing the Lord is \u2018inching me along.\u2019 ...\n\n\u201cPray for me that I may have wisdom and grace to carry this business\nthrough. I want it settled right.\u201d\n\nTo his Auburn friends he wrote this in a characteristic letter:\n\n\u201cYou ask what I think of it now that I am on the spot. First: that the\nneed has not been exaggerated, and that Mohammedanism is as bad as it\nis painted. Second: that we have a splendid fighting chance here in\nArabia, and the land is open enough so that we can enter if we will.\nIf a man never got beyond the Bahrein Islands he would have a parish\nof 50,000 souls. Third: that on account of the ignorance of the people\nthey must be taught by word of mouth and therefore if we are to reach\nthem all, we must have many helpers. Fourth: that I am glad I came to\nArabia, and that to me has been given a part in this struggle. I do\nfirmly believe that the strength of Islam has been overestimated, and\nthat if ever the Church can be induced to throw her full weight against\nit, it will be found an easier conquest than we imagine\u2014_not but what\nit will cost lives_, it has always been so, but I do believe that Islam\nis doomed.\u201d\n\nLittle did he think, perhaps, _whose_ life it would first cost. Will\nhis call be heeded and will the Church, will you, help to throw the\nwhole weight of your prayers against Islam? \u201cExcept a corn of wheat\nfall into the ground and die it abideth alone, but if it die it\nbringeth forth much fruit.\u201d\n\n \u201cThe seed must die before the corn appears\n Out of the ground in blade and fruitful ears.\n Low have those ears before the sickle lain,\n Ere thou canst treasure up the golden grain.\n The grain is crushed before the bread is made;\n And the bread broke ere life to man conveyed.\n Oh, be content to die, to be laid low,\n And to be crushed, and to be broken so,\n If thou upon God\u2019s table may be bread,\n Life-giving food for souls an hungered.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n XXXV\n\n PROBLEMS OF THE ARABIAN FIELD\n\n \u201cA word as to the task your mission attempts. It is to me the\n hardest in the whole mission-field. To conquer Mohammedanism is to\n capture Satan\u2019s throne and I think it involves the greatest conflict\n Christianity has ever known. In attacking Arabia you aim at the\n citadel of supreme error occupied by the last enemy that shall bow to\n the kingship of Christ.\u201d\u2014_Rev. W. A. Essery_, Hon. Secretary of the\n Turkish Mission Aid Society.\n\n \u201cWhile the difficulties in the way of missionary work in lands under\n Mohammedan rule may well appear to the eye of sense most formidable,\n this meeting is firmly persuaded, that, so long as the door of access\n to individual Mohammedans is open, so long it is the clear and\n bounden duty of the Church of Christ to make use of its opportunities\n for delivering the gospel message to them, in full expectation\n that the power of the Holy Spirit will, in God\u2019s good time, have\n a signal manifestation in the triumph of Christianity in those\n lands.\u201d\u2014_Resolution of the Church Missionary Society_, May 1st, 1888.\n\n\nThe problem of missionary work in Arabia is twofold: (1) the general\nproblem of Mohammedanism as a political-religious system which Arabia\nhas in common with all Moslem lands; and (2) the special problems or\ndifficulties which pertain to Arabia in particular.\n\nThe general problem of missions to Moslems is too vast and important to\nbe treated here. Dr. George Smith says that \u201cthe great work to which\nthe providence of God summons the church in the second century of\nmodern missions is that of evangelizing the Mohammedans.\u201d It is _the_\nmissionary problem of the future. Dr. H. H. Jessup, who speaks of it as\n\u201ca work of surpassing difficulty, which will require a new baptism of\napostolic wisdom and energy, faith and love\u201d gives the elements of the\nproblem in his book.[150] As unfavorable features he enumerates, (1)\nthe union of the temporal and spiritual power, (2) the divorce between\nmorality and religion, (3) Ishmaelitic intolerance, (4) destruction of\ntrue family life, (5) the degradation of woman, (6) gross immorality,\n(7) untruthfulness, (8) misrepresentation of Christian doctrine, and\n(9) the aggressive spirit of Islam. Among the favorable features he\nnames: (1) belief in the unity of God, (2) reverence for the Old\nand New Testament, (3) and for Christ, (4) hatred of idolatry, (5)\nabstinence from intoxicating drink, (6) the growing influence of\nChristian nations, (7) the universal belief of the Moslems that in the\nlatter days there will be a universal apostasy from Islam. In some\nrespects the problem has changed since Dr. Jessup\u2019s book was written\nbut in its main outlines it remains the same.\n\nThe problem of Arabia as a mission-field can best be studied by\nconsidering in order: the land itself as regards its accessibility; the\nclimate and other special difficulties; the present missionary force;\nthe methods suited to the field; and the right men for the work. The\nchapters on the geography of the peninsula show how different are the\nvarious provinces and what are the strategic centres in each. It is\ngenerally considered both a good missionary policy and a true apostolic\nprinciple to work out from the _cities_ as centres of population\nand influence. This is especially necessary in Arabia where the\npopulation is scattered and largely nomadic. All nomads come to some\ncity or village for their supplies at frequent intervals or, if they\nare independent of a foreign market, they bring their produce to the\ncities. This by way of preface.\n\nFirst, what parts of Arabia are really _accessible_ to missionary\noperations? (1) The Sinaitic peninsula with the adjoining coast of\nHejaz nearly as far as Yanbo; the population is mostly Bedouin but a\ngood centre for work would be the Egyptian quarantine station of Tor\nin the Gulf of Suez. (2) Aden and the surrounding region under British\nprotection, with a population of perhaps 200,000 souls. (3) The entire\nsouth coast from Aden to Makalla and Shehr with its _hinterland_;\nthis region has been freely visited by explorers and travellers, men\nand women; the people are quite friendly and the natural base of\noperations would be the town of Makalla. (4) Oman with its coast-towns\nand hill-country, everywhere accessible; wherever missionaries have\ntried to enter they have met with a welcome above all expectations. (5)\nThe so-called \u201cpirate-coast\u201d in East Arabia between Ras el Kheima and\nAbu Thubi; many villages, all under British subsidy and with resident\nnative agents. (6) The islands of Bahrein.\n\nAll of these regions are outside of _Turkish_ Arabia and are more\nor less under the influence of Great Britain so that every kind of\nmissionary work is possible. No passports are required for travelling;\nno special diplomas for the right to practice medicine; no censorship\nof books; no official espionage or prohibition of residence.\n\nIn Turkish Arabia the case is different, but it would be very incorrect\nto say that Turkish Arabia is inaccessible. \u201cThe Turks are no doubt,\u201d\nas General Haig remarks, \u201ca great obstacle, but we must give them their\ndue, and admit that they are not nearly so intolerant as some European\nStates, including Russia.\u201d Only one portion of Turkish Arabia seems, at\npresent, to be wholly inaccessible, namely, the two sacred cities Mecca\nand Medina. At present, we say, for it does not seem possible that\nthese twin-cities would long remain closed if the church had faith to\napproach their doors and were ready to enter.\n\nOther portions of Turkish Arabia are accessible, at least to some\nextent. (1) The entire coast of Hejaz is accessible; two cities,\nJiddah, and Hodeidah, are specially suited for medical mission work;\nwhile it is not at all improbable that with proper faith and kindly\ntact, the lovely town of Taif, that garden of Mecca, would harbor a\nmedical missionary. Doughty\u2019s experiences seem to indicate that Taif is\nnot considered holy ground.[151] (2) Yemen, the Arabia Felix indeed;\nwith a splendid climate, a superior Arab population, numerous villages\nand cities, and with marvellous fertility of soil. Surely these\nhighlands will not remain forever under the rod of oppression; when the\nhour of deliverance comes, every village should have a mission-school\nand every city a mission-station. Even now under the Turks work is\npossible for the large _Jewish_ population. (3) Hassa with its capital\nHofhoof and Katif on the coast. (4) The vilayets of Busrah and Bagdad.\nThese four regions in Turkish Arabia are accessible, with three\nlimitations to missionary-work:\u2014Every missionary must have proper\npassports; no medical missionary can practice without a Constantinople\ndiploma; and no books or Bibles can be sold unless they have been\nexamined by a censor of the press and bear the seal of the government.\nThe passport matter is awkward at times but is not an insurmountable\nbarrier; where the government considers travelling safe, passports are\nalways given. The medical diploma requirement is not different from\nthe law of France and other countries; once in possession of such a\ndiploma, the leverage power of the Christian physician is increased\nrather than limited. The third restriction prevents the distribution\nof all controversial literature but admits the Bible and many other\nChristian books; it is rather burdensome and irritating to one\u2019s\npatience but does not shut the door to real missionary work. Every copy\nof the Arabic Scriptures printed at Beirut bears the _imprimatur_ of\nthe Ottoman Government\u2014the sign and seal of the \u201cCaliph\u201d that the Word\nof God shall have free course in his tottering empire.\n\nFinally there is the vast interior\u2014Asir, Nejran, Yemama, Nejd,\nJebel Shammar\u2014is that too accessible? The whole region is free from\nOttoman rule and, for the greater part, under one independent prince,\nAbd-ul-Aziz, the successor of Ibn Rashid. But for the rest the question\nmust remain unanswered until a missionary has attempted to enter these\nregions and has brought back a report. For travellers the whole of\nthe interior has proved accessible since the days of Palgrave; and\nthe presumptive evidence is that a missionary could also penetrate\neverywhere even if he were not at first allowed to settle in any of the\ntowns. I have not the least doubt that a properly qualified medical\nmissionary with a thorough knowledge of the language would find not\nonly an open door but a warm welcome in the capital of Nejd or even at\nRiad.\n\nRegarding the general accessibility of Arabia, General Haig wrote in\nhis report as follows: \u201cThere is no difficulty then about preaching the\ngospel in Arabia if men can be found to face the consequences. The real\ndifficulty would be the protection of the converts. Most probably they\nwould be exposed to violence and death. The infant church might be a\nmartyr church at first, like that of Uganda, but that would not prevent\nthe spread of the truth or its ultimate triumph.\u201d\n\nThe climate of Arabia is, at present, an obstacle to missionary work,\nbut in the mountain ranges of Oman and Yemen as well as in all the\ninterior plateau of Nejd a healthful, bracing climate prevails. Now,\nalas, while all work is still confined to the coast, we have perhaps\none of the most trying climates in the world. The intense heat of\nsummer (often 110\u00b0 Fahrenheit in the shade) is aggravated by the\nhumidity of the atmosphere, and the dust raised by every wind. In the\nwinter, from December to March, the winds in the northern part of the\ngulf and the Red Sea, are often cold and cutting and although the\ntemperature is more suited at that time to Europeans and Americans, it\nappears to be less healthy for natives. The so-called gulf-fever of the\nremittent type is very dangerous and convalescence is at times only\npossible by leaving the gulf. Cholera and smallpox are not uncommon.\nOphthalmia is rife. Prickly heat in aggravated form, boils, and all the\ninsect plagues of Egypt are a cause of suffering in their season.\n\nMoslem fanaticism is not peculiar to Arabia nor is it more intense\nor universal here than in any other purely Mohammedan land. The\nfanaticism of the Arabs has been grossly exaggerated. The Wahabis\nrepresent the extreme of exclusiveness and prejudice, but even among\nthem it is possible for a missionary to preach Christ and read the\nBible. Personal violence to the messenger of the gospel has proved in\nten years experience, almost unknown in any part of Arabia visited by\nmissionaries. Sometimes Bibles and books are collected by a fanatical\nMullah and consigned to the flames or the oblivion of an upper shelf\nin his house. The fellows of the baser sort perpetrate insults and\nannoyances at times in village-work or refuse hospitality. But we, in\nArabia, have never met with the strong anti-foreign feeling such as\nseems to be prevalent, for example, in China. The prejudice is seldom\nagainst the dress or manner or speech of the foreigner; even his\nfood is considered clean and no Arab would refuse to share his meal\nwith a Christian traveller. But there _is_ often a strong prejudice\nagainst certain aspects of Christian doctrine, especially if crudely\nor unwisely put. In an Arab coffee-shop it would be unsafe as well as\nunwise to use the words \u201cSon of God,\u201d \u201cdeath of Christ,\u201d \u201cTrinity\u201d\netc., without a previous explanation. Yet on the whole the Arabs are\nfriendly to any stranger or guest and this friendliness is especially\nstrong toward Englishmen and on the coast, because of the clear\ncontrast between English and Ottoman or Arab rule. Commerce too with\nits general integrity and \u201cthe word of an Englishman\u201d has in a sense\nbeen the handmaid of missions by disarming prejudice and opening Arab\neyes to the superiority of western civilization.\n\nFrom a missionary standpoint the population of Arabia can best be\ndivided into the illiterate and those who can read. The former class\nare in the vast majority and include all the Bedouins with exceedingly\nfew exceptions. Taking the population at eight million, to say that\none half a million could read would be a large estimate. On this\naccount work for those who are able to read, by means of colportage and\nbookshops, may be too highly rated as to its _extensive_ result; its\n_intensive_ value no one will question.\n\nThe problem of reaching the nomad population is a very serious\none. The data for a correct theory of work among them are yet to\nbe collected. Experience of work among them has been very limited;\nindeed the only work of importance was that of Samuel Van Tassel in\nNorth Arabia. As a class they are less religious than the town or\nagricultural Arabs. One who has studied the subject writes: \u201cThe Arabs\n[Bedouins] remain Mohammedans simply because they know of nothing\nbetter; the Bedouins are Moslems only in name observing the prescribed\nforms in the neighborhood of the towns, but speedily casting them aside\non regaining the desert. Yet there are men among them not without\nreverent thoughts of the Creator, derived from the contemplation of His\nworks, thoughts which, according to Palmer, take sometimes the form\nof solemn but simple prayer.\u201d The character of missionary work among\nthis nomad population (perhaps one-fourth or fifth of the population\nof the peninsula) will be very similar to that of James Gilmour among\nthe Mongols; and it will require men of his stamp to carry it on\nsuccessfully.\n\n[Illustration: POPULATION TOUCHED BY MISSION EFFORT.\n\n Aden, etc., 100,000.\n Bahrein, 60,000.\n Muscat, 20,000\n Busrah and Bagdad, 520,000\n]\n\n_The present missionary force in Arabia is utterly inadequate to supply\nthe needs even of that small portion of the field they have occupied._\nThere are only _four_ points on a coast of four thousand miles where\nthere are missionaries. There is not a single missionary over ten miles\ninland from this coast. No missionary has ever crossed the peninsula in\neither direction. The total number of foreign missionaries in Arabia,\nis less than a dozen\u2014twelve workers, men and women, let us say, for a\npopulation of 8,000,000 souls.\n\n[Illustration: AREA VISITED BY MISSIONARIES.\n\n Aden, etc., 8,000 square miles.\n Bahrein, 400 \u201c \u201c\n Muscat, 600 square miles.\n Busrah and Bagdad, 71,000 \u201c \u201c ]\n\nThe Keith Falconer Mission is not as strong in its numbers as when\nKeith Falconer died. The Arabian Mission has only recently received\nenough reinforcement to man its three stations permanently. There has\nbeen too much of the spirit of experiment instead of the spirit of\nenterprise; a corporal\u2019s guard went out to attack the chief citadel\nof the enemy. Bishop French was _alone_ when he died at Muscat. The\nArabian Mission waited years before they received reinforcements. What\nis the spiritual need of Arabia to-day? Of the total area of the\npeninsula only about _one-twelfth_ is in any way touched by missionary\neffort. This does not mean that one-twelfth of the area is covered\nby mission-stations and touring, but that in some way or other about\none-twelfth of the peninsula is \u201coccupied\u201d by organized mission-work in\nits plan and purpose, day by day. As to the proportion of missionaries\nto the population _ten men out of eleven have no opportunity in this\nneglected country to hear the gospel even if they would_.\n\nThe only part of Arabia that is fairly well occupied is the\nRiver-country\u2014that is the two vilayets of Bagdad and Busrah. Here\nthere are two stations and two out-stations on the rivers; colporteurs\nand missionaries regularly visit the larger villages; several native\nworkers are in regular employ and the Bible Society is active. Yet in\nthese two vilayets nothing has ever yet been done for the large Bedouin\npopulation, and there are only six foreign missionaries, men and women,\nto a population (Turkish census) of 1,050,000 souls.\n\nLooking at Arabia by provinces: Hejaz has no missionary; Yemen (with\nthe exception of Sheikh Othman and Aden) has no missionary; Hadramaut\nhas no missionary; Nejd has no missionary; Hassa has no missionary;\nJebel Shammar and all the northern desert have no missionary; Oman has\n_one_ missionary. Again, the following towns and cities are accessible,\nbut have not one witness for Christ: Sana, Hodeidah, Menakha, Zebid,\nDamar, Taiz, Ibb, with forty smaller towns in Yemen; Makallah, Shehr,\nand Shibam in Hadramaut; Rastak, Someil, Sohar, Sur, Abu Thubi, Dabai,\nSharka and other important towns in Oman; not to speak of the important\ntowns of Nejd and in Mesopotamia, still without any missionaries and\nnever visited by an evangelist.\n\nArabia is in truth a neglected field, even now. Thus far the work has\nbeen only preliminary; the evangelization of Arabia must yet begin; not\nuntil every province is entered and every one of the strategic points\nspecified is occupied can we truly speak of Arabia as a mission-field.\nNor is the project visionary. Given the men and the means there is\nnot the slightest reason why the next decade should not see the entire\npeninsula the field for some sort of missionary effort. The doors are\nopen, or they will open to the knock of faith. God still lives and\nworks.\n\nRegarding the best methods of mission-work in Arabia the experience\nof missionaries in other Moslem lands is of the greatest value. The\nstory of the Church Missionary Society in the Punjab, that of the\nNorth Africa Mission, and above all the work of the Rhenish Society\nin Sumatra should be thoroughly familiar to every Arabian missionary.\nMedical missions have their special place and power, but also their\nspecial difficulties in pioneer work like that in Arabia. Surgery is\nworth infinitely more than medicine among a people like the Arabs,\nwhere fatalism and neglect of the sick make the science of medicine of\ndoubtful result in so many cases. \u201cKill or cure\u201d rather than prolonged\ntreatment, suits the Moslem palate. But a skillful surgeon with a\nTurkish diploma holds the key to every door in the entire peninsula.\nThere is not one mission-hospital in Arabia! Surely such centres as\nBagdad, Busrah, Bahrein, Sana, Jiddah, Hodeidah and Hofhoof should have\nthese acknowledged powerful methods of evangelization. At Aden and\nMuscat there are Indian Government hospitals.\n\nEducational work is still absent or in its infancy as regards the\nMoslem population, so that there are no data from which to formulate\ntheories as to its success. In some parts of Arabia schools might not\nbe permitted by the government; everywhere they would necessarily at\nthe outset be very elementary.\n\nChristian women, as experience has proved both in Yemen and\nEast Arabia, are welcomed everywhere. With or without medical\nqualifications, but with hearts of love and sympathy for the poor, the\nsuffering and the miserable, they can enter every house or hut. Even\nin the black tents of Kedar there are aching hearts and wretched homes\nto which the gospel of peace and love can alone bring relief. Lady Ann\nBlunt and Mrs. Theodore Bent have proved what women can do in Arabia\nfor the sake of science; will there be no Christian women who will\npenetrate as far inland for the sake of their Saviour?\n\nColportage is an approved mission-method especially in Arabia, since\nthe Bible and a full line of educational and religious literature is\nready to our hand from the Syrian and Egyptian missions. In Yemen\nthis work would be especially useful and practicable, but there it\nhas scarcely been attempted systematically. The problem is to find\nmen of the right stamp for the work. Men who are \u201cwilling to endure\nhardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ,\u201d with tact and good temper\nand the ability to talk with the simple-minded. Love is worth more than\nlearning in a colporteur. Good health and a clean Turkish passport\nare two other requisites. Even this method of work is in its infancy;\nthere are many open doors for the Word of God that have never yet been\nentered.\n\nUnder evangelistic work come the problems of street-preaching, touring,\nand the use or abuse of controversy. The best place for preaching at\nstations is the mission-house itself, after the example of Paul (Acts\nxxviii. 30, 31). On tours or in village-work the _mejlis_ of the sheikh\nor the public coffee-shop makes a capital pulpit. In a small hand-book\nfor missionaries to Moslems by Rev. Arthur Brinckman, now out of\nprint,[152] I find the following admirable hints on public preaching to\nMoslems which apply to Arabia also:\n\n\u201cIf possible always address your audience from above. Sitting down is\nsometimes better than standing; you are not so likely to get excited,\nthe attitude is less war-like in appearance. Be with your back to a\nwall if possible; there are many reasons for this.\n\n\u201cWhen drawn into argument, keep on praying that you may speak slowly,\nand with effect. When asked a question do not answer quickly\u2014if you\ndo, you will be looked on as a sharp controversialist only; think\nover your answer first, and give it most kindly and slowly. If possible\nalways quote a passage near the beginning or end of a Koran chapter and\nthere will be less delay in finding it.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE BIBLE SHOP AT BUSRAH.]\n\n[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A NATIVE SHOP.]\n\nThe question of the right place of _controversy_ or whether it should\nhave a place at all in mission-work among Moslems is of the highest\nimportance. Opinions differ decidedly among those who are pillars\nof the truth. The best and briefest argument _against_ the use of\ncontroversy is that given by Spurgeon in one of his early sermons at\nNew Park Street Chapel.[153] He argues in brief that a missionary is\na witness, not a debater, and is only responsible for proclaiming the\ngospel by his lips and by his life.\n\nThere is truth in this, but on the other hand even the apostles\n\u201cdisputed\u201d in the synagogues with the Jews, and from the days of\nsaintly Martyn (not to say Raymond Lull), until now, the Christian\nmissionary has been compelled by the very force of circumstances\nto vindicate the honor of Christ and establish the evidences of\nChristianity by means of controversy. When, in July, 1864, the Turkish\ngovernment persuaded Sir Henry Bulwer to sign the death-warrant to all\nmissionary work among Moslems in the Turkish empire by the memorandum\nthat made controversy a crime, the fact was immediately recognized.\nRev. J. Ridgeway, then the editorial secretary of the Church Missionary\nSociety, wrote an able paper in the _Church Missionary Intelligencer_\non the theme: \u201c_Missionary work as regards Mohammedans impossible\nif controversy be interdicted._\u201d \u201cBy controversy,\u201d he wrote, \u201cwe\nunderstand not acrimonious and irritating recriminations, which, well\naware how unbecoming and injurious they are, the missionaries have\nalways eschewed, but that calm investigation of conflicting religious\nsystems that is indispensable to the decision of the important\nquestion\u2014which is true and which is false?\u201d[154]\n\nIt is only in this sense that controversy is justifiable; and this kind\nof controversy, whether by the printed page or word of mouth, has not\nproved unfruitful of good results. Sir William Muir gives a complete\nsynopsis of all Mohammedan attacks on the Christian faith and the\nreplies made in defence of Christianity; his criticisms of the books\nin question are also of great interest.[155] Since that date there\nhave been new attacks and new apologies both from the Moslem side and\nfrom that of the missionary. As a plough breaks up the soil before the\nseed is sown so this kind of literature and argument will often break\nup the fallow ground of Moslem hearts for the seed of God\u2019s Word. Even\nawakened fanaticism or active opposition is more hopeful than absolute\nstagnation of thought and petrifaction of feeling. How to awaken the\nMoslem conscience is the real problem.\n\nIt is less important to consider the attitude of the Turkish rulers\ntoward Christians than the attitude of the Moslem mind toward\nChristianity, as regards Arabia\u2019s evangelization. The prevailing\nattitude of the Moslem mind, in any particular part of Arabia, toward\nChristianity practically decides the fate of a convert. Were Moslems\nall strictly adherent to their traditions and the law regarding\nrenegades from Islam, every convert would be a martyr and every\ninquirer would disappear. The Ottoman code of Moslem law gives specific\ndirections for the trial and execution of the renegade from the faith.\n\u201cHe is to have three distinct offers of life if he will return to the\nfaith and time for reflection, after each offer, is to be given him.\nIf he remains obdurate he is to be executed by strangulation and then\nhis head is to be cut off and placed under his arm. His body is thus\nto be exposed three days in the most public place.\u201d[156] But, thank\nGod, Moslems do not strictly adhere to this law. In this, as in other\nrespects, many are better than their religion and superior to their\nprophet. Converts in that part of Arabia which is under English rule or\nprotection are as safe as they are in India; which does not mean that\nthey are entirely free from persecution. In Turkish Arabia the law is\ncarried out by secret murder, or by banishment; yet not in every case,\nfor even there inquirers and converts, if not active or prominent,\nhave remained for a time unmolested. What the result would be in the\nindependent Moslem states of Arabia we do not know yet.\n\nThe Berlin Treaty was intended to be the Magna Charta of Christian\nliberty in the Turkish empire, but the Turk has not kept the compact.\nIts provisions were too galling for Moslem pride and prestige; reforms\nnever got beyond the paper stage. The massacres of 1894 to 1896 proved\nthat the Sultan is still the Pope of a religious fraternity and king\nof a political empire based on the forty-seventh chapter of the Koran:\n\u201cWhen ye encounter the unbelievers strike off their heads until you\nhave made a great slaughter of them.\u201d And the inaction of all the\nChristian powers at that time proved that it is vain to put confidence\nin princes. But in spite of all possible government opposition or even\nthe martyrdom of every individual convert \u201cso long as the door of\naccess to individual Mohammedans is open, so long it is the clear and\nbounden duty of the church of Christ to make use of its opportunities\nfor delivering the gospel message to them.\u201d\n\nThe attitude of the Arab mind is not universally hostile to\nChristianity. The vast majority are indifferent to religion in any\nform. \u201cWhat shall we eat and what shall we drink and wherewithal\nshall we be clothed,\u201d\u2014is the sum of all their thoughts. The Arab\nmerchant serves Mammon with all his heart seven days a week. Religion\nis an ornament and a conventionality; he wears it like his flowing\novergarment and it fits him just as loosely. He thinks it scarcely\nworth while to discuss questions of belief. Every one has their own\nreligion, is a remark one often hears in Arabia. It is a faint echo\nof the all-embracing tolerance of the days of ignorance when three\nhundred and sixty idols, including an image of Christ and the virgin,\nfilled the Kaaba!\n\nThen there are some thoughtful men who know better,\u2014seekers after\ntruth,\u2014and who feel that there are strong points in Christianity and\nweak points in Islam which have not been duly considered. One meets\nexamples of this class everywhere in all stations of life and in most\nunexpected quarters. In the heart of Yemen I met a Mullah who had a\nwonderful knowledge of the Arabic Bible; and the copy he showed me\nwas an imperfect translation by Richard Watson dated 1825! Another\nprominent Mohammedan in Eastern Arabia recently expressed his opinion\nthat the Christ of the New Testament never intended to found a new\nreligion, but to introduce everywhere _spiritual_ worship of the God of\nAbraham; he said that a long and independent study of the Bible had led\nhim to this opinion.\n\nThe steady increase of the circulation of Scriptures in Arabia is\nalso an indication which way the current is drifting. Rev. George E.\nStone, a few weeks before his death, writing of the Bible circulation\nat Muscat said, \u201cI don\u2019t know when the explosion is coming but we are\ngetting the dynamite under this rock of Islam and some day God will\ntouch it off.\u201d The Bible in Arabia will indeed prove its power in\nchanging the entire attitude of the Moslem mind. \u201cIs not my word like\nas a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in\npieces?\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\nFinally there is the problem of securing the right men for the work.\nSo hard is the field in many ways and so hard are Moslem hearts that\nthe description of Aaron Matthews\u2019 ideal missionary for the Jews would\napply to the Arabs as well, (the last clause omitted). He wrote:\n\u201cA Jewish missionary requires Abraham\u2019s faith, Job\u2019s patience, the\nmeekness of Moses, the strength of Samson, the wisdom of Solomon, the\nlove of John, the zeal of Paul, the knowledge of the Scripture of\nTimothy, and a little bit of Baron Rothschild\u2019s pocket.\u201d The financial\npart of the equipment is not essential on the part of the missionary;\nhe should be content with food and raiment. The less display of Baron\nRothschild\u2019s pocket the better, in a land where people go to bed hungry\nand where all live in the greatest simplicity.\n\nThe candidate for missionary work in Arabia should have a strong and\nsound constitution. He should know how to \u201crough it\u201d when necessary;\nthe more of the Bohemian there is in his nature the better. He should\nhave both ability and dogged determination enough to acquire the\nArabic language. Other scholarship is useful but not necessary. To\nget along well with the Arabs he should have patience. And to avoid\nwearing himself out, a good temper; a man with a very hot temper could\nnever stand three seasons in the Persian Gulf. Regarding spiritual\nqualifications I cannot do better than quote the solemn words at\nthe close of General Haig\u2019s paper on \u201cArabia as a mission-field.\u201d I\nbelieve they deserve to be repeated not only for the sake of those who\n_send_ missionaries to Arabia, but for the sake of those who _are_\nmissionaries to Arabia. It is a high ideal.\n\n\u201cGiven the right men, and Arabia may be won for Christ; start with the\nwrong men, and little will be accomplished. But what qualifications are\nneeded! what enthusiasm, what fire of love, what dogged resolution,\nwhat uttermost self-sacrificing zeal for the salvation of men and the\nglory of Christ! But upon this point I prefer to quote here the words\nof a man who is pre\u00ebminently qualified to speak upon the subject. Three\nyears ago he wrote to me:\n\n \u201c\u2018Unless you have missionaries so full of the spirit of Christ that\n they count not their own lives dear to them, you will probably look\n in vain for converts who will be prepared to lose their lives in the\n Master\u2019s service. In a relaxing tropical climate, like that of Aden,\n circumstances are very unfavorable for the development of self-denying\n character, or of energetic service. No small amount of grace would\n be needed to sustain it; for we are compound beings, and there is a\n wonderful reaction of the body upon the soul, as well as of the soul\n upon the body. It is supremely important, then, in an enterprise\n like yours, to have the _right stamp_ of men\u2014men who have made some\n sacrifices, and who do not count sacrifice to be sacrifice, but\n privilege and honor\u2014men who do not know what _discouragement_ means,\n and men who expect great things from God. Such alone will prove really\n successful workers in a field so replete with difficulty. Unless\n Eternity bulks very largely in the estimation of a man, how can he\n encourage a native convert to take a step that will at once destroy\n all his hopes and prospects of an earthly character, and possibly\n result in imprisonment, and torture, and death itself? and unless you\n have men who are prepared, should God seem to call for it, to lead\n their converts into circumstances of such danger and trial, it is not\n very likely that they will find converts who will go very much in\n advance of themselves. Men of this stamp are not to be _manufactured_;\n they are God-made. They are not to be _found_; they must be God-sought\n and God-given. But the Master who has need of them is able to provide\n them. Nothing is too hard for the Lord.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201d_Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that He would thrust forth\nlaborers into His harvest._\u201d\n\n\n\n\n XXXVI\n\n OUTLOOK FOR MISSIONS TO MOSLEMS IN ARABIA\n\n \u201cTake it at its very worst. They are dead lands and dead souls, blind\n and cold and stiff in death as no heathen are; but we who love them\n see the possibilities of sacrifice, of endurance of enthusiasm of\n _life_, not yet effaced. Does not the Son of God who died for them\n see these possibilities too? Do you think He says of the Mohammedan,\n \u2018There is no help for him in his God\u2019? Has He not a challenge too\n for your faith, the challenge that rolled away the stone from the\n grave where Lazarus lay? \u2018Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldst\n believe thou shouldst see the glory of God? Then they took away the\n stone from the place where the dead was laid.\u2019\u201d\u2014_I. Lilias Trotter_,\n (missionary to Algiers).\n\n\nTwo views are widely prevalent regarding the hopelessness of\nmissionary work among Moslems generally, and although these views are\ndiametrically opposite they are agreed that it is waste of time and\neffort to go to Mohammedan lands, that it is a forlorn hope at best.\nThe first view is that of those who are themselves outside of the\nkingdom, and who shut its doors against the Moslem, saying: Experience\nhas proved it to be not only useless but dangerous to meddle with the\nMoslem and his religion. Their faith is good enough for them; it is\nsuited to their ways. They do not worship idols and have a code of\nmorality suitable to the Orient. Mohammed was a prophet of God and\ndid all that could be done for these kind of people. Every attempt to\nconvert them ends in failure. Let them alone. Islam will work out its\nown reformation. Some, like Canon Taylor and Doctor Blyden, who profess\nto be Christians, even consider Islam the handmaid of Christianity and\nspecially fitted for the whole Negro race.[157]\n\nThe opposite view is that Mohammedanism is not too hopeful to be\nmeddled with but too hopeless! They who hold it profess to believe in\nthe Holy Ghost as the Lord and Life-Giver for the _heathen_ world, but\nhesitate when it comes to Islam. The Moslem is, they say, wrapped up in\nself-righteousness and conceit; even those whose fanaticism is overcome\ndare not accept Christ. It is better to go to the heathen who will\nhear. Missions to the Moslem world are hopeless, fruitless, useless.\nIt is impossible to Christianize them and there have been few, if any,\nconverts.\n\nThat both of these views cannot be correct is evident, since they are\ncontradictory. That the first is false the whole history of Islam\ndemonstrates. \u201cBy their fruits ye shall know them.\u201d But what of the\nother view, held by so many, that we need not expect large results\nwhere there is so little promise?\n\nProfessor J. G. Lansing, one of the founders of the Arabian mission,\nwrote in 1890: \u201cIf the smallness of the number of converts from\nIslam to Christianity be pointed out, this argues not so much the\nunapproachability of Moslems as the indifference and inactivity of\nChristians. The doctrine of fatalism commonly accredited to Islam, is\nnot one-half so fatalistic in its spirit and operation as that which\nfor thirteen centuries has been practically held by the Christian\nChurch as to the hope of bringing the hosts of Islam into the following\nof Jesus Christ.\u201d Is it possible that the lack of results complained\nof has been really a _lack of faith_? Hudson Taylor remarked a few\nyears ago, \u201cI expect to see some of the most marvellous results within\na few years in the missions to Islam, because of this work especially\nthe enemy has said: It is without result. God is not mocked.\u201d Has the\napostle to China read the signs of the times aright?\n\nNeither God\u2019s Providence nor His Word are silent in answer to that\nquestion. First we have the exceeding hopefulness of results of recent\nmissionary work in many Moslem lands; then the sure promises of God\nto give His Church the victory over Islam; and lastly the many\nexceeding great and precious promises for Arabia the cradle of Islam in\nparticular.\n\n1. It is not true that there have been no conversions among Moslems.\nIn India alone there are hundreds who have publicly abjured Islam\nand been received into the Christian Church. The very first native\nclergyman of the Northwest Provinces was a converted Mohammedan.\nSayad Wilayat Ali of Agra suffered martyrdom at Delhi for Christ.\nMirza Ghulam Masih of the royal house of Delhi became a Christian and\nAbdullah Athim, the valiant-hearted of Amballa embraced the faith. At\nthe Chicago Parliament of Religions Dr. Imad-ud-Din, himself a convert\nfrom Islam and a voluminous controversial writer, read a paper on\nChristian efforts among Indian Mohammedans; this paper gives the names\nof one hundred and seventeen prominent converts from Islam, mostly from\nthe Punjab. Beside these, the author says, \u201cthere are all sorts and\nconditions of men, rich and poor, high and low men and women, children,\nlearned and unlearned, tradesmen, servants, all kinds and classes of\nMohammedans whom the Lord our God hath called into His Church.\u201d It is\nofficially stated that quite one-half of the converts from among the\nhigher classes in the Punjab are from amongst Moslems.\n\nIn Persia there have been martyrs for the faith in recent years and\nseveral have been baptized. In the Turkish empire there have been\nscores of converts who have been obliged to flee for their lives\nor remain believers in secret. At Constantinople a congregation of\nconverted Moslems was gathered by Dr. Koelle, but man after man\ndisappeared\u2014no doubt murdered for his faith. In Egypt there have been\nscores of baptisms and among others a student of Al Azhar University\nand a Bey\u2019s son confessed Christ. One has only to turn over the leaves\nof the Church Missionary Society annual reports to read of Mohammedans\nbeing baptized in Kerachi, and Bombay, Peshawar, Delhi, Agra, and on\nthe borders of Afghanistan. In North Africa where the work is very\nrecent there have been conversions and in one locality a remarkable\nspiritual movement is in progress among the Moslems.\n\nIn Java and Sumatra the Dutch and Rhenish missionary societies have\nlabored with remarkable success among the Mohammedan population. At\nfour stations of the Rhenish Mission is Sumatra where the work is\npractically altogether among Moslems, (namely, Sipirok-Simangumban,\nBungabonder, Sipiongot, and Simanasor) the total number of church\nmembers according to the _Bombay Guardian_, is three thousand five\nhundred and ten. The total number of baptisms from Islam in these\nstations was during 1897 sixty-nine, and during the first half of 1898\nalready ninety-seven baptisms were reported. In some of the villages\nwhere formerly Islam was predominant it has been expelled altogether.\nThe total number of Battak Christians amount to thirty-one thousand,\nthe largest part of whom were formerly Moslems.[158] In some parts of\nJava still larger results are claimed.\n\nIn most Moslem fields it is absolutely impossible to obtain accurate\nstatistics of the number of conversions for obvious reasons. The\nthreatened death-penalty demands great caution in exposing a convert\nby freely publishing the fact of his conversion. Everywhere there are\nmultitudes of secret believers whose names are sometimes not known even\nto the missionaries. Any one who has read the lives of Moslem converts\nsuch as that of Kamil or Imad-ud-Din or who knows from books like\n\u201cSweet First Fruits\u201d what it means for a Moslem to forsake the faith\nof his fathers, knows that work in Moslem lands must not be judged by\nbaptismal statistics.\n\nThere are other indications of spiritual life entering the Moslem\nworld. There are thousands of Mohammedan youth receiving instruction\nin Christian mission schools; in Egypt, one mission has twenty-four\nhundred and sixty-four Moslem pupils enrolled. The permeating power\nof spiritual Christianity is again at work in the Levant as when Paul\nand Silas made their missionary journeys. The old churches of the\nEast by their unfaithfulness were the occasion of the great apostasy\nof Islam; _their revival is the pledge of its downfall_. There is now\nan Evangelical Church in Persia, Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Asia\nMinor. Bodies of living Christians in the midst of Islam; no wonder\nthat their power is beginning to be felt. The devil takes no antiseptic\nprecautions against a non-contagious Christianity. But Evangelical\nChristianity is contagious, and the whole lurid horizon proclaims in\npersecutions and massacres and raging oppositions everywhere that Islam\nfeels the power of Christian missions, even although they have only\nbegun to attack in a miserly and puny way this stronghold of Satan.\n\nRegarding the character of Moslem converts Bishop Thoburn says: \u201cI\nbelieve that when truly converted the Mohammedan makes not only a\ndevoted Christian but in some respects will make a superior leader.\nLeadership is a great want in every mission-field and the Mohammedans\nof India have the material, if it can only be won for Christ and\nsanctified to His service, out of which splendid workers can be made\nin the Master\u2019s vineyard.\u201d Doctor Jessup voices the same opinion, \u201cIt\nis not easy for a Mohammedan to embrace Christianity but history shows\nthat when he is converted the Moslem becomes a strong and vigorous\nChristian.\u201d\n\n2. In the work of missions among Mohammedans as well as in that among\nthe heathen we have the assurance of final victory in the abundant\ntestimony of God\u2019s Word. God\u2019s promises never fail of fulfillment;\nand those world-wide promises never are put in such a form as to\nexclude the Mohammedans. The Bible tells us that many false prophets\nshall arise and deceive many; but it does not for a moment allow that\nthe empire of Christ shall divide rule with any of them. \u201cIt pleased\nthe Father that in Him [Jesus not Mohammed] should all fullness\ndwell.\u201d \u201cThe Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His\nhands\u201d\u2014not into the hands of Mohammed. \u201cGod hath exalted Him and given\nHim a name which is above every name ... far above all principality\nand power and might and dominion and every name that is named not\nonly in this world but also in that which is to come.\u201d \u201cThat at the\nname of Jesus every\u201d Mohammedan \u201cknee should bow and every\u201d Moslem\n\u201ctongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the\nFather.\u201d The present may see Islam triumphant, but the future belongs\nto Christ. Over against the lying truth \u201cthere is no God but God and\nMohammed is His prophet,\u201d Christianity lifts the standard, \u201cWho is he\nthat overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus Christ is\nthe Son of God?\u201d The Divinity of Christ, which Moslems deny, decides\nthe destiny of all world-kingdoms. Witness the present governments of\nthe Moslem world. \u201cBe wise now therefore O ye kings, be instructed ye\njudges of the earth ... kiss the Son lest He be angry and ye perish\nfrom the way when His wrath is kindled but a little.\u201d\n\nThere is a failure among Christians to realize the number and\nimportance of the missionary promises in the Old Testament.[159] The\nGreat Commission was based on these exceeding great promises. The\nnations were in God\u2019s plan before they were on Christ\u2019s program. And\nis it not remarkable that nearly all of these Old Testament promises\nare grouped around the names of countries which now are the centre\nand strength of the Moslem world? \u201cKnown unto God are all His works\nfrom the beginning of the world.\u201d Or will these promises of world-wide\nimport only stretch beyond Egypt, Mesopotamia, Syria and Arabia,\nnot including those lands in God\u2019s plan of redemption and dominion?\nIs there not a special blessing in store for the lands that border\nPalestine, when the Lord shall comfort Zion and restore all her waste\nplaces? \u201cIn that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with\nAssyria even a blessing in the midst of the earth. Whom the Lord of\nhosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt My people and Assyria the\nwork of My hands and Israel My inheritance.\u201d\n\nThe Moslem world is in no _better_ condition and in no _worse_\ncondition than the heathen world as portrayed in the New Testament. The\nneed of both is the same; and the same duty to evangelize them; and the\nsame promise of God\u2019s blessing on our work of witness. The Mohammedan\nworld is also without excuse (Rom. i. 20, 32), without hope (John iii.\n36; Eph. ii. 12), without peace (Isaiah xlviii. 22), without feeling\n(Eph. iv. 19), without Christ (Rom. xiii. 13, 14) as is the heathen\nworld. But no less is our responsibility toward them nor the power of\nGod\u2019s love to win them.\n\nIt is the rock of Christ\u2019s _Sonship_ which is the stone of stumbling\nand the rock of offence to the Moslem mind. But it is this very rock\non which Christ builds His church; and the foundation of God standeth\nsure. Writing on this subject Mr. Edward Glenny, the Secretary of the\nNorth Africa Mission, well says:\n\n\u201cBlessed be God, we are not left to carry on this warfare at our own\ncharges! \u2018He that sent Me is with Me,\u2019 said the Master; and He who\nsends His servants now is surely with them also, for the promise\nstands, \u2018Lo! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the age.\u2019 In all\nour efforts for the salvation of men, we are dependent upon the power\nof the Spirit of God; for no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but\nby the Holy Ghost. But if those of us who work at home are conscious\nof this, those who labor in Mohammedan countries realize it most\nintensely. Amongst the masses at home, what we have to contend against\nmostly is indifference; but there it is deeply-rooted prejudice, aye,\neven in many cases, hatred to Jesus as the Son of God. But the battle\nis the Lord\u2019s, not ours; we are but instruments to carry out His\npurposes. The Spirit has been sent forth from the Father to \u2018convict\nTHE WORLD of sin,\u2019 and we are not justified in making any reservation\nin the case of Mohammedans\u2014yea, may we not expect that if there be a\nnation or race on the earth more inaccessible than another, more averse\nto the gospel, more hardened against its teachings, that there the Lord\nwill show \u2018the exceeding greatness of His power\u2019 by calling out some\nfrom their midst whom He may make \u2018chosen vessels\u2019 to bear His name to\nothers? Has not that been His mode of working in time past?\u201d\n\n3. There is no land in the world and no people (with the exception\nof Palestine and the Jews) which bear such close relation to the\nTheocratic covenants and Old Testament promises as Arabia and the\nArabs. The promises for the final victory of the Kingdom of God in\nArabia are many, definite and glorious. These promises group themselves\naround seven names which have from time immemorial been identified\nwith the peninsula of Arabia: _Ishmael_, _Kedar_, _Nebaioth_, _Sheba_,\n_Seba_, _Midian_ and _Ephah_. We select these names only, omitting\nothers which have an indirect reference to Arabia or the Arabs, as well\nas those promises, so numerous and glorious, concerning the wilderness\nand desert-lands. The latter would surely, for the dwellers of\nPalestine, have primary reference to Northern Arabia; but our argument\nis strong enough without these general promises.[160]\n\nIn order to understand the promises given to the sons of Ishmael, Kedar\nand Nebaioth, we need first to know the relation which Ishmael bears to\nthe Abrahamic covenant and the place he occupies in God\u2019s plan for the\nnations as outlined in the book of Genesis.\n\nHagar, the mother of the Arabian patriarch, seems to have occupied a\nprominent place in Abraham\u2019s household and appears to have brought to\nthat position not only mental gifts but also an inward participation\nin the faith of the God of Abraham. She was probably added to the\nfamily of faith during Abraham\u2019s sojourn in Egypt and occupied the same\nposition toward the female servants that Eliezer of Damascus did to the\nmale servants. It is when she was driven forth into the wilderness by\nthe jealous harshness of Sarah that we have the first revelation of God\nregarding her seed. \u201cThe angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of\nwater in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.\u201d[161] And\nHe said, Whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I\nflee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the Lord said\nunto her, Return to thy mistress and submit thyself under her hands.\nAnd the angel of the Lord said unto her, ... \u201cI will multiply thy seed\nexceedingly that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel\nof the Lord said unto her, Behold thou art with child, and shall bear a\nson and shalt call his name Ishmael [God will hear]; because the Lord\nhath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man, his hand will be\nagainst every man, and every man\u2019s hand against him; and he shall dwell\nin the presence of all his brethren. And she called the name of the\nLord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also\nhere looked after Him that seeth me.\u201d\n\nIt is plain from the context that the angel of the Lord and the Lord\nHimself are here identified; it was the angel of Jehovah, the angel\nof the covenant or the Christ of the Old Testament. Why should this\n\u201cangel\u201d first appear to the Egyptian bondwoman? Is it according to\nthe law that the Lord always reveals Himself first to the poorest,\nmost distressed and receptive hearts or was it the special office of\nthe covenant angel to seek \u201cthat which was lost\u201d from the patriarchal\nchurch at its very beginning? Lange suggests in his commentary that\nthe \u201cAngel of Jehovah, as the Christ who was to come through Isaac\nhad a peculiar reason for assisting Hagar, since she for the sake of\nthe future Christ is involved in this sorrow.\u201d In any case the special\nrevelation and the special promise was given to Hagar not only but\nto her seed. Christ, if we may so express it, outlines the future\nhistory and character of the Ishmaelites as well as their strength and\nglory; but He also gives them a spiritual promise in the God-given\nname, _Ishmael_, Elohim will hear. Without this the theophany loses\nit true character. Ishmael as the child of Abraham could not be left\nundistinguishable among the heathen. It was for Abraham\u2019s sake that the\nrevelation included the unborn child in its promises.\n\nThe fulfillment of the promise that Ishmael\u2019s seed should multiply\nexceedingly has never been more clearly stated than by the geographer\nRitter: \u201cArabia, whose population consists to a large extent of\nIshmaelites, is a living fountain of men whose streams for thousands\nof years have poured themselves far and wide to the east and west.\nBefore Mohammed its tribes were found in all border-Asia, in the East\nIndies as early as the middle ages; and in all North Africa it is the\ncradle of all the wandering hordes. Along the whole Indian ocean down\nto Molucca they had their settlements in the middle ages; they spread\nalong the coast to Mozambique; their caravans crossed India to China,\nand in Europe they peopled Southern Spain and ruled it for seven\nhundred years.\u201d Where there has been such clear fulfillment of the\npromise of natural increase, is there no ground that _God will hear_\nand give spiritual blessing also and that Ishmael \u201cshall dwell in the\npresence of all his brethren\u201d in the new covenant of grace?\n\n[Illustration: THE RESCUED SLAVE BOYS AT MUSCAT.]\n\nThirteen years after the first promise to Ishmael we hear the promise\nrenewed just after the institution of circumcision, the sign of the\ncovenant of faith. \u201cAnd Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might\n[even yet] live before Thee. And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear\nthee a son indeed; and thou shall call his name Isaac: and I will\nestablish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with\nhis seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee....\u201d What\nis the significance of Abraham\u2019s prayer for Ishmael? Is it probable\nthat he merely asks for temporal prosperity and for length of life?\nThis is the idea of some commentators but none of them explain why the\nprayer asks that Ishmael may live \u201c_before God_.\u201d Keil and others, more\ncorrectly we think, regard the prayer of Abraham as arising out of his\nanxiety lest Ishmael should not have _any_ part in the blessings of the\ncovenant. The fact that the answer of God contains no denial of the\nprayer of Abraham is in favor of this interpretation.\n\n[Illustration: THE ARABIAN MISSION HOUSE AT MUSCAT.]\n\nIn the prayer Abraham expresses his anticipation of an indefinite\nneglect of Ishmael which was painful to his parental heart. He asks\nfor him, therefore, a life from God in the highest sense. Else what\ndoes the circumcision of Ishmael mean? The sealing or ratifying of\nthe covenant of God with Abraham _through Isaac\u2019s seed_, embraces not\nonly the seed of Isaac, but all those who in a wider sense are sharers\nof the covenant, Ishmael and his descendants. And however much the\nArabs may have departed from the _faith_ of Abraham they have for all\nthese centuries remained faithful to the _sign_ of the old covenant\nby the rite of circumcision. This is one of the most remarkable facts\nof history. _Circumcision is not once alluded to in the Koran_, and\nMoslem writers offer no explanation for the omission. Yet the custom is\nuniversal in Arabia, and from them it passed over with other traditions\nto all the Moslem world. The Moslems date circumcision from Abraham and\ncircumcise at a late period. The Arabs in \u201cthe time of ignorance\u201d also\npracticed the rite; an uncircumcised person is unknown even among those\nBedouins who know nothing of Islam save the name of the prophet.[162]\n\n\u201cAs for Ishmael I have heard thee.\u201d For the third time we read of a\nspecial revelation to prove God\u2019s love for the son of the bondmaid.\nIn the pathetic story of Hagar\u2019s expulsion, Ishmael is the centre\nfigure.[163] His mocking was its cause; for _his_ sake it was grievous\nin Abraham\u2019s sight to expel them. To Ishmael again is there a special\npromise, \u201cbecause he is thy seed.\u201d When the water is spent in the\nbottle and Hagar turns away from seeing the death of the child, it was\nnot her weeping but the lad\u2019s prayer that brought deliverance from\nheaven. \u201cAnd the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said\nunto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the\nvoice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad and hold him by\nthine hand; for I will make of him a great nation. And God opened her\neyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the bottle\nwith water and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad.\u201d\n\nNo less does this history show the moral beauty of Hagar\u2019s character,\nher tender mother love and all the beautiful traits of a maternal\nsolicitude than the repentance of Ishmael. God heard his voice; God\nforgave his sinful mocking; God confirmed his promise; God saved his\nlife; God was with the lad. The Providence of God watched over Ishmael.\nLong years after he seems to have visited his father Abraham, for we\nread that when the patriarch died in a good old age \u201chis sons Isaac\nand Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah.\u201d No mention is made\nhere of the sons of Keturah. And twice in the Bible the generations\nof Ishmael are recorded in full[164] in order to bind together the\nprophecies of Genesis with the Messianic promises of Isaiah for the\nseed of Ishmael.\n\nThe twelve princes, sons of Ishmael, whose names are recorded \u201cby their\ntowns and their castles\u201d were undoubtedly the patriarchs of so many\nArab tribes. Some of the names can be distinctly traced through history\nand others are easily identified with modern clans in Arabia. Mibsam,\n_e. g._, seems to correspond with the Nejd clan of _Bessam_ some of\nwhom are merchants at Busrah; Mishma is surely the same as the Arabic\n_Bni Misma_; while nearly all commentators agree that Duma is _Dumat\nel Jendal_ in North Arabia, one of the oldest Arabic settlements.\nAside from conjecture two names stand prominent and well-known in\nprofane history; _Nebajoth_ and _Kedar_. Pliny in his natural history\nmentions them together as the Nabat\u0153i et Cedrei and the Arab historians\nare familiar with the names. Undoubtedly the Nabatans are related to\nNebajoth; although this is denied by Quartremere it is affirmed by M.\nChwolson and is the universal opinion of the Arabs themselves.\n\nNow it is these very two names, whose identity no one questions, that\nare the centre of glorious promises. It is generally known that the\nsixtieth chapter of Isaiah is the gem of missionary prophecy in the\nOld Testament; but it does not occur to every one that a large portion\nof it consists of special promises for Arabia. \u201cThe multitude of\ncamels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah, (Sons\nof Keturah, Gen. xxv. 1-5); all they from Sheba (South Arabia or\nYemen) shall come; they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall\nshow forth the praises of the Lord. All the flocks of Kedar shall be\ngathered together unto thee; the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto\nthee: they shall come up with acceptance upon mine altar and I will\nglorify the house of my glory. Who are these that fly as a cloud and as\ndoves to their windows?\u201d\n\nThese verses read in connection with the grand array of promises that\nprecede them leave no room for doubt that the sons of Ishmael have a\nlarge place in this coming glory of the Lord and the brightness of His\nrising. It has only been delayed by our neglect to evangelize Northern\nArabia but God will keep His promise yet and Christ shall see of the\ntravail of His soul, among the camel-drivers and shepherds of Arabia.\nAnd then shall be fulfilled that other promise significantly put in\nIsaiah xlii. for this part of the peninsula: \u201cSing unto the Lord a new\nsong and His praise from the end of the earth ... let the wilderness\nand the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar\ndoth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from\nthe top of the mountains.\u201d It is all there, with geographical accuracy\nand up-to-date; \u201c_cities in the wilderness_\u201d that is Nejd under its\npresent government; Kedar forsaking the nomad tent and becoming\nvillagers; and the rock-dwellers of Medain Salih! \u201cAnd I will bring the\nblind by a way they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have\nnot known: I will make darkness light before them and crooked things\nstraight.\u201d The only proper name, the only geographical centre of the\nentire chapter is _Kedar_. In two other prophecies,[165] which have no\nMessianic character, Kedar is referred to _as synonymous with Arabia_.\n\nAnother group of missionary promises for Arabia cluster round the names\n_Seba_ and _Sheba_. \u201cAll they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring\ngold and incense and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord.\u201d\n(Is. lx. 6.) \u201cThe kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea all\nkings shall fall down before Him, all nations shall serve Him.... He\nshall live and to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba; prayer also\nshall be made for Him continually and daily shall He be praised.\u201d The\nMessianic character of this psalm is generally acknowledged.\n\nWhere are Seba and Sheba? Who are they? Three Shebas are referred to in\ngenealogy and prophecy. 1. A son of Raamah, son of Cush; 2. A son of\nJoktan; 3. A son of Jokshan son of Keturah. But all of these find their\ndwelling-place in what is now Southern Arabia. The Joktanite Sheba\nis the kingdom of the Himyarites in Yemen.[166] The kingdom of Sheba\nembraced the greater part of Yemen; its chief cities and probably its\nsuccessive capitals were Seba, Sana (Uzal), and Zaphar (Sephar). Seba,\nthe oldest capital, is identical with the present _Marib_, northeast\nof Sana; for EzZejjaj in the Taj El Aroos dictionary says, \u201cSeba was\nthe city of Marib or the country in the Yemen of which the city was\nMarib.\u201d Ptolemy\u2019s map makes plain what the Romans and Greeks understood\nby Seba and Sheba. The Cushite Sheba settled somewhere on the shores\nof the Persian Gulf. In the _Marasid_ Stanley-Poole says he found \u201can\nidentification which appears to be satisfactory\u2014that on the island\nof Aw\u0101l, one of the Bahrein islands are the ruins of an ancient city\ncalled Seba.\u201d\n\nThe same authority holds that the Keturahite Sheba formed one tribe\nwith the Cushite Sheba and also dwelt in Eastern Arabia. Sheba has\nalways been a land of gold and incense and we are only beginning to\nknow a little of the opulence and glory of the ancient Himyarite\nkingdom in Yemen from the lately discovered inscriptions and ruins.\n\nIn the same psalm that gives these promises to Southern and Eastern\nArabia we have this remarkable verse: \u201cHe shall have dominion also from\nsea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that\ndwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him and His enemies shall lick\nthe dust.\u201d _The_ river referred to is undoubtedly the Euphrates[167]\nand the boundaries given are intended to include the ideal extent\nof the promised land. Now it is, to say the least, remarkable that\nmodern Jewish commentators interpret this passage together with the\nforty-eighth chapter of Ezekiel so as to include _the whole peninsula\nof Arabia_ in the land of promise. I have seen a curious map, printed\nby Jews in London, on which the twelve restored tribes had each their\nstrip of territory right across Arabia from the Red Sea to the Gulf and\nincluding Palestine and Syria.\n\nIsaac Da Costa, the great Dutch poet, who was of Jewish descent gathers\ntogether in his epic, \u201cHagar,\u201d some of these Bible promises for the\nsons of Ishmael.[168]\n\n \u201cMother of Ishmael! The word that God hath spoken\n Never hath failed the least, nor was His promise broken.\n Whether in judgment threatened or as blessing given;\n Whether for time and earth or for eternal heaven,\n To Esau or to Jacob....\n The patriarch prayed to God, while bowing in the dust:\n \u2019Oh that before thee Ishmael might live!\u2019\u2014His prayer, his trust.\n Nor was that prayer despised, _that_ promise left alone\n Without fulfillment. For the days shall come\n When Ishmael shall bow his haughty chieftain head\n Before that Greatest Chief of Isaac\u2019s royal seed.\n Thou, favored Solomon, hast first fulfillment seen\n Of Hagar\u2019s promise, when came suppliant Sheba\u2019s queen.\n Next Araby the blest brought Bethlehem\u2019s newborn King,\n Her myrrh and spices, gold and offering.\n Again at Pentecost they came, first-fruits of harvest vast;\n When, to adore the name of Jesus, at the last\n To Zion\u2019s glorious hill the nation\u2019s joy to share\n The scattered flocks of Kedar all are gathered there,\n Nebajoth, Hefa, Midian....\n Then Israel shall know Whose heart their hardness broke,\n Whose side they pierced, Whose curse they dared invoke.\n And then, while at His feet they mourn His bitter death,\n Receive His pardon....\n Before Whose same white throne Gentile and Jew shall meet\n With Parthian, Roman, Greek, the far North and the South,\n From Mississippi\u2019s source to Ganges\u2019 giant mouth,\n And every tongue and tribe shall join in one new song,\n Redemption! Peace on earth and good-will unto men;\n The purpose of all ages unto all ages sure. Amen.\n Glory unto the Father! Glory the Lamb, once slain,\n Spotless for human guilt, exalted now to reign!\n And to the Holy Ghost, life-giver, whose refreshing\n Makes all earth\u2019s deserts bloom with living showers of blessing!\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\n \u201cMother of Ishmael! I see thee yet once more, Thee, under burning\nskies and on a waveless shore! Thou comfortless, soul storm tossed,\ntempest shaken, Heart full of anguish and of hope forsaken, Thou, too,\ndidst find at last God\u2019s glory all thy stay! He came. He spake to thee.\nHe made thy night His day. As then, so now. Return to Sarah\u2019s tent And\nAbraham\u2019s God, and better covenant, And sing with Mary, through her\nSaviour free, \u2018God of my life, Thou hast looked down on me.\u2019\u201d\n\nBut Arabia, although it has all this wealth of promise, is not a\nfield for _feeble_ faith. Yet we can learn to look at this barren\nland because of these promises with the same reckless, uncalculating,\n_defiant_ confidence in which Abraham \u201cwithout being weakened in faith,\nconsidered his own body now as good as dead\u201d (R. V.) \u201cbut waxed strong\nthrough faith giving glory to God.\u201d The promises are great because the\nobstacles are great; that the glory of the plan as well as the glory\nof the work may be to God alone. Arabia needs men who will believe as\nseeing the Invisible. Six hundred years ago Raymond Lull wrote: \u201cIt\nseems to me that the Holy Land cannot be won in any other way than that\nwhereby Thou, O Lord Jesus Christ, and Thy Holy Apostles won it, by\nlove and prayer, and the shedding of tears and blood.\u201d\n\nA lonely worker among Moslems in North Africa recently wrote: \u201cYes\nit is lives poured out that these people need\u2014a sowing in tears\u2014in a\nmeasure that perhaps no heathen land requires; they need a Calvary\nbefore they get their Pentecost. Thanks be unto God for a field like\nthis: in the light of eternity we could ask no higher blessedness than\nthe chance it gives of fellowship with His Son.\u201d\n\nThe dumb spirit of Islam has possessed Arabia from its childhood for\nthirteen hundred years; \u201che teareth and he foameth and gnasheth with\nhis teeth and pineth away.\u201d \u201cAnd He said unto them this kind can come\nforth by nothing but by prayer and fasting.\u201d \u201c_If thou canst believe,\nall things are possible to him that believeth._\u201d (Mark ix. 14-29.)\n\nLife for Arabia must come from the Life-Giver. \u201cI believe in the Holy\nGhost,\u201d therefore mission-work in Arabia will prove the promise of God\ntrue in every particular and to its fullest extent. \u201cO that Ishmael\nmight live ... as for Ishmael I have heard thee.\u201d\n\n \u201cSpeed on, ye heralds, bringing\n Life to the desert slain;\n Till in its mighty winging,\n God\u2019s spirit comes to reign\n From death to new-begetting,\n God shall the power give,\n Shall choose them for crown-setting\n And Ishmael shall live.\n\n \u201cSo speaks the promise, bringing\n The age of Jubilee\n To every home and tenting,\n From Tadmor to the sea.\n The dead to life are risen,\n The glory spreads abroad,\n The desert answers heaven,\n Hosannas to the Lord!\u201d\n\n\n\n\n Appendix I\n\n A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE\n\n\n Circa 1892 B.\u202fC.\u2014Birth of Ishmael.\n \u201d 1773 \u201d \u2014Death of Ishmael.\n \u201d 992 \u201d \u2014Bilkis, queen of Yemen (Sheba) visits Solomon.\n \u201d 700 \u201d \u2014Amalgamation of Cushite and Sabean clans in Yemen.\n \u201d 754 \u201d \u2014All Yemen and Oman under rule of Yaar\u016db.\n \u201d 588 \u201d \u2014First Jewish settlements in Arabia.\n A.\u202fD. 33\u2014Arabians present at Pentecost.\n \u201d 37\u2014The Apostle Paul goes to Arabia.\n \u201d 60\u2014Second Jewish immigration into Arabia.\n \u201d 105\u2014Roman Emperor Trajan under his general Palma subdues\n Northwestern Arabia.\n \u201d 120\u2014Destruction of great dam at Marib and the beginning of Arab\n migrations northward.\n \u201d 297\u2014Famine in Western Arabia. Migrations eastward.\n \u201d 326\u2014Nearchus, admiral of Alexander, surveys the Persian Gulf.\n \u201d 325\u2014Nicene Council\u2014Arabians present.\n \u201d 342\u2014Christianity already extending in Northern Arabia. Churches\n built in Yemen.\n \u201d 372\u2014Mavia, queen of North Arabia, converted to Christianity.\n \u201d 525\u2014Abyssinian invasion of Yemen.\n \u201d 561\u2014Mohammed born at Mecca.\n \u201d 575\u2014Persians under Anosharwan expel the Abyssinians from Yemen.\n \u201d 595\u2014Mohammed marries Khadijah.\n \u201d 595\u2014Yemen passes under Persian Rule.\n \u201d 610\u2014Mohammed begins his prophetic career.\n \u201d 622\u2014(A.H. 1)\u2014Mohammed flees from Mecca to Medina. The era of\n the _Hegira_. (See end of Table.)\n \u201d 623\u2014Battle of Bedr.\n \u201d 624\u2014Battle of Ohod.\n \u201d 630\u2014Mecca overcome. Embassy to Oman, etc.\n \u201d 632\u2014Death of Mohammed. Abubekr caliph. All Arabia subjugated by\n force of arms.\n \u201d 634\u2014Omar caliph. Expulsion of Jews and Christians from Arabia.\n \u201d 638\u2014Kufa and Busrah founded.\n \u201d 644\u2014Othman caliph.\n \u201d 655\u2014Dissensions regarding caliphate. Medina attacked. Ali\n chosen caliph.\n \u201d 656\u2014Battle of the Camel. Capital transferred to Kufa.\n \u201d 661\u2014Ali assassinated. Hassan becomes caliph.\n \u201d 750\u2014Beginning of Abbaside Caliphate (Bagdad).\n \u201d 754\u2014Mansur.\n \u201d 786\u2014Haroun el Rashid.\n \u201d 809\u2014Amin.\n \u201d 813\u2014Mamun.\n \u201d 833\u2014Motasim.\n \u201d 847\u2014Motawakkel.\n \u201d 889\u2014Arise of Carmathian sect.\n \u201d 905\u2014Yemen comes under Karamite caliphs.\n \u201d 932\u2014Rebellion in Yemen. It becomes independent under _Imams_ of\n Sana as rulers.\n \u201d 930\u2014Carmathians take Mecca and carry away the black-stone to\n Katif.\n \u201d 1055\u2014Togrul Beg at Bagdad.\n \u201d 1096-1272\u2014The Crusades. Arabia in touch with European\n civilization through its bands of warriors.\n \u201d 1173\u2014Yemen subdued by sultans of Egypt.\n \u201d 1240\u2014Rise of Ottoman Turks.\n \u201d 1258\u2014Fall of Bagdad.\n \u201d 1325\u2014Yemen again independent.\n \u201d 1454\u2014Imams of Yemen take Aden and fortify it.\n \u201d 1503\u2014Portuguese under Ludovico Barthema, make voyages on Arabian\n coast and visit Aden and Muscat.\n \u201d 1507\u2014Portuguese take Muscat.\n \u201d 1513\u2014Portuguese under Abulquerque are repulsed at Aden. Visit\n Mokha and the Persian Gulf.\n \u201d 1516\u2014Suleiman by order of Mameluke Sultan attacks Aden and is\n repulsed.\n \u201d 1538\u2014Suleiman the Magnificent sends a fleet and takes Aden by\n treachery. Arab garrison butchered.\n \u201d 1540\u2014Beginning of Turkish rule in Yemen.\n \u201d 1550\u2014Arabs hand over Aden to the Portuguese.\n \u201d 1551\u2014Aden recaptured by Peri Pasha.\n \u201d 1624-1741\u2014Imams established rule over all Oman with capital at\n Rastak; then at Muscat.\n \u201d 1609\u2014First visit to Aden by English captains.\n \u201d 1618\u2014English establish factories at Mokha.\n \u201d 1622\u2014Portuguese expelled from Bahrein and Arab coast by the\n Persians.\n \u201d 1630\u2014Arabs drive out Turks from Yemen and _Imams_ take the\n throne at Sana.\n \u201d 1740-65\u2014Dutch East India Company in Persian Gulf and Red Sea\n ports.\n \u201d 1765\u2014English East India Company in Persian Gulf and Red Sea\n ports.\n \u201d 1735\u2014Abdali Sultan of Lahaj takes Aden.\n \u201d 1741\u2014Ahmed bin Said drives out Portuguese from Muscat and founds\n Dynasty of Imams, anew.\n \u201d 1765\u2014Mohammed bin Abdul Wahab dies and his political associate\n Mohammed bin Saud propagates Wahabiism in Arabia.\n \u201d 1780\u2014Spread of Wahabi doctrine over all of Central Arabia.\n \u201d 1801\u2014Wahabis conquer Bahrein and hold it for nine years.\n \u201d 1803\u2014Abd-ul-Aziz the Wahabi chief assassinated by a Persian\n fanatic.\n \u201d 1803\u2014Wahabis take Mecca and lay seige to Jiddah.\n \u201d 1804\u2014Wahabis take Medina.\n \u201d 1804\u2014Said bin Sultan ruler of Oman and Zanzibar.\n \u201d 1809\u2014Aden visited by Captain Haines of British Navy.\n \u201d 1818\u2014Ibrahim Pasha captures Wahabi capital and sends Amir in\n chains to Constantinople where he is beheaded.\n \u201d 1805-1820\u2014British suppress piracy in Persian Gulf.\n \u201d 1820\u2014Son of Amir, Turki, proclaimed Sultan of Nejd and Oman\n coast.\n \u201d 1821\u2014British make treaty with tribes on Oman coast called the\n \u201cTrucial League.\u201d\n \u201d 1820-1847\u2014British treaties with Bahrein chiefs to suppress\n slave-trade and piracy.\n \u201d 1831\u2014Turki, ruler of Nejd, murdered.\n \u201d 1832\u2014Feysul bin Turki, succeeds him.\n \u201d l835\u2014Abdullah bin Rashid becomes a powerful chief in Jebel\n Shammar.\n \u201d 1835\u2014Aden again visited by British to avenge cruelty to sailors\n shipwrecked off its coast.\n \u201d 1839\u2014Aden bombarded by British fleet and taken. Treaties made\n with surrounding tribes.\n \u201d 1840-1847\u2014Aden attacked by Arabs.\n \u201d 1846\u2014Tilal bin Abdullah bin Rashid succeeds to rulership of\n Jebel Shammar and becomes independent of Wahabi power.\n \u201d 1851-1856\u2014Abdullah bin Mutalib Sherif of Mecca.\n \u201d 1854\u2014Sultan of Oman makes treaty with England and cedes Kuria\n Muria Islands.\n \u201d 1856\u2014Thuwani bin Said ruler of Oman.\n \u201d 1857\u2014Perim occupied by British.\n \u201d 1858-1877\u2014Abdullah bin Mohammed Sherif of Mecca.\n \u201d 1858\u2014Cable laid in Red Sea from Suez to Aden, but proved\n defective (cost \u00a3800,000).\n \u201d 1858\u2014Bombardment of Jiddah by British.\n \u201d 1865-1886\u2014Abdullah bin Feysul ruler of Nejd with capital at Riad.\n \u201d 1867\u2014Mitaab bin Abdullah succeeds Tilal.\n \u201d 1867\u2014Menamah (Bahrein) bombarded by British because of broken\n treaty. Isa bin Ali made ruler.\n \u201d 1866\u2014Sultan bin Thuwani ruler of Oman.\n \u201d 1868\u2014Mohammed bin Rashid assumes power and rule at Hail as Amir\n of Nejd.\n \u201d 1869\u2014Cable laid from Bombay to Aden and Suez.\n \u201d 1870\u2014Turkish invasion of Yemen.\n \u201d 1871\u2014Turkish invasion of Hassa and occupation of Katif.\n \u201d 1871\u2014Seyyid Turki ruler of Oman (Muscat).\n \u201d 1875\u2014Busrah made a separate vilayet.\n \u201d 1877\u2014Beginning of Turkish bureaucracy at Mecca.\n \u201d 1878\u2014Treaty of Berlin. Reforms promised in Turkish Provinces.\n \u201d 1880\u2014Hasein, Sherif of Mecca, is murdered.\n \u201d 1881-82\u2014Abd el Mutalib again Sherif of Mecca.\n \u201d 1882\u2014Aun er Rafik made Sherif of Mecca.\n \u201d 1886\u2014Mohammed Ibn Rashid takes Riad overturning Saud government\n and becomes ruler of all Central Arabia.\n\n[NOTE.\u2014To find the equivalent date A. H. of any year A. D.:\u2014From the\nyear A. D. deduct 621.54 and to the remainder add 3 per cent. A. H.\n1 = July 16th, 622 A. D., and the Moslem year consists of 12 lunar\nmonths. To find the equivalent date A. D. of a year A. H. multiply it\nby .970225 and to the remainder add 621.54. The sum gives the date A.\nD. of the _end_ of the year A. H.]\n\n\n\n\n Appendix II\n\n TABLE OF THE ARAB TRIBES OF NORTHERN ARABIA\n\n\n {El Meshadaka.\n {El Meshatta.\n {_Walid Ali_ {El Hammamede.\n { {El Jedaleme.\n { {El Toluh.\n {\n {_El-Hessene_ {El Hessene (proper).\n { {Messalih.\n {\n I. The Anaeze: {_Er-Ruwalla_ {El Ruwalla (proper).\n { (or Jilas) {Um Halif.\n {\n { {Fedan.\n { {Tana Majid {Sebaa.\n { {\n {_El-Beshr_ { {Medeyan.\n { {Selga {Metarafe.\n { { {Aulad Sulei\n\n {El Mowaly.\n {El Howeytat.\n II. AHL ES-SHEMMAL: {El Hadedin.\n (Northern tribes) {Es-Soleyb.\n { (also) {El Feheily.\n {Arabs of the Hauran {Es-Serdye.\n {Bni Sokhr.\n {Bni Heteym.\n\n\n {Arabs of Kerak.\n {Esh-Sherarat.\n { {El Temeyat.\n { {El Menjat.\n {Bni-Shammar {Ibn Ghazy.\n III. AHL EL-KIBLY: { {Bayr.\n (Southernly { {El-Fesyani.\n tribes) {El-Jerba.\n {El Jofeir.\n {El Akeydat\n {Bni Sayd.\n {El-Wouled.\n {El-Bakara.\n\n\n I. THE ANAEZE:\n _Walid Ali_\n El Meshadaka.\n El Meshatta.\n El Hammamede.\n El Jedaleme.\n El Toluh.\n _El-Hessene_\n El Hessene (proper).\n Messalih.\n _Er-Ruwalla_ (or Jilas)\n El Ruwalla (proper).\n Um Halif.\n _El-Beshr_\n Tana Majid\n Fedan.\n Sebaa.\n Selga\n Medeyan.\n Metarafe.\n Aulad Suleiman.\n\n II. AHL ES-SHEMMAL: (Northern tribes)\n El Mowaly.\n El Howeytat.\n El Hadedin.\n Es-Soleyb.\n (also)\n Arabs of the Hauran\n El Feheily.\n Es-Serdye.\n Bni Sokhr.\n Bni Heteym.\n\n III. AHL EL-KIBLY: (Southernly tribes)\n Arabs of Kerak.\n Esh-Sherarat.\n Bni-Shammar\n El Temeyat.\n El Menjat.\n Ibn Ghazy.\n Bayr.\n El-Fesyani.\n El-Jerba.\n El Jofeir.\n El Akeydat\n Bni Sayd.\n El-Wouled.\n El-Bakara.\n\n\n\n\n Appendix III\n\n KAAT AND COFFEE CULTURE IN ARABIA\n\n\nKaat (_Celastrus eatha edulis_) is a shrub or small tree which grows\nat an altitude of about five thousand feet in the lower mountains\nof Yemen, especially on the slopes of Jebel Sohr near Taiz. It is\nuncertain whether the plant is indigenous, but if introduced into Yemen\nfrom Africa, it came very early, with coffee, when the Abyssinian\nconquest caused the fall of the Himyarite empire.\n\nKaat is planted from shoots which are left to grow for three years,\nthen all the leaves and buds are pulled off except on a few twigs;\nthese develop the following year into juicy shoots which are cut off,\ntied in bundles, wrapped in grass to preserve their moisture, and sold\nunder the name of _moubarreh_. The second crop is of better quality,\nand is called _mouthanee_. A small bundle, _kilwet_, sells at Taiz\nfor about five cents, and a larger quantity, yet scarcely a handful,\ncalled _zirbet_, for ten cents. Only the leaves and young twigs are\nmasticated, but I have seen the poor glad to pick up even the castaway\ndry leaves and branches to get what comfort they could out of them.\n\nThe taste of the leaves is slightly bitter and astringent, very like\nthat of the peach leaf. It has stimulative properties, produces\nwakefulness, and in large quantities hallucination; it is said to\npreserve the teeth, and some use it as an aphrodisac. All Arabs claim\nthat it gives wonderful power of endurance, and that with their kaat\nand tobacco they can do without food on long journeys. Every one, young\nand old, Arab, Jew or Turk, uses it, and many use it in incredible\nquantities. One soldier told me that he spent a rupee (33 cents) a day\nfor his kaat, and the Cadi of Taiz pays twenty dollars a day for this\nluxury,\u2014his household, however, is as large as the koran and divorce\ncan make it.\n\nThe Ottoman government receives twenty-five per cent customs on the\nmarket price of the plant in addition to the land tax on kaat culture.\nThe total revenue from this source is considerable as can be judged\nfrom the fact that at Taiz, a town of perhaps five thousand population,\nall the other taxes are farmed for ten thousand dollars per annum,\nwhile the daily sale of kaat amounts to over three hundred dollars!\n\nThe kaat market is open from early morning, when the fresh bundles\ncame on donkeys and camels, but the busiest time is in the afternoon;\nfor the proper thing is to eat kaat just before sunset, and to invite\nguests to chew leaves an hour or two before dinner. The sellers sit\nin the open air, and are mostly women. In their rather picturesque\ncostumes, unveiled, they sit the long day, with a basket of the green\nluxury before them; sprinkling their ware from time to time to keep it\nmoist; untying a score of bundles to satisfy some proud epicure who\ntastes before he takes; haggling over the price of a damaged bundle\nwith some soldier; and again swearing, as only Arabs can, to the\ngenuineness of the kind in question\u2014for kaat has six distinct flavors\nand varieties, each with a special name, and alas for the slave who\nwas sent for one and returns with another. Sometimes there is close\ndealing, or on a rainy day \u201ca corner\u201d in the market, or some wicked\nurchin runs off with a stolen bundle, and at such times all the women\ntalk at once, and their uproar is only rivalled in Yemen by the Jews\u2019\nsynagogue service. The kaat market at 4 P. M. is indeed a picture, full\nof color and pose and motion worthy the brush of an artist; its like\ncan only be seen in the villages of lower Yemen, and among the many\nsurprises to the traveller in this Switzerland of Arabia nothing is at\nfirst sight stranger and more ludicrous than to see sober Arabs sit\ndown in groups at the close of day and, as Nebuchadnezzar of old, \u201ceat\ngrass like oxen.\u201d\n\nAccording to an Arab history _kaat_ was used by the Arabs before the\ncoffee-plant became naturalized in the highlands of Yemen. At present\ncoffee and kaat grow together. Both are considered lawful to Moslems,\nand Yemen\u2019s chief source of wealth is its coffee export. The principal\ndistricts for coffee-culture stretch north of Taiz to Lohaia and\nKankaban and Sana, and the variety of the product depends mostly on the\nelevation of the plantation. There are three distinct stages in its\nculture. First the seed is prepared by removing the shell or pericarp;\nit is then mingled with wood ashes and dried in the shade. Then the\nseed is planted in prepared beds of rich soil, mingled with manure; the\nbeds are covered with branches of trees to protect the young plants\nfrom the heat of the sun and they are watered every six or seven days.\nLastly after six weeks the plants are carefully removed from the ground\nand planted in rows at a distance of two or three feet from each other.\nAfter two or three years the coffee-tree begins to yield.\n\nThe gardens in Yemen are all constructed in terraces along the\nmountain-side and are exceedingly beautiful when the plant is in full\nbloom. When the berries are ripe they are plucked from the tree and\ndried in the sun; afterwards packed in gunnybags they are sent to the\ncoast. The Arabs of Yemen seldom use the bean in making coffee but\nutilize the shell or husk; the beverage is less strong, more sweet and\nof course cheaper. Coffee is sown in March, budding begins in May, and\nthe crop is gathered in September. A great deal of Yemen coffee finds\nits way overland to the interior of Arabia in addition to the export\nto Aden and Hodeida; Mokha was once the great emporium but has utterly\ndecayed and now consists of only a few houses in ruined condition and a\ndilapidated Mosque.\n\n\n\n\n Appendix IV\n\n AN ARABIAN BIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n\nA. The Geography of Arabia\n\n Andrew, (Sir W. P.)\u2014The Euphrates Valley Route (London, 1882).\n\n\n Barthema, (Ludovico.)\u2014Travels in Arabia translated by R. Eden (1576).\n\n Begum of Bhopal\u2014Pilgrimage to Mecca (London, 1870).\n\n Bent, (Theodore and Mrs.)\u2014South Arabia (London, 1899).\n\n Blunt, (Lady Ann.)\u2014A pilgrimage to Nedj, 2 vols. (London, 1883).\n \u201d \u201d \u201d \u2014The Bedouins of the Euphrates (London, 1879).\n\n Buist, (Dr.)\u2014Physical Geography of the Red Sea (no date).\n\n Burckhardt, (John Lewis.)\u2014Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabis, 2 vols.\n (London, 1830; in German, Weimar, 1831).\n\n Burckhardt, (John Lewis.)\u2014Travels in Arabia, 2 vols. (London, 1830).\n\n Burton, (Richard.)\u2014Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El Medina\n and Mecca (London, 1857).\n\n\n Chesney\u2014Survey of the Euphrates and Tigris, 4 vols. (London, 1850).\n\n Cloupet\u2014Nouveau Voyage dans l\u2019Arabie Heureuse en 1788 (Paris, 1810).\n\n Constable, (Capt. C. G., and Lieut. A. W. Stiffe.)\u2014The Persian Gulf\n Pilot (London, 1870, 1893).\n\n Cruttenden, (C. J.)\u2014Journal of an excursion to Sana\u2019a the capital of\n Yemen (Bombay, 1838).\n\n\n Doughty, (C. M.)\u2014Arabia Deserta, 2 vols. (Cambridge, 1888).\n\n\n Fogg, (W. P.)\u2014Arabistan (London, 1875).\n\n Forster\u2014The Historical Geography of Arabia, 2 vols. (London, 1844).\n\n Frede, (P.)\u2014La Peche aux Perles en Perse et a Ceylan (Paris, 1890).\n\n Fresnel\u2014Lettres in Journal Asiatique iii. Series v. 521.\n\n\n Galland\u2014Recueil des Rites et Ceremonies du Pelerinage de la Mecque\n (Amsterdam, 1754).\n\n\n Haig, (F. T., Maj. Gen.)\u2014A Journey through Yemen. Proceedings of the\n Roy. Geog. Soc. of London, vol. ix., No. 8.\n\n Harris, (W. B.)\u2014A Journey through Yemen (London, 1893).\n\n Hunter, (F. M.)\u2014Statistical Account of the British Settlement of Aden\n (London, 1877).\n\n Hurgronje, (Snouck.)\u2014Mekka, mit bilder atlas, 2 vols. (Hague, 1888).\n\n\n Irwin, (Eyle.)\u2014Adventures in a voyage up the Red Sea on the coasts of\n Arabia, etc., in 1777 (London, 1780).\n\n\n Jaubert\u2014Geographie d\u2019Edresi (in Arabic and French, Paris, 1836).\n\n Jomard\u2014\u00c9tudes Geog. et Hist. sur l\u2019Arabie (in vol. iii. Mengin\u2019s\n History of Egypt).\n\n\n King, (J. S.)\u2014Description of the island of Perim (Bombay Government\n Records No. 49).\n\n\n La Roque\u2014A voyage to Arabia the Happy, etc. (London, 1726).\n\n\n Makramah, (Aboo Abd Allah ibn Achmed.)\u2014A Manuscript History of Aden\n (see Hunter\u2019s account).\n\n Manzoni\u2014El Yemen; Tre anni nell\u2019Arabia felic\u00e8 (Rome, 1884).\n\n Michaelis\u2014Receuil de Questiones propose\u00e8s a une Societ\u00ea de Savants qui\n par ordre de Sa Majestie Danoise font le voyage de l\u2019Arabic\n (Amsterdam, 1774).\n\n\n Niebuhr, (Carsten.)\u2014Original edition in German (Copenhagen, 1772).\n \u201d \u201d \u2014In French edition (Amsterdam, 1774).\n\n Niebuhr, (Carsten.)\u2014Travels through Arabia trans. into English by\n Robert Heron, 2 vols. (Edinburgh, 1792).\n\n\n Ouseley, (Sir W.)\u2014Oriental Geography of Ibn Haukal.\n \u201d \u201d \u201d \u2014Travels in Persia and Arabia, 3 vols. (London, 1800).\n\n\n Palgrave\u2014Travels in Eastern Arabia (London, 1863).\n\n Parsons, (Abraham.)\u2014Travels in Asia ... including Mocha and Suez\n (London, 1808).\n\n Phillips\u2014Map of Arabia and Egypt with index (London, 1888).\n\n Prideaux\u2014Some recent discoveries in Southwest Arabia (Proceedings Soc.\n Bib. Archaelogy, London).\n\n\n Sachau\u2014Am Euphrat und Tigris. Reisenotizen, 1897-98 (Leipzig, 1900).\n\n Schapira\u2014Travels in Yemen (1877).\n\n Seetzen\u2014Travels in Yemen (1810).\n\n Sprenger, (A.)\u2014Die alte Geographie Arabiens als Grundlage der\n Entwicklungsgeschichte des Semitismus (Berne, 1875).\n\n Sprenger, (A.)\u2014Die Post und Reiserouten des Orients (1864).\n\n Stanley, (Dean.)\u2014Sinai and Palestine.\n\n Stern, (Rev. A.)\u2014A journey to Sana\u2019a in 1856 (Jewish Intelligencer,\n vol. xxiii., pp. 101 seq.).\n\n Stevens\u2014Yemen (1873).\n\n\n Taylor, (Bayard.)\u2014Travels in Arabia (New York). Various editions.\n\n Tuck\u2014Essay on Sinaitic Inscriptions in the Journal of German Oriental\n Society, vol. xiv., pp. 129 seq.\n\n\n Van den Berg, (L. W. C.)\u2014Hadramaut and the Arabian colonies in the\n Indian Archipelago. Translated from the Dutch by Major Seeley\n (Bombay Govt. Records No. 212 new series).\n\n Van Maltzen, (H. I.)\u2014Reisen in Arabien (Braunschweig, 1873).\n\n Vincent\u2019s\u2014Periplus of the Erythrean Sea.\n\n Von Wrede, (Adolph.)\u2014Reise in Hadramaut.\n\n\n Wellstead, (Lieutenant.)\u2014Travels in Arabia (London, 1838).\n \u201d \u201d \u2014Narrative of a journey to the ruins of Nakeb\n el Hajar (Journal Roy. Geo. Soc. vii. 20).\n\n Whish\u2014Memoir on Bahrein (1859).\n\n W\u00fcstenfeld (F.)\u2014Baherein und Jemameh.\n\n\n Zehm (Albrecht.)\u2014Arabie seit Hundert Jahren (Halle, 1875).\n\n\nB. Manners and Customs[169]\n\n Arabian Nights\u2014(Various editions).\n\n\n Baillie, (N. B. E.)\u2014The Mohammedan law of sale (London, 1850).\n \u201d \u201d \u2014Mohammedan Law Hanifi code (London, 1865).\n \u201d \u201d \u2014Mohammedan Law Imamia code (London, 1869).\n\n Boyle, (J. B. S.)\u2014Manual of Mohammedan Laws (Lahore, 1873).\n\n Burckhardt\u2019s\u2014Arabic Proverbs (London).\n \u201d \u2014Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabis, (London, 1831).\n\n\n Grady, (S. G.)\u2014The Mohammedan Law of inheritance (London, 1869).\n\n\n Hamilton, (Charles.)\u2014Hedaya or Guide; a commentary on the Mussulman\n Laws (London, 1886).\n\n\n Jessup, (H. H.)\u2014Women of the Arabs (New York, 1874).\n\n\n Kremer, (Alfred Von.)\u2014Kultur Geschichte des Orients, 2 vols.\n (Wien, 1875-77).\n\n\n Lane\u2019s\u2014Manners and Customs of Modern Egyptians, 2 vols. (London).\n \u201d \u2014Arabian Nights, with Notes, 4 vols. (London).\n\n\n Meer, (Mrs. Hassan Ali.)\u2014Observations on the Mussulmans (London, 1832).\n\n\n Rumsey, (Almaric.)\u2014Mohammedan law of Inheritance (London, 1886).\n\n\n Smith, (Robertson.)\u2014The Religion of the Semites (New York, 1889).\n \u201d \u201d \u2014Kinship and Marriage in early Arabia (Cambridge).\n\n Syeed, (Ameer Ali.)\u2014Personal law of Mohammedans (London, 1880).\n\n\n Tornauw\u2014Das Moslemische Recht (1885).\n\n Trumbull, (H. C.)\u2014The Blood Covenant (Philadelphia, 1891).\n\n\n Von Hammer, (Purgstall.)\u2014Die Geisterlehre der Moslimen (Wien, 1852).\n\n\nC. History of Arabia.[170]\n\n Abu Jaafer Muhammed et Tabbari\u2014Tarikh el mulook; Arabic and Latin.\n Edit. Kosegarten (Leipsic, 1754).\n\n Abulfida\u2014Annales Muslemici. Arab. et Latin. Various editions.\n\n\n Badger, (George Percy.)\u2014History of the Imams and Seyyids of Oman by\n Salil Ibn Razik from A.\u202fD., 661-1856. Trans. with intro. and notes\n (London, 1871).\n\n Blau, Otto\u2014Arabien im Sechsten Jahrhundert. Zeitschrift des Deutsch.\n Morgenland. Gesel. xviii. B.\n\n\n Clark, E. L.\u2014The Arabs and the Turks (Boston).\n\n Crichton\u2014History of Arabia and its people (London, 1844).\n\n\n D\u2019Herbelot\u2014Bibliotheque Orientale (Maestricht, 1776).\n\n Doughty, (C.)\u2014Documents epigraphiques recueillis dans le nord de\n l\u2019Arabie (avec pr\u00e9face et traduction des inscriptions nabat\u00e9ennes\n de Medain-Salih par E. Renan). With 57 plates 4to. (Paris, 1884.)\n\n Dozy, R.\u2014De Israeliten te Mekka (Leyden, 1864).\n \u201d \u201d \u2014Essai sur l\u2019Histoire del\u2019 Islamisme (Paris, 1879).\n\n\n Eichhorn\u2014Monumenta Antiquissima Hist. Arabum (Gotha, 1775).\n\n\n Faria y Souza\u2014Manuel de Asia Portuguesa (Lisbon, 1666).\n\n Fl\u00fcgel, Gustav\u2014Geschichte der Araber bis auf den sturz des Chalifats\n von Bagdad, 2 vols. (Leipzig, 1864).\n\n Forster, Rev. C\u2014The historical geography of Arabia (London, 1844).\n\n Freeman\u2014History of the Saracens.\n\n Fresnel\u2014Lettres sur hist. des Arabes avant l\u2019Islamisme. Journal\n Asiatique (1838-1853).\n\n\n Gibbon\u2019s\u2014Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Chaps. l., li., lii.).\n\n Gilman, A.\u2014The Saracens (Story of Nations) (London, 1891).\n\n\n Haji Khalifah\u2014Hist. of the Maritime wars of the Turks. Translated\n from the Turkish by James Mitchell (London, 1831).\n\n Hallam\u2019s\u2014History of the Middle Ages (Chapter vi.).\n\n Hammer-Purgstall\u2014Gem\u00e4ldesaal der Lebensbeschreibungen grosser\n Moslimischer Herrscher (Leipzig, 1837).\n\n Hamza Ispahanensis\u2014Tarikh Saniy Mulook el Ardh, Arab. Lat. ed.\n Gottwaldt (St. Petersburg, 1844).\n\n\n Jergis El Mekin\u2014Hist. Saracenica Arab. et Lat. (Leyden, 1625).\n\n\n Khuzraji, Ali bin Hoosain El\u2014History of Yemen (_MSS._ in Records\n of Residency at Aden).\n\n\n Milman\u2019s\u2014Latin Christianity Bk. iv. chaps, i., ii.\n\n Muir\u2014Annals of Early Caliphate (London, 1883). (See under D. Islam).\n \u201d \u2014The Caliphate, its Rise, Decline and Fall (London, 1891).\n\n\n Ockley, S.\u2014History of the Saracens (London, 1708).\n\n Perceval, A. P. Caussin de\u2014Essai sur l\u2019Histoire des Arabes avant\n Islamisme (Paris, 1836).\n\n Playfair, R. L.\u2014History of Arabia Felix (Bombay, 1859.)\n\n Pocock, Eduardo\u2014Specimen Hist. Arab. ex Abul Feda (Oxford, 1650).\n\n\n Quartremere\u2014Memoire sur les Nabatheen.\n\n\n Rasmussen\u2014Addimenta ad Hist. Arab. ante Islam.\n\n Redhouse, J. W.\u2014A Tentative Chronological Synopsis of the history of\n Arabia and its neighbors from B.\u202fC. 500000 [!] to A.\u202fD. 679\n (London, 1890).\n\n Roesch, A.\u2014Die K\u00f6nigin von Saba als K\u00f6nigin Bilquis (Leipzig, 1880).\n\n Rycant\u2014The present state of the Ottoman Empire (London, 1675).\n\n\n Sacha\u016d, C. Edward\u2014The Chronology of Ancient Nations; an English\n version of Arabic \u201cVestiges of the past,\u201d A. H. 390-1000\n (London, 1885).\n\n Schm\u00f6lder\u2014Sur les Ecoles Philosophique chez les Arabes (Paris, 1842).\n\n Schulten\u2014Hist. Imperii vetus Joctanidarum (Hard. Gelderland, 1786).\n \u201d \u2014Monumenta Vetustiora Arab (Leyden, 1740).\n\n Sedillot\u2014Hist. gen. des Arabes (Paris, 1877). (Best general history.)\n\n Souza\u2014Documentos Arabicos para a hist. Portuguesa (Lisbon, 1790).\n\n\n Weil, Gustav\u2014Geschichte der Chalifen, 3 vols. (Mannheim, 1846-51).\n \u201d \u201d \u2014Geschichte der Islamisher V\u00f6lker von Mohammed bis zur\n Zeit des Sultan Selim (Stuttgart, 1866).\n\n W\u00fcstenfeld, F.\u2014Die Geschichtschreiber der Araber und ihrer Werke\n (G\u00f6ttingen, 1882).\n\n W\u00fcstenfeld, F.\u2014Vergleichungs Tabellen der Muh. und Christ.\n Zeitrechnung (Leipzig, 1854).\n\n W\u00fcstenfeld, F.\u2014Die Chroniken der Stadt Mekka gesammelt, und\n herausgegeben, Arab. Deutsch, 4 vols. (Leipzig, 1857).\n\n W\u00fcstenfeld, F.\u2014Genealogische Tabellen der Arabische St\u00e4mme\n (G\u00f6ttingen, 1852).\n\n\nD. Islam\n\n Addison, Lancelot\u2014State of Mahumedism (London, 1679).\n\n Akehurst, Rev. G.\u2014Impostures instanced in the life of Mohammed\n (London, 1859).\n\n Alcock, N.\u2014The rise of Mohammedanism accounted for (London, 1796).\n\n Anonymous\u2014Life of Mohammed (London, 1799).\n \u201d \u2014Reflections on Mohammedanism (London, 1735).\n \u201d \u2014The morality of the East as extracted from the Koran\n (London, 1766).\n\n Arnold, Matthew\u2014Essay on Persian Miracle Play (London, 1871).\n \u201d Edwin\u2014Pearls of the Faith (Boston, 1883).\n \u201d J. M.\u2014Ishmael, or the natural aspect of Islam (London, 1859).\n\n Arnold, J. M.\u2014Islam and Christianity (London, 1874).\n\n \u201d T. W.\u2014The Preaching of Islam: A history of the Propagation of the\n Muslim faith (London, 1896).\n\n\n Bate, J. D.\u2014Claims of Ishmael (Benares, 1884).\n\n Bedwell, W.\u2014Mahomet\u2019s Imposture (London, 1615).\n \u2014Mahomet unmasked (London, 1642).\n\n Beverly, R. M.\u2014A reply to Higgins [See Higgins,] 1829.\n\n Blochman, H.\u2014\u2019Ain i Akbari of Abdul Fadhl, (Eng. trans.)\n (Calcutta, 1868).\n\n Blunt, W. S.\u2014The Future of Islam (London, 1881).\n\n Blyden\u2014Islam, Christianity and the Negro Race (London, 1888).\n\n Bonlainvilliers, Count\u2014Life of Mohammed. Translation. (London, 1731).\n\n Brinckman, A.\u2014Notes on Islam (London, 1868).\n\n Brydges, H. J.\u2014History of the Wahabis (London, 1834).\n\n Burton, R. F.\u2014The Jew, the Gipsey and El Islam (London, 1898).\n\n Bush, Rev. George\u2014Life of Mohammed (New York, 1844).\n\n\n Carlyle, Thos.\u2014Heroes and Hero-Worship (London, 1840).\n\n Cazenhove, Dr.\u2014Mahometanism (Christian Remembrancer, Jan., 1855).\n\n\n Daumer, G. F.\u2014Mahomed und sein Werk (Hamburg, 1848).\n\n Davenport, John\u2014Apology for Mohammed (London, 1869).\n\n De Goeje\u2014Memoire sur les Carmathes de Baherein (Leyden, 1863).\n\n Deutsch, Emanuel\u2014Essay on Islam (London, 1874).\n\n De Worde\u2014A Lytell Treatyse of the Turkes Law called Alcoran (London).\n\n Dods, Marcus\u2014Mohammed Buddha and Christ (London, 1878).\n\n D\u00f6llinger\u2014Mohammed\u2019s Religion nach ihrer Inneren Entwicklung und ihrem\n Einfl\u00fcsse (Ratisbon, 1838).\n\n Dozy\u2014L\u2019Histoire d Islamisme (Leyden, 1879).\n \u2014Het Islamisme (Leyden, 1879).\n\n Dugat, Gustave\u2014Histoire des philos. et des theol. Musulmans de 632-1358\n J. C. (Paris, 1878).\n\n Duveyrier, H.\u2014La conferie Musulmane de Sidi Moh. bin Ali Es-Senonsi\n (Paris, 1886).\n\n\n Falke R.\u2014Budda, Mohammed, Christus; ein G\u00f6ttingen Vergleich u. z. w.\n (G\u00fctersloh, 1897).\n\n Forster, Rev. C.\u2014Mahometanism unveiled, 2 vols. (London, 1829).\n\n\n Gagnier, J.\u2014Ismael Abulfeda, De Vita et Rebus gestis Mohammedis\n (Oxford, 1723).\n\n Galland\u2014Recueil des Rites et Ceremonies du pelerinage de la Mecque\n (Amst., 1754).\n\n Garnett, L. M. J.\u2014The Women of Turkey and their folk-lore\n (London, 1891).\n\n Geiger Rabbi\u2014Was hat Mohammed aus das Judenthume aufgenommen?\n (Wiesbaden, 1833).\n \u2014Judaism and Islam [translation of the above] (Madras, 1898).\n\n Georgens, E. P.\u2014Der Islam und die moderne Kultur (Berlin, 1879).\n\n Gerock\u2014Versuch einer Darstellung der Christologie des Korans\n (Hamburg, 1839).\n\n Gibbon\u2014Decline and Fall of Roman Empire (in loco).\n\n Gmelin, M. F.\u2014Christenschlaverei und der Islam (Berlin, 1873).\n\n Guyard, S.\u2014La civilization Musulmane (Paris, 1884).\n\n\n Haines, C. R.\u2014Islam as a Missionary Religion (London, 1888).\n\n Hamilton, C.\u2014The Hedayah, a commentary on Moslem law. Trans.\n (London, 1791.) (Edition by Grady, 1890).\n\n Hauri, Johannes\u2014Der Islam in seinem Einfluss auf das Leben seiner\n Bekenner(Leyden, 1880).\n\n Herclots, Dr.\u2014Qanoon-el-Islam (London, 1832).\n\n Higgins, G.\u2014An Apology for the life of Mohammed (London, 1829).\n\n Hughes, F. P.\u2014Notes on Mohammedanism (London, 1875).\n \u2014Dictionary of Islam (New York and London, 1885).\n\n Hurgronje, C. Snouck\u2014Het Mekkaansche Feest (Leyden, 1880).\n \u2014Mekka: mit bilder atlas, (The Hague, 1880).\n\n\n Inchbald, Rev. P.\u2014Animadversions on Higgins, (Doncaster, 1830).\n\n Irving, Washington\u2014Life of Mahomet (London, 1850).\n \u2014Successors of Mahomet (London, 1852).\n\n Jansen, H.\u2014Verbreitung des Islams, u. z. w., in den verschiedenen,\n Landern der Erde, 1890-1897 (Berlin, 1898).\n\n Jessup, H. H.\u2014The Mohammedan Missionary Problem (Phila., 1889).\n\n\n Keller, A.\u2014Der Geisteskampf des Christentums gegen den Islam bis\n zur Zeit der Kreuzz\u00fcge (Leipzig, 1897).\n\n Koelle, S. W.\u2014Mohammed and Mohammedanism critically considered\n (London, 1888).\n\n Koelle, S. W.\u2014Food for Reflection (London, 1865).\n\n KORAN: (Editions and translations).\n \u2014English versions: Alexander Ross (from French, 1649-1688), Sale\n (1734), Rodwell (1861), Palmer (1880).\n \u2014First Arabic, _printed text_, at Rome, 1530 (Brixiensis).\n Arabic text, Hinkelmann (Hamburg, 1649).\n and Latin text,\u2014Maracci (Padua, 1698).\n text\u2014Empress Catherine II. (St. Petersburg, 1787).\n ( \u201d 1790, 1793, 1796, 1798).\n (Kasan, 1803, 1809, 1839).\n (critical edition) G. Fl\u00fcgel, (Leipzig, 1834, 1842, 1869).\n \u2014French, Savary (1783) and Kasimirski (Paris, 1840, 1841, 1857).\n \u2014French version, Du Ryer (Paris, 1647).\n \u2014German versions: Boysen (1773), Wahl (1828), Ullmann (1840, 1853).\n \u2014German version, Schweigger (Nurnberg, 1616).\n \u2014Latin version, Robert and Hermann (Basle, 1543).\n \u2014Russian version (St. Petersburg, 1776).\n Translations exist also in the other European languages; and in\n Persian, Urdu, Pushto, Turkish, Javan, and Malayan made by Moslems.\n\n KORAN COMMENTARIES:\u2014(\u201cThere are no less than 20,000 in the library at\n Tripolis alone\u201d\u2014Arnold\u2019s Islam and Christianity, p. 81).\n The most important are,\u2014(Sunni)\u2014\n Al Baghawi, A. H. 515.\n Al Baidhawi, A. H. 685.\n Al Jalalain, A. H. 864 and 911.\n Al Mazhari, A. H. 1225.\n Al Mudarik, A. H. 701.\n Ar-Razi (30 vols.), A. H. 606.\n As-Safi, A. H. 668.\n As-sirru\u2019l wajiz, A. H. 715.\n At-Tafsir \u2019l Kebir, A. H. 606.\n Azizi, A. H. 1239, (and Shiah).\n Az-Zamakhshari, A. H. 604.\n Hussain, A. H. 900.\n Ibn u\u2019l Arabi, A. H. 628.\n Mir Bakir, A. H. 1041.\n Saiyid Hasham, A. H. 1160.\n Sheikh Saduk, A. H. 381.\n\n Krehl, C. L. E.\u2014Das leben des Moham. (Leipzig, 1884).\n\n Kremer, Von Alfred\u2014Geschichte der Herrschende Ideen des Islams: Der\n Gottsbegriff, die Prophetie und Staatsidee (Leipzig, 1868).\n\n\n La Chatelier, A.\u2014L\u2019Islam an XIX^_e_si\u00e8cle (Paris, 1888).\n\n Lake, J. J.\u2014Islam, its origin, genius and mission (London, 1878).\n\n Lamairesse, E., (et G. Dujarric.)\u2014Vie de Mahomet d\u2019apres la tradition,\n vol. i. (Paris, 1898).\n\n Lane-Poole, Stanley\u2014Studies in a Mosque (London, 1883).\n \u2014Table-talk of Mohammed (London, 1882).\n\n Lane\u2014Selections from the Koran (London, 1879).\n\n\n MacBride, J. D.\u2014The Mohammedan Religion Explained (London, 1859).\n\n Maitland, E.\u2014England and Islam (London, 1877).\n\n Marracio, L.\u2014Refutatio Al Coran (Batavii, 1698).\n\n Martyn, Henry\u2014Controversial Tracts on Christianity and Islam, by the\n Rev. S. Lee (edited Cambridge, 1824).\n\n Matthews\u2014The Mishkat (traditions) translation (Calcutta, 1809).\n\n Merrick, J. L.\u2014The life and religion of Mohammed from Sheeah\n traditions (translated from Persian) (Boston, 1850).\n\n Mills, C.\u2014The History of Muhammedanism (London, 1817).\n\n Mills, W. H.\u2014The Muhammedan System (\u20141828).\n\n Mochler, J. A.\u2014The relation of Islam to the Gospel (translation)\n (Calcutta, 1847).\n\n Mohler, J. A.\u2014Ueber das Verhaltniss des Islams zum Evangelium (1830).\n\n Morgan, Joseph\u2014Mohammedanism Explained (London, 1723).\n\n Muir, Sir William\u2014Life of Mahomet, 4 vols. (London, 1858 and 1897).\n \u2014Rise and Decline of Islam (in Present Day Tracts, London, 1887).\n \u2014Mahomet and Islam (London, 1890).\n \u2014Sweet First Fruits. Translated from Arabic. (London, 1896).\n \u2014The apology of Al Kindy, translated from Arabic (London, 1887).\n\n Muir, Sir William\u2014The Coran: Its composition and teaching and the\n testimony it bears to the Holy Scriptures (London, 1878).\n\n Muir, Sir William\u2014The Beacon of Truth (from Arabic) (London, 1897.)\n \u2014The Caliphate (London, 1897).\n \u2014The Mohammedan Controversy (Edinburgh, 1897).\n\n M\u00fcller, F. A.\u2014Der Islam im Morgen und Abendlanden (Berlin, 1885).\n\n Murray, Rev. W.\u2014Life of Mohammed, according to Abu El Fida\n (Elgin, no date).\n\n\n Neale, F. A.\u2014Islamism, its Rise and Progress (London, 1854).\n\n Niemann, G. K.\u2014Inleiding tot de keunisvanden Islam (Rotterdam, 1861).\n\n N\u00f6ldecke, T.\u2014Geschichte des Qurans (G\u00f6ttingen, 1860).\n \u2014Das Leben Muhammeds (Hanover, 1863).\n\n\n Oelsner, C. E.\u2014Des effets de la religion de Mohammed (Paris, 1810).\n\n Osborn, Major\u2014Islam under the Arabs (London, 1876).\n \u2014Islam under the Caliphs (London, 1878).\n\n\n Pfander, Doctor\u2014The Mizan El Hak (translated from Persian)\n (London, 1867).\n \u2014Miftah ul Asrar (Persian) (Calcutta, 1839).\n \u2014Tarik ul Hyat, Persian (Calcutta, 1840).\n\n Palgrave, W. G.\u2014Essays on Eastern Question (London, 1872).\n \u2014Travels in Central and Eastern Arabia.\n\n Palmer, E. H.\u2014The Koran translated, 2 vols. (Oxford, 1880).\n\n Pelly, Lewis\u2014The Miracle Play of Hasan and Hussain (London, 1879).\n\n Perron\u2014L\u2019Islamisme, Son Institutions, etc. (Paris, 1877).\n \u2014Femmes Arabes avant et depuis l\u2019Islamisme (Paris, 1858).\n\n Pitts, Joseph\u2014Religion and manners of Mahometans (Oxford, 1704).\n\n Prideaux, H.\u2014The True Nature of the Imposture fully explained\n (London, 1718).\n\n\n Rabadan\u2014Mahometanism (Spanish and Arabic) 1603.\n\n Reland (and others)\u2014Four Treatises (on Islam) (London, 1712).\n\n Rodwell, J. M.\u2014The Koran, Translated (London, 1871).\n\n Roebuck, J. A.\u2014Life of Mahomet (London, 1833).\n\n Ross, Alexander\u2014The Koran (London, 1642).\n\n Rumsey, A.\u2014Al Sirajiyeh. Translated (London, 1869).\n\n Ryer, Andre du\u2014Life of Mahomet (London, 1718).\n\n\n Sale\u2014Translation of the Koran with preliminary discourse\n (London, 1734).\n\n Scholl, Jules Charles\u2014L\u2019Islam et son fondateur: \u00c9tude morale\n (Neuchatel, 1874).\n\n Sell, Rev. E.\u2014The Faith of Islam (Madras, 1880 and London, 1897).\n \u2014The Historical Development of the Quran (Madras, 1898).\n\n Smith, Bosworth\u2014Mohammed and Mohammedanism (London, 1876).\n\n Smith, H. P.\u2014The Bible and Islam (New York and London, 1897).\n\n Sprenger, Aloys\u2014Das Leben und die Lehre des Mohammed, 3 vols.\n (Berlin, 1865).\n\n Sprenger, A.\u2014Life of Mohammed from original sources (Allahabad, 1851).\n\n Steinschneider, Moritz\u2014Polemische Literatur in Arabischer Sprache\n (Leipzig, 1877).\n\n Stevens, W. R. W.\u2014Christianity and Islam (London, 1877).\n\n St. Hilaire, T. Bartholomew de\u2014Mahomet et le Coran (Paris, 1865).\n\n Stobart, J. W. H.\u2014Islam and its Founder (London, 1876).\n\n Syeed, Ahmed Khan\u2014Essays on the life of Mohammed (London, 1870).\n\n Syeed, Ameer Ali\u2014A critical examination of the life and teachings of\n Mohammed (London, 1873).\n\n\n Tassy, Garcin de\u2014L\u2019Islamisme d\u2019apres le Coran (Paris, 1874).\n\n Taylor, W. C.\u2014The Hist. of Mohammedanism (London, 1834).\n\n Thiersant, P. Dabry de\u2014Le Mahometisme en Chine (Paris, 1878).\n\n Tisdall, W. St. Clair\u2014The Religion of the Crescent (London, 1896).\n\n Turpin, F. H.\u2014Hist. de la vie de Mahomet, 3 vols. (Paris, 1773).\n\n\n Wallich, J.\u2014Religio Turcia et Mahometis Vita (1659).\n\n Weil, Gustav\u2014Das Leben Mohammeds; nach Ibn Ishak bearbeit von Ibn\n Hisham, 2 vols. (Stuttgart, 1864).\n\n Weil, Gustav\u2014Historische-Kritische Einleitung in den Koran\n (Bielefeld, 1844).\n\n Wherry, E. M.\u2014Commentary on the Quran, 5 vols. (London, 1882).\n\n White, J.\u2014Bampton Lectures (on Islam) (Oxford, 1784).\n\n Wollaston, Arthur N.\u2014Half Hours with Mohammed (London, 1890).\n\n Wortabet, John\u2014Researches into Religions of Syria (London, 1860).\n\n W\u00fcstenfeld, H. F.\u2014Das Leben Muhammeds, 3 vols. (G\u00f6ttingen, 1857.)\n \u2014Geschichte der Stadt Mekka, 4 vols. (Leipzig, 1857-61).\n\n\n Zotenberg\u2014Tareek-i-Tabari. Translated.\n\n Zwemer, S. M.\u2014The Wahabis. Victoria Institute (London, 1900).\n\n\nE. Christianity and Missions[171]\n\n Birks, Herbert\u2014Life and Correspondence of Bishop T. V. French\n (London, 1895).\n\n Jessup, H. H.\u2014The Setting of the Crescent and the Rising of the\n Cross or Kamil Abdul Messiah (Philadelphia, 1898).\n \u2014The Mohammedan Missionary Problem (Phila., 1879).\n\n Sinker, Robert\u2014Memoir of Ion Keith Falconer (Cambridge, 1886).\n\n _The Arabian Mission._ Quarterly Letters, Annual Reports, and special\n papers on missionary journeys from 1890-1899 (New York).\n\n Wright, Thomas\u2014Early Christianity in Arabia; a historical essay\n (London, 1855). This book gives a complete account of the early\n spread of Christianity and cites authorities, which, being mostly\n in Latin, are omitted here.\n\n\nF. Language and Literature\n\n Abcarius\u2014English-Arabic Dictionary (Beirut, 1882).\n\n Ahlwardt, W.\u2014The Divans of the six ancient Arabic Poets (London, 1890).\n\n Ahlwardt, W.\u2014\u00dcber die Poesie und Poetiek der Araber (Gotha, 1856).\n \u2014Bemerkungen \u00fcber die \u00e4chtheit der Alten Arab. Gedichten\n (Griefswald, 1872).\n\n Arnold, F. A.\u2014Arabic Chrestomathy, 2 parts (Halis, 1853).\n \u2014Septem M\u2019oallakat (Leipzig, 1850).\n\n\n Badger, G. P.\u2014English-Arabic Lexicon (London, 1881).\n\n Birdwood, Allan B.\u2014An Arabic Reading Book (London, 1891).\n\n Butrus al Bustani\u2014An Encyclop\u00e6dia in Arabic, vols. i.-ix. (1876-84).\n\n\n Cadri, Moh.\u2014Guide to Arab. Conversation (Alexandria, 1879).\n\n Caspari, C. P.\u2014Arab. Grammatik (Halle, 1876).\n\n Caussin de Perceval\u2014Grammaire Arabe. (Paris, 1880).\n\n Cheikho, P. L.\u2014Chrestomathia Arabica cum lexico variisque notis\n (Beirut, 1897).\n\n Clodius, J. C.\u2014Gram. Arabica (Leipzig, 1729).\n\n Clouston\u2014Arabic Poetry for English Readers (Glasgow, 1889).\n\n\n De Goeje, Prof.\u2014A complete account of the authorship, etc., of the\n Arabian Nights (\u201cDe Gids,\u201d Amsterdam, Sept., 1886).\n\n Derenbourg, H. and Spiro J.\u2014Chrestomathy (Paris, 1885).\n\n Dieterici, Fr.\u2014Thier und Mensch vor dem K\u00f6nig der Genien u. z. w.\n (Leipzig, 1881).\n \u2014Arabisch-Deutsches W\u00f6rterbuch zum Koran und Thier und Mensch\n (Leipzig, 1881).\n \u2014Die Arabische Dicht-Kunst (Berlin, 1850).\n\n Dombay, Fr. de\u2014Gram. Mauro-Arab. (Vindob., 1800).\n\n Dozy, R. P. A.\u2014Suppl\u00e9ment aux dictionnaires Arabes, 2 vols.\n (Leyden, 1877).\n \u2014[And many other monographs on the language.]\n\n\n Erpenius, Th.\u2014Grammatica, etc. (Leyden, 1767).\n \u2014Rudimenta Linguae Arabicae, Ed. A. Schultens (Leyden, 1770).\n\n Euting\u2014Katalog der Arabischen Literatur (Strassburg, 1877).\n\n Ewald, G. H. A.\u2014Gram. Critica linq. Arab., 2 vols. (Lips., 1831).\n\n\n Farhat, G.\u2014Dict. Arabe-Fran\u00e7aise (Marseilles, 1849).\n\n Faris Es Shidiac\u2014Arab. Gram. (London, 1856).\n\n Fleischer, H. L.\u2014Tausend und eine Nacht (text and notes, 12 vols.)\n (Breslau, 1825-43).\n\n Fleischer, M. H. L.\u2014Arabische Spr\u00fcche u. z. w. (Leipzig, 1837).\n\n Fl\u00fcgel, G.\u2014Die Grammatischen Schulen der Araber nach den Quellen\n bearbeitet (Leipzig, 1862).\n\n Fl\u00fcgel\u2014Kitab El Fihrist; with German notes (Leipzig, 1871-72).\n\n Fl\u00fcgel, Gustav\u2014Lexicon Bibliographicum Arab., 7 vols. 4to.\n (Leipzig, 1835-58).\n\n Forbes, Duncan\u2014Arabic Grammar.\n\n Freytag\u2014Einleitung in das Studium der Arabischen Sprache (Bonn, 1861).\n \u2014Lexicon, Arab. Lat., 4 vols. (Halis, 1830).\n (abridged Halis, 1837).\n \u2014Arabum Proverbia (3 vols.) (Bonn, 1838).\n\n\n Giggejus, A.\u2014Thesaurus linq. Arabicae, 4 vols. (Medioland, 1632).\n\n Gies, H.\u2014Zur kentniss sieben Arabischer Versarten (Leipzig, 1879).\n\n Girgass and De Rosen\u2014Chrestomathy (German ed. 1875. Russian, St.\n Petersburg, 1876).\n\n Goeje, De M. J.\u2014Debelangrykheid van de beoefening d. Arab. taal en\n letterkunde (Hague, 1866).\n\n Golius, J.\u2014Lexicon Arab. Lat. (Leyden, 1653).\n\n Green, A. O.\u2014A Practical Arabic Grammar (Oxford, 1887).\n\n\n Hammer Van Purgstall\u2014Literaturgeschichte der Araber: Von ihren beginne\n bis zum ende des Zw\u00f6lfte Jahrhunderts der Hidschret, 7 vols.\n (Wein, 1850-56).\n\n Heury, J.\u2014Vocab. French-Arab. (Beirut, 1881).\n\n Hirth, J. Fr.\u2014Anthologia Arab. (Jenae, 1774).\n\n Hoefer\u2019s Zeitschrift\u2014Ueber die Himyarische Sprache (vol. i., 225 sq).\n\n\n Jahn, J.\u2014Arabische Chrestomathie (Wien, 1802).\n\n Jayaker, A. S. G.\u2014The Omanese Dialect of Arabic, 2 parts (In Journal\n R. A. S., of Gt. Britain).\n\n\n Kosengarten, J.\u2014Arab. Chrestomathy (Leipzig, 1828).\n\n Kremer, A. von\u2014Lexikographie Arab. (Vienna, 1883).\n\n\n Lane, E. W.\u2014An Arabic English Dictionary (i.-viii.) (London, 1863-89).\n\n \u201d W.\u2014The Thousand and One Nights, with notes, edited, 3 vols.\n (London, 1841).\n\n Lansing, J. G.\u2014Arabic Grammar (New York, 1890).\n\n\n Mac Naghten, W. H.\u2014Thousand and One Nights literally transl., 4 vols.\n (Calcutta, 1839).\n\n\n Newman, F. W.\u2014Dictionary, 2 vols. (London, 1890).\n \u2014Handbook of Modern Arabic (London, 1890).\n\n N\u00f6ldeke, Th.\u2014Beitrage zur Kentniss d. Poesie d. alten Araber,\n (Hanover, 1864).\n\n N\u00f6ldeke, T.\u2014Funf Mo\u2019allq\u0101t, \u00fcbersetzt und erkl\u00e4rt. II. Die Mo\u2019allaq\u0101t\n Antara\u2019s und Labid\u2019s, 8 vo. (Vienna, 1900).\n\n\n Oberleitner, A.\u2014Chrestomathia Arab. (Vienna, 1824).\n\n\n Palmer, E. H.\u2014Arabic Grammar (London, 1890).\n \u2014Arabic Manual (London, 1890).\n\n Perowne, J. J. S.\u2014Adjrumiah, translated with Arabic voweled text\n (Cambridge, 1852).\n\n\n Richardson\u2014Arab. Persian English Dictionary (London, 1852).\n\n \u201d J. A.\u2014Gram. of Arabic Language (London, 1811).\n\n Rosenm\u00fcller, E. F. C.\u2014Grammar (Leipzig, 1818).\n\n\n Sacy, A. J. Sylvestre de\u2014An Arabic Grammar.\n \u2014Arabic Chrestomathy, 4 vols. (Paris, 1829).\n\n Salmone, H. A.\u2014Arabic-English Dictionary on a new system. Vol. I.\n contains the Arabic-English part, xviii. and 1254 pp. Vol. II.\n contains an English-Arabic key, referring every word to the Arabic\n equivalent in the first volume, 2 vols. (London, 1890).\n\n Socin, A.\u2014Arabische Grammatik (Berlin, 1889).\n\n Steingass, F.\u2014Arab.-Eng. and Eng.-Arab. Dict. (London, 1890).\n\n\n Tien, A.\u2014Handbook of Arabic (London, 1890).\n \u2014Manual of Colloquial Arab. (London, 1890).\n\n Trumpp, E.\u2014Einleitung in das Studium der Arabischen Grammatiker\n (M\u00fcnich, 1876).\n\n Tychsen, O. G.\u2014Elementale Arabicum (1792).\n\n\n Van Dyck, C. C. A.\u2014Suggestions to beginners in the study of Arabic\n (Beirut, 1892).\n\n Vollers\u2014\u00c6gypto-Arab. Sprache (Cairo, 1890).\n\n Vriemoet, E. L.\u2014Grammar (Franeker, 1733).\n\n\n Wahrmund, A.\u2014Arab. Deutsch Handworter buch, 2 vols. (Giessen, 1887).\n \u2014Handbuch der Arab. Sprache (Giessen, 1866).\n\n Winckler, J. L. W.\u2014Arab. Sprachlehre nebst W\u00f6rterbuch (Leipzig, 1862).\n\n Wright, W.\u2014Arabic Reading Book (London, 1870).\n\n[NOTE.\u2014For other Arabic Lexicons, Grammars and Manuals consult Oriental\ncatalogues of: Kegan Paul, Trench, Tr\u00fcbner & Co., London; F. A.\nBrockhaus, Leipzig; and E. J. Brill, Biblioth\u00e9que Orientale, Leyden.]\n\n\n\n\nIndex\n\n[_See also Table of Contents_]\n\n\n Abd-ul-Wahab, 192.\n\n Abdulla bin Rashid, 200.\n\n Abraha, 311.\n\n Abraham, God\u2019s promises to, 401.\n\n Abyssinian invasion of Arabia, 308.\n\n Accessibility of Arabia (see Open doors), 375.\n\n Adam, Tradition of the fall of, 17.\n\n Aden, 53, 218, 335, 376.\n as a mission centre, 338.\n Tribes around, 230.\n\n Aflaj, 145.\n\n Aftan, Wady, 22, 99.\n\n Allah (see God), 171.\n\n Alphabet, Arabic, 242.\n\n Ali, Ruins at, 105.\n\n Ali\u2019s footprint, 66.\n\n Amara, 132, 289, 364.\n\n American Arabian mission, 353.\n Rifles in Arabia, 66_n_, 139.\n\n Amulets (see charms), 283.\n\n Anaeze tribe, 154.\n\n Animals of Arabia, 28, 88, 149.\n\n Arab architecture, 124, 272.\n characteristics, 261, 264.\n genealogies, 261.\n geographers, 25.\n\n Arab, The, 258.\n\n Arabia, 240.\n Area of, 18.\n Boundaries of, 18.\n Felix (Yemen), 53, 307.\n\n Arabia in Moslem tradition, 17.\n\n Arabian field, Problems of the, 374.\n history, 158.\n idolatry (see Idolatry), 36.\n mission, 354.\n hymn, 358.\n\n Arabic language, 238, 254.\n newspapers, 257.\n\n Arabs, Classes of, 260.\n Origin of, 258.\n\n Architecture, Arab, 272.\n\n Arts, Arabian, 75, 274.\n\n Ashera, 140.\n\n Asir, The Turks in, 210.\n\n Athar, Science of, 91, 278.\n\n\n Bagdad, 133, 321.\n mission, 327.\n Turkish rule in, 215.\n Vilayet, 126.\n\n Bahrein, 97, 110, 220, 363, 373.\n huts, 271.\n\n Barka, 84.\n\n Barny, F. J., 366.\n\n Bartholomew, St., Tradition as to, 307.\n\n Batina Coast, 83.\n\n Bayard Taylor (quoted), 121.\n\n Bedaa, 111.\n\n Bedouin, Attacked by, 60.\n dress, 272.\n life, 265.\n tribes, 68, 132, 154.\n tribes, Mission to, 328.\n warfare, 203, 364.\n\n Beit Allah, 34, 35.\n\n Bent, Theodore, 73.\n\n Bible, Arabic, 256, 316.\n depot in Bagdad, 321.\n distribution in Arabia, 320, 365, 377, 384, 388.\n\n Black stone of Mecca, 31, 36.\n\n Blood covenants, 166.\n revenge, 155, 265.\n\n Blunt, Lady Ann, 269.\n\n British and Foreign Bible Society, 321.\n\n British influence in Arabia, 218.\n\n Bruce, Robert, 321.\n\n Buchanan, Claudius, 314.\n\n Bunder, Abbas, 235.\n Jissa, 84.\n\n Burckhardt (quoted), 269.\n\n Burial place of Mohammed, 47.\n\n Burns, William, 320.\n\n Burton (quoted), 282.\n\n Busrah, 124, 129, 361.\n mission, 365.\n\n\n Camel, Land of the, 88.\n Use and character, 90, 247.\n\n Cantine, James, 353, 359, 360.\n\n Caravan journey from Bagdad, 136.\n\n Caravan routes of Oman, 94.\n\n Carmathian princes, 115.\n\n Castles in Hadramaut, 75.\n\n Cave-dwellers, Gharah, 86.\n\n Certificate, The Mecca, 40.\n\n Charms used by women of Mecca, 42.\n\n Child life among Arabs, 265.\n\n Christian Church in Aden, 54.\n Arabia, 306.\n\n Christian coins used as amulets, 43.\n\n Christian and Missionary Alliance, 328.\n\n Christianity in Arabia, 159, 300.\n\n Christians, Hatred of, 30, 267.\n St. John, 285.\n\n Christ\u2019s Sonship, The Rock of, 397.\n\n Church Missionary Society, 322, 327, 344.\n\n Circumcision, 399.\n\n Climate of Arabia, 20, 378.\n Bahrein, 106.\n Nejd, 147.\n Oman, 79, 80, 93.\n\n Cobb, H. N. (quoted), 369.\n\n Coffee trade in Yemen, 70.\n\n Coins (Carmathian), 115, 225.\n\n Colportage work (see Bible distribution), 384.\n\n Commerce, English, in Arabia, 225.\n in the Nejd, 151.\n of Busrah, 126.\n\n Consulates, British, 231.\n\n Controversy, 385.\n\n Converts from Islam, 391.\n\n Cosmogony, Sabean, 296.\n\n Covenants, 166.\n\n Cradle of the Human Race, 119.\n\n Ctesiphon, Arch of, 133.\n\n Cufic characters, 243.\n\n Customhouse, Turkish, 58.\n\n\n Customs, Arab, 166.\n\n\n Da Costa, Isaac, 405.\n\n Damar, 66.\n\n Date culture, 124.\n palm, 121.\n\n Dauasir, Wady, 22, 145.\n\n Dedan, 97.\n\n Desert dwellers and the camel, 90.\n\n Deserts of Arabia, 24, 144.\n\n Difficulties of Arabian missions, 374.\n\n Diseases in Arabia, 280, 378.\n\n Diwaniyeh, 139.\n\n Doughty (quoted), 144, 268.\n\n Dress of the Arabs, 58, 70, 272.\n\n Dromedary, 89.\n\n Dutch Missionary Society, 394.\n Reformed Church, 353.\n\n Dwellings of Arabs, 271.\n\n\n East India Company, 221.\n\n Education in Mecca, 43.\n of Arab Children, 266, 379.\n\n Educational missions, 383.\n\n Elephants in warfare, 312.\n\n English possessions (see British), 27.\n\n English supremacy in the Gulf, 222.\n\n Euphrates, Journey down the, 136.\n\n Europeans who visited Mecca, 31_n._\n\n Eustace, M., 361.\n\n Evangelistic work in Arabia, 384.\n\n Eve, Tomb of, 17.\n\n Ezekiel, 54, 405.\n\n Ezra, Tomb of, 132.\n\n\n Family life in Arabia, 265.\n\n Fanaticism, Moslem, 379.\n\n Fao, 129.\n\n Fatima, Shrine of, 50.\n\n Fauna of Arabia, 28.\n\n Feasts, Sabean, 298.\n\n Fetishism, 168.\n\n Feysul, 198.\n\n Fish on the Oman Coast, 82.\n\n Flora of Arabia, 28, 57, 65, 124.\n\n Foods of Arabia, 86, 123, 273.\n\n Forder, Mr., 329.\n\n Frankincense, 86.\n\n Free Church of Scotland, 320, 334.\n\n French, Bishop Thomas Valpy, 330, 331, 344.\n\n French coaling station, 234.\n\n\n Games, 267.\n\n Geology of Arabia, 21.\n\n Geographers, Arab, 25.\n\n Gharah tribe, 85.\n\n Glenny, Edward (quoted), 397.\n\n God, The Moslem\u2019s idea of, 171.\n\n God\u2019s promises for Arabia, 395.\n\n Government of Bahrein, 108.\n Hassa, 117.\n Nejd, 150.\n\n Governments in Arabia, 26.\n\n Graves, Anthony N., 320.\n\n\n Hadramaut, 18, 72.\n\n Hagar, 397, 405.\n\n Haig, F. T., 322, 334, 359, 378.\n\n Hail, 151.\n\n Haj Nasir, Khan of, 140.\n\n Hajarein, Hadramaut, 74.\n\n Hal\u00e9vy, Joseph, 73.\n\n Hanifs, 168.\n\n Harem system, 161.\n\n Harpur, Dr. and Mrs., 322, 325.\n\n Harrat (volcanic tracts), 23.\n\n Hassa, 115, 117.\n\n\n Hassa, The Turks in, 217.\n\n Haswa, Khan El, 137.\n\n Haura, 75.\n\n Hegira, 183.\n\n Hejaz, Turkish rule in, 207.\n\n Hillah, 137.\n\n Himyarite dynasty, 158, 307.\n\n Himyarites, 259.\n\n Himyaritic inscriptions, 74, 244.\n\n History of Arabia, 158, 409.\n\n Hodeidah, 53, 70, 347.\n Bishop French at, 347.\n\n Hodgson, 327.\n\n Hofhoof, 113.\n\n Honey, 86, 247, 282.\n\n Horses, Arabian, 88, 149.\n\n Hospital at Hofhoof, 116.\n\n Hospitality of Rashid, 200.\n the Amir of Nejd, 150.\n\n Hostility to Christianity, 386.\n\n Hurgronje Snouck (quoted), 270.\n\n\n Ibb, Experience at, 65.\n\n Ichthiophagoi, 82.\n\n Idolatry in Arabia, 36, 52, 166, 284, 307.\n\n Idols of Arabia, 166.\n\n Ignorance of Arabia, 145.\n Meccans, 42.\n\n Ignorance, Time of, 158.\n\n Illiteracy, 42, 379.\n\n Immorality in Arabia, 40, 41.\n of the Koran, 186.\n\n India\u2019s influence on Arabia, 109.\n\n Infanticide, 161.\n\n \u201cInfidels\u201d, 30, 31.\n\n Inscriptions in Yemen, 313.\n Himyaritic, 74.\n\n Interior of Arabia, 143, 377.\n\n Irak-Arabi, 120.\n\n Irrigation in Oman, 93.\n\n Ishmael, 35, 401.\n Promises to, 398.\n\n Ishmaelite Arabs, 260.\n\n Islam, 169.\n Analysis of, 177.\n Borrowed elements of, 178.\n God of, 171.\n sects, 140,192.\n\n\n Jauf, 275.\n\n Jiddah, 17, 31, 32.\n\n Jebel Shammar, 154.\n\n Jesus Christ, 49, 297.\n\n Jews in Arabia, 63, 66, 159, 308.\n\n \u201cJohn the Baptist Christians,\u201d 297.\n\n Joktan, 404.\n\n Journey in Oman, 94.\n to Hofhoof, 111.\n Sana, 56.\n up the Tigris, 131.\n\n\n Kaaba, 34, 35, 263.\n Tradition of the, 17.\n\n Kaat-Culture, 63, 414.\n\n Kamaran Island, 33, 22O.\n\n Kamil, 360, 361, 423.\n\n Katar Peninsula, 110.\n\n Katif, 118.\n\n Kedar, Promises concerning, 398.\n\n Keith Falconer, Ion, 250, 331.\n Mission, 343, 381.\n\n Kenaneh, 310.\n\n Kerak, 327.\n\n Kerbela, 138, 195.\n\n Khadijah, 181.\n\n Khans, 137.\n\n Koran, 186, 239, 242, 251, 282.\n\n Koreish, 311, 312.\n\n Kuria-Muria Islands, 86, 219.\n\n Kurna, 142.\n\n Kuweit, 128, 222.\n\n\n\n\n Lahaj, 338.\n\n Lane-Poole, Stanley (quoted), 253.\n\n Language of the Arabs, 238, 249.\n Sabean, 288.\n\n Lansing, Dr., 321.\n J. G., 354.\n\n Law among Arabs (see Government), 265.\n\n Legend as to creation of camel, 88.\n of Nebi Salih, 302.\n St. Bartholomew, 307.\n\n Legends, 165.\n\n Lethaby, William, 327.\n\n Literature of the Arabs, 242, 251.\n\n Locust, 266, 273.\n\n Love among Arabs, 265.\n\n Lull, Raymond, 239, 314.\n\n\n Mahmal, 194.\n\n M\u0101adites, 259.\n\n Mackay\u2019s, Alexander, Appeal, 329.\n\n Makalla, 73, 376.\n\n Mand\u00e6ans, 285.\n\n Manufactures of Hassa, 115.\n\n Marriages in Arabia, 162, 268, 270.\n of Mohammed, 181, 182.\n Temporary, 41.\n\n Martyn, Henry, 314, 316.\n\n Martyn\u2019s, Henry, Journal, 318.\n\n Mattra, 82.\n\n Mecca, 17, 30, 34.\n Capture of, 194.\n Certificate, 40.\n Turkish Government of, 208.\n\n Meccan songs, 278.\n\n Medical knowledge of Arabs, 280.\n mission in Aden, Need of a, 336.\n\n Medical mission in Yemen, 325.\n missions, 361, 377.\n\n Medicine, Arab, 281.\n\n Medina, 31, 45.\n\n Menakha, 69.\n\n Menamah, 99.\n\n Mesopotamia, 119, 216.\n Star-worshippers of, 285.\n\n Methods of mission work for Arabia, 383.\n\n Mildmay Mission to the Jews, 363.\n\n Mina, 39.\n\n Miracles, Moslem, 313.\n\n Mishkash, 42.\n\n Mission at Aden, 342.\n Muscat, 82, 349.\n\n Missionaries needed, The kind of, 388.\n\n Missionary force in Arabia, 380.\n problems of Arabia, 374.\n\n Missions in Arabia, 314.\n\n Mahrah tribe, 85.\n\n Mak\u0101mat, 253.\n\n Mohammed, 169, 170, 179, 298.\n Ali, 196.\n Arabia, before, 158.\n\n Mohammed\u2019s burial place, 47.\n\n Mohammedan intolerance, 30.\n problem, 374.\n\n Moharram, 140.\n\n Moses, 302.\n\n Moslem attitude toward Christianity, 386.\n\n Moslem world, Condition of the, 397.\n\n Moule, A. E. (quoted), 351.\n\n Mounds at Ali, 106.\n in the River Country, 121.\n\n Mountains and table-lands, 19, 20, 22.\n\n Mufallis, 58.\n\n Muscat, 78, 363.\n Attack on, 364.\n\n Muscat, Bishop French at, 348.\n Capture of, 203.\n Henry Martyn at, 319.\n Importance of, 329.\n\n Music, Arab, 274.\n\n\n Nasariya, 141.\n\n Nebaioth, Promises regarding, 398.\n\n Needs of Arabia, 381.\n\n Nefud (Sandy Desert), 20.\n\n Neibuhr, M., 17.\n\n Nejd, 20, 27, 146.\n\n Nejf, 138.\n\n Nejran, 145.\n\n New Brunswick Seminary Band, 353.\n\n Newspapers, Arabic, 241.\n\n Nomad population, 380.\n\n Nomads, Arab, 157, 264.\n\n North Africa Mission, 328.\n\n\n Oaths, 57, 252, 264.\n\n Ojeir, 111.\n\n Oman, 78, 221, 234.\n Interior of, 92.\n Rulers of, 202.\n\n Open doors in Arabia, 324, 375.\n\n Opposition to missions, 362.\n\n Ottoman (see Turkish), 127.\n\n Outlook for missions, 391.\n\n\n Palgrave (quoted), 19, 110, 153, 172, 198.\n\n Palmyrene Kingdom, 304.\n\n Paradise, Rivers of, 22_n_.\n\n Paul in Arabia, 300.\n\n Pearl fishing, 100.\n\n Pearl Islands of the Gulf, 97.\n\n Pearl oyster, 100.\n\n Penmanship, Arabic, 245.\n\n Pentecost, Arabs at, 300.\n\n Perim, Island of, 220.\n\n Persecution of Christians, 311, 379.\n\n Persia, 318.\n\n Persian converts, 392.\n persecution of Christian Arabs, 305.\n\n Physicians, Arab, 42, 280.\n\n Pilgrimages, Early, 165.\n to Mecca, 37, 184.\n\n Pilgrims, Duties of, 38.\n Nationality of, 33.\n\n Pillars, The three, 39.\n\n Pirate coast of Oman, 82.\n\n Poem, \u201cHagar,\u201d 405.\n\n Poems on women, 270.\n\n Poetry, Arab, 163, 164, 254, 274.\n\n Poets, Arabian, 46.\n\n Political divisions of Arabia, 26.\n history of Bahrein, 107.\n\n Politics in Arabia, Present, 233.\n\n Polyandry, 162.\n\n Polygamy, 162, 268, 298.\n\n Population of Arabia, 29.\n Bagdad, 134.\n Irak-Arabi, 126.\n\n Portuguese at Muscat, 81, 202.\n castle, Katif, 118.\n\n Postal systems of Arabia, 224.\n\n Post, Geo. E. (quoted), 186.\n\n Poverty of the Arabs, 157.\n\n Prayer, Call to, 326.\n for Moslems, 315.\n\n Prayer-meeting of Star-worshippers, 289.\n\n Prayers of pilgrims, 38.\n offered at Medina, 50.\n\n Preaching in Yerim, 66, 324.\n to Moslems, 384.\n\n Priesthood, Mand\u00e6an, 298.\n\n Problems of the Arabian field, 374.\n\n Prophet\u2019s tomb at Medina, 47.\n\n\n Provinces of Arabia, 25.\n\n Ptolemy\u2019s map of Arabia, 18.\n\n\n Railway, Anglo-Egyptian, 226.\n\n Rashid, Mohammed bin, 200.\n\n Rastak, 79.\n\n Red Sea coast, 19.\n\n Reformation, Wahabi, 192.\n\n Reformed Church in America, 353.\n\n Religion of heathen Arabs, 164.\n the Mahrah tribe, 85.\n Sabeans, 288.\n\n Renan, Ernest (quoted), 239.\n\n Report of Keith Falconer, 335.\n\n Results of missions to Moslems, 392.\n\n Rhenish missionary society, 394.\n\n Riad, 152, 201.\n\n Riggs, C. E., 361.\n\n River country, 119, 382.\n\n Rivers of Arabia, 21.\n\n Roba\u2019-el-Khali, 143.\n\n Robbers, Bedouin, 155.\n\n Robbery among Arabs, 264.\n\n Robbery, Turkish, 69.\n\n Roda, 68.\n\n Roman empire and the Arabs, 304.\n\n Ruins at Ali, 105.\n in Hadramaut, 74.\n\n Ruma, Wady, 22.\n\n Russian influence, 235.\n interests in Arabia, 223.\n\n\n Sabeans, 285.\n\n Sabat, 317.\n\n Sacred mosque of Mecca, 35.\n\n Sacrifice, Sabean, 294.\n\n Sacrifices in Arabia, 39, 166.\n\n Said, Seyid, 202.\n\n Sana, 56, 67, 212.\n Early Christianity in, 310.\n Importance of, 324, 360.\n\n Sana inscription, 313.\n\n Saud, 194.\n\n School for African slave-boys, 366.\n\n Schools at Medina, 51.\n in Hassa, 117.\n of Mecca, 43.\n\n Sciences, Arabian, 274.\n\n Seba, 404.\n\n Semitic languages, 240, 241.\n\n Semites, 240.\n\n Shatt-el-Arab, 120.\n\n Sheba, 403, 404.\n\n Shehr and its ruler, 76.\n\n Sheikh Othman, 56, 335, 336.\n mission, 342.\n\n Shibam, 75.\n\n Shiran, Wady, 22.\n\n Shrines of Arabia, 165.\n\n Sib, 84.\n\n Sidra Rabba, 294.\n\n Sin, Koran doctrine of, 190.\n\n Sinaitic Peninsula, 302, 375.\n\n Slave School at Muscat, 366.\n trade, 85, 224.\n\n Smith, Eli, 256, 316.\n\n Social character of Arabs, 263.\n\n Socotra, 19, 219.\n\n Sohar, 84.\n\n Soldiers, Turkish, 216.\n\n Songs, Arabian, 275.\n\n Springs of fresh water in the Gulf, 99.\n\n Star-worshippers of Mesopotamia, 285.\n\n Steamship service to Bagdad, 131.\n\n Stern, Rev. A., 327.\n\n Stone, Geo. E., 351, 366, 371, 388.\n\n Suk-el-Shiukh, 141.\n\n Sultan of Turkey, 206.\n\n Sultans of Muscat, 79.\n\n Sumatra missions, 393.\n\n Superstitions, Arab, 165, 187, 283.\n\n Sur, 84.\n\n Sutton, Henry M., 327.\n\n Sword conquest of Islam, 184.\n\n\n Taif, 45.\n\n Taiz, 60, 62.\n\n Taxation, Turkish, 69, 142, 215.\n\n Tenoof, 96.\n\n Tents, Bedouin, 155, 271.\n\n Telegraph system, 28, 223.\n\n Thoms, S. J., 366.\n\n Theophilus, 307.\n\n Tigris-Euphrates basin, 120.\n\n Torbat manufacture, 138.\n\n Totemism in Arabia, 166.\n\n Toweelah coin, 115.\n\n Trade (see Commerce), of Bagdad, 135.\n\n Trade of Bahrein, 105.\n Muscat, 82.\n\n Tradition of fall of Adam and Eve, 17.\n\n Traditions, Henry Martyn\u2019s, 319.\n\n Treaties, British, with Arabs, 228.\n\n Tribal marks, 166, 279, 281.\n\n Travellers in Yemen, 53.\n\n Turkish Arabia, 376.\n rule, 26, 27, 58, 71, 127, 216.\n\n Turkish taxation, 113, 142.\n\n Turks in Arabia, 206.\n\n\n Unexplored Arabia, 18.\n\n Unoccupied territory, 382.\n\n\n Van Dyck, C. V. A., 256, 316.\n\n Van Tassel, Samuel, 328.\n\n Veil, Use of the, 161.\n\n\n Wadys, 21.\n\n Wahabis, 83, 191.\n\n Wahat, 57.\n\n Warfare, Arab, 203.\n\n Wasms, 166, 242, 281.\n\n Water courses of Oman, 93.\n\n Weapons, Arab, 267.\n\n Wellhausen (quoted), 167.\n\n Wellsted\u2019s travels in Arabia, 92, 93.\n\n Wilson, John, 320.\n\n Woman\u2019s dress in Arabia, 272.\n work for 365, 383.\n\n Women, Arab, 268.\n Bedouin, 156.\n\n Women in the \u201cTime of Ignorance\u201d, 160.\n\n Women, Mohammed and, 183.\n of Mecca, 40.\n Yemen, 58, 70.\n Sabean, 287.\n\n Wood carving in Hadramaut, 75.\n\n Worrall, H. R. L., 364.\n\n Wrede, Adolph von, 72.\n\n Writing as a fine art, 246.\n Early Semitic, 242.\n use of, 163.\n Mand\u00e2itic, 287.\n\n Wyckoff, James T., 363.\n\n\n Yakoob, 361.\n\n Yambo, 51, 196.\n\n Yemen, 53, 57, 62, 234.\n as a mission field, 323.\n Turks in, 211.\n\n Yemenites, 259.\n\n Yerim, 65.\n\n Young, J. C., 343.\n\n\n Zemzem, Well of, 34, 36.\n\n Zenobia, 304.\n\n Zobeir, 128.\n\n Zwemer, Peter J., 94, 362, 367.\n\n Zwemer\u2019s, P. J., journey in Oman, 94.\n\n Zwemer, S. M., 354, 359.\n\n Zwemer\u2019s, S. M., journey down the Euphrates, 136.\n\n Zwemer\u2019s, S. M., journey to Hofhoof, 111.\n\n Zwemer\u2019s, S. M., journey to Sana, 56.\n\n Zwemer\u2019s, S. M., journey up the Tigris, 131.\n\n[Illustration: Arabia]\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] May not this wady have been once a noble stream perhaps, as Glaser\nconjectures, the fourth of the Paradise rivers? (Gen ii. 10-14) Upon\nthe question as to where the ancient Semites located Paradise Glaser\nsays that it was in the neighborhood of the confluence of the Euphrates\nand Tigris, on the Arabian side. There the sacred palm of the city of\nEridu grew; there according to the view of the ancient Arabs the two\nlarger wadys of Central Arabia opened. The one is the Wady er-Ruma or\nthe Gaihan; and the other is the Wady ed-Dauasir, _a side wady_ of\nwhich in the neighborhood of Hamdani still bears the name of Faishan\n(Pishon).\u2014See \u201cRecent Research in Bible Lands,\u201d by H.V. Hilprecht,\n(Philadelphia, 1897). See also _The Sunday-School Times_, Vol. XXXIII,\nNo 49.\n\n[2] Samhudi\u2019s History of Medina. (Arabic text p. 40, sqq.)\n\n[3] These wastes are also termed _Dakhna_, _Ahkaf_, and _Hamad_\naccording to the greater or less depth or shifting nature of the sands\nor the more or less compact character of the soil.\n\n[4] \u201cKitab Sinajet-el-Tarb\u201d by Nofel Effendi (Beirut 1890). The author\nfollows the older Arabic authorities.\n\n[5] Geography of Asia (Vol II., p. 460), 1896.\n\n[6] The first account of a European visiting Mecca is that of Ludovico\nBartema, a gentleman of Rome, who visited the city in 1503; his\nnarrative was published in 1555. The first Englishman was Joseph Pitts,\nthe sailor from Exeter, in 1678; then followed the great Arabian\ntraveller, John Lewis Burckhardt, 1814; Burton in 1853 visited both\nMecca and Medina; H. Bicknell made the pilgrimage in 1862 and T.F.\nKeane in 1880. The narratives of each of these pilgrims have been\npublished, and from them, and the travels of Ali Bey, and others, we\nknow something of the Holy Land of Arabia. Ali Bey was in reality a\nSpaniard, called Juan Badia y Seblich, who visited Mecca and Medina in\n1807 and left a long account of his travels in two volumes illustrated\nby many beautiful engravings. Burton\u2019s account of his pilgrimage is\nbest known, but Burckhardt\u2019s is more accurate and scholarly. Of modern\nbooks, that of the Dutch scholar, Snouck Hurgronje, who resided in\nMecca for a long time, is by far the best. His _Mekka_, in two volumes,\nis accompanied by an atlas of photographs and gives a complete history\nof the city as well as a full account of its inhabitants and of the\nJava pilgrimage.\n\n[7] Vol. II., p. 157.\n\n[8] _TABLE OF MECCA PILGRIMAGE, 1880._\n\n(From Blunt\u2019s \u201cFuture of Islam.\u201d)\n\n\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\nNATIONALITY OF PILGRIMS. \u2502 Arriving \u2502 Arriving \u2502\nTotal Moslem \u2502 by Sea. \u2502 by Land. \u2502 Pop. represented.\n\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\nOttoman Subjects \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 (excluding Arabia) \u2502 8,500 \u2502 1,000 \u2502 22,000,000\nEgyptians \u2502 5,000 \u2502 1,000 \u2502 5,000,000 From \u201cBarbary States\u201d \u2502 6,000 \u2502\n\u2014\u2014 \u2502 18,000,000 Yemen Arabs \u2502 3,000 \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 2,500,000 Oman and Hadramaut\n\u2502 3,000 \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 3,000,000 Nejd, etc., Arabs \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 5,000 \u2502 4,000,000\nHejaz (including Mecca) \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 22,000 \u2502 2,000,000 Negroes from Sudan \u2502\n2,000 \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 10,000,000 \u201d \u201d Zanzibar \u2502 1,000 \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 1,500,000 Malabari\nfrom Cape \u2502 \u2502 \u2502 of G. Hope \u2502 150 \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014 Persians \u2502 6,000 \u2502 2,500\n\u2502 8,000,000 Indians (British Subjects)\u2502 15,000 \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 40,000,000\nMalays and Javanese \u2502 12,000 \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 30,000,000 Chinese \u2502 100 \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502\n15,000,000 Mongols } \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 6,000,000 Russians, Tartars, etc.}\n\u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 5,000,000 Afghans and Baluchis } \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 \u2014\u2014 \u2502 3,000,000\n(included in Ottoman Haj)\u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2524 \u2502 61,750 \u2502 31,500 \u2502\n\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2564\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2564\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\u2550\nTotal pilgrims present \u2502 93,250 \u2502 175,000,000 at Arafat \u2502 \u2502\n\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\n\n[9] Professor Hankin in the _British Medical Journal_ for June, 1894,\npublished the result of his analysis of Zemzem water as follows: \u201cTotal\nsolid in a gallon, 259; Chlorine, 51.24; Free ammonia, parts per\nmillion, 0.93; Albuminoid ammonia, .45. It contains an amount of solids\ngreater than that in any well water used for potable purposes.\u201d\n\n[10] Its measurements, according to Ali Bey, are 37 ft. 2 in., 31 ft. 7\nin., 38 ft 4 in., 29 ft. and its height is 34 ft. 4 in.\n\n[11] This religion which denies an atonement and teaches that Christ\nwas not crucified yet has for its great festival a feast of sacrifice\nto commemorate the obedience of Abraham and the substitute provided by\nGod!\n\n[12] This is the testimony of Captain Burton, the man who translated\nan unexpurgated text of the Arabian nights and left behind a book in\nmanuscript which his wife had the good sense to destroy and so prevent\nits publication.\n\n[13] Hurgronje, p. 5, Vol. II.\n\n[14] Ibid., p. 102.\n\n[15] Ibid, p 11.\n\n[16] Ibid., pp. 61-64.\n\n[17] This coin is called _Mishkash_ and is a Venetian coin of Duke\nAloys Mocenigo I. (1570-77 A.D.). On one side the Duke is kneeling\nbefore St. Mark the patron saint of Venice and on the other is the\nimage of Christ surrounded by stars.\n\n[18] The western or coast route goes by Koleis, Rabek, Mastura, and\nnear Jebel Eyub (Job\u2019s Mountain) over Jebel Subh, then to Suk-es-Safra\nand Suk el Jedid to Medina. The eastern road was the one taken by\nBurton, and goes by way of El Zaribah, El Sufena, El Suerkish, etc., a\ndistance 248 miles.\n\n[19] These arguments may be stated briefly as follows:\n\n1. A tumult followed the announcement of the prophet\u2019s death, and Omar\nthreatened destruction to any one who asserted it. Is it probable that\na quiet interment took place?\n\n2. Immediately after Mohammed\u2019s death a dispute about the succession\narose, in the ardor of which, according to the Shiahs, the house of Ali\nand Fatima, near the present tomb, were threatened by fire.\n\n3. The early Moslems would not be apt to _reverence_ the grave of the\nprophet, as do those of later date, when tradition has exalted him\nabove the common humanity. The early Moslems were indifferent as to the\nexact spot.\n\n4. The shape of the prophet\u2019s tomb was not known in early times, nor is\nit given in the traditions, so that we find convex graves in some lands\nand flat in others.\n\n5. The accounts of the learned among the Moslems are discrepant as to\nthe burial of Mohammed.\n\n6. Shiah schismatics had charge of the sepulchre for centuries, and\nbecause of its proximity to the graves of Abubekr and Omar, it was in\ntheir interest to remove the body.\n\n7. Even the present position of the grave, with relation to other\ngraves, is in dispute, because the tomb-chamber (_Hujrah_) is closely\nguarded by eunuchs, who do not allow any one to enter.\n\n8. The tale of the blinding light which surrounds the prophet\u2019s tomb\nseems a plausible story to conceal a defect.\n\n9. Mohammed el Halebi, the Sheikh-el Ulema of Damascus, assured Burton\nthat he was permitted to pass the door leading into the tomb-chamber,\nand that he saw no trace of a sepulchre.\n\n10. Moslem historians admit that an attempt was made in A.H. 412 to\nsteal the bodies of Mohammed and the two companions by the third\nFatimite Caliph of Egypt; they relate marvels connected with the\nfailure of the attempt, and assert that a trench was dug deep all\naround the graves and filled with molten lead to prevent the theft of\nthe body.\n\n11. In A. H. 654 the mosque was destroyed by a volcanic eruption,\naccording to the Moslem historians, but the tomb-chamber escaped\nall damage! Again in A. H. 887 it was struck by lightning. \u201cOn this\noccasion,\u201d says El Samanhudi (quoted by Burckhardt) \u201cthe interior of\nthe Hujrah (tomb-chamber) was cleared and three deep graves were found\nin the inside full of rubbish, but the author of this history, who\nhimself entered it, saw no trace of tombs.\u201d The same author declared\nthat the coffin containing the dust of Mohammed was cased with silver.\n\n12. Lastly the Shiah and Sunni accounts of the prophet\u2019s death and\nburial are contradictory as to the exact place of burial.\n\n[20] Niebuhr, 1763; Seetzen, 1810; Cruttenden, 1836; Dr. Wolff, 1836;\nOwen, 1857; Botta, 1837; Passama, 1842; Arnaud, 1843; Van Maltzan,\n1871; Halv\u00e9y, 1870; Millingen, 1874; Renzo Manzoni, 1879; Glaser, 1880;\nDefler, 1888; Haig, 1889; Harris, 1892; and later travellers. Defler is\nthe authority on the flora, Glaser on the antiquities, Manzoni on the\nTurks and their government, Haig on the agricultural population, and\nHarris tells of the recent rebellions. Niebuhr\u2019s magnificent volumes\nare still good authority on the geography and natural history of Yemen.\n\n[21] The Yemen plow is shaped like an English plow in many respects;\nalthough it has only one handle its coulter is broad and made of iron,\na great improvement over the crooked stick of Mesopotamia.\n\n[22] It was not pleasant for an American to notice that nearly all the\nTurkish rifles in Yemen were \u201cSpringfield 1861.\u201d The same weapons that\nwere employed to break the chains of slavery in the southern states,\nare now used to oppress the peaceful Yemenites.\n\n[23] Of the work among the latter, and my experiences in distributing\nthe New Testament, a report was published by the Mildmay Mission; we\ntherefore omit reference to it here.\n\n[24] Geog. Soc. Proceedings, 1887, p. 482.\n\n[25] Defler says in his diary that this place has \u201cune odeur atroce et\ndes legions de puces et de punaises.\u201d I also had an all-night\u2019s battle.\n\n[26] Hadramaut is a very ancient name for this region. Not only does\nPtolemy place here the _Adramit\u00e6_ in his geography, but there seems\nlittle doubt that Hadramaut is identical with Hazarmaveth, mentioned in\nthe tenth chapter of Genesis.\n\n[27] \u201cThe Hadramaut: a Journey\u201d by Theodore Bent. _Nineteenth Century_,\nSeptember, 1894. Also Mrs. Bent\u2019s \u201cYafei and Fadhli countries.\u201d\n_Geographical Journal_, July, 1898.\n\n[28] Le Hadramont et les Colonies Arabes dans le Archipel Indien par\nL.W.C. Van den Berg. Batavia, 1886. By order of the Government.\n\n[29] Notes on the Mahrah Tribe with vocabulary of their language; notes\non the Gharah tribe; geography of the southeast coast of Arabia;\u2014July,\n1845, July, 1847; and January, 1851, in the journal of the Society.\n\n[30] The most characteristic difference between Mahri and Arabic is the\nsubstitution of _Shin_ (sh) for _Kaf_ (k) in many words.\n\n[31] \u201cHistory of Oman.\u201c\n\n[32] The remainder of the chapter is quoted from the letters of my\nbrother, Rev. P. J. Zwemer, and the sketch of Tenoof was drawn by him\non one of his journeys.\n\n[33] These islands are identified by Sprenger and others with Dedan of\nthe Scriptures, (_Ezekiel_ xxvii. 15), and were known to the Romans by\nthe name of Tylos. Pliny writes of the cotton-trees, \u201c_arbores vocant\ngossympinos fertiliore etiam Tylo minore_.\u201d\u2014(xii. 10). Strabo describes\nthe Ph\u0153nician temples that existed on the islands, and Ptolemy speaks\nof the pearl-fisheries which from time immemorial flourished along\nthese coasts. The geographer, Juba, also tells of a battle fought off\nthe islands between the Romans and the Arabs. Ptolemy\u2019s ancient map\nshows how little was known as to the size or location of the group.\nEven Niebuhr\u2019s map, which is wonderfully correct in the main, makes\na great error in the position of the islands; in his day the two\nprincipal islands were called Owal and Arad, names which still linger.\n\n[34] This cost is divided as follows: Fishing smack _r._ 400, wages of\n10 divers _r._ 2,000; wages of 12 rope-holders _r._ 2,400; apparatus\n_r._ 40. Total _rupees_ 4,810.\n\n[35] The _Mashooah_ is a much smaller boat, like the English\njolly-boat, and is used in the harbor and for short journeys around the\nislands.\n\n[36] The only remarkable exception is the Jebel Sinam\u2014a rough hill of\nbasaltic rock that crops out in the midst of the alluvial delta near\nZobeir; a peculiar phenomenon, but proving Doughty\u2019s general scheme for\nthe Arabian geology correct even here.\n\n[37] The dates of Hassa and Oman may equal those of Busrah but the\ngardens are inferior and the quantity produced is not so large.\n\n[38] The last named is outside of our present subject and is a misnomer\ngiven by Turkish audacity to the region of Hassa.\n\n[39] Kuweit is the Arabic diminutive of _Kut_ a walled-village; the\nplace is called Grane on some maps\u2014evidently a corruption of _Kurein_\nor \u201clittle horn,\u201d a name given to an island in the harbor.\n\n[40] For the interesting history of the cities that occupied the site\nof Busrah before the days of Islam, and as far back as Nebuchadnezzar,\nsee Ainsworth\u2019s \u201cPersonal narrative of the Euphrates expedition.\u201d\n\n[41] The following are the villages and encampments between _Hillah_\nand _Diwaniyeh_: El Ataj, Doulab, Dobleh, Kwaha, Saadeh, Tenhara, Bir\nAmaneh, Allaj, Anameh, Hosein, Khegaan Sageer and Khegaan Kebir.\n\n[42] The distinction between true Arabs of the nomad tribes and the\n_Me\u2019dan_ was made as early as 1792 by Niebuhr in his travels, and the\nriver boatmen still answer your question with contemptuous accent:\n\u201cThose are not Arabs, they are Me\u2019dan.\u201d\n\n[43] It contains the following Wadys: Nejran, Habuna, Wanan, Moyazet,\nBedr and the extensive Wady Dauasir.\n\n[44] Aflaj has six villages: Siah, Leyta, Khurfa, Ei-Rautha, El-Bedia.\nWady Dauasir has these towns: El-Hammam, Es-Shotibba, Es-Soleil,\nTamera, Ed-Dam, El-Loghf, El-Ferr\u00e0, Es Showeik, and El-Ayathat.\n(Doughty.) Most of these towns are not given on the maps, but as some\nof them are, it is interesting to mention the route from Hassa to this\nWady, given by Capt. Miles in a letter to Sprenger (dated Muscat,\nMarch, 1873) and quoted in his \u201cAlte Geog. Arabiens,\u201d page 240. \u201cRoute\nfrom El Hasa to Solail: Hassa, Khaiaj, Howta, Hilwa, Leilah, Kharfa,\nRondha, El Sih, Bidia, Shitba, Solail. From Solail to Runniya it is\nthree days\u2019 journey. It is a town larger than Solail. The Dosiri\ntribes are as follows El-Woodaieen at Solail; El Misahireh possess\nmost camels, etc.; Al Hassan at Wasit; Beni Goweit; El-Khutran in\nShitba; El Sherafa; El-\u2019Umoor, east end of Wady; Al Saad, west of Wady;\nEl-Showaiej; El-Khamaseen; El Kahtan; Hamid; Al Amar; El Farjan in\nKharfa.\u201d\n\n[45] A full account of their peculiar beliefs and their disputed origin\nis given in the Appendix to Badger\u2019s \u201cHistory of Oman.\u201d\n\n[46] The Talh is a large tree of roundish, scanty, leafage, with a\nlittle dry berry for fruit, its branches are wide-spreading and thorny.\nThe Nebaa\u2019 is much smaller though of considerable height; it has very\nsmall ovate bright green leaves. The Sidi is a little acacia tree.\n\n[47] For our present knowledge of the government, population, cities\nand villages of Nejd we are chiefly indebted to the following\ntravellers: Captain G. F. Sadlier, of the English army, who was the\nfirst European to cross the Arabian Peninsula. (1819) George Wallin,\na learned young Swedish Arabist, travelling in 1845 and 1848 as a\nMohammedan doctor of law, passed through the northern desert from Jauf\nto Hail and visited Medina. William Gifford Palgrave, a Jesuit Roman\nCatholic, of English birth and scholarly tastes made his celebrated\njourney across Arabia from west to east in 1862-63. In 1864 the bold\nItalian traveller Guarmani went from Jerusalem straight to Jebel\nShammar and Aneyza. In 1865 Colonel Pelly, the British Resident at\nBushire made an important journey, in company with Dr. Colville and\nLieutenant Dawes, from Kuweit through southeastern Nejd to Riadh,\nreturning by Hassa to Ojeir and Bahrein. Then Charles M. Doughty\n(_facile princeps_ among all authorities and travellers Arabian) made\nhis long, arduous, zigzag journeys through northwestern and northern\nArabia from November, 1876, to August, 1878. Our other authority for\nNejd is Lady Ann Blunt who with her husband visited the capital of Ibn\nRashid\u2019s country from Bagdad in 1883.\n\n[48] If we remember that Palgrave compares Feysul\u2019s mud brick palace\nto the Tuileries of Paris, states that the great mosque of Riad can\naccommodate 2,000 worshippers, and gives the Wahabi ruler a standing\narmy of 50,000, we deduct a little from the poetical description to\nhave a balance of net facts.\n\n[49] In our chapter on the Arabic language we shall see that the golden\nage of Arabic literature was just before the birth of Mohammed.\n\n[50] \u201cMohammedanism had owed much to the Jewish kingdom of S\u00e2ba. The\nrule of the Sabean kings had extended over Mecca, and Jewish ideas and\nbeliefs had thus made their way into the future birthplace of Mohammed.\nThe fact is full of interest for students of the history of Islam. The\nepigraphic evidence which Dr. Glaser has presented to us shows that\nthe rise of Mohammedanism was not the strange and unique phenomenon it\nhas hitherto been thought to be. It had been prepared for centuries\npreviously. Arabia had for ages been the home of culture and the art of\nwriting, and for about two hundred years before the birth of Mohammed\nhis countrymen had been brought into close contact with the Jewish\nfaith. Future research will doubtless explain fully how great was his\ndebt to the Jewish masters of Mecca and the Sabean kingdom of Southern\nArabia.\u201d\u2014Prof. A. H. Sayce in the _Independent_.\n\n[51] Koelle\u2019s Mohammed, p. 5.\n\n[52] Het Matriarchaat bij de onde Arabieren (1884), and _Supplement_ to\nthe same, in answer to critics, (1885). The Hague.\n\n[53] Smith\u2019s \u201cKinship and Marriage in Early Arabia,\u201d pp. 100, 104.\n\n[54] Palmer\u2019s Introduction to the Koran, p. xv.\n\n[55] In the order of time, and to fully grasp the extent of Christian\nideas prevalent in Arabia the chapter on Early Christianity in Arabia\nshould precede this chapter on Islam; but logically that chapter\nbelongs with the other chapters on mission-work. The same is true, in a\nmeasure, of the chapter on the Sabeans.\n\n[56] See pp. 177, 178, for tables showing the Elements in Islam and the\nsources from which they were derived.\n\n\n[60] Koelle\u2019s Mohammed, p. 27.\n\n[61] See an article on \u201cMohammedanism and Christianity.\u201d\u2014Dr. Robert\nBruce, _The Christian Intelligencer_ (New York) April, 1894.\n\n[62] Even the sacred books of India and China and Ancient Egypt compare\nmore favorably with the Bible in this respect than does the Koran. They\nteach the heinous character of sin, as sin, and do not deny the need of\na mediator or of propitiatory sacrifice but are full of both ideas.\n\n[63] For a Chronological table of Arabian history, from the earliest\ntimes to the present, _see Appendix_.\n\n[64] The four orthodox sects are called: Hanafis, Shafis, Malakis, and\nHambalis. The last was founded by Ibn Hambal at Bagdad, 780 A. D. it is\nthe least popular sect.\n\n[65] The Mahmal is a covered litter, an emblem of royalty and of\nsuperstitious honor sent from Cairo and Damascus to Mecca, to this day.\n\n[66] Zehm\u2019s Arabie, p. 332.\n\n[67] Saud died at the age of forty-five, in April, 1814, from fever,\nat Deraiyah. He was a strong-willed ruler but administered justice\nwith rigor; he was wise in council and skillful in settling disputes\nand healing factions. Of his eight children, Abdullah, the eldest,\nsucceeded him as ruler.\n\n[68] The history of its tedious prosecution and all its cruelty on the\nside of the Turks is told by Burckhardt, the traveller, who was himself\nliving in Mecca at this time.\n\n[69] Palgrave visited the Wahabi capital during the reign of Feysul\nand gives his usual picturesque descriptions of the court and family\nlife of the genial tyrant. But it is necessary to take his accounts\nof Riad _cum grano salis_; a Jesuit Roman Catholic would not describe\nthe strict Puritanism of the Wahabis with any degree of admiration.\nPalgrave\u2019s statistics of the strength of Feysul\u2019s army and of the\npopulation of his dominions are utterly unreliable and greatly\nexaggerated. However one must read Palgrave to know what was the\ncondition of the Wahabi empire in 1860-63, for he is our only authority\nfor that period.\n\n[70] The history of Mecca under these Sherifs is given by Snouck\nHurgronje at length in his \u201cMekka.\u201d\n\n[71] This is according to the testimony of Walter B. Harris who was in\nYemen shortly after the rebellion.\n\n[72] See Lady Ann Blunt\u2019s \u201cBedouins of the Euphrates.\u201d\n\n[73] Statesman\u2019s Year Book.\n\n[74] For a complete account of Perim, see \u201cThe Description and History\nof Perim,\u201d by J. S. King, Bombay, 1877.\n\n[75] Treaties were made with the Arabs of the pirate coast in 1835,\n1838, 1839, 1847, 1853, and 1856; of these we shall speak later.\n\n[76] The British India steamer, carry the mails and leave Bombay and\nBusrah once a week, touching at the intermediate ports in the Gulf,\nafter Kerachi, as follows: Gwadur, Muscat, Jask, Bunder Abbas, Lingah,\nBahrein, Bushire, Fao and Mohammerah; the journey lasts a fortnight and\nthe distance, zigzag, is about one thousand nine hundred miles.\n\n[77] In a recent paper read before the Society of Arts in London Mr. C.\nE. D. Black of the Geographical Department of the India office urges\nother reasons for the practicability of this route.\u2014(London _Times_,\nMay 7th, 1898.)\n\n[78] _Times_ of India, June 17, 1899.\n\n[79]\n\n1. Ras el Kheima\u2014Jowasim tribe. 2. Um-el-Kawain\u2014Al-bu-Ali tribe. 3.\nAjman\u2014Al-bu-Ali tribe. 4. Sharka\u2014Jowasim tribe. 5. Debai\u2014Al-bu-falasal\ntribe. 6. Abu Dhabi\u2014Bni Yas tribe.\n\nAll of these tribes reside between Katar and Ras el Had on the Arabian\ncoast. (See Aitchison, Vol. VII., No. xxvi.)\n\n[80] Curzon\u2019s \u201cPersia,\u201d Vol. II., p. 453.\n\n[81] The following tribes in the vicinity of Aden receive (or received)\nannual subsidies from the British Government:\n\n_Tribe._ _Estimated Population._ Abdali 15,000 Fadhli 25,000 Akrabi 800\nSubaihi 20,000 Haushabi 6,000 Alawi 1,500 Amir 30,000 Yaffai 35,000\n\nThus the total estimated population of these tribes is 133,300 and the\ntotal amount of the annual stipend paid them in 1877, was 12,000 German\ncrowns. (Hunter\u2019s \u201cAden,\u201d p. 155.)\n\n[82] In a remarkable article, the _Novoe Vremya_ makes known the\nRussian discovery of \u201ca new British intrigue.\u201d It appears that Great\nBritain, not content with the virtual annexation of Egypt and the\nSudan, is even, while carrying out her plans for the absorption of\nthe Transvaal and the advancement of her interests in Persia, busily\nengaged in setting up a Mohammedan Power which is to rival that of\nthe Sultan, and is ultimately to be used as a means of menacing, if\nnot destroying, Russian authority in Central Asia. The puppet Prince\nselected for this purpose is the Sherif of Mecca. According to the\n_Novoe Vremya_, the Sherif has recently received from England a\nletter stating that the British government, having decided to invest\na certain worthy but impecunious Mohammedan Sheikh with the Caliphate\nof Zeila, on the borders of Somaliland, and recognizing the Sherif as\na descendant of the Prophet and great protector of Islam, considers\nit desirable for the Sherif on the day of the appointment of the new\nCaliph to issue a manifesto expressing his approval. In return for\nthis service, Great Britain will proclaim Mecca and Medina the private\nproperty of the Sherif, will assure to him the greater part of the\nrevenues of the new Caliphate, and will defend him by diplomatic means,\nor even by force of arms, against the interference of the Sultan or\nany other Foreign Power. It is perhaps needless to say that the author\nof this intrigue is said to be Mr. Chamberlain, who is described as\na man \u201cwithout faith, without truth, capable of trampling under foot\nevery commandment, whether of God or man, in order to accomplish his\npurpose of placing Great Britain at the head of the Powers of the\nworld.\u201d\u2014_Times_ of India, 1899.\n\n[83] He speaks of it as follows in his Histoire des Langues Semitques,\np. 342 \u201cCette langue, auparavant inconnue, se montre \u00e0 nous\nsoudainement dans toute sa perfection, avec sa flexibilite, sa richesse\ninfinie, tellemen-complete, en un mot, que depnis ce temps jusqu\u2019a nos\njours elle n\u2019a subi ancune modification importante. Il n\u2019y a pour elle\nni enfance, ni vieillesse; une fois qu\u2019on a signal\u00e9 son apparition et\nses prodijieuses cont qu\u00eates, tout est dit sur son compte. Je ne sais\nsi l\u2019on trouverait un autre exemple d\u2019un idiome entrant dans le monde\ncomme celui-ci, sans \u00e9tat archa\u00efque, sans degr\u00e9s intermediaires ni\ntatonnements.\u201d\n\n[84] Von Kremer, Guidi, Hommel.\n\n[85] Sayce, Sprenger, Schrader, De Goeje, Wright.\n\n[86] Assyrian Grammar, p. 13.\n\n[87] An account of this language or dialect was given by Surgeon H. J.\nCarter in Journal Roy. Asiat. Soc., July, 1847.\n\n[88] Lansing.\n\n[89] Found in the _Edinburgh Review_ for July, 1866, article \u201cMohammed.\u201d\n\n[90] \u201cIt would take a long list to exhaust the religious, literary and\nscientific contributions to the Arabic language from the missionaries\nin Syria. They include the translation of the Scriptures and the\nstereotyping of the same in numerous styles; the preparation of a\nScripture guide, commentaries, a concordance, and a complete hymn and\ntune book; text-books in history, algebra, geometry, trigonometry,\nlogarithms, astronomy, meteorology, botany, zo\u00f6logy, physics,\nchemistry, anatomy, physiology, hygiene, materia medica, practice of\nphysic, surgery, and a periodical literature which has proved the\nstimulus to a very extensive native journalism. The Protestant converts\nof the mission, educated by the missionaries, have written elaborate\nworks on history, poetry, grammar, arithmetic, natural science, and\nthe standard dictionary of the language, and a cyclop\u00e6dia which will\nmake a library by itself, consisting of about twenty volumes of from\nsix hundred to eight hundred pages each.\u201d\u2014_Dr. G. E. Post, in New York\nEvangelist_.\n\n[91] Gen. xxv. 16.\n\n[92] In the _Edinburgh Review_, July, 1866.\n\n[93] International Routes of Asia, by Elis\u00e9e Reclus, in New York\n_Independent_, May 4, 1899.\n\n[94] Smith\u2019s Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia, pp. 9, 17, 131.\n\n[95] What the boys and girls of the towns can study we have described\nin our chapter on Mecca.\n\n[96] This is the testimony of Burckhardt and Doughty.\n\n[97] Arabia Deserta, Vol. I., p. 238.\n\n[98] Translation from Mekka, Vol. II., p. 187.\n\n[99] See Burckhardt\u2019s book for further particulars.\n\n[100] Signifying \u201cAllah.\u201d\n\n[101] Baidhawi\u2019s Commentary _in loco_.\n\n[102] For on account of these ancient superstitions and idolatries\nstill practiced, see W. Robertson Smith\u2019s \u201cReligion of the Semites\u201d\nand his \u201cKinship and marriage in Early Arabia.\u201d The mass of purely\nMohammedan superstition can be studied in books like the Arabian Nights\nand Lane\u2019s \u201cModern Egyptians.\u201d\n\n[103] This chapter is an enlargement of a paper on \u201cThe\nStar-Worshippers of Mesopotamia\u201d read before the Victoria Institute,\nAdelphi Terrace, London, 1897.\n\n[104] Kessler.\n\n[105] Surah ii. 59; v. 73; xxii. 17\n\n[106] According to Gesenius, Sabeans should be _Tsabians_ from\n_tsabaoth_, the \u201chost of heaven.\u201d N\u00f6ldeke and others say it comes from\na root _subba_ to wash, baptise, and refers to the manner of their\nworship. Gibbon is perhaps correct when, on the authority of Pocock,\nHettinger, and D\u2019Herbelot, he states the origin of their other name\nthus: \u201cA slight infusion of the gospel had transformed the last remnant\nof the Chaldean polytheists into the Christians of St. John at Bussora.\u201d\n\nIn regard to their name _Sabeans_, Lane\u2019s Arabic dictionary says that\nit comes from a root meaning \u201cone who has departed from one religion\nto another religion.\u201d The Arabs used to call the prophet _as-Sabi_,\nbecause he departed from the religion of the Koreish to El-Islam.\nNasoreans is the name given them by some authors. According to\nPetermann they themselves give this title only to those of their number\nwho are distinguished for character or knowledge. It doubtless comes\nfrom [Greek: Naz\u00f4r\u00e3ioi], the early half-Christian sect of Syria.\n\n[107] The only grammar of the language is the elaborate _Mand\u00e4ische\nGrammatik_ of the indefatigable scholar N\u00f6ldeke. One great drawback of\nthe book however is that the _Hebrew_ character is used throughout and\nnot the Mand\u00e2itic.\n\n[108] Leviticus xiv. 4-7, 49-53.\n\n[109] Cf. Job xxxi. 26-28.\n\n[110] The first printed and translated edition of the _Sidra Rabba_\nwas by Math. Norberg (Copenhagen, 1815-16), but it is said to be so\ndefective that it is quite useless critically; Petermann reproduced the\nParis MSS. in two volumes at Leipsic, 1867. Besides the _Sidra Rabba_\nthere are: _Sidra d\u2019Yaheya_ or Book of St. John, also called _Drasche\nd\u2019Malek_ (discourse of the King); The _Diwan_; The _Sidra Neshmata_, or\nbook of souls; and last, but not least, the books of the zodiac called\n_Asfar Malwashee_. Except for the _small_ portion of the _Sidra Rabba_\nfound in Brandt\u2019s recently published _Mand\u00e4ische Schriften_ (1895) all\nof the above still await critical study and editing.\n\n[111] See the history of Gnostic teaching, especially that of the\nOphites and Sethians. All the evil characters in the Old Testament,\nwith Cain at their head, were set forth as spiritual heroes. Judas\nIscariot was represented as alone knowing the truth. I find no large\naccount of the serpent in the Sabean system; this may be otherwise\naccounted for.\n\n[112] Gibbon.\n\n[113] Sale\u2019s Koran.\n\n[114] Galatians i. 17.\n\n[115] Gal. i. 18; Acts ix. 9, 25.\n\n[116] Many others, including Hilary, Jerome, Theodoret and the\nOccumenian commentators are stated by Rawlinson (St. Paul in Damascus\nand Arabia, p. 128), to hold the same opinion. Porter, not alone\nof modern writers, puts forth the same view in his \u201cFive Years in\nDamascus,\u201d and supposes that Paul\u2019s success was great enough to provoke\nthe hostility of Aretas and make him join the later persecution.\n\n[117] \u201cKinship and Marriage in Early Arabia,\u201d p. 214.\n\n[118] Koran, Surah vii. 71.\n\n[119] Desert of the Exodus, p. 50.\n\n[120] Acts xvii. 26.\n\n[121] Acts xvii. 29.\n\n[122] Acts xvii. 31.\n\n[123] Acts xvii. 25.\n\n[124] Acts xx. 20, 27.\n\n[125] Wright\u2019s \u201cEarly Christianity in Arabia,\u201d 1855.\n\n[126] Buchanan\u2019s Christian Researches.\n\n[127] Wright, p. 77.\n\n[128] The latest version of his life is by N\u00f6ldeke in his \u201cSketches\nfrom Eastern History.\u201d (London, 1892.)\n\n[129] Wright, p. 144.\n\n[130] Kurtz\u2019 \u201cChurch History,\u201d Vol. I., p. 386.\n\n[131] See however, _Christianity in China, Tartary and Tibet_, by Abbe\nHuc, Vol. I., p. 88 (New York, 1857). He speaks of Christians in Nejran\nas late as the tenth century.\n\n[132] See Smith\u2019s \u201cShort History of Missions.\u201d Peroquet, Vie de Raymund\nLull (1667). Low de Vita Ray. Lull (Halle, 1830). Helfferich Raymund\nLull (Berlin, 1858). Dublin _Univ. Mag._, Vol. LXXVIII., p. 43, \u201cHis\nLife and Work.\u201d\n\n[133] O merciful God, who hast made all men, and hatest nothing that\nThou hast made, nor wouldest the death of a sinner, but rather that\nhe should be converted and live: have mercy upon all Jews, _Turks_,\nInfidels, and Heretics, and take from them all ignorance, hardness of\nheart, and contempt of Thy Word, and so fetch them home, blessed Lord,\nto Thy flock, that they may be saved among the remnant of the true\nIsraelites, and be made one fold under one Shepherd, Jesus Christ our\nLord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Spirit, one God,\nworld without end. Amen.\n\n[134] \u201cLife of Henry Martyn,\u201d by George Smith, C. I. E., LL. D., (1892)\np. 226.\n\n[135] Journal of Mr. Anthony N. Groves, Missionary to and at Bagdad.\n(London, 1831.)\n\n[136] George Smith\u2019s Life of Martyn, p. 563.\n\n[137] In 1876, after the death of Dr. Wilson, Mr. and Mrs. Stothert of\nthe Free Church Mission arranged to take a trip up the Persian Gulf as\nfar as Bagdad. They were deeply impressed by the spiritual needs of the\nwhole of Eastern Arabia. On the way they sold Scriptures and on their\nreturn called attention to the needs of Bagdad. For twenty-five years\nspecial prayer was offered for Eastern Arabia every Monday by these two\nmissionaries!\n\n[138] _Church Missionary Intelligencer_ for May and June, 1887.\n\n[139] The General also published an account of his journey in Yemen\nfrom a geographical standpoint in the _Geographical Journal_, Vol. IX.,\np. 479. See also _The Missionary Review of the World_, October, 1895.\n\n[140] \u201cThe Missionary Expansion since the Reformation.\u201d\u2014Graham, p. 19.\n\u201cLife and Letters of Rev. A. Stern.\u201d\n\n[141] On Van Tassel\u2019s work and experiences see \u201cNorth Africa\u201d (21\nLinton Road, Barking, London), Vol. for 1890, pp. 4, 21, 43, 59, 78;\nVol for 1891, pp. 2, 14, 27, 31 and 50.\n\n[142] Mackay of Uganda, by his sister, (New York, 1897) pp. 417-430\ngives the article in full.\n\n[143] The text of this resolution is quoted at the head of chapter\nthirty-five.\n\n[144] See \u201cMemorials of the Hon. Ion Keith Falconer.\u201d\u2014Robert Sinker\n(6th Edition Cambridge 1890) and Ion Keith Falconer, Pioneer in Arabia\nby Rev. A. T. Pierson, D. D. (Oct. 1897, _Missionary Review of the\nWorld_).\n\n[145] Kalilah and Dimnah, or The Fables of Bidpai, by I. G. N. Keith\nFalconer, Cambridge, 1885.\n\n[146] Life and Correspondence of T. V. French, First Bishop of Lahore,\nby Rev. Robert Birks, (Murray, London, 1895). 2 vols.\n\n[147] The letters appeared in the _Church Missionary Intelligencer_,\nfor May and July, 1891.\n\n[148] An able plea for the acceptance of the Mission by the Church was\nmade by Rev. J. A. Davis, in the _Christian Intelligencer_, N. Y.,\nSeptember 18, 1889.\n\n[149] This meeting with General Haig was described by him in an account\nin the London _Christian_ (June, 1891).\n\n[150] The Mohammedan Missionary Problem.\u2014H. H. Jessup, D.D., 1879.\n\n[151] Vol. II., pp. 503-529.\n\n[152] Notes on Islam: A Hand-book for Missionaries.\u2014Rev. Arthur\nBrinckman. London, 1868.\n\n[153] Reprinted in \u201cNorth Africa\u201d (April, 1892), under the title:\n_Preaching, not Controversy_.\n\n[154] History of the Church Missionary Society, Vol. II., p. 155.\n\n[155] The Mohammedan Controversy and other articles\u2014Sir Wm. Muir,\nEdinburgh, 1897.\n\n[156] _Missionary Review_, October, 1893, p. 727, in article by \u201cC. H.\u201d\n\n[157] Christianity, Islam and the Negro Race, by E. W. Blyden, London,\n1888.\n\n[158] Missions in Sumatra, Dr. A. Schreiber, \u201cNorth Africa,\u201d May, 1896.\n\n[159] Gen. xii. 3, xviii. 8, xxii. 18, xxvi. 4, xxviii. 14; Num. xiv.\n21; Forty-three of the Psalms; Isaiah ii. 2, 18, etc., etc.; Jeremiah\niii. 17; Dan. vii. 13, 14; Joel ii. 28; Jonah, iii., iv.; Micah v. 4;\nHab. ii. 14; Zeph. ii. 11; Hag. ii. 6, 7; Zech. ix. 10, xiv. 9; Mal. i.\n11.\n\n[160] See Isaiah xxxv. 1-3, xl. 3, xli. 19, xliii. 19, li. 3; Ezekiel\nxxxiv. 25, xlvii. 8; Ps. lxxii. 9, etc.\n\n[161] According to Gesenius this is Suez, while Keil identifies it with\nJifar, a site in the northwestern part of Arabia near Egypt.\n\n[162] Compare Rom. iv. 11, and Gal. iii. 17.\n\n[163] Gen. xxi. 9-22.\n\n[164] Gen. xxv. 11-18, and 1 Chron. i. 28.\n\n[165] Isaiah xxi. 13-17 and Jer. xlix. 28-33.\n\n[166] See Smith\u2019s Bible Dictionary.\n\n[167] Cf. Exodus xxiii. 31 and Deut. xi. 24.\n\n[168] _The Christian Intelligencer_ (N. Y.), March 15, 1899.\n\n[169] Consult Bibliographies of Palestine and Syria with inference to\nNomad life; also D. Islam.\n\n[170] Consult also list in Gilman\u2019s Saracens.\n\n[171] Consult British and Foreign Bible Society Reports for account\nof Scripture circulation; the _Free Church of Scotland Monthly_\nfor reports of Keith Falconer Mission; the _Church Missionary\nIntelligencer_, 1887, vol. xii., pp. 215, 273, 346, 408; _Missionary\nReview of the World_, 1892-1899, October numbers, and _Record of the\nAmerican Bible Society_, 1898-1900.","title":"Arabia: The Cradle of Islam: Studies in the Geography, People and Politics of the Peninsula, with an Account of Islam and Mission-Work.","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":141829}