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628] offered them the choice of conversion to Islām or death. The heroism which they displayed on this occasion seems hard to reconcile with their former timidity; rather than commit apostasy they preferred to be slain one by one in the market-place of the town. The number of these martyrs amounted to over six hundred; the women and children were sold as slaves.

Henceforth the population of Medina was, at least in name, almost exclusively Muslim; the "Hypocrites" who remained were a small minority, and though they sometimes angered the Prophet by their murmurs and intrigues he had no reason to fear them. Accordingly his policy, which he had at first represented as one of self-defence, now became avowedly aggressive. Medina was no longer the refuge of a persecuted sect — it was the seat of a religious despotism which in a few years subjugated the whole of Arabia. To ordinary Europeans this development of Islām naturally appears as a mere misuse of religion for purposes of political aggrandisement; it is, however, necessary to remember, in judging of Mahomet's conduct, that the communities which he attacked were not organised States but societies which recognised no permanent bond save that of blood. With the exception of the Ḳuraish, who inhabited a sacred territory, almost every Arabian tribe was engaged in perpetual feuds with its neighbours. In founding a community united solely by religion Mahomet necessarily placed himself in a position of antagonism to the tribal system, which required every man to take the part of his fellow-tribesmen against the members of all other tribes. But Mahomet was very far from being a cosmopolite of the modern type. Though his doctrines logically involved the equality of all races, it probably never occurred to him that it was his duty to ignore national and tribal distinctions. The authority of the tribal chiefs was not to be overthrown but it was to be subordinated to a higher authority, which could be none other than that of the Prophet himself. Moreover Mahomet's belief in the peculiar sanctity of Mecca rather increased than diminished during his long exile. Until the House of God had been purged of idols the main object of the Prophet's mission was still unattained. To win over Mecca to the true faith seemed therefore a matter of supreme importance.

The first expedition made for this purpose took place in the year 628. Shortly before the time of the annual Pilgrimage Mahomet marched towards Mecca accompanied by several hundreds of his disciples and taking with him a large number of camels which were marked with badges, according to ancient Arabian custom, to denote that they were victims intended for sacrifice. If his aim was to force his way into the city, he carefully concealed the design, giving out that he and his followers were coming simply as pilgrims, to do honour to the Meccan sanctuary. He hoped to convince the Ḳuraish that Islām would not in any way interfere with the privileges which they had hitherto enjoyed,