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LEFT ARABIA 221 ARABIAN NIGHTS^ guished service in his dazzling campaigns that resulted finally in the taking of Jerusalem, the crushing of three Turkish armies, and the capture of Damascus and Aleppo, events which practically brought the war to an end in that quarter of the world. Apart from the direct military help af- forded the Allies, in the desert and Pal- estinian fighting for which the Arabs were peculiarly fitted, the adhesion of the Hejaz had other advantages quite as im- portant. It practically immobilized two Turkish divisions, who otherwise might have been employed elsewhere, and it broke up the line of communication to Africa, by which the Central Powers were sending emissaries and propaganda to stir up trouble for the French and Brit- ish in their colonial possessions. By the terms arrived at a conference between the representatives of the Allied Powers at San Remo, Italy, in May, 1920, Great Britain was given the practical protectorate over Mesopotamia, while France was given the protectorate over the Syrian coast, exclusive of Palestine. Palestine was made a protectorate under Great Britain. The Arabs were greatly discontented with this division of ter- ritory, and King Feisal of Hejaz, who had succeeded his father, Hussein, threat- ened in July, 1920, to begin an aggressive movement to give to the Arabs the prac- tical possession, not only of Syria but of Palestine. See Hejaz, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Syria. Language and Literature. — The Arabic language belongs to the Semitic dialects, among which it is distinguished for its richness, softness, and high degree of development. By the spread of Islam it became the sole written language and the prevailing speech in all southwestern Asia and eastern and northern Africa, and, for a time, in south Spain, in Malta, and in Sicily; and it is still used as a learned and sacred language wherever Islam is spread. The Arabic language is written in an alphabet of its own, which has also been adopted in writing Persian, Hindustani, Turkish, etc. As in all Se- mitic languages (except the Ethiopic), it is read from right to left. Poetry among the Arabs had a very early development, and before the time of Mohammed poet- ical contests were held and prizes award- ed for the best pieces. The progress of the Arabs in literature, the arts and sciences, may be said to have begun with the government of the caliphs of the family of the Abbassides, A. D. 749, at Bagdad, several of whom, as Haroun al Raschid and Al Mamun, were munificent patrons of learning; and their example was followed by the Ommiades in Spain. In Spain were established numerous academies and schools, which were visited by students from other Eui'opean coun- tries; and important works wei-e written on geography, history, philosophy, medi- cme, physics, mathematics, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. Most of the geography in the Middle Ages is the work of the Arabians, and their histo- AA^ ^^^/^ ARABIAN ORNAMENT rians since the 8th century have been very numerous. Of their philosophical authors the most celebrated are Alfarabi (10th century), Ibn Sina or Avicenna (died A. D. 1037), Alghazzali (died 1111), Ibn Roshd or Averroes (12th century), called by pre-eminence the Commentator, etc. In medicine they excelled all other nations in the Middle Ages, and they are commonly regarded as the earliest ex- perimenters in chemistry. It was by them that algebra (a name of Arabic origin) was introduced to the western peoples, and the Arabic numerals were similarly introduced. Astronomy they especially cultivated, for which famous schools and observatories were erected at Bagdad and Cordova. The tales of fairies, genii, enchanters, and sorcerers in particular, passed from the Arabians to the western nations as in "The Thou- sand and One Nights." ARABIAN NIGHTS' ENTERTAIN- MENTS, or "THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS," a celebrated collection of Oriental tales, which have, since their introduction to the civilized world, become the delight of all who peruse them. This collection, which had long been famous throughout the East, was brought to the notice of Europeans by the translation