Page:Early Christianity in Arabia.djvu/79

Rh even than revenge, was generally the cause of their wars, however the greatest heroes might boast of being "impetuous in the battle, but regardless of the spoils."

The Arabs were long independent of the neighbouring empires of Persia and Rome. They fought under the banners of the great king as early as the age of Alexander, whose soldiers were often harassed by them in the mountains of Libanus, and the Persian army at the battle of Gaza was partly composed of them. But in succeeding reigns, the richest provinces of Persia were laid waste by the numerous hordes which issued from the desert. At the time of the extinction of the dynasty of the Arsacides by Ardesheir Baubegan (or Artaxerxes), the territories between the Tigris and the Oxus, including Khorasan and Irak, had been for upwards of five centuries in the possession of various tribes of Arabs, under Mûlouk-al-Towâeif, or chiefs of various independent tribes, although several