Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/593

Rh CALIPHATE.] MOHAMMEDANISM unedited). The Hadith is set forth more systematically, according to subjects, in the great collections of tradition by Malik b. Anas&quot; Bokhari, Moslim, etc. (Bulak editions). A subsidiary authority is the humanistic tradition of the Odabii, with which the poetry may be reckoned. The principal collections of this class are the Kitdb al-AyMni (Bulak edition) and the Kdmil (ed. Wright). For the period after Mohammed the most important work is the Chronicle of Tabari (Leyden edition) ; the history of the conquest is treated briefly after the best authorities by Beladhori (ed. De Goeje, 1866). Literature. The genuine tradition of the Arabs with reference to their prophet was first introduced into Europe by the French, beginning with Gagnier and ending with the valuable work of Caussiii de Perceval. Weil and, after him, Nbldeke especially, have 565 the merit of having shown how to use the Koran in conjunction with the Arab tradition as a main source. Of modern biographies the most important are those of Muir and Sprenger ; research lias not yet got beyond them, although there is room for this For the history of the Caliphs, the standard book is still the well-known work of U eil, although since it was published considerable addi tions have been made to our knowledge of the sources thanks specially to the labours of Dozy, De Goeje, and other Dutchmen. Hitherto the main object has been to bring together the materials in this department of research, and a comprehensive treatment of the entire subject has not as yet been accomplished ; still reference may be made in this connection to Dozy (Hisloire dc VIslamisme) and A. von Kremer (Geach, dcr herrschenden Ideen d. Islam, and KulturgescMchte d. Orients uiitcr den Khali/en). (J. WE. ) PART II. THE EASTERN CALIPHATE. SECT. I. THE OMAYYADS. The 1. Ix commencing the history of the Omayyad dynast; O ds y we must ^ rst recur to the causes which brought about th triumph of this family, and which led its chief to substitut Damascus for Medina as the seat of the Caliphate; an event which led to profound changes in the Moslem empire and exercised a considerable influence on its development In the same way, at a later date, the transfer of the Cali phate from Damascus to Baghdad marked the accession of a new family to the supreme power, and gave Islam a new direction. In the time of Mohammed, the Arabs were divided into an infinite number of tribes, some settled, others nomadic, which were constantly at war with each other. The Prophet united them into one body, but he could not entirely eradicate the hatred which had existed for ages between tribe and tribe. Thus the people of Mecca and those of Medina hated each other, because the former were a branch of the race of Ma add, the great ancestor of the tribes of the North; 1 while the latter belonged to the Yemenite race, or that of the South. The conquest of Mecca by Mohammed and his allies of Medina only exas perated this hatred, and the nobles of the Koraish swore to take revenge on the Yemenites, as soon as they should be able to do so. One of the most violent opponents of the Prophet had been, as we have seen, the father of that very Mo awiya who founded the Omayyad dynasty, Abu Sofyan, grandson of Omayya, the leader of the Meccans in the battle at Ohod ; and it is related that his wife Hind, having found Hamza, Mohammed s uncle, among the dead, cut open his body, and tore out and devoured his liver. We have also seen how Abu Sofyan ultimately made his submission and embraced Islam, but only under compulsion. His son Mo awiya became, it is true, one of Mohammed s secretaries ; but we know that his faith was never very strong, and that he always made his religion subordinate to the interests of his family. Even in his youth, he had conceived the project of recovering the supreme power for his own race, and it has been related above how the inner conflicts of Islam under the Caliphates of Othman and AH carried him forwards towards this goal. Mo awiya might, no doubt, have marched to the help of Othman with an army of Syrians ; but the preserva tion of the Caliph, his relative, would not have served the purposes of his burning ambition, and we may say with out hesitation that it was with secret joy that the prefect of Damascus heard of the fatal result of the plot against Othman. The Syrians were entirely devoted to Mo awiya. Polite, amiable, and generous, he had gained the goodwill of all the Arabs of Syria, for whom Islam had remained a dead letter, and who, continuing Bedouins at heart, shared the feelings of their chief against the new 1 The Ma addites are also often called Modarites and Kaisites, after their ancestors Modar and Kais. aristocracy of Medina. Consequently, when AH, Oth- man s successor, summoned Mo awiya for the last time to acknowledge him, and when Mo awiya, assembling his partisans in the mosque of Damascus, asked their advice, they replied that it was his part to command, and theirs to obey and to act. The enthusiasm of the Syrians was great; and Mo awiya having ordered a levy en masse, within three days every able-bodied man had joined his standard. Syria alone supplied Mo awiya with more troops than all the rest of the provinces put together furnished to All, who is said to have addressed his soldiers with these bitter words : &quot;I would gladly exchange ten of you for one of Mo awiya s soldiers.&quot; Then he added in allusion to the savage action of Hind, Mo awiya s mother, on the field of battle at Ohod&quot; By God ! he will gain the victory, this son of the liver-eater ! &quot; All s gloomy anticipations were fulfilled ; but it was by stratagem that Mo awiya gained his victory. The battle of Siff ln, the abortive negotiations that followed, and the withdrawal of the Kharijites, have been already spoken of. The negotiations ended in the conference of Diimat al- Jandal, a small place situated between Syria and Irak, about seven days journey from Damascus and thirteen from Medina. Here in Ramadan, A.H. 37 (A.D. 657-658), Abu Miisa and Amr b. al- As (the famous conqueror of Egypt) appeared as arbitrators for AH and Mo awiya respectively, and the cunning of the latter induced Abu Musa to pronounce both pretendants deprived of whatever rights either might have to the Caliphate, and to say that it now rested with the Moslems to make a new choice. Amr, who was only waiting for this declaration, rose in his. turn, and said to the Arabs who were crowding round the platform : &quot; O people, ye hear what Abu Musa says. He himself renounces the claims of his master. I also agree to the deprivation of AH, but I proclaim my master Mo awiya Caliph.&quot; Abu Musa cried out against this treachery, but wi 7 a L no one would listen to him, and he fled for refuge to Mecca, where he ultimately recognised the claims of Mo awiya, even in All s lifetime. This event marks the commencement of the Omayyad dynasty. Amr went in triumph to Damascus, where the Syrians took the oath of fidelity to Mo dwiya. In Irak, on the other hand, with the exception of the Kharijites, all the people remained faithful to the cause of AH, who, mounting the pulpit at Cufa, summoned his army to the field, and fixed their rendezvous at Nokhaila, a small place not far from the city. The Kharijites had aken refuge at Nahrowan, and AH found it necessary to attack them there, before marching against the Syrians. A.t his arrival most of the rebels dispersed, except from ifteen to eighteen hundred fanatics, who remained at heir post and allowed themselves to be slaughtered to he last man. Thus rid of the Khdrijites, All meant to lirect his march towards Syria, but his soldiers refused o move, and declared their intention of first taking some