Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/420

276 276 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART I. L'liaracter of the sove reisns. became a fruitful source of rebellion in later times. The caliph administered the government with the advice of his mexuar, or council of state, composed of his principal cadis and hagibs, or secretaries. The office of j^rime minister, or chief hagib, corre- sponded, in the nature and variety of its functions, with that of a Turkish grand vizier. The caliph reserved to himself the right of selecting his suc- cessor from among his numerous progeny ; and this adoption was immediately ratified by an oath of allegiance to the heir apparent from the principal officers of state." The princes of the blood, instead of being con- demned, as in Turkey, to waste their youth in the seclusion of the harem, were intrusted to the care of learned men, to be instructed in the duties befit- ting their station. They were encouraged to visit the academies, which were particularly celebrated in Cordova, where they mingled in disputation, and frequently carried away the prizes of poetry and eloquence. Their riper years exhibited such fruits as were to be expected from their early education. The race of the Omeyades need not shrink from a comparison with any other dynasty of equal length in modern Europe. Many of them amused their leisure with poetical composition, of which numer- ous examples arc preserved in Conde's History ; and some left elaborate works of learning, which have maintained a permanent reputation with Ara- bian scholars. Their long reigns, the first ten of ^^ Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, part. 2, cap. 1 -46.