Page:William Muir, Thomas Hunter Weir - The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline, and Fall (1915).djvu/132

 635] after his arrival he rode along the river bank to reconnoitre; and, standing on an eminence by the bridge, sent for the Muslim officer guarding the passage. A colloquy ensued; and Saʿd consented that three of his captains should go to the Persian camp, and there explain their demands to Rustem. One after another, these presented themselves. Each held the same language: Islām, Tribute, or the Sword. Rustem, now contemptuous in his abuse, now cowering under the fierce words of the envoys, and scared by dreams and auguries, demanded time to consider. Three days' grace, they replied, was the limit allowed by their Prophet; and that was given.

When the term was over, Rustem sent to inquire whether he or they should cross for battle. Strongly pitched, as we have seen, Saʿd had no thought of moving, and bade the Persian cross as best he might. Rustem advanced, but passage was denied. All night the Arabs watched the bridge. But Rustem had another scheme; he meant to cross the river by a dam. During the night his myrmidons cast fascines and earth into the channel, and morning light discovered a causeway over which it was possible to pass.

At early morn, Rustem, clad in helmet and double suit of mail, leaped gaily on his horse. "By the morrow we shall have beaten them small," he cried; but apart with his familiars he confessed that celestial omens were against him. And, indeed, previous mishaps and the brave bearing of the Arab chiefs were sufficient, astrology apart, to inspire grave forebodings. Crossing the dam unopposed, he marshalled his great host on the western bank, with its centre facing the fortress of Ḳodeis. Of thirty war elephants on the field, eighteen supported the centre, the remainder being divided between the wings. On a canopied golden throne by the riverside, Rustem watched the issue of the day. Messengers, posted within earshot of each other all the way to Al-Medāin, shouted continually the latest news, and kept Yezdejird informed of everything that passed.