Page:William Muir, Thomas Hunter Weir - The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline, and Fall (1915).djvu/145

 116 Lord hath shown unto one amongst us a vision of the faithful upon horses, crossing the stream triumphantly. Arise, let us stem the flood!" The desperate venture was voted by acclamation. Six hundred picked cavalry were drawn up in bands of sixty. The foremost plunged in, and bravely battled with the rapid flood. Down and across they had already neared the other shore, when a hostile picket dashed into the water, and vainly endeavoured to beat them back. "Raise your lances," shouted ʿĀṣim; "bear right into their eyes." So they drove them back, and safely reached dry land. Saʿd no sooner saw them safe on shore, than he called on the rest to follow; and thus, with the cry—"Allah! triumph to Thy people; Destruction to Thine enemies!"—troop after troop leaped into the river, so thick and close, that the water was hidden from their view; and, treading as it had been solid ground, without a single loss, all gained the farther side. The Persians, taken by surprise, fled panic-stricken. The rapid passage afforded them time barely to escape. The few remaining submitted themselves as tributaries. The Muslims pursued the fugitives; but soon hastened back to share the royal spoil. They wandered over the gorgeous pavilions of a Court into which the East had been long pouring forth its treasures, and revelled in gardens decked with flowers and laden with fruit. The Conqueror established himself in the Palace of the Chosroes. But first he was minded to render thanks in a service of praise. The princely building was turned for this end into a House of prayer; and there, followed by as many as could be spared, Saʿd ascribed the victory to the Lord of Hosts. The lesson was a passage of the Korʾān which speaks of Pharaoh overwhelmed in the Red Sea; and also this verse, thought peculiarly appropriate:—

The booty was rich beyond conception. Besides millions of treasure, there was countless store of silver and golden vessels, gorgeous vestments and garniture,—precious things