Page:William Muir, Thomas Hunter Weir - The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline, and Fall (1915).djvu/234

 645–56] added largely to the conquests of Islām; while, on the other hand, his undue elevation aroused keen jealousy contributing anew to the obloquy cast on his Master's name. Muʿāwiya had long keenly missed the support of a fleet, and in fact had sought permission from ʿOmar to embark his soldiery in ships. "The isles of the Levant," he wrote, "are close to the Syrian shore; you might almost hear the barking of the dogs and cackling of the hens; give me leave to attack them." But ʿOmar dreaded the sea, and wrote to consult ʿAmr, who answered thus:—"The sea is a boundless expanse, whereon great ships look tiny specks; nought but the heavens above and waters beneath; when calm, the sailor's heart is broken; when tempestuous, his senses reel. Trust it little, fear it much. Man at sea is an insect on a splinter, now engulfed, now scared to death." On receipt of this alarming account, ʿOmar forbade Muʿāwiya to have anything to do with ships;—"The Syrian sea, they tell me, is longer and broader than the dry land, and is instant with the Lord, night and day, seeking to swallow it up. How should I trust my people on its accursed bosom? Remember Al-ʿAlā. Nay, my friend, the safety of my people is dearer to me than all the treasures of Greece."

Nothing, therefore, was attempted by sea in the reign of ʿOmar. But on his death, Muʿāwiya reiterated the petition, and ʿOthmān at last relaxed the ban on condition that maritime service should be voluntary. The first fleet equipped against Cyprus, in the 28th year of the Hijra, was commanded by Abu Ḳeis as admiral; it was joined by Ibn abi Sarḥ with a complement of ships manned by Egyptians, and Arab warriors from Alexandria. Cyprus was taken easily, and a great multitude of captives carried off. The Cypriots agreed to pay the same revenue as they had done to the Emperor; and the Caliph, unable as yet to guarantee their protection, remitted the poll-tax. Of Abu Ḳeis we are told that he headed fifty expeditions by land