Page:William Muir, Thomas Hunter Weir - The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline, and Fall (1915).djvu/398

 715–17] best prospect of success. Unexpectedly, Leo himself was raised to the throne, and threw the unnatural alliance over. The Muslim troops on both sides of the Bosphorus were defeated, and suffered such hardship from hunger, frost, and pestilence, that after lying before Constantinople for a year, the fleet was forced to retire, and the invasion came to a disastrous and inglorious end. Greek fire played a not inconsiderable part in the defeat.

Suleimān retained as Caliph his residence at Ramleh in Palestine, but made frequent excursions to Dābiḳ, the base of the army operating against Constantinople, and there he died early in 99 A son, nominated his successor, died before him. On his deathbed the Caliph wished to appoint another son, a minor; but he was persuaded by the saintly Rajā ibn Ḥayā, whose influence had been felt under the two preceding reigns also, to name instead ʿOmar, son of his uncle ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, so long governor of Egypt, and after him his brother Yezīd, to succeed. For the nomination of ʿOmar, the memory of Suleimān is blessed, though he himself receives but little other praise.

Suleimān was not only cruel but dissolute and jealous; and as such was used to guard his ḥarīm by a watch of