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422 THE DECLINE AND FALL departure of the Saracens would have been purchased by a gift to each soldier, of a turban, a robe, and a piece of gold ; ten robes and an hundred pieces to their leader ; one hundred robes and a thousand pieces to the caliph. A smile of indignation expressed the refusal of Caled. " Ye Christian dogs, you know your option : the Koran, the tribute, or the sword. We are a people whose delight is in war rather than in peace ; and we de- spise your pitiful alms, since we shall be speedily masters of your wealth, your families, and your persons." Notwithstanding this apparent disdain, he was deeply conscious of the public danger : those who had been in Persia, and had seen the armies of Chosroes, confessed that they never beheld a more formidable array. From the superiority of the enemy the artful Saracen derived a fresh incentive of courage : " You see before you," said he, "the united force of the Romans, you cannot hope to escape, but you may conquer Syria in a single day. The event depends on your discipline and patience. Reserve yourselves till the evening. It was in the evening that the prophet was accustomed to vanquish." During two successive engagements, his temperate firmness sustained the darts of the enemy, and the murmurs of his troops. At length, when the spirits and quivers of the adverse line were almost exhausted, Caled gave the signal of onset and victory. The remains of the Imperial army fled to Antioch, or Caesarea, or Damascus ; and the death of four hundred and seventy Moslems was compensated by the opinion that they had sent to hell above fifty thousand of the infidels. The spoil was inestimable : many banners and crosses of gold and silver, precious stones, silver and gold chains, and innumerable suits of the richest armour and apparel. The general distribution was postponed till Damascus should be taken ; but the season- able supply of arms became the insti-ument of new victories. The glorious intelligence was transmitted to the throne of the caliph, and the Arabian tribes, the coldest or most hostile to the prophet's mission, were eager and importunate to share the harvest of Syria. '^'^ The sad tidings were carried to Damascus by the speed of grief and terror ; and the inhabitants beheld from their walls the return of the heroes of Aiznadin. Amrou led the van at the head of nine thousand horse ; the bands of the Saracens succeeded each other in formidable review : and the rear was ™[An this description of the engagement of Ajnadain is derived from the iin- }iistorical account of " Wakidi ". For the chronology see Appendix 21,]