Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire vol 5 (1897).djvu/450

428 THE DECLINE AND FALL cept a captive who was pardoned and dismissed, the Arabs enjoyed the satisfaction of beUeving that not a Christian of either sex escaped the edge of their scymetars. The gold and silver of Damascus was scattered over the camp, and a royal wardrobe of three hundred load of silk might clothe an army of naked bar- barians. In the tumult of the battle, Jonas sought and found the object of his pursuit ; but her resentment was inflamed by the last act of his perfidy ; and, as Eudocia struggled in his hate- ful embraces, she struck a dagger to her heart. Another female, the widow of Thomas, and the real or supposed daughter of Heraclius, was spared and released without a ransom ; but the generosity of Caled Avas the effect of his contempt ; and the haughty Saracen insulted, by a message of defiance, the throne of the Caesars. Caled had penetrated above an hundred and fifty miles into the heart of the Roman province : he returned to Da- mascus with the same secrecy and speed. On the accession of Omar, the sword of God was removed from the command ; but the caliph, who blamed the rashness, was compelled to applaud the vigour and conduct, of the enterprise.'^ Fair of Another expedition of the conquerors of Damascus will equally display their avidity and their contempt for the riches of the present world. They were informed that the produce and manu- factures of the country were annually collected in the fair of Abyla,"^ about thirty miles from the city ; that the cell of a devout hermit was visited at the same time by a multitude of pilgrims ; and that the festival of trade and superstition would be ennobled by the nuptials of the daughter of the governor of Tripoli. Abdallah, the son of Jaafar, a glorious and holy martyr, undertook, with a banner of five hundred horse, the pious and profitable commission of despoiling the infidels. As he ap- proached the fair of Abyla, he was astonished by the report of the mighty concourse of Jews and C'hristians, Greeks and Armenians, of natives of Syria and of strangers of Egypt, to the number of ten thousand, besides a guard of five thousand horse that attended the person of the bride. The Saracens paused: " For my own part," said Abdallah, " I dare nol go back ; our foes are many, our danger is great ; but our reward is splendid '■"[Gibbon omits to mention the battle of Fihl (Pella), won over a Greek army towards the end of the summer of A.D. 635. Cp. Biladhuri, ap. Weil, iii. Anh. zum ersten Bande, p. i.] ^ Dair Abil Kodos. After retrenching the last word, the epithet holy, I discover the Abila of Lysanias [Abil as-Suk] between Damascus and Heliopolis ; the name {Abil signifies a vineyard [?]) concurs with the situation to justify my conjecture (Reland, Palestin. torn. i. p. 317, torn. ii. p. 525, 527). Abyla