50 THE DECLINE AND FALL prevailed in the province of Bahrein, along the Persian Gulf; far and wide, the tribes of the desert were subject to the [Aba Tahir sccptrc, or rather to the sword, of Abu Said and his son Abu aunan] Xj^j^gr . a^jj thesc rebellious imams could muster in the field an hundred and seven thousand fanatics. The mercenaries of the caliph were dismayed at the approach of an enemy who neither asked nor accepted quarter ; and the difference between them in foz-titude and patience is expressive of the change which three centuries of prosperity had effected in the character of the Arabians. Such troops were discomfited in every action ; [AD. 923-924] ^jjg citics of Racca and Baalbec, of Cufa and Bassora, were taken and pillaged ; Bagdad was filled with consternation ; and the caliph trembled behind the veils of his palace. In a daring inroad beyond the Tigris, Abu Taher advanced to the gates of A.D. 9J8] the capital with no more than five hundred horse. By the special order of Moctader, the bridges had been broken down, and the person or head of the rebel was expected every hour by the commander of the faithful. His lieutenant, from a motive of fear or pity, apprised Abu Taher of his danger, and recommended a speedy escape. "Your master," said the in- trepid Carmathian to the messenger, " is at the head of thirty thousand soldiers : three such men as these are wanting in his host : " at the same instant, turning to three of his com- panions, he commanded the first to plunge a dagger into his breast, the second to leap into the Tigris, and the third to cast himself headlong down a precipice. They obeyed with- out a murmur. "Relate," continued the imam, "what you have seen : before the evening your general shall be chained among my dogs.' Before the evening, the camp was surprised and the menace was executed. The rapine of the Carmathians was sanctified by their aversion to the worship of Mecca : they [A.D. 906] robbed a caravan of pilgrims, and twenty thousand devout Moslems were abandoned on the burning sands to a death of hunger and thirst. ^-'^ Another year they suffered the pilgrims to proceed without interruption : but, in the festival of de- They pLuage votion, Abu Taher stormed the holy city and trampled on the Mecc& AD •' ^ 1 929 most venerable relics of the Mahometan faith. Thirty thousand citizens and strangers were put to the sword ; the sacred pre- cincts were polluted by the burial of three thousand dead bodies ; the well of Zemzem overflowed with blood ; the golden spout was forced from its place ; the veil of the Caaba was 120 [Abu Tahir also plundered pilgrim caravans in A.D. 924.]
