in the East, which declared war against the empire both by land and by sea.
Rise of the Muhammedan power, A.D. 622.
A.D. 633.
It is not our province to trace the progress of that
power, nor indeed of that of any nation, except as may
be necessary to furnish an idea of the extent of its
maritime commerce, so far as this can be ascertained
from the limited sources of information now
extant. Muhammed had not only introduced a new
religion, but his warlike successors propagated their
newly accepted faith by the sword with a success unparalleled
in the history of the world. Nor were their
exploits confined to the land. The Arabians, distinguished
by the name of Saracens (that is, specifically
"the Easterns"),[1] who, from the earliest period of history,
were skilled as navigators, and daring as seamen,
had by this time become not merely an important
but a powerful maritime people. Masters of Persia
and of the whole of the Arabian Gulf, the "true
believers," soon extended their conquests into Syria,
nominally to abolish "infidelity," but with a clear
eye to the advantages of commerce.
Rapid conquests;
of Jerusalem, A.D. 636;
Hatred of the Christians, love of spoil, and contempt
for danger were the ruling passions of the
Saracens; nor could the prospect of instant death
shake their religious confidence, nor stay a course of
conquest, on all occasions made in "the name of the
most merciful God." Bozrah and Damascus soon
fell into their hands, as well as Abyla, thirty miles
distant, where the produce and manufactures of the
country were then collected at a great annual fair.
Three years afterwards Jerusalem was besieged and
taken, and the Syrian seaports captured. The
- ↑ Al Sherki.
