Merida was once a large and populous city, and during the dynasty of the Bení Merida. Umeyyah it reached such a degree of splendour as to be only second to Cordova, the capital, in size, population, and magnificence of buildings. But owing to the seditious character of its inhabitants, who were continually revolting either against their governors or against the Sultáns of Cordova, the city was destroyed during the reign of 'Abdu-r-rahmán, and never afterwards restored. Merida is built on the banks of a considerable river called Wádi-anah (Guadiana). 25

On the same river, about thirty miles to the west, is the city of Bathaliós 26 Badajoz. (Badajoz), which is also a very considerable city, extending its jurisdiction over a rich and extensive country. Badajoz became the capital of a powerful kingdom, formed by Mohammed Ibn Moslemah; 27 one of the generals, who, at the death of Al-mansúr, declared themselves independent in their provinces. He transmitted his empire to his posterity, of which three princes reigned, until the last, 'Omar Al-mutawákel, was slain by Seyrín Ibn Abí Bekr, general of the Almoravides.

The following distich in praise of Badajoz is the composition of the Wizír and poet Abú 'Omar Al-fallás.28

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"O Badajoz! I shall never forget thee as long as I live; by Allah, the hills that surround thee look as delightful and green as the higher regions of "Arabia.

"The fruits of thy deeply-laden trees shine every where with the deep hue "of maturity; and thy river is like a string of solid ice."

The Bení Al-fallás were a principal family of Badajoz, and this 'Omar one of its most illustrious individuals; the author of the Ad-dakhireh 29 devotes an article to him.

Lishbóna (Lisbon) is a large city on the coast of the Western Ocean, and at Lisbon. the mouth of the river Tajoh. Its district, and that of Shantareyn (Santaren), which are contiguous, abound in gold mines. They produce also a kind of honey, very much resembling sugar in appearance, and which is never found in a liquid state; the inhabitants keep it in cotton bags. Another of the peculiarities of this coast is the amber which is thrown up by the sea in great quantity, and which in its kind is superior to that of the Indian seas, and is only equalled by the shajarí.30

sword.

Between Lisbon and Talavera, a city placed on the banks of the river that comes Bridge of the from Toledo (the Tajoh), stands the famous bridge known by the name of Al-kantaratu-s-seyf (the bridge of the sword), the construction of which is attributed to the first Cæsar, and is one of the wonders of the world. It is very high, and has only one arch of about seventy cubits in height, and thirty-seven in width, under which the whole stream passes. On the top of this arch is a tower rising to a

Silves.

height of forty cubits above the bridge, which, as well as the tower, is built of large blocks of granite, each measuring eight or ten cubits in length. At the summit of the tower, and in one of the stones of which it is built, is a brazen sword fixed into it, with this wonderful peculiarity, that whoever seizes the handle and draws it may extract about three spans of it, but no human efforts have yet succeeded in drawing it out further; when the handle is let go the sword goes with great violence into the stone, as if it went into a scabbard.31

Close to the district of Lisbon is that of Oksonóbah (Ossonoba), the capital of which bears the same name, and is a very fine city, to which many towns, villages, and castles are subject. Further down towards the coast is the city of Shilb (Silves), which was once the capital of an independent state formed by the Wizír Abú Bekr Mohammed Ibn 'Omar, known by the surname of Dhú-l-wizárateyn. But when the Bení Lamtumnah subdued the greatest part of Andalus, this and other western districts were joined by them to the government of Seville. Silves is seven days' march from Cordova; it has the honour of being the birth-place of Dhú-l-wizárateyn Ibn 'Omar,32 (may God show him mercy!) and of the Káid Abú Merwán 'Abdu-l-málik Ibn Bedrán, by others called Ibn Badrún, a literary man of great repute, and who is known as the author, among other works, of a commentary on that famous ode of Ibn 'Abdún 33 which begins thus :

"Succeeding generations shall be afflicted at the recollection of his virtues.

34

This commentary is too well known to need a fuller description; we have found it in most of the great cities in the East, where it is held in great estimation. The author, Ibn Badrún, was himself a very good poet.

Silves is likewise the birth-place of the famous grammarian Abú Mohammed 'Abdullah, son of As-síd Al-Bathliósí.35

The whole of western Andalus was at one time under the dominion of the Bení 'Abbád, kings of Seville, the most powerful Sultáns of the time. The great revenues they derived from their states enabled them to keep considerable armies, and to surround their court with learned men and poets, who, encouraged by their liberality, cultivated the sciences with the greatest ardour, and sung their praises in eloquent and elaborate compositions. Liblah (Niebla), Jebórah (Ebora), Shant-Mariah (Santa Maria), Mertilah (Mertola), Jezírah Shaltish (the island of Saltes), Shintarah (Cintra), are among the cities of the West which once acknowledged the supremacy of the Bení 'Abbád. The last named city (Cintra) presents, according to Ibn Alisa', a very curious phenomenon, which is, that wheat and barley are generally ripe forty days after having been sown; the country produces also a very large kind of melons,36 measuring three spans

in circumference. Speaking of this fruit, Abú 'Abdillah Al-yakúrí," an author on whose writings great reliance is placed, states that he was once sitting with Al-mu'atamed Ibn 'Abbád, king of Seville, when a peasant from Cintra entered the room, and presented the Sultán with four of those melons, which not only measured five spans in circumference each, but weighed so much that the man could hardly carry them in a basket on his head. The Sultán was very much surprised to see so fine a fruit, and began to question the peasant, who answered that those melons did not always grow to so great a size, but that they could easily be obtained of those dimensions by cutting off all the branches of the plants but ten, and then supporting the stem by means of props of wood.

Saragossa.

CHAPTER IV.

Eastern district-Saragossa-Valencia-Murcia-Cartagena-Albarracin.

THE eastern district of Andalus contains also many cities of the first order, such as Saragossa, Valencia, Murcia, Cartagena, Santa Maria, and others.

Sarakostah (Saragossa) was, according to some authors, built by the first Cæsar, the emperor of Rome, in whose reign begins the era called safar,' which preceded the nativity of Christ, and by which the Christians compute their years. Sarakostah means, in the language of the Christians, "the palace of the Lord," 2 and was so called on account of the said Cæsar having fixed his residence in it while he stayed in Andalus; others attribute its foundation to Alexander, but God only knows.

It is generally acknowledged that there was no city in Andalus to which more cities, towns, hamlets, and castles, were subject, than Saragossa, nor which abounded more in fruits of all kinds, nor which was more plentifully supplied with provisions of all sorts, nor which counted at one time a larger number of inhabitants. It was surrounded by orchards and gardens for a space of eight miles; and the Andalusian authors often compared it to the cities of Chaldæa for the number of its trees, and the abundance of its waters. It is by them described as a city of great importance, extending its jurisdiction over several large provinces and wealthy districts, some of which, teeming with an industrious and active population, covered a space of forty miles.

Among the productions of its territory is counted salt, which, according to some historians, is to be found near the capital, white, pure, and transparent, and such as cannot be procured any where else in Andalus. We find also recorded by more than one historian and collector of traditional stories that a very curious phenomenon has been observed in the neighbourhood of Saragossa. No scorpion, they say, will enter the territory of Saragossa of its own accord, and if taken there by any one, the moment it touches the ground it will lose all its power of action, and remain motionless: the same phenomenon has been remarked in the East with

respect to other reptiles, and has been explained by philosophers and naturalists as the effect of the talismanic influence which some countries are known to exercise over certain animals; at least such is the solution given to this curious circumstance by all the Eastern authors who have treated the subject. One thing, however, is certain, namely, that all Western writers agree in saying that no scorpion or snake3 ever entered the territory of Saragossa without dying immediately, and that the experiment was repeatedly tried of bringing them from distant lands, but no sooner were they within the precincts of the city than they died suddenly on the spot. To this wonderful quality of the soil about Saragossa we may add another very striking peculiarity, which is recorded by almost every author who has undertaken the description of that city. They say that no provision or article of food, however long it may be kept, will ever mildew or be spoiled; wheat will keep for a hundred years, and grapes suspended to the ceiling for six; figs, peaches, cherries, apples, and plums, are preserved in a dry state for several years, while it is not uncommon to see beans and garbanzos which have been gathered thirty years; wood never rots, and no article of dress, whether of wool, silk, or cotton, is ever moth-eaten.

We have likewise read somewhere that when Músa Ibn Nosseyr came to Saragossa, and tasted the waters of the Jelk, he found them so sweet and good that he swore he had never drunk any thing better since he came into Andalus; and that having inquired about the name of the well, when he heard it called Jelk he threw a glance all around him and compared the country to the ghautah (meadow) of Damascus.

The city of Saragossa became, towards the middle of the fifth century, the seat of a powerful and extensive empire, founded by Suleymán Ibn Húd, one of the generals who, during the calamitous times of the civil war, proclaimed the sovereignty of the extinct house of Umeyyah, and declared themselves independent in their governments. Several authors who have written the history of the Bení Húd dynasty describe most minutely a famous palace called Dáru-s-sorrúr (the abode of pleasures), built by Al-muktadir Ibn Húd, one of the Sultáns of that family, and in which was a golden hall of exquisite design and admirable workmanship, decorated in the most magnificent manner. This palace is alluded to in some verses by the Wizír Dhú-l-wizárateyn Ibn 'Abdi-shelb.

Saragossa has been called Ummu-l-kór (the mother of the provinces), and its territory Thagheru-l-a'ali, the meaning of which has already been explained. Lerida, Kal'at-Rabáh (Calatrava), which is also called Al-baydhá, Tuteylah (Tudela) with its city Tarasónah (Tarazona), Weskah (Huesca) and its capital Tamarit, Medínah Sélim (Medina Celi), Kal'at Ayúb (Calatayud) and its city

VOL. I.

K