When Saláhu-d-dín (Saladin) Ibn Ayúb, Sultán of Egypt and Syria, stirred himself to snatch from the hands of the Christians such fortresses and cities as they had taken on the frontiers of Syria, and to cleanse Jerusalem and its buildings from the filth of the infidels, the fleets and expeditions of the idolaters increased on every side, and innumerable vessels furrowed the seas from all the ports near Jerusalem, in order to convey supplies and reinforcements to those among their countrymen who held that city. At that time the naval forces of Alexandria could by no means compete with those of the Christians, owing to the repeated victories which the latter had gained in the eastern part of this sea, their numerous forces, and the weakness of the Moslems, who had been for a long time previous in a state of decadence, and without sufficient forces to oppose their undertakings. In this conflict Saladin addressed himself to Ya'kúb Al-mansúr, Sultán of Al-maghreb, and one of the Almohades, and asked him, through his ambassador 'Abdu-l-kerím Ibn Munkadh, the assistance of his navy in order to prevent the fleets of the idolaters from taking provisions and reinforcements to their brethren in Syria. Saladin's letter, which, according to Al-'ommád Al-asfahání, in his work entitled 'the signal victories,' was the composition of the illustrious writer Al-bísání, bore these words on the outside, "May God open for the majesty of our lord the gates of happiness and security!" But Al-mansúr having observed that he was not addressed in the letter as Amir al-mumenín (prince of the believers), was exceedingly annoyed by it, although he kept it a secret and did not communicate his displeasure to any one; so though he treated the ambassador with justice and generosity, he dismissed him from his court without granting his demand. We have mentioned this merely to let the reader form an idea of the maritime power of the Sultáns of Maghreb at this time, and sketch what happened to them with the Christians in the eastern quarters, and how these acquired a superiority in those seas.

However, after the death of Ya'kúb Al-mansúr, and the decadence which ensued of his empire, the Galicians having made themselves the masters of almost all the kingdoms which the Moslems possessed in Andalus, the true believers were obliged to fly for shelter to those provinces situate on the sea shore. The infidels, in the course of time, conquered all the islands in the west of the Mediterranean; their power increasing on those waters, and their fleets becoming very numerous: so that the forces of the Moslems were soon on a level with those of the Christians, as became manifest during the reign of the Sultán Abú-l-hasan, King of the Zenátah, in Al-maghreb, whose fleets, whenever they put to sea and met the enemy, had to contend against an equal number of vessels. This evil went on increasing until the Mohammedan power fell gradually into decay, and the science and practice of navigation were almost forgotten, owing to the inclinations of the Sultáns of that dynasty, who, being Beydawis or Bedouins, did not much relish the sea. This contributed to interrupt the traffic and the communication with Andalus by sea, and allowed the Christians to resume their old habits, and recommence their adventurous enterprises, thus becoming again by their experience and their continual sailing the masters of the seas. The Moslems, on the contrary, became quite strangers to navigation, if we except a few of the people inhabiting the coast, who seemed still to possess some inclination to that element, and who, through the help and assistance of all kinds bestowed on them by the African powers, have hitherto been enabled to maintain the holy war by sea. In this state has the navy continued until our days,

when, through the care and attention of the different sovereigns of the present reigning dynasty, who all have considered this as one of their principal and most important duties, it is fast rising from its decay, and the wind has again sprung up favourably for the Moslems. Nay, if we are to believe a prophecy current among the people of this country, the Moslems shall recover in the end their naval superiority over the Christians, and conquer all those countries lying across the sea where their religion is predominant; this being accomplished by means of their fleets. May Allah favour the Moslems!

APPENDIX C.

An account of Al-hakem's Library and its destruction, extracted from the work of Sa'id,

of Toledo.

THE volume from which the following extract is taken is a thin octavo, containing 146 pages; it is written incorrectly, and in a sort of hand approaching the ta'lik. The title reads thus :

تعليقات من كتاب التعريف بطبقات الامم تاليف القاضي أبي القاسم صاعد بن احمد بن صاعد الاندلسي

on the

Hasty notes or extracts taken from the work (entitled) the book of information classes of nations,' by the Kádí Abu-l-kásim Sa'id Ibn Ahmed Ibn Sá'id, of Toledo. But although, immediately after the title, there follow in the MS. extracts from the work of that historian, the contents of the volume, which is written in different hands, are various. The first twenty-two pages only of the MS. are extracts from the work of Sá'id. After this come two chapters from the Korán. Then follow other extracts from Ibnu Sa'id Al-maghrebí and Abú-l-fedá; and, lastly, the volume ends with an historical work, in Turkish, entitled, if I am not mistaken, the necklace of the annals.'

The first part of the volume (i. e. the extracts from Sá'id, of Toledo,) is exceedingly interesting, being the only fragment preserved in any Library of Europe from the work of an historian who enjoys great reputation among his countrymen; a work which, were we to judge of its contents by the short extracts in this volume, must have been one of the greatest value.

Sa'id begins by giving a concise history of mankind, divided into various races or nations,-Ancient Persians, Chaldæans, Greeks, Copts, Turks, Hindús, and Chinese. He then divides mankind into nations who laboured for the attainment of science, and nations who did not do so; he counts among the former the Hindús, Persians, Chaldæans, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Arabs, and Hebrews, including the remainder in the number of those who did not cultivate the sciences. He then begins with a short account of each of them, and, after giving a concise history of those nations who exhibited a taste for learning, proceeds with a sketch of their improvements in the sciences, and the eminent men they produced. The account he gives of the Greeks and Romans is well worthy of attention, and, considering that it is the work of an Arabian writer, is sufficiently accurate. It is from the chapter treating of the Arabs that the following extract is taken.

The author is Sa'id Ibn Ahmed Ibn 'Abdi-r-rahmán Ibn Mohammed Ibn Sá'id, Kádí of Toledo, of the

sect of Málik. He was a native of Almeria, but his family were originally from Cordova. He died, according to Ibnu Bashkúwál, quoted by Casiri (Bib. Ar. Hisp. Esc. vol. ii. p. 142, c. 2), on the 4th day of Shawwál, A. H. 462, and not as Hájí Khalfah (voc. Ta'rif) states, in 250. I cannot imagine what made that accurate bibliographer commit such a mistake, since there can be no doubt that the work was written during the reign of Yahya Ibn Isma'il, who filled the throne of Toledo until 469, and who appointed Sa'id to the charge of Kádí of the principal mosque in the capital of his dominions. He himself says so, and alludes in several places of his work to his being occupied in its composition in the year 460. Besides, in the note at the end of these extracts, it is also stated that Sa'id completed his work in that year.

But to return to our account of the Andalusian philosophers. Towards the middle of the third century of the Hijra, and in the days of the Amír Mohammed, Sultán of Cordova, and the fifth in the line of the Bení Umeyyah, the learned of Andalus exerted themselves in the cultivation of science, and laboured in it with assiduity, giving evident proofs of their acquisitions in all manner of learning. This continued until towards the middle of the fourth century, when the Sultán Al-hakem, son of the Sultán 'Abdu-r-rahmán An-nássir lidíni-llah, having ascended the throne, the cultivation of letters received a new impulse, and by his encouragement of all sorts of studies, by his unwonted liberality towards the learned, whom he invited to his capital from Baghdad, Cairo, and other distant countries, and, above all, by his exquisite taste for literature, which he had cultivated with success during his father's lifetime, the torch of science shone brighter than ever. Indeed, this illustrious monarch spared neither trouble nor expense to propagate learning in his states by all the means in his power. He caused all sorts of rare and curious books to be purchased by his agents in Cairo, Baghdad, Damascus, Alexandria, and other great cities in the East; and no work on ancient or modern science was discovered that was not immediately procured at any cost and sent to him. By these means he collected a richer and more extensive library than the Khalifs of the 'Abbaside dynasty ever did during the whole period of their reign, and the learned of Andalus devoted their attention to the study of the sciences contained in the books of the ancients, and, encouraged by the example of the monarch, made rapid progress in the most abstruse and exquisite learning. This lasted until the death of the Khalif Al-hakem, which happened in the month of Safar of the year three hundred and sixty-six (Oct. A. D. 976), when he was succeeded by his son, Hisham Al-muyad-billah, who was still very young. However, when the Wizír Abú 'A'mir Mohammed Ibn 'Abdillah Ibn Mohammed Ibn 'Abdillah Ibn Abí 'A'mir Mohammed Ibni-l-walid Ibn Yezíd Ibn 'Abdi-l-malek Ibn 'A'mir Al-mu'áferí Al-kahttání usurped the empire, as is well known, and took the direction of public affairs entirely into his hands, he followed a different course, and in order to conciliate the favour of theologians, and other austere men who were averse to the cultivation of the philosophical sciences, commanded a search to be made in Al-hakem's library, and all works on philosophy and astronomy and other similar subjects treated by the ancients, with the exception of books on medicine and arithmetic, were by his orders removed, and either burnt in the squares of the city, or thrown into the wells and cisterns of the palace, where they were soon destroyed by the heaps of dust, stones, and other rubbish cast over them. The only books which were suffered to remain in Al-hakem's library were works treating of rhetoric, grammar, poetry, history,

medicine, law, traditions, and other sciences generally cultivated by the people of Andalus ; and all others treating either of natural philosophy, astronomy, or the doctrines of the ancients, were, with the exception of a few which escaped the eyes of the searchers, destroyed for ever. This act of Al-mansúr has been attributed by the historians of the time to his desire of gaining popularity with the multitude, and thereby finding less opposition to his ambitious views, and casting a sort of stain upon the memory of the Khalif Al-hakem, whose throne he sought to usurp; for, although the study of those sciences had been forbidden by his ancestors, Al-hakem encouraged them in his dominions, and countenanced and protected all those who cultivated them. Al-mansúr, however, having publicly shown his disapprobation of these studies, all those who were found indulging in them were declared impious men by the heads of the law, so that the learned had carefully to conceal their knowledge of these matters for fear of coming into contact with the judges, and being condemned as heretics and people who wanted to introduce new practices and opinions on the received religion. Whoever, therefore, had formerly studied and taught the philosophical sciences publicly, had now to conceal his learning from his most intimate friends, for fear of being denounced; and if he still persevered in his studies he would do it with the greatest secrecy, taking care not to raise the least suspicion by his words or by his writings, which he would publicly confine to medicine, arithmetic, moral philosophy, and so forth.

This state of things lasted until the overthrow of the Bení Umeyyah dynasty, when the dominions of that powerful family fell to the share of the rebels who rose against them at the beginning of the fifth century of the Hijra, and who divided among themselves the inheritance of the Khalifs. These petty sovereigns, it is true, encouraged literature, but their efforts were principally directed towards poetry, grammar, history, and other common arts; and the proscribed sciences remained as before in complete disgrace. In the meanwhile the city of Cordova was occupied sometimes by one, sometimes by another, of these rebel princes; and the temporary masters of the capital claiming, as was natural, a supremacy over the rest of Andalus, the fire of discord was kindled, and its consuming flames spread rapidly through this country, destroying every where the monuments of the arts and the sciences. In one of these civil dissensions Cordova was invaded and sacked, the palace of the Khalifs was levelled with the ground, and the costly furniture, the rich tapestry, the splendid collection of books formed by Al-hakem, were plundered, and sold in distant countries at the lowest prices. However, most of the literary treasures which the royal library contained were scattered through this country; some were taken to Seville, some to Granada, some to Almeria and other principal cities; I myself met with many in this city (Toledo) that were saved from the general ruin, and in the number there were a few which escaped the search and destruction made in the days of Al-mansúr, and whose contents might, if detected, have brought upon them a similar fate.

With these precious relics the study of the works of the ancient philosophers revived, the learned of this country began again to graze and feed upon the pasturages of philosophy, the studious acquired little by little a taste for the natural sciences; the petty sovereigns of Andalus bestowing some encouragement upon their professors until the present day, being the year

VOL. I.

460 of the Hijra,' when it may be confidently asserted, without fear of contradiction, that the above-mentioned studies are more flourishing than ever they were in this country, and more extensively cultivated than the most easy and common branches of learning. God be praised for it! Their progress, however, might be still quicker, were it not impeded by the austerity and devotion of some of our kings, who, like their predecessors, have a dislike for them; were it not that the learned of our times are year after year obliged to lay down the pen, and, grasping the sword, to repair to the defence of our frontiers attacked by the infidels, whose continual invasions they could not otherwise resist; this being the reason why the study of science is not so universal as it ought to be, and that the learned are but few.

APPENDIX D.

A narrative of the principal events attending the conquest of Spain by the Moslems, translated from the Tali Kitábu-l-iktifá fí akhbári-l-kholafá, or the

اخبار الخلفاء

book of sufficiency on the history of the Khalifs, by Abú Ja'far Ibn 'Abdi-l-hakk Alkhazrájí Al-kortobí (Ar. MS. in the translator's collection).

THE MS. to which I allude is a folio volume of about 480 pages, written in a clear African hand, strongly resembling the old Kúfí, upon brown cotton paper. The first four leaves and the last eight are supplied by a modern hand, upon white paper, manufactured in Europe. Owing to this circumstance, it is impossible for me to fix with certainty the age of the MS., but, were I to judge from the sort of hand-writing used in it, and other signs which I shall presently specify, I should not hesitate in declaring it an autograph written at Seville towards the year five hundred and seventy of the Hijra (A. D. 1174-5). My reasons for deeming it such are as follow: 1st. The hand-writing is the same as that of many Arabic MSS. of the same period in the Escurial, which are executed in a hand peculiar to Seville, and to which Ibnu-l-khattíb frequently alludes in his history of Granada, called 'the Sevillian hand-writing.' 2nd. Nowhere are the words kála-l-muwallif ('the author says '), kála-l-muwarrikh ('the historian relates'), and other similar expressions, which are generally met with in transcripts of Arabic works, to be found in this. 3rd. The MS. abounds with many corrections and marginal references, which could not be the work of a transcriber, since, in most instances, the meaning would be incomplete without them.

الا.

The name of the author is nowhere stated in the MS.; for although, according to the general custom, a blank was left in the first page by the copyist who supplied the leaves, for the purpose of inserting it in gold letters, this requisite is wanting. On the other hand, Hájí Khalfah, whose work is particularly deficient in the literature of the Spanish Moslems, knew not the book. But as Ibnu Sa'íd, in his addition to Ibn Hazm's epistle (see p. 194 of this translation), has spoken of an historical work whose title and description answer exactly to those of the present, and which he there attributes to Abú Ja'far

1 Sa'id survived the composition of this work only two years.