34 The Arab Horse 



Then the seeds of discord were sown 

 among the individual tribes of the An- 

 azah. Their herds of camels, their sheep, 

 their horses were so numerous that it 

 required a wise hand to guide them safely, 

 assigning pasturage to each tribe accord- 

 ing to its requirements. The Sebaa and 

 Gomussa tribes had always made use of 

 the district between Homs and Hamah, 

 above Damascus, on the western side of 

 the desert. The next year when they 

 came to their usual district they found 

 their brethren, the Roala, there before 

 them. These had been told by the wily 

 Turk that their fellow tribesmen of the 

 Sebaa and Gomussa were not treating 

 them justly. They were advised to take 

 their great flocks and herds, whose num- 

 bers have been mentioned, to the good 

 pastures before the others could reach 

 them, and were assured that the Turks 

 would help them hold what they seized. 

 In an evil hour they accepted the advice; 

 Suleiman ibn Mirshid having been mur- 

 dered was not at hand to arrange the 



