HISTORY 



19 



AMERICAN BATTLES, TABULATED Continued 



Arabia. The history of Arabia before the 

 time of Mohammed is ' involved in mystery. 

 The aborigine- of Arabia were probably Cusn- 

 iost of whom passed over into Abyssinia. 

 A few. however, remained, who inhabited the 

 west < - il- .(iifiitly another Semitic 



race, descended from Abraham, settled in the 

 land. The oldest Arabian tribes are now ex- 

 tinct, and only a traditional memory even of \ 

 then names exists; I mt the Semitic ch 



or Kohian. and Nmiael, are gnu-rally 

 considered to be th*- father* of the present in- 

 habitants. Christianity found an early entrance 

 into Arabia. The Jews, in considerable num- 

 litrrated into Arabia after the destruction 

 i, and made many proselytes I i ,. 

 great diver-it y of creeds in the peninsula \v.i- 



favorable to the introduction of the doctrine of 

 Mohammed, which form* the grand epoch in 

 Arabian history, and brings it into clo-e connec- 

 tion with the general history of civilization. 

 Now, for the lirM time, the people of 

 became united, and powerful enough t 

 new empires in the three quarter* of the world. 

 The dominion of th. ,,m the time of 



Mohammed to the fall of the caliphate of Bag- 

 da.! in iL'.V-i. or even to (he expulsion of the 



Moors from Spain in 1 I 1 - important 



period in the history of civili ation. But the 

 movements which had -ueh great effect on the 

 destinies of other nations produced l>it little 

 r of Arabia: and alter the 



brilliant career of conquest was ended the penin- 

 H li-:t in an exhausted condition. Then 



