THE CAMEL. 199 



camels, were without number. The Hagarites, too, were 

 so rich in camels that the Reubenites took from them in 

 war fifty thousand, with sheep and asses. 



These valuable quadrupeds were not only early known, 

 but we have on record a very remarkable instance of the 

 use to which they were applied in battle by Cyrus, King 

 of Persia. When that powerful monarch, so renowned in 

 ancient history, made war against Croesus, the wealthy 

 king of Lydia, (B. C. 548,) he collected his forces before 

 the gates of Sardis, the Lydian Capital. The sight of the 

 Lydian army, says Herodotus, terrified Cyrus : he dreaded 

 the cavalry. But his fears were removed by adopting 

 the advice of one of his officers. All the camels which 

 followed the rear with the provisions and baggage, were 

 unloaded and placed in the front of the Persian line, to 

 face the enemy's cavalry. This was done, adds the his- 

 torian, from a knowledge that the horse cannot endure 

 either the sight or the smell of this animal ; and the most 

 useful portion of the Lydian army was by this masterly 

 measure rendered unavailing. The engagement was scarce- 

 ly begun before the appearance of the camels disordered the 

 opposite cavalry : the terrified horses fell back, and the 

 hopes of Croesus were entirely defeated. The Lydians 

 turned, and fled for refuge within the walls of Sardis, 

 which was soon invested by the victorious foe. 



Procopius notices camel-riding Moors in arms against 

 Solyman the First. From that period, and more particu- 

 larly when the influence of the pretended Arabian prophet 

 extended to Morocco, the camel is repeatedly spoken of 

 as the most important animal then known. It is also 

 very probable that they increased in proportion as agricul- 

 ture diminished, at least the two facts are coeval. With 

 the progress of Mahometanism also, camels first crossed 

 the Bosphorus, and spread with the Turks over their pres- 

 ent dominions in Europe. The late Emperor Leopold, 

 when Grand Duke of Tuscany, introduced them into Italy, 



