THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. S i 7 



eft fhore. It was not long before the Emperor had croiTed 

 the Red Sea with his army ; nor had Phineas loft any time in 

 collecting his fcattered forces to oppofe him. A battle was the 

 confequcnce, in which the fortune of Caleb again prevailed. 



It would appear that the part of Arabia, near Najiran, 

 which was the fcene of Caleb's victory, belonged to the 

 Grecian Emperor Juftin,becaufe Aretas applied directly to him 

 at Conftantinople for fuccour ; and it was at Juftin's requeft 

 only, that Caleb marched to the affiftance of Aretas, as a 

 friend, but not as a fovereign ; and as fuch alfo, Abreha, 

 Governor of Yemen, marched to aflift Aretas, with the A- 

 byfiinian troops, from the fouth of Arabia, againft the 

 ftranger Jews, who were invaders from Paleftine, and who 

 had no connection with the Abymnian Jewifh Homerites, 

 natives of the fouth coaft of Arabia, oppofite to Saba. 



But neither of the Jewifh kingdoms were deftroyed by 

 the victories of Caleb, or Abreha,nor thefubfequent conqueft 

 of the Perfians. In the Neged, or north rat of Arabia, 

 they continued not only after the appearance of Mahomet, 

 but till after the Hegira. For it was in the 8th year of that 

 azra that Hybar, the Jew, was befieged in his own caftle in 

 Neged, and flain by Ali, Mahomet's fon-in-law, from that 

 time called Hydar Ali, or Ali the Lion.. 



Now the Arabian manufcripts fays pofitively that this 

 Abreha, who affifted Aretas, was Governor of Arabia Felix, 

 or Yemen ; for, by this laft name, I fhall hereafter call the 

 part of the peninfula of Arabia belonging to the Abyf- 

 fmians ; fo that he might very well have been the prince 

 who converled with Mahomet's father, and loft his a my 



before 



