CONQUESTS OF THE SARACENS. 343 



armies that " the Lord of the Kaaba was triumphant." 

 Galen experienced a similar destiny, being over- 

 thrown and slain in the flight. The Moslems con- 

 fess a loss of 7500 inen, and reckon that of the 

 enemy at 100,000. There may be partial exaggera- 

 tion in the narrative and numbers of this famous 

 battle ; but one thing is certain, it determined the 



Saad appropriated the spoil, the magnitude and 

 value of which excited the admiration of the con- 

 querors. To HuUal he assigned the costly habili- 

 ments of Roostum ; the tiara alone was estimated 

 at 100,000 dinars (46,250/.), and his girdle at 70,000 

 (32,375/.). The armour of Galen was adjudged to 

 Zohara, who received an additional sum of 30,000 

 dinars (13,875/.), in exchange for the imperial stan- 

 dard of Persia, which he had the fortune to take. 

 This celebrated banner was originally the apron of 

 Kawah, a blacksmith of Ispahan, whose intrepidity 

 freed his country from the bloody tyrant Zohauk, 

 .and raised Feridoon to the throne. It was rich in 

 .ornaments, to which every succeeding king had made 

 contributions ; and at the time of the Mohammedan 

 conquests, it had increased from its original shape 

 and size to the length of two and twenty feet, by 

 fifteen in breadth, covered with jewels of very great 

 value. These, however, comprised but a small por- 

 tion of the sumptuous booty of Cadesia, which 

 included among other articles two shields, each 

 reckoned worth 1,000,100 drachms (22,919/.). 



The ludicrous mistakes of the Arabs show their 

 ignorance of their own good fortune. Camphor, to 

 the name and properties of which they seem to 

 have been entire strangers, they mingled with their 

 bread, mistaking that odoriferous gum for salt, and 

 were surprised at its bitter taste. " I will give any 

 quantity of this yellow metal for a little of the 

 white," said the soldiers of the Desert, who willingly 

 offered gold, which they had never seen, in exchange 



