WARS OF THE CALIPHS. 367 



tue of the female captives. Not a day passed in 

 which he displayed not some extraordinary feat of 

 personal stren^"th and skill. The bravest leaders 

 of the Syrian host fell in succession by the single 

 prowess "of his resistless arm,— " For death itself 

 dwelt on the point of his spear, and perdition in the 

 hilt of his sword."' The hideous and gigimtic Ker- 

 reib. who could obliterate with his thumb the im- 

 pression on a silver coin, he cleft at one stroke from 

 the crest to the saddlebow. Two warriors attacked 

 him in disguise ; but with a sweep of his double- 

 scimitar he^bisected the foremost through the middle 

 with such rapidity and precision, that the rider re- 

 mained fixed on "the saddle; the spectators con- 

 cluding he had missed his blow, until the motion 

 of the horse threw the body in halves to the ground. 



The two concluding days were the most sangui- 

 nan,-; and such was the carnage, that the most hard- 

 ened veterans were seen to weep aloud on behold- 

 ing the scene of destruction around them. On the 

 first charge the ranks of the Syrians were broken. 

 The battle raged nevertheless, the cavalry dismount- 

 ing to combat on foot, and even on their knees, with 

 their swords and daggers. The contest suffered no 

 interruption from the setting sun. Mounted on a 

 piebald horse, and clad in the accoutrements of the 

 Prophet, with his ponderous sabre. All cheered on 

 his troops amid the confusion and obscurity of the 

 night. As often as he smote a rebel, the shout of 

 Allah akbar rose ; and before morning he was heard 

 to repeat that tremendous exclamation 5'23 timps. 



The usurper of Damascus already meditated fiight; 

 for 7000 of his troops had perished in the slaughter 

 of that memorable night : but a stratagem of Amru 

 snatched the victory from the grasp nf his rival. He 

 ordered the Syrian soldiers to fix their copies of the 

 Koran, to the number of 550, on the points of their 

 iances, and. stationed in front of the line, to await 

 the approach of the assailants. Tbx? ailifice was 



