378 WARS OF THE CALIPHS. 



disturbed by a rebellion in Khorasan ; but the pro- 

 gress of the insurgents was arrested by his brother, 

 the brave Mosleraah, who dispersed tliem in a battle 

 fought at Hira. He died of grief at his favourite 

 residence on the banks of the Jordan. While amus- 

 ing himself in the garden by tossing grapes into the 

 mouth of a favourite concubine, one of them un- 

 luckily stuck in her throat, and produced immediate 

 sulTocation, — an accident which he survived only 

 fifteen days. . The life of Walid II. was one con- 

 tinued scene of debauchery, being addicted to gam- 

 ing, gluttony, drunkenness, and every species of 

 obscenity ; and in the pilgrimage to Mecca he carried 

 with him wine aiid dogs for his amusement. 



The names of Yezzid III. and Ibrahim need only 

 be mentioned as am.ong the ephemeral sovereigns 

 who exhibited a precarious and fitful splendour just 

 before the power of the Ommiades was finally ex- 

 tinguished. Merwan II., the fourteenth and last of 

 the race, had signalized himself by his victories in 

 the neighbourhood of the Caucasus, and against the 

 Tartars. His valour and intrepidity gained him the 

 title of Himar el Jezirah, or the Alesopotamian Ass, — 

 a name which, however contemptible it may sound 

 in European ears, was a proverbial compliment in 

 Arabia ; the warlike breed of that country, instead 

 of an emblem of stupidity, being remarkable for 

 courage, and never known to fly before an enemy. 

 On his accession, he found the whole empire, from 

 a variety of causes, pregnant with insurrection. 

 Emesa set the first example of revolt; the Damas- 

 cenes next threw off their allegiance ; the citizens 

 of Cufa deposed the Syrian governor, and proclaimed 

 a caliph of their own. At Bussora, another rival 

 was elevated to the throne, who supported his pre- 

 tensions with a numerous army ; but he was routed 

 in the neighbourhood of Damascus, with the loss of 

 30,000 men. 



Disgusted with the sanguinary despotism of the 



