410 SIEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 



Havinff seen the progress of these conqueroi-s 

 arrested in the West, we must turn our eyes once 

 more to their exploits in the East ; tor while Tank 

 and Abdalrahman were trying the edge of their 

 scimitars against the Goths and Franks m Europe, 

 another army was extending the terroi^ of the Sara- 

 cen name into the frozen regions of Tartary, and a 

 third occupied in reducing Asia Minor and the capi- 

 tal of the Greek emperor. So early as the reign of 

 Moawiyah, the Arabs had appeared under the walls 

 of Constantinople. Yezzid the son of that prince 

 commanded the expedition. The troops suffered 

 the extremity of hardship on their march ; but their 

 courage was animated by a genuine or fictitious say- 

 incT of the Prophet, thai to the first army who should 

 take the city of the Cesars their sins would be for- 

 given During many days the line of assault was 

 Ixtended from the Golden Gate to the eastern prom- 

 ontory, and the foremost ranks were impelled by 

 the weight and enthusiasm of the succeeding col- 

 umns But the besiegers had miscalculated the 

 strength and resources of the imperial metropolis. 



Baffled by this firm and effectual resistance, the 



Arabs turned their arms to the more congenial 



occupation of plundering the European and Asiatic 



coasts of the Propontis. From April to September 



their piracies were continued; but on the approach 



of winter they retreated to the isle of Cyzicus, 



where they had established their magazine of spoil 



and provisions. During the six following summers, 



such was their enthusiasm and perseverance, the 



same mode of attack and retreat was repeated with 



a gradual abatement of hope and vigour till the 



accumulated mischances of shipwreck and disease, 



of fire and sword, compelled them to relinquish the 



fruitless enterprise. Thirty thousand martyrs had 



fallen during the siege of Constantinople ; ad 



among these was Abu Ayuh, one of the^Ansars and 



last of the companions of :\IoliHmmed, who had 



