GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 119 



which they perform with great dexterity. The cav- 

 alry have no uniform, every one dressing according 

 to his own fancy. Their arms are a long lance, a 

 sabre, a curved dirk stuck in their girdle, and some- 

 times a pair of pistols in tlie holsters of their sad- 

 dles. A pair of boots are drawn on their naked 

 legs, and the ends of their turbans ilow down be- 

 tween their shoulders. 



The infantry, while in garrison, have little else to 

 do than act as sentinels or foot-guards to the dow- 

 lah. In accompanying him to the mosque they use 

 "Wild and grotesque gestures, flourishing their scimi- 

 tars or their muskets in the air, and singing and 

 leaping like men insane or intoxicated — a practice 

 which is supposed to have some reference to an 

 ancient usage of exciting courage when marching 

 to battle. Their pay Niebuhr states at two crowns 

 and a half per month, and their dress is as irregular 

 as that of the cavalry. The greater number wear 

 nothing but a piece of short linen around their loins, 

 and over that is a girdle in which their curved dag- 

 ger is fixed. Their heads are covered with a ker- 

 chief or a cap of blue linen ; and their hair, which is 

 long, is knotted or folded up into a kind of bag. A 

 buckler, sabre, and lance are their ordinary arms ; 

 and they are trained in the use of musketry. They 

 have a singular method of displaying their courage 

 and fidelity in battle, resembling that of the soldurii 

 among the Romans. A soldier willing to evince 

 his devoted attachment to his chief binds up his 

 leg to his thigh, and continues to fight until the 

 enemy are routed, or himself cut to pieces. The 

 marine of Yemen is on a very limited scale, a naval 

 force being unnecessary, as there is little to dread 

 from enemies or corsairs. 



Sanaa, the capital of the imam, stands at the foot 

 of Mount Nikkum. Abulfeda describes it as being 

 the largest city in Yemen, and resembling Damas- 

 cus for the multitude of its waters and orchards ; 



