260 HISTORY OF THE WAHABEES. 



efforts above a month, until the arrival of a strong 

 force under Saoud, the son of Abdelazeez, deter- 

 mined them to retreat. The Wahabee chief antici- 

 pated this measure, and endeavoured to intercept 

 their return, by throwing camel-loads of salt, which 

 he had brought for the purpose, into the wells on 

 their line of march. The soldiers of Bagdad were 

 thus compelled to halt ; and for three days the two 

 armies continued within sight of each other, but 

 without venturing on an attack. A truce for six 

 years was at length concluded, and both parties 

 quietly dispersed to their homes. 



The failure of this expedition was fatal to the suc- 

 cess of the Turks, as the Wahabees had now learned 

 to despise them. The peace was soon broken ; and, 

 in 1801, Saoud at the head of 20,000 men attacked 

 Kerbela, so famed for the magnificent tomb or 

 mosque of Hossein, which had long attracted the 

 devotion of the Moslem. The town was entered, 

 after a very slight resistance, by means of palm- 

 trunks placed against the wall, and five thousand 

 persons were massacred. While executing this 

 horrible butchery, a fanatical doctor cried from the 

 top of a tower, " Kill, strangle all infidels who give 

 companions to God!" In their fury they spared 

 none but old men, women, and children. Their 

 indignation was specially directed against the sepul- 

 chre, which was filled with the riches of Turkey and 

 Persia. The cupola, with its golden ornaments, was 

 thrown down ; and in this act the spoilers were 

 heard to exclaim, " God have mercy upon those who 

 destroyed, and none upon those who built them !" 

 Treasures were found to a vast amount, which had 

 accumulated in proportion to the excessive venera- 

 tion of the pilgrims. Over the tomb was suspended 

 a huge pearl ; near it were deposited twenty sabres 

 mounted with precious stones ; these, together with 

 vases, lamps, rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and ar- 

 ticles of gold and silver, became the property of 



