CALIPHS OF BAGDAD. 19 



curious productions of Oriental genius. Notwith- 

 standing his many eminent virtues and endowments, 

 his panegyrists complain that he evinced a favourable 

 disposition to that heretical doctrine of theMotazalites 

 which denies to the Koran the authority of a divine 

 revelation; and the last years of his life were spent in 

 enforcing on his subjects, by severe persecution, the 

 acknowledgment that it was of human origin. His 

 capital and his army he threw into commotion, by 

 commanding them to assume the green uniform in- 

 stead of the black, the symbol of his family. His 

 military talents, which were great, found exercise in 

 making incursions against the Greeks, or in quell- 

 ing insurrections in Persia, Arabia, and various parts 

 of his dominions ; for in one year not fewer than 

 four usurpers made their appearance in Syria, Pa- 

 lestine, Egypt, and Western Africa. 



The errors of Almamoun, both political and spiri- 

 tual, devolved onhis brother and successor Motassem. 

 The name of the Octonary, by which he is designated 

 in history, originated from the remarkable coinci- 

 dences, that he was the eighth caliph of his family ; 

 the eighth in descent from Abbas ; he gained eight 

 distinguished victories ; eight sons of princes were 

 enrolled in his service ; he possessed eight thousand 

 male, and as many female slaves ; he had eight sons 

 and eight daughters ; he was master of eighty thou- 

 sand horses ; and left in his coffers eight millions of 

 gold dinars, with eighteen millions of drachms of sil- 

 ver. His strength was so prodigious that he is said to 

 have carried a burden of 1000 pounds weight ; and, 

 such was the muscular power of his arm, that he 

 could hold a sheep in each hand until his attendants 

 flayed them alive. Among other luxuries he kept 



