CALIPHS OF SPAIN. 



and prosperity of that kingdom, from which 

 never recovered. The literary activity and com- 

 mercial enterprise of the Arabs, which the wise 

 policy of their caliphs encouraged, contributed both 

 to enrich and adorn their adopted country. Cor- 

 dova, the seat of the Ommiades, was scarcely infe- 

 rior- in point of wealth and magnitude to its proud 

 rival on the banks of the Tigris. A space of twenty- 

 four miles in length and six in breadth, along the 

 margin of the Guadalquiver, was occupied with pa- 

 laces, streets, gardens, and public edifices ; and for 

 ten miles the citizens could travel by the light of 

 lamps along an uninterrupted extent of buildings. 

 In the reign of Almansor it could boast of 270,000 

 houses, 80,455 shops, 911 baths, 3877 mosques, from 

 the minarets of which a population of 800,000 were 

 daily summoned to prayers. The seraglio of the 

 caliph, his wives, concubines, and black eunuchs 

 amounted to 6300 persons ; and he was attended to 

 the field by a guard of 12,000 horsemen, whose belts 

 and scimitars were studded with gold. Granada 

 was equally celebrated for its luxury and its learn- 

 ing. The royal demesnes extended to the distance 

 of twenty miles, the revenues of which were set 

 apart to maintain the fortifications of the city. Of 

 the duty on grain the king's exchequer received 

 about 15,000 yearly, an immense sum at that time, 

 when wheat sold at the rate of sixpence a bushel. 

 The consumption of 250,000 inhabitants kept 130 

 water-mills constantly at work in the suburbs. The 

 population of this small kingdom under the Moors is 

 said to have amounted to 3,000,000, which is now 

 diminished perhaps to one-fifth of that number. Its 

 temples and palaces have shared the same decay. The 



