354 Star-Showers of Former Times. 
night were seen great numbers of stars, which moved, as if they 
had been darted through the atmosphere, from a culminating 
point, and rushed down on the right and left, like rain. On ac- 
count of this phenomenon, this year was called the year of stars.” 
“Dans la lune Dyleada de l’année 289, mourut le roi Ibrahim 
ben Ahmet, et dans le méme nuit, on vit un nombre considérable 
d’étoiles, qui comme si elles eussent été lancées dans les airs, 
partaient d’un point culminant et se précipitaient a droite eta 
gauche sous forme de pluie. C’est a cause de ce phénomene que 
cette année a pris le nom d’ Année des étoiles.” Conde: Hist. 
de la Domination des Maures en Espagne, 1, 397, quoted by M. 
Fraehn, (as above,) who states that the date is the 24th or 25th 
ober, A.D. 902. First quoted in part by Von Hammer, 
Comptes Rend. Acad. Sci., 1837, I, 293. solde . 
The following probably refers to the same occurrence : “ Anno 
Dominice Incarnationis 902, urbs Tauromenis a Sarracenis capta 
est. Eodem anno in nocté visi sunt igniculi in modum stellarum 
per aera discurrentes: qua nocte Rex Africe residens super Cosen- 
tiam Calabrie civitatem, Dei judicio, mortuus est.”—Chronicon 
Romualdi II, Archiepisc. Salernitani: in Muraiori, Rer. Ital. 
Ser. t. vii, p. 160. 
(17.) A. D. 912 or 913. “I will here add what I have seen 
in a commentator on the Astronomical Aphorisms of Ptolemy, the 
last of which begins thus: ‘Shooting stars indicate dryness of 
the air; if they all go towards the same quarter of the heavens, 
they foreshow winds which will blow from that quarter, but 
they scatter in all. parts of the heavens they indicate the drying 
up of the water, disturbances in the atmosphere, and the incut- 
sions of armies moving in various directions.’ The commentator 
remarks, ‘I remember that in the year 290 [of the Hegira, be- 
ginning Dec. 4, A. D. 902] there were seen in Egypt burning 
meteors which scattered themselves through the sky and filled 
the whole expanse ; they caused great terror and increased con- 
tinually.* A short time after, a great dearth of water was felt 10 
this country : the Nile rose only thirteen cubits, and violent distur- 
bances arose which caused the ruin of the dynasty of the Toulou- 
nisin Egypt. In the year 300 [beginning Aug. 17, A. D- 912] 
the same phenomena were seen in all parts of the sky; the 
' * If the dates are correct, this must be a case different from No. (16.) 
