1865.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 103 



received about two months ago from him on this subject, which illness 

 has prevented me from sooner attending to. The view you will observe 

 that he takes of it is, that the charges brought by M. Goeje against 

 Abu Ismail may, in a great measure, with equal justice, be brought 

 against the most highly respected Mohammadan historians, and that, 

 if accuracy of fact be a criterion, Beladzori — the historian on whom 

 M. Goeje rests his faith, and with whom, as a touchstone, he so fre- 

 quently compares Abu Ismail to prove his falsity, just as Herrn 

 Haneberg took Abu Ismail as a touchstone to prove that the pseudo- 

 Waqidy was in some parts historically accurate — is not much better 

 than his neighbours. But I must not detain you longer. Such of 

 you as have read M. Goeje's memoire, will perhaps suspend your judg- 

 ment until I can take up the subject, which as ten years have 

 elapsed since the book was first published, can afford to wait a little 

 longer. In the mean time I will read you the remarks of Dr. Aloys 

 Sprenger of Calcutta." 



Dr. Sprenger's letter is as follows : — 



Waoern, 7th February, 1865. 



" My dear Lees, — With a view of clearing up the geography of the 

 province of Yamama in Arabia, I read over lately the history of the 

 war against Mosaylima in Tabary and Biladzory. My expectations were 

 very modest. I hoped that the road which the Muslim army marched 

 would be traced, and the part which the tribes along its way took 

 either for or against Islam, (neutrality was impossible,) would be 

 stated. But even herein I was disappointed. I found nothing but 

 insipid stories invented for the edification or amusement of Majlises, 

 and only four geographical names ; of which the principal one, that of 

 the town of Yamama, is wrong. But as it may serve just to show that 

 if Abu Ismayl contains fables, his colleagues are no better, I will enter 

 somewhat deeper into the subject. 



In order to understand what follows, you must make yourself 

 acquainted with the itinerary of Capt. Sadlier, (Account of a Journey 

 from Katif on the Persian Gulf to Yambo on the Red Sea, in Trans- 

 actions of the Lit. Soc. of Bombay, Lond. 1823, vol. 3, pp. 449-493,) 

 for he followed in the main points the ZZajj route ; and the Muslim 

 army with Khalid at its head cannot have followed another, because the 

 desert south of Midznab renders this circuitous route indispensable. 



