THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 689 
CHAP. XVI. 
The fame Subjett continued—Nilometer what. How divided and mea- 
fured. 
EN the 7th century a revolution happened that ftops our Gre- 
cian account from proceeding farther, Egypt was con- 
auered by anignorant and barbarous enemy, theSaracen, and 
Amru Ibn el Aas was governor of Egypt for Omar, the fecond 
Caliph after Mahomet. Omar was a foreigner, conqueror, bi- 
got anda tyrant; he deftroyed the Grecian Nilometer from 
motives of religion, the fame which had before moved him 
to burn the library of Alexandria; and after, with the fam 
degree of found judgment, determined to eftablifh his empire at 
Medina, in the middle of the peninfula of Arabia, a country 
without water, andfurrounded on all fides with barren fands; 
but he was neverthelefs defirous of feeding his famifhed Sa- 
racens with the wheat of Egypt, a province he had fub- 
dued; for this purpofe he ordered Amru to begin a cae 
nal trom the Nile to the Red Sea, to carry the veheat to the 
Wot, Il, 45 Arabian 
