ON THE ORIGIN OF THE HORSE. 129 
seldom in the sacred writings, and to their being included among 
other beasts indiscriminately. 
The author of the “ Farmer’s Series” was well aware that the 
climate and soil of Egypt were ill calculated for breeding horses ; 
he therefore considers it probable that the Egyptians obtained 
them from Africa. Pennant, in his “ Zoology,” observes, that, 
with some authors, Ethiopia has the credit of having originally 
furnished Arabia with its fine breed of horses, but “we,” he 
says, “believe the reverse: they were introduced into that empire 
by the Arabian princes whose lineage to this day fills the 
throne.” 
In tracing the history of the Arabs, subsequently to the era 
of the Hegira, or flight of Mahomet, we still find them, as they 
are described in Isaiah xxii, dwelling in tents, without any 
settled abode ; still enjoying their independence and freedom, the 
memory of which is the firmest pledge of its perpetuity, and the 
theme and praise of every nation. 
The author of the “Farmer’s Series” has likewise stated, 
that, “ in the seventh century, the Arabs had few horses;” and 
that “ when Mahomet attacked the Koreish, near Mecca, he 
had but two in his whole army .” This assertion is perfectly cor¬ 
rect, and gives us a tolerably correct idea of the poverty of the 
prophet at that period. The author has shewn great ingenuity 
in bringing forward this circumstance to substantiate his opinions; 
but how far he was justified in drawing his inferences, we leave 
others to determine, after reading the whole of the passage. 
“ The sacred band of Mahomet, “says Gibbon, “ was formed 
of 313 moslems, of whom seventy-seven were fugitives, and the 
rest auxiliaries; they mounted, by turns, a train of seventy 
camels (the camels of Yathreb were formidable in war); but such 
was the poverty of his disciples, that only two could appear on 
horseback in the field*.” 
This is the whole army of Mahomet, as described in the 
“ Farmer’s Series.” The author has thus singled out a circum¬ 
stance which occurred to Mahomet at a time when he was op¬ 
posed by nearly every one of his relations, and at war with every 
individual of his tribef (relations excepted); and has formed his 
opinion of the number of horses which a country contained, ex¬ 
tending between the 12th and 35th degrees of north latitude, 
* A1 Jannabi (apud Gagnier) tom. ii, p. 9, allows him seventy or eighty 
horses; and on two other occasions prior to the battle of Ohud, he enlists 
a body ot thirty (p. 10), and of 500 (p. 60) troopers. 
t Mahomet sprung from the Koreish tribe. 
VOL. III. 
T 
