A R A 
Jews, putting them to death by various tortures, die tnoft 
common of which was throwing them into a glowing pit 
of fire; whence he had the appellation of the /or<2? of the 
pit. This perfecution is taken notice of in the Koran. 
The laft ot.ahe ilamyarit'ic monarchs was Dim Jadan, ac¬ 
cording to Abulfeda ; but, according to others, the Yli¬ 
fe f juft mentioned was furnamed D/iu Nowas on account 
of his flowing curls, and was the laft who reigned in an 
uninterrupted fuccefiion. He was a. bigotted Jew, and 
treated his lhbjeiSIs with fuch barbarity, that they were 
obliged to afk the affidance of Elefbas or Elefbaan, king 
of Ethiopia, againft him. Dim Nowas, not being able to 
make head againft tire Ethiopians', lie forced his horfe in¬ 
to the fea, and loft his life and crown together. 
The king of Ethiopia, having thus become mafier of 
Yaman, eftabliflied there the Chriftian religion, and fixed 
Abryat, an Ethiopian, upon the throne. He was fucceed- 
ed by Abralia-Ebn-Al-Sabah, furnamed the Slitno/cd, from 
a wound he had formerly received in it. He was fuc- 
ceeded by two other Ethiopian princes; but at laft Seif 
Ebn Dim Yazan, of the old royal family of Hamyar, ha¬ 
ving obtained aiTiftance from the king of Perfia which 
had been denied him by the emperor Heraclius, recovered 
liis throne, and drove out the Ethiopians; but was him- 
felf fiain by fome who were left behind. The fucceeding 
princes were appointed by the Perfians, till Yaman fell 
into the hands of Mahomet. 
We have already mentioned the vaft mound or refervoir 
made by Abd S, herns, from which he fupplied the city of 
Saba with water. This building flood like a moun¬ 
tain above the city, and was by the Sabaeans efteemed 
io ftrong, that they were under no fear of its ever falling. 
The water rofe almoft to the height of 20 fathoms ; and 
was fecured on every fide by a work fo folid, that many 
of the inhabitants had their houfes upon it. About the 
time of Alexander the Great, however, a terrible inun¬ 
dation-happened. According to the Arabian hiftorians, 
God, being difpleafed at the pride and infolence of the in¬ 
habitants of this city, refolved to humble them ; and for 
this purpofe fent a mighty flood, which broke down the 
mound by night vvhilft the inhabitants were afleep, and 
carried away the whole city, with the neighbouring towns 
and people. This inundation is ftyled in the Koran, the 
inundation of Al-Harm\ and occafioned fo terrible a de- 
ftrudtion, that from thence it .became a proverbial faying 
to exprefs a total difperfion, “ that they were gone and 
Scattered like Saba.” By this accident no lefs than eight 
tribes were forced to remove their habitations; fome of 
which gave rife to the kingdoms of Hira and GhafTan. 
The kingdom of Hira was founded by Malec, a de- 
feendant of Cahlanjhe brother by Hamyar; but, after three 
defeents, the throne came by marriage to the Lakhmians, 
who were defeendants of Lakhm the fon of Amru, the 
fon of Abd Ems. Thefe princes, whofe general name 
was Mondar, preferved their dominion, notwithftanding 
fome fmall interruption from the Perfians, till the khalifat 
of Abubecr, when A 1 Mondar Magrur, the laft of them, 
loft his life and crown by the arms of Khaled-Ebn-Al- 
Walid. This kingdom continued 622 years and eight 
months, according to Ahmed Ebn Yulef. Its princes 
were under the protection of the kings of Perfla, and 
were their lieutenants over the Arabs of Irak, as the kings 
of G Italian were for the Roman emperors over thofe of Syria. 
The kingdom of Ghaflan was founded by the tribe of 
Azd, who, according to fome, fettling in Syria Damafce- 
na, near a water called GhaJJan, from thence took their 
name. Having driven out the Dajaamian Arabs, who be¬ 
fore poflefled the country, they made themfelves mafters 
of a confiderable territory. Here they maintained them¬ 
felves, according to Abuifede, 613 years, w hen the laft 
of their kings fubmitted to the khalif Omar, and embra¬ 
ced .the Mahometan religion ; but, afterwards taking a 
difguft, they foon returned to Chriftianit^, and took re¬ 
fuge in Conftantinople. 
The kingdom of Hejaz was founded by Jorham the fon 
B I A. 3 
of Kahtan, where princes of his line reigned till the time 
of Iflimael, who married the daughter of Modad one of 
thofe princes. Some authors relate that Kidar, one of 
IflvmaePs Cons, had the crown refigned to him by his uncles 
the Jorhamites: but, according to others, the defeendants 
of Ilhmael expelled that tribe. After the expullion of the 
Jorhamites, the government of Hejaz feems not to have 
continued long in the hands of one prince, but to have 
been divided among the heads of tribes, almoft in the 
fame manner as the Arabs of the'defert are governed at 
this day. The tribe of Khozaab, after the inundation of 
Saba, fled into Hejaz, and fettled in a valley near Mecca. 
Here they founded an ariftocracy, affumingto themfelves^ 
both the government of the city of Mecca, and tlie cut- 
tody of the Caaba or temple. They continued mafters of 
this city and territory, as well as prefidents of the Caaba, 
for many ages ; and. were at length fucceeded therein by 
the tribe of Koreifh. After the Koreifli had polfdfed them¬ 
felves of Mecca, they kept up the lame form of govern¬ 
ment w hich prevailed there before. 
Thefe are the 11:0ft memorable events recorded by the 
Arabian hiftorians, previous to the time of Mahomet, who 
eftabliflied the Mohammedan religion and government. A. 
fubjeft fo curious and important as the efta’olifliment of 
Mahometanifm, which has been pro felled for more than 
eleven centuries by very many millions of the human 
race, perhaps bv one-third of the inhabitants of the globe, 
and which at prelent prevails from the Ganges to Mo¬ 
rocco, exclufive of a vaft number of large and populous 
iflands, and every country where the‘tribes of Malays 
fettle, in one direction ; and from the fouthern extremity 
of Arabia, to the borders of Hungary, in another, deierves 
to be particularly noticed and explained. 
Mahomet, or more properly, Mohammed, ftyled The 
Impojlor, from being the founder of this Angular and fpread- 
ing faith, was born in the year 569 of the Chriftian cera. 
According to the Eaftern hiftorians, he was defeended in 
direef line from Iflimael. Kedar, or, as the Arabians- 
call him Kidar, after his fattier Iflimael’.s death, commu¬ 
nicated his name to tiie greateft part of Arabia Petriea. 
He was. fucceeded in his authority and pofleflions by his- 
fon Hamal; Hamal by Nabet, and Nabet by Salaman. 
After Salaman came Al Honieifa, then A 1 Yafa,. whofe 
fon Odad was fucceeded by Odd the father of Adnan. 
Counting ten generations forward in the fame line,, we 
come at laft to Felir, who feems to have diftingniflied hini- 
felf by fome glorious actions, as he was denominated Ko- 
reijh, on account of his bravery. He is to be confidered 
as the root of the poiiteft and meft celebrated tribe of the 
Arabs. He had three fons, Caleb, Mohareb, and Al 
Hareth. From Mohareb the Banu Mohareb,, denomi¬ 
nated likewif'e Sheibati, took their origin ; from Al H&- 
retli, the Banu Al Kholoj ; and from Galeb., in a direffc 
line, came Mahomet. Galeb was'the father of Lowa ; 
and he of Caab, whofe fon Morrah had for his immediate 
defeendant Kelab the father of Kofa. It was this Kola 
who aggrandized the tribe of the Koreifli, by becoming 
the prince and governor of Mecca. He was fucceeded by 
his fecond fon Abd Menaf, to whom the prophetic light, 
which is faid to have manifefted itfelf in his face, gave 
the right of primogeniture. Abd Menaf was fucceeded 
by his fon Amni, furnamed Hdfhnn, “ or one that broke 
bread,” on account of his Angular generofity in providing 
and diftributing bread, during a famine at Mecca. In fo 
great veneration is the memory of Kafliem held by tiie 
Arabs,, that from him the family of Mahomet are called 
Ha/hemites ; and he who prefides over Mecca and Medina, 
who nnift always be of the race of Mahomet, lias'to this 
day the title of the “Prince of the Hafhemites.” Hii- 
Iham died at Gaza in Syria, and was fucceeded by his foil- 
Abdal Motalleb or Matalcb. He is faid to have been ex¬ 
tremely affable and eafy of accefs, as-well as juft and ge¬ 
nerous to a great degree. Tiie well wliich God fhewed 
to Hagar in the wildernefs, is faid to have been miracu- 
loufly difeovered to Motalleb, about 500 years after it had- 
been 
