1 It 
A R A 
Pits troops diminifh daily, and the Arabs to grow ftronger 
and ftronger, took the advantage of a. temp.eftuous night 
to efcape to Csefarea. This city was foon after inverted by 
Amru ; and, in the mean time, Youkinna, having made 
himfelf mafter of Tripoli by treachery, feized fifty (hips 
from Cyprus and Crete, which carried a fupply-of arms 
and provifions for the emperor’s troops, and had entered 
the port without knowing that the Arabs were mafters of 
the town. With thefe (hips he undertook an expedition 
again ft Tyre; and, telling the inhabitants that he brought 
a fupply of arms and provifions for Conftar.tine’s army, he 
was received with great kindnefs. Here he had not been 
long, before he was betrayed by one of his own foldiers, 
and put under arreft, with 900 of his men. He was how¬ 
ever fet at liberty by thofe to whof’e care he was commit¬ 
ted ; and he then opened the gates of the city to Yezid, by 
whom it was inverted. Conftantine, having got intelligence 
at Csefarea of the lofs of Tripoli and Tyre, was Co difheart- 
ened, that lie fet fail from that city with all his family and 
the greateft part of his wealth; upon which the citizens 
made the beft terms they poftibly could with Amru. The 
furrender of Ctefarea was followed by that of all the other 
cities and fortreires in the province ; and thus the Arabs 
drove the Greeks out of the whole country of Syria, ex¬ 
tending from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates. This 
conqueft was completed in the 18th year of the Hegira, and 
in fix years after it had been undertaken. 
There now happened fuch violent ftorms of hail in the 
peninfula'of the Arabs, that a confiderable extent of ter¬ 
ritory was laid wafte, and a great number of animals of 
various kinds deftroyed. An epidemical diftemper like- 
wife raged at Medina, which fpread all over the neigh¬ 
bouring territory, and fwept away great numbers of people. 
Syria alio was vilited by a dreadful plague ; fo that the 
Modems loft there 25,000 men, among whom were Abu 
Obeidah himfelf, Yezid Ebn Abu Sofian, Serjabil, and 
many’other perfons of diftindfion. In fhort, fo great was 
the mortality occafioned by the plague, both in Arabia and 
Syria, that the Arabs ftyie t-he iSth year of the Hegira the 
year of deJiruElion. 
Amru Ebn A 1 As, having thus executed the khalif’s 
orders in Syria, fet out on his expedition .againft Egypt. 
His firft attempt was on Tarma, a town fituated on the 
ifthmus of Suez. This he reduced after a month’s fiege; 
and, having viewed its fituation, he formed a defign of cut¬ 
ting through the ifthmus, and uniting the Mediterranean 
with the Red Sea : but this projedt was not relifhed by the 
khalif, who thought it might facilitate the entrance of the 
Chriftians into the peninfula of Arabia. From Tarma he 
marched to Mefr, the Memphis of the ancient geogra¬ 
phers ; which, after a fiege of feven months, was delivered 
up to him by the treachery of Al Mokav kas the governor. 
From Mefr he continued his march towards Alexandria, 
and, having defeated the emperor’s troops, he clofely in¬ 
verted that city. While his army lay before this capital, 
Amru himfelf had the misfortune to be taken prifoner and 
carried into the town. Being brought before the governor, 
lie afked him why he committed fuch ravages and depre¬ 
dations in the Chriftian territories 1 To this Amru boldly 
anfwered, “ We are come to oblige you either to profefs 
Mahontetanifm, or pay tribute to the khalif; to one of 
which conditionsyou mtift fubmit, or be put to the fword.” 
A Greek, who (food by, told the governor that Amru was 
certainly the Modem general, and therefore defirecl him to 
ftrikeoffhis head. The governor, however, not only faved 
his life, but, to (hew his generofity, difmiffed him without 
ranfom. This was foon followed by the lofs of Alexan¬ 
dria, and by the conqueft of the whole kingdom: after 
which, Amru difpatched Okba Ebn Nafe with a body of 
troops to penetrate farther into Africa; where he made 
himfelf mafter of all the country lying between Barka and 
Zoweilah, reducing alfo that part of the continent which 
now forms the piratical kingdom of Tripoli. 
While the Arabs thus extended their conquefts in the 
. weft, they were no lefs fuccefsful in the eaft. We have 
B I A. 
already noticed Khaled's having been fent into Irak to re¬ 
duce the kingdom of Hira, and of his being recalled to 
aflift in the conqueft of Syria. As the kings of Hira were 
tributaries of the Perfian monarchs, tlie deftrudtion of them 
neceffarily brought on a war with the Perfians. After the 
departure of Khaled, the command of the forces was di¬ 
vided between Abu Obeid Ebn Madid, Ail Mothanna Ebn 
Haretha, Amru Ebn Hafem, and Salit Ebn Kis. Abu- 
Obeid having palled a river contrary to the advice of the 
other generals, was killed, and his troops in great danger; 
however, Al Mothanna made an excellent retreat, and re¬ 
paired the river without any confiderable lofs. After this 
he fortified himfelf in his camp till he received a confide¬ 
rable reinforcement from the khalif; when the Modem 
army marched to Dir Hind, and thence continued to make 
frequent excurfions, ravaging that part of Irak that lay 
next to the Euphrates. A body of 12,000. Perfian horde' 
was now difpatched againft the Modems, under the com¬ 
mand of Mahran. At firft the Perfians had the advantage, 
and obliged the Arabs to retire; but they were foon rallied 
by Al Mothannah, and the battle lufted from noon till 
fun-fet. Al Mothannah, engaging Mahran in fingle com¬ 
bat, laid him dead at his feet; upon which the Perfians 
fled. After this a powerful army was difpatched by the 
Perfians under the command of Ruftaim; but he alfo was 
killed, and his troops were entirely difperfed. At the 
fame time, Abu Mufa, another Modem general, defeated 
a formidable body of troops under the command of Al 
Harzaman, a noble Perfian, at Ahwaz. The khalif alfo 
difpatched Saad Ebn Abu Wakkas, to didodge the Perfians 
from fome diftridts they poffelfed in the neighbourhood of 
the' Euphrates. Saad, having 12,000 men, advanced to 
to Kadefia, a city bordering upon the deferts of Irak, where 
he defeated an army of 120,000 Perfians, and made him¬ 
felf mafter of the opulent city of Al Madayen; which was 
fo rich, if we may credit the Arabian writers, that Saad' 
took out of it three thoufand millions of dinars, amounting 
to two thoufand and twenty-five millions of pounds fter- 
ling; an enormous and aimoft incredible'fum. 
In the twentieth or twenty-firft year of the Hegira the 
Arabs invaded Mefopotamia, under Aiyad Ebn Ganem; 
and the city of EdelTa fnbmitted on the firft fummons.. 
From Edeffa he marched to Confiantia, fuppofed to be the 
Nicephoriurn of the ancients. This he took by ftorm, as 
likewife Daras, where lie maftacred all the people ; which 
fo terrified the reft of the fortified towns, that they fub- 
mitted without refiftance. At the fame time Al Mogheirah 
Ebn Shaabah, one of the khalif’s generals, made himfelf 
mafter of Shiz, a place famous for the birth of Zerduftit: 
the Perfian philofopher; and he over-ran the. whole pro¬ 
vince of Aderbijan. He likewife poffeffed himfelf of all 
the country of Armenia bordering on mount Taurus ; and 
even penetrated into Cappadocia. Saad alfo made himfelf. 
mafter of Ahwas, the capital of Khuzeftan (the ancient 
Sufiana); at the fame time that Al Nooman conquered the 
greateft part of Khorafan. But, while Omar’s troops were 
thus irrefiftibly over-running the fineft countries in the 
world, a period w ; as put to his conquefts and his life, by a 
Perfian named Abu Lulua, who ftabbed him thrice in the 
belly while he was performing his devotions at Medina, 
Idle reafon of this was faid to be, becaufe the khalif re¬ 
futed to remit fome part of the tribute, which, according 
to the Mahometan cuftom, he was obliged to pay for the 
free exercife of his religion. The Arabs, perceiving that 
he had mor ally wounded their fovereign, immediately 
rufhed upon him ; but the aflaflin defended himfelf fo def- 
perately, that he killed feven of them, and wounded thir¬ 
teen ; he then ftabbed himfelf, and expired. Ontarian- 
gitifhed three days of his wounds, and died in the-xith or 
12th year of his reign, and after his death Othman Ebn 
Affan v'as chofen ; though Ali had a better title, and feems 
to have been the moft virtuous and braveft warrior among 
them. Fie was inaugurated in the 24th year of the He¬ 
gira, coincident with the year 645 of the Chriftian era. 
Othman was no fooner fettled on the throne, than he 
3 ordered. 
