Meccans, inexperienced in siege operations, and by JIo- hammed's intrigues having fallen out with their confed- erates, were obliged after a few weeks to retire without accomjjlishing anything.
We pass over the wars waged by Mohammed against the Jews in Medina and in other parts of Arabia, all of which were marked by great cruelty on his side, also the conflicts which he waged against several Arabian tribes allied with the Meccans, and remark only that, in spite of many a failure, in the sixth year of the Hegira (A.D. ()28) lie felt sufticiently confident to venture at the head of his votaries on a jiilgrimage to Mecca. Yet, though he exhorted to this jiilgrimage in the name of God, it was not participated in to the degree expected, and nothing remained to him but the hope that the Jleccans would be afraid to shed blood in the holy month, though he himself had violated it long ago by robbery and murder. AN'hen he arri\-ed at the bounda- ry of the iNIeccan territory, he was bidden to stop, and threatened with force in case he should attempt to pen- etrate into the city. After protracted negotiations, however, many ISIeccans being desirous of peace on ac- count of their commercial interests, concluded it, and, among other terms, it was fixed that Mohammed shoidd be allowed to partake of the pilgrim celebration the en- suing year. This treaty of peace, by which ilohammed was recognised as an equal power, increased his author- ity, and permitted him to despatch his emissaries to all parts of Arabia, to make proselytes and enter into alli- ances. Soon he felt strong enough to avail himself of an opportune pretext to break the peace, and ou a sud- den surprised IMecca, without any formal declaration of war, at the head of 10,000 men. The chief magistrates of the city were obliged (A.D. G30) to make their sub- mission, and acknowledged him not oidy as secular ruler, but as a plenipotentiary of the Deity. Sec Ko- KEiSH. With this the victory of the new religion was secured in all Arabia. While, however, employed in destroying all traces of idolatry in the besieged city, and fixing the minor laws and ceremonies of the true faith, Mohammed heard of new armies which several warlike Arabic tribes had sent against him, and which were concentrated near Taif (G30). He went forth to en- counter the enemy, was again victorious, and his domin- ion and creed extended further and further even,' day. From all parts tlocked the deputations to do homage to him in the name of the various tribes, either as the messenger of God, or at least as the Prince of Arabia, and the year 8 of the Hegira was therefore called the year of the Deputations.
Even before the capture of Mecca, Mohammed had l)e(ii Iinld enough to summon the princes of the coun- tries auti-iioiis to Arabia — Chosroes (of Persia), the em- pirnr IleiMclius (of Constantinople), the king of Abys- sinia, and several Byzantine and Persian provincial gov- ernors— to be converted to his faith. His letter to the king of Abyssinia has been discovered on a leaf of parch- ment, which served as a cover to a manuscript, in a Cop- tic monastery in Upper Egypt, and accords tolerably with what we know from Arabian biographers. It reads as follows: "In the name of (iod, the all-gracious and all-merciful, from Mohammed, the servant and ambas- sador of (iod, to Alniucaucas, tlic prefect of tlie Coi>t3. Hail to him who follows the divine guidance! I sum- mon thee to confess the Islam. If thou comiiliest with this summons, thy salvation is secured, and God will give thee a double reward for thy devotion. But if thou refuscst, the guilt of the Copts rests on thee. Oh, ye men of the Scriptures! approach and become our equals by professing that we ailore only Allah, unasso- ciated with terrestrial beings, and own as Lord none be- side him. If you will not agree to this, testify that we are God-resign"ed and faithful." The governor of ICgypt was no more converted than Heraclius and Chosroes. He, however, received the delegates of Jlohammed hos- pitably, and sent him, besides other valualile presents, two Abyssinian female slaves, ouc of whom (Mariam or
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Blaria) charmed the prophet to such a degree that he neglected his other wives on her account.
The execution of one of Mohammed's emissaries by Amru, the chief of the Christian Arabs on the Syrian frontier, occasioned the first war between Mohammed and the Byzantines, terminating unfavorably to the former. Nor had a second campaign the desired suc- cess, for he did not secure the wished-for participation of the pagan allies, and he had to be satisfied with the homage of a few minor princes on his way to the fron- tiers, and returned without having carried out his in- tention.
Towards the end of the 10th year of the Hegira he undertook, at the head of at least 40,000 Moslems, his last solemn pilgrimage to IMecca, and there (on the Mount Arafat) instructed them in all the important laws and ordinances, chiefly of the pilgrimage; and the ceremonies observed by him on that occasion were re- corded in the Koran and fixed for all time. He again solemnly exhorted his believers to righteousness and piety, and chiefly recommended them to protect the weak, the poor, and the women, and to abstain from usury. Among the most important of his ordinances at this time are to be noticed the abolishment of the leap-year, which the Arabs, in common with the Jews, had been accustomed to observe, and in its place in- troduced the pure lunar year, by which alone the sa- cred months as well as the pilgrimage and the month of fasting were fixed. Another very important com- mandment which he gave at this time was that thence- forth the sacred city of Mecca was to be entered only by Mohammedans, and that even outside of it idolaters were to be entirely exterminated. Jews and Chris- tians were to be tolerated, if they would humbly sub- mit and pay a capitation tax. His caliph — Omar — added to the commandment, in order to humiliate those of another faith, several oppressive restrictions for the nations conquered by him, and the succeeding caliphs, according to the degree of tolerance or fanaticism actu- ating them, mitigated or aggravated the same. Non- Mohammedans, in order to be easily recognised as infi- dels, were obliged to distinguish themselves by the color of their turbans, the Jews being enjoined to wear black, the Christians blue ones, Thej^ were forbidden to car- ry arms, were ordered to ride on asses (not on horses), on the streets to yield the way to the IVIohammedans, and in public assemblies to rise before them. Their houses must not be higher than those of the faithful; nor were they permitted to hold public processions nor ring bells, nor make proselytes, nor keep any Moslem slaves, nor acquire any captives or other military persons, nor pos- sess any seal with Arabic letters, nor have any intimacy with Moslem females. Jews and Christians should not be employed in offices of chancery — an interdiction en- acted by Omar, but rarely observed because of the igno- rance of the primitive Arabians as well as later Turks, who, for want of knowledge of state affairs, found the services of Jews and Christians in various administra- tive branches indispensable.