te: Rich booty taken in the capital of Persia, A.D. 637.]
In relating the capture of Medain (the ancient Ctesiphon) tradition
revels in the untold wealth which fell into the hands of Sad, the
conqueror, and his followers. Besides millions of treasure, there was
endless store of gold and silver vessels, rich vestments, and rare and
precious things. The Arabs gazed bewildered at the tiara, brocaded
vestments, jeweled armor, and splendid surroundings of the throne. They
tell of a camel of silver, life-size, with a rider of gold, and of a
golden horse with emeralds for teeth, the neck set with rubies, the
trappings of gold. And we may read in Gibbon of the marvelous banqueting
carpet, representing a garden, the ground of wrought gold, the walks of
silver, the meadows of emeralds, rivulets of pearls, and flowers and
fruits of diamonds, rubies, and rare gems. The precious metals lost
their conventional value, gold was parted with for its weight in silver;
and so on.[43]

[Sidenote: Success in battle ascribed to divine aid.]
It is the virtue of Islam that it recognizes a special providence,
seeing the hand of God, as in every thing, so pre-eminently also in
victory. When Sad, therefore, had established himself in the palace of
the Chosroes he was not forgetful to render thanks in a service of
praise. One of the princely mansions was turned for the moment into a
temple, and there, followed by his troops, he ascribed the victory to
the Lord of Hosts. The lesson accompanying the prayers was taken from a
Sura (or chapter of the Koran) which speaks of Pharaoh and his riders
being overwhelmed in the Red Sea, and contains this passage, held to be
peculiarly appropriate to the occasion:

"How many gardens and fountains did they leave behind,
And fields of corn, and fair dwelling-places,
And pleasant things which they enjoyed!
Even thus have We made another people to inherit the same."[44]

[Sidenote: "Martyrdom" in the field coveted by Moslem crusaders.
The Moslem crown of martyrdom.]
Such as fell in the conflict were called martyrs; a halo of glory
surrounded them, and special joys awaited them even on the battlefield.
And so it came to pass that the warriors of Islam had an unearthly
longing for the crown of martyrdom. The Caliph Omar was inconsolable at
the loss of his brother, Zeid, who fell in the fatal "Garden of Death,"
at the battle of Yemama: "Thou art returned home," he said to his son,
Abdallah, "saf