of Syria. Thither, without delay, the Saracen army
marched. The city was at once summoned to take its option--conversion,
tribute, or the sword. In his palace at Antioch, barely one hundred and
fifty miles still farther north, the Emperor Heraclius received tidings
of the alarming advance of his assailants. He at once dispatched an army
of seventy thousand men. The Saracens were compelled to raise the
siege. A battle took place in the plains of Aiznadin, the Roman army
was overthrown and dispersed. Khaled reappeared before Damascus with his
standard of the black eagle, and after a renewed investment of seventy
days Damascus surrendered.

From the Arabian historians of these events we may gather that thus far
the Saracen armies were little better than a fanatic mob. Many of the
men fought naked. It was not unusual for a warrior to stand forth in
front and challenge an antagonist to mortal duel. Nay, more, even the
women engaged in the combats. Picturesque narratives have been
handed down to us relating the gallant manner in which they acquitted
themselves.

FALL OF JERUSALEM. From Damascus the Saracen army advanced northward,
guided by the snow-clad peaks of Libanus and the beautiful river
Orontes. It captured on its way Baalbec, the capital of the Syrian
valley, and Emesa, the chief city of the eastern plain. To resist its
further progress, Heraclius collected an army of one hundred and forty
thousand men. A battle took place at Yermuck; the right wing of the
Saracens was broken, but the soldiers were driven back to the field by
the fanatic expostulations of their women. The conflict ended in
the complete overthrow of the Roman army. Forty thousand were taken
prisoners, and a vast number killed. The whole country now lay open to
the victors. The advance of their army had been east of the Jordan.
It was clear that, before Asia Minor could be touched, the strong and
important cities of Palestine, which was now in their rear, must be
secured. There was a difference of opinion among the generals in the
field as to whether Caesarea or Jerusalem should be assailed first. The
matter was referred to the khalif, who, rightly preferring the moral
advantages of the capture of Jerusalem to the military advantages of the
capture of Caesarea, ordered the Holy City to be taken, and that at any
cost. Close siege was therefore laid to it. The inhabitants, remembering
the atrocities inflicted by the Persians, and the indignities that h