re of you to testify that there is but one God, and that Mahomet is
his apostle. If you refuse this, consent to pay tribute, and be under us
forthwith. Otherwise I shall bring men against you who love death better
than you do the drinking of wine or eating hog's flesh. Nor will I ever
stir from you, if it please God, till I have destroyed those that fight
for you, and made slaves of your children." But the city was defended
on every side by deep valleys and steep ascents; since the invasion of
Syria, the walls and towers had been anxiously restored; the bravest of
the fugitives of Yermuk had stopped in the nearest place of refuge; and
in the defence of the sepulchre of Christ, the natives and strangers
might feel some sparks of the enthusiasm, which so fiercely glowed in
the bosoms of the Saracens. The siege of Jerusalem lasted four months;
not a day was lost without some action of sally or assault; the military
engines incessantly played from the ramparts; and the inclemency of
the winter was still more painful and destructive to the Arabs. The
Christians yielded at length to the perseverance of the besiegers.
The patriarch Sophronius appeared on the walls, and by the voice of an
interpreter demanded a conference. After a vain attempt to dissuade
the lieutenant of the caliph from his impious enterprise, he proposed,
in the name of the people, a fair capitulation, with this extraordinary
clause, that the articles of security should be ratified by the
authority and presence of Omar himself. The question was debated in the
council of Medina; the sanctity of the place, and the advice of Ali,
persuaded the caliph to gratify the wishes of his soldiers and enemies;
and the simplicity of his journey is more illustrious than the royal
pageants of vanity and oppression. The conqueror of Persia and Syria
was mounted on a red camel, which carried, besides his person, a bag
of corn, a bag of dates, a wooden dish, and a leathern bottle of water.
Wherever he halted, the company, without distinction, was invited to
partake of his homely fare, and the repast was consecrated by the prayer
and exhortation of the commander of the faithful. But in this expedition
or pilgrimage, his power was exercised in the administration of
justice: he reformed the licentious polygamy of the Arabs, relieved the
tributaries from extortion and cruelty, and chastised the luxury of the
Saracens, by despoiling them of their rich silks, and dragging them on
thei