ecca, and was not likely to do so;
and Mahomet began to consider the propriety of transferring it to new
ground. The first attempt to do so was not successful; at Taif, where
he asked to be received and to be allowed to preach, he was rudely
repulsed, so that he came back to Mecca in deep dejection. The new
opening which he sought was, however, about to present itself in
another quarter. Among the visitors to one of the feasts he met a
company of pilgrims from Medina, who both addressed him with respect
and showed that they understood his doctrines. Medina was well
acquainted with Jewish ideas, and presented a more favourable soil
for the prophet to work on; it is even suggested that the Arabs of
Medina, having heard of the Jewish expectation of a Messiah,
considered that it would be an advantage for them if the Messiah
should be of their own race, and that Mahomet might possibly be He.
The transference of the cause to Medina was, however, brought about
with great deliberation. Those who wished Mahomet to come preached
his doctrine at Medina for a year, and with encouraging success.
Pledges were given and repeated by his friends there, that they would
have no god but Allah, that they would withhold their hands from what
was not their own, that they would flee fornication, that they would
not kill new-born infants, that they would shun slander, and that
they would obey God's messenger as far as was reasonable:--these are
the practical reforms which Islam at this time demanded. The result
of these proceedings was that Mahomet advised his followers to go to
Medina. He himself waited till nearly all had gone, and did not set
out till a plot had been laid by his enemies the Coreish to
assassinate him. The Hegira or flight took place on 16th June 622
A.D. The flight, not the birth of the prophet, forms the era of
Mohammedan chronology, since it was from the moment of the flight
that Islam entered on its victorious career.

Mahomet at Medina.--From this point onwards the prophet is seen in a
different position and a different character. At Mecca he is a
persecuted, struggling, and unsuccessful preacher, but at Medina he
rapidly becomes the most powerful person in the commonwealth. He
organises the service of religion, but he also gives new life to the
community in other ways, terminating its feuds, uniting all its
forces in the service of Allah, and by his decisions in the cases
which are brought to him laying the foundation