am, it had refused negotiations and even recognition to
the blasphemous Prophet.

Now Mahomet conceived that his day of vengeance had come. He invested the
city, bringing his army close up to its walls, and hoping to reduce it
speedily. But the walls of Taif were strong, its citadels like towers,
its garrison well provisioned, its inmates determined to resist to the
end. A shower of arrows from the walls wrought such destruction among his
Muslim force that Mahomet was forced to withdraw out of range where the
camp was pitched, two tents of red leather being erected for his
favourite wives, Omm Salma and Zeineb. From the camp frequent assaults
were made upon the town, which were carried out with the help of
testudos, catapults, and the primitive besieging engines of the time.

But Taif remained inviolate, and each attack upon her walls made with
massed troops in the hope of scaling her fortresses was received by
heated balls flung from the battlements which set the scaling ladders on
fire and brought destruction upon the helpless bodies of Mahomet's
soldiery. But if he could not impress the city Mahomet wreaked his full
vengeance upon its neighbourhood. The vineyards were cut down pitilessly,
and the whole land of Taif laid desolate. Liberty was even offered to the
slaves of the city who would desert to the invader. Nothing ruthless or
guileful was spared by the Prophet to gain his ends, but with no avail.
Taif held out until Mahomet grew weary, and finally raised the siege,
which had considerably lessened in political importance, owing to the
overtures of the Hawazin, who now wished to be reconciled with Mahomet,
having perceived that their wisdom lay in peace with so powerful an
adversary. They promised alliance with him and their prisoners were
restored, but the booty taken from them was retained, after the old
imperious custom, which demanded wealth from the conquered.

Mahomet forthwith distributed largesse among the lesser Arabs of the
neighbourhood, an act of policy which called down the resentment of his
adherents and caused the details of the law of almsgiving to be
promulgated in the Kuran. The Muslim point of view was that having fought
for the spoil they were entitled to receive a share of it, but their
leader held that it must first be distributed in part to those needy
Bedouin tribes who had flocked to his banner. The bounty had its desired
effect. Malik, the Hawazin chieftain, moved either by his love of