mbition of the pilgrims
to possess a hair of the Virgin, a thread from the seamless coat, a nail
which had pierced His hand, a splinter from the cross, or a thorn which
had torn His brow. All these were believed to possess powers of
healing, and their possession permanently increased the dignity of
families and the wealth of Churches.

[Sidenote: _Relics and Miracles_]

The demand for such relics from the Christian world was great and the
supply was greater. Traffic in these was enriched by the purchase of the
silks, spices, and other treasures of the East, and commercial greed
came to move men under the cover of the cross.

[Sidenote: _Chosroes Conquers Syria_]

The stream of pilgrimage was full until the reign of Heraclius. Then the
Persian king, Chosroes, carried his arms through Syria and Palestine to
Egypt. The fire-worshipers defiled the holy city by their authority and
their worship. They tainted and robbed the churches, and carried off
what was believed to be the cross of the crucifixion, which had been
guarded by the Church of the Resurrection.

[Sidenote: _Return of the Cross_]

The wailing of the Christian world over this loss strengthened the
courage of Heraclius through ten years of reverses, and aided in the
late but full victory which not only brought back to Jerusalem the
enslaved Christians but the Cross of Calvary, as the most glorious of
trophies. The emperor himself bore this barefooted to the summit of
Calvary, and at Constantinople received the congratulations of the
Christian world.

Jerusalem was soon, however, to feel the weight of a new and heavy hand.

[Sidenote: _Rise of Mahomet_]

[Sidenote: _Greek Empire Corrupt_]

In Arabia a religion arose with a singular power of advance, which it
retains to this day. The union of the spiritual with the material, of
the sensual with a fatalistic theology, made the followers of Mahomet
eager for heaven by way of the battle-field. The Jews had now no unity;
Christianity had become divided into sects cursing each other; the
Persian Empire had exhausted itself; the Greek Empire was wasted with
its own corruptions. The way was open for the stern, sober, and, in all
respects but one, self-denying followers of Mahomet. Until they learned
to navigate they swept the eastern and southern coasts of the
Mediterranean. They early overwhelmed Palestine. Becoming masters of
maritime peoples, they conquered even to Spain; were held at bay for a
while by Con