which the vile multitude received the tyrant, came pealing to his ears; yet not before he had uttered a malediction on the light-mindedness of that people who could thus give welcome to the enemy by whom the race of their beneficent kings had been so wickedly destroyed.

The favours which the King of Seville now hastened to bestow on the principal inhabitants of Cordova, with the long series of festivals wherewith he entertained the people, brought all to offer him ready allegiance; he gave the populace varied spectacles, consisting in the combats of wild beasts, and, unaccustomed to such diversions, their new master succeeded in making the ungrateful Cordovans forget the excellent Gehwar and the kindly government of that good king his son, who had done all that in him lay for their welfare.

But with Hariz Ben Alhakem, the faithful servant of his departed master, the case was different. On discovering the treachery of the pretended allies, he had retired with such of his cavaliers as he could keep together, to the Alcazar of Medina Azahra when the death of his king, with the imprisonment of Prince Abdelmelic, reached his ears, he was seized with indignation at the perfidy of Aben Abed no less than with grief for the loss of his master: detesting the atrocious conduct of the Sevillian, therefore, he preferred to confide himself to the generosity of his declared enemies, to the favour and protection eagerly proffered him by that false friend, and took refuge with the King of Toledo. By that sovereign the unfortunate general was received with much kindness; he was indeed greatly honoured by Ismail Ben Dylnoun, who well knew the loyalty, as well as bravery, of Hariz Ben Alhakem, having had frequent experience of both in the long war which that general had maintained against him.

Such was the end of the Gehwars-so did they finish their existence, and with them came the kingdom of Cordova to its close.

CHAP. V.-THE KING OF VALENCIA IS DESPOILED OF HIS STATES BY THE KING OF TOLEDO.-DEATH OF ABEN ABED, KING OF SEVILLE.

Now in the year 452, the King of Valencia, Abdelaziz Almanzor, son of Abderahman and grandson to the renowned Hagib Muhamad Ben Abi Amer, departed to the mercy of Allah, and was succeeded in that kingdom by his son Abdelmelic Ben Abdelaziz, called Almudafar, who was the son-in-law of Almamoun Yahye Ben Ismail Ben Dylnoun, King of Toledo, as hath been more than once remarked.

That powerful monarch being greatly mortified by the repulse his troops had suffered before Cordova, was now disposed to make a new attempt on that city, and the rather, as he was strongly incited to do so by the noble general Hariz Ben Alhakem, who was inflamed by the desire for vengeance on Aben Abed, the destroyer of his master's house. Ismail Ben Dylnoun therefore wrote to all his Alcaides, as well as to his son-in-law, the new King of Valencia, commanding the former to make preparation, and requesting that the latter would come to his aid with his people. Ismail Ben Dylnoun also despatched messengers to the rulers of Murcia and Conca, as well as to other Walies of his dependencies, desiring their assistance for the like purpose.

But Muhamad Ben Meruan, the Vizier of Abdelaziz, King of Valencia, advised his lord to think maturely before he declared himself the enemy of so powerful a sovereign as Aben Abed, King of Seville; one too who was besides in close alliance with the lords of Castillon, Murbiter, Xativa, Almeria, and Denia, his neighbours. This advice Abdelaziz felt disposed to follow; and thus he replied to the request of his father-in-law by the most frivolous excuses.

This proceeding on the part of Abdelaziz enraged the King of Toledo, and without communicating his determination to any one of his court, he departed with the whole force of his cavaliers, nor ceased his march either day or night until he arrived at Valencia, which city he entered when he was least expected. Proceeding to the Alcazar, which was defended by Aben Wahib Ben Leboun, he took the general by surprise, and making himself master in like manner of the

city towers, he deposed his son-in-law, Abdelmelic Almudafar, from the government and sovereignty of Valencia and its dependencies. Yet in consideration of his daughter, the wife of the deposed king, he did not take his life, but banished him to the government of Xelba: this notable event took place on Arafa, the 9th day of the moon Dylhagia, in the year 457. Almudafar and his family were followed by the Walies of Conca and of Santamaria de Aben Razin, both of whom were his friends.

The King of Toledo then appointed Isa Ben Leboun Ben Abdelaziz Ben Leboun to the government of Valencia in his name, he was one of the captains of Murbiter, and the most zealous of Ismail Ben Dylnoun's partizans: the city was held by him for that prince, accordingly, but with him was joined Abul Arbaz Ibraim Ben Leboun, a Xeque in whom the King of Toledo placed great confidence. A few days beheld the country tranquillized and brought into good order, which done, Almamun Yahye Ben Ismail Ben Dylhoun returned to Toledo, whither he took the most distinguished nobles of Valencia in his train, proposing to use their services in the war of Andalucia. But the Vizier of Valencia, Abdallah Muhamad Ben Meruan, could not resolve on surviving the misfortunes which he had brought on his lord by his well-intended councils; wherefore, yielding to his despair, he deprived himself of life by piercing his breast with his dagger.

The King of Seville, Almoatadid Muhamad Ben Muhamad Ben Ismail Aben Abed, was meanwhile enjoying the success of his fortunate undertakings. Lord of Seville, Cordova, and Carmona, he likewise possessed the greater part of Algarve, Sibla, Huebla, Gezira-Saltis, Oksonoba, and Xilbe:* but all this did not satisfy his ambitious heart, and he began to assemble troops for the purpose of attacking the frontiers of the King of Toledo, despatching in the meantime his son Muhamad to the land of Ronda, there to make war

*It would seem that this city of Oksonoba, or Octonoba,-called also by the Arabic writer Sainte Marie d'Octonoba,—was on the western coast of Spain, and near the place where the city of Faro now stands. Yet it was not the city of Faro itself, as some authors suppose, since that city is also mentioned as a separate place by the Arabs themselves. -De Marlès.

on the kings of Granada and Malaga, who were allies of El Barzeli, the Lord of Ecija, whose destiny it was, as Aben Abed inferred, to destroy his dynasty, according to what the astronomers had foretold long before.

On the occasion of that campaign the King of Seville conferred the dignity of knighthood on his son, bestowing on him a shield of azure blue, around the edge of which there was a border of golden stars, and in the centre of the field a half-moon, also of gold, in allusion to the changes and vicissitudes ever incident to the fortune of arms. King Aben Abed accompanied his son as far as Ronda, where he hoped to receive intelligence of the first successes obtained by the new knight.

In the year 460, the King of Algarve, Almutafar Almanzor, son of Abdallah Almanzor, departed from life at Badajoz, when he was succeeded in his states by his son Yahye, who called himself Almanzor, as his grandfather had done. His brother Omar Almetuakil, who was then in Jabora, which Comarca he held for his father, caused him some trouble with respect to the division of the territory; and this circumstance left the new King of Algarve but little time for taking part in the wars at that time raging in Andalucia.

At this time there came into Spain great rumours respecting the Almoravides, and wonderful things were related of the stupendous exploits which they had performed, and the conquests which they had made in Africa; all which caused great anxiety to Edris of Malaga and to the Zanhagas of Granada for the safety of those dominions which they possessed in that country. Neither was the King of Seville without some fear, since he was induced to believe that these Almoravides might be the people by whom, according to the horoscope of his son, the fate of that prince was to be clouded. But he did not on that account desist from making war on El Barzeli; nor would he give himself rest until he had despoiled the Lord of Ecija of all his possessions, being constantly impelled to new aggressions by his inordinate ambition, and by the superstitious precautions wherewith he hoped to avert the evils which had been announced to him, according to his astrologers, by the stars: at a word, he was moved by every evil passion that can disquiet and corrupt the human heart.

While the King of Seville was thus extending his own dominions by destroying all the rights of his neighbours, and was eagerly adding the ruin of Malaga and Granada to that of the many other evils he had inflicted on whomsoever he could bring within his reach, he gave no thought to the advancement of our holy religion, nor had any of his expeditions the most remote reference to the propagation of the Law, or the benefit of the Moslemah. But the powerful Arbiter of human fates and empires was meanwhile preparing a glorious day of vengeance for the aggrieved and afflicted children of the Faith: and the manner of its appearance was on this wise.

Unlike the King of Seville, the King of Saragossa, even Ahmed Abu Giaffar Almuctadir Aben Hud, zealously imitating the pious virtues of his forefathers, employed his forces without ceasing in the Sacred war, and in the year 460 he defeated and routed the Christians with horrible slaughter. He recovered from them the city of Bubaster, with several strong fortresses; and for his greater glory, as well as to the general consolation of the Moslemah, he slew King Radmir, leader of of the Infidels, in one of the battles thus happily won.

At this time there broke out new troubles in the kingdom of Malaga, where Edris Ben Yahye, now become old and wanting force of mind, was deposed without difficulty or opposition, while his cousin, Muhamad Ben Alcasim Ben Aly, Governor of Algezira, assumed the throne in his stead. The poor King Edris died some time afterwards in the prison to which he had been consigned, and in his last days there was so little account made of his existence that he was seldom or never mentioned.

The new sovereign of Malaga continued to maintain the war into which his predecessor had been forced by the King of Seville, who was perpetually extending his dominions both in Axarquia and Algarbia.*

About this time, the King of Granada, Habus Ben Maksam of Zanhaga, departed from life, and was succeeded by his son, Badis Ben Habus, a man brave and noble as his father. He too maintained a constant war against the

* Axarquia and Algarbia: the East and West.