until the Christians, despairing of their ability to overcome the persistence of Cid Abu Said, broke up their camp, as did also Abdallah Ben Ayadh Aben Mardanis, with the Christian force sent by King Alfonso, when those two armies last mentioned separated; nor did they ever again unite their forces.

From Almeria the Christian generals proceeded to besiege the cities of Ubeda and Baeza, then occupied by Almohade troops, by whom the Christians previously holding them had been expelled. Now Ubeda and Baeza had been sacked by the Infidel in the time of Aben Gania, and in that campaign wherein King Alfonso had repaired to Aben Gania's assistance. At that period the Christian king had ravaged and devastated Andalusia during three entire months, and had occupied those two cities for some time, but finally, exhausted and worn out by repeated skirmishes, and by the perpetual surprises given them by the Moslemah, his troops had retired, defeated and discouraged, to their own frontiers.

Cid Abu Said on his part continued the siege of Almeria ; but the strength of the city caused the operations to be greatly prolonged, as we shall see.

In Africa King Abdelmumen was again compelled to despatch a force, for the purpose of restraining certain rebellious demonstrations which were made in the territory of Begaya and in Medina Kintala. These troubles were

found, nevertheless, to be of but slight importance, and when the rebels had been brought into subjection, the king appointed one of the Almohade Talbes to act as the Cadi of the district, and govern those Comarcas.

In the year 548, Abdelmumen Ben Aly caused Isaltin Coraib Almehedi to be pursued and taken prisoner, when he was brought from Cebta to Morocco in chains, and the `king commanded that he should be impaled before the gate of the last-mentioned city. After having seen that sentence executed, Abdelmumen determined to repair to Tinmaul, there to visit the tomb of the Imaum El Mehedi. He placed all things in good order within the city of Morocco, and that done, he set forth with a great train and escort of cavalry. Arrived at Tinmaul, he distributed large alms to the poor, and commanded that a splendid mosque should be

erected in the city. Remaining to see the commencement of the work, he departed so soon as the building had been commenced, and repaired to Salè, where he made his abode during the rest of the year 548.

At the commencement of the year 549, Abdelmumen Ben Aly disposed all things for the declaration of his successor to the empire of the Almohades, and for the ceremony of taking the oath of allegiance, which he then determined. to solemnize. With these intentions he sent letters to all the provinces, assembling the Xeques thereof, and when the nobles were all in presence, he declared his son, Cid Muhamad, to be the successor he had chosen, with the command that the prince's name should thenceforth be mentioned in the Chotba, immediately after his own. It was in this assembly of his Almohade Xeques that Abdelmumen, yielding to their suggestions, made a distribution of the governments and Amelias of his empire among his sons, at the same time appointing the principal of those Xeques to be the counsellors and associates in authority of the princes thus distinguished. To Cid Abu Hafal, the King gave the government of Telencen and its Comarcas, appointing Abu Muhamad Abdelhac Waldin to be his associate or counsellor; he furthermore named the Alfakir Abul Hassan, with Abdelmelic Ben Ayas, to be the secretaries of the young governor. The government of Cebta and Tangiers he gave to his son Cid Abu Said, the associates of that prince being Abu Muhamad Abdalla Ben Suleiman and Abu Bekir Ben Genis of Beja.

To his son Cid Abu Muhamad Abdallah he gave the government of Begaya, appointing Abu Said to be his associate, and giving the latter a deputy or lieutenant in the person of Abu Alhassan. The government of Seville and Talf, with their Comarcas, he bestowed on his son Cid Abu Jakub Juzef, naming the Xeque Abu Zaide Ben Nagib to the Waliazgo of Cordova, with all its Amelias or jurisdictions. On his son Cid Abu Hassan the King conferred the government of Fez, appointing the Xeque Abu Jakub Juzef Ben Suleiman to be his associate, and giving him Abul Abbas Ben Muda for his secretary: all these Xeques were enjoined to assist the young men by the prudence of their counsels, to the end that those princes might become confirmed in the

principles and knowledge required to constitute good and able governors.

After this distribution of the government among the sons of Abdelmumen Ben Aly, and his declaration of Cid Muhamad to be his successor, with the justice inflicted on Isaltin of Coraib, the Almehedi, there followed another event, which we now proceed to relate. The brothers of the unhappy Isaltin, Abdelaziz and Iza, unwarned by the fearful example which the king had made of their relative, incited the people of Medina Fez to rise against his authority, and having assembled a strong force, they marched against Morocco itself, taking the road of Almaadin. The king was then on the point of departure from Medina Salè, and meeting a portion of those troops as they advanced from Fez, he was amazed at the unexpected intelligence of the two brothers having already entered Morocco by surprise.

Now the king had left the Vizier Abu Giaffar Ben Atia to be his Wali in Morocco during the period of his own absence; but Abu Giaffar had made no movement against Abdelaziz and Iza, who put Abu Hafaz Ben Yaferagez, the governor of the city, to death.

But now came Abdelmumen Ben Aly himself to the relief of the place, which he entered so secretly that none were aware of his coming, and the king acted with so much caution that he succeeded in getting into his hands the two unfortunate men, Abdelaziz and Iza, whom he instantly caused to be impaled, as had been done in the case of their brother Isaltin.

In that same year the Almohades entered Leila, which they took by storm, after a long and difficult siege. The command of the troops had on this occasion been confided by Abdelmumen Ben Aly to his general Abu Zacaria Ben Yamoun, who gave many proofs of bravery and aptitude in the practice of war during the course of the siege, which was a somewhat protracted one; but Zacaria Ben Yamoun finally succeeded in carrying the place by assault.

Now the inhabitants of Leila had retired to that one of their suburbs which was the most remote from the point at which the besiegers had forced an entrance; but the infuriated soldiery pursued the fugitives thither, putting

all whom they encountered to the sword, without sparing the life of any, insomuch that there perished at the storming of Leila many illustrious persons, men of learning and others, the loss of whom is greatly to be deplored. Among these was the Faki Abu Hakem Ben Batal, the celebrated historian and traditionary, with the Faki Saleh Alfadil Abu Omar Ben Alhad: eight thousand persons were put to death in one suburb only, and in the environs of the city no less than four thousand men were slain by the soldiery. They afterwards put up all the maidens and children to sale, with the property of all kinds. The jewels and other valuables, nay, even the vestments of the people, being all thus disposed of, the usual disposition of the spoil took place beneath the banners of the army as would have been done had that been a market of war held by the orders of the king.

When Abdelmumen Ben Aly was made acquainted with these things he was greatly displeased; so much was he enraged against the general Abu Zacaria Ben Yamoun, that he commanded him to be brought to Morocco in chains, which was done, and Abu Zacaria thus entered the capital at the close of Ramazan, and on the Easter of Alfitra. He was then cast into a dungeon, the king reproving him severely for his cruelty and the unbridled license he had permitted, nor was he forgiven until after he had suffered a long imprisonment. Yet for all this severity in the punishment of the culpable commander, Abdelmumen Ben Aly did not restore any part of their possessions to such of the unhappy dwellers in Leila as had escaped with their lives, and who, though delivered from death, had to endure the loss of all their property.

In the commencement of the year 550 the King Abdelmumen Ben Aly commanded that the mosques of all the provinces should be repaired, and he furthermore gave orders-being moved thereto by his innate love of learning and taste for literature-that the reading of Hadices should be immediately permitted and encouraged, as well as the writing and teaching of the same. He forbade the burning of books relating to deeds of knightly prowess, and gave permission for the writing of new books wherein adventurous stories might be set forth and narrated. These

orders and permissions went abroad, and were published in all the provinces, not only of Africa, but of Andalusia.

CHAP. XLIV.-OF THE CONQUESTS OF THE ALMOHADES IN SPAIN. OF THEIR FURTHER EXTENSION OF TERRITORY, OF THEIR ARMY, AND OF THE ORDER OF THEIR MARCH.

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IN Andalusia the army of the Almohades was now making considerable progress; they overran the territory of Granada, from which Prince Aly of the Almoravides found it necessary to retire he withdrew to Almunecaub accordingly, determined there to embark and fly, in the event of affairs turning against him. His people then took possession of the fortresses which command the sea coast; but while awaiting the course of events in Almunecaub, Prince Aly received poison, of which he died in the year 551.

The Almohades shortly afterwards made themselves masters of Granada, which the Naib of Aben Gania surrendered to them on certain conditions, and they entered the Alcazaba, when the Chotba was made for Abdelmumen Ben Aly in all the mosques of the city. The Granadines then sent messengers to proffer the oath of allegiance to the king, by whom that city was added to the Amilia of Cid Abu Said, and the latter was named Wali thereof, to the intent that he might govern the whole district. But the Almohade troops had scarcely left the place, when the populace rose in rebellion, attacked the garrison, a great portion of which they slew, put the governor to death, and exalted Abdallah Ben Ayadh Aben Mardanis to the command of their city, he being much aided by his kinsman, Aben Hemsek, Lord of Xecura and Wali of Murcia, who was in alliance with the Christians.

In the commencement of the year 552 the Prince of the Almohades, even Cid Abu Said Ben Abdelmumen, so zealously pressed the siege of Almeria, both by land and sea, that the city was compelled to surrender. The Christians who formed its garrison demanded assurance for the security of their lives, with liberty to pass unim peded to their own frontiers, and the conditions of surrender