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1. Foreword
2. Preface
a. Audience
b. Assumptions This Book Makes
c. Contents of This Book
d. Conventions Used in This Book
e. O’Reilly Online Learning
f. How to Contact Us
g. Acknowledgments
i. Kevin Tatroe
ii. Peter MacIntyre
3. 1. Introduction to PHP
a. What Does PHP Do?
b. A Brief History of PHP
i. The Evolution of PHP
ii. The Widespread Use of PHP
c. Installing PHP
d. A Walk Through PHP
i. Configuration Page
ii. Forms
iii. Databases
iv. Graphics
e. What’s Next
4. 2. Language Basics
a. Lexical Structure

i. Case Sensitivity
ii. Statements and Semicolons
iii. Whitespace and Line Breaks
iv. Comments
v. Literals
vi. Identifiers
vii. Keywords
b. Data Types
i. Integers
ii. Floating-Point Numbers
iii. Strings
iv. Booleans
v. Arrays
vi. Objects
vii. Resources
viii. Callbacks
ix. NULL
c. Variables
i. Variable Variables
ii. Variable References
iii. Variable Scope
iv. Garbage Collection
d. Expressions and Operators
i. Number of Operands
ii. Operator Precedence
iii. Operator Associativity
iv. Implicit Casting

v. Arithmetic Operators
vi. String Concatenation Operator
vii. Auto-Increment and Auto-Decrement Operators
viii. Comparison Operators
ix. Bitwise Operators
x. Logical Operators
xi. Casting Operators
xii. Assignment Operators
xiii. Miscellaneous Operators
e. Flow-Control Statements
i. if
ii. switch
iii. while
iv. for
v. foreach
vi. try...catch
vii. declare
viii. exit and return
ix. goto
f. Including Code
g. Embedding PHP in Web Pages
i. Standard (XML) Style
ii. SGML Style
iii. Echoing Content Directly
h. What’s Next
5. 3. Functions
a. Calling a Function

b. Defining a Function
c. Variable Scope
i. Global Variables
ii. Static Variables
d. Function Parameters
i. Passing Parameters by Value
ii. Passing Parameters by Reference
iii. Default Parameters
iv. Variable Parameters
v. Missing Parameters
vi. Type Hinting
e. Return Values
f. Variable Functions
g. Anonymous Functions
h. What’s Next
6. 4. Strings
a. Quoting String Constants
i. Variable Interpolation
ii. Single-Quoted Strings
iii. Double-Quoted Strings
iv. Here Documents
b. Printing Strings
i. echo
ii. print()
iii. printf()
iv. print_r() and var_dump()

c. Accessing Individual Characters
d. Cleaning Strings
i. Removing Whitespace
ii. Changing Case
e. Encoding and Escaping
i. HTML
ii. URLs
iii. SQL
iv. C-String Encoding
f. Comparing Strings
i. Exact Comparisons
ii. Approximate Equality
g. Manipulating and Searching Strings
i. Substrings
ii. Miscellaneous String Functions
iii. Decomposing a String
iv. String-Searching Functions
h. Regular Expressions
i. The Basics
ii. Character Classes
iii. Alternatives
iv. Repeating Sequences
v. Subpatterns
vi. Delimiters
vii. Match Behavior
viii. Character Classes
ix. Anchors

x. Quantifiers and Greed
xi. Noncapturing Groups
xii. Backreferences
xiii. Trailing Options
xiv. Inline Options
xv. Lookahead and Lookbehind
xvi. Cut
xvii. Conditional Expressions
xviii. Functions
xix. Differences from Perl Regular Expressions
i. What’s Next
7. 5. Arrays
a. Indexed Versus Associative Arrays
b. Identifying Elements of an Array
c. Storing Data in Arrays
i. Appending Values to an Array
ii. Assigning a Range of Values
iii. Getting the Size of an Array
iv. Padding an Array
d. Multidimensional Arrays
e. Extracting Multiple Values
i. Slicing an Array
ii. Splitting an Array into Chunks
iii. Keys and Values
iv. Checking Whether an Element Exists
v. Removing and Inserting Elements in an Array
f. Converting Between Arrays and Variables

i. Creating Variables from an Array
ii. Creating an Array from Variables
g. Traversing Arrays
i. The foreach Construct
ii. The Iterator Functions
iii. Using a for Loop
iv. Calling a Function for Each Array Element
v. Reducing an Array
vi. Searching for Values
h. Sorting
i. Sorting One Array at a Time
ii. Natural-Order Sorting
iii. Sorting Multiple Arrays at Once
iv. Reversing Arrays
v. Randomizing Order
i. Acting on Entire Arrays
i. Calculating the Sum of an Array
ii. Merging Two Arrays
iii. Calculating the Difference Between Two Arrays
iv. Filtering Elements from an Array
j. Using Arrays to Implement Data Types
i. Sets
ii. Stacks
k. Implementing the Iterator Interface
l. What’s Next
8. 6. Objects

a. Objects
b. Terminology
c. Creating an Object
d. Accessing Properties and Methods
e. Declaring a Class
i. Declaring Methods
ii. Declaring Properties
iii. Declaring Constants
iv. Inheritance
v. Interfaces
vi. Traits
vii. Abstract Methods
viii. Constructors
ix. Destructors
f. Anonymous Classes
g. Introspection
i. Examining Classes
ii. Examining an Object
iii. Sample Introspection Program
h. Serialization
i. What’s Next
9. 7. Dates and Times
a. What’s Next
10. 8. Web Techniques
a. HTTP Basics
b. Variables
c. Server Information

d. Processing Forms
i. Methods
ii. Parameters
iii. Self-Processing Pages
iv. Sticky Forms
v. Multivalued Parameters
vi. Sticky Multivalued Parameters
vii. File Uploads
viii. Form Validation
e. Setting Response Headers
i. Different Content Types
ii. Redirections
iii. Expiration
iv. Authentication
f. Maintaining State
i. Cookies
ii. Sessions
iii. Combining Cookies and Sessions
g. SSL
h. What’s Next
11. 9. Databases
a. Using PHP to Access a Database
b. Relational Databases and SQL
i. PHP Data Objects
c. MySQLi Object Interface
i. Retrieving Data for Display

d. SQLite
e. Direct File-Level Manipulation
f. MongoDB
i. Retrieving Data
ii. Inserting More Complex Data
g. What’s Next
12. 10. Graphics
a. Embedding an Image in a Page
b. Basic Graphics Concepts
c. Creating and Drawing Images
i. The Structure of a Graphics Program
ii. Changing the Output Format
iii. Testing for Supported Image Formats
iv. Reading an Existing File
v. Basic Drawing Functions
d. Images with Text
i. Fonts
ii. TrueType Fonts
e. Dynamically Generated Buttons
i. Caching the Dynamically Generated Buttons
ii. A Faster Cache
f. Scaling Images
g. Color Handling
i. Using the Alpha Channel
ii. Identifying Colors
iii. True Color Indexes

iv. Text Representation of an Image
h. What’s Next
13. 11. PDF
a. PDF Extensions
b. Documents and Pages
i. A Simple Example
ii. Initializing the Document
iii. Outputting Basic Text Cells
c. Text
i. Coordinates
ii. Text Attributes
iii. Page Headers, Footers, and Class Extension
iv. Images and Links
v. Tables and Data
d. What’s Next
14. 12. XML
a. Lightning Guide to XML
b. Generating XML
c. Parsing XML
i. Element Handlers
ii. Character Data Handler
iii. Processing Instructions
iv. Entity Handlers
v. Default Handler
vi. Options
vii. Using the Parser

viii. Errors
ix. Methods as Handlers
x. Sample Parsing Application
d. Parsing XML with the DOM
e. Parsing XML with SimpleXML
f. Transforming XML with XSLT
g. What’s Next
15. 13. JSON
a. Using JSON
b. Serializing PHP Objects
i. Options
c. What’s Next
16. 14. Security
a. Safeguards
i. Filtering Input
ii. Escaping Output Data
b. Security Vulnerabilities
i. Cross-Site Scripting
ii. SQL Injection
iii. Filename Vulnerabilities
iv. Session Fixation
v. File Upload Traps
vi. Unauthorized File Access
vii. PHP Code Issues
viii. Shell Command Weaknesses
ix. Data Encryption Concerns

c. Further Resources
d. Security Recap
e. What’s Next
17. 15. Application Techniques
a. Code Libraries
b. Templating Systems
c. Handling Output
i. Output Buffering
ii. Output Compression
d. Performance Tuning
i. Benchmarking
ii. Profiling
iii. Optimizing Execution Time
iv. Optimizing Memory Requirements
v. Reverse Proxies and Replication
e. What’s Next
18. 16. Web Services
a. REST Clients
i. Responses
ii. Retrieving Resources
iii. Updating Resources
iv. Creating Resources
v. Deleting Resources
b. XML-RPC
i. Servers
ii. Clients

c. What’s Next
19. 17. Debugging PHP
a. The Development Environment
b. The Staging Environment
c. The Production Environment
d. php.ini Settings
e. Error Handling
i. Error Reporting
ii. Exceptions
iii. Error Suppression
iv. Triggering Errors
v. Defining Error Handlers
f. Manual Debugging
g. Error Logs
h. IDE Debugging
i. Additional Debugging Techniques
j. What’s Next
20. 18. PHP on Disparate Platforms
a. Writing Portable Code for Windows and Unix
i. Determining the Platform
ii. Handling Paths Across Platforms
iii. Navigating the Server Environment
iv. Sending Mail
v. End-of-Line Handling
vi. End-of-File Handling
vii. Using External Commands
viii. Accessing Platform-Specific Extensions

b. Interfacing with COM
i. Background
ii. PHP Functions
iii. API Specifications
21. Function Reference
a. PHP Functions by Category
i. Arrays
ii. Classes and Objects
iii. Data Filtering
iv. Date and Time
v. Directories
vi. Errors and Logging
vii. Filesystem
viii. Functions
ix. Mail
x. Math
xi. Miscellaneous Functions
xii. Network
xiii. Output Buffering
xiv. PHP Language Tokenizer
xv. PHP Options/Info
xvi. Program Execution
xvii. Session Handling
xviii. Streams
xix. Strings
xx. URLs
xxi. Variables

xxii. Zlib
b. Alphabetical Listing of PHP Functions
22. Index

Praise for the 4th Edition of Programming PHP
PHP 7 has rejuvenated the PHP ecosystem, providing a powerful mix of world-
class performance and highly anticipated features. If you’re after the book that
would help you unlock this potential, look no further than the new edition of
Programming PHP!
—Zeev Suraski, Cocreator of PHP
By selecting Programming PHP you have taken that first step not only into PHP
and its basics but into the future of website and web application development.
With a firm understanding of the PHP programming language, and the tools
available to you, the only limitations will be your imagination and your
willingness to continue to grow and immerse yourself in the community.
—Michael Stowe, Author, Speaker, and Technologist
Covers all the details you’d expect in a programming language book and gets into
more advanced topics that seasoned veterans would find interesting.
—James Thoms, Senior Developer at ClearDev

Programming PHP
FOURTH EDITION
Creating Dynamic Web Pages
Kevin Tatroe and Peter MacIntyre

Programming PHP
by Kevin Tatroe and Peter MacIntyre
Copyright © 2020 Kevin Tatroe and Peter MacIntyre. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
Published by O’Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA
95472.
O’Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use.
Online editions are also available for most titles (http://oreilly.com). For more
information, contact our corporate/institutional sales department: 800-998-9938 or
corporate@oreilly.com.
Acquisitions Editor: Jennifer Pollock
Development Editor: Angela Rufino
Production Editor: Christopher Faucher
Copyeditor: Rachel Monaghan
Proofreader: Tom Sullivan
Indexer: Potomac Indexing, LLC
Interior Designer: David Futato
Cover Designer: Karen Montgomery
Illustrator: Rebecca Demarest
March 2002: First Edition
April 2006: Second Edition
February 2013: Third Edition
March 2020: Fourth Edition

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least disparagement of the motives or the conduct of the minister
was a mortal offence. Giafar, Prince of Zab, who commanded the
first troop of Berbers enlisted in the service of Al-Mansur, actuated
by envy, permitted himself to publicly criticise the policy of the hajib.
The latter smiled but said nothing when the offensive language of
the Mauritanian chieftain, whom he had loaded with favors, was
reported to him. A magnificent banquet was soon afterwards given
at Zahira, where Giafar was distinguished by the favor and courtesy
of Al-Mansur above all who were present. The precepts of the law
were ignored in these festivities; the richest wines flowed in
profusion; and Giafar, while he was being conducted to his residence
in a state of helpless intoxication, was waylaid and pierced with the
daggers of assassins employed for that purpose by the minister.
The kingdoms of Christian Spain, none of which, in the tenth
century, could aspire to the importance of a modern principality, and
which were always at variance with each other, habitually
disregarded the vital principle of unity that alone could insure their
preservation. A rivalry which, under the circumstances, was suicidal
flourished even in the presence of the Saracen armies. The mutual
hatred engendered by provincial prejudice was incredibly intense
and bitter. The pride of nationality, the spirit of patriotism, were
unknown. Each state labored to defeat the undertakings of the
others, no matter how meritorious was their object. The seal of the
Church was branded upon all laws and political institutions. The
predominating ecclesiastical element still enacted statutes, elected
kings, levied taxes, commanded armies. Leon was seriously
weakened by intestine quarrels. The nobles were constantly aspiring
to the throne, and raising up a succession of incompetent
pretenders. The powerful appanage of Castile had been permanently
alienated from the crown, and enjoyed a nominal independence
without the resources to maintain its lofty pretensions. Many of the
bravest warriors of the North had been tempted by promises of high
pay and abundant booty to renounce their allegiance, and were now
serving under the standard of the khalifate. With the successes of
the Moslems, and the diminution of their own territory, the mutual

distrust of the Christian princes increased, and their isolation from
each other became more and more complete. Their domestic feuds
and irreconcilable antipathies induced them, in turn, to solicit the aid
of their natural enemies, a measure which led to the imposition of
tribute and the acknowledgment of vassalage. The city of Cordova
was filled with Christian exiles, who continually importuned the
government to embrace the cause of their several factions against
their kindred and their countrymen. Some of the most serious and
fatal revolutions which disturbed the peace of the northern states
were traceable to this source, and to the intrigues of proscribed
adventurers whose designs it was manifestly the interest of the
Moslems to promote. The difficulties which beset the youth and
inexperience of Ramiro III., King of Leon, caused him to appeal to
the court of Cordova for support against the usurper Bermudo, who
had deprived him of his capital and his crown. In return for the
desired assistance, the dethroned King announced his willingness to
become the feudatory of the Khalif. Before the treaty was concluded,
however, Ramiro died. The partisans of the latter were numerous
and powerful; the color of right as well as superiority of title would
invest any candidate whom they might select; and Bermudo
determined to anticipate their designs, follow the unworthy example
of his deceased rival, and, by the sacrifice of his personal honor and
the independence of his country, retain a portion of the authority he
had illegally acquired. The humiliating concessions demanded by Al-
Mansur were acquiesced in without hesitation by the cowardly
usurper; homage was rendered to the hajib as suzerain; and,
menaced by the presence of a Moslem army, the kingdom of Leon,
every foot of which had been won from the infidels at an immense
sacrifice of life and valor, for the third time since its conquest by the
Asturians descended to the position of a tributary principality.
Having reduced the kingdoms of the North to such a condition of
helplessness that he had nothing to fear from their hostility, Al-
Mansur now directed his attention towards a country which had long
enjoyed immunity from Moslem invasion. The County of Catalonia,
while a nominal appanage of France, was ruled by its chief

magistrate with all the attributes of despotic sovereignty. The
weakness or the apprehensions of former khalifs had deterred them
from provoking a contest which might bring upon them, in addition
to their domestic foes, the united forces of the French monarchy.
These fears, however, were ill founded. The provinces of that
kingdom, like those of Christian Spain, were a prey to internal
discord. The society of France was in a state of transition. A bitter
contest was raging between feudal pretensions and royal
prerogative. The crown had no resources to squander in the defence
of a distant and unprofitable dependency, and the haughty nobles
would have resisted an attempt to levy troops for a campaign of
doubtful issue beyond the Pyrenees. All these facts were known to
Al-Mansur, whose spies infested every court in Europe. His resolution
formed, the minister caused the Holy War to be proclaimed against
the Catalans. It was the twenty-third expedition of his reign. Elated
by the hope of fresh victories, volunteers responded by thousands. A
great army was mustered, which was met on the frontier by the
Catalan troops commanded by Count Borel in person. An
engagement took place, but the Christians, long unaccustomed to
war, could not stand before the veterans of the khalifate. They were
defeated with serious loss, and, five days afterwards, Barcelona was
stormed and delivered over to pillage. Of the inhabitants few
escaped death or captivity excepting the Jews, those constant
sympathizers with the Moslems, who, early recognizing the
advantageous situation of Barcelona, had settled there in large
numbers, had accumulated vast fortunes, had risen to unrivalled
eminence in the knowledge and practice of medicine, and had
founded commercial establishments whose interests were protected
and whose influence was acknowledged in every country of the
globe. The Count preserved the remainder of his dominions from a
similar fate by the payment of an immense ransom. This dearly-
purchased immunity proved the salvation of Eastern Spain, which,
unable to withstand the attacks of the Moslems, and entirely without
hope of foreign aid, must otherwise have been eventually added to
the realm of Islam.

Turning his piercing glance towards every point of the compass
where a victory could be gained or an enemy humiliated, Al-Mansur
now determined to interfere once more in the affairs of Africa. In
that country the partisans of the House of Ommeyah, after many
vicissitudes, had once more regained the ascendency. But scarcely
was this result accomplished, when Ibn-Kenun, the last prince of the
Edrisite dynasty, who, at his own request, had been sent to Tunis by
Al-Hakem, on condition that he would never again set foot on his
ancient domain, appeared to assert his claims as hereditary
sovereign of Mauritania. For ten years he had been the guest of the
Fatimite Khalif of Egypt, whose real or pretended descent from a
common ancestor afforded a specious pretext for granting the exile
protection. Overcome by his importunities, the Sultan had at length
consented to assist his troublesome kinsman to regain his throne.
Negotiations were entered into with the Berbers. The Egyptian
monarch furnished a considerable sum of money and a detachment
of soldiers, and Ibn-Kenun was received by his former subjects with
every manifestation of loyalty. The Ommeyade cause speedily
declined; its partisans were put to flight in repeated skirmishes; their
strongholds fell into the hands of the enemy, and the dreadful
prospect of African invasion once more confronted the inhabitants of
the Peninsula.
It was the intelligence of these disasters, received at Barcelona,
which, far more than the great ransom offered by Count Borel,
determined Al-Mansur to relinquish the conquest of Catalonia. A
division of the victorious army, commanded by Askaledja, cousin of
the hajib, disembarked at Ceuta before Ibn-Kenun knew that Al-
Mansur intended to oppose him. The Edrisite prince was beaten, and
surrendered under condition of a safe-conduct to Cordova, with
permission to make that city his future residence. But in the signing
of this convention the self-esteem of the Saracen general had
permitted him to exceed his authority. The dangerous character of
Ibn-Kenun, as well as considerations of public safety, demanded the
adoption of a less indulgent policy towards such an inveterate foe of
the khalifate. The agreement of Askaledja was repudiated by Al-

Mansur, and Ibn-Kenun, having been brought a prisoner to Algeziras,
was beheaded without ceremony. This flagrant disregard of a solemn
treaty, a deed which not only impugned the honor of the hajib’s
lieutenant but was branded as a horrible sacrilege, caused great
dissatisfaction throughout Andalusia. The victim was one of the
descendants of Ali, regarded by a numerous sect as the incarnation
of divinity, and revered by a majority of believers throughout the
Moslem world. The indignation of the populace found vent in
murmurs and menaces. Askaledja, infuriated beyond measure, went
so far as to denounce his superior to the troops under his command.
The maintenance of order and the requirements of discipline could
not tolerate such an exhibition of insubordination; and the imprudent
officer was promptly arrested for treason, found guilty, and
executed. This act of justice, although approved by the Divan, only
aggravated the popular resentment. The minister once more realized
that the empire he had secured by intrigue must be constantly
sustained by arms. It was necessary to divert the attention of the
people from the severe measures indispensable to domestic
tranquillity to meritorious schemes of foreign conquest. An
opportune pretext for a rupture with the King of Leon had recently
presented itself. The Moorish force, entertained by Bermudo under
pretence of maintaining his authority, but really to overawe the
usurper and enforce the payment of tribute, had signalized its
residence among the infidels by the perpetration of every kind of
outrage. It was in vain that Bermudo remonstrated; his complaints
were received by the government at Cordova with silent contempt.
Then, adopting the only cause possible under the circumstances, he
appealed to the patriotism of his subjects, assembled an army, and
drove out the obnoxious intruders. The pride of Al-Mansur could not
afford to brook such an insult. A strong body of Moslems attacked
Coimbra, whose remote situation and distance from the usual field of
operations had hitherto insured its safety. It was taken; its buildings
were burned and demolished; and for seven years afterwards the
site of this once flourishing city remained desolate and uninhabited.
From Coimbra, crossing the Douro, the hajib directed his course
straight to the enemy’s capital. Formerly, protected by its massive

fortifications and aided by a winter of unusual severity, the garrison
had been able to defy his efforts to take it by storm. Leon was the
strongest and most important fortress of the North. Its defences
dated from the era of the Roman domination. Its walls, built by the
architects of the Cæsars, measured more than twenty feet in
thickness. Lofty towers, protected by barbicans, rose at frequent
intervals of their extensive circuit, which enclosed houses massed
together and constructed principally of stone. The gates were bronze
and of prodigious weight. They were hung in portals faced with
marble and decorated with carvings and statues. The citadel was
considered absolutely impregnable. The garrison was numerous,
experienced in military operations, and provided with every requisite
for a protracted defence.
But the city once invested, the impetuosity and resolution of the
Moslems disappointed the hopes of the besieged, who expected that
the reverse attending the former attack would be repeated. The
reputation of Al-Mansur was staked upon the issue. Able officers,
skilled in the use of military engines which had descended from
Rome and Byzantium, directed the approaches and superintended
the mining of the walls. The resistance was most obstinate, but, a
breach having finally been made, the veterans of Al-Mansur rushed
to the assault. The governor of the city, Count Gonzalez, whom
severe illness had rendered incapable of action, advised of the
progress of the enemy, ordered his attendants to arm him and carry
him to the front. The exhortations and the sight of its emaciated
commander animated the garrison to conspicuous but unavailing
deeds of valor. The front ranks of the Christians were broken, and
the Moslems poured into the breach. The governor, helpless and
bleeding, was killed in his litter at the head of his troops, as became
a gallant and intrepid soldier. Exasperated by the stubborn resistance
they had experienced, the Moslems gave no quarter. The city, after
having been plundered, was razed. The enormous strength of its
defences, the tenacity of the Roman masonry, constructed to defy
alike the slow action of the elements and the destructive efforts of
man, availed nothing against the systematic havoc of the implacable

Al-Mansur. A solitary tower was left standing as a specimen of the
dimensions of those fortifications which had been levelled with the
ground. A vast heap of stones and rubbish marked the site of the
Christian capital, where a populous town had existed from the time
of Augustus, when the camp of the Legio Septima constituted an
important frontier outpost of the Roman empire.
The Saracen army in its march to Leon had flanked Zamora,
where Bermudo had taken refuge. Al-Mansur, on his return,
prepared to besiege that city, and Bermudo took advantage of the
prevailing confusion to escape with the remnant of his followers to
Oviedo. Zamora surrendered, and was forthwith delivered up to the
caprices of the licentious soldiery. Deserted by their monarch, the
Leonese nobles hastened to make peace with the conqueror. Most of
them did homage to him for their estates. The remainder, who
declined to sacrifice the prejudices of a lifetime and disobey the
admonitions of the Church for the enjoyment of a temporary
advantage, were rewarded for their loyalty with oppression and
insult. The territory which remained under the control of Bermudo at
the end of this campaign was less in extent than that formerly
possessed by one of his inferior vassals.
The absence of Al-Mansur had been improved by the malcontents
who infested the capital in the formation of a plot which
contemplated the assassination of all of the principal officials of the
government, as well as the Khalif, and the partition of the states of
the monarchy. Abd-al-Rahman-Ibn-Motarrif, governor of the northern
frontier, was the originator of the conspiracy. Abdallah, the oldest
son of the minister, several princes of the blood holding important
commands, and a number of civil and military functionaries whose
positions of trust rendered their complicity the more formidable,
were implicated in it. The spies of Al-Mansur detected this
treasonable enterprise before it was fully matured. The latter,
pursuing the course he ordinarily adopted to disarm suspicion, at
first treated the conspirators with conspicuous marks of favor, and
then secretly invited complaints against them for other offences.
Nothing was insinuated of the existence of a plot or of prosecutions

for treason. Some were condemned for dishonesty and appropriation
of the public treasure. Others, among them the son of Al-Mansur,
and another Abdallah, who was of royal lineage and noted for his
avarice, fled to the Christian court for protection. Garcia Fernandez,
Count of Castile, entertained the son of the minister, until the
presence of a great Moslem army admonished him that the privilege
of asylum must yield to political necessity. As soon as the misguided
youth fell into the hands of his father he was beheaded. Then, with
exquisite cruelty, Al-Mansur devised a scheme of retaliation, which,
in spite of its malice, was singularly appropriate. He determined to
inflict upon the Count of Castile himself all the pangs resulting from
paternal disappointment and filial ingratitude. He instigated Sancho,
the son of Garcia, to form a party and drive his father from power.
The nobility unanimously declared for Sancho; a Mussulman force
sustained his pretensions; Al-Mansur seized Clunia and San Estevan
as his share of the spoil; and Garcia, having been wounded and
made captive in a skirmish, died soon afterwards in the hands of the
Saracens. The perfidy of Sancho was rewarded with the government
of Castile, which he held as a feudatory of the Khalif.
The fugitive King, Bermudo, whose usurpation had been attended
with a series of misfortunes, and whose dominions had, with the
exception of a contracted region of which Astorga was the centre,
been divided between his rebellious vassals and the Moors, in
defiance of the menaces of Al-Mansur, still continued to afford
protection to Abdallah, the only survivor of the principal
conspirators. The approach of the Mussulman troops and the seizure
and sack of Astorga, convinced the obstinate monarch of the
expediency of submission. Abdallah was surrendered, taken to
Cordova, placed upon a camel, and conducted through the streets of
that city, preceded by heralds who proclaimed him a traitor to his
sovereign and an apostate to his faith. His life was spared, but he
was tortured during the entire administration of Al-Mansur by being
kept in daily fear of execution; a fate which he endeavored to avert
by the most humiliating expressions of contrition, and by exhibitions

of grovelling servility which, so far from exciting the pity of the
minister, only increased his contempt.
A new and implacable adversary, and one whose position placed
her beyond the reach of the minister’s vengeance, now arose to defy
his power. The Sultana Aurora—who united to her amorous
susceptibilities all the obstinacy and vindictiveness of the Basques, to
which race she belonged—had for many years entertained the
closest relations with the favorite whose fortunes she had founded,
and whose success she had so zealously promoted. Their intimacy,
even during the lifetime of Al-Hakem, had been the scandal of the
capital. But the lady, like many of her sex, was inconstant, and other
lovers, including the kadi Ibn-al-Salim, also stood high in her favor.
As soon as Al-Mansur no longer required her services to advance his
interests, he had the imprudence to neglect his haughty mistress.
Deeply piqued, she began to meditate revenge. Her social rank, the
inviolability of her person, and her residence in the palace gave her
advantages which she was not slow to improve. With all the fiery
energy of her nature she represented to the Khalif the degradation
of the position he had been compelled to assume, and urged him to
assert his rights as a sovereign. Hischem, who had hitherto evinced
no dissatisfaction with his condition, was roused from his lethargy.
Under his mother’s dictation, he made a formal demand on the
minister for the prerogatives which the latter had usurped. The
viceroy of Africa, Ziri-Ibn-Atia, instigated by the agents of the
Sultana, rose in rebellion, and proclaimed himself the supporter of
the laws of the empire and the champion of its injured monarch. The
ingenuity of Aurora provided her partisans with an abundant supply
of money. The vaults of the palace of Medina-al-Zahrâ, where was
the national treasury, contained six million pieces of gold. They were
deposited in earthenware jars, sealed with wax and impressed with
the royal signet. The astute princess removed a hundred of the jars,
whose contents amounted to the sum of eighty thousand dinars,
broke the seals, covered the gold with honey, drugs, and syrups,
and, having attached to each an appropriate label, caused them to
be conveyed by her slaves to a palace in the city, whence they were,

without delay, transported to Africa. The rage of Al-Mansur on
finding himself thus outwitted by a woman was extreme, but it
availed him nothing. He could not venture to offer violence or even
reproaches to the mother of his sovereign whose servant he was in
name. The trend of recent events suggested that Hischem might
have consented that the money be employed for the recovery of his
imperial dignity. Desirous of obtaining the sanction of law in a matter
of such vital importance, Al-Mansur called the great officers of state
together. To them he represented that the women of the harem
were plundering the treasury, and requested permission to remove
the gold from the palace. This was readily granted; but when the
officers exhibited their warrant, they were refused admission to the
vaults, on the plea that the Khalif had not authorized the removal of
the treasure. Foiled once more, the minister—whose genius, fertile in
expedients and undaunted by reverses, never once despaired of
success—devised a plan whose audacity would have appalled a less
determined mortal. Perfectly familiar with all the approaches to the
palace, he penetrated by a secret passage to the apartments of the
Khalif. His unexpected appearance and menacing aspect terrified the
imbecile prince, who protested that he had no desire to thwart the
designs of the minister, and, without hesitation, signed an order for
the removal of the gold. The politic Al-Mansur, at the same time,
extorted from him an edict by which he unreservedly renounced, in
favor of the hajib, all practical control of the government of the
empire. This explicit and indisputable confirmation of the authority of
the latter at once legalized every act which he had already
committed in a public capacity. In a measure, it invested his person
with the sanctity that appertained to his master, and rendered all
liable to the penalty of treason whose intemperate language or
whose violence should be directed against the authorized
representative of absolute sovereignty.
An enterprise of surpassing difficulty and danger, and one which
the bravest of the Ommeyade khalifs had never ventured to
undertake, was now planned by the greatest statesman and warrior
of his age. The shrine of St. James of Compostella was one of the

most renowned for wealth and sanctity in Christendom. In the
marvels which had attended its foundation, in the fame of its
miracles, in the number and potency of its sacred relics, in the
touching interest attaching to its legends, it scarcely yielded to the
sacred traditions of the Eternal City. A countless multitude of pilgrims
from every country where the name of the Saviour was revered had
for generations deposited their oblations upon its altars. The modest
chapel which had marked the site of the apostle’s grave soon after
its discovery during the reign of the pious Alfonso had been replaced
by a stately cathedral of marble, decorated with all the rude
magnificence of which the decadent art of the age was capable. A
numerous priesthood, the splendor of whose appointments and the
luxury of whose lives indicated a dispensation with the vow of
poverty, ministered to the wants of the pilgrims, and acknowledged,
with affected gratitude and humility, the bestowal of their donations
and the performance of their vows.
The reverence entertained by the Spanish Christians for the
sepulchre of St. James far exceeded that with which the most fanatic
Mussulman regarded the Prophet’s tomb at Medina. Already,
industriously propagated by monkish imposture and popular
credulity, wondrous tales were whispered of the appearance of the
apostle on a milk-white steed at the head of the Christian squadrons,
an infallible harbinger of victory, and a delusion of ominous import to
the Saracen intruders in the Peninsula. History affords no parallel to
the momentous effects produced by the adoption of this frivolous
legend. The circumstances of its origin, which contemptuously
violated every probability of time or place; its universal acceptance
by individuals of every rank in life; its subsequent extension to the
distant lands of an unknown world; the blind and unquestioning faith
with which the impossible miracles of its subject were received, offer
an eloquent commentary on the boundless influence of the Catholic
hierarchy and the debased superstition of the age.
The destruction of the church of Santiago was now the aim of Al-
Mansur. The depressing influence of such a signal triumph over the
adversaries of Islam, it was thought with much reason, would be

incalculable. The immunity enjoyed by the Christian sanctuary of
Spain was attributed by its votaries to the protection afforded by the
body of the saint, far more than to the natural difficulties which an
enemy must surmount to reach his shrine. Even could an invasion
occur and the desecration of the cathedral be threatened, it was
firmly believed that the miraculous intervention of Heaven—more
marked even than that which deterred the Romans from rebuilding
the temple of Jerusalem—would avert such a calamity from one of
the holiest places of the Christian world. The removal of these
impressions, by demonstrating the incapacity of St. James to defend
his own relics, must certainly weaken the faith of the multitude in his
ability to protect the lives of others. The prestige derived from the
interposition of supernatural influence would be seriously impaired.
The menacing spectre of the patron of Spain would no longer inspire
the fanaticism of his followers to strike terror into the Saracen
armies. These conclusions of Al-Mansur, while founded on reason, in
the end proved fallacious. The superstitious veneration, which,
confirmed by blind ignorance and credulity for centuries, now
exercised its power over an entire people, was too deeply rooted to
be more than temporarily affected by the most glaring sacrilege.
The campaign was carefully planned. Every precaution was taken
to provide against any possibility of failure. Marching westward, the
several divisions of Moslem cavalry assembled at Coria. At Oporto
they were joined by the fleet, in which the infantry had already
embarked. A number of Christian vassals, attended by their
retainers, responded to the summons of their suzerain, and lent their
reluctant aid to the injury of their faith and the destruction of their
countrymen. The Douro was crossed upon a bridge constructed of
ships. Roads were cut through rocky and precipitous mountains.
Broad estuaries and rivers were forded. The country, which had long
suffered from repeated forays, was depopulated, and could offer no
resistance. When the mountains of Galicia appeared in the distance,
the resolution of the Christian allies faltered. Some of the counts
entered into a secret correspondence with the enemy. Their designs
were betrayed, and a number of Leonese nobles underwent the

extreme penalty of treason. This salutary example insured the
wavering loyalty of their companions, who henceforth found it
expedient to conceal their real sentiments under an appearance of
obedience and alacrity.
The region now traversed by the Moslems had hitherto been safe
from their inroads. This circumstance, the sacred character of the
territory, and the wealth of the clergy had attracted to the vicinity of
Santiago a large and busy population. Ecclesiastical establishments
abounded. Along the hill-sides were countless hermitages, shrines,
and chapels. Almost every valley was occupied by a monastery or a
convent. The lands susceptible of cultivation were tilled by slaves or
dependents of the religious houses, whose condition differed little
from that of hereditary servitude. The mansions of the prelates of
high rank exhibited a palatial magnificence, and were not
infrequently tenanted by occupants of the softer sex, whose charms
of face and figure indicated an appreciation of female beauty hardly
to be expected from their pious companions.
The utter demoralization of the Christian kingdoms through
domestic feuds and incessant warfare, added to the terror inspired
by the name of Al-Mansur, precluded the possibility of effectual
resistance. The inhabitants, taking with them their portable property
and the bones of their saints and kings, fled to the mountains or to
islands off the sea-coast. Santiago was completely deserted. The
invaders obtained a rich booty from the shrines of innumerable
chapels and monasteries. Every building in the city, including the
famous cathedral, was razed to the ground. The latter was
constructed of marble and granite. Its plan and decoration exhibited
the corrupt taste and barbaric splendor inherited from the Visigoths,
whose faults of design had been aggravated by the native rudeness
of the Galician architects. In front of the high altar stood the statue
of the saint, carved by the pious but unpractised hand of a Gothic
sculptor, and enclosed in a shrine of massy silver. Every portion of it
except the face was painted or profusely gilded. One hand clasped a
Bible, the other was raised aloft in the attitude of benediction. The
kisses of innumerable pilgrims had almost obliterated the coarse and

grotesque features of the image. By its side were disposed the
emblems of the vagrant apostle, the staff, the calabash, the scallop
shells. Its head was partially enveloped with a hood identical in
shape with that worn by every pilgrim and glittering with jewels.
The statue and the tomb of the apostle escaped desecration,
through the policy of Al-Mansur, who feared to exasperate his allies,
already shocked by the sacrilegious deeds of their infidel
companions in arms. This forbearance of the Moslem general was
afterwards distorted by the clergy into a stupendous miracle. The
Mauritanian cavalry plundered the neighboring settlements and
intercepted many parties of fugitives, including not a few
ecclesiastics, whose faith in the supernatural virtues of the image
and the relics of the saint vanished quickly before the gleaming
lances of the Saracen cavalry.
The return of the army to Cordova was signalized by a military
demonstration that rivalled the pomp of a Roman triumph. In the
rear of the troops, chained together by fifties, thousands of Christian
captives, laden with the spoils and trophies of victory, trudged
painfully along. Some carried the sacrilegious plunder of many a
venerated shrine. Others supported upon their shoulders the
ponderous gates of the city of Santiago. Others, again, sank under
the weight of the bells of the cathedral, into whose molten mass, as
yet unformed, pious devotees of either sex had cast their treasure
and their jewels; whose clangor had solemnized the installation of
many a prelate and the sepulture of many a saint; had aroused the
enthusiasm and the devotion of pilgrims of every clime; had, until
this fatal hour, been heard in a land believed to be exempt from the
outrages of the infidel, but were now destined to be exhibited in his
greatest temple as tokens of the supremacy attained by the most
implacable foe of Christianity. In the addition to the Great Mosque,
then building under the direction of Al-Mansur, these souvenirs of
the most memorable campaign undertaken by the arms of the
Western Khalifate were deposited, amidst the frenzied acclamations
of the people. The gates were used to form a portion of the ceiling,
and from them, sustained by chains of bronze, the great bells were

hung inverted, to be utilized as lamps during the ceremonies of the
numerous festivals prescribed by the Moslem ritual.
The career of the Mauritanian rebel Zira-Ibn-Atia, whom the
prodigality of the Sultana Aurora had enabled to assert his
independence, under pretext of liberating the Khalif, was not of long
duration. The first army sent over by Al-Mansur to chastise his
insolence met with disaster. The second, commanded by his own
son, Abd-al-Melik-al-Modhaffer, vanquished the forces of Zira after a
desperate struggle. The latter, with the loss of his possessions, was
also stripped of his power, and died soon after of wounds received in
battle.
Early in the spring of the year 1002 the indefatigable Al-Mansur
again invaded the territory of the Christians. This time his hostility
was directed against the shrine of St. Emilian, the patron saint of
Castile, whose church was in the village of Canales. The town, the
chapel, and the convents, with all their paraphernalia of priestly
imposture and superstition, were destroyed. But the renowned
commander, whose prowess had so long sustained the reputation of
the Moslem arms, had fought his last campaign. A painful malady,
whose cause was unknown, and whose symptoms baffled the skill of
the best physicians of Cordova, had some months before attacked
him. The exposure and excitement of this expedition increased its
violence. The illustrious sufferer became so weak that he was forced
to travel in a litter. It was evident from his emaciated form and
incessant agony that he was fast approaching his end. At Medina-
Celi the army halted. Its general could proceed no farther. A
universal feeling of sorrow arose as the sad tidings of the condition
of the dying chieftain spread throughout the camp.
The memory of the turbulent populace of the capital, and the
consciousness that it had required all the energy of his determined
character to triumph over his domestic enemies, embittered the last
moments of Al-Mansur. He dreaded the inauguration of anarchy and
the resultant partition of the khalifate. He was only too well
acquainted with the instability of the vast and magnificent fabric of

greatness which his genius had reared. With a view to preserve as
long as possible for his sons the power he was unable to legally
transmit, he directed Abd-al-Melik to hasten at once to Cordova and
assume command of the garrison. To his second son, Abd-al-
Rahman, he transferred his authority over the army. Many wise
injunctions were imparted by their dying parent to these two young
officers, whose military character had been formed under his own
eye during many eventful campaigns. The elder, who was not an
unworthy descendant of so great a sire, profited largely by his
opportunities. The younger, unequal to the task of government, was
destined to realize the worst expectations his acquaintances had
formed of his erratic and licentious nature.
His instructions ended, the strength of Al-Mansur gave way, and
he received with calm resignation the inexorable summons of the
Angel of Death. For years he had entertained a presentiment that he
should end his days at the head of his army, perhaps in the heat of
battle. It was not only his hope, but he made it the subject of his
daily petitions, that Allah would vouchsafe to him the glorious
privilege of dying in war against the infidel, thereby to merit the
recompense of martyrdom. In expectation of a favorable answer to
his prayers, the arrangements for his burial were always ready. His
shroud was invariably included among the effects of his camp
equipage. It was of linen made from flax grown on his paternal
estate at Torrox and woven by the hands of his own daughters. His
conscience told him that the material thus produced and prepared
was not tainted with the bloody reminiscences that popular report
insinuated too often attached to his other possessions. The
provident statesman, whose aspirations were not confined to
matters terrestrial, and carrying into his relations with Allah the
same prudence which had distinguished his earthly career, neglected
no precaution to insure his salvation. A well-known text of the Koran
declares that he who appears before the Almighty with the dust of
the Holy War upon his feet shall be exempt from the tortures of
eternal fire. To secure this advantage on the Day of Judgment, Al-
Mansur carried with him in all his campaigns a silver casket of

elegant design, into which, every evening when the army halted, his
attendants carefully collected the dust which had accumulated upon
his garments during the day. Enveloped in the shroud prepared for
so many years, and sprinkled with this holy dust, the body of the
great Moslem general was laid at rest in the city of Medina-Celi.
The character of Mohammed-Ibn-Amir-Al-Mansur has already
been partially delineated in these pages. In it both good and evil
were unsparingly mingled. Beyond measure shrewd, politic,
audacious, and resolute, he was an adept in instigating others to the
commission of discreditable acts by which he profited, while his
instruments alone endured the odium attaching to them. By the
irresistible force of intellect he had risen from obscurity to the
enjoyment of imperial power. No act of wanton cruelty ever polluted
his administration. Yet such was his firmness and the fear in which
he was held that no sedition during his ascendency disturbed the
peace of the khalifate. His conduct on all occasions where his
personal interests were not immediately concerned was, for the
most part, guided by the principles of equity. His own son was
sacrificed to the maintenance of public order. The deeds of violence
and tyranny for which he was so grossly abused were the results of
political necessity,—measures suggested by the pressing exigencies
of the occasion, and dictated by the instinct of self-preservation.
Born in a comparatively humble rank of life, his matrimonial alliances
were sought by princes. The daughters of Bermudo, King of the
Asturias, and Sancho, King of Navarre, were inmates of his harem.
Despite his talents as a statesman and his long series of military
triumphs, his popularity was superficial, and his position was
maintained with difficulty. He was everywhere designated by the
significant and opprobrious nickname of “The Fox.” His old literary
associates envied and maligned him. The courtiers were jealous of
his rapidly acquired fame, and sedulously depreciated his abilities.
The eunuchs justly attributed to his agency the impairment of their
political fortunes, and held him in detestation as the relentless
enemy of their caste. The aristocracy sneered at his pretensions and
privately denounced him as an insolent parvenu. The fanatical

populace repeated his alleged atheistic speeches with pious horror, a
feeling which even his ostentatious charity and apparently strict
observance of the duties of a faithful Mussulman could not
counteract. Inconsistent with the encouragement of literature, as the
narrow policy which delivered the scientific works of the library of Al-
Hakem to the tender mercies of ignorant bigots would seem to
indicate, Al-Mansur was, nevertheless, a munificent patron of letters.
His house was so frequented by men of genius and literary
proclivities that it was compared to an academy. He often visited the
University, listened to the lectures of the teachers, and rewarded the
proficiency of the students. By his express orders the recitations
were not suspended either at his entrance or his departure. Many of
the most accomplished scholars of the East and West continued
under his auspices, as they had done under those of Al-Hakem, to
adorn the court, and to delight with their learning the critical and
fastidious society of Cordova. A special fund, appropriated from the
public treasury, was assigned for the support of these distinguished
guests of the State. Famous grammarians, poets, and historians,
who found this a lucrative field for the exercise of their talents, took
up their residence in the capital. The reputations of the physicians
and surgeons of Andalusia, now greater than ever, had long since
spread to the remotest borders of Europe. Whenever Al-Mansur
undertook an expedition, there followed in his train a number of
bards and chroniclers, who could without delay record his
achievements, and celebrate in the most stirring and pathetic strains
of which the poesy of the Desert was capable the valor, the
generosity, the piety, of the renowned champion of the Moslem faith.
Forty-one of the most accomplished literary men of the empire
accompanied the army for this purpose during the Catalonian
campaign.
The enlargement of the Mosque, whose size was doubled by the
additions of Al-Mansur, was undertaken quite as much to restore his
failing credit with the ministers of religion as to accommodate the
vast and increasing crowds which on Fridays assembled in the House
of God. The land required for the extension was paid for at twice the

valuation, already sufficiently exorbitant, estimated by the owners
themselves. In the garden of an old woman, whose premises it was
absolutely necessary for the architect to secure, stood a magnificent
palm. At first she obstinately refused to sell her property, but after
repeated solicitations she consented to exchange it for another
residence in whose grounds was a tree of equal size and beauty. But
even amidst the tropical vegetation of the environs of Cordova such
a condition was not easily complied with. At length, in the vicinity of
Medina-al-Zahrâ, an estate which possessed the desired requisite
was procured at a fabulous price.
In imitation of his predecessors the khalifs, Al-Mansur performed
for weeks the duties of a common laborer on the foundation and the
superstructure of the Mosque. This addition, still intact, constructed
of coarse materials and unsymmetrical in form, is readily
distinguishable from the rest of the interior, whose sweeping
horseshoe arches and exquisite decorations are models of grace and
beauty. So meritorious was this work considered by the Mussulman
theologians, that they declared that its accomplishment alone was
sufficient to obtain for its author a seat in Paradise.
The energy of Al-Mansur was far from being consumed in military
expeditions and the pursuit of glory. In the frequent intervals of
peace his efforts were largely directed to improving the condition of
his subjects, the highest and most noble title to distinction to which
a ruler can aspire. He reformed the abuses which had crept into the
administration of justice. He checked the peculations which were
exhausting the treasury, by the institution of a rigid system of
accounts and the severe punishment of dishonest officials. He
sternly rebuked the intolerance of zealots who attempted to
establish, without his sanction, a policy of persecution for opinions
which they considered heretical. With his advent to power, the
malignant influence of the eunuchs was no longer felt in the
precincts of the court, and the uneasy genius of this pernicious class
was diverted from the tortuous paths of political intrigue to the
harmless and pleasing occupations of literature and art. He improved
the breed of horses by the importation of the purest blood of Arabia.

There was scarcely a river in Andalusia which could not boast of a
bridge either built or repaired by the orders of the able and tireless
minister. New highways were opened. Old ones were widened and
extended. By these wise acts of public utility not only was the march
of troops facilitated, but the trade of country and city was
prodigiously increased, with a corresponding diminution of the price
of provisions, whose abundance and cheapness materially benefited
all classes of the population. The best commentary on his
transcendent abilities is found in the fact that the empire which he
had ruled with such glory and success perished with him. His
majestic personality dominated everything. In the history of Islam no
similar example of universally recognized individual superiority has
ever been recorded. This extraordinary genius seemed impregnable
to the temptations which usually assail the favorites of fortune. He
was addicted to none of those unnatural vices whose practice defiled
the characters of even the greatest of the Ommeyades. His harem
was maintained rather as an accessory to his dignity than as an
instrument of his pleasures. His amour with Aurora, which had
provoked the sarcastic jests of the populace, had been from first to
last a mere matter of policy. The passion of the Sultana he had
deliberately used as the instrument of his ambition; when it had
served his purpose it was as deliberately cast aside. With every
opportunity for the accumulation of untold wealth, Al-Mansur
acquired no more than was necessary to sustain the pomp incident
to his exalted rank. Avarice had no place in his nature. His own
treasure as well as that of the government he freely dispensed in
charitable donations. The slightest act of extortion committed by one
of his subordinates was met with chastisement that barely left the
offender with life. No one who had merited his gratitude was ever
forgotten in the distribution of official honors. No one whose
insolence had at any time provoked his indignation went
unpunished. In the accomplishment of his ambition, he persistently
ignored the most obvious principles of morality. In his administration
of petty offices of the inferior magistracy and of the highest
employments of the state alike, he ordinarily observed the rules of

the most impartial justice. After every victory gained by his arms he
liberated hundreds of slaves.
A delusive appearance of moderation is suggested by the conduct
of Al-Mansur, when we reflect that he denied himself the more than
regal prestige which attached to the name of Commander of the
Faithful. There is no doubt, however, that he ardently coveted that
distinction. The possession of the substance of power did not satisfy
his lofty aspirations. He arrogated to himself the remaining titles of
the Khalif, as he had already appropriated the latter’s prerogatives.
He substituted his own seal for that of the injured Hischem. He
boldly assumed the right to appoint his son to the office of prime
minister, the very employment from which he himself derived his
entire authority. The brilliancy of his achievements, the extent of his
renown, the autocratic exertion of his power, had awed and dazzled
his subjects, but had not secured their attachment. The masses
openly applauded and secretly detested him. The various nations
composing the population of Moorish Spain, while mutually hostile in
many respects, were firmly united in their reverence for the
inalienable rights of the crown. The religious character which
invested the Khalif deepened and intensified this feeling. The
sagacity of Al-Mansur did not suffer him to be deluded with the idea
that he could violate with impunity the most sacred opinions and
prejudices of the people. Moreover, an ancient tradition, universally
believed, declared that a change of the dynasty portended the
speedy destruction of the khalifate. The man who in defiance of
these ideas could attempt open usurpation was a public enemy,
something worse, if possible, than a traitor. For these cogent
reasons, therefore, Al-Mansur did not seize the royal office, which,
had he been able to assume it, might perhaps have retained the
succession in his own family. As it was, he weakened the veneration
entertained for the principle of legitimacy, without acquiring for his
descendants any permanent advantage in return for the sacrifice. No
one realized these facts so thoroughly as himself. The future of the
empire engrossed his thoughts. It presented itself to his mind amidst
the deliberations of the Divan, in the literary discussions of the

University, in the manœuvres on the field of battle. It disturbed his
slumbers. It embittered his dying moments. The mortal torture he
endured from the reflection that by his agency the integrity of the
khalifate had been irretrievably impaired, and that he could not
transmit the inheritance of his glory, was almost as intense as any he
could have experienced through remorse for crimes perpetrated in
the pursuit of his unrighteous ambition.
The history of the campaigns of Al-Mansur differs materially from
that of the military enterprises of his predecessors. Heretofore, in all
important wars, the Christians were the aggressors. But under the
minister of Hischem the Moslems always led the attack. Other rulers
had negotiated treaties either prompted by victory or compelled by
defeat. In twenty-five years he never made terms with the infidel.
His success became habitual, and infused a just confidence into his
own followers, while in a corresponding degree it disheartened the
enemy. Almost for the first time in the annals of Islam the
peremptory injunction of the Koran was fulfilled to the letter. The
effects of one campaign were not repaired before the calamities of
another were at hand. The frontier to the Christian states receded.
The great cities of Zamora, Leon, Astorga, Barcelona, Pampeluna,
Santiago were levelled with the dust. Cathedrals and monasteries
were plundered of wealth bestowed by pious sovereigns and
generations of grateful devotees. The incomes of the priesthood
ceased on account of the devastation of their estates. With the ruin
of the religious houses and the impoverishment of their occupants,
the Christian worship declined. The prestige of the ecclesiastical
order was weakened, and over an extensive region once abounding
with churches and convents scarcely a reminiscence of Christianity
survived. By the successive desecration of the two holiest shrines in
Europe, the faith of the multitude in the boasted efficacy of relics, in
the celestial intercession of saints, and even in the value of religion
itself, was seriously shaken. The misfortunes of the clergy—who still,
however, retained a portion of their ancient discipline—reacted on
the other divisions of society, already sufficiently demoralized. The
monarch and the nobles evinced a disposition to resist the insolent

demands of the priesthood, and have been, in consequence,
anathematized by prelates and defamed by chroniclers. The king
seized without ceremony the property of his subjects. The barons
plundered the royal estates, and cast lots for the serfs and the flocks
which they had appropriated. In less than twenty years the
Christians lost all they had gained in the previous three hundred.
Even the defiles of their mountains were occupied by Moorish
garrisons, and the Asturian peasant was compelled to purchase the
uncertain privilege of procuring his own sustenance by the surrender
of the larger share of the results of his labor. Such were the effects
of the policy of Al-Mansur on the two rival nations of the Peninsula,
a policy whose benefits perished with the author, but whose evils
were destined to be augmented and perpetuated through a long
period of national misfortune and disorder.
Berber immigration, encouraged by the conspicuous favor enjoyed
by the African divisions of the army, as well as by the rich rewards of
successful warfare, and which was fated to inflict such disasters
upon the dismembered monarchy, increased beyond precedent
during the administration of Al-Mansur. Entire tribes passed the Strait
to share the tempting spoil of the Holy War. There was no room for
these ferocious soldiers in the crowded cities. Even in the country, so
thickly populated, space could hardly be found for their
encampments. Their tents were pitched in the pastures and on the
slopes of the sierra. Their fierce aspect appalled all who beheld
them. Their costumes and their arms were strange and foreign.
Ignorant of Arabic, the guttural accents of their Mauritanian dialect
grated upon the ears of the polished Andalusian. In times of the
greatest victories, when the people were intoxicated with success,
there were discerning men who dreaded the ascendency of such
dangerous allies. It was, however, the inexhaustible supply of African
recruits which secured the unbroken series of triumphs that
signalized the career of Al-Mansur. Their numbers were
overwhelming. In a review held before an expedition into the North,
six hundred thousand troops were mustered in the plain of Cordova.

The news of the death of the potent minister was received by the
majority of the inhabitants of the capital with a feeling of exultation.
With the multitude, his eminent services could not atone for the
obscurity of his birth or the splendor of his fortune. The animosities
of contending sects, the jealousies of competing tradesmen, the
envy of the masses towards the powerful, the disdain of the wealthy
for the poor, were forgotten in the common desire to humiliate the
family of the great chieftain through whose genius the Moslem
empire had enjoyed such an extraordinary measure of prosperity
and fame. An insurrection broke out. The mob, surrounding the
palace, demanded that the Khalif in person should assume the
direction of affairs. But the latter, who now, more than ever, felt his
incompetency to govern, again voluntarily renounced the rights of
sovereignty. The tumult increased; the garrison was called out, and
Al-Modhaffer signalized his accession as hajib by the massacre of
several hundred citizens. This example of severity was not soon
forgotten; the spirit of revolt was crushed, and Al-Mansur, who on
his death-bed had foreseen the occurrence of a similar catastrophe,
thus averted by his prophetic wisdom a rebellion, which, unchecked,
must have been productive of appalling consequences. The prince,
Al-Modhaffer, inherited in no small degree the military talents and
capacity for civil affairs possessed by his father, whose maxims he in
the main adopted. Few details exist relative to his administration,
which, however, was eminently popular and successful. The
expeditions he made into the Christian territory were not attended
with the brilliant results which characterized the exploits of his
father. Neither profit nor glory could be derived from the invasion of
a desert and the chase of bands of wandering robbers. These forays,
however, served the useful purpose of intimidation, and impeded the
recovery of the Christian power. Relieved from the prodigality and
great military expenses incurred by the aggressive policy of Al-
Mansur, the inexhaustible resources of the Peninsula were permitted
to develop to the utmost. Commerce, manufactures, agriculture,
flourished to a degree heretofore unknown. The rule of Al-Modhaffer
is regretfully alluded to by subsequent writers as coincident with the
golden age of Moslem annals.

After a reign of seven years, Al-Modhaffer died, under
circumstances which raised a strong suspicion of poison. By a
previous arrangement, which popular rumor suggested as the motive
of his death, his office was transferred to his brother, Abd-al-
Rahman. The latter was the offspring of a Christian princess, the
daughter of Sancho, King of Navarre. By his vices and his blasphemy
he had incurred the dislike of the people and provoked the
execration of the theologians. The former, in memory of his infidel
grandfather, fastened upon him the diminutive “Sanchol,” an epithet
of contempt. The latter recounted with indignant horror his
immoderate indulgence in wine and his open ridicule of the sacred
ceremonies of Islam. Aware of his unpopularity, Abd-al-Rahman
nevertheless continued to outrage public sentiment, and made no
attempt to gain the attachment of his subjects or to conciliate his
ecclesiastical adversaries. He even had the audacity to ask of
Hischem his investiture and acknowledgment as heir presumptive to
the throne. The Khalif was prevailed upon, partly by sophistry, partly
by threats, to comply with this extravagant and impolitic demand,
and an edict was drawn up in due form and published, proclaiming
the detested Sanchol heir to the titles and the authority of the
illustrious dynasty of the Ommeyades.
No measure could have been devised by his most bitter enemy so
fatal to the aspirations of its promoter as this concession wrung from
a reluctant and persecuted sovereign. It was alike an insult to
religion and to loyalty. It attacked the sacred character of the
Successor of the Prophet, while attempting to abrogate the
prerogatives which, in the eye of the devoted subject, were
inseparable from the condition of sovereignty. Sanchol further
increased the prevailing discontent by compelling the soldiers to
discard the helmet for the turban, an innovation which,
appropriating a distinctive portion of the attire of theologians, was
generally regarded as a flagrant act of sacrilege.
Careless of public opinion, and confident of the stability of his
power, Sanchol began to entertain aspirations to military distinction.
He led an expedition into the Asturias, the results of which were not

flattering to his vanity. The mountain defiles, filled with snow,
impeded his progress, and the scarcity of provisions, which he had
neglected to provide in sufficient quantities, finally compelled him to
retreat. In the mean time Cordova was in revolt. A band of
conspirators headed by Mohammed, a great-grandson of Abd-al-
Rahman III., surprised the citadel. The unfortunate Hischem, the
puppet of every faction, was compelled to abdicate. The religious
fanatics and the populace hailed the change of government with
extravagant expressions of joy, a feeling by no means shared by the
wealthy and intelligent, who anticipated with undisguised concern
the destructive tyranny of a succession of military adventurers.
The first act of Mohammed was the seizure of Zahira. The
stronghold of the Amirides was entered and sacked by an infuriated
rabble. For four days the beautiful palace founded by Al-Mansur was
at the mercy of the revolutionists and outlaws of the capital. The
long rows of villas, which, embosomed in shady groves of palm- and
orange-trees, stretched away to the Guadalquivir, were visited with
the same destruction. Everything portable, even to the woodwork,
was removed. No estimate could be made of the plunder secured by
the mob, who ransacked every apartment; but the soldiers of
Mohammed delivered to their master two million one hundred
thousand pieces of silver and a million five hundred thousand pieces
of gold. The torch was then applied and the entire suburb was
reduced to ashes. The stones were gradually appropriated for the
construction of other buildings, and in a few years the memory as
well as the ruins of the seat of the Amirides had completely
vanished.
When the intelligence of these events was transmitted to Sanchol
at Toledo, he set out at once with his army for Cordova. The march
had scarcely begun before he experienced the full extent of his
unpopularity, which heretofore he had refused to believe. His force
was diminished daily by desertions. Many of the soldiers who
remained refused to obey their officers. At a short distance from the
capital, the Berbers, on whom he placed his main reliance, left the
camp at midnight, and morning found the commander with a slender

retinue, whose number did not equal that of his ordinary body-
guard. Notwithstanding these ominous indications, the infatuation of
Sanchol, who fancied that the people of Cordova would, by the mere
effect of his presence, be induced to return to their allegiance, urged
him on to his ruin. He was seized by the troops of Mohammed,
beheaded, his body clothed in rags and nailed to a stake, and then
placed with the head—which was impaled on a pike—in one of the
most public quarters of the city. With the death of Sanchol, the rule
of the Amirides, who, in a subordinate capacity, had for a generation
exercised despotic power, and whose policy was destined to visit
upon their countrymen a long series of misfortunes, terminated
forever.
The pernicious effects of the practical usurpation of Al-Mansur
now became apparent. The ambition of every aspiring partisan was
encouraged by the example of that gifted leader whose
extraordinary talents had raised him to such a height of affluence
and renown.
Mohammed was no sooner fairly seated upon the throne, when
the populace again began to murmur. The excitement of revolution,
once enjoyed, was too pleasant to be abandoned for the severe
restraints of law and social order. And in reality only too much cause
existed for popular dissatisfaction. The new sovereign was cruel,
rapacious, dissolute. He took the heads of rebellious vassals sent
him by his generals, had them cleansed, and the skulls—in which
flowers had been planted—arranged in fantastic designs in the
garden of his palace. His drunken and licentious orgies were the
reproach of the court. He alienated the theologians, who soon
discovered that they had made a bad exchange for even the
dissipated and impious Sanchol. He persecuted the Berbers, who
had inherited the vices and the unpopularity of the eunuchs, but
who for a quarter of a century had been the support of the
monarchy. To avoid the possible restoration of Hischem, he publicly
announced his death, substituted for his corpse that of a Christian
killed for the occasion, and who bore a striking likeness to the Khalif,
and celebrated his obsequies with all the magnificence due to

departed royalty. The performance of the rites of Mussulman burial
over the body of an infidel was, in the eyes of every true believer, a
deed of unparalleled infamy. The unpopularity of Mohammed
increased daily. A sedition broke out headed by Hischem, a grandson
of Abd-al-Rahman III., who boldly demanded the crown of his
kinsman. The usurper pretended to accede, and secretly despatched
emissaries to incite the Berbers to plunder the capital. The scheme
was successful; at the first appearance of these detested foreigners
in the market-place, the tradesmen arose in a body and, aided by
the royal body-guard, drove the Africans from the city. The
pretender was taken in the confusion attending the skirmish and
immediately executed.
His place was filled by Suleyman, another prince of the
Ommeyade line. Negotiations were entered into with the Count of
Castile, who, in consideration of the surrender of certain territory,
agreed to furnish a large contingent of men and horses. As soon as
their organization was effected, the Berbers marched on the capital.
A battle was fought on the plain of Cantich, but the disorderly rabble
of Cordova were unable to resist the fierce onset of the African
cavalry, and ten thousand of the partisans of Mohammed fell by the
sword or perished in the Guadalquivir. Mohammed then liberated
Hischem, whose supposed corpse he had buried, resigned his
dignity, and proclaimed the son of Al-Hakem sovereign of Spain. But
the ruse had no effect. The Cordovans admitted the Berbers, and
Suleyman occupied the palace of the khalifs.
Henceforth the story of the Peninsula is one of anarchy and ruin.
Every province, every hamlet, was a prey to the hatred of
contending parties intensified by the daily infliction of mutual
outrages. Christian mercenaries, paid with the plunder of the enemy,
served in the armies of both factions. The peasantry were robbed
and butchered without mercy. Cordova was repeatedly sacked by the
Catalan auxiliaries, by the Berbers, by ruthless mobs of its own
citizens. It endured all the privations of a protracted siege, all the
unspeakable horrors of famine and pestilence. While the capital was
invested by the Berbers, the suburb of Medina-al-Zahrâ was taken by

these savage warriors. Every being within its limits was slaughtered.
The favorite seat of the khalifs, on whose construction for forty years
the wealth of the empire had been lavished by Abd-al-Rahman and
Al-Hakem, was utterly destroyed. The treasury was empty, and
Wadhih, the governor of Cordova under Hischem,—who had again
been made khalif,—was forced to sell the greater portion remaining
of the library of Al-Hakem to obtain money to pay his troops. At
length the Berbers took the city by assault. The inhabitants dearly
expiated the predilection for revolt which they had so frequently
manifested. The butchery was frightful. Families conspicuous for
wealth were reduced in a few hours to abject poverty. The gutters
ran with blood. Heaps of unburied corpses encumbered the streets.
The famous scholars who had been attracted to Spain from every
country in the world perished almost to a man. No considerations of
mercy, policy, or religion restrained the brutal instincts of the victors.
Women and children were cut down or trampled to death. Crowds of
trembling suppliants, who had sought refuge in the mosques, were
massacred. The sanctity of the harems was violated with every
attendant circumstance of lust and cruelty. Palaces erected by the
ambition of a proud and opulent nobility were burned to ashes. With
the accession of Suleyman, an edict confiscating the property of the
citizens whom the public misfortunes had least affected, and
banishing the owners, was promulgated, and the ferocious Africans,
who had dealt such a fatal blow to the civilization of Europe, and in
a few months had overturned a fabric which the intelligence and
energy of a line of great princes had hardly been able to complete in
two hundred years, appropriated the seraglios, and installed
themselves in the few remaining mansions whose luxurious
appointments and magnificent gardens had long been the boast of
the Moslem capital.
The dismemberment of the empire now progressed with appalling
rapidity. The chief’s of both factions constantly solicited the aid of
the Christians for the destruction of their adversaries. For a time
their entreaties were heeded, but with each application the
surrender of territory, whose fortresses constituted the security of

the frontier provinces of the khalifate, was required. With the
increasing distress of the party whose nominal head was Hischem,
the demands of the Leonese and Castilian chieftains became more
exacting. At length the Count of Castile threatened that, unless all
the strongholds taken and fortified by Al-Mansur were delivered to
him, he would join the Berbers with the entire force at his command.
The cowardice of the government of Cordova impelled it to make
this disgraceful concession. A great number of fortified places won
by the valor of Al-Mansur’s veterans were evacuated by the Saracen
garrisons. Encouraged by the example of Sancho, the petty
sovereigns of Leon and Navarre sent similar messages to Cordova.
The incompetent Wadhih, who exercised the royal power in the
name of the Khalif, terrified by these empty menaces, hastened to
purchase temporary immunity for the capital by the sacrifice of the
remaining bulwarks of the frontier. It was not long before the
Christian princes, without striking a blow or giving any equivalent,
recovered the territory which all the courage and obstinacy of their
fathers had not been able to retain.
The occupation of Cordova by Suleyman was far from obtaining
for him the submission of the remaining cities of the khalifate. The
excesses committed by the Berbers, and the employment of the
hated infidels of Castile, arrayed almost the entire population against
him. The strongholds of the North, through the pusillanimous
conduct of the imperial officials, were irretrievably lost. The
governors of the eastern and western provinces proclaimed their
independence. Thousands of prosperous villages were destroyed;
and the plains so recently covered with luxuriant vegetation again
assumed the desolate appearance they possessed during the
disastrous civil wars of the emirate. So complete was this
devastation, that it was said one could travel for many days
northward from Cordova and not encounter a single human being.
Upon the arrival of Ali, Suleyman’s successor, at the capital, a
thorough search was made for the Khalif Hischem, but without
success. The corpse buried by Mohammed was exhumed, but was
not identified as that of the unfortunate prince. Diligent inquiry failed

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