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Charis M. Galanakis Ed.

Biodiversity,
Functional
Ecosystems and
Sustainable
Food Production
Biodiversity, Functional Ecosystems
and Sustainable Food Production
Charis M. Galanakis
Editor

Biodiversity, Functional
Ecosystems and Sustainable
Food Production
Editor
Charis M. Galanakis
Galanakis Laboratories
Chania, Greece

ISBN 978-3-031-07433-2    ISBN 978-3-031-07434-9 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07434-9

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of
the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface

Over the last decades, different practices like the cultivation of a few high-yielding
crop varieties on large scales, the application of heavy machinery and continued
mechanization of agriculture, the removal of natural habitats, as well as the applica-
tion of pesticides and synthetic have resulted in the simplification of agro-­ecosystems
at various spatial scales. Agriculture’s intensification has resulted in a significant
increase in food production, but at the same time, it has transformed landscapes.
Indeed, there is a concern that declines in biodiversity affect the delivery of ecosys-
tem services. Although they have increased food production, the above practices
cannot be considered sustainable in long-term applications. Subsequently, the
importance of diversity and diversification in increasing the resilience of food sys-
tems is becoming a key issue. Biodiversity and microbiome activities support pro-
cesses across soils, plants, animals, the marine environment, and humans. The
resilience of food systems can be achieved through better use of the plant, animal
genetic, and microbial genetic resources. To this line, there is a need for a new
reference.
Food Waste Recovery Group (www.foodwasterecovery.group) is a leading con-
sulting network that has developed numerous initiatives such as workshops,
e-courses, reports for governmental bodies and companies, a new open-access jour-
nal (Discover Food, Springer Nature), and more than 50 books in the broad fields of
bioresources, environment, sustainability, food, and nutrition. The present book
covers all the essential aspects of biodiversity, functional ecosystems, and sustain-
able food production. It covers ecosystems in terms of emerging risks to plant
health, pest and disease control, crop and animal production, soil fertility, and pro-
ductivity. It emphasizes the interconnection of ecosystem functions, food produc-
tion, and quality with consumer health. It also exhibits diverse practices that
contribute to sustainable food production at different levels.
The book consists of ten chapters. Chapter 1 provides a synthesis of published
evidence of the complex and crucial relationships between elements of agro-­
biodiversity, climate change, and the food chain. It highlights the trends of changes
in the components of agro-biodiversity, the factors enhancing such changes, and the
points needed to be considered to maintain a sustainable way of food production for

v
vi Preface

obtaining a stable food chain. In addition, the present status of studies relating to
both agro-biodiversity and genetic resources is denoted. Chapter 2 revises climate
change, its impacts on pests’ behavior, and the spread of emerging pests. Since cli-
matic factors such as temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, precipitations,
and carbon dioxide level significantly impact different organisms, climate change
can lead to various challenges for organisms such as pests. Furthermore, climate
change consequences can lead to changes in the abundance and geographic distribu-
tion of different pests. These changes are responsible for emerging pests commonly
related to the global trade in agricultural products.
Chapter 3 discusses the future-proofing of plants against climate change, as the
world must immediately act on it to end hunger and malnutrition. To ensure rapid
and advanced agricultural development in a short period, precision farming prac-
tices and innovative breeding strategies need to follow, such as machine learning,
deep learning, big data analysis, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, system biol-
ogy study, genomic prediction, speed breeding, and haplotype breeding. These tech-
niques can prove the future plants against climate variability with increased yield
potential and improved resilience to achieve the goal of resilient climate agriculture.
Chapter 4 deals with the role of integrated pest management for sustainable food
production, giving soybean as an example. Integrated pest management is based on
the principle that some degree of plant injury is tolerable without requiring pest
control. Moreover, the most environment-friendly pest control tools should be com-
bined to have a longer-lasting pest solution. Those tools that include biological con-
trol and transgenic plants, among others, are discussed in detail, highlighting
commercially available ones combining environmental, economic, and social
benefits.
Over the years, the indiscriminate use of pesticides has caused several problems,
including pest resistance and contamination of important global sources such as
water, air, and soil. Therefore, plant-based pesticides can be an ecological alterna-
tive to synthetic pesticides to improve the efficiency of agricultural production and
sustainably reduce the food crisis while protecting consumers’ health. In addition,
they are cheap, biodegradable, environmentally friendly, and act more specifically
through multiple mechanisms of action. Chapter 5 presents in detail the use and
activity of plant-derived pesticides.
Chapter 6 discusses antimicrobial use in animal food production. The push
towards intensive livestock production systems to meet food demand has increased
antimicrobial use in livestock metaphylactically and prophylactically as growth-­
promoting agents. However, it has become increasingly recognized that the wide-
spread application of antimicrobials in food production contributes to the emergence
and proliferation of antimicrobial-resistant species. The presence of clinically rele-
vant multidrug-resistant species in food-producing animals may result in human
cases of infectious disease. As a result, antibiotics in human medicine are being
monitored in most developed countries. Nevertheless, antimicrobial use in livestock
and food production is poorly scanned and assessed. Better monitoring, surveil-
lance, and understanding of the consequences of the expressive use of antibiotic
Preface vii

agents in veterinary medicine are needed to determine their potential impact on

animals and humans health wise.
Chapter 7 discusses the functional properties of bee pollen of some environmental-­
friendly novel unit operations. In this context, fluidized bed-assisted cold drying,
microwave, freezing, vacuum, infrared, and microwave-assisted vacuum drying are
investigated as new environment-friendly unit operations. The chapter also dis-
cusses the protective properties of these unit operations on the raw material proper-
ties during processing, storage, and kitchen applications. In addition, many specific
bioactive properties of bioactive pollen components, such as antimicrobial, antioxi-
dant, and anti-carcinogenic properties, are discussed. Finally, the pollen production
chain, sustainability in this life cycle, and the environmentally-friendly features of
these new applications on sustainability are revealed.
Chapter 8 is divided into two parts. The first part provides critical insights to
allow scientists to generate discoveries across microbiome applications for sustain-
able food systems. It offers a broad view of research of interest to early and experi-
enced scientists and an understanding of the role of microbiomes as vital ecosystems
and inter-relations among microbiomes across food chains. In the second part, the
reuse of spent coffee grounds to increase the resilience of agro-food systems is
described as an example of a successful application of a microbiome-related
intervention.
Chapter 9 focuses on the role of dynamic value chains using underutilized biodi-
versity crops to improve food system resilience and deliver foods with good nutri-
tional and healthy properties while ensuring a low environmental impact. Consumers
pay attention to healthier food attributes and diets due to sustainable production
processes. Other significant trends include increasing demand for less processed
and regionally supplied food. To meet these demands, food production and process-
ing need to evolve to preserve raw materials’ “natural” character while ensuring
sustainable, tasty, and, most importantly, healthy food. Likewise, it is vital to under-
stand the influence of consumers’ preferences in preserving the beneficial attributes
of food up to the time of consumption.
Chapter 10 deals with new alternative protein and traditional protein sources of
terrestrial origin for food and feed such as insects, plants (legumes and grasses), and
by-products of crops. Protein supply is critical for animal feed and human consump-
tion. Therefore, integrating a variety of alternative protein sources into existing
products or processes should be explored to ensure more resilient supply chains,
highlighting consumer preference by a clean labeling strategy and respective market
opportunities.
Conclusively, the current book assists food producers and researchers working at
the edge of food and environmental fields, agriculturalists and food scientists seek-
ing to improve production system efficiency, and professionals active in the food
supply chain from farm to fork. Likewise, university libraries and institutes world-
wide could suggest this reference as ancillary reading in graduate and postgraduate
courses dealing with agricultural and environmental science, sustainable food sys-
tems, and bioresources.
viii Preface

I want to thank and acknowledge, one by one, all authors of this book. Their
acceptance of my invitation, and their dedication to the editorial guidelines and
schedules are much recognized. I would also like to thank Arjun Narayanan, the
book manager; Daniel Falatko, the acquisition editor; and the production team of
Springer Nature for their assistance during the development of this book. Finally, I
have a message for all the readers of this book. This collaborative effort ended up in
a manuscript containing hundreds of thousands of words, and thus it may collect
some errors. Criticism and constructive comments are welcome, so please do not
hesitate to contact me to suggest changes if you have any objections.

Chania, Greece  Charis M. Galanakis

Contents

1 
Agro-Biodiversity Across the Food Chain ��������������������������������������������    1
Shamim Ahmed Kamal Uddin Khan, Md. Moshiur Rahman,
and Md. Matiul Islam
2 
Emerging Risks to Plant Health ������������������������������������������������������������   41
Homa Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha,
Mohammadali Kiehbadroudinezhad, Majid Khanali,
and Afrooz Taghizadehghasab
3 Future-Proofing Plants Against Climate Change:
A Path to Ensure Sustainable Food Systems ����������������������������������������   73
Prasanta Kumar Majhi, Basit Raza, Partha Pratim Behera,
Shravan Kumar Singh, Aalok Shiv, Suma C. Mogali,
Tanmaya Kumar Bhoi, Biswaranjan Patra,
and Biswaranjan Behera
4 The Role of Integrated Pest Management
for Sustainable Food Production: The Soybean Example�������������������� 117
Rodrigo Mendes Antunes Maciel and Adeney de Freitas Bueno
5 (Alternative Approaches to Pesticide Use):
Plant-Derived Pesticides�������������������������������������������������������������������������� 141
Marie-Noëlle Sylvestre, Ahissan Innocent Adou, Allan Brudey,
Muriel Sylvestre, Ludovic Pruneau, Sarra Gaspard,
and Gerardo Cebrian-Torrejon
6 
Antimicrobial Use in Animal Food Production ������������������������������������ 183
Mary Garvey
7 Impacts of Environment-Friendly Unit Operations
on the Functional Properties of Bee Pollen�������������������������������������������� 217
Aydin Kilic

ix
x Contents

8 
Microbiome Applications for Sustainable Food Systems �������������������� 243
Monica Trif, Alexandru Vasile Rusu, M. Pilar Francino,
Gabriel Delgado, and Jose Ángel Rufián-Henares
9 Healthier and Sustainable Food Systems:
Integrating Underutilised Crops in a ‘Theory
of Change Approach’ ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 275
Elisabete Pinto, Helena Ferreira, Carla S. Santos,
Marta Nunes da Silva, David Styles, Paola Migliorini,
Georgia Ntatsi, Anestis Karkanis, Marie-­Fleur Brémaud,
Yann de Mey, Miranda Meuwissen, Janos-Istvan Petrusan,
Sergiy Smetana, Beatriz Silva, Lina Maja Marie Krenz,
Daniel Pleissner, Adriano Profeta, Marko Debeljak,
Aneta Ivanovska, Bálint Balázs, Diego Rubiales, Cathy Hawes,
Pietro P. M. Iannetta, and Marta W. Vasconcelos
10 
Alternative Proteins for Food and Feed ������������������������������������������������ 325
Stefanie Verstringe, Robin Vandercruyssen, Hannes Carmans,
Alexandru Vasile Rusu, Geert Bruggeman, and Monica Trif

Index������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 353
Chapter 1
Agro-Biodiversity Across the Food Chain

Shamim Ahmed Kamal Uddin Khan, Md. Moshiur Rahman,

and Md. Matiul Islam

Abstract Currently, we are at a point of unprecedented changes in the climate,

which is affecting the food chain across the agro-biodiversity. The changes in spe-
cies diversity in the food web indicate the changes in variety at any of the trophic
levels. Adaptation with the environmentally changed conditions depends on the
effective use of biological components of the local agro-ecosystem, which is also the
focal point of sustainable approaches. Sustainable management of natural resources
in the agro-biodiversity is essential for food and livelihood security of the living
beings in an ecosystem. In this chapter, a synthesis of published evidence of the
complex and crucial relationships between elements of agro-biodiversity, climate
change, and the food chain is provided. A review of published articles ­highlights the
status and trend of changes in the components of agro-biodiversity, the factors
enhancing such changes, and the points needed to be considered to maintain a sus-
tainable way of food production for obtaining a stable food chain. Finally, the pres-
ent status of studies and researches relating both of the agro-biodiversity and genetic
resources are identified. Nevertheless, despite the need for more knowledge of agro-
biodiversity and the food chain, it is clear that more effective action would be taken.

Keywords Agro-biodiversity · Change in diversity · Affecting factors ·

Sustainability

S. A. K. Uddin Khan (*) · Md. Matiul Islam

Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh
e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
Md. Moshiur Rahman
Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh
Research Scholar, University of California, Davis, Tracy, CA, USA
e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 1

C. M. Galanakis (ed.), Biodiversity, Functional Ecosystems and Sustainable
Food Production, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07434-9_1
2 S. A. K. Uddin Khan et al.

Highlights
• The mass extinction of biodiversity in the ecosystems is associated with
climate warming, increased nitrogen deposition, land-use change, biotic
exchange, and an increased atmospheric CO2 level.
• The status of preservation of crop germplasm is insufficient to the alarming
pace of threats posed by climate change. The collection and preservation
status is low for crop wild relatives, wild food plants, and neglected and
underutilized crop species.
• About 75% of all crop genetic diversity has been lost since the previous
century, primarily due to changes in the agricultural food system, which
values uniformity.
• The productivity of a fishery remains high, especially in inland waters, as
lower trophic-level species increase in abundance without larger predators.
• Introduction of alien species causing genetic erosion by the disappearance
of traditional species through introgression.
• The knowledge on the effects of environmental stressors on biodiversity
and the food chain is still far from our understandings as the studies,
including multiple environmental stressors, are scarce.
• During the last two decades, studies on food-web ecology are being con-
ducted, including smaller trophic entities consisting of only two to seven
species which are unable to predict emergent patterns of food webs. A
robust geographic bias in respect of sampling was observed, and the num-
ber of studies conducted within each biome is not proportional to the over-
all size of the biome.

1 Introduction

The concept of ecosystem differs in respect of economic, cultural, and societal

needs where biological diversity is one of the central components. ‘Biological
diversity’ refers to the variability among living organisms in terrestrial and aquatic
ecosystems, also known as ‘biodiversity.’ It also includes the ecological complexes
within and between species in an ecosystem (Secretariat of the Convention on
Biological Diversity, 2004). Biodiversity has enormous impacts on agriculture and
food productions. It embraces not only the domesticated crops and livestock but
also other species of plants, animals, and micro-organisms. These components of
biodiversity deliver a range of vital services such as building healthy soils, pollinat-
ing plants, purifying water, providing protection against extreme weather events,
enabling ruminant animals to digest fibrous plant materials, etc. (FAO, 2019a).
Ecological components also contribute to agricultural production as the tree or her-
baceous crops are protecting the soil against erosion and creating a favorable micro-
climate for other components (e.g., soil-inhabiting flora and fauna) of the production
systems (Balvanera et al., 2017).
1 Agro-Biodiversity Across the Food Chain 3

The ecosystems used for agriculture and the production of food and non-food
products are known as ‘agroecosystems,’ which comprise all biological resources
and their biodiversity, including the physical environment and the practices man-
aged by human beings (FAO, 2018a). The words ‘agro diversity’ and ‘agro-­
biodiversity’ are used interchangeably to indicate the biological diversity of lands
used for agricultural purposes (Brookfield & Stocking, 1999). Agro-biodiversity, as
defined by FAO (1999), is the combination of varieties and variability of different
biological components related directly or indirectly to food and agriculture. These
components include crops, livestock, forestry, and fisheries (considered as agricul-
tural products) and comprise the diversity of their genetic resources. The variety of
non-harvested species playing the supporting roles in production (soil micro-­
organisms, predators, pollinators) and maintaining the wider environment to keep
the diversity of agro-ecosystems (agricultural, pastoral, forest, and aquatic) are also
included in the agro-biodiversity. However, Thrupp (1998) mentioned the agro-­
biodiversity as the vital sub-set of biodiversity, which results from natural selection
processes maintained by the peoples related to agriculture over millennia.
Sustainable management of biological resources in the agro-biodiversity is vital for
the food and livelihood security of the living beings in an ecosystem (FAO & PAR,
2011). All species of a biological community form a ‘food web’ through trophic
interactions between them (Banašek-Richter, 2004). Elton (1926) first acknowl-
edged the scientific significance of food webs and used the term ‘food chain’ to
express the relationships between the animals that feed on one another (Lawton,
1989) (Fig. 1.1).
A functional food web or chain is an expression of the relationship between bio-
diversity and the ecosystem through resource use complementarity (Norberg, 2000)
and species abundances (Wootton, 1994). Ecosystem response to nutrient enrich-
ment for crops through the trade-offs between competing plants and their resistance
to herbivores (Chase et al., 2000). Species coexistence and the trophic position of
species in the food web are inter-related. For instance, increasing consumer diver-
sity may decrease producers’ biomass through predator-mediated coexistence
(Duffy et al., 2003). Similar effects of plant diversity have been recorded on soil-­
resource depletion (Symstad & Tilman, 2001). The changes in species diversity in
the food web depend on the changes in variety at any of the trophic levels, which
ultimately propagate to both higher and lower trophic levels of an agro-biodiversity
(Dyer & Letourneau, 2002).
Agro-biodiversity plays a vital role as a source of food for humanity and also
maintains a healthy environment for better living and sustainable development
(Esquinas-Alcázar, 2005). Adaptation with the current environmentally changed
conditions by reducing the risk exposures depends on the richness of agro-­
biodiversity and crop genetic diversity (Vigouroux et al., 2011). Increasing the
quantity and the nutritional quality of food products through more effective use of
the functions performed by the local agroecosystem’s biological components is the
focal point of sustainable approaches (FAO, 2019a). Sustainable agro-biodiversity
ensures the better utilization of the components of biological diversity that does no
harm to the biodiversity. It also maintains the present and future potentials of the
4 S. A. K. Uddin Khan et al.

Fig. 1.1 A food chain shows how matter and energy from food are transferred from one organism
to another. In a natural ecosystem, many food chains intertwine to form a complex food web
(Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020)

biodiversity for better agricultural production (Secretariat of the Convention on

Biological Diversity, 2004). Sustainable use of biological components and their
conservation are interrelated. Zimmerer et al. (2019) highlighted four significant
themes in the Anthropocene as ecology, governance, nutrition-health, and global
change to explain the impact of ongoing complex human-environment interactions
on agro-biodiversity. The sustainability of an agro-biodiversity depends on the con-
servation of neighboring or distant ecosystems that provide it with essential services
(FAO, 2019a).
Sustainable use of agro-biodiversity is inevitable to ensure a 50% increase in
food production (FAO, 2017) for a world population predicted to increase to almost
9.8 billion by 2050 (United Nations, 2017). The majority of the smallholder farmers
and the 2.7 billion poor who live on less than two dollars a day depend on locally
grown food for their living (Rapsominikis, 2015). Food security for these people
falls at risk when agro-biodiversity faces threats due to changes in production sys-
tems. As a part of agricultural production systems in the 1990s, the developing
countries adopted modern varieties of wheat, rice, and maize at around 90%, 70%,
and 60%, respectively, which threatened the agro-biodiversity there (FAO, 2017). In
the last couple of decades, the modern rice varieties leaped from 4% to 58% in Latin
America and 12% to 67% in Asia (Dronamraju, 2008). FAO (2017) reported that
more than 90% of crop varieties had been disappeared from farmers’ fields in the
past 100 years. Crop varieties and livestock breed are being lost annually at a rate of
1 Agro-Biodiversity Across the Food Chain 5

2% and 5%, respectively (United Nations, 2019). The modern cultivation practices
simplified the crop production system leading to a less resilient agro-ecosystem
(Altieri et al., 2015). For example, over 50 pollinator species are at risk of extinc-
tion, and wild honeybee populations have dropped 25% since 1990 in the USA
(Dronamraju, 2008). Maintenance of a sustainable agro-biodiversity through tradi-
tional crop production system is successful in restoring yields (Altieri, 1999).
Extensive studies and researches warrant further attention on agro-biodiversity
across the food chain in these circumstances. The overall objective of this chapter is
to explore the status and trend of changes in the components of agro-biodiversity,
the factors enhancing such changes, and the points needed to be considered to main-
tain a sustainable way of food production for obtaining a stable food chain.

2 Changing Biodiversity and Food Chain

in the Global Aspect

Nature includes living organisms, their diversity, and interactions (among them-
selves and with their abiotic environment). Nature’s contributions to people (NCP)
may be either positive or negative to people’s quality of life (IPBES, 2017; Díaz
et al., 2018). The positive or negative contribution of nature depends on spatial,
temporal, social, or cultural context (Saunders & Luck, 2016; Rasmussen et al.,
2017). Though the positive contributions may be due to the expression of dominant
climatic and socio-economic factors, which may become recessive in times, and the
less powerful elements can take place (Cáceres et al., 2015). In this respect, it is
essential to verify the trend of the changes in the factors governing the well beings,
including the food web in the agro-biodiversity.

2.1 Demographic and Economic Trends

The demographic status and trends indirectly influence the changes in nature, which
ultimately govern the NCP (Nature’s contribution to people) and GQL (Good
Quality of Life) at local, national, regional, and global levels. The World Bank
(2017) has estimated a 2.5 times increase in world population from 1960 to 2016.
The growing population has impacted the use of land through urbanization and the
development of infrastructures and transportation networks (IPBES, 2016). By the
mid of this century, all archetype scenarios show a significant increase in population
size, which reduced by the end of the century except in regional rivalry (O’Neill
et al., 2017; Samir & Wolfgang, 2017) (Fig. 1.2). The increasing economic global-
ization in recent decades has expedited the economic activities worldwide, which
ultimately influenced the changes in the ecosystem, biodiversity, NCP, and GQL
through various direct and indirect pathways (IPBES, 2016).
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of Constantinople were received with every evidence of distinction. A
vast multitude attended their entrance into the capital. They were
lodged in the royal palace, and all the pomp of the most splendid
and luxurious court in Europe was exhibited upon the occasion of
their reception by the Emir. The magnificence of the gifts which they
brought—among which are mentioned a number of beautiful horses
caparisoned with cloth-of-gold and silver—excited the wonder of the
multitude, for no such treasures had ever before been seen in Spain.
An alluring prospect of conquest was held out by the subtle Greeks,
accompanied by the tender of troops and munitions of war for the
recovery of the lost inheritance of the Ommeyades in Syria; but the
precarious condition of the Emir, barely able to maintain his authority
against the plots of his disaffected subjects, forbade, for the present,
the formation of an offensive league with the monarch of the East,
and the ambassadors were dismissed with a profusion of
compliments and indefinite and conditional assurances of support in
the future. A special envoy of the Emir, Yahya-al-Ghazzali, so named
for his extraordinary charms of person and manner, and equally
famous as a poet and a diplomatist, accompanied them, charged
with the thanks of Abd-al-Rahman, and commissioned to present to
the Emperor some scimetars and trinkets of the finest workmanship
which the skill of the artisans of the Peninsula had been able to
produce.
 During the same year an ambassador of a far different character,
and representing a power numerically inferior to the smallest city
acknowledging the sovereignty of the Emperor of the East, but
whose geographical position imparted to its advances a peculiar and
weighty significance, visited Cordova upon a similar errand. The
recently organized duchy of Navarre, an appanage of the Frankish
empire, had grown restive under the extortions of its suzerain.
Accustomed to the largest individual liberty, the mountaineers could
ill endure the exactions of irresponsible tyranny which the example
of their neighbors and a delusive pretence of public advantage had
insensibly imposed upon them. The bond of a common religious
belief which united them with the Franks was but weak when
compared with the deeply rooted national prejudice which the
assumption of superiority by the vassals of Charlemagne and Louis
did much to promote, and which caused the latter to be regarded
with a far greater degree of execration than was entertained against
the Mohammedans, the natural enemies of their country and their
faith.
The Navarrese envoy, whose uncouth manners exhibited a striking
contrast to the courtly graces of the Byzantine nobles, was received
by the Moorish sovereign, if not with distinguished ceremony, yet
with courtesy and royal hospitality. A treaty was negotiated, which
assured the mountaineers of the aid of the government of Cordova,
and a free passage was granted to the Moslems for any expedition
whose destination lay beyond the Pyrenees. The effects of the
judicious policy which dictated this alliance soon became manifest. A
few months afterwards a great army, under the Counts Eblus and
Asenarius, dependents of the King of Aquitaine, traversed the sierra
and invaded Spain. The city of Pampeluna was taken, and, after
some desultory operations yielding little profit or glory, the Franks
retired in imaginary security. The defile of Roncesvalles once more
became the scene of a fearful disaster; the invaders, surrounded by
a host of mountaineers and Arabs, were cut to pieces, and the
prisoners divided among the allies, the two counts being among
those who survived the disgrace of incompetency and defeat. This
military success was contemporaneous with the assertion of the
independence and political organization of the principality of
Navarre, which were maintained thereafter with the exception of a
few years of nominal subordination to the Crown of the Asturias until
its final incorporation into the dominions of France and Spain.
The catastrophe of Roncesvalles encouraged the Moors to
prosecute with greater activity the operations against the Christians,
whom the unsettled condition of affairs in the east and south of the
Peninsula had long permitted to rest in peace. Three successive
expeditions, all commanded by Obeydallah-Ibn-Abdallah, were sent
to invade the enemy’s country, but the campaigns were not
distinguished by any important action, and the determination and
well-known ferocity of the mountaineers appear to have succeeded
in preventing the Moslems from inflicting any serious damage upon
the hostile territory.
The vast system of public works inaugurated by Abd-al-Rahman,
the splendor of his court, and the prodigal munificence with which
he rewarded his favorites, entailed an immense expense upon the
administration, and necessitated a new and oppressive burden of
taxation to meet the constantly increasing demands on the treasury.
The authorities, regardless of the experience of former reigns,
augmented the public discontent by levying the bulk of the taxes on
indispensable articles of daily consumption. The Jewish and Christian
tributaries, by whom these exactions were most severely felt, were
loud in their clamors, and it was not long before the Moslem
population of the different cities joined in the increasing
remonstrances against the arbitrary measures resulting from the
unprecedented extravagance of the court. The dissatisfaction was
most pronounced at Merida, and this fact having been
communicated, either orally or by correspondence, by the clergy of
that city to their brethren at the court of Louis, the Frankish
monarch determined to avail himself of the information in
furtherance of his own designs and for the confusion of his infidel
neighbors. He therefore addressed a letter to the people of Merida,
professing great sympathy with them on account of the impositions
of the government, exhorting them to exert their rights and regain
their liberties, and promising that, in case they made an open
demonstration to redress their grievances, he would march to their
support across the Pyrenees. The sincerity of Louis in making this
offer may well be questioned. Whether or not his tender was made
in good faith is of little consequence, as his attention was
immediately distracted from foreign intrigue by serious disturbances
in his own dominions. A Gothic officer of rank named Aizon, having
incurred the displeasure of his sovereign, fled from the court of Aix-
la-Chapelle, and, betaking himself to the Gothic March, declared his
enmity to the Franks, and especially to the Count of Barcelona.
Through the influence of his name and nationality, aided by the
habitual inconstancy of the restless adventurers who composed the
frontier population and the general prejudice existing against the
domination of the Franks, he soon found himself at the head of a
powerful faction. Having seized the fortress of Ausona by treachery,
and destroyed the town of Rosas which attempted to resist him, he
sent his brother to Cordova with a request for aid, accompanied with
an assurance that the disaffection was such as to warrant the hope
of an easy recovery of the country by the Moslems. The appeal of
Aizon was not suffered to pass unheeded. A considerable body of
troops was assembled under the command of the veteran
Obeydallah; the party of the malcontents increased daily in numbers
and influence, and it was not long before the Count of Barcelona
found himself deprived of authority over all his domain except
Gerona and the city from which he derived his title.
Louis, who was then in Germany engaged in the settlement of a
quarrel between two chieftains whose untamed spirits menaced the
peace of the empire, had neither time nor available resources to
suppress by arms an insurrection, however dangerous, in the other
extremity of his dominions. But what he could not accomplish by
military force he determined to attempt by negotiation, and three
commissioners were accordingly appointed to persuade the colonists
of the Gothic March to return to their allegiance.
 The embassy, composed of a priest and two nobles, received, as
might have been expected, small consideration in an age where the
arts of peace were held in disrepute and the palm of popular esteem
was accorded to deeds of martial heroism, and the envoys
accomplished nothing. They managed, however, to widely
disseminate the report that an army of Franks was about to invade
the country, a rumor which so alarmed Aizon and his followers that a
second appeal was sent to Cordova, and a portion of the Emir’s
body-guard was ordered to reinforce the allies of the Moslems
without delay. The army of the Franks arrived; but the enemy had
retired to Saragossa, either dreading the result of an encounter with
the hardy warriors of the North, or unwilling to incur the hazard of
being compelled to relinquish the valuable booty which he had so
easily secured. The suspicious conduct of the generals of the
Frankish army in permitting the Moslems to retreat without
molestation brought upon them the reproach of treachery, an
accusation which was so far sustained the following year in the
National Council as to subject the culprits to the deprivation of their
commands.
Abd-al-Rahman had projected an invasion of France, and the
preparations were completed; the advance guard under Abd-al-Ruf—
who had filled the position of vizier under Al-Hakem—was already on
the way to the Pyrenees, and the Emir himself was about to depart
with the main body of the army, when the unwelcome news reached
him that Merida was in rebellion.
The unpopular system of taxation, already referred to, aggravated
by the brutal conduct of the officials charged with its enforcement,
had almost assumed the character of a persecution, while the public
mind was agitated by the plausible representatives of demagogues
and deluded with the hope of protection and encouragement from
the powerful vassals of the Emperor. A certain Mohammed Ibn-Abd-
al-Jebir, formerly a collector of the revenue, was the originator of the
conspiracy. The governor, Ibn-Masfeth, saved himself by a hasty
flight. The houses of the viziers were sacked, and their owners put
to death or driven from the city. Mohammed appointed himself wali,
seized the magazines and arsenals, and, having divided their
contents among the inhabitants without distinction of creed, as a
return for this act of generosity appealed to the populace to confirm
him in his usurped authority. The resolution of the insurgents,
sustained by the knowledge of their resources and the impregnable
character of their defences, was encouraged by the arrival of fierce
adventurers, who were attracted in multitudes by the prospect of
rebellion and pillage. The garrison increased until it reached the
number of forty thousand. No insurrection of a local character had
ever presented so menacing a front to the power of the emirate. The
occasion demanded the exertion of the most prompt and energetic
measures. The command of Abd-al-Ruf was hastily recalled, and that
officer was entrusted with the conduct of the siege. The hardened
veteran carried on his operations as he would have done in an
enemy’s country. The beautiful villas and gardens that surrounded
the city were burned and laid waste. The growing crops were cut
down. Preparations were made to carry the place by storm, which
would necessarily have entailed the destruction of an immense
amount of property and a massacre in which the innocent must have
suffered equally with the guilty. Abd-al-Rahman, averse to an
exercise of severity which threatened to weaken one of the greatest
cities of the kingdom, and knowing that the unequal contest could
not be long maintained, ordered Abd-al-Ruf to reduce the place by
famine. A strict blockade was accordingly established. The ruffian
soldiery of the garrison, cooped up within the walls, condemned to
inaction and suffering for provisions, indulged their predatory
inclinations by robbing and maltreating the citizens. The better class
of the inhabitants, which had been induced to favor the insurrection
by the expectation of compelling the withdrawal of oppressive edicts,
saw, when too late, that it had exchanged a condition of
comparative safety and prosperity for one of anarchy and the
irresponsible despotism of armed banditti. A movement for the
surrender of the city to the besiegers was quietly inaugurated by
some loyal subjects of the Emir who had been forced to enlist under
the banner of the rebels. Communication was opened with Abd-al-
Ruf. Favored by the darkness of the night, a strong detachment was
admitted; the walls were occupied, the armed mob was put to flight,
the leaders escaped in the general confusion, and daybreak found
the authority of Abd-al-Rahman once more established over the city
of Merida. Resistance had been slight owing to the surprise, and but
seven hundred rebels paid the penalty of treason. The fears of the
people were soon allayed by the publication of a general amnesty,
for the gentle disposition of Abd-al-Rahman revolted at the prospect
of exemplary punishment for a rebellion which subsequent events
demonstrated would have justified the most sanguinary retribution.
Order had scarcely been restored at Merida when it became
known that the contagion of insurrection had again spread to
Toledo. A renegade named Hashim, who had long in secret
meditated vengeance for persecution suffered by his family under Al-
Hakem, taking advantage of some trifling cause of popular
discontent, raised the standard of revolt. The wali being absent, the
mob, who welcomed with eagerness every occasion of opposing the
authorities, found little trouble in expelling the garrison and the
adherents of the Emir. Hashim, whose success had surpassed all
expectations, as soon as his partisans were organized, extended his
operations to the surrounding country. His following received
accessions daily from the brigands who infested the mountain
districts, and the floating population, always on the alert for plunder,
that swarmed in the purlieus of the great cities. Mohammed-Ibn-
Wasim, the wali of the frontier, having attacked the rebels, was
beaten in several engagements; exulting in the promises of its
citizens, Toledo maintained a successful resistance against the entire
resources of the emirate, and Ommeyah, the son of Abd-al-Rahman,
was forced to retire in disgrace from before its walls. At length the
army of Hashim fell into an ambuscade planned by an officer who
commanded a force stationed at Calatrava, the Toledans were
defeated with great loss, and, soon afterwards, the city was taken
by storm. Accounts vary as to the fate of Hashim, but it appears
from the most reliable sources that he fell into the hands of the
troops of the Emir and was beheaded without ceremony. The
incapacity of the government of Cordova to deal with its domestic
foes may be inferred from the duration of this outbreak, whose
importance must have called forth the most vigorous attempts to
suppress it, for during a period of eight years Toledo enjoyed
absolute independence in the heart of a hostile monarchy. This
immunity was, in some degree, due to a second insurrection which
broke out in Merida while the prestige of the victorious Toledans was
at its height. Mohammed, who had fled to Lisbon when the city had
been taken, returned unexpectedly; having again summoned the
populace to arms, he divided the contents of the magazines as
before, and, calling together his outlaws, renewed the scenes of
license and disorder which had formerly led to his expulsion. Abd-al-
Rahman, apprized of this new disaster, raised an army of forty
thousand men, of which he assumed command in person, and,
arriving at the city, made several ineffectual attempts to carry it by
storm. The walls, however, were too strong and too well defended to
be scaled, and the besiegers were reduced to employ the more
difficult operation of mining to open a breach. When all was ready,
the Emir harangued the troops, reminded them that their
adversaries were Moslems like themselves, and exhorted them to
avoid all violence except against such as offered resistance. As a last
resort, to prevent bloodshed and the lamentable consequences of an
assault, Abd-al-Rahman ordered arrows to which scrolls were
attached to be shot over the walls. These scrolls conveyed the
information that the walls were undermined, that an attack was
impending, and that an amnesty would be granted the inhabitants
upon the surrender of their leaders. Some of these proclamations fell
into the hands of the chiefs of the rebellion; their fears were
aroused, and they lost no time in making good their escape, which
they readily effected either through the negligence or the
connivance of the besiegers. The damages resulting from the siege
were repaired; the fortifications strengthened; the wants of the poor,
who were suffering from hunger, supplied; and Merida, having for a
second time experienced the extraordinary clemency of her
sovereign, returned to her doubtful allegiance.
 Fortunately for the Saracens, the commotion excited throughout
the Frankish empire by the rebellion of the sons of Louis prevented
the Christians from profiting by the misfortunes of their enemies,
harassed as they themselves were by the revolt of great capitals and
the growing disaffection of the people.
The disturbances once quelled and the country apparently at
peace, the pious and ambitious spirit of Abd-al-Rahman, actuated by
motives entertained since the day of his accession, induced him to
pursue the traditional policy of Islam and inaugurate a campaign
against the infidel. Expeditions were despatched into Galicia and the
Gothic March, which were generally successful, but which exhibited
only the grievous and transitory effects of predatory warfare, despite
the accounts of monkish chroniclers, whose love of the marvellous
has embellished their pages with accounts of great victories and
miraculous events recorded with all the circumstantial minuteness
which not infrequently characterizes these narratives. The fleet of
the emirate, which had no rival on the Mediterranean, co-operated
with its armies, and, landing a detachment on the coast of France,
overran the country and plundered the suburbs of Marseilles.
The martial enterprise and increasing arrogance of the Khalifate
of Bagdad, which had stripped the Byzantine Empire of its
possessions in Asia Minor and had frequently threatened
Constantinople itself, led the Emperor Theophilus to imitate the
example of his predecessor and solicit the aid of the Emirate of
Spain, whose power had attained a greater reputation in the East
than was warranted either by the character of its population, the
stability of its civil institutions, or the extent of its military resources.
The result of this embassy corresponded with that of the one sent
by Michael the Stammerer. The envoys were received and dismissed
with honor; costly gifts were exchanged between the two
sovereigns; and the most flattering promises of assistance were
given by Abd-al-Rahman contingent on the security of his own
dominions, whose fulfilment was prevented, however, by the
incessant agitation of domestic foes and the apprehension of foreign
invasion. The measures of the Byzantine court were counteracted by
the political intrigues of the Abbasides, who maintained a close
alliance with the Franks; lavished upon the semi-barbaric monarchs
of the Rhine the curiosities and luxuries of the Orient; and, in the
treaties with their Christian auxiliaries, stigmatized the Ommeyades
as schismatics, blasphemers, and traitors, objects of abhorrence to
orthodox Moslems and entitled to no consideration from an
adversary.
The hopes of relief entertained by the Greeks, sufficiently
unpromising before, were now rendered entirely vain by the
appearance of a strange and terrible enemy, who descended like a
destructive tempest upon the coast of Lusitania. The Normans, a
branch of the Germanic race, whose origin was identical with that of
the Franks, but who cherished the most uncompromising hostility
towards the latter on account of their conversion to Christianity, had,
for half a century, been the terror of the maritime countries of
Northern Europe. Inhabiting the bleak and inhospitable coasts of
Scandinavia, instinct and necessity had early taught them the
science of navigation, and experience had shown the facility by
which the richest spoils might be wrested from the less warlike
nations of the South. Their boats were of the rudest type, of small
dimensions, constructed of osier and hides, propelled by oars and
sails of skins, yet such was the daring of these sailors that they did
not hesitate to encounter in their frail vessels, during the most
inclement seasons, the storms of the English Channel and the Bay of
Biscay. They had already carried their terrible inroads far into the
most accessible provinces of England and France. The swiftness of
their movements, their frightful aspect, and the ferocity of their
manners imparted to their incursions the character of a visitation of
incarnate demons. The votaries of the savage Woden, the Teutonic
God of War, they seemed totally deficient in the attributes of
humanity and mercy. More ruthless than other barbarians, the
infirmities of age, the helplessness of sex, received no indulgence at
their hands. Women, children, and old men were butchered with the
same relentless animosity as the warrior disabled in the field of
battle. They took no prisoners. All animals that they encountered
were killed. Their brutal natures were displayed even in their
amusements; and, amidst the drunken orgies of their festivals, their
gods were pledged in draughts of mead quaffed from the skulls of
slaughtered enemies. Their lofty stature and gigantic strength; their
adventurous spirit, which carried them across seas where
experienced mariners scarcely dared to venture; their courage,
which inspired them to contend with tenfold odds, combined to
increase the terror derived from their sudden appearance and
mysterious origin. They had infested the shores of England during
the last years of the preceding century. Encouraged by success and
tempted by the prospect of booty, their expeditions had alarmed the
provinces of Western France during the reign of Charlemagne, and
had desolated a region where their descendants were destined to
found a principality to which they gave their name, and with whose
fortunes, in after times, were associated, in no small degree, the
social organization, the laws, the glories, and the misfortunes of the
people of Great Britain. They had at first effected a landing on the
coast of the Asturias, whence they soon retired, prompted to this
step rather by the poverty of the country, which held out no
inducements to their avarice, than through any apprehension from
the well-known prowess of its defenders. Not long after this, a fleet
of fifty-four Norman vessels swept down upon the shores of
Lusitania. The environs of the city of Lisbon experienced the full
effects of the destructive instincts of these enemies of mankind.
Expelled by the uprising of the population of the neighborhood, they
sailed around the Peninsula; extended their depredations to the
coast of Africa; plundered Cadiz, and finally entered the
Guadalquivir. Ascending that stream, they occupied and sacked the
suburbs of Seville, whose inhabitants had fled at the first intelligence
of their approach. In their encounters with the troops of Abd-al-
Rahman, the pirates had in almost every instance a decided
advantage; but news having reached them that a fleet of fifteen
vessels, supported by a powerful army, was preparing to intercept
their retreat, they hastily set sail and effected their escape with
insignificant loss. The facility with which these ferocious adventurers
had penetrated into his dominions, and the damage inflicted by their
pitiless hostility, convinced the Emir of the necessity of increasing his
naval power, the only effectual means of protecting the vulnerable
points of his kingdom and of preventing the recurrence of such a
calamity. Vessels were accordingly constructed in the dock-yards of
the Mediterranean; watch-towers were erected at frequent intervals;
a system of signals and posts was established; and the coast
defences in each military district were placed in charge of an
experienced officer, with whose command the naval forces were
directed to co-operate. The wisdom of these precautions was soon
demonstrated, and the Normans, warned by the formidable
preparations everywhere in readiness to oppose their landing,
ceased to seriously molest the shores of the Peninsula.
In the division of the vast and unwieldy empire of Charlemagne,
which scarcely preserved its original boundaries until the second
generation, France and the Gothic March fell to the share of Charles
the Bald, the eldest son of the weak and amiable Louis. The discord
which had arisen between Frankish and Gothic aspirants to power in
the fief that the foresight of the Emperor had founded beyond the
Pyrenees, grew more bitter with the progress of time and the
infliction of mutual injury. The intrigues of Count Bernhart, formerly
chamberlain at the court of Aix-la-Chapelle, who represented the
national party against the Frankish usurpation, were principally
responsible for the manifestation of the independent spirit which not
infrequently ignored the rights of the foreign suzerain, and even
maintained amicable relations with the infidels of Cordova. Charles,
aware of the intrepid character of his secret enemy whose popularity
made him still more dangerous, inveigled him into his power by
flattering promises of favor and promotion; and, as the unsuspecting
victim bent the knee before his master, the latter stabbed him with
his own hand. The enormity of the deed was aggravated by the
horrible suspicion of parricide, as popular opinion, based upon his
former intimacy with the Empress Judith, had long ascribed to Count
Bernhart the paternity of the Frankish sovereign.
This act of perfidy, so far from appeasing the discontent that
pervaded the turbulent society of the Gothic March, contributed
greatly to its encouragement. The populace, as well as the nobles,
whose opinions had changed, and who now regarded Bernhart as
the champion of their liberties instead of an intruder, were
thoroughly exasperated. The country became a prey to anarchy,
where the rule of the strongest prevailed. This favorable opportunity,
aided perhaps by suggestions of sympathizers with the government
of Cordova and individuals who had suffered from the rapacity of the
feudal lords, invited another invasion by the Saracens. The land was
again devastated. Barcelona was delivered to the troops of the Emir
through the connivance of the Jews, whose trade was seriously
affected by the interminable disputes and broils which had
interrupted foreign communications and shaken public confidence.
The Moslem occupation of the Gothic March, like others that had
preceded it, was, however, but temporary. The walis of the border
cities, to all intents and purposes paramount, were often united by
the closest ties of interest with the Counts of Barcelona, and
therefore thwarted every attempt at the recovery of the Gothic
territory by the emirs as having a tendency to ultimately curtail their
privileges and diminish their power. The existence of a foreign nation
within the borders of the emirate, which could be at once appealed
to for support in case of an attempt by the court of Cordova to
enforce its authority, was a practical guarantee of independence.
The closing years of the reign of Abd-al-Rahman were clouded by
a persecution of the Christians provoked by the obstinacy and
presumption of aggressive fanatics who violated the laws, profaned
the mosques, and insulted the memory of Mohammed through an
insane desire for notoriety and martyrdom. The most severe
punishments as well as the most noble clemency failed alike to
suppress this new and increasing disorder. The nature of the Emir,
always averse to cruelty, hesitated to inflict the penalties
imperatively demanded by the outraged feelings of all true believers.
Deeply affected by the troubles which oppressed his kingdom and
cast a shadow over his domestic life, his health became impaired,
and he died suddenly of apoplexy in the year 822, at the age of sixty
years.
 The luxurious tastes and the love of pomp, which were prominent
traits in the character of Abd-al-Rahman, produced greater changes
in the social and political aspect of the court of Cordova than had
been known under his predecessors. He was the first of the Moslem
rulers of Spain in whose robes were interwoven the royal cipher and
the device selected by the monarch at his accession. He assumed a
dignity and a mystery in his demeanor that had heretofore been the
peculiar attributes of the despotisms of the Orient. Habitually
secluded from the eyes of his subjects, he never went abroad
without a veil, which effectually concealed his features from the
public gaze. He increased the body-guard, formed by his father, and
spared no expense in securing its devotion and perfecting its
equipment. He established a mint in Cordova, and greatly improved
the coinage, both in the purity of the metal and the elegance of the
inscriptions. Under his supervision two sides of the court-yard of the
Mosque were enclosed with beautiful peristyles, corresponding with
the finish and decorations of the interior. He added to the
magnificence of the capital by the construction of public baths and
fountains, fed by leaden pipes, through which were conducted into
every quarter of the city the crystal waters of the Sierra Morena. The
demands of religion and piety were gratified by the foundation and
endowment of innumerable mosques, whose materials were
composed of costly woods, variegated jasper, and exquisite marbles,
and to each of these houses of worship was attached either a school
or a hospital. Upon the banks of the Guadalquivir stretched an
endless series of gardens devoted to the recreation of the people,
and within whose delightful precincts were displayed all the
resources of the picturesque horticulture of the Orient. Abd-al-
Rahman rivalled the most enlightened khalifs of the East in his zeal
for the encouragement of learning; in his patronage of science and
the arts; in his admiration for the works of the Greek philosophers,
which, during his reign, were introduced into the Peninsula. One of
his greatest pleasures was to listen to the reading of the productions
of the great scholars of antiquity. In every town schools sufficient to
meet the requirements of the population, and provided with the best
available facilities for the imparting of instruction, arose. All children
whom misfortune had left destitute were cared for in charitable
institutions maintained by the government.
The system of highways, a precious heritage of the Cæsars, was
diligently inspected; the roads which had fallen into decay were
repaired; new ones were projected and completed; and the means
of intercommunication with the most remote provinces of the
emirate brought to a degree of perfection unknown even in the most
flourishing days of the Roman Empire. Many of these great works
were undertaken to relieve the universal distress induced by national
calamities. A withering drought had destroyed the crops and swept
away the flocks and herds in Andalusia. Swarms of locusts then
settled over the land, and turned the once smiling landscape into a
desert. Unable to sustain life, multitudes of the starving peasantry
emigrated to Africa, where they found an hospitable welcome and
abundance of food to supply their necessities. To the poor who
remained, the customary taxes were remitted and regular
employment given, the expense being met by disbursements from
the private purse of the Emir. The public granaries and magazines
were opened, and supplies distributed to the helpless and
unfortunate. Thus, by the encouragement of industry, the promotion
of important public improvements throughout the country, and the
embellishment of the city of Cordova and its environs, the mournful
consequences incident to inevitable public disasters were largely
averted, and the very events which, at first sight, seemed to
threaten the life of the nation were, through the beneficence and
wisdom of a great monarch, made to contribute to its profit and
permanent advantage.
The kindness and generosity of Abd-al-Rahman at times
degenerated into weakness, which made him the facile victim of the
occupants of his household and his harem. Constitutionally averse to
any display of severity, acts of insubordination and dishonesty were
suffered, in his very presence, to pass without a reprimand. A
passion for music, which dominated his very being, made him the
munificent patron of every minstrel, whose influence at court was
usually proportionate to his talents as a singer or as a performer on
the lute. A famous musician named Ziryab, whom Al-Hakem had
invited from Bagdad but who arrived too late to enjoy the favor of
his royal host, was received by his successor with honors worthy of
the ambassadors of the greatest princes. The walis of the cities
through which he was to pass on his way to Cordova were directed
to extend to him every courtesy; he was furnished with an escort,
and his retinue was increased by a number of eunuchs with whom
the Emir had presented him. A magnificent residence was assigned
to him in the capital. His pension amounted to the annual sum of
forty thousand pieces of gold, derived from one of the most valuable
estates of the kingdom. Ziryab, while distinguished for his musical
talents, was also one of the most profound scholars of his time. His
wonderful memory retained without difficulty the words and airs of
ten thousand different songs. The pupil of the most eminent doctors
of the East, he was equally well versed in the sciences of history,
geography, philosophy, and medicine. So versatile were his talents
and so varied his accomplishments, that not only the populace, but
even learned writers, gravely attributed the achievements of his
extraordinary intellectual powers to communion with the genii. His
extensive acquirements made him the chosen companion of Abd-al-
Rahman, who delighted in his conversation; and, while the power of
the favorite over his master was unbounded, it must be said to his
credit that it was never abused or exerted for any base or mercenary
purposes. His exquisite taste and dignified courtesy were not long in
producing an impression upon the society of Andalusia. The manners
of the people insensibly grew refined and elegant. Customs savoring
of the barbaric life of the Desert, which the stubborn persistence of
the Arab and Berber natures had retained through many
generations, were by degrees abandoned. The prolific genius of this
wonderfully gifted personage prescribed different modes of dress,
adapted to the changing seasons; improved regulations in the
diplomatic service; innovations in the methods of private
entertainments; dignified and urbane laws for formal and social
intercourse. It revealed the valuable character of plants and
vegetables whose names were familiar to the Spanish Arabs, but
whose uses as food, or whose medicinal virtues, had hitherto
remained unknown. It added a fifth string to the lute, thereby
greatly increasing the compass and harmony of that instrument. It
bestowed upon the toilets of the harem harmless and refreshing
perfumes and cosmetics. It supplied the banquets of the rich with
savory dishes, worthy of the most fastidious epicure, some of which
bear to this day the name of their inventor. It devised means for
increasing the comfort and cleanliness of the poor. It suggested
sanitary arrangements which might promote the healthfulness of
great cities by an improved system of drainage. The wit of Ziryab
which delighted the court was not inferior to his learning, nor to the
wonderful ingenuity which applied to the various concerns of life the
valuable principles of practical philosophy. His epigrams are still
repeated as proverbs by the Mohammedans of Africa. His skill in the
art of improvisation was phenomenal. A couplet appropriate to every
occasion, a witticism in rhyme which enlivened the most ordinary
discourse, were never wanting to his ready and active intellect. His
mental powers were unconsciously employed while those of others
slumbered, and he not infrequently aroused his female slaves in the
middle of the night in order to seize and memorize the harmonious
creations of his tireless brain. The creed of the Moslem peremptorily
forbids the adoration of its heroes, but the justice of humanity has
immortalized the name of Ziryab by transmitting it to after-ages in
the same category with those of its most illustrious philosophers,
and has thus indemnified itself for the privation of a useful custom
which would elsewhere have honored the object of its admiration
and gratitude with splendid statues of bronze and marble, and with
an eternal abiding-place in both the visible and invisible heavens.
The intercession of Ziryab with his royal master, whose mind was
absolutely dominated by the brilliant talents and courtly graces of his
favorite, was often invoked by applicants for pecuniary emoluments
and official distinction, but generally in vain. The hazardous game of
politics offered no allurements to the polished and dainty epicurean.
Secure in the possession of wealth and fame, he cheerfully
abandoned the intrigues, the vexations, and the dangers of political
life to another personage whose abilities, in their peculiar sphere,
not inferior to his own, bore the stamp of a dark and sinister
character.
The ambition of the faqui Yahya-Ibn-Yahya, the leader of the
revolt of the southern suburb of Cordova, which caused the
depopulation of one-fifth of the area of the capital and the
expatriation of twenty thousand industrious subjects of the emirate,
has already been mentioned in these pages. The nationality of this
fanatic, and the address which he displayed in excusing his crimes,
had, strangely enough, exempted him from the punishment he
merited. Having regained, to a certain extent, the favor of the proud
and arbitrary Al-Hakem, whose inclinations were never to the side of
mercy, he had obtained a singular ascendant over the mind of the
more pliable Abd-al-Rahman. Instructed by experience that open
opposition to the constituted authority was not the surest method of
attaining to distinction, he changed his tactics; courted the
approbation of the monarch by subservience and flattery, varied at
times by fits of insolence, which were overlooked as eccentricities or
manifestations of righteous indignation provoked by the depravity of
mankind; and, while he appeared to figure only as an occasional
adviser of the Emir, he in reality engrossed the entire political and
judicial power of the State. His ostentatious humility procured for
him the reverent esteem of the populace. The superiority of his
intellect and his vast attainments were tacitly acknowledged by the
learned. The prestige he had acquired as the founder of the
Malikites in Spain made him the oracle of every student and doctor
of theology. It was by means of this latter distinction that he was
enabled to immeasurably extend and confirm his influence.
Ambitious men soon perceived that the great civil dignitaries of the
realm—the chief kadis and the subordinate officials of the courts of
judicature—were invariably selected from the fashionable sect, and
were individuals who stood highest in Yahya’s favor. As a natural
consequence, the popularity of the doctrines of Malik-Ibn-Anas
increased daily, and the adherents of the Medinese sage, in a few
years, outnumbered all other sectaries combined. The policy of
Yahya led him to decline the exercise of all official employments, an
example of self-denial which, while it served to disguise his ambition,
greatly strengthened his authority. In the exalted sphere in which he
moved his power was autocratic. He imposed degrading penances
upon his sovereign, who performed them with patience and humility.
He exacted from the people those outward signs of reverence which
superstition is accustomed to accord to the favorites of heaven and
which are but one degree below idolatry. The ecclesiastical affairs of
the Peninsula were absolutely subject to his control. He dictated the
most important decisions emanating from the courts of justice; and,
when a magistrate ventured to assert his independence by the
promulgation of an opinion which had not been approved by the
arrogant faqui, he at once received a slip of paper on which was
written the single word, “Resign!”
The plastic nature of Abd-al-Rahman, utilized for the profit of a
musician and a religious impostor, also exposed him to the artifices
of a petulant and selfish woman. An ardent temperament rendered
him peculiarly susceptible to the attractions of the sex. Among the
numerous beauties of his harem was one named Tarub, who was
equally dominated by the absorbing passions of ambition and
avarice. Infatuated with her charms and beguiled by her caresses,
the Emir became her slave. His prodigal generosity towards this
unworthy favorite, which threatened to deplete the treasury,
frequently, but in vain, elicited the remonstrances of his councillors.
On one occasion her blandishments induced him to present her with
a necklace valued at a hundred thousand dinars. On another, she
refused to open her door until it had been entirely concealed by
bags of money heaped up against it. Utterly destitute of affection or
gratitude, she endeavored to perpetuate her influence by a crime
which reveals the incredible cruelty and infamy of her character. Of
the forty-five sons of Abd-al-Rahman, the eldest, Mohammed, had
been selected by his father to succeed him. Tarub, who had
employed all her arts, but without success, to obtain the crown for
her own son, Abdallah, now determined to secure by murder what
her powers of persuasion had failed to accomplish. The services of
the eunuch Nassir, who exercised the office of chamberlain, was
devoted to the interests of his mistress, and bore no good-will to the
Emir, were employed in this emergency. Nassir was of Spanish
origin, hated the sect of his ancestors with peculiar animosity, and
had been the willing instrument of the recent persecution which the
mistaken policy of the government had deemed it necessary to inflict
upon the Christians. Under the direction of Tarub, the eunuch paid a
visit to Harrani, a distinguished Syrian physician, who had recently
begun the practice of his profession at Cordova. Nassir, having
assured Harrani of his esteem and hinted that the conferring of the
favor he was about to ask would enure to his future advantage,
presented him with a purse containing a thousand pieces of gold,
and requested him to have ready by a certain day a quantity of one
of the most deadly poisons known to science.
The natural acuteness of the physician, increased by long
experience in the sinister transactions of courts, was at no loss to
detect the object for which these preparations were intended. The
character of the perfidious Tarub and her inordinate ambition were,
moreover, no secret in Cordova; but, while the politic Harrani had no
desire to, even by implication, connive at the death of the Emir, he
was equally averse to compromise his prospects and imperil his own
safety by openly denouncing the eunuch, whose friends would not
fail to avenge the betrayal of his treason. He therefore caused a
warning to be secretly conveyed to Abd-al-Rahman not to taste
anything offered him by the chamberlain. The declining health of the
monarch favored the designs of the conspirators, and the eunuch
seized the first opportunity to recommend, with every expression of
solicitude, the poison to his master as a potent remedy which he had
procured from a famous practitioner. The Emir, upon whom the
warning of Harrani had not been lost, and who seemed to the
attendants to be merely adopting a salutary and not unusual
precaution, directed the eunuch to drink some of the potion himself.
Unable to refuse, Nassir swallowed a part of the contents of the
phial. Then, withdrawing from the royal presence, he sought in
terror the aid of the physician. An antidote was promptly
administered, but the poison had done its work, and, the victim of
his own perfidiousness, Nassir expired in horrible agony.
The enfeebled constitution of Abd-al-Rahman was unable to
sustain the revelation of the malice and dishonor of those whom he
loved and trusted; and the amiable monarch who had not, by many
years, reached the allotted term of human life, a few weeks after the
exposure of the conspiracy followed his chamberlain to the grave.
The jealousy of the Ommeyades, following the example of the
Khalifs of Damascus, early introduced into their dominions the
employment of eunuchs, and these creatures almost immediately
assumed and exercised a secret, but none the less dangerous,
power in the administration of the government as well as in the
intrigues and plots of the harem. Their mutilation, which, according
to common belief, was presumed to insure absolute fidelity to their
masters’ interests, made them the enemies of the human race. An
insatiable thirst for gold, a vindictiveness only to be appeased by the
destruction of the objects of their displeasure, had supplanted in
their breasts those sentiments of natural affection which had been
forever eradicated by the barbarity of man. The confidants and
constant associates of the sultanas, they became the tools of every
conspiracy, and not infrequently the originators of measures
involving the most important political consequences.
The support of these vile instruments, indispensable to the
designs of criminal ambition, had been already secured by the
Princess Tarub, whose rapacity had, for once, yielded to her greed
for power. Undismayed by the fate of Nassir, and ignoring the
suspicions aroused by his sudden death, she, by every artifice at her
command, by promises of future favors and concessions and by a
prodigal liberality, had enrolled among her partisans the potent and
unscrupulous guardians of the harem.
The careless Abd-al-Rahman, whose condition had not warranted
any expectation of his untimely end, had neglected to officially
designate his successor to the throne. His choice, however, was well
known to have been fixed upon his eldest son, Mohammed, a cold,
sordid, narrow-minded, but able prince; penurious to a degree
unprecedented among youths of royal lineage, but of large
experience in the arts of war and government, and of unquestioned
orthodoxy. Abdallah, on the other hand, was a devotee of pleasure.
His palace was nightly the scene of boisterous revels, that were
protracted until long after sunrise. He shunned all serious
occupations. His intimate friends were debauchees and parasites,
whose conversation was seasoned with licentious jests which did not
spare either the officials of state or the ministers of religion. Rarely
was he seen to enter the door of the mosque, or to assist at the
ceremonies of public worship. Despised by the populace and
abhorred by the devout, his pre-eminent unfitness for the
responsibilities of empire was also recognized by the eunuchs, whom
nothing but the prodigality of his mother could ever have induced to
espouse his cause. Abu-al-Mofrih, one of the former, who possessed
great influence among his fellows, determined, with the proverbial
inconstancy of his kind, to gratify his malice and provide for the
future by the commission of a double treason. The heterodox
opinions of Abdallah afforded a plausible excuse for the perfecting of
his scheme. By constant insinuations of the dangers to which the
emirate would be exposed if he were raised to power, and by
descanting with pious horror upon the sacrilegious life of that
profligate prince, he excited apprehensions in the minds of the
eunuchs that their own interests might be seriously endangered by a
ruler whose previous career had been directed by unbelievers and by
persons who had frequently evinced marked contempt for their
order. The harshness and notorious parsimony of Mohammed were
at first declared by the eunuchs to render him ineligible; serious
impediments to success, indeed, in a court governed to a great
extent by the soft influences of the seraglio and by the unsparing
use of gold. The objections were soon answered by the wily Abu-al-
Mofrih, whose experience and reputation gave him a right to take
the lead in a project demanding courage and tact, and it was quietly
understood that Mohammed was the candidate for whom the empire
was reserved. The death of Abd-al-Rahman occurred after midnight.
According to Oriental custom, the gates of the palace—which was
walled and moated like a castle—were closed, and no one was
permitted to leave or enter without satisfactory explanation of his
errand and proof of his identity. By a time-honored practice that
prescriptive usage had confirmed as legal, the prince who first after
the monarch’s death obtained possession of the royal residence was
considered to have the presumptive right to the crown. Sadun, a
eunuch, who had reluctantly assented to the rejection of Abdallah,
but who had lately become a firm partisan of his brother, was
selected to inform Mohammed of his good fortune. The villa of the
latter was on the opposite bank of the Guadalquivir, and the eunuch,
providing himself with the keys of the city gate, which opened upon
the bridge, traversed the silent streets until he reached the palace of
Abdallah, in front of which he was forced to pass. The halls were
aglow with light and the noise of drunken revelry rang upon the air,
as the muffled figure of the eunuch glided stealthily by the portals
on its mysterious errand. Mohammed, summoned from the bath,
received the message with surprise and incredulity. Even the
production of his father’s signet, which Sadun exhibited as a token of
good faith, was not sufficient to convince him. Regarding the eunuch
as an executioner sent by Abdallah to take away his life, he abjectly
implored the mercy of the messenger, who, so far from intending
injury, had been deputed to tender him a crown. The protestations
of Sadun finally prevailed, and the steward of Mohammed’s
household was called to assist in devising means to enter the royal
palace, an indispensable preliminary to success. His suggestion to
apply to the governor of the city was adopted, but that cautious
functionary declined to compromise himself by countenancing an
enterprise whose issue was so hazardous. The night was fast
passing away, and it was evident that something must be done
quickly, as dawn would bring discovery, and perhaps death, to all
concerned. Again the fertile invention of the steward, Ibn-Musa,
came to the aid of his master in his deep perplexity. “Thou knowest,
O my Lord,” said he, “that I have often conducted thy daughter to
the royal palace. Disguise thyself at once in her garments, and God
willing we shall pass the guards.” The advice being approved,
Mohammed was speedily enveloped in the veil and flowing robes of
the inmates of the harem and mounted upon an ass. The animal
was led by the steward, Sadun marching in front; the sentinels were
passed without difficulty; but the wary eunuch, fearful of being
followed, directed Ibn-Musa to remain near Abdallah’s mansion,
while he conducted the prince alone. Arriving at the palace, the
knock of Sadun was answered by the porter, an old man who had
long served the emirs in that responsible capacity. Peering cautiously
through the postern and recognizing the eunuch, he exclaimed,
“Whom have you there, O Sadun?” The latter responded, “The
daughter of our prince Mohammed; make haste and admit us!”
Smiling, as he suspiciously examined the lofty stature and ample
proportions of the supposed damsel, the porter rejoined, “Verily, O
Sadun, the lady has grown to almost twice her size since she was
here a few days since; let her raise her veil that I may see her face.”
The eunuch demurred; but the porter threatening to withdraw,
Mohammed himself lifted the veil, and disclosed to the astonished
gaze of the porter the well-known features of the eldest son of Abd-
al-Rahman. “My father is dead,” said the prince, “and I have come to
take possession of the palace.” “I do not doubt thy word,” replied the
porter, “but mine own eyes must convince me of the truth of thy
statement before I can admit thee.” “Then come at once,” exclaimed
Sadun, and, leaving Mohammed in the street, the eunuch led the
way to the death-chamber of the Emir. “I am satisfied,” said the
faithful servitor, bursting into tears, and returning, he opened the
gate and kissed the hand of the prince with every protestation of
loyalty and obedience. The household was aroused; the officials of
state were summoned in haste to the palace, and required to swear
allegiance to the new sovereign; and thus, through the address of a
handful of eunuchs, who dispensed with equal alacrity the penalties
of hatred and the offices of friendship, a serious revolution was
averted, and a turn given to national affairs that permanently
influenced the future of the Saracen empire.
The first acts of Mohammed after his accession gave undoubted
proof of his zeal, and elicited the enthusiastic applause of the
theologians, who henceforth became his most devoted subjects.
Every official and every public servant who was even suspected of a
leaning towards Christianity was discharged without ceremony, and
their places were filled with Mussulmans of the most pronounced
orthodoxy. The law which forbade the erection or the enlargement of
churches—a fundamental article of the convention of Musa—had
been to a great extent ignored by the emirs, even under the
aggravation of treason and conspiracy; and, as a consequence of
this indulgence, new places of worship had arisen in those localities
where an increasing Christian population required greater facilities
for the services of its religion. By a sweeping edict, Mohammed
directed every church and chapel built since the invasion of Tarik to
be razed to the ground. The officers who were charged with the
execution of this order, more zealous for their faith than solicitous for
the honor of their sovereign, waged indiscriminate destruction
against all edifices set apart by the Christians for sacred uses,
regardless of the sanctity of their traditions or the date of their
foundation. A persecution, encouraged by the faquis, was also
inaugurated against the obstinate sectaries, who continued to solicit
with so much ardor the crown of martyrdom, in comparison with
which the severity of Abd-al-Rahman assumed the appearance of
moderation. The evidence of the Fathers of the Church, so
suspicious in regard to all that reflects upon the credit of their
profession or decries the triumphs of their enemies, may perhaps be
received to confirm the statement of the Arabs that an immense
number of Christians, alarmed by the tortures inflicted upon their
fellow communicants, yielded to temptation and apostatized.
But it was not among the infidels alone that it was found
necessary to invoke the intervention of the sovereign authority. In
the bosom of Islam, a serious dispute had arisen concerning the
interpretation of the Koran and the settlement of certain
controverted points of doctrine that, in their theological importance
and general relation to the Faith, bore no proportion whatever to the
virulent animosity exhibited by their several advocates. As the
Ommeyades of Spain had early arrogated to themselves, without
exception, the functions and privileges of the exalted office of khalif,
in which were united the most despotic powers of Church and State,
Mohammed, whose discrimination showed him the necessity of
deciding this religious controversy before its champions appealed to
arms, asserted his prerogative by ordering the rival doctors to
respectively plead their cause in his presence. The arguments were
heard, and the Malikites, whose prosperity under the former reign
had greatly increased their pride and insolence, sustained a signal
defeat in their attempt to refute the doctrines of the Hanbalites,
their adversaries. With a liberality not to be expected in a ruler
whom posterity, perhaps not without injustice, has agreed to
stigmatize with the name of bigot, Mohammed decided that the
objections urged against the creed of the Hanbalites as preached by
Al-Baki, the leader of that sect, were frivolous, and that its tenets
were neither based upon misinterpretation of the texts of the Koran
nor antagonistic to the generally received tradition.
With the double object of diverting the minds of his subjects from
theological disputes and projects of sedition and to repress the
encroaching spirit of the Christian princes of the North, whose
conquests were making serious inroads on the Moslem territory,
Mohammed proclaimed the Holy War, the forces destined for this
purpose being placed under the command of the walis of Merida and
Saragossa. The Gothic March once more underwent the frightful
evils of invasion, and the Saracen army again penetrated the
enemy’s country to the very walls of Narbonne. The wali of
Saragossa, Musa-Ibn-Zeyad, entrusted with the conduct of the
campaign against the King of the Asturias, after some unimportant
successes in Galicia, was defeated with great loss at Albeyda, which
town, having been taken by King Ordoño, and the Arab garrison
massacred, was abandoned to the tender mercies of the barbarous
soldiery.
The populace of Toledo, whose implacable hatred of its Saracen
masters no exhibition of clemency could diminish and no example of
severity intimidate, having learned of the persecution of their
Christian brethren at Cordova, and apprehensive lest the zealous
efforts of the faquis—whose influence at that time dominated the
policy of the government—might be extended to their own city,
organized a revolt, seized the Arab governor, and demanded of the
Emir in exchange for that official the hostages whom they had given
to Abd-al-Rahman II. as security for their loyalty and good behavior.
With a weakness that formed no part of his character, and for which
no historical account affords an explanation, Mohammed acquiesced.
The fierce Toledans then began to carry on war in earnest.
Accustomed from childhood to the use of arms and the exposure of
a military life, they repeatedly proved more than a match for the
disciplined veterans of the emirate. They drove out the garrison of
Calatrava and demolished its walls. Then, suddenly traversing the
passes of the Sierra Morena, they surprised at Andujar a detachment
of the royal forces sent to attack them, captured its baggage, and
plundered its camp. Never before in the history of Toledan rebellions
had the insurgents ventured so near the capital. The Emir keenly felt
the insult to his dignity, and, at the head of all the troops he could
collect in such an emergency, advanced to punish the rebels. The
latter retired, and their leader, Sindola, whose name indicates his
Gothic descent, sent an envoy to the King of the Asturias for aid.
The Christian prince, perceiving at a glance the extraordinary
benefits which would result from an alliance with a powerful faction
in the heart of the Moslem dominions, responded at once to the
appeal with a strong body of veterans, who succeeded in entering
the city before the arrival of Mohammed.
The strength of the walls and the prowess of the garrison forbade
the hope of a successful assault, and induced Mohammed to have
recourse to a stratagem worthy of the cunning and astuteness of an
Arab. Concealing his troops in the ravine traversed by the
Guadacelete, he appeared before Toledo with a squadron of cavalry
and made preparations to encamp. The rebels, seeing what was
apparently an excellent opportunity to cut off this vanguard before
the arrival of the main body, made a sally, and, before they were
aware of their danger, were drawn into the trap laid for them and
surrounded. Dreadful carnage followed; but few escaped, and a
ghastly heap of eight thousand heads, collected in the field of battle,
attested the animosity of the victors and the misfortune of the
vanquished. These sinister trophies, ranged along the battlements of
Cordova and other Andalusian cities, were long an admonition to
traitors of the terrible lesson that the Toledans and their infidel allies
had received on the banks of the Guadacelete. The great loss
sustained by the insurgents,—amounting to twenty thousand, for
only the Christians and such Mussulman leaders as were killed or
taken prisoners were decapitated,—so far from crushing the
obstinate spirit of the inhabitants of the imperial city of the
Visigoths, only served to increase their fury and confirm their
resolution. Their offensive operations were, however, effectually
checked. The garrison, reduced to less than one-third of its number,
was forced to remain inactive behind the fortifications. It was with
mingled feelings of rage and despair that the industrious as well as
the wealthy part of the population, whose possessions had hitherto
been respected in the hope of timely submission, beheld the
desolation of their gardens, the uprooting of their vineyards, the
burning of their villas,—those evidences of prosperity and luxury that
embellished for many a mile the banks of the famous Tagus. Their
thoughts were further embittered by the consciousness that these
ravages were not inflicted through any fault of theirs, but through
the turbulence and ill-directed ambition of Jews and renegades,
whose numbers were swelled by a crowd of vagabonds and criminals
attracted by the evil reputation of the city, the worst elements of a
lawless population, the refuse of a score of great communities. An
additional advantage gained by the troops of Mohammed served to
still further depress the spirits of the Toledans, although no disaster
seemed sufficient to impel them to a voluntary return to their
allegiance. The principal bridge that gave access to the city was
secretly mined. An attack was then made on one of the gates; the
assailants retired in apparent disorder; the besieged pursued; and,
at the proper instant, the wooden supports were removed from the
piers, and the whole structure, crowded with the soldiers of the
enemy, was precipitated into the waters of the Tagus. Not an
individual escaped, for such as were able to save themselves from
the rapid current of the river were shot by the archers of the Emir,
stationed on the banks for that purpose. These repeated misfortunes
impressed the Toledans with the necessity of peace. Their valor and
their constancy under the most discouraging circumstances,
although exhibited in an evil cause, cannot but excite the admiration
of every reader. For the long period of twenty years Mohammed
made incessant but vain attempts to subdue them. They defied the
utmost efforts of his power. They menaced him in his very capital.
They routed his armies, often commanded by princes of the blood.
They dismantled his strongholds. The most overwhelming reverses
only nerved them to greater exertions. Great losses in the field, the
tortures of famine, the murmurs of their disaffected townsmen,
could not shake their determination or excite their fears. The
attempts to storm their fortifications were repulsed with heroic
courage. Their decimated ranks were recruited from the sturdy
mountaineers of Leon and the Asturias. It is in vain that the modern
historian searches for the motives that inspired and sustained this
sentiment of independence, this habitual defiance of authority. The
ancient Gothic spirit was not sufficient to account for such an
anomalous condition of affairs, although the Christians greatly
outnumbered the members of all other sects. There existed no unity
of religious feeling which might actuate zealots to deeds of self-
sacrifice and martyrdom. The population of Toledo is represented by
all writers as a remarkably heterogeneous one. The Christians
mention it freely with contempt. The Moslems, without exception,
allude to it as a faithless and turbulent rabble. The reason for the
suicidal policy that neglected to demolish the fortifications of this
centre of sedition, and did not resort to the drastic measure of
wholesale expatriation when milder means had repeatedly failed,
also remains a mystery. It required no great degree of
statesmanship to perceive the inevitable consequences of the
irrepressible spirit of rebellion encouraged, as it was, by the ill-timed
clemency and indulgence of the sovereign. At length, emboldened
by their alliance with the Christians of the North, and taking
advantage of the embarrassments of their antagonist, harassed by
enemies at home and abroad, they extorted from the Emir a treaty
which virtually conceded their independence. It allowed them to
select their own magistrates, including the governor, and to regulate
without interference their municipal and ecclesiastical affairs. Toledo,
by the payment of an annual tribute, was thus placed upon the
same political footing as that of a province recently subjected to the
arms of Islam, and must henceforth, for many years, cease to be
regarded as an integral part of the Moorish empire.
In the meantime, the example of Toledo had been followed by
other cities, whose inhabitants, exasperated by their grievances and
instigated by the ambition of daring chieftains, kept the country in
continued disorder and exercised to the utmost the energy and
abilities of Mohammed. The evil consequences of that pernicious
system, peculiar to the Arabs, of entrusting important commands to
renegades without previous satisfactory tests of their fidelity, were
once more demonstrated. Musa-Ibn-Zeyad, who traced his descent
from the branch of the Visigothic nobility known to the Arabs as the
Beni-Kasi, and whom we have seen defeated at Albeyda, was soon
afterwards, through the intrigues of fanatical courtiers who accused
him of treason, removed from his post of wali of Saragossa and
disgraced. This officer, whose military talents and political capacity
were far above the average, seeing all avenues for promotion under
the emirate closed, and keenly feeling the injustice of the treatment
he had received, proceeded at once to organize an insurrection, an
easy matter among the adventurers of the frontier naturally prone to
inconstancy and insubordination. Popular among his subjects, almost
the entire province of which Saragossa was the capital declared for
his cause. Tudela, Huesca, Toledo, solicited his alliance. Having
baffled the efforts of the Emir to crush him, he transmitted his
authority to his son Musa. The latter, securing the friendship and
support of the Navarrese, crossed the Pyrenees, and carried fire and
sword into Southern France. His success was so remarkable, and the
resources of the French monarchy were so inadequate to resist the
progress of this enterprising partisan, that Charles the Bald not only
condescended to treat with him on equal terms, but purchased
immunity from future inroads by the payment of a large sum of
money and the bestowal of magnificent gifts. The distinction