The Chaliphate - Muir - The Search For Mecca

;
A.D. 635J RUSTEM CROSSES THE RI\'ER I03
after his arrfval he rode along the river bank to reconnoitre ;
A.H. 14.
and, standing on an eminence by the bridge, sent for the
Muslim officer guarding the passage. A colloquy ensued
and Sa'd consented that three of his captains should go to
the Persian camp, and there explain their demands to
Rustem. One after another, these presented themselves.
Each held the same language : Isldni^ Tribute, or the Sword.
Rustem, now contemptuous in his abuse, now cowering under
the fierce words of the envoys, and scared by dreams and
auguries, demanded time to consider. Three days' grace,
they replied, was the limit allowed by their Prophet ; and
that was given.
When the term was over, Rustem sent to inquire whether Throws dam
he or they should cross for battle. Strongly pitched, as we ^'crossnver,
have seen, Sa'd had no thought of moving, and bade the
Persian cross as best he might. Rustem advanced, but
passage was denied. All night the Arabs watched the
bridge. But Rustem had another scheme ; he meant to
cross the river by a dam. During the night his myrmidons
cast fascines and earth into the channel, and morning
light discovered a causeway over which it was possible to
pass.
At early morn, Rustem, clad in helmet and double suit and crosses
of mail, leaped gaily on his horse. " By the morrow we shall b-mi,.^
have beaten them small," he cried ; but apart with his
familiars he confessed that celestial omens were against him.
And, indeed, previous mishaps and the brave bearing of the
Arab chiefs were sufficient, astrology apart, to inspire grave
forebodings. Crossing the dam unopposed, he marshalled
his great host on the western bank, with its centre facing
the fortress of Kodeis. Of thirty war elephants on the
field, eighteen supported the centre, the remainder being
divided between the wings.^ On a canopied golden throne
by the riverside, Rustem watched the issue of the day.
Messengers, posted within earshot of each other all the way
to Al-Medain, shouted continually the latest news, and kept
Yezdejird informed of everything that passed.
'
These were distinct from the riding elephants of the Court and
nobles, and must all have been imported from India. The elephant was
not used by the Assyrians in war. It rarely appears in their mural
representations, and only under peaceful associations.