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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2011
Among the many useful works that have appeared under the auspices of ‘The Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland,’ none is perhaps more palpably open to criticism than the Rev. J. Reynolds' History of the Temple of Jerusalem. To judge from the translation, Mr. Reynolds had, to begin with, but a very imperfect knowledge of Arabic, and, in the second place, from the extraordinary blunders he makes, he can have put himself to no pains whatever to become acquainted, by means of plans, and the descriptions of modern travellers, with the localities of which the Arab author speaks. It is not my present purpose to re-edit and correct Mr. Reynolds' work, for the book runs to some 550 pages, large 8vo., and it may safely be asserted that there is not a single one of his pages that would not require considerable alteration, to make it a tolerably exact rendering of his author's text. Moreover, the pages of the Royal Asiatic Society's Journal hardly afford room for so lengthy a work. I must therefore content myself with giving the headings of each of the seventeen chapters, and shall only translate such passages in the text as have seemed to me of most importance from an archæological or architectural point of view, and for throwing light on the vexed question of the sites of the Holy Places.
page 247 note 1 The History of the Temple of Jerusalem, translated from the Arabic MS. of the Imâm Jalal ad Dîn as Síútí, with notes and dissertations by the Rev. J. Reynolds, B.A., etc. London, 1836.
page 249 note 1 B.M. Add. 7326.
page 249 note 2 Add. 7327.
page 249 note 3 Suppl. Arabe, 919. In the two other Paris MSS. (Arabe, 836, 838) he is called Kamâl ad Dîn Muhammad ibn Abi Sharîf.
page 250 note 1 Anciens fonds, Nos. 716, 841, 842. I may here take occasion to express my grateful thanks to the authorities of the Bibliothèque Nationale, and to Monsieur Delisle, the Director, in particular, for the liberal manner in which, under a guarantee from our Embassy, he allowed me to borrow MSS. and carry them off to my own house for copying. I must also add my cordial acknowledgment of the favour extended to me by the Director of the Royal Library of Munich, who during the vacation, when the library is generally closed to the public, gave me free use of the many treasures that are stored on its shelves.
page 250 note 2 Wüstenfeld, Gescbichtschreiber der Araber, No. 425. Hajji Khalfa, No. 11372.
page 251 note 1 The Byzantine historian George Theophanes (died A D. 818) is generally quoted as the authority for what may be called ‘the Christian tradition’ of the events of Omar's conquest. Is it possible that his work, translated into Arabic, may have been the source, direct or indirect, of the very circumstantial account furnished by the Muthîr, which agrees in many points with the narrative of Theophanes.
page 252 note 1 Wüst. op. cit. No. 267.
page 252 note 2 Wüst. No. 292.
page 252 note 3 See also Hajji Khalfa, No. 3964, for the Jâmi‘ al Mustaksâ, by the same.
page 253 note 1 Wüst. op. cit., No. 431. Hajji Khalfa, No. 6599.
page 253 note 2 Wüst. No. 287.
page 253 note 3 Wüst, No. 340. Hajji Khalfa, No. 11, 726.
page 253 note 4 Hajji Khalfa, No. 1610.
page 253 note 5 Hajji Khalfa, No. 9139.
page 253 note 6 Hajji Khalfa, No. 939.
page 253 note 7 Hajji Khalfa, No. 952.
page 255 note 1 p. 84 of Jerusalem, the City of Herod and Saladin, by W. Besant and E. H. Palmer. London, 1871.
page 257 note 1 This represents the Haram Area as it exists at the present day; and is reduced from the Plan of the Ordnance Survey (Pal. Expl. Fund) and the work of M. de Vogüé.
page 258 note 1 Reynolds, p. 1. These headings give a very exact summary of the contents of each chapter. If the reader will take the trouble to compare any one of the MSS. and my translation with the headings given by Mr. Reynolds, he will see how it was necessary even in this minor matter to do the work over again.
page 258 note 2 Reynolds, p. 26.
page 258 note 3 Reynolds, p. 40.
page 258 note 4 See Plan, V.
page 258 note 5 Reynolds, p. 44.
page 258 note 6 Reynolds, p. 52.
page 259 note 1 How Mr. Reynolds has translated this curious, though not very important, passage may be seen by those who care to refer to his pages. Suyûtî's description corresponds exactly with what is shown at the present day. The “Footprint” is that of the Prophet (in Crusading times it was called “Christ's Footprint”), when he mounted the steed Al Burâk to ascend into heaven. The “Tongue” was given to the rock when it addressed the Khalif Omar in welcome; and the marks of the angel Gabriel's “Fingers” are those left when the Rock, wishing to accompany the Prophet to heaven. had to be pushed down and kept in its place. All this is of course only interesting as showing how early these legends took their rise.
page 259 note 2 Reynolds, p. 54. As a specimen of how Mr. Reynolds does work, his version of the above heading may be quoted: Upon the surpassing efficacy of Prayer in the Baitu-l-Mukaddas, and how it becomes double. Also upon the New Moon of Reduplication, when by prayer the Sacred Precept, and the merits of Works of Supererogation may be diffused to the public. Also the New Moon of Reduplication, when blessings and cursings may be communicated. Also the marvellous effect of pious donations, and fastings and listening to preaching therein. Also the New Moons of the Sacred Pilgrimage and the Sacred Visitation. Also the marvellous efficacy of supplying Oil for the Lamps, and how by this the rank and merit of pilgrimage may be made to exist for those who are unable to undertake the journey.
page 260 note 1 Reynolds, p. 70.
page 260 note 2 Reynolds, p. 84.
page 260 note 3 Reynolds, p. 91.
page 260 note 4 Plan, c.
page 260 note 5 Reynolds, p. 96.
page 261 note 1 At f. on the Plan.
page 261 note 2 See Plan, C. and X. This Dome is now called Kursî ’Isâ, the Throne of Jesus.
page 261 note 3 Plan, d.
page 261 note 4 See above, p. 253, VII. and VIII.
page 261 note 5 Or Prayer Niche, showing the direction of Mekka. At e. of the Plan.
page 262 note 1 Reynolds, p. 120.
page 262 note 2 Reynolds, p. 122. A Mihrâb is a prayer niche; the mihrâb of a mosque is the special niche which indicates the direction of Mekka (the Kiblah), towards which the Muslim faces when saying his prayers. Besides the great mihrâb, there may be numerous other prayer niches, or chapels, in other parts of the sacred precincts, dedicated to the memory of individual saints and prophets, whose intercession is deemed of efficacy in the granting of prayers.
page 262 note 3 See Plan, q.
page 262 note 4 See Plan, i.
page 262 note 5 ‘The Conquest of Jerusalem,’ a name common to many works.
page 263 note 1 At q or h.
page 263 note 2 “Ka‘ab al Ahbar (or al Hibr), surnamed Abu Ishâk ibn Mâni‘ al Himyari, was originally a Jew, and became a Muslim during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr (some say during that of Omar). He is a celebrated authority for traditions, and is noted as having been a very learned man. He died at Hims in A.H. 32.” So says the author of the Muthîr, who devotes a few lines to his biography when enumerating the eminent persons who visited or lived at Jerusalem. In point of fact, Ka‘ab (like his co-religionist the celebrated Jew Wahb ibn Munabbih, who also embraced Islâm, both of them becoming the great authorities among the early Muslims in all matters of ancient history), was in time discovered to have been a great liar.
page 263 note 3 The two Kiblahs are the Kiblah of Moses, the Rock on which was placed the Ark of the Covenant, and the Muslim Kiblah, which is Mekka. In the early days of the Hijra, after the Prophet had fled to Medina, and for a time had thoughts of abandoning Mekka and its Kaaba, he directed his followers to pray facing in the direction of Jerusalem. The Kiblah of Islam had therefore been for seventeen months (i.e. down to Rajab A.H. 2) identical with that of the Jews. Had Omar accepted the suggestion of Ka‘ab, and placed the mosque on the northern side of the Haram area, the Muslim Kiblah, which in Jerusalem points south, would in the mosque have faced the Rock, which thus would have been in front of the Muslim who was turning towards Mekka. As the Aksa Mosque now stands, those who pray there turn tbeir back on the Rock.
page 264 note 1 In the Muslim legend “Zacharias. the son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar” (Math. xxiv. 35), and Zachariah, the son of Jehoiada, the priest who was “stoned with stones at the ċommandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord” (II. Chron. xxiv. 22), and Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, are all one. The Mihrâb Zakariyyâ is still pointed out at l. on the Plan.
page 264 note 2 See Plan, p.
page 264 note 3 See Plan, h.
page 264 note 4 See Plan, k.
page 264 note 5 That is to the west of i. on the Plan.
page 265 note 1 Plan, K.
page 265 note 2 Plan, V, and see above, p. 258, Chapter II.
page 265 note 3 Kurân lvii. 13.
page 265 note 4 The Muslim Wâdî Jahannum is not the Jewish Valley of Hinnon, or Gehenna, for that is the valley to the south-east of Jerusalem, which the Arabs call Wâdî ar Rabâbî. The Wâdî Jahannum is the Kêdron or Valley of Jehoshaphat, and according to Muslim tradition will be the place of the Last Judgment. This agrees with the Jewish traditions about the Valley of Jehoshaphat derived from Joel iii. 2.
page 265 note 5 Plan, O.
page 265 note 6 Plan, P.
page 266 note 1 The two Gates of Mercy and Repentance together form the great tower in the east wall of the Haram Area, generally known as the Golden Gate (Plan, N. and O.). According to M. de Vogüé (Le Temple de Jérusalem, p. 68), the architecture of this building shows it to date from Byzantine times only, in fact probably as late as the sixth century A.D. The denomination of the Golden Gate does not occur apparently before the thirteenth century (Sæwulf), and the name Porta Aurea is due to a misunderstanding by mediæval pilgrims whose knowledge of Greek was rudimentary of Θ⋯ρα ὡρα⋯α, the gate called “Beautiful,” mentioned in Acts iii. 2, as the spot where St. Peter healed the lame man. The site of this miracle, which must in point of fact have taken place at one of the inner gates of the Temple, the early pilgrims and the Crusaders, proceeding in their usual arbitrary manner, saw fit to locate at this Byzantine structure.
page 266 note 2 St. George and Elias. Plan, W.
page 266 note 3 Kubâ is the name of a village two miles distant from Medina, on the road towards Mecca, where there is a mosque celebrated as being the first in Islâm to have been called Masjid at Takwâ, the Mosque of Piety. Reynolds (p. 127) translates “and the Mosque of Kissa (near Larissa) and the Mosque of Tyre.” Kissa is certainly a false reading, all the MSS. giving Kubâ, and though Masjid at Tûr may be taken to mean either the Mosque of Sinai or the Mosque of Kefr Tûr, the village crowning the Mount of Olives, ‘Tûr’ is certainly not ‘Tyre,’ which is called ‘Sûr’ by the Arabs.
page 267 note 1 Reynolds, p. 132. Plan, B.
page 267 note 2 Plan, I?
page 267 note 3 Reynolds, p. 134.
page 267 note 4 Plan, C. The Dawîdâriyyah is the house of the Dawîdâr, Or Secretary, a Persian word meaning literally ‘He who carries the inkstand.’
page 267 note 5 Plan, D. Descendants of Shaikh Ghânim ibn ’Ali, who was born near Nablûs in A.H. 562 (A.D. 1167), and died in A.H. 632 at Damascus. Saladin made him chief of the Khânkah Salâhiyyah, the Derwish house founded by him at Jerusalem.
page 267 note 6 Plan, E.
page 267 note 7 See, however, above, p. 265.
page 268 note 1 Plan, F.
page 268 note 2 Arghûn al Kâmili was Lieutenant of Syria. He died in A.H. 758 (A.D. 1357).
page 268 note 3 Plan, G.
page 268 note 4 Tankiz al Hisâmi or an Nâsiri was Lieutenant of Syria under An Nâsir Muhammad ibn Kalaûn, Mamlûk Sultan of Egypt. Tankiz died in A.H. 741 (A.D. 1340).
page 268 note 5 Plan, H?
page 268 note 6 The Madrasah al Baladiyyah was founded by the Amir Mankali Bughâ al Ahmadî, Governor of Aleppo. He died in A.H. 782 (A.D. 1380).
page 268 note 7 The Madrasah Ashrafiyyah was founded by the Mamlûk Sultân Kait Bey in A.H. 885 (A.D. 1491). It stood apparently within the wall of the Haram Area.
page 268 note 8 Muttahidân, some MSS. may read Mustajiddân, which would mean ‘restored.’ It would appear, however, that the first is the better reading, and that the two portals, that of the Chain and that of the Shechinah, were so close to one another as to form but a single gateway; as is the case at the present day at I. in the Plan.
page 269 note 1 Plan, K.
page 269 note 2 Plan, T.
page 269 note 3 These paragraphs, showing how the gates of the Noble Sanctuary stood in the middle of the fifteenth century A.D., are not without interest, and Suyûtî's account has been copied by subsequent compilers; as, for instance Mujîr ad Dîn. To show how little Mr. Reynolds' translation can be relied on, I copy his version of the foregoing paragraphs (p. 134): “The Gate of the Glorious Prophets is now called the Gate al Dawîdârî (the Gate of the Templars); it ia on the western side, but itself is in a northern direction. The Gate of the Sheep is west of the Gate of the Guard, on the frontside of the Mosque. This gate is called the Antechapel of Abraham. The Gate of the Conqueror is said to be the same as the Gate of the Jealousy-search; it is now called Angel's Gate, because Gabriel is said to have bound Al Burâk there.” And in a note to this farrago of nonsense he adds : “ Several gates are enumerated in the original, which, as possessing no interest, are omitted. ”
page 269 note 4 The text of this chapter of the Muthîr is given in extenso, p. 303.
page 269 note 5 The Dhirâ‘ al Mâlik, the royal ell or cubit, differs from the Dhirâ‘ al ’Amm or common ell, in that the latter contains six Kabdah (or fists), while the royal ell contains seven. The royal ell was instituted by one of the ancient Chosroes of Persia (Lane, s.v. Dhirâ‘).
page 269 note 6 See p. 253.
page 269 note 7 Plan, at C.
page 270 note 1 The text of this passage from the Paris MSS. of the Muthîr will be found on p. 305. Reynolds (p. 134), has given us a translation that reads nonsense. The identical slab, with the inscription mentioned by the author of the Muthîr, was discovered by Mons. Clermont-Ganneau in 1874, in the north wall of the Haram Area. Part of the inscription, however (as noted also by our author), has become damaged. It runs as follows: “In the name of Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful; the length of the Masjid is seven hundred and four and … ty ells, and its breadth four hundred and five-and-fifty ells, the ell being the ell of …” According to Mons. Ganneau's view, the space for the word representing the tens in the enumeration of the length, will only allow of the word being either ‘eighty’ or ‘thirty.’ The Persian traveller, Nâsir-i-Khusrau, who visited Jerusalem in A.H. 438 (A.D. 1047), states that he saw the inscription and read it thus, “length 704 gez, breadth 455; the gez (ell=dhirâ‘) being the royal gez.” Ali of Herât, who wrote about the year A.D. 1200, read the numbers of the inscription as “700 and 455.” The earliest notice of this measurement, however, that I have met with in Arab writers is that given in the work of the Spanish traveller, Ibn 'Abd Rabbih (who died in A.H. 328=A.D. 940). Without any mention of the inscription on the slab, he states the length and breadth of the Haram Area to be respectively 784 and 455 ells, the ell used being the Imâm ell. Thus in his figures he agrees with the author of the Muthîr; and his ‘Imâm’ ell. which is probably that of the Imâm Ali, is possibly the same as the Malik or royal ell. Lastly, and without any reference to Mons C. Ganneau's discovery, Mons. Schefer, on the authority of M. Alric Chancelier du Consulat de France à Jerusalem (p. 72 of his edition of Nâsir-i-Khusrau's Travels), states that on the stone which may still be seen in the northern wall of the Haram Area, may be read quite clearly, “length 750 ells, breadth 455 ells, of the royal ell.” Mons. Ganneau, however, is of opinion, that whatever else it be, the designation of the ‘ell’ in the inscription cannot be read, as the word ‘al Malik’ or royal, on account of the space and also of the number of strokes, yet distinguishable. So much then is the diversity of opinion, ancient and modern, about this very simple matter.
page 272 note 1 Many other similar accounts of the same tradition follow, for a mass of legendary story has gathered round all that relates to the great water tanks excavated in the rock which underlies the Haram Area.
page 272 note 2 Plan, n. I quote the last sentence as translated by Mr. Reynolds (p. 138), as a specimen of his method: “This well of the Leaves is situated at the entrance of the Mosque al Aksa, on the left of the gate of the courtyard of the towers.” Mr. Reynolds always translates Mihrâb by “Tower.”
page 273 note 1 Reynolds, p. 139. The chapter opens with an account of the various traditions connecting the Virgin Mary with the 'Ain Silwân.
page 273 note 2 Reynolds, p. 141, and see above, p. 252.
page 274 note 1 Kurân xxxviii. 41. The overflowing of the waters of Job's Well, down the Kedron Valley, is of yearly occurrence. Whether this Well be the Fuller's Spring, En Rogel,—mentioned by Joshua (xi. 7) as on the boundary-line between the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin,—is still a matter of dispute. Robinson (Biblical Researches, 2nd ed. i. 332) asserts this to be the case without doubt; while Conder (Handbook to the Bible, p. 335) advocates the identification of En Rogel with Virgin's Fountains, higher up the Valley under the walls of Jerusalem.
page 274 note 2 Reynolds, p. 145.
page 274 note 3 The Birkat (Pool) of the Children of Israel lies to the north of the Haram Area. Which the Birkat of Solomon may be, is matter of question, as also is the identification of the Pool of 'Iyâd. This last takes its name from 'Iyâd ibn Ghanam, a celebrated Companion of the Prophet (who died in A.H. 20=A.D.641), and has nothing to do with “Gad,” as writes Mr. Reynolds (p. 145). The Pool of Mamilla lies a short distance west of the Jaffa Gate of Jerusalem. The Pools of Al Marjî‘ are those known as Solomon's Pools, some miles from Hebron; from these Pilate's Aqueduct brought the water to the city.
page 275 note 1 1 Reynolds, p. 154.
page 275 note 2 Reynolds, p. 174. Suyûtî has copied the whole of this part verbatim out of the Muthîr, the text of which, from the Paris MSS., will be found on p. 297. From what sources this very curious account of Omar's proceedings in the Holy City was taken, I am unable to state. But I must repeat that there is nothing of all this in the works of the older annalists, from Tabari to Ibn al Athîr. The greater portion of this chapter has already been given in English by the late Professor Palmer in the fourth chapter of his and Mr. Besant's joint work on “Jerusalem—the City of Herod and Saladin.” I make no apology, however, for giving it again, for I am able to supply a better text than that on which Professor Palmer worked. Extracts from Suyûtî's text, with a Latin version, had previously appeared, edited by P. Lemming, under the title Commentatio philologicœ. Specimen libri Ithâf etc., auctore Kemáloddino Muhammede etc. Hauniœ M.D.CCCXVII.
page 275 note 3 Plan, K.
page 276 note 1 Al Walîd ibn Muslim, the celebrated traditionist, was a freedman of the Omeyyads, and a native of Damascus. According to Nawâwi (ed. by Wüstenfeld, text, p. 618), he died in A.H. 194 or 195, aged 73.
page 276 note 2 Al Kumâmah, literally, ‘the Dunghill.’ This is a designed corruption on the part of the Muslims of ‘Al Kayâmah,’ ‘Anastasis,’ the name given to the Church of the Resurrection (the Holy Sepulchre) by the Christian Arabs.
page 277 note 1 In Jaulân.
page 278 note 1 In the year of the Hijrah 7, the Prophet despatched envoys to the Chosroe of Persia, and to the Cæsar of Byzantium, calling on them to acknowledge his mission as Allah's Apostle.
page 278 note 2 The text here appears to me to be corrupt. The general sense, however, is plain enough.
page 278 note 3 As a specimen of Mr. Reynolds' method of translation, the following may be quoted from p. 179, representing the above passages:
“We are also informed by Al Walîd that Sa‘ad Ibn-Abdul-Aziz said, A letter (an epistle) of the Prophet of God (upon whom be the mercy and peace of God!) came to Al Kais; and this it is — In the Bait-ul-Mukaddas, and upon the Sakhrâ of the Bait-ul-Mukaddas, there shall be a great sewer, whereby the tower of David (on whom be salutation !) is spoiled by the injurious abuse of the lying Christians, in order to hurt the Jews, until those changing times shall come that the cities be stirred up to wrest the precinct from Greece. Then shall the Sakhrah be met with. Therefore said Al Kais, when he read this epistle of the Prophet of God,” etc., etc.
There is here a specimen of nearly every kind of blunder. A whole passage is interpolated, the very common word Kaisar, Cæsar, is read twice over as an Arab proper name, Al Kais.
page 280 note 1 Reynolds, p. 182. The text of this passage is not from the Muthîr, and where Suyûtî obtained it I do not know.
page 280 note 2 Lane, in his great Dictionary (v. snb voce) says that the Kamîs Sumbulânî is a shirt ample in length, so as to reach down to the ground, and adds that it is so called in relation to a town or district in the Greek Empire. The Church of Mary (Kanîsah Maryam), here mentioned, may be the Church of the Virgin described by Procopius.
page 280 note 3 This is the beginning of the sixth chapter of the Muthîr (see p. 300 for the text). Reynolds, p. 184.
page 280 note 4 Abu'l Mikdam Rijâ ibn Hayâh ibn Jarûl, of the Kendah tribe, was a man celebrated for his learning, and a great friend of the Khalif Omar (II.) ibn 'Abd al Azîz. Yazîd ibn Sallâm, his colleague, was a native of Jerusalem.
page 281 note 1 The text as given in the Muthîr (p. 300) is, I think, corrupt; but there can be no doubt of the general import.
page 281 note 2 I am by no means sure of my translation of this passage. If we read Suffatal-Kubbat, it would mean “the porch of the Dome,” i.e. one of the porches at the four gates. I prefer, however, to read Sifat, and to translate as I have done. Mujîr ad dîn in the corresponding passage (p. 241 of the Bulâk text, printed in A.H. 1283) gives quite a different reading. AVhat he says is: “And'Abd al Mâlik carefully described to the artificers what he wished to be built, and how it should stand. And while he remained in the Holy City, the architects built for him the small Dome which stands to the east of the Dome of the Rock, and is now called the Dome of the Chain. And this he so much admired that he ordered the Kubbat as Sakhrah (the Dome of the Rock) to be built like it.”
page 281 note 3 Now called the Dome of the Chain, Plan, c.
page 282 note 1 Mr. Reynolds' translation (p. 187) of the foregoing passages is so remarkable that I quote it, in further proof of my assertion that his work needs emendation. ‘Then he [the Caliph] wrote to them, “A great sum hath been expended and paid by the public for the chapel; therefore I will spend and lay out upon it (money for the purchase of) that which every one may look at—gold work, and ornament a sort of common part (which all may he permitted to behold), of mosaic, outside; and there also, a second, to he a covering against rain and wind and snow.” But Rijah-ibn-Haywah and Yazîd ihn Salâm had already surrounded it with a screen of latice-work, with small interstices, and a curtain of silk hanging loosely between pillars.’
page 283 note 1 The MSS. of Suyûtî give “Hammâ Sulaimân” only, as though it were King Solomon. I have found no notice of this bath elsewhere. The Jûrî rose is named from the town of Jûr or Gûr, in Persia, afterwards called Fairûzâbâd, which was so celebrated for its roses as to be surnamed Balad al Ward, the City of Eoses (see Yakût, ii. 147).
page 284 note 1 Prayer prostrations.
page 284 note 2 What Mashânî or Masânî I do not know ; the word is omitted in the MSS. of Suyûtî. Mr. Reynolds has completely misunderstood these paragraphs. I quote a single passage (p. 189), that, namely, which is supposed to give the translation of the above sentence. “Then the men went out; and whosoever smelt the smell of their incense said, This is from some one who has entered the Sakhrâ; and they washed the soles of their feet, and slightly passed a moistened hand over their face, at the threshold of St. George, and napkins were wetted, and gates were split open (i.e. although they only slightly wetted their faces, and then wiped them with a napkin, yet, from the number who did this, the napkins were entirely wet, and from the rush of their entrance the gates were split open). Also at every gate were ten beadles,” etc. I need hardly point out that the commentary introduced with “i.e.” is as much beside the mark as the remainder of the translation. The text of all this may be seen on p. 302.
page 284 note 3 The MSS. read, some Zambak, which is ‘Oil of Jasmin,’ and some Zibak, which is ‘Quicksilver.’ If the latter be right, and it concords better with ar-rasâsî ‘of lead,’ I fail to comprehend how the Mosque was lighted with ‘Quicksilver of lead.’ Mr. Reynolds offers no solution, for he leaves these words out.
page 285 note 1 See above, p. 253.
page 285 note 2 See p. 303.
page 285 note 3 The ratl (from the Greek λιτρα) is of about 6 lbs. English.
page 287 note 1 The Omeyyad Khalif, who reigned at Damascus A.H. 99–101 (A.D. 717–720).
page 287 note 2 The remainder of this chapter is devoted to an account of the taking of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, and its re-conquest by Saladin ; the details of which being matters of history, and fully treated of in other works, need not detain us here.
page 288 note 1 Reynolds, p. 280.
page 288 note 2 Reynolds, p. 320.
page 288 note 3 Reynolds, p. 354.
page 289 note 1 Reynolds, p. 359.
page 289 note 2 The following curious account of a visit to the Cave of Machpelah has been copied hy Suyûtî verbatim from Chapter XV. of Ishak al Khalîlî's “History of Hebron,” mentioned above, p. 252.
page 290 note 1 At that time the capital of Filastîn.
page 290 note 2 This second account is omitted by Suyûtî.
page 294 note 1 I have given this curious account in extenso, for it has been copied by many later Arab historians and abridged. The following version of this and also a notice of another visit to the Cave has appeared to me worth translating from the pages of Yakût's great Geographical Dictionary (ed. Wüstenfeld, vol. ii. p. 468, s.v. Al Khalîl).
The place is called Al Khalîl; originally, however, it was named Habrûn, and also Habrâ; and in the Books of Moses it is written how Al Khalîl (the Friend of God, Abraham) bought a piece of ground from Afrûn ibn Sùhâr al Haithî (Ephron the son of Zochar the Hittite) for four hundred dirhems of silver, and buried therein Sarah. Many of the Traditionists are of this town; and it is a pleasant, wholesome, and agreeable place, wherein many blessed sights are to be seen. It is said that its fortress was built by Solomon the son of David. Al Harawî relates as follows: “I went to Jerusalem in the year 567 (A.D. 1172), and both there and at Hebron I made the acquaintance of certain Shaikhs, who informed me that in the year 513 (A.D. 1119), during the reign of King Bardawîl (Baldwin II.) a certain part over the Cave of Abraham had given way, and that a number of the Franks had, by the King's permission, made their entrance therein. And they found (the bodies of) Abraham and Isaac and Jacob—peace be upon them—their shrouds having fallen to pieces, lying propped up against a wall. Over each of their heads were lamps, and their heads were uncovered. Then the King, after providing new shrouds, caused the place to be closed once more.” Al Harawî continues: “I once read, when attending the lectures of As Suflî, that a certain man, who is called the Armenian, being of a mind to make his visitation at Hebron, gave large sums in presents to the Guardians (of the shrine), and had asked one of them whether it were not possible for him to take him down to see the (body of the) Patriarch—on whom be peace. The man replied that at that time it was not possible, but that if he would wait till the press of pilgrims was over, that he could do it. And so (when the time of the pilgrimage) was passed, he raised up a stone flag (in the floor of the Mosque), and taking a lamp with him, he and the other descended some seventy steps to a spacious cavern. The air here was blowing freely, and there was a platform on which lay extended (the body of) Abraham, peace be on him, clothed in green garments, and the wind as it blew tossed about his white locks. At his side lay Isaac and Jacob. And the guide went on with him to the walls of the cavern, telling him that behind the wall lay Sarah, and he had in intention to show him what was beyond the wall, but lo ! a voice cried out, saying, ‘ Beware, for it is the Haram !’ The narrator adds that he returned and came up by the way he had gone down.”
The person quoted by Yakût is Abu'l Hasan Ali al Harawi (of Herât), who died in A.H. 611 (A.D. 1215) at Aleppo, and wrote a book describing the Holy Places of Palestine, of which work a MS. exists in the Bodleian Library. In Ibn al Athîr's Chronicle, under tbe events of the year 513 (A.D. 1119), that is in the very year mentioned by Al Harawî, there is the notice “ That in this year was opened the Tomb of Abraham, and those of his two sons Isaac and Jacob, at a place near the Holy City. Many people saw them. Their limbs had nowise been disturbed, and beside them were placed lamps of gold and of silver.”
All the extant notices of visits to the sepulchres of the Patriarchs at Hebron are ably brought together and discussed by Comte Riant, in a paper inserted at p. 411 of the Archives de l'Orient Latin, vol. ii. 1884. On Hebron in general, the note given by M. Quatremère in the Appendix (p. 239) to vol. i. part ii. of his Histoire des Sultans Mamlouks (one of the most useful of the Oriental Translation Fund Publications), may with advantage be consulted.
page 295 note 1 Reynolds, p. 370.
page 295 note 2 Reynolds, p. 377.
page 295 note 3 That is, the well-known geographer Al Mukaddasi.
page 295 note 4 At Tadmûrî, the Palmyrene, is Abu'l Fidâ Ishâk al Khalîlî, mentioned above, p. 252.
page 296 note 1 Reynolds, p. 378.
page 296 note 2 Reynolds, p. 391. Suyûtî's description of Damascus, and his account of the building of the Mosque by the Khalif al Walîd is too lengthy to insert here. Besides, Suyûtî is not an original authority on these points, and nearly all the information he gives may be found, in a slightly different form, translated into French, and inserted by Quatremère in a long note (vol. ii. pt. iii. p. 262) to his Histoire des Sultans Mamlouks. It may, however, be worth while to give what Suyûtî writes of the political divisions of Syria, noting that on this subject he merely copies word for word what the author of the Muthîr had written in A.D. 1351. Mr. Reynolds has given not a few misreadings (p. 394, et seq.). The first town of Syria, says the Muthîr, is Bâlis (not Bayâs, as in R.), and the last Al ' Arîsh of Egypt. Syria is divided into five districts, namely—1. Filastîn, whose capital is Iliyâ (Ælia), eighteen miles from Ar Ramlah, which is the Holy City, the metropolis of David and Solomon. Of its towns are Ascalon. Hebron, Sibastiah, and Nâbulûs. 2. Haurân, whose capital is Tiberias, with its lake, whereof mention occurs in the Traditions anent Gog and Magog ; and 'tis said that at the time of the birth of him (i.e. the Prophet), whom Allah bless and keep in peace (fî wakti wilâdatihi sallâ Allahu 'alaihi wa sallama, which Mr. Reynolds renders, “in the time of Walâdat”), the Lake overflowed. Of its territories are those of the Ghôr, the Yarmûk (Hieromax), and of Baisân (Bethshean, Scythopolis), which is the town of whose palm trees the Antichrist (ad Dajjâl) will enquire (Reynolds has, “from whose palm trees pitch is sought. whence its name Al Dijjalat, the Tigris”) . Also the Jordan, more often called Ash Sharî‘ah. 3. The Ghûtah. Its capital is Damascus; Tripoli is on its coast. 4. Hims (Emessa; the name of the province, and of its chief town). Of its dependencies is the city of Salamaniah (Salaminias. Reynolds writes ‘ Salamît ’). 5. Kinnasrîn (not ‘ Kinnarîn ’ as in Reynolds). Its chief town is Aleppo, and of its dependencies are Sarmîn (not ‘ Samwîl, ’ as in Reynolds) and Antioch.
page 297 note 1 The text is taken from the following MSS.:
Muthîr al Gharâm: A. Paris MS. Arab. 716
B. Paris MS. Arab. 841
C. Paris MS. Arab. 142
Collated with Suyûtî's Ithâf: S. a. Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 7326.
S. b. Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 23339.
S. c. Paris MS. Suppl. Arab. 919.
S. d. Paris MS. Arab. 836.
S. e. Paris MS. Arab. 838.
page 297 note 2 The translation of the following will be found on p. 275 et seq.
page 297 note 3 S.a.b.
page 298 note 1 S.
page 298 note 2 B.
page 298 note 3 S.
page 298 note 4 A.
page 299 note 1 S.a. C.: S.b.c.d.e.
page 299 note 2 S.a.e.
page 300 note 1 The translation will be found on p. 280.
page 300 note 2 S.
page 300 note 3 S.e.
page 300 note 4 S.e.
page 301 note 1 C.
page 302 note 1 S.e.
page 302 note 2 S.
page 302 note 3 B. C.
page 302 note 4 B. C.
page 302 note 5 B. and C.
page 303 note 1 The translation of this chapter will be found on p. 285.
page 303 note 2 A.B. , but C. and S. always
page 304 note 1 B.C.
page 305 note 1 The translation of this concluding paragraph is that given on p. 269.