The History of the Empire of the Musulmans in Spain and Portugal, etc

Front matter

THE HISTORY OF THE ©mptre of tlje Mumlmms IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL; FROM THE FIRST INVASION OF THE MOORS, TO THEIR ULTIMATE EXPULSION FROM THE PENINSULA. By GEORGE POWER, Esq. '^ (Late of the 23d Regiment of Foot,) Surgeon to His Majesty's Forces. Author of " An Attempt to investigate the Cause of the Egyptian Opthalmia, with Observations on its Nature and different Modes of Cure." LONDON: Printed for J. J. Stockdale, No. 41, Pall-Mall. 1815. Printed by Cox and Baylis, Great Qaeeti Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields. TO HIS GRACE THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS AND MOST NOBLE ARTHUR, DUKE OF WELLINGTON AND MARQUIS OF DOURO, MARQUIS AND EARL OF WELLINGTON, VISCOUNT WELLINGTON OF TAUVERA, BARON DOURO, DUKE OF CIUDAD HODRIGO ; KNIGHT OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER, KNIGHT OF THE MOST HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH, AND KNIGHT OF THE FOREIGN ORDERS OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE GREAT CROSS OF MARIA THERESA OF THE TOWER AND SWORD OF THE SWEDISH ORDER OF THE SWORD — OF THE CRESCENT ; FIELD MARSHAL AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S FORCES SERVING IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL ; MARSHAL GENERAL OF THE PORTUGUESE AND CAPTAIN-GENERAL OF THE SPANISH ARMIES; AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY AND MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY TO HIS MOST CHRISTIAN MAJESTY LOUIS XVIII. fye.

Sfc. S;c. My Lord Duke, In presenting the following production to your Grace, I feel A 2 that that I bespeak for it a degree of importance and patronage, far, I fear, beyond its merits. To whom, however, could its dedication be offered with more propriety, than to a Prince, whose illustrious military achievements and heroic actions have been the means, not only of liberating the Peninsula from a race of men, much more to be dreaded than the Musulmans ~m but also whose comprehensive mind, genius, and powerful arm, having defended a portion of the Peninsula from the hordes of Gauls who aimed at its subjugation, as well as that of the whole universe, has been the instrument ment employed by Divine Pro vidence to preserve and cherish in Portugal the spark of liberty, which the overwhelming influence of France, under its late ruler, had nearly extinguished on the Con tinent of Europe?

Had these pages been employed in recording those portions of the nistory of the Peninsula, which pre sent to view, though enveloped in obscurity and fable, the exploits of a Hercules conquering the Titans, and, according to the manners of the East, erecting a temple to the Sun, on the sacred promontory now called Point St. Vincent, the landa 3 ing ing of the Phenicians at Cadiz, and their subsequent conquests, or the arrival of Nebuchadonosor in Spain, to assuage their arrogance ; such circumstances, My Lord Duke, the veil which antiquity and poetic fic tion throw over them being re moved, having some resemblance to the events of the present day, would have afforded a fitter subject to pre sent to your Grace. Or if, on a closer view, the development and detail of records, less remote, had been their object; in tracing the steps of the Carthaginian Generals, Hamilcar pushing his conquests over the Romans to the Pyrenees, and Hannibal, Hannibal, accompanied by the brave and patriotic Viriates, the celebrated Lusitanian leader, overcoming the difficulties which these mountains opposed, passing the Rhone, surmounting the Alps, and, despite of the skill and sagacity of the two Scipios and the prudence of a Fabius, forcing his victorious way to the very walls of Rome — These subjects, My Lord Duke, would have afforded materials for a work much more worthy of Your Excel lency's notice, and might be pre sented with more propriety.

Introduction

. The rapid establishment of the empire of the Arabs in Asia, in Africa, and in Europe, is one of the most extraordinary, and, at the same time, the most interesting events in history. We know that Mahomet and his early successors made an astonishing progress in a little time, to which the zeal and ardour a new religion always inspires must have contributed. But it was not entirely owing to enthusiasm ; their valour, and their experience in the art of war must have had wonderful effect. The Arabs, when Mahomet appeared, passed for the best race of men in that part of the world which they occupied, occupied, and their cavalry was superior to that of all other nations. The Moors of Spain and Portugal are cele t brated, but their history is very little known. Their name recals the recollection of gallantry, of politeness, and of the fine arts ; and the frag ments of their annals, scattered in the Arabian and Spanish historians, afford nothing more than details of strangled kings, of divisions, of dvil wars, and of eternal combats with their neigh bours. 1st the midst of these sad recitals, we sometimes find the traces of goodness of heart, of justice, and of greatness of mind.

Such characteristics strike us much more forcibly than those which we read in our own his tories, because they preserve an impression of originality, stamped upon them by their oriental origin ; and because, accompanied by so many examples of barbarity, one good action, one noble ble sentiment, or one affecting word, acouires a lively brilliancy, when compared with the crimes by which it is surrounded. In this history of the Musulmans, 1 wish only to trace a faithful sketch of the character and the manners of a people, amongst whom I have re sided some time in Asia and in Africa ; from whom I can perceive the people of the Peninsula, at the present day, derive their peculiar cast of character, and from whom they have acquired many improvements in arts and manufactures. The Spanish and Portuguese languages are founded on the Latin, aspirated by the guttural pronunciation of the Arabic, and are frequently combined with that language.

The manners of the lower classes bear a strong resemblance to those of the Moors ; and, even in the higher ranks of society, that bold and lofty spirit im patient of control, and that ardent patriotism, so so strongly exemplified at *jhis time, may be attributed, in some measure, to an oriental origin. I am aware that I tread on tender ground, when I attempt to trace those features of character ; but when it is considered, that the Italian language is the Latin softened by the Greek, that Rome derived its taste, its elegances, and its arts from Athens, and that those arts originated in Egypt, where I have had an opportunity of examining and admiring the most stupendous and magnificent remains of antiquity ; I hope that no ungenerous motives will be attributed to these observations, which are only intended to elucidate that peculiar character of the Spaniards, so different from the other nations of Europe, and which ought to be better known, in order to be better understood.

There is little doubt that the days of chivalry and and knight errantry, which took rise in those countries, and which contributed so much to the civilization of mankind even in the dark ages of Christianity, owed their origin, in some measure, "to the influence of Moorish superstitions. From them were derived the tales of sorcerers, necromancers, magicians, and enchanters, whose supposed existence afforded such abundant sub jects for the romances of those days, which caused such excessive follies, as required the exertions of the inimitable Cervantes to remove, and against which he directed those exquisitely keen shafts of ridicule, which have rendered him immortal, and the value of which can never be sufficiently appreciated, except in those regions where the incidents related are supposed to occur, and in that language in which the life and adven tures of the Knight of La Mancha were ori ginally written.

As As an apology for the many inaccuracies with which I fear this work will be found to abound, I have to offer the constant avocations of military duty, the unsettled life of a soldier in the field, exposed often, for weeks together, to the open air, and above all, my absence from home, which deprives me of the power of cor recting any mistakes of the press. With respect to the authorities whence I have drawn my information, I have to observe, generally, that I am indebted to the works of Flo rian ; to the History of the Arabs under the Go vernment of the Caliphs, by the Abb£ de Ma rigny ; to the History of Africa and Spain under the Dominion of the Arabs, taken from different Arabic manuscripts by Cardonne; and to the Annals of Spain and Portugal, by Don Juan Alvares de Colmenar ; &c. &c. &c. The services on which I have been employed during the last fifteen fifteen years, have offered me some opportunities of exploring the different theatres on which these scenes have been acted, have served to give me a taste for those pursuits, and have enabled me to give some anecdotes, which connect the story, in some measure, with the passing events of the present day. Coimbra, 1812. HISTORY OF THE EMPIRE OF THE MUSULMANS IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.

Book I. Chronological Table Of The Musulman Sovereigns Who Reigned In Spain

AND PORTUGAL. Cahplis of the East. Governors or Viceroys of Spain and Portugal. Ann. Dora. Ann. Dom. 705 Valid I. the eleventh 714 Moussa, conqueror of Ommiade Caliph. 716 Suleiman. Spain. 717 Abdelazis, son of Moussa. 718 Alahor. 718 Omar II. 721 Ye'zid. 723 Hackem. 721 Elzemagh. 723 Ambeze ben Sehim. 725 Asre ben Abdoullah. 727 Jahiah ben Seleme. 728 Osman Abine'za. 728 llazifa ben Elahous. 729 Hackem ben Hadi. 731 Mahomet ben Abdoullah. b Caliphs of the East. Governors or Viceroys of Spain and Portugal. > Ann. Dom. Ann. Dom. 731 Abdabrahman ben Abdoullah, killed at the Battle of Tours. 734 AbdoulmelexbenKoutn. 735 Akbe ben el Hadjadi. 742 Aboulatar Hassam. 742 Valid II. 743 Yezid III. 744 Ibrahim. 744 Mervan II. the last 745 T€vabe\ Ommiade Caliph. 746 Joseph el Fahri, the last Viceroy. 752 Abonl Abbas Saffah, first Abbasside Caliph. 754 Aboul Giaffar Almanzor, second Abbasside Caliph.

Chapter I

Origin of the Musulmans The Arabs . . .Mahomet, his religion . . - .Progress of Islamisra . . . .Death of Mahomet . . . .His character. Th£ Moors are the inhabitants of that vast tract of country in Africa, bordered on the east by Egypt, on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south by the desarts of Barbary. Their origin, like that of almost all nations, is obscure, and mixed with fable. It appears certain, how ever, that emigrations from Asia took place in early. times into Africa ; and the name of Moors, said to be derived from the He brew word Mahurim, which signifies East ern, seems to indicate this origin. On the other hand, a number of his torians speak of one Melek-Yafrik, King of Arabia Felix, who followed by numbers b 3 of of the Sabeans, possessed himself of Lybia, and gave it the name of Africa ; and the principal tribes of the Moors pretend to be descended from those Sabeans.

Without disputing these matters so very ancient, it is sufficient for us to know, that the first Moors were Arabs ; therefore we are not much surprised to see them always separata ed in tribes, living under tents, wandering in the desarts, and cherishing, like their fathers, that free and pastoral life. They are known in ancient history under the name of Numidians, Getulians, and Massilians ; and occasionally subjects, enemies, or allies of the famous Carthage, they fell with it under the dominion of the Romans. (A. D. 43,72) After many ineffectual revolts, caused by the inconstant, flighty, and unsettled spirit of these people, they were subdued by the Vandals. Belisarius conquered conquered those some ages afterwards ; but the Arabs, conquerors of Greece, subdued Mauritania. As, since that moment, the Moors became Musulmans, and, under this appellation, confounded with the Arabs, it becomes necessary to say a few words con™ cerning that extraordinary nation, unknown during so many ages, and becoming mistress, suddenly, of the greatest part of the then known world.

The Arabs are, beyond contradiction, one of the most ancient nations of the universe ; and perhaps it is this, more than any other circumstance, which has in fluenced them to preserve their character, their manners, and independence. From the most remote ages, divided in tribes, wandering over the plains, or collected in villages, subject to the chief warrior or magistrate of the time, never have they been subject to the dominion of strangers. b 4 The The Persians, the Macedonians, the Romans, endeavoured in vain to conquer them. Proud of their origin, which they retrace almost to the days of the Patriarchs, and conscious of having thus defended their liberty, the Arabs, in the midst of their desarts, regard other nations as so many troops of slaves, assembled together by chance, to change their masters.

Brave, temperate, indefatigable, inured from their infancy to the most painful labours, fearing neither thirst, hunger, nor death, these people wanted but one man to make them masters of the world. (A.D. 569.) Mahomet made his appearance, gifted by nature with all those qualities which are calculated to attract and impose. Possessed of valour, sagacity, elo quence, and grace, Mahomet, in more en lightened nations, would have been a great man ; amongst a people ignorant and fanatic, natic, he must have been, indeed he was, esteemed a prophet. About this time the Arab tribes, sur rounded by Jews, by Christians, and by Idolators, had made a superstitious com bination of the different religions with that of the ancient Sabeans. They believed in the existence of genii, of demons, and sor cerers; they adored the stars, and sacri ficed to idols.

Mahomet, after having meditated until his forty-fourth year, in retirement and silence, the new dogmas he wished to esta blish ; after having seduced or persuaded the principal part of his own family (the Cosheshirites, guardians of the temple of Caaba, which was of the highest rank amongst the Arabs), preached at once a new religion, inimical to all the religions then known, and calculated to inflame the ardent minds of this pqople. " Children " Children of Ishmael," says he to them, " I restore to you that worship, which " your father Abraham, Noah, and all the " Patriarchs professed. * There is but one God, sovereign of " the world ; he calls himself merciful ; " adore no other God but him. Be ye *' bountiful towards the orphan, the poor, " the slaves, and the captives. Be just " towards all men; for justice is the sister " of piety.

Pray and be charitable : your " recompence will be to live in heaven, in " gardens the most delightful, where lim " pid streams abound, where you will find " wives for ever beautiful, for ever young, " and everlastingly in love with you.* " Encounter * These pleasures held out to a people inhabiting a sandy desart under a burning sun, where limpid streams never flow, and where a beautiful woman is seldom to be seen, must have excited sensations of delight Encounter with valour the unbelievers '/ 'and tile impious ; maintain the combat " Until you gain the victory, until they <c consent to embrace Islamism or to pay " you tribute. Every soldier killed in bat " tie will go to enjoy the treasures of hea " ven. The cowardly cannot prolong their " lives. The instant the angel of death " gives the blow is noted in the book of " the Eternal Beina;." '6 The word Islamism is derived from eslam, which means consecration by God.

The Koran contains the doctrine of this reli gion, combined with a great deal of absur dity and incoherent ideas ; but the entire work exhibits a degree of enthusiastic rap ture, and the moral precepts which it contains light too exquisite to be described. It is requisite to reside some time in those arid regions, to enable us to form any idea of the value of these enjoyments. tains are pure. Mahomet never speaks himself; it is the angel Gabriel who conveys to him the words of God : the prophet hears and repeats them. The angel takes care to enter into all the details which concern not only religion, but also legislation and police ; so that the Koran, amongst the Musulmans, is at the same time the code of their sacred and civil laws. One half of the book is in verse, the other in poetic prose.

Mahomet was a great poet, a talent so much esteemed in Arabia, that the people used to assemble at Mecca, to judge of the different poems which their authors came to affix to the walls of the temple of Caaba. The best poet was crowned with great solemnity. When Mahomet came to affix the second chapter of the Koran, Labia ebn Rabia, the most celebrated poet of that time, tore down the poem which which he had placed near it, and avowed himself surpassed by the prophet. The precepts of Mahomet, announced in a language rich, figurative, and ma jestic, embellished with the charms of poe try, presented by an angel from heaven, through the medium of a prophet, at once a warrior, a poet, and a legislator, to a people in the universe the most ardent, the most passionately fond of the marvellous, of voluptuous pleasures, of heroic achievements, and of the beauties of poetry, must soon have found disciples.

Mahomet had a great number, which persecution served to augment. His enemies forced him to fly from Mecca, his country, (A. D. 622, Hegiræ 1), and to take refuge at Medina ; but this flight became the epoch of his glory and the Hegira of the Musulmans. From this moment Islamism spread itself, like a torrent, through Arabia and Ethiopia. In In vain did some tribes of idolaters or Jews Avish to defend their ancient worship ; in vain did Mecca arm its soldiers against the destroyer of their gods ; Mahomet, sword in hand, dispersed their armies, possessed himself of their towns, pardoned all those whom he vanquished, and attached to him, by his clemency, by his genius, and by his talents, those people whom he had subdued. A legislator, a pontiff, chief of all the Arab tribes, master of an invincible army, respected by the sovereigns of Asia, adored by a powerful nation, and supported by captains who had become heroes under him, he was about to march against He raclius, when he died at Medina (A. D. 632, A. H. 11), in consequence of poison, which was given to him by a Jewess of Kahiabar.

Mahomet was not that monster of cruelty which some writers paint him. He was always always merciful to the conquered, and .he pardoned even personal injuries. He was one day preaching to the people in a mosque at Medina, when a poet, named Caab, the son of 2ohair, who had been one of his most bitter enemies, and who had set a price upon his head, made his appearance unexpectedly, and demanded an audience, in order that he might recite some verses which he had composed in his praise. Al though the prophet had cause to be irritat ed against the poet, who had recently de faipcd him in one of his satires, yet he thought it, nevertheless, consistent with his dignity, to forget injuries, when a person offered to make atonement. He ordered Caab to approach and proceed. The poet commenced by asking pardon for the temerity with which he had written against Mahomet.

The serenity which reigned in the countenance of the prophet, afforded afforded a happy presage of pardon, and Caab recited forthwith a piece of poetry, so energetic and so touching, that Maho met, in returning thanks, made him a present, which has immortalized the me mory of the poet amongst the Arabs. Ma homet took off the mantle which he had on his own shoulders, and placed it, with his own hands, on those of his panegyrist. Caab preserved this mantle most carefully until his death. Whilst he was living, the Caliph Moavia offered him for it ten thousand drachms of gold, which he refused. The same Moavia directed that his body should, after his death, be sent to his heirs with twenty thousand drachms (Abulfed says forty thousand), and he received from them the mantle. Almonstasem-villah, 362d Caliph, and the last of the family of the Abassides, was clothed with this ntantle, when he marched from from Bagdad to meet the victorious Ho lagu, Emperor of the Tartars : he carried also in his hand the staff of the prophet.

Holagu stripped him of the mantle, de prived him of the staff, burned them in a pan, and threw the ashes into the Tigris, saying, tl It is not from contempt that I " have burned these sacred ornaments, but " more from a motive of respect, and to '/ preserve their purity and sanctity from " the blood with which they ought not to ff be profaned by the wicked." This mantle must have been but little used, for when the Tartar caused it to be burned, it had been preserved more than six hundred years. The last moments of Mahomet prove that he was far from having a cruel dispo sition. At the brink of the grave he arose from his couch, betook himself to a mosque supported in the arms of Ali, mounted the c pulpit, pulpit, and having prayed, he addressed himself to the congregation in the following words : " Musulmans, I am about to die ; no ** one has now occasion to fear me.

If I ie have punished any one amongst you un " justly, behold here I am, that you may " punish me; if I have deprived you of tc your property, here is my purse that you " may pay yourselves ; if I have humiliated <c any of you, I give myself over to your " justice, that you may humiliate me in ** my turn." The people burst into tears and groans. One man alone came to demand three drachmas, and Mahomet, in paying him, wished to add the interest. He then bid a tender adieu to the brave inhabitants of Medina, who had so valiantly defended him ; he gave their liberty to the slaves, regulated the order of his funeral, and as if if to sustain, to the very last moments, the character of a prophet, he said, even in the agonies of death, that he was convers ing with the angel Gabriel. The grief and sorrow which this event occasioned was universal in Arabia.

The people put forth howlings and rolled them selves in the dust. Fatima,his daughter, died of despair. The poison which terminated the days of the prophet was given to him, some years before, by a Jewess, whose brother had been killed by Ali. This vindictive female poisoned some roast lamb which she served to Mahomet. No sooner had he put a morsel into his mouth, than he threw it out, exclaiming that it was poisoned : but notwithstanding this promptitude, in spite of all the remedies which were administer ed, the poison was so powerful that he suffered from it all his life, and died in c 2 conconsequence, four years afterwards, in the sixty-third year of his age. The respect, the veneration, which the orientals entertained for Mahomet, cannot be conceived. Their learned men have Written that the world was made for him ; that the first thing which God created was light, and that this light became the sub stance of the soul of Mahomet, &c. &c. Some have maintained, that the Koran is incredible ; others have adopted contrary opinions. Hence arises that crowd of commentators and of sects ; hence those wars, concerning religious opinions, which have covered Asia with blood.

Chapter II

Victories of the Musulmans The Alexandrian Library. The death of Mahomet did not arrest the progress of his religion nor the conquests of the Arabs. Aboubekre, father-in-law to the prophet, was named his successor, and took the title of Caliph, which means simply vicar, or curate. In his reign the Musulmans penetrated into Syria, dispersed the troops of Heraclius, and took the city of Damascus, after a siege rendered for ever memorable, by the more than human exploits of the famous Kaled, surnamed the Sword of God. The feats of arms of this Kaled, as re ported by the most authentic historians, resemble those of the heroes of ancient c 3 Rome. Rome. Once the enemy of Mahomet, he conquered the prophet at the battle of Ahed, the only one in which the latter was ever vanquished. Becoming afterwards a zealous Musulman, he subdued the people who revolted after the death of Mahomet, beat the army of Heraclius, conquered Sy ria, Palestine, and a part of Persia, and returned victorious from a number of single combats, which he always proposed to ge nerous enemies.

One trait will serve to give an idea of his character. Having laid siege to the town of Bostra, the governor, a Greek, named Romain, feigned that he wished to make a sortie, and proceeded to arrange his troops oppo site the army of Kaled, with whom, just before the signal was given, he demanded a conference. The two warriors advanced at the same time to the centre of the space which separated both armies. Romain told told the Musulman, that he had determined to deliver over to him the town, and to embrace Islamism ; but expressed his fear that the soldiers, by whom he was not much esteemed, would not spare his life, and supplicated Kaled to afford him the means to escape their vengeance. " The most " eligible measure," answered Kaled, " which I can suggest, is, that you fight " with me forthwith.

This mark of cou- " rage will draw upon you the respect of " your troops, and we can afterwards set- " tie the treaty of capitulation." At these words, without waiting for Romain's answer, he drew his scimetar, and attacked the unfortunate governor, who defended himself with a trembling hand. At each blow which Kaled inflicted, Romain asked him, " do you wish then to kill me ?" — " No," answered the Musulman, " I am " only endeavouring to cover you with c 4 "■ glory, " glory, and the more blows you receive, " the more you will acquire of public esti " mation." In short, he left Romain bruised all over, possessed himself of the town, and when he again saw the governor, he treated him with that contempt his treachery merited. Amid so many victories, Aboubekre, to whom every one brought the immense booty taken from the enemy, never took to himself, for his private expenses, more than a sum equivalent to forty of our pence per day.

Omar, the successor to Aboubekre, or dered Kaled to march to Jerusalem, which, together with Syria and Palestine, was sub dued by the Arabs. The Turks and Per sians demanded a peace ; Heraclius fled from Antioch; Asia trembled under Omar; and the terrible Musulmans, modest in the midstof victory, ascribed their success to God God alone; preserving, in the centre of a country the most beautiful, the richest, and the most delightful on earth, and amongst a people the most corrupt, their austere man ners, their frugality, their severe discipline, and their respect for their poverty. One might see a soldier, occupied in the pillage of a town, stop directly on the first com mand of his chief, and report to him faith fully the quantity of gold or silver which he had taken, in order that it might be deposited in the public treasury : one might see these captains, so brave, and as superb as kings, lay down or resume the com mand, after receiving a letter from the Caliph, to become in their turns generals, ambassadors, or common soldiers, according to his wishes : one might see, in fact, Omar himself, Omar the most powerful sovereign, the most wealthy and the most magnificent of the kings of Asia, betake himself himself to Jerusalem on a red camel, laden with a sack of barley and rice, a skin filled with water, and a vessel to drink.

With this equipage he travelled through the conquered nations. The people croud ed to see him, to demand his blessing, and to beg of him to settle their differences. Arrived at the army, he preached to them simplicity of manners, bravery and mo desty. On entering Jerusalem, the Caliph pardoned the Christians, preserved their churches, and, remounting his camel, he returned to Medina to offer up prayers for his people. (A. D. 640.) The Musulmans marched towards Egypt, which country was soon subdued. Alexandria was taken by Am rou, one of the most celebrated generals of Omar : and it was at this period that the famous library perished, a subject of eternal regret to the learned world. The Arabs, Arabs, so passionately fond of their own poetry, despise the literary productions of other nations.

Amrou ordered the library of the Ptolemies to be burned ; and yet this man was celebrated for his own poetry. He loved and respected the learned John the grammarian, on whom, without the Caliph's order, he wished to bestow this library. Ptolemy Soter, in founding at Alex andria a museum or academy, had, at the same time, commenced the establishment of a library, which he placed near his pa lace, in a building called Bruchion. This library was considerably augmented by his successors. Under Philadelphos, his son, it already amounted to one hundred thousand volumes; and in a little time after, being increased to three hundred thousand, or thereabout, some of them were placed in the Serapion; a temple thus called, from a statue a statue of Serapis, which Ptolemy had caused, in previous times, to be brought from Sinope, and which, at present, lies prostrate on the shore at Aboukir, and is washed by the same waves which overflow the ruins of the reputed baths of Cleopatra.