family of Hashem, the most illustrious
of the Arabs, the princes of Mecca, and the hereditary guardians of the
Caaba. The grandfather of Mahomet was Abdol Motalleb, the son of Hashem,
a wealthy and generous citizen, who relieved the distress of famine with
the supplies of commerce. Mecca, which had been fed by the liberality
of the father, was saved by the courage of the son. The kingdom of Yemen
was subject to the Christian princes of Abyssinia; their vassal Abrahah
was provoked by an insult to avenge the honor of the cross; and the holy
city was invested by a train of elephants and an army of Africans. A
treaty was proposed; and, in the first audience, the grandfather of
Mahomet demanded the restitution of his cattle. "And why," said Abrahah,
"do you not rather implore my clemency in favor of your temple, which I
have threatened to destroy?" "Because," replied the intrepid chief, "the
cattle is my own; the Caaba belongs to the gods, and they will defend
their house from injury and sacrilege." The want of provisions, or
the valor of the Koreish, compelled the Abyssinians to a disgraceful
retreat: their discomfiture has been adorned with a miraculous flight
of birds, who showered down stones on the heads of the infidels; and the
deliverance was long commemorated by the aera of the elephant. [65] The
glory of Abdol Motalleb was crowned with domestic happiness; his life
was prolonged to the age of one hundred and ten years; and he became the
father of six daughters and thirteen sons. His best beloved Abdallah
was the most beautiful and modest of the Arabian youth; and in the first
night, when he consummated his marriage with Amina, [651] of the noble
race of the Zahrites, two hundred virgins are said to have expired of
jealousy and despair. Mahomet, or more properly Mohammed, the only son
of Abdallah and Amina, was born at Mecca, four years after the death
of Justinian, and two months after the defeat of the Abyssinians, [66]
whose victory would have introduced into the Caaba the religion of the
Christians. In his early infancy, he was deprived of his father, his
mother, and his grandfather; his uncles were strong and numerous; and,
in the division of the inheritance, the orphan's share was reduced to
five camels and an Aethiopian maid-servant. At home and abroad, in peace
and war, Abu Taleb, the most respectable of his uncles, was the guide
and guardian of his youth; in his twenty-fifth year, he entered into the
service of