which he distributed along a
measured road of seven hundred miles; but his train of camels, laden
with snow, could serve only to astonish the natives of Arabia, and to
refresh the fruits and liquors of the royal banquet. [45] The courtiers
would surely praise the liberality of his grandson Almamon, who gave
away four fifths of the income of a province, a sum of two millions four
hundred thousand gold dinars, before he drew his foot from the stirrup.
At the nuptials of the same prince, a thousand pearls of the largest
size were showered on the head of the bride, [46] and a lottery of lands
and houses displayed the capricious bounty of fortune. The glories of
the court were brightened, rather than impaired, in the decline of the
empire, and a Greek ambassador might admire, or pity, the magnificence
of the feeble Moctader. "The caliph's whole army," says the historian
Abulfeda, "both horse and foot, was under arms, which together made
a body of one hundred and sixty thousand men. His state officers,
the favorite slaves, stood near him in splendid apparel, their belts
glittering with gold and gems. Near them were seven thousand eunuchs,
four thousand of them white, the remainder black. The porters or
door-keepers were in number seven hundred. Barges and boats, with the
most superb decorations, were seen swimming upon the Tigris. Nor was the
palace itself less splendid, in which were hung up thirty-eight thousand
pieces of tapestry, twelve thousand five hundred of which were of
silk embroidered with gold. The carpets on the floor were twenty-two
thousand. A hundred lions were brought out, with a keeper to each lion.
[47] Among the other spectacles of rare and stupendous luxury was a tree
of gold and silver spreading into eighteen large branches, on which, and
on the lesser boughs, sat a variety of birds made of the same precious
metals, as well as the leaves of the tree. While the machinery affected
spontaneous motions, the several birds warbled their natural harmony.
Through this scene of magnificence, the Greek ambassador was led by
the vizier to the foot of the caliph's throne." [48] In the West, the
Ommiades of Spain supported, with equal pomp, the title of commander
of the faithful. Three miles from Cordova, in honor of his favorite
sultana, the third and greatest of the Abdalrahmans constructed the
city, palace, and gardens of Zehra. Twenty-five years, and above three
millions sterling, were employed by the founder: his