m for their high treason, and consequently they
were not prisoners of war. Even such prisoners of war suffer for high
treason.

"Treating, in the field, the rebellious enemy according to the law and
usages of war, has never prevented the legitimate Government from trying
the leaders of the rebellion, or chief rebels for high treason, and from
treating them accordingly, unless they are included in a general
amnesty."[250]

[Sidenote: 69. The whole of the Bani Koreiza was never executed.]

The whole tribe of the Bani Koreiza was not executed, nor all the male
prisoners were put to the sword.[251] The number slain was comparatively
very small. That they were not executed at the commands of Mohammad, nor
_all_ of them were killed, nor a divine sanction was alleged for it, is
shown by the following verse of the Koran:

"And he caused those of the people of the Book (the Jews) who had aided
the confederates to come down of their fortresses, and cast dismay into
their hearts: some ye slew; others ye took prisoners."--Sura, xxxiii,
26.

The slaying and taking of prisoners is attributed to them to whom the
verse is addressed as their own act.

[Sidenote: 70. The women and children of the Bani Koreiza were not
sold.]

The rest of the Bani Koreiza,--male adults, women, and children,--were
either liberated or got themselves ransomed. We read in Oyoon-al-Asar by
Ibn Sayyad-al-Nas some account of the ransom. Osman-bin-Affan gathered
much money by the transaction. But Sir W. Muir quotes from Hishamee,
that the rest of the women and children were sent to be sold among the
Bedouin tribes of Najd, in exchange of horse and arms.[252] But there is
no authority for this story. Abul Mo'tamar Soleiman, in his Campaigns of
Mohammad, gives another account which is more probable. He writes:--

"Out of what was captured from Bani Koreiza Mohammad took seventeen
horses and distributed them among his people. The rest he divided into
two halves. One-half he sent with Sad bin Obadd to Syria, and the other
half with Ans bin Quizi to the land of Ghatafan, and ordered that they
may be used there for breeding purposes. They did so, and got good
horses."[253]

[Sidenote: 71. The exaggerated number of the persons executed.]

The number of male adults executed has been much exaggerated, though it
is immaterial, when an execution duly authorized by the international
law of a country takes place, to consider the smallness or greatness of
the numb