en to be generous. Abu-Yezid was at last run to earth,
and his body was skinned and stuffed with straw, and exposed in a cage
with a couple of ludicrous apes as a warning to the disaffected.

The Fatimites so far wear a brutal and barbarous character. They do not
seem to have encouraged literature or learning; but this is partly
explained by the fact that culture belonged chiefly to the orthodox
caliphate; and its learned men could have no dealings with the heretical
pretender. The city of Kayrawan, which dates from the Arab conquest in
the eighth century, preserves the remains of some noble buildings, but
of their other capitals or royal residences no traces of art or
architecture remain to bear witness to the taste of their founders. Each
began to decay as soon as its successor was built.

With the fourth caliph, however, El-Moizz, the conqueror of Egypt,
953-975, the Fatimites entered upon a new phase.

El-Moizz was a man of politic temper, a born statesman, able to grasp
the conditions of success and to take advantage of every point in his
favor. He was also highly educated, and not only wrote Arabic poetry and
delighted in its literature, but studied Greek, mastered Berber and
Sudani dialects, and is even said to have taught himself Slavonic in
order to converse with his slaves from Eastern Europe. His eloquence was
such as to move his audience to tears. To prudent statesmanship he added
a large generosity, and his love of justice was among his noblest
qualities. So far as outward acts could show, he was a strict Moslem of
the Shiah sect, and the statement of his adversaries that he was really
an atheist seems to rest merely upon the belief that all the Fatimites
adopted the esoteric doctrines of the Ismailian missionaries.

When he ascended the throne in April, 953, he had already a policy, and
he lost no time in carrying it into execution. He first made a progress
through his dominions, visiting each town, investigating its needs, and
providing for its peace and prosperity. He bearded the rebels in their
mountain fastnesses, till they laid down their arms and fell at his
feet. He conciliated the chiefs and governors with presents and
appointments, and was rewarded by their loyalty.

At the head of his ministers he set Gawhar "the Roman," a slave from the
Eastern Empire, who had risen to the post of secretary to the late
Caliph, and was now by his son promoted to the rank of _wazir_ commander
of the forces. He