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. 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." 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 liberal taste invited the artists of Constantinople,
the most skilful sculptors and architects of the age; and the buildings
were sustained or adorned by twelve hundred columns of Spanish and
African, of Greek and Italian marble. The hall of audience was incrusted
with gold and pearls, and a great basin in the centre was surrounded
with the curious and costly figures of birds and quadrupeds. In a
lofty pavilion of the gardens, one of these basins and fountains, so
delightful in a sultry climate, was replenished not with water, but
with the purest quicksilver. The seraglio of Abdalrahman, his wives,
concubines, and black eunuchs, amounted to six thousand three hundred
persons: and he was attended to the field by a guard of twelve thousand
horse, whose belts and cimeters were studded with gold.