s; and, from the Oxus
to the Euphrates, these military colonies were protected and propagated
by their native princes. But the Turks of the court and city were
refined by business and softened by pleasure: they imitated the dress,
language, and manners of Persia; and the royal palaces of Nishabur and
Rei displayed the order and magnificence of a great monarchy. The most
deserving of the Arabians and Persians were promoted to the honors
of the state; and the whole body of the Turkish nation embraced, with
fervor and sincerity, the religion of Mahomet. The northern swarms
of Barbarians, who overspread both Europe and Asia, have been
irreconcilably separated by the consequences of a similar conduct. Among
the Moslems, as among the Christians, their vague and local traditions
have yielded to the reason and authority of the prevailing system, to
the fame of antiquity, and the consent of nations. But the triumph of
the Koran is more pure and meritorious, as it was not assisted by
any visible splendor of worship which might allure the Pagans by
some resemblance of idolatry. The first of the Seljukian sultans was
conspicuous by his zeal and faith: each day he repeated the five prayers
which are enjoined to the true believers; of each week, the two first
days were consecrated by an extraordinary fast; and in every city a
mosch was completed, before Togrul presumed to lay the foundations of a
palace.

With the belief of the Koran, the son of Seljuk imbibed a lively
reverence for the successor of the prophet. But that sublime character
was still disputed by the caliphs of Bagdad and Egypt, and each of the
rivals was solicitous to prove his title in the judgment of the strong,
though illiterate Barbarians. Mahmud the Gaznevide had declared himself
in favor of the line of Abbas; and had treated with indignity the
robe of honor which was presented by the Fatimite ambassador. Yet
the ungrateful Hashemite had changed with the change of fortune; he
applauded the victory of Zendecan, and named the Seljukian sultan
his temporal vicegerent over the Moslem world. As Togrul executed and
enlarged this important trust, he was called to the deliverance of the
caliph Cayem, and obeyed the holy summons, which gave a new kingdom to
his arms. In the palace of Bagdad, the commander of the faithful still
slumbered, a venerable phantom. His servant or master, the prince of
the Bowides, could no longer protect him from the insolence of meaner
tyrants;