. This wedding feast brought joy, not only to those who
actively participated in its pleasures, but also to many of the common
people; for Almanzor gave dowries to a large number of orphan girls,
endowed a large number of schools and colleges, and put new uniforms
upon all the members of his bodyguard.

With the death of the great Kalif Al Hakem II.--976--the power of Islam
in Spain began slowly to decline. His son and heir, Heschem II., was but
a youth of ten, and the Arabs called him Al Mowayed Bi'llah, "the
Protected by God." Though the law required that the Ruler of the
Faithful should be more than fifteen years old, Heschem was at once
proclaimed kalif, although he was given no share in the government. His
mother, Sobeyah, the Sultana of Cordova, had acquired some experience in
affairs of state during the last few years of her husband's life; now,
to help her in her regency, she appointed as her grand vizier
Mohammed-ben-Abd-Allah, a man of wonderful power and ability and no
other than Almanzor the Invincible, who has already been mentioned.
Almanzor had entered the public service as a court scribe, and it was
there that, by the charm of his manner and the nobility of his bearing,
he first attracted the attention of Sobeyah. The all-powerful sultana
was not slow in yielding to his many graces, and he soon became her
acknowledged favorite and rose to high positions in the state. It was
but natural, then, that Sobeyah should turn to him for aid when her
husband's death was announced. On account of the minority of her son,
there was an attempt on the part of many in the palace to deprive the
sultana of her authority, depose her son, and usurp the office of kalif.
Sobeyah, hard pressed and all but defeated, turned to her lover,
Almanzor, who suppressed the intrigue and brought order out of
confusion. Enjoying as he did the full confidence of the sultana,
Almanzor undertook the entire administration of the kingdom as if he had
been kalif in name as well as in fact, and his success in all his
various undertakings was most wonderful. Heschem, the real kalif, was a
virtual prisoner in his harem, and was encouraged by his guardian and
friends to devote himself entirely to a religious life, leaving all the
cares of state to his mother Sobeyah and to the vizier. Step by step,
Almanzor ascended to a position of such power and authority that the
sultana became jealous of his might and lost her love in an attempt to
regain her a