ious doctrines are more
permanent in their hold than forms of civil government: it may be
questioned, for in stance, whether, whatever civil changes Scotland
might undergo, Presbyterianism would ever cease to be the prevalent
faith of its inhabitants. A people may, with the overthrow of usurped
civil power, return to their ancient religion, whatever it is: but when
once a religion has become, so to speak, indigenous, it is likely to be
permanent. Such is the religion of the Koran both in Asia and Africa.

The elements of political weakness and decay soon began to be developed
in the chief seat of the Saracen empire. In the earliest days of the
caliphate, after the accession of the Ommiade dynasty, the princes of
Damascus were regarded as the heads of the Moslem faith; while the
governors of Arabia successively obtained, as to civil rule, their
independence. To this the widely-extended wars in which the caliphs
were engaged no doubt {236} contributed. Other provinces followed the
example; and, as the empire enlarged, the remoteness and degeneracy of
the Syrian court encouraged the governors to assume to themselves
everything except the name of king, and to render their dignities
hereditary. All the provinces were nominally connected with the empire
by the payment of tribute; but means were easily devised to withhold
this, under pretence of prosecuting the wars of the caliph, though
really to strengthen his rebellious deputies against him. If in this
we discover a want of efficiency in the government, we need not be
surprised: the systems of the Macedonian hero and of the Roman
conquerors were equally defective; and perhaps we should attribute such
deficiency to a wise and beneficent arrangement of Providence, which,
that oppression may never become permanent and universal, permits not
any empire for a very long time to hold dominion over countries
dissimilar in their habits and character and independent of each other.

To the establishment of these separate states, the luxury and
effeminacy of the court at Damascus in no small degree contributed. In
the early periods of the caliphate, simplicity and charity chiefly
distinguished their rulers; but, as the wealth and power of the
Saracens increased, they imitated the splendour and magnificence of the
monarchs of Persia {237} and Greece. Abulfeda says of the court in the
year 917: "The Caliph Moctadi's whole army, both horse and foot, were
under arms, which togeth