him, and possessed himself of the person of the monarch,
A.D. 1005, Heg. 596; and, though the rebellious prince dared not
sacrifice the life of Hacchem, he imprisoned him, and spread a report of
his death.

This news reaching Africa, an Ommiade prince hastened thence to Spain
with an army, under pretext of avenging the death of Hacchem. The Count
of Castile formed an alliance with this stranger, and civil war was
kindled in Cordova. It soon spread throughout Spain, and the Christian
princes availed themselves of its disastrous effects to repossess
themselves of the cities of {83} which they had been deprived during the
supremacy of Almanzor.

The imbecile Hacchem, negotiating and trifling alike with all parties,
was finally replaced on the throne, but was soon after forced again to
renounce it to save his life.

After this event a multitude of conspirators[17] were in turn proclaimed
caliph, and in turn deposed, poisoned, or otherwise murdered. Almundir,
the last lingering branch of the race of the Ommiades, was bold enough to
claim the restoration of the rights of his family, even amid the tumult
of conflicting parties. His friends represented to him the dangers he
was about to encounter. "Should I reign but one day," replied lie, "and
expire on the next, I would not murmur at my fate!" But the desire of
the prince, even to this extent, was not gratified; he was assassinated
without obtaining possession of the caliphate.

Usurpers of momentary authority followed. Jalmar-ben-Mohammed was the
last in order. His death terminated the empire of the Caliphs {84} of
the West, which had been possessed by the dynasty of the Ommiades for the
period of three centuries, A.D. 1027, Heg. 416.

With the extinction of this line of princes vanished the power and the
glory of Cordova.

The governors of the different cities, who had hitherto been the vassals
of the court of Cordova, profiting by the anarchy that prevailed, erected
themselves into independent sovereigns--That city was therefore no longer
the capital of a kingdom, though it still retained the religious
supremacy which it derived from its mosque.

Enfeebled by divisions and subjected to such diversity of rule, the
Mussulmans were no longer able successfully to resist the encroachments
of the Spaniards. The Third Epoch of their history, therefore, will
present nothing but a narrative of their rapid decline.

[1] See Note A, page 208.

[2] The dynasty