longer
under any necessity of employing his forces against the Romans in the
north-west, he found himself free to act with greatly increased effect
against his enemies in the east and in the south. Already, in the
interval between the conclusion of the general truce and of the fifty
years' peace, he had, as it seems, invaded the territories of the
Ephthalites, and, with the help of the Great Khan of the Turks,
inflicted upon this people, so long one of Persia's most formidable
enemies, a severe defeat. According to Tabari, he actually slew the
Ephthalite monarch, ravaged his territory, and pillaged his treasures.
About the same time he had also had a war with the Khazars, had overrun
their country, wasted it with fire and sword, and massacred thousands of
the inhabitants. He now entertained designs against Arabia and perhaps
India, countries on which he could not hope to make an impression
without earnest and concentrated effort. It was doubtless with the view
of extending his influence into these quarters that the Persian monarch
evacuated Lazica, and bound his country to maintain peace with Rome for
the next half-century.

The position of affairs in Arabia was at the time abnormal and
interesting. For the most part that vast but sterile region has been the
home of almost countless tribes, living independently of one another,
each under its own sheikh or chief, in wild and unrestrained freedom.
Native princes have seldom obtained any widely extended dominion over
the scattered population; and foreign powers have still more rarely
exercised authority for any considerable period over the freedom-loving
descendants of Ishmael. But towards the beginning of the sixth century
of our era the Abyssinians of Axum, a Christian people, "raised" far
"above the ordinary level of African barbarism" by their religion and
by their constant intercourse with Rome, succeeded in attaching to their
empire a large portion of the Happy Arabia, and ruled it at first from
their African capital, but afterwards by means of a viceroy, whose
dependence on the Negus of Abyssinia was little more than nominal.
Abraha, an Abyssinian of high rank, being deputed by the Negus to
re-establish the authority of Abyssinia over the Yemen when it was
shaken by a great revolt, made himself master of the country, assumed
the crown, established Abyssinians in all the chief cities, built
numerous churches, especially one of great beauty at Sana, and at
his death