ria and Persia sapping the rude but masculine simplicity of the
Arabian desert. Above all, the single-mindedness of Mahomet and his two
immediate successors is at an end. Other objects besides the mere
advancement of Islamism distract the attention of its leading
professors; and the struggle for worldly wealth and worldly sway, for
the advancement of private ends, and the aggrandizement of particular
tribes and families, destroy the unity of the empire, and beset the
caliphate with intrigue, treason, and bloodshed.

It was a great matter of reproach against the caliph Othman that he was
injudicious in his appointments, and had an inveterate propensity to
consult the interests of his relatives and friends before that of the
public. One of his greatest errors in this respect was the removal of
Amrou ben-el-Ass from the government of Egypt, and the appointment of
his own foster-brother, Abdallah Ibn Saad, in his place. This was the
same Abdallah who, in acting as amanuensis to Mahomet, and writing down
his revelations, had interpolated passages of his own, sometimes of a
ludicrous nature. For this and for his apostasy he had been pardoned by
Mahomet at the solicitation of Othman, and had ever since acted with
apparent zeal, his interest coinciding with his duty.

He was of a courageous spirit, and one of the most expert horsemen of
Arabia; but what might have fitted him to command a horde of the desert
was insufficient for the government of a conquered province. He was new
and inexperienced in his present situation; whereas Amru had
distinguished himself as a legislator as well as a conqueror, and had
already won the affections of the Egyptians by his attention to their
interests, and his respect for their customs and habitudes. His
dismission was, therefore, resented by the people, and a disposition was
manifested to revolt against the new governor.

The emperor Constantine, who had succeeded to his father Heraclius,
hastened to take advantage of these circumstances. A fleet and army were
sent against Alexandria under a prefect named Manuel. The Greeks in the
city secretly cooperated with him, and the metropolis was, partly by
force of arms, partly by treachery, recaptured by the imperialists
without much bloodshed.

Othman, made painfully sensible of the error he had committed, hastened
to revoke the appointment of his foster-brother, and reinstated Amru in
the command in Egypt. That able general went instantly agains