'What say you to burning down a mosque?' said Kisloch the Kourd.
'I had great fun with some Dervishes this morning,' said the Guebre. 'I
met one asking alms with a wire run through his cheek,[58] so I caught
another, bored his nose, and tied them both together!'
'Hah! hah! hah!' burst the Negro.
Asia resounded with the insurrection of the Jews, and the massacre of
the Seljuks. Crowds of Hebrews, from the rich cities of Persia and the
populous settlements on the Tigris and the Euphrates, hourly poured into
Hamadan.
The irritated Moslemin persecuted the brethren of the successful rebel,
and this impolicy precipitated their flight. The wealth of Bagdad
flowed into the Hebrew capital. Seated on the divan of Hassan Subah, and
wielding the sceptre of Solomon, the King of Israel received the homage
of his devoted subjects, and despatched his envoys to Syria and to
Egypt. The well-stored magazines and arsenals of Hamadan soon converted
the pilgrims into warriors. The city was unable to accommodate the
increased and increasing population. An extensive camp, under the
command of Abner, was formed without the walls, where the troops were
daily disciplined, and where they were prepared for greater exploits
than a skirmish in a desert.
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