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Flash Memory Integration
 Energy Management in Embedded Systems Set
coordinated by
Maryline Chetto

Flash Memory Integration

Performance and Energy Considerations

Jalil Boukhobza
Pierre Olivier
To the memory of my father, to Anas and Assil,
to my family from here and there
Jalil

To my parents
Pierre
First published 2017 in Great Britain and the United States by ISTE Press Ltd and Elsevier Ltd

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as
permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced,
stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers,
or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the
CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the
undermentioned address:

ISTE Press Ltd Elsevier Ltd

27-37 St George’s Road The Boulevard, Langford Lane
London SW19 4EU Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GB
UK UK
www.iste.co.uk www.elsevier.com

Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience
broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment
may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and
using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information
or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for
whom they have a professional responsibility.

To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any
liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence
or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in
the material herein.

For information on all our publications visit our website at http://store.elsevier.com/

© ISTE Press Ltd 2017

The rights of Jalil Boukhobza and Pierre Olivier to be identified as the authors of this work have been
asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 978-1-78548-124-6

Printed and bound in the UK and US

 Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments by Jalil Boukhobza

Needless to say, the writing of this book would not have been possible
without the precious help of several people. First of all, those who contributed
to this book, starting with my co-author and my first PhD student Pierre
Olivier, without whom I would have never been able to meet the deadlines. I
also wish to thank Hamza Ouarnoughi, one of my PhD students, who has
participated extensively in experiments. I thank him for his availability and
for his exemplary responsiveness. I thank Jean-Émile Dartois, R&D engineer
at IRT b<>com, who has also contributed a great deal to the experimental
part, for his commitment and for his relevant suggestions.

I also wish to express my gratitude to those who enlightened me with their

proofreading and corrections; I am thinking about my wife, Linda Gardelle-
Boukhobza, about Stéphane Rubini and Pierre Ficheux. I thank Frank Singhoff
and Antoine Cabot as well for their support.

Finally, I thank my colleagues from UBO Department of Computer Science

and the Lab-STICC laboratory who supported me in one way or another during
the writing of this book, and, in particular, those who contribute day by day to
the harmony and to the pleasant atmosphere within our department.

Acknowledgments by Pierre Olivier

I thank my thesis supervisors, Jalil and Eric, for their precious advice and
mentoring. I also thank all my nearest and dearest, my family and friends, who
supported me during my graduate years and who still continue to do so.
 Foreword 1

I have been working on embedded Linux systems for several years and have
had the opportunity to follow Jalil and Pierre’s work regarding flash memory. I
have also been very pleased to do lectures at the University of Western Brittany
in Brest at the request of Jalil and to attend Pierre’s remarkable thesis defense.

Formerly present but unknown by the general public, today embedded

systems have invaded our everyday life, and open-source software, especially
the Linux operating system, plays a prominent role in these systems. The
Linux kernel is present in Google’s Android system, which is employed in
more than a billion mobile phones. The Linux operating system (in its
embedded version) is ubiquitous in gateways for access to the Internet and to
digital television (the famous set-top box). Recently, the very same Linux has
invaded the automotive industry and backed so-called IVI systems (In Vehicle
Infotainment), which include, among others, navigation, multimedia
streaming in the passenger compartment or driver assistance. Nowadays, any
multimedia device which does not mention Internet of Things (IoT) seems
old-fashioned. In the same way as the Internet overwhelmed our daily life in
the last century, the current revolution involves integrating physical objects
into a network of networks, and these physical objects are themselves
embedded systems. Every object has to store at least some programs and data,
and as such the importance of flash memory has become evident if we
consider the exponential number of deployed systems (we are talking about
tens of billions in some decades time).

Of course, great progress has being achieved, as most mobile phones have
16 GB, or even more, of flash memory, whereas in 1995 a 5 MB hard drive
xiv Flash Memory Integration

occupied the size of a large wardrobe! In those days, the computer was far
from being a product of mass consumption, whereas nowadays a USB drive
(which contains at least 8 GB of flash memory) is readily available in the
supermarket or at gas stations alongside sweets, batteries and water bottles.
This great progress will have (and has already had) an effect on our
environment, and for this reason it is a fundamental research subject, since
after all, it is mentioned rather little in the specialist literature. The fact that
such a complex technical subject is being trivialized shows that a great
amount of work by researchers, engineers and industrialists from different
fields (electronics, software and mechanics) is required to reach a satisfactory
result. Admittedly, the task is far from finished and most likely present-day
products will make us laugh in a few decades time.

This book, which embodies Jalil and Pierre’s thousands of hours of work
and effort, provides an impressive brick to the building of technological
progress. As any book produced since the dawn of time, it represents a part of
world’s memory and it completes in an indispensable way the instantaneous
(though not always verifiable) information available on the Web.

Pierre F ICHEUX
January 2017
 Foreword 2

Our societies are going through a genuine digital revolution, known as the
Internet of Things (IoT). This is characterized by increased connectivity
between all kinds of electronic materials, from surveillance cameras to
implanted medical devices. With the coming together of the worlds of
computing and communication, embedded computing now stretches across
all sectors, public and industrial. The IoT has begun to transform our daily
life and our professional environment by enabling better medical care, better
security for property and better company productivity. However, it will
inevitably lead to environmental upheaval, and this is something that
researchers and technologists will have to take into account in order to devise
new materials and processes.

Thus, with the rise in the number of connected devices and sensors, and
the increasingly large amounts of data being processed and transferred,
demand for energy will also increase. However, global warming is creating an
enormous amount of pressure on organizations to adopt strategies and
techniques at all levels that prioritize the protection of our environment and
look to find the optimal way of using the energy available on our planet.

In recent years, the main challenge facing R&D has been what we have
now come to refer to as green electronics/computing: in other words, the need
to promote technological solutions that are energy efficient and that respect the
environment.

The following volumes of the Energy Management in Embedded Systems

Set have been written in order to address this concern:
xvi Flash Memory Integration

– In their volume Energy Autonomy of Batteryless and Wireless Embedded

Systems, Jean-Marie Dilhac and Vincent Boitier consider the question of the
energy autonomy of embedded electronic systems, where the classical solution
of the electrochemical storage of energy is replaced by the harvesting of
ambient energy. Without limiting the comprehensiveness of their work, the
authors draw on their experience in the world of aeronautics in order to
illustrate the concepts explored.
– The volume ESD Protection Methodologies, by Marise Bafleur, Fabrice
Caignet and Nicolas Nolhier, puts forward a synthesis of approaches for
the protection of electronic systems in relation to electronic discharges
(ElectroStatic Discharge or ESD), which is one of the biggest issues with the
durability and reliability of new technology. Illustrated by real case studies, the
protection methodologies described highlight the benefit of a global approach,
from the individual components to the system itself. The tools that are crucial
for developing protective structures, including the specific techniques for
electrical characterization and detecting faults as well as predictive simulation
models, are also featured.
– Maryline Chetto and Audrey Queudet present a volume entitled Energy
Autonomy of Real-Time Systems. This deals with the small, real-time,
wireless sensor systems capable of taking their energy from the surrounding
environment. Firstly, the volume presents a summary of the fundamentals
of real-time computing. It introduces the reader to the specifics of so-
called autonomous systems that must be able to dynamically adapt their
energy consumption to avoid shortages, while respecting their individual time
restrictions. Real-time sequencing, which is vital in this particular context, is
also described.
– Finally this volume, entitled Flash Memory Integration, by Jalil
Boukhobza and Pierre Olivier attempts to highlight what is currently the
most commonly used storage technology in the field of embedded systems. It
features a description of how this technology is integrated into current systems
and how it acts from the point of view of performance and energy consumption.
The authors also examine how the energy consumption and the performance
of a system are characterized at the software level (applications, operating
system) as well as the material level (flash memory, main memory and CPU).

Maryline C HETTO
January 2017
 PART 1

Introduction

Yesterday is but today’s memory and tomorrow is today’s dream

Khalil Gibran

Memory is imagination in reverse

Daniel Pennac
 1

General Introduction

This chapter introduces the major challenges related to data storage. These
very challenges constitute the inspiration for writing this book. In this first
chapter, we will provide some facts regarding the outburst of digital data and
storage needs, and the importance of taking into account power consumption
in information technology with a focus on different storage systems and, more
generally, on memory hierarchy.

The outline of this chapter is as follows:

– the first section describes the digital Big Data deluge phenomenon;
– the second section underlines the importance of power consumption,
related both to processing and storage of data;
– the third section describes memory hierarchy and its importance in
computer systems;
– finally, the last section introduces flash memory and its integration in
computer systems.

1.1. The outburst of digital data

Nowadays, the amount of generated digital data, in all its forms, is

following an exponential growth. Indeed, this volume is growing faster than
Moore’s law (although the latter is not intended to represent such metrics). As
an example, online data indexed by Google increased by a factor of 56
between 2002 and 2009 (from 5 to 280 exabytes) [RAN 11]. This trend is far
4 Flash Memory Integration

from being unique to web data; the data volume of companies is undergoing
this fast growth as well. A cumulative increase of 173% per year has been
observed [RAN 11, WIN 08].

In a recent study [FAR 10], EMC (a major player in the data storage sector)
forecasts that the volume of digital data created each year will increase by a
factor of 44 between 2009 and the 2020 horizon. EMC also predicts that more
than a third of this amount of data will be stored in or will transit through the
Cloud. This fact demonstrates the importance of the need for additional storage
capacity that can absorb this deluge of data.

In fact, software applications are processing data more and more

intensively. As an example, we can mention applications for sharing video
and images on social networks, online transaction processing, search engines,
e-mail processing, digital television, etc. We could also talk about Big Data, a
term which designates new techniques related to the processing of the digital
data deluge (as this book does not address this aspect, the interested reader
can refer to books that are dedicated to this topic). Actually, the Big Data
phenomenon forces us to consider not only new methods of data processing,
but also new ways of storing data and extracting them from storage media.

In a broader sense, digital data are, by their nature, heterogeneous and they
are processed and managed using different techniques and methods:
acquisition, analysis, processing, classification, storage, etc. [RAN 11]. This
heterogeneity in processing, as well as the significant amounts involved, are
factors that put more and more pressure on storage subsystems and on the
entire memory hierarchy. This issue is urging the scientific community to
consider new technologies and methods which could optimize the
performance of these systems.

1.2. Performance and power consumption of storage systems

In addition to performance, power consumption is becoming an

increasingly critical metric. In 2006, the data centers in the United States
already consumed more than 1.5% of energy generated in the country, and it
has been estimated that this percentage will increase by 18% per year
[ZHA 10]. In 2013, a report by Digital Power Group revealed that
information and communications technology (ICT), which comprises
smartphones, notebooks, PCs, digital TVs, and, in particular, servers, used
 General Introduction 5

about 1500 terawatt-hours of electricity per year in the world. This amount is
comparable to the total annual electricity produced by Japan and Germany. It
is also equivalent to the total energy used in the whole world in 19851. The
same report estimates that ICT will consume around 10% of electricity
produced worldwide at the 2020 horizon. Other figures predict 15% of world
energy for ICT.

More specifically, power consumption of data center storage systems

should represent between 20% and 40% of total power consumption
[CAR 10]. In other studies, an order of power consumption of 14% can be
found for the storage system (see Figure 1.1). As a consequence, in addition
to the considerations related to the metrics of performance and storage
capacity or volume, energy efficiency becomes one of the most important
metrics to be taken into account in order to reduce the operating costs of a
data center ([ROB 09]), and, in absolute terms, their energy footprint.

Figure 1.1. Approximated distribution of peak power usage by

hardware components in a data center that uses servers of 2012th
generation [HOE 09]. For a color version of this figure, see
www.iste.co.uk/boukhobza/flash.zip

In order to partially reduce the cost of power consumption (reduction of

the running cost), IT giants such as Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have tackled
the construction of data centers close to power plants [VAS 10]. Indeed, data
centers are guided more and more by the management of their power budget
[CAR 10].

1 http://science.time.com/2013/08/14/power-drain-the-digital-cloud-is-using-more-energy-
than-you-think/
6 Flash Memory Integration

Knowing that only a small part of world data is digitalized (about 5%

[RAN 11]), the increasing requirements of storage capacity, performance and
power consumption will be pursued for many years to come. Therefore, it is
crucial to consider future evolution in accordance with energy metrics, both
from a technological and architectural points of view.

1.3. Memory hierarchy and storage technology

Memory is a key element in a computer system, and both its function and
its integration in the systems have evolved enormously over time, giving rise to
multiple peripherals employing different kinds of technology. With regard to
power consumption, memory (both main and secondary) represents between
25% and 40% of power consumption in a computer system. This proportion
is very significant, although it is exceeded by CPU, which consumes between
around 30% and 50% of energy, depending on its load. However, about half of
the CPU consumption is due to the cache memory [HOR 14]. In other words,
memory hierarchy, in its totality, is the element that consumes the most power
in a computer system.

During the design of computer systems, memory integration has

introduced early on a first kind of division in the management of memory
hierarchy: (1) a fast memory that supports access by bytes and fast transfer of
data, and which is essential for the execution of applications, called primary
or main memory; (2) a memory used for mass storage, which completes the
main memory thanks to a lower cost, called secondary memory. This creation
of a memory hierarchy has led to different management policies at the
operating system level. In fact, main memory’s management and its sharing
among different tasks of an operating system are performed by a specific
service of memory management. Meanwhile the secondary memory’s
management is carried out by the Input/Output (I/O) devices management
system, as defined by the Von Neumann architecture.

In addition to the main and secondary memory, many other types have
found a place in the memory hierarchy (see Figure 1.2), always with the same
primary goal: to optimize the performance and to reduce the ever-growing
gap in performance between processors and memory. We are talking about
cache memory of different levels. It is important to note that, although they
can be deactivated (or activated) by the operating system, this cache memory
 General Introduction 7

is not handled by the OS; its management is performed by means of dedicated

circuits.

 

  




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Figure 1.2. Illustration of the memory hierarchy pyramid

Considering the memory hierarchy, we have to reconcile three points of

view related to architecture, system and application. From the architectural
point of view, the position of a memory technology within the pyramid of
memory hierarchy (see Figure 1.2) reflects its distance from the processor.
Generally, the more significant the performance and the endurance of a
memory technology, the closer this memory is situated to the processor. On
the contrary, the technologies with the worst performance are situated at the
bottom of the pyramid, as, for example the traditional hard disk drives,
followed by the magnetic tapes.

From the system point of view, the operating system recognizes three
kinds of memory: cache, main memory and secondary memory, although it
handles only two levels, the main and the secondary memory. The main
memory is addressed byte wise and it is managed as a shared resource by
means of a dedicated service of the operating system. The operating system
can employ specific equipment, such as associative memory (or TLB, for
Translation Look-aside Buffer), in order to accelerate the management of
8 Flash Memory Integration

these kinds of memory. Finally, the secondary memory consists of storage

systems based on traditional hard disk drives or flash memory (for example,
in the form of a Solid State Disk or SSD). As for the storage system, it is
considered on a par with a peripheral which is accessed by blocks (for
instance, a sector in a hard disk drive) and is managed as an I/O device.

Finally, from the application point of view, cache memory is entirely

abstracted. Meanwhile, the main and the secondary memory are accessible
via different interfaces: a rather direct access to the memory (for example, by
means of variables or tables in C language), and access by means of a file
system for the secondary storage.

From the point of view of the architecture, in the case of the introduction
of a new memory in the memory hierarchy, we can talk about a vertical or
horizontal integration. A vertical integration means that a new memory
technology has interleaved into the hierarchy, thus shifting an existing
technology towards the bottom of the pyramid. A horizontal integration
means that the newly integrated technology is situated at the same level of an
existing technology, and usually, in this case, the two technologies share the
same interface. As an example, flash memory can be integrated at the same
level as the hard disk drives in the memory hierarchy, in which case it can
share the same interfaces, for instance, SATA interface for SSDs and hard
disk drives (see Figure 1.3).

Whether the integration of a memory technology is horizontal or vertical,

the hardware part (for example, the controller) and the software part (the
operating system and eventually the application) have to take into account this
integration for a better optimization of performance.

1.4. Introduction to flash memory integration

Flash memory is a semiconductor non-volatile EEPROM (Electrically

Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) memory invented in
Toshiba laboratories in the 1980s. The fundamental component of flash
memory is a floating-gate transistor which ensures the non-volatility of data
by maintaining a charge in the floating gate when the memory is not supplied
with power (see Chapter 2).
 General Introduction 9

       


 



   
   






 



     
       
 
      
    
     
         

Figure 1.3. Horizontal and vertical integration of flash memory in

computer systems

Flash memory started being used in embedded products in the 1990s, for
instance by means of an SD card, CompactFlash or, otherwise, by direct
integration in electronic boards. It is mainly thanks to the popularization of
smartphones around 2007–2008 that this technology has become essential. In
fact, mass production of these devices has allowed a large reduction of
manufacturing costs. Ultimately, it is only at the beginning of the 2000s that
their use has been popularized in the field of personal computers.

Flash memory has been integrated in present computer systems in three

different ways [ROB 09, GUR 09, BOU 13b] (see Figure 1.3):
1) as an extension of main memory (horizontal integration), see Figure 1.3-
(B);
2) as an accelerator of the storage system, in which case the flash memory
is considered as a cache (with respect to the disk) which stores frequently
accessed data in order to reduce the access to the disks (vertical integration),
see Figure 1.3-(C);
10 Flash Memory Integration

3) as a peripheral for alternative or complementary storage to the traditional

storage on the hard disk drive, generally in the form of an SSD (Solid
State Drive), see Figure 1.3-(D). In this case, it is, once again, a horizontal
integration in which the SSD is at the same level as the hard disk drive from
the point of view of memory hierarchy.

From the three scenarios enumerated above, we can observe that there are
two possibilities of horizontal integration at two different levels of memory
hierarchy, i.e. in the main memory and in the secondary memory, and one
vertical integration between these two levels. Actually, flash memory
performance, in terms of speed and latency, is situated between those of hard
disk drives and those of DRAM (Direct Random Access Memory). However,
in practice, integration is seldom done at DRAM level because of the limited
lifetime of flash cells. The endurance of a DRAM in terms of write cycles is
of the order of 1015 , whereas the endurance of a flash memory is equal to 105
at best. The rare uses of the flash memory at the same level as the DRAM are
done for fast recovery after a power failure. In fact, in this case, the DRAM
module is coupled with a capacitor which discharges the content of the
DRAM on a flash memory after an electric failure; this content will be
recharged directly from the flash memory, thus drastically reducing the
restarting time.

From the application standpoint, integration at the DRAM level is

completely imperceptible, as all the elements which manage this
technological heterogeneity are hardware components. In the case of a
horizontal integration as a secondary storage, the flash memory is seen by the
application software in the same way of traditional hard disk drives, i.e. as a
block device which uses the same interfaces and possesses its own file
system. Because of its performance capabilities, flash memory has been
integrated in some peripherals by means of more efficient interfaces, such as
PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect). In this way, the internal
parallelism available in flash peripherals can be used entirely, without
limitations imposed by the performance of a classical I/O interface (for
example, SATA). This kind of integration may require the development of
device drivers and specific tools for reducing the latency due to the traditional
software stack for I/O management.

Despite the performance that flash memory can provide, it will not replace
traditional hard disk drives in the short or medium term. Two phenomena can
explain this fact. On the one hand, there is the cost of flash memory, expressed
 General Introduction 11

in $ per gigabyte, which on average is one order of magnitude greater than

that of traditional hard disk drives. On the other hand, irrespective of any cost
limits, the outburst of produced digital data is more considerable than the
manufacturing of flash memory. In fact, the present production of flush
memory is incapable of absorbing the amount of generated data.

1.5. Scope of the book

Flash memory has invaded many of our devices at a remarkable speed, and
it has changed the way we conceive the storage of our data. It has urged
engineers to reconsider the way of thinking about storage in several
application domains, whether in the domain of embedded devices, of high
performance computing, or, else, of the Cloud. Flash memory is present in
our phones, our cameras, our Internet boxes, our televisions, our cars, and
also in high performance computing centers. This omnipresence can be
explained by their features in terms of performance and power consumption.

The goal of this book is to help understand how flash memory works, its
integration in current computer systems from multiple application domains,
and finally outline flash memory behavior in terms of performance and power
consumption.

1.6. Target audience

This book is addressed to computer scientists of any level who wish to

broaden their knowledge or simply to discover the operating principles of
flash memory. In this book, we have opted for a system point of view of flash
memory, therefore making abstract the technological specifics at a very low
level in order to facilitate the reading for computer scientists. Also, we have
opted for an applied and experimental approach illustrating with
measurements the different concepts described, relying on a GNU/Linux-
based system.

The goal of this book is to allow application developers, administrators and

simple users to understand the operating principles of their storage systems
based on flash memory and to comprehend the differences between them and
traditional storage systems based on hard disk drives. In fact, as opposed to
the latter, flash memory has asymmetrical reading/writing performances and it
12 Flash Memory Integration

can have a very large design space, which justifies the gap in performance and
price that can be very significant, for example between two SSDs.

To resume, this book is addressed to computer scientists of any level, but it

can also be read by people who are interested in this domain or by electronic
engineers; it discusses flash memory, and does this for several application
domains, and it contains an exhaustive experimental study performed at the
laboratory Lab-STICC (CNRS UMR 6285) and the Institute of Research and
Technology IRT b<>com, which illustrates the behavior of this memory.

1.7. Outline of the book

The book is divided into four parts: an introductory part, a part regarding
the integration of flash memory with dedicated file systems (in embedded
electronic cards), a more general part about flash memory with an FTL (Flash
Translation Layer) which can be found in SSDs, SD cards or USB keys,
and, finally, some perspectives concerning non-volatile memory that are being
investigated, such as phase-change memory (PCM) and resistive memory
(ReRAM).
– Part 1: this first part is introductory and presents the basic concepts
that will be employed in the remainder of the book. Chapter 1 is a general
introduction to the topic discussed in this book. Chapter 2 describes the
structure and the constraints of flash memory that will be the base for Parts 2
and 3. Finally, Chapter 3 deals with the evaluation of performance and power
consumption in storage systems in general, and therefore it introduces the
methodological concepts that help to better comprehend the methodologies
discussed in Parts 2 and 3.
– Part 2: this second part discusses flash memory integrated in computer
systems by means of dedicated file systems, mainly in the domain of the
embedded systems. Chapter 4 expands on this kind of integration by describing
the file systems for flash memory. Chapter 5 describes a methodology of
exploration of performances and power consumption in such a context, based
on an embedded Linux [FIC 11], whereas Chapter 6 illustrates the results of
the application of this methodology.
– Part 3: this third part discusses FTL (Flash Translation Layer) based flash
memory, i.e. that which can be found in SSDs, USB keys and cards with
embedded eMMC (embedded Multi-Media Controller) flash memory. This
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Some were condemned for dishonesty and appropriation of the
public treasure. Others, among them the son of Al-Mansur, and
another Abdallah, who was of royal lineage and noted for his
avarice, fled to the Christian court for protection. Garcia Fernandez,
Count of Castile, entertained the son of the minister, until the
presence of a great Moslem army admonished him that the privilege
of asylum must yield to political necessity. As soon as the misguided
youth fell into the hands of his father he was beheaded. Then, with
exquisite cruelty, Al-Mansur devised a scheme of retaliation, which,
in spite of its malice, was singularly appropriate. He determined to
inflict upon the Count of Castile himself all the pangs resulting from
paternal disappointment and filial ingratitude. He instigated Sancho,
the son of Garcia, to form a party and drive his father from power.
The nobility unanimously declared for Sancho; a Mussulman force
sustained his pretensions; Al-Mansur seized Clunia and San
Estevan as his share of the spoil; and Garcia, having been wounded
and made captive in a skirmish, died soon afterwards in the hands of
the Saracens. The perfidy of Sancho was rewarded with the
government of Castile, which he held as a feudatory of the Khalif.
The fugitive King, Bermudo, whose usurpation had been attended
with a series of misfortunes, and whose dominions had, with the
exception of a contracted region of which Astorga was the centre,
been divided between his rebellious vassals and the Moors, in
defiance of the menaces of Al-Mansur, still continued to afford
protection to Abdallah, the only survivor of the principal conspirators.
The approach of the Mussulman troops and the seizure and sack of
Astorga, convinced the obstinate monarch of the expediency of
submission. Abdallah was surrendered, taken to Cordova, placed
upon a camel, and conducted through the streets of that city,
preceded by heralds who proclaimed him a traitor to his sovereign
and an apostate to his faith. His life was spared, but he was tortured
during the entire administration of Al-Mansur by being kept in daily
fear of execution; a fate which he endeavored to avert by the most
humiliating expressions of contrition, and by exhibitions of grovelling
servility which, so far from exciting the pity of the minister, only
increased his contempt.
 A new and implacable adversary, and one whose position placed
her beyond the reach of the minister’s vengeance, now arose to defy
his power. The Sultana Aurora—who united to her amorous
susceptibilities all the obstinacy and vindictiveness of the Basques,
to which race she belonged—had for many years entertained the
closest relations with the favorite whose fortunes she had founded,
and whose success she had so zealously promoted. Their intimacy,
even during the lifetime of Al-Hakem, had been the scandal of the
capital. But the lady, like many of her sex, was inconstant, and other
lovers, including the kadi Ibn-al-Salim, also stood high in her favor.
As soon as Al-Mansur no longer required her services to advance
his interests, he had the imprudence to neglect his haughty mistress.
Deeply piqued, she began to meditate revenge. Her social rank, the
inviolability of her person, and her residence in the palace gave her
advantages which she was not slow to improve. With all the fiery
energy of her nature she represented to the Khalif the degradation of
the position he had been compelled to assume, and urged him to
assert his rights as a sovereign. Hischem, who had hitherto evinced
no dissatisfaction with his condition, was roused from his lethargy.
Under his mother’s dictation, he made a formal demand on the
minister for the prerogatives which the latter had usurped. The
viceroy of Africa, Ziri-Ibn-Atia, instigated by the agents of the
Sultana, rose in rebellion, and proclaimed himself the supporter of
the laws of the empire and the champion of its injured monarch. The
ingenuity of Aurora provided her partisans with an abundant supply
of money. The vaults of the palace of Medina-al-Zahrâ, where was
the national treasury, contained six million pieces of gold. They were
deposited in earthenware jars, sealed with wax and impressed with
the royal signet. The astute princess removed a hundred of the jars,
whose contents amounted to the sum of eighty thousand dinars,
broke the seals, covered the gold with honey, drugs, and syrups,
and, having attached to each an appropriate label, caused them to
be conveyed by her slaves to a palace in the city, whence they were,
without delay, transported to Africa. The rage of Al-Mansur on finding
himself thus outwitted by a woman was extreme, but it availed him
nothing. He could not venture to offer violence or even reproaches to
the mother of his sovereign whose servant he was in name. The
trend of recent events suggested that Hischem might have
consented that the money be employed for the recovery of his
imperial dignity. Desirous of obtaining the sanction of law in a matter
of such vital importance, Al-Mansur called the great officers of state
together. To them he represented that the women of the harem were
plundering the treasury, and requested permission to remove the
gold from the palace. This was readily granted; but when the officers
exhibited their warrant, they were refused admission to the vaults, on
the plea that the Khalif had not authorized the removal of the
treasure. Foiled once more, the minister—whose genius, fertile in
expedients and undaunted by reverses, never once despaired of
success—devised a plan whose audacity would have appalled a less
determined mortal. Perfectly familiar with all the approaches to the
palace, he penetrated by a secret passage to the apartments of the
Khalif. His unexpected appearance and menacing aspect terrified
the imbecile prince, who protested that he had no desire to thwart
the designs of the minister, and, without hesitation, signed an order
for the removal of the gold. The politic Al-Mansur, at the same time,
extorted from him an edict by which he unreservedly renounced, in
favor of the hajib, all practical control of the government of the
empire. This explicit and indisputable confirmation of the authority of
the latter at once legalized every act which he had already
committed in a public capacity. In a measure, it invested his person
with the sanctity that appertained to his master, and rendered all
liable to the penalty of treason whose intemperate language or
whose violence should be directed against the authorized
representative of absolute sovereignty.
An enterprise of surpassing difficulty and danger, and one which
the bravest of the Ommeyade khalifs had never ventured to
undertake, was now planned by the greatest statesman and warrior
of his age. The shrine of St. James of Compostella was one of the
most renowned for wealth and sanctity in Christendom. In the
marvels which had attended its foundation, in the fame of its
miracles, in the number and potency of its sacred relics, in the
touching interest attaching to its legends, it scarcely yielded to the
sacred traditions of the Eternal City. A countless multitude of pilgrims
from every country where the name of the Saviour was revered had
for generations deposited their oblations upon its altars. The modest
chapel which had marked the site of the apostle’s grave soon after
its discovery during the reign of the pious Alfonso had been replaced
by a stately cathedral of marble, decorated with all the rude
magnificence of which the decadent art of the age was capable. A
numerous priesthood, the splendor of whose appointments and the
luxury of whose lives indicated a dispensation with the vow of
poverty, ministered to the wants of the pilgrims, and acknowledged,
with affected gratitude and humility, the bestowal of their donations
and the performance of their vows.
The reverence entertained by the Spanish Christians for the
sepulchre of St. James far exceeded that with which the most fanatic
Mussulman regarded the Prophet’s tomb at Medina. Already,
industriously propagated by monkish imposture and popular
credulity, wondrous tales were whispered of the appearance of the
apostle on a milk-white steed at the head of the Christian squadrons,
an infallible harbinger of victory, and a delusion of ominous import to
the Saracen intruders in the Peninsula. History affords no parallel to
the momentous effects produced by the adoption of this frivolous
legend. The circumstances of its origin, which contemptuously
violated every probability of time or place; its universal acceptance
by individuals of every rank in life; its subsequent extension to the
distant lands of an unknown world; the blind and unquestioning faith
with which the impossible miracles of its subject were received, offer
an eloquent commentary on the boundless influence of the Catholic
hierarchy and the debased superstition of the age.
The destruction of the church of Santiago was now the aim of Al-
Mansur. The depressing influence of such a signal triumph over the
adversaries of Islam, it was thought with much reason, would be
incalculable. The immunity enjoyed by the Christian sanctuary of
Spain was attributed by its votaries to the protection afforded by the
body of the saint, far more than to the natural difficulties which an
enemy must surmount to reach his shrine. Even could an invasion
occur and the desecration of the cathedral be threatened, it was
firmly believed that the miraculous intervention of Heaven—more
marked even than that which deterred the Romans from rebuilding
the temple of Jerusalem—would avert such a calamity from one of
the holiest places of the Christian world. The removal of these
impressions, by demonstrating the incapacity of St. James to defend
his own relics, must certainly weaken the faith of the multitude in his
ability to protect the lives of others. The prestige derived from the
interposition of supernatural influence would be seriously impaired.
The menacing spectre of the patron of Spain would no longer inspire
the fanaticism of his followers to strike terror into the Saracen
armies. These conclusions of Al-Mansur, while founded on reason, in
the end proved fallacious. The superstitious veneration, which,
confirmed by blind ignorance and credulity for centuries, now
exercised its power over an entire people, was too deeply rooted to
be more than temporarily affected by the most glaring sacrilege.
The campaign was carefully planned. Every precaution was taken
to provide against any possibility of failure. Marching westward, the
several divisions of Moslem cavalry assembled at Coria. At Oporto
they were joined by the fleet, in which the infantry had already
embarked. A number of Christian vassals, attended by their
retainers, responded to the summons of their suzerain, and lent their
reluctant aid to the injury of their faith and the destruction of their
countrymen. The Douro was crossed upon a bridge constructed of
ships. Roads were cut through rocky and precipitous mountains.
Broad estuaries and rivers were forded. The country, which had long
suffered from repeated forays, was depopulated, and could offer no
resistance. When the mountains of Galicia appeared in the distance,
the resolution of the Christian allies faltered. Some of the counts
entered into a secret correspondence with the enemy. Their designs
were betrayed, and a number of Leonese nobles underwent the
extreme penalty of treason. This salutary example insured the
wavering loyalty of their companions, who henceforth found it
expedient to conceal their real sentiments under an appearance of
obedience and alacrity.
The region now traversed by the Moslems had hitherto been safe
from their inroads. This circumstance, the sacred character of the
territory, and the wealth of the clergy had attracted to the vicinity of
Santiago a large and busy population. Ecclesiastical establishments
abounded. Along the hill-sides were countless hermitages, shrines,
and chapels. Almost every valley was occupied by a monastery or a
convent. The lands susceptible of cultivation were tilled by slaves or
dependents of the religious houses, whose condition differed little
from that of hereditary servitude. The mansions of the prelates of
high rank exhibited a palatial magnificence, and were not
infrequently tenanted by occupants of the softer sex, whose charms
of face and figure indicated an appreciation of female beauty hardly
to be expected from their pious companions.
The utter demoralization of the Christian kingdoms through
domestic feuds and incessant warfare, added to the terror inspired
by the name of Al-Mansur, precluded the possibility of effectual
resistance. The inhabitants, taking with them their portable property
and the bones of their saints and kings, fled to the mountains or to
islands off the sea-coast. Santiago was completely deserted. The
invaders obtained a rich booty from the shrines of innumerable
chapels and monasteries. Every building in the city, including the
famous cathedral, was razed to the ground. The latter was
constructed of marble and granite. Its plan and decoration exhibited
the corrupt taste and barbaric splendor inherited from the Visigoths,
whose faults of design had been aggravated by the native rudeness
of the Galician architects. In front of the high altar stood the statue of
the saint, carved by the pious but unpractised hand of a Gothic
sculptor, and enclosed in a shrine of massy silver. Every portion of it
except the face was painted or profusely gilded. One hand clasped a
Bible, the other was raised aloft in the attitude of benediction. The
kisses of innumerable pilgrims had almost obliterated the coarse and
grotesque features of the image. By its side were disposed the
emblems of the vagrant apostle, the staff, the calabash, the scallop
shells. Its head was partially enveloped with a hood identical in
shape with that worn by every pilgrim and glittering with jewels.
The statue and the tomb of the apostle escaped desecration,
through the policy of Al-Mansur, who feared to exasperate his allies,
already shocked by the sacrilegious deeds of their infidel
companions in arms. This forbearance of the Moslem general was
afterwards distorted by the clergy into a stupendous miracle. The
Mauritanian cavalry plundered the neighboring settlements and
intercepted many parties of fugitives, including not a few
ecclesiastics, whose faith in the supernatural virtues of the image
and the relics of the saint vanished quickly before the gleaming
lances of the Saracen cavalry.
The return of the army to Cordova was signalized by a military
demonstration that rivalled the pomp of a Roman triumph. In the rear
of the troops, chained together by fifties, thousands of Christian
captives, laden with the spoils and trophies of victory, trudged
painfully along. Some carried the sacrilegious plunder of many a
venerated shrine. Others supported upon their shoulders the
ponderous gates of the city of Santiago. Others, again, sank under
the weight of the bells of the cathedral, into whose molten mass, as
yet unformed, pious devotees of either sex had cast their treasure
and their jewels; whose clangor had solemnized the installation of
many a prelate and the sepulture of many a saint; had aroused the
enthusiasm and the devotion of pilgrims of every clime; had, until this
fatal hour, been heard in a land believed to be exempt from the
outrages of the infidel, but were now destined to be exhibited in his
greatest temple as tokens of the supremacy attained by the most
implacable foe of Christianity. In the addition to the Great Mosque,
then building under the direction of Al-Mansur, these souvenirs of the
most memorable campaign undertaken by the arms of the Western
Khalifate were deposited, amidst the frenzied acclamations of the
people. The gates were used to form a portion of the ceiling, and
from them, sustained by chains of bronze, the great bells were hung
inverted, to be utilized as lamps during the ceremonies of the
numerous festivals prescribed by the Moslem ritual.
The career of the Mauritanian rebel Zira-Ibn-Atia, whom the
prodigality of the Sultana Aurora had enabled to assert his
independence, under pretext of liberating the Khalif, was not of long
duration. The first army sent over by Al-Mansur to chastise his
insolence met with disaster. The second, commanded by his own
son, Abd-al-Melik-al-Modhaffer, vanquished the forces of Zira after a
desperate struggle. The latter, with the loss of his possessions, was
also stripped of his power, and died soon after of wounds received in
battle.
Early in the spring of the year 1002 the indefatigable Al-Mansur
again invaded the territory of the Christians. This time his hostility
was directed against the shrine of St. Emilian, the patron saint of
Castile, whose church was in the village of Canales. The town, the
chapel, and the convents, with all their paraphernalia of priestly
imposture and superstition, were destroyed. But the renowned
commander, whose prowess had so long sustained the reputation of
the Moslem arms, had fought his last campaign. A painful malady,
whose cause was unknown, and whose symptoms baffled the skill of
the best physicians of Cordova, had some months before attacked
him. The exposure and excitement of this expedition increased its
violence. The illustrious sufferer became so weak that he was forced
to travel in a litter. It was evident from his emaciated form and
incessant agony that he was fast approaching his end. At Medina-
Celi the army halted. Its general could proceed no farther. A
universal feeling of sorrow arose as the sad tidings of the condition
of the dying chieftain spread throughout the camp.
The memory of the turbulent populace of the capital, and the
consciousness that it had required all the energy of his determined
character to triumph over his domestic enemies, embittered the last
moments of Al-Mansur. He dreaded the inauguration of anarchy and
the resultant partition of the khalifate. He was only too well
acquainted with the instability of the vast and magnificent fabric of
greatness which his genius had reared. With a view to preserve as
long as possible for his sons the power he was unable to legally
transmit, he directed Abd-al-Melik to hasten at once to Cordova and
assume command of the garrison. To his second son, Abd-al-
Rahman, he transferred his authority over the army. Many wise
injunctions were imparted by their dying parent to these two young
officers, whose military character had been formed under his own
eye during many eventful campaigns. The elder, who was not an
unworthy descendant of so great a sire, profited largely by his
opportunities. The younger, unequal to the task of government, was
destined to realize the worst expectations his acquaintances had
formed of his erratic and licentious nature.
His instructions ended, the strength of Al-Mansur gave way, and
he received with calm resignation the inexorable summons of the
Angel of Death. For years he had entertained a presentiment that he
should end his days at the head of his army, perhaps in the heat of
battle. It was not only his hope, but he made it the subject of his daily
petitions, that Allah would vouchsafe to him the glorious privilege of
dying in war against the infidel, thereby to merit the recompense of
martyrdom. In expectation of a favorable answer to his prayers, the
arrangements for his burial were always ready. His shroud was
invariably included among the effects of his camp equipage. It was of
linen made from flax grown on his paternal estate at Torrox and
woven by the hands of his own daughters. His conscience told him
that the material thus produced and prepared was not tainted with
the bloody reminiscences that popular report insinuated too often
attached to his other possessions. The provident statesman, whose
aspirations were not confined to matters terrestrial, and carrying into
his relations with Allah the same prudence which had distinguished
his earthly career, neglected no precaution to insure his salvation. A
well-known text of the Koran declares that he who appears before
the Almighty with the dust of the Holy War upon his feet shall be
exempt from the tortures of eternal fire. To secure this advantage on
the Day of Judgment, Al-Mansur carried with him in all his
campaigns a silver casket of elegant design, into which, every
evening when the army halted, his attendants carefully collected the
dust which had accumulated upon his garments during the day.
Enveloped in the shroud prepared for so many years, and sprinkled
with this holy dust, the body of the great Moslem general was laid at
rest in the city of Medina-Celi.
The character of Mohammed-Ibn-Amir-Al-Mansur has already
been partially delineated in these pages. In it both good and evil
were unsparingly mingled. Beyond measure shrewd, politic,
audacious, and resolute, he was an adept in instigating others to the
commission of discreditable acts by which he profited, while his
instruments alone endured the odium attaching to them. By the
irresistible force of intellect he had risen from obscurity to the
enjoyment of imperial power. No act of wanton cruelty ever polluted
his administration. Yet such was his firmness and the fear in which
he was held that no sedition during his ascendency disturbed the
peace of the khalifate. His conduct on all occasions where his
personal interests were not immediately concerned was, for the most
part, guided by the principles of equity. His own son was sacrificed to
the maintenance of public order. The deeds of violence and tyranny
for which he was so grossly abused were the results of political
necessity,—measures suggested by the pressing exigencies of the
occasion, and dictated by the instinct of self-preservation. Born in a
comparatively humble rank of life, his matrimonial alliances were
sought by princes. The daughters of Bermudo, King of the Asturias,
and Sancho, King of Navarre, were inmates of his harem. Despite
his talents as a statesman and his long series of military triumphs,
his popularity was superficial, and his position was maintained with
difficulty. He was everywhere designated by the significant and
opprobrious nickname of “The Fox.” His old literary associates
envied and maligned him. The courtiers were jealous of his rapidly
acquired fame, and sedulously depreciated his abilities. The
eunuchs justly attributed to his agency the impairment of their
political fortunes, and held him in detestation as the relentless
enemy of their caste. The aristocracy sneered at his pretensions and
privately denounced him as an insolent parvenu. The fanatical
populace repeated his alleged atheistic speeches with pious horror,
a feeling which even his ostentatious charity and apparently strict
observance of the duties of a faithful Mussulman could not
counteract. Inconsistent with the encouragement of literature, as the
narrow policy which delivered the scientific works of the library of Al-
Hakem to the tender mercies of ignorant bigots would seem to
indicate, Al-Mansur was, nevertheless, a munificent patron of letters.
His house was so frequented by men of genius and literary
proclivities that it was compared to an academy. He often visited the
University, listened to the lectures of the teachers, and rewarded the
proficiency of the students. By his express orders the recitations
were not suspended either at his entrance or his departure. Many of
the most accomplished scholars of the East and West continued
under his auspices, as they had done under those of Al-Hakem, to
adorn the court, and to delight with their learning the critical and
fastidious society of Cordova. A special fund, appropriated from the
public treasury, was assigned for the support of these distinguished
guests of the State. Famous grammarians, poets, and historians,
who found this a lucrative field for the exercise of their talents, took
up their residence in the capital. The reputations of the physicians
and surgeons of Andalusia, now greater than ever, had long since
spread to the remotest borders of Europe. Whenever Al-Mansur
undertook an expedition, there followed in his train a number of
bards and chroniclers, who could without delay record his
achievements, and celebrate in the most stirring and pathetic strains
of which the poesy of the Desert was capable the valor, the
generosity, the piety, of the renowned champion of the Moslem faith.
Forty-one of the most accomplished literary men of the empire
accompanied the army for this purpose during the Catalonian
campaign.
The enlargement of the Mosque, whose size was doubled by the
additions of Al-Mansur, was undertaken quite as much to restore his
failing credit with the ministers of religion as to accommodate the
vast and increasing crowds which on Fridays assembled in the
House of God. The land required for the extension was paid for at
twice the valuation, already sufficiently exorbitant, estimated by the
owners themselves. In the garden of an old woman, whose premises
it was absolutely necessary for the architect to secure, stood a
magnificent palm. At first she obstinately refused to sell her property,
but after repeated solicitations she consented to exchange it for
another residence in whose grounds was a tree of equal size and
beauty. But even amidst the tropical vegetation of the environs of
Cordova such a condition was not easily complied with. At length, in
the vicinity of Medina-al-Zahrâ, an estate which possessed the
desired requisite was procured at a fabulous price.
In imitation of his predecessors the khalifs, Al-Mansur performed
for weeks the duties of a common laborer on the foundation and the
superstructure of the Mosque. This addition, still intact, constructed
of coarse materials and unsymmetrical in form, is readily
distinguishable from the rest of the interior, whose sweeping
horseshoe arches and exquisite decorations are models of grace
and beauty. So meritorious was this work considered by the
Mussulman theologians, that they declared that its accomplishment
alone was sufficient to obtain for its author a seat in Paradise.
The energy of Al-Mansur was far from being consumed in military
expeditions and the pursuit of glory. In the frequent intervals of
peace his efforts were largely directed to improving the condition of
his subjects, the highest and most noble title to distinction to which a
ruler can aspire. He reformed the abuses which had crept into the
administration of justice. He checked the peculations which were
exhausting the treasury, by the institution of a rigid system of
accounts and the severe punishment of dishonest officials. He
sternly rebuked the intolerance of zealots who attempted to
establish, without his sanction, a policy of persecution for opinions
which they considered heretical. With his advent to power, the
malignant influence of the eunuchs was no longer felt in the
precincts of the court, and the uneasy genius of this pernicious class
was diverted from the tortuous paths of political intrigue to the
harmless and pleasing occupations of literature and art. He improved
the breed of horses by the importation of the purest blood of Arabia.
There was scarcely a river in Andalusia which could not boast of a
bridge either built or repaired by the orders of the able and tireless
minister. New highways were opened. Old ones were widened and
extended. By these wise acts of public utility not only was the march
of troops facilitated, but the trade of country and city was
prodigiously increased, with a corresponding diminution of the price
of provisions, whose abundance and cheapness materially benefited
all classes of the population. The best commentary on his
transcendent abilities is found in the fact that the empire which he
had ruled with such glory and success perished with him. His
majestic personality dominated everything. In the history of Islam no
similar example of universally recognized individual superiority has
ever been recorded. This extraordinary genius seemed impregnable
to the temptations which usually assail the favorites of fortune. He
was addicted to none of those unnatural vices whose practice defiled
the characters of even the greatest of the Ommeyades. His harem
was maintained rather as an accessory to his dignity than as an
instrument of his pleasures. His amour with Aurora, which had
provoked the sarcastic jests of the populace, had been from first to
last a mere matter of policy. The passion of the Sultana he had
deliberately used as the instrument of his ambition; when it had
served his purpose it was as deliberately cast aside. With every
opportunity for the accumulation of untold wealth, Al-Mansur
acquired no more than was necessary to sustain the pomp incident
to his exalted rank. Avarice had no place in his nature. His own
treasure as well as that of the government he freely dispensed in
charitable donations. The slightest act of extortion committed by one
of his subordinates was met with chastisement that barely left the
offender with life. No one who had merited his gratitude was ever
forgotten in the distribution of official honors. No one whose
insolence had at any time provoked his indignation went unpunished.
In the accomplishment of his ambition, he persistently ignored the
most obvious principles of morality. In his administration of petty
offices of the inferior magistracy and of the highest employments of
the state alike, he ordinarily observed the rules of the most impartial
justice. After every victory gained by his arms he liberated hundreds
of slaves.
A delusive appearance of moderation is suggested by the conduct
of Al-Mansur, when we reflect that he denied himself the more than
regal prestige which attached to the name of Commander of the
Faithful. There is no doubt, however, that he ardently coveted that
distinction. The possession of the substance of power did not satisfy
his lofty aspirations. He arrogated to himself the remaining titles of
the Khalif, as he had already appropriated the latter’s prerogatives.
He substituted his own seal for that of the injured Hischem. He boldly
assumed the right to appoint his son to the office of prime minister,
the very employment from which he himself derived his entire
authority. The brilliancy of his achievements, the extent of his
renown, the autocratic exertion of his power, had awed and dazzled
his subjects, but had not secured their attachment. The masses
openly applauded and secretly detested him. The various nations
composing the population of Moorish Spain, while mutually hostile in
many respects, were firmly united in their reverence for the
inalienable rights of the crown. The religious character which
invested the Khalif deepened and intensified this feeling. The
sagacity of Al-Mansur did not suffer him to be deluded with the idea
that he could violate with impunity the most sacred opinions and
prejudices of the people. Moreover, an ancient tradition, universally
believed, declared that a change of the dynasty portended the
speedy destruction of the khalifate. The man who in defiance of
these ideas could attempt open usurpation was a public enemy,
something worse, if possible, than a traitor. For these cogent
reasons, therefore, Al-Mansur did not seize the royal office, which,
had he been able to assume it, might perhaps have retained the
succession in his own family. As it was, he weakened the veneration
entertained for the principle of legitimacy, without acquiring for his
descendants any permanent advantage in return for the sacrifice. No
one realized these facts so thoroughly as himself. The future of the
empire engrossed his thoughts. It presented itself to his mind amidst
the deliberations of the Divan, in the literary discussions of the
University, in the manœuvres on the field of battle. It disturbed his
slumbers. It embittered his dying moments. The mortal torture he
endured from the reflection that by his agency the integrity of the
khalifate had been irretrievably impaired, and that he could not
transmit the inheritance of his glory, was almost as intense as any he
could have experienced through remorse for crimes perpetrated in
the pursuit of his unrighteous ambition.
The history of the campaigns of Al-Mansur differs materially from
that of the military enterprises of his predecessors. Heretofore, in all
important wars, the Christians were the aggressors. But under the
minister of Hischem the Moslems always led the attack. Other rulers
had negotiated treaties either prompted by victory or compelled by
defeat. In twenty-five years he never made terms with the infidel. His
success became habitual, and infused a just confidence into his own
followers, while in a corresponding degree it disheartened the
enemy. Almost for the first time in the annals of Islam the peremptory
injunction of the Koran was fulfilled to the letter. The effects of one
campaign were not repaired before the calamities of another were at
hand. The frontier to the Christian states receded. The great cities of
Zamora, Leon, Astorga, Barcelona, Pampeluna, Santiago were
levelled with the dust. Cathedrals and monasteries were plundered
of wealth bestowed by pious sovereigns and generations of grateful
devotees. The incomes of the priesthood ceased on account of the
devastation of their estates. With the ruin of the religious houses and
the impoverishment of their occupants, the Christian worship
declined. The prestige of the ecclesiastical order was weakened, and
over an extensive region once abounding with churches and
convents scarcely a reminiscence of Christianity survived. By the
successive desecration of the two holiest shrines in Europe, the faith
of the multitude in the boasted efficacy of relics, in the celestial
intercession of saints, and even in the value of religion itself, was
seriously shaken. The misfortunes of the clergy—who still, however,
retained a portion of their ancient discipline—reacted on the other
divisions of society, already sufficiently demoralized. The monarch
and the nobles evinced a disposition to resist the insolent demands
of the priesthood, and have been, in consequence, anathematized
by prelates and defamed by chroniclers. The king seized without
ceremony the property of his subjects. The barons plundered the
royal estates, and cast lots for the serfs and the flocks which they
had appropriated. In less than twenty years the Christians lost all
they had gained in the previous three hundred. Even the defiles of
their mountains were occupied by Moorish garrisons, and the
Asturian peasant was compelled to purchase the uncertain privilege
of procuring his own sustenance by the surrender of the larger share
of the results of his labor. Such were the effects of the policy of Al-
Mansur on the two rival nations of the Peninsula, a policy whose
benefits perished with the author, but whose evils were destined to
be augmented and perpetuated through a long period of national
misfortune and disorder.
Berber immigration, encouraged by the conspicuous favor
enjoyed by the African divisions of the army, as well as by the rich
rewards of successful warfare, and which was fated to inflict such
disasters upon the dismembered monarchy, increased beyond
precedent during the administration of Al-Mansur. Entire tribes
passed the Strait to share the tempting spoil of the Holy War. There
was no room for these ferocious soldiers in the crowded cities. Even
in the country, so thickly populated, space could hardly be found for
their encampments. Their tents were pitched in the pastures and on
the slopes of the sierra. Their fierce aspect appalled all who beheld
them. Their costumes and their arms were strange and foreign.
Ignorant of Arabic, the guttural accents of their Mauritanian dialect
grated upon the ears of the polished Andalusian. In times of the
greatest victories, when the people were intoxicated with success,
there were discerning men who dreaded the ascendency of such
dangerous allies. It was, however, the inexhaustible supply of African
recruits which secured the unbroken series of triumphs that
signalized the career of Al-Mansur. Their numbers were
overwhelming. In a review held before an expedition into the North,
six hundred thousand troops were mustered in the plain of Cordova.
The news of the death of the potent minister was received by the
majority of the inhabitants of the capital with a feeling of exultation.
With the multitude, his eminent services could not atone for the
obscurity of his birth or the splendor of his fortune. The animosities
of contending sects, the jealousies of competing tradesmen, the
envy of the masses towards the powerful, the disdain of the wealthy
for the poor, were forgotten in the common desire to humiliate the
family of the great chieftain through whose genius the Moslem
empire had enjoyed such an extraordinary measure of prosperity
and fame. An insurrection broke out. The mob, surrounding the
palace, demanded that the Khalif in person should assume the
direction of affairs. But the latter, who now, more than ever, felt his
incompetency to govern, again voluntarily renounced the rights of
sovereignty. The tumult increased; the garrison was called out, and
Al-Modhaffer signalized his accession as hajib by the massacre of
several hundred citizens. This example of severity was not soon
forgotten; the spirit of revolt was crushed, and Al-Mansur, who on his
death-bed had foreseen the occurrence of a similar catastrophe,
thus averted by his prophetic wisdom a rebellion, which, unchecked,
must have been productive of appalling consequences. The prince,
Al-Modhaffer, inherited in no small degree the military talents and
capacity for civil affairs possessed by his father, whose maxims he in
the main adopted. Few details exist relative to his administration,
which, however, was eminently popular and successful. The
expeditions he made into the Christian territory were not attended
with the brilliant results which characterized the exploits of his father.
Neither profit nor glory could be derived from the invasion of a desert
and the chase of bands of wandering robbers. These forays,
however, served the useful purpose of intimidation, and impeded the
recovery of the Christian power. Relieved from the prodigality and
great military expenses incurred by the aggressive policy of Al-
Mansur, the inexhaustible resources of the Peninsula were permitted
to develop to the utmost. Commerce, manufactures, agriculture,
flourished to a degree heretofore unknown. The rule of Al-Modhaffer
is regretfully alluded to by subsequent writers as coincident with the
golden age of Moslem annals.
After a reign of seven years, Al-Modhaffer died, under
circumstances which raised a strong suspicion of poison. By a
previous arrangement, which popular rumor suggested as the motive
of his death, his office was transferred to his brother, Abd-al-
Rahman. The latter was the offspring of a Christian princess, the
daughter of Sancho, King of Navarre. By his vices and his
blasphemy he had incurred the dislike of the people and provoked
the execration of the theologians. The former, in memory of his
infidel grandfather, fastened upon him the diminutive “Sanchol,” an
epithet of contempt. The latter recounted with indignant horror his
immoderate indulgence in wine and his open ridicule of the sacred
ceremonies of Islam. Aware of his unpopularity, Abd-al-Rahman
nevertheless continued to outrage public sentiment, and made no
attempt to gain the attachment of his subjects or to conciliate his
ecclesiastical adversaries. He even had the audacity to ask of
Hischem his investiture and acknowledgment as heir presumptive to
the throne. The Khalif was prevailed upon, partly by sophistry, partly
by threats, to comply with this extravagant and impolitic demand,
and an edict was drawn up in due form and published, proclaiming
the detested Sanchol heir to the titles and the authority of the
illustrious dynasty of the Ommeyades.
No measure could have been devised by his most bitter enemy so
fatal to the aspirations of its promoter as this concession wrung from
a reluctant and persecuted sovereign. It was alike an insult to
religion and to loyalty. It attacked the sacred character of the
Successor of the Prophet, while attempting to abrogate the
prerogatives which, in the eye of the devoted subject, were
inseparable from the condition of sovereignty. Sanchol further
increased the prevailing discontent by compelling the soldiers to
discard the helmet for the turban, an innovation which, appropriating
a distinctive portion of the attire of theologians, was generally
regarded as a flagrant act of sacrilege.
Careless of public opinion, and confident of the stability of his
power, Sanchol began to entertain aspirations to military distinction.
He led an expedition into the Asturias, the results of which were not
flattering to his vanity. The mountain defiles, filled with snow,
impeded his progress, and the scarcity of provisions, which he had
neglected to provide in sufficient quantities, finally compelled him to
retreat. In the mean time Cordova was in revolt. A band of
conspirators headed by Mohammed, a great-grandson of Abd-al-
Rahman III., surprised the citadel. The unfortunate Hischem, the
puppet of every faction, was compelled to abdicate. The religious
fanatics and the populace hailed the change of government with
extravagant expressions of joy, a feeling by no means shared by the
wealthy and intelligent, who anticipated with undisguised concern the
destructive tyranny of a succession of military adventurers.
The first act of Mohammed was the seizure of Zahira. The
stronghold of the Amirides was entered and sacked by an infuriated
rabble. For four days the beautiful palace founded by Al-Mansur was
at the mercy of the revolutionists and outlaws of the capital. The long
rows of villas, which, embosomed in shady groves of palm- and
orange-trees, stretched away to the Guadalquivir, were visited with
the same destruction. Everything portable, even to the woodwork,
was removed. No estimate could be made of the plunder secured by
the mob, who ransacked every apartment; but the soldiers of
Mohammed delivered to their master two million one hundred
thousand pieces of silver and a million five hundred thousand pieces
of gold. The torch was then applied and the entire suburb was
reduced to ashes. The stones were gradually appropriated for the
construction of other buildings, and in a few years the memory as
well as the ruins of the seat of the Amirides had completely
vanished.
When the intelligence of these events was transmitted to Sanchol
at Toledo, he set out at once with his army for Cordova. The march
had scarcely begun before he experienced the full extent of his
unpopularity, which heretofore he had refused to believe. His force
was diminished daily by desertions. Many of the soldiers who
remained refused to obey their officers. At a short distance from the
capital, the Berbers, on whom he placed his main reliance, left the
camp at midnight, and morning found the commander with a slender
retinue, whose number did not equal that of his ordinary body-guard.
Notwithstanding these ominous indications, the infatuation of
Sanchol, who fancied that the people of Cordova would, by the mere
effect of his presence, be induced to return to their allegiance, urged
him on to his ruin. He was seized by the troops of Mohammed,
beheaded, his body clothed in rags and nailed to a stake, and then
placed with the head—which was impaled on a pike—in one of the
most public quarters of the city. With the death of Sanchol, the rule of
the Amirides, who, in a subordinate capacity, had for a generation
exercised despotic power, and whose policy was destined to visit
upon their countrymen a long series of misfortunes, terminated
forever.
The pernicious effects of the practical usurpation of Al-Mansur
now became apparent. The ambition of every aspiring partisan was
encouraged by the example of that gifted leader whose extraordinary
talents had raised him to such a height of affluence and renown.
Mohammed was no sooner fairly seated upon the throne, when
the populace again began to murmur. The excitement of revolution,
once enjoyed, was too pleasant to be abandoned for the severe
restraints of law and social order. And in reality only too much cause
existed for popular dissatisfaction. The new sovereign was cruel,
rapacious, dissolute. He took the heads of rebellious vassals sent
him by his generals, had them cleansed, and the skulls—in which
flowers had been planted—arranged in fantastic designs in the
garden of his palace. His drunken and licentious orgies were the
reproach of the court. He alienated the theologians, who soon
discovered that they had made a bad exchange for even the
dissipated and impious Sanchol. He persecuted the Berbers, who
had inherited the vices and the unpopularity of the eunuchs, but who
for a quarter of a century had been the support of the monarchy. To
avoid the possible restoration of Hischem, he publicly announced his
death, substituted for his corpse that of a Christian killed for the
occasion, and who bore a striking likeness to the Khalif, and
celebrated his obsequies with all the magnificence due to departed
royalty. The performance of the rites of Mussulman burial over the
body of an infidel was, in the eyes of every true believer, a deed of
unparalleled infamy. The unpopularity of Mohammed increased daily.
A sedition broke out headed by Hischem, a grandson of Abd-al-
Rahman III., who boldly demanded the crown of his kinsman. The
usurper pretended to accede, and secretly despatched emissaries to
incite the Berbers to plunder the capital. The scheme was
successful; at the first appearance of these detested foreigners in
the market-place, the tradesmen arose in a body and, aided by the
royal body-guard, drove the Africans from the city. The pretender
was taken in the confusion attending the skirmish and immediately
executed.
His place was filled by Suleyman, another prince of the
Ommeyade line. Negotiations were entered into with the Count of
Castile, who, in consideration of the surrender of certain territory,
agreed to furnish a large contingent of men and horses. As soon as
their organization was effected, the Berbers marched on the capital.
A battle was fought on the plain of Cantich, but the disorderly rabble
of Cordova were unable to resist the fierce onset of the African
cavalry, and ten thousand of the partisans of Mohammed fell by the
sword or perished in the Guadalquivir. Mohammed then liberated
Hischem, whose supposed corpse he had buried, resigned his
dignity, and proclaimed the son of Al-Hakem sovereign of Spain. But
the ruse had no effect. The Cordovans admitted the Berbers, and
Suleyman occupied the palace of the khalifs.
Henceforth the story of the Peninsula is one of anarchy and ruin.
Every province, every hamlet, was a prey to the hatred of contending
parties intensified by the daily infliction of mutual outrages. Christian