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CHAPTER VIII

From the Rise of Mahomet, to the Commencement of the Crusades. LET us now turn our attention for a moment to a general view of the world as it existed in the sixth century of the Christian era. The Roman empire in the west was annihilated, and various nations of northern extraction were either fiercely contending with each other, or meditating new conquests; the eastern empire was continually at war, contending with the Persians on one side, or harassed by the attacks of the Huns and other tribes on its northern frontiers; while it was agitated and weakened by religious and political animosities. The Indians and other oriental nations, unaccustomed to war, were ready to fall a prey to the first powerful invader; while the fiery inhabitants of Arabia, from their earliest origin accustomed to bold and predatory warfare, were as ready to undertake any enterprise which seemed to promise an adequate reward.