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to enjoy the fruit of the rebellion, But the intriguing Aiefa meditated to become, a fecond time, the cherished wife of the commander of the Faithful. She wanted to place on the throne a young man called Telha, who had found means to please her; the bribed Othman's fecretary, with whom the fabricated letters, fealed with the feal of Mahomet, and addressed to the fuperfeded governors, which contained in fubstance, that, far from wifhing them to obey the pretended letters which difplaced them, Othman ordered them to feize on those who should prefent themselves to fucceed them, cut off their feet and hands, and empale them. Thefe falfe orders were fo managed as to be intercepted by those who were to be the victims of them. The secretary's hand, and the feal which he had fet to it, leaving no doubt of the authenticity of these letters, they returned furious to Medina, raised the people a second time, penetrated into the caliph's houfe, and maffacred him unheard. His body remained three days expofed in the place where he had been murdered, after which he was buried without the leaft funeral honors. He had reigned near twelve years, and was eighty-two years old when he met with this miferable death. Before the affaffination of the caliph, Aiefa had fet out for Mecca, in order to prevent any fufpicion's falling on her. This precaution did hurt to her intentions.

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Ali.

Othman was no fooner dead, than every eye turned on Ali. His great courage, a perfect knowledge of the Alcoran, added to an old age exempt from infirmities, rendered him venerable to all the Medinefe. His friends gave out, that he ought to have been the firft fucceffor of the prophet. Age had leffened the ambition of Ali; he refifted for fome time before he afcended the pulpit of the Caliphs: at length

man.

he feemed to confent to the unanimous wishes of the Medinese. Telha himself, hurried along by the torrent, took the customary oaths to the new caliph, which he foon hoped to break, and immediately fled to Mecca, carrying to the widow of Mahomet the bloody tunic of the caliph OthThis artful woman was defirous of appearing to avenge a crime of which fhe was the real author. They called her the mother of the Faithful, and fhe abused the credit which fhe had with the people in order to have Ali condemned as the affaffin of Othman. The fatal tunic was hung up in the temple of Mecca as the ftandard of rebellion ; it was even carried to Damafcus, where the governor of Syria, a zealous fervant of Othman's, exerted every effort against Ali, whom he believed to be the affaffin of his mafter.

Meanwhile, Aiefa, capable of undertaking any thing for Telha, meditated to poffefs herfelf of Arabia; the affembled precipitately an army who flattered themselves with marching to certain vic

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tory under the mother of the Faithful. She wrote to all the governors to acknowledge the voice of Mahomet. Some of them, at the fight of these orders, were all obedience; others, faithful to their oaths, declared for the caliph elect; in fine, Arabia in a short time faw two armies ready to rend this empire, become fo formidable. Aiesa, at the head of her army, in a kind of covered. litter carried by a camel, wanted to get poffeffion of Pafra, one of the strongest places in Irac. Ali haftened to its defence: the two armies met, and, in spite of the mediation of the chiefs, came to action.

A more bloody battle had not been fought a long time; Aiefa's camel carried her wherever her prefence could animate the foldiers; the pavilion of her litter was foon covered with darts, and her camel fell pierced with wounds; Telha perished near his benefactress. After a moft obftinate resistance, Aiefa's army was cut to pieces, and the herself fell into the hands of the caliph. The latter respected the widow of his mafter; but he condemned her to that obscurity which was agreeable to all the Muffulmen. Aiefa paffed the rest of her life attended and shut up as be came the widow of Mahomet.

*

This victory brought Arabia, Irac, Egypt, and Perfia, under the fubjection of the caliph. But Moavia, governor of Damafcus, had affembled. an army in Syria; he ftill believed, or feigned to

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believe, Ali the affaffin of his master Othman, who was likewife his coufin german, both being defcended from Ommias the uncle of Mahomet. Under this pretext, he caufed hiinfelf to be declared caliph, promifing, as he faid, to pull down the ufurper; he brought over the governor of Palestine likewife to his fide, and was preparing to enter Arabia, when Ali, who had just defeated Aiefa, learned that it was time to oppofe a more formidable enemy. Ninety thousand men marched under his command, and met at Saffein, on the confines of Arabia, the army of Moavia, which was ftill more numerous. • In feveral fkirmishes between detachments, the arms of Ali had always the advantage. At length the brave caliph fent to propofe to his adverfary, in order to fpare Muffulman blood, to decide their quarrel by fingle combat, and to refign the fceptre only with life. Notwithstanding Ali's great age, his valour was dreaded; Moavia réplied to Amru his lieutenant, who preffed him to accept a challenge which he could not honorably refufe: You are certain then of becoming caliph in my place? Ali, irritated at the cowardice of his adverfary, longed to give him battle; he ranged his troops accordingly, and was ready to attack Moavia's camp, when the chiefs came out with copies of the Alcoran at the end of their lances, and presented them to Ali's foldiers as pledges of union and safety. The caliph wanted to charge

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thefe hypocrites with vigour; but his army refused to follow him, declaring they would not fight against the law of God. A retreat was neceffary, and in a little time deputies arrived in Ali's camp from Moavia; they came to propofe to refer the difpute. to two arbitrators, chofen one from each army. Ali being preffed by the chiefs of his party: "I can decide nothing," cried he," amidst an army that has refufed to obey me; it refts with you to complete your "work."

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Moavia having named an arbitrator, fome of Ali's foldiers named another, without the caliph's participation, but who promifed at length to abide by his decifion. The two parties agreed on a neutral place for the conference, and the caliphs retired with the major part of their troops: Ali to Cufa, Moavia to Damafcus. The conference commenced during the ramazan. Amru, the arbitrator chosen by Moavia's party, perfuaded Ali's arbitrator, that each fhould publicly depofe his caliph, in order that the election, which they should afterward make in conjunction, might be more free and refpected. The Arabian arbitrator being mounted on a tribunal raised in a place where there were a vaft number of people, "I "depofe Ali from the califate," faid he, " as I "take this ring from my finger:" then the Syrian arbitrator, taking the former's place: "You have heard," faid he with a loud voice,

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