All at once cries of warning and terror arose. The crowd surged backward, forsaking him. A sudden fear came upon him, a shudder … the noiseless horror! … A bright host, moving together as one man, appeared out of a side street, and formed a wall before him. He pressed both hands to his temples, staring wildly. There was a word of command, short and incisive as a pistol-shot. All the sunlight was filled with yells of rage and fright. Again the word of command, followed by a line of flashes and a loud report which burst his head.
“Dìn! Dìn! Dìn! …”
He flung up his arms. His eyes seemed to turn over in their sockets, as he fell backwards on the ground. So the garment of the Christian missionary became the death-robe of a martyr for El Islâm, and the sunlight swam bloodred at the last.
Time Table to Part I
| AD | Year of the Hejra (Lunar) | |
|---|---|---|
| 622 (16th of July) | The flight of Muhammed the Prophet from Mecca to Medina | — |
| 1831 | Ibrahìm Pasha, adopted son of the Khedive Mehemed Ali, conquers Syria. Battle of Konia | 1256–7 |
| 1831–1840 | A time of great prosperity for all classes, Christians and Muslims alike, under an enlightened government | — |
| 1840 | Syria signed back to the Sultàn at Conference of London | — |
| 1858 | Bombardment of Jedda by the French as a punishment for the massacre there | 1275 |
| 1860 (March–April) | Saïd leaves his native town, his house and his fig-tree by the seashore | — |
| 1860 (June) | The Maronites attack the Drûz and are slaughtered all over Lebanon | 1277 |
| 1860 (June–July) | Great massacre of Damascus | 1277 |
| 1860 (September) | Execution of Ahmed Pasha, Wâly of Damascus, for culpable incompetence shown during the massacre | 1278 |
Time Table to Part II
| 1871 (end of October) | Saïd left Damascus. |
| 1882 (11th of June) | Riot and Massacre of Europeans at Alexandria. |
| 1882 (11th of July) | Bombardment of Alexandria. |
| 1882 (12th of July) | Egyptian forces under Arabi evacuated the town, setting fire to European quarter and letting loose upon it gangs of plunderers. Saïd met his death in this riot. |
Glossary of Arab Expressions and Names of Places
- Abd
-
A servant, a slave, much used with an epithet of the Deity in the formation of proper names, as Abdullah, the servant of God; Abdul Cader, the servant of the Powerful, and so forth.
- Abu
-
Father of. A man assumes his son’s name with this prefix as an honourable title, letting his own name be almost forgotten.
- Afreet
-
A devil, a jinni (pl. afaereet).
- Ayûb
-
Job.
- Bara
-
Para. The Arabs have no letter P and cannot pronounce it.
- Basha
-
Pasha.
- Bedelíeh askerieh
-
Tax in lieu of military service, levied on unbelievers.
- Cabil
-
Cain.
- Caimmacàm
-
A local governor, inferior to the provincial governor (Wâly or Mutesarrif) and appointed by him.
- Damashc-ush-Shâm (or simply Es-Shâm)
-
Damascus. Shâm in this name is generally taken to mean “Left” in contrast with “Yemen” meaning “Right.” But it has more likely to do with Shem (Ar. Shâm); Syria is called Es-Shâm or Birr-ush-Shâm.
- Daûd
-
David.
- Dejìl
-
Antichrist.
- Dìn
-
Religion, faith—e.g., dìn Muhammed = El Islâm.
- Durzi
-
A Druze (pl. Drûz).
- Ebn
-
Son—e.g., ebn Ali = the son of Ali.
- Effendi
-
A title of respect given generally to Muhammadans.
- El Ajem
-
Persia.
- Eljizar
-
Algiers or Algeria (often confused with Eljezireh = Mesopotamia).
- El Khalìl
-
An epithet of the patriarch Abraham appropriate to his city of Hebron.
- Emìr
-
Prince, an hereditary and purely Arab title of nobility, having nothing to do with the Turkish gamut of dignities which, like the Russian, are purely official. It is given, for instance, to all the kindred of the Prophet, in addition to the epithet Sherìf ( = honourable, holy).
- Fellah
-
A husbandman, a peasant (pl. fellahìn).
- Fulân
-
An imaginary person (cp. Span. Don Fulano) as we say Mr. So-and-so.
- Habil
-
Abel.
- Haleb
-
Aleppo, surnamed the White (Esh-Shahbah).
- Inshallah
-
(Lit., if God will) I hope.
- Isa
-
Jesus (Muhammadan).
- Iskendería
-
Alexandria.
- Istanbûl
-
Constantinople.
- Jebel Târic
-
Gibraltar.
- Jinni
-
A geni, a fallen angel dwelling on earth and sharing with man the chance of salvation (pl. jin or jân).
- Kâfir
-
Infidel, heathen.
- Khawaja
-
A title of respect given exclusively to unbelievers.
- Lûndra
-
London.
- Marûni
-
A Maronite (pl. Mowarni).
- Masr
-
Egypt.
- Mashallah
-
(What does God wish!) the commonest exclamation of surprise.
- Mehkemeh
-
A court of law presided over by the Qadi.
- Miriam
-
Mary.
- Mufti
-
A religious judge in every city.
- Mûsa
-
Moses.
- Muslim
-
A Muhammadan (pl. Muslimûn).
- Mutesarrif
-
A governor of a province, less than a Wâly in dignity, but, like a Wâly, dependent directly on the Sultàn.
- Nabuli
-
Naples.
- Neby
-
Prophet.
- Nûh
-
Noah.
- Oäh
-
A cry equivalent to “Look out!”
- Qibla
-
The point towards which the face is turned at prayers (for Jews, Jerusalem, for Muhammadans, Mecca).
- Rûm
-
Greece.
- Sheykh
-
An old man; hence (age implying precedence) a chief, the headman of a tribe, a village, or indeed of any community.
- Suleyman
-
Solomon.
- Tarabulus
-
Tripoli (Tarabulus-Esh-Shâm, Tripoli of Syria; not Tarabulus el Gharb, Tripoli in Barbary).
- The Chief of Mountains (Jebel-ush-Sheikh)
-
Mount Hermon.
- The City of Peace (Medinat us Salam)
-
Baghdad.
- The Mountain (El Jebel)
-
Lebanon.
- The Sunset-Land (El Maghrib, el Gharb)
-
The north coast of Africa west or Egypt: The Barbary States.
- Wâly
-
The governor-general of a province, appointed directly by the Sultàn (or at least from Constantinople) and for a period of five years.
- Wilayet
-
The province governed
