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high skied desert was gradually transformed to suit the needs
of the smug merchants who lived in the bazaars of the cities。
It was a regrettable change from the original program and it
did very little good to the cause of Mohammedanism。 As for
the prophet himself； he went on preaching the truth of Allah
and proclaiming new rules of conduct until he died； quite
suddenly； of a fever on June the seventh of the year 632。
His successor as Caliph （or leader） of the Moslems was
his father…in…law； Abu…Bekr； who had shared the early dangers
of the prophet's life。 Two years later； Abu…Bekr died and
Omar ibn Al…Khattab followed him。 In less than ten years
he conquered Egypt； Persia； Phoenicia； Syria and Palestine
and made Damascus the capital of the first Mohammedan world
empire。
Omar was succeeded by Ali； the husband of Mohammed's
daughter； Fatima； but a quarrel broke out upon a point of
Moslem doctrine and Ali was murdered。 After his death；
the caliphate was made hereditary and the leaders of the faithful
who had begun their career as the spiritual head of a religious
sect became the rulers of a vast empire。 They built
a new city on the shores of the Euphrates； near the ruins of
Babylon and called it Bagdad； and organising the Arab horsemen
into regiments of cavalry； they set forth to bring the
happiness of their Moslem faith to all unbelievers。 In the
year 700 A。D。 a Mohammedan general by the name of Tarik
crossed the old gates of Hercules and reached the high rock
on the European side which he called the Gibel…al…tarik； the
Hill of Tarik or Gibraltar。
Eleven years later in the battle of Xeres de la Frontera；
he defeated the king of the Visigoths and then the Moslem
army moved northward and following the route of Hannibal；
they crossed the passes of the Pyrenees。 They defeated the
Duke of Aquitania； who tried to halt them near Bordeaux；
and marched upon Paris。 But in the year 732 （one
hundred years after the death of the prophet；） they were
beaten in a battle between Tours and Poitiers。 On that
day； Charles Martel （Charles with the Hammer） the Frankish
chieftain； saved Europe from a Mohammedan con…
quest。 He drove the Moslems out of France； but they maintained
themselves in Spain where Abd…ar…Rahman founded the
Caliphate of Cordova； which became the greatest centre of
science and art of mediaeval Europe。
This Moorish kingdom； so…called because the people came
from Mauretania in Morocco； lasted seven centuries。 It was
only after the capture of Granada； the last Moslem stronghold；
in the year 1492； that Columbus received the royal grant which
allowed him to go upon a voyage of discovery。 The Mohammedans
soon regained their strength in the new conquests
which they made in Asia and Africa and to…day there are as
many followers of Mohammed as there are of Christ。
CHARLEMAGNE
HOW CHARLEMAGNE； THE KING OF THE
FRANKS； CAME TO BEAR THE TITLE OF
EMPEROR AND TRIED TO REVIVE THE OLD
IDEAL OF WORLD…EMPIRE
THE battle of Poitiers had saved Europe from the
Mohammedans。 But the enemy withinthe hopeless disorder
which had followed the disappearance of the Roman police
officerthat enemy remained。 It is true that the new converts
of the Christian faith in Northern Europe felt a deep respect
for the mighty Bishop of Rome。 But that poor bishop did
not feel any too safe when he looked toward the distant
mountains。 Heaven knew what fresh hordes of barbarians were
ready to cross the Alps and begin a new attack on Rome。 It
was necessaryvery necessaryfor the spiritual head of the
world to find an ally with a strong sword and a powerful
fist who was willing to defend His Holiness in case of danger。
And so the Popes； who were not only very holy but
also very practical； cast about for a friend； and presently
they made overtures to the most promising of the Germanic
tribes who had occupied north…western Europe after the fall
of Rome。 They were called the Franks。 One of their earliest
kings； called Merovech； had helped the Romans in the battle of
the Catalaunian fields in the year 451 when they defeated the
Huns。 His descendants； the Merovingians； had continued to
take little bits of imperial territory until the year 486 when
king Clovis （the old French word for ‘‘Louis''） felt himself
strong enough to beat the Romans in the open。 But his
descendants were weak men who left the affairs of state to
their Prime minister； the ‘‘Major Domus'' or Master of the
Palace。
Pepin the Short； the son of the famous Charles Martel；
who succeeded his father as Master of the Palace； hardly
knew how to handle the situation。 His royal master was a
devout theologian； without any interest in politics。 Pepin
asked the Pope for advice。 The Pope who was a practical
person answered that the ‘‘power in the state belonged to him
who was actually possessed of it。'' Pepin took the hint。 He
persuaded Childeric； the last of the Merovingians to become
a monk and then made himself king with the approval of the
other Germanic chieftains。 But this did not satisfy the shrewd
Pepin。 He wanted to be something more than a barbarian
chieftain。 He staged an elaborate ceremony at which Boniface；
the great missionary of the European northwest； anointed
him and made him a ‘‘King by the grace of God。'' It was
easy to slip those words； ‘‘Del gratia；'' into the coronation
service。 It took almost fifteen hundred years to get them out
again。
Pepin was sincerely grateful for this kindness on the part
of the church。 He made two expeditions to Italy to defend
the Pope against his enemies。 He took Ravenna and several
other cities away from the Longobards and presented them
to His Holiness； who incorporated these new domains into
the so…called Papal State； which remained an independent
country until half a century ago。
After Pepin's death； the relations between Rome and Aix…
la…Chapelle or Nymwegen or Ingelheim； （the Frankish Kings
did not have one official residence； but travelled from place to
place with all their ministers and court officers；） became more
and more cordial。 Finally the Pope and the King took a step
which was to influence the history of Europe in a most profound
way。
Charles； commonly known as Carolus Magnus or Char…
lemagne； succeeded Pepin in the year 768。 He had conquered
the land of the Saxons in eastern Germany and had
built towns and monasteries all over the greater part of northern
Europe。 At the request of certain enemies of Abd…ar…
Rahman； he had invaded Spain to fight the Moors。 But in
the Pyrenees he had been attacked by the wild Basques and
had been forced to retire。 It was upon this occasion that Roland；
the great Margrave of Breton； showed what a Frankish
chieftain of those early days meant when he promised to be
faithful to his King； and gave his life and that of his trusted
followers to safeguard the retreat of the royal army。
During the last ten years of the eig