Famous Men of the Middle Ages Part 9

II

Charlemagne was a great king in may other ways besides the fighting of battles. He did much for the good of his people. He made many excellent laws and appointed judges to see that the laws were carried out. He established schools and placed good teachers in charge of them. He had a school in his palace for his own children, and he employed as their teacher a very learned Englishman named Alcuin (_al'kwin_).

In those times few people could read or write. There were not many schools anywhere, and in most places there were none at all. Even the kings had little education. Indeed, few of them could write their own names, and most of them did not care about sending their children to school. They did not think that reading or writing was of much use; but thought that it was far better for boys to learn to be good soldiers, and for girls to learn to spin and weave.

Charlemagne had a very different opinion. He was fond of learning; and whenever he heard of a learned man, living in any foreign country, he tried to get him to come and live in Frankland.

The fame of Charlemagne as a great warrior and a wise emperor spread all over the world. Many kings sent messengers to him to ask his friendship, and bring him presents. Harun-al-Rashid (_hah-roon'

al rash'-eed_), the famous caliph, who lived at Bagdad, in Asia, sent him an elephant and a clock which struck the hours.

The Franks were much astonished at the sight of the elephant; for they had never seen one before. They also wondered much at the clock. In those days there were in Europe no clocks such as we have; but water-clocks and hour-gla.s.ses were used in some places.

The water-clock was a vessel into which water was allowed to trickle.

It contained a float which pointed to a scale of hours at the side of the vessel. The float gradually rose as the water trickled in.

The hour-gla.s.ses measured time by the falling of fine sand from the top to the bottom of a gla.s.s vessel made with a narrow neck in the middle for the sand to go through. They were like the little gla.s.ses called egg-timers, which are used for measuring the time for boiling eggs.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHARLEMAGNE]

Charlemagne died in 814. He was buried in the church which he had built at Aix-la-Chapelle. His body was placed in the tomb, seated upon a grand chair, dressed in royal robes, with a crown on the head, a sword at the side, and a Bible in the hands.

This famous emperor is known in history as Charlemagne, which is the French word for the German name Karl der Grosse (_Charles the Great_), the name by which he was called at his own court during his life. The German name would really be a better name for him; for he was a German, and German was the language that he spoke.

The common name of his favorite residence, Aix-la-Chapelle, also is French, but he knew the place as Aachen (_a'chen_).

The great empire which Charlemagne built up held together only during the life of his son. Then it was divided among his three grandsons. Louis took the eastern part, Lo-thaire' took the central part, with the t.i.tle of emperor, and Charles took the western part.

HARUN-AL-RASHID

CALIPH FROM 786-809 A.D.

I

The most celebrated of all Mohammedan caliphs was Harun-al-Rashid, which means, in English, Aaron the Just. Harun is the hero of several of the stories of the "Arabian Nights," a famous book, which perhaps you have read. There are many curious and wonderful tales in it.

When Harun was only eighteen years old he showed such courage and skill as a soldier that his father, who was then caliph, allowed him to lead an army against the enemies of the Mohammedans; and he won many great victories.

He afterwards commanded an army of ninety-five thousand Arabs and Persians, sent by his father to invade the Eastern Roman Empire, which was then ruled by the Empress Irene (_i-re'ne_). After defeating Irene's famous general, Nicetas (_ni-ce'tas_), Harun marched his army to Chrys-op'o-lis, now Scutari (_skoo'ta-re_), on the Asiatic coast, opposite Constantinople. He encamped on the heights, in full view of the Roman capital.

The Empress saw that the city would certainly by taken by the Moslems.

She therefore sent amba.s.sadors to Harun to arrange terms; but he sternly refused to agree to anything except immediate surrender.

Then one of the amba.s.sadors said, "The Empress has heard much of your ability as a general. Though you are her enemy, she admires you as a soldier."

These flattering words were pleasing to Harun. He walked to and fro in front of his tent and then spoke again to the amba.s.sadors.

"Tell the Empress," he said, "that I will spare Constantinople if she will pay me seventy thousand pieces of gold as a yearly tribute. If the tribute is regularly paid Constantinople shall not be harmed by any Moslem force."

The Empress had to agree to these terms. She paid the first year's tribute; and soon the great Moslem army set out on its homeward march.

When Harun was not quite twenty-one years old he became caliph.

He began his reign by appointing very able ministers, who carried on the work of the government so well that they greatly improved the condition of the people.

Harun built a palace in Bagdad, far grander and more beautiful than that of any caliph before him. Here he established his court and lived in great splendor, attended by hundreds of courtiers and slaves.

He was very anxious that his people should be treated justly by the officers of the government; and he was determined to find out whether any had reason to complain. So he sometimes disguised himself at night and went about through the streets and bazaars, listening to the talk of those whom he met and asking them questions. In this way he learned whether the people were contented and happy, or not.

In those times Bagdad in the east and the Mohammedan cities of Spain in the west were famed for their schools and learned men.

Arabian teachers first introduced into Western Europe both algebra and the figures which we use in arithmetic. It is for this reason that we call these figures the "Arabic numerals."

Harun-al-Rashid gave great encouragement to learning. He was a scholar and poet himself and whenever he heard of learned men in his own kingdom, or in neighboring countries, he invited them to his court and treated them with respect.

The name of Harun, therefore, became known throughout the world. It is said that a correspondence took place between him and Charlemagne and that, as you have learned, Harun sent the great emperor a present of a clock and an elephant.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE PRESENTS FROM HARUN-AL-RASHID]

The tribute of gold that the Empress Irene agreed to pay Harun was sent regularly for many years. It was always received at Bagdad with great ceremony. The day on which it arrived was made a holiday.

The Roman soldiers who came with it entered the gates in procession.

Moslem troops also took part in the parade.

When the gold had been delivered at the palace, the Roman soldiers were hospitably entertained, and were escorted to the main gate of the city when they set out on their journey back to Constantinople.

II

In 802 Ni-ceph'o-rus usurped the throne of the Eastern Empire.

He sent amba.s.sadors with a letter to Harun to tell him that the tribute would no longer be paid. The letter contained these words:

"The weak and faint-hearted Irene submitted to pay you tribute.

She ought to have made you pay tribute to her. Return to me all that she paid you; else the matter must be settled by the sword."

As soon as Harun had read these words the amba.s.sadors threw a bundle of swords at his feet. The caliph smiled, and drawing his own sword, or cimeter (_sim'e-ter_), he cut the Roman swords in two with one stroke without injuring the blade, or even turning the edge of his weapon.

Then he dictated a letter to Nicephorus, in which he said:

"Harun-al-Rashid, Commander of the Faithful to Nicephorus, the Roman dog: I have read thy letter. Thou shalt not hear, thou shalt _see_ my reply."

[Ill.u.s.tration: HARUN-AL-RASHID]

Harun was as good as his word. He started that day with a large army to punish the emperor. As soon as he reached Roman territory he ravaged the country and took possession of everything valuable that he found. He laid siege to Her-a-cle'a, a city on the sh.o.r.es of the Black Sea, and in a week forced it to surrender. Then he sacked the place.

Nicephorus was now forced to agree to pay the tribute. Scarcely, however, had the caliph reached his palace in Bagdad when the emperor again refused to pay.

Harun, consequently, advanced into the Roman province of Phrygia, in Asia Minor, with an army of 15,000 men. Nicepherus marched against him with 125,000 men. In the battle which followed the emperor was wounded, and 40,000 of his men were killed.

After this defeat Nicephorus again promised payment of the tribute, but again failed to keep his promise.

Harun now vowed that he would kill the emperor if he should ever lay hands upon him. But as he was getting ready to march once more into the Roman provinces a revolt broke out in one of the cities of his own kingdom; and while on his way to suppress it the great caliph died of an illness which had long given him trouble.