Africa; and, V.Spain.Under this general division, I shall proceed to unfold these memorable transactions; despatching with brevity the remote and less interesting conquests of the East, and reserving a fuller narrative for those domestic countries which had been included within the pale of the Roman empire.

Yet I must excuse my own defects by a just complaint of the blindness and insufficiency of my guides.

The Greeks, so loquacious in controversy, have not been anxious to celebrate the triumphs of their enemies.

[10] After a century of ignorance, the first annals of the Mussulmans were collected in a great measure from the voice of tradition.

[11] Among the numerous productions of Arabic and Persian literature, [12] our interpreters have selected the imperfect sketches of a more recent age.