The city of Medina, where the remains of Mahomet were deposited, and where the accumulated donations of the faithful had formed a rich treasure, yielded to the Wahabee in 1804. A second attack was made upon Jidda ; but Galib having received supplies from Egypt, foiled all their attempts. The pacha of Syria penetrat ed through the Wahabec troops, and the customary ce remonies were performed by the faithful, probably for the last time, at the sacred Caaba. The numerous squadrons of the \Vahabee now cover the desert, and render the repetition of this attempt too dangerous to be hazarded.
The supremacy of Suud is now acknowledged by the Johassen Arabs, who have a powerful maritime force ; and should they be induced to make it subservient to his ambitious views, Jidda would speedily be reduced, and the power of the Islamites would be extinguished in Arabia. The Imam of Muscat has been slain in bat tle ; and a Wahabee is said to have the charge of his son. The independent state of Aden, protected by the wisdom of its Sultan, still resists the \Vahabee power.
Conscious of their want of arms and ammunition, the have made repeated offers to the government of Bombay, to grant exclusive privileges to British mer chants, if they would establish a factory at Loheia. The government of Bombay, blind to their own interests, have returned no answers to these repeated applica tions.* Such are the successes of the followers of Waheb, who, at the present moment, are pursuing their victo rious career over the Arabian peninsula. This delight ful kingdom may now be considered as severed for ever from the Turkish empire ; and the Grand Seignior can no longer be regarded as the head of the Mussulman religion. This mighty fabric of superstition, reared
under the sword, now trembles on its base ; and, ere a few years have elapsed, will probably be levelled with the dust. The holy cities of Mecca and Medina are now shut against the entrance of the devout pilgrims-; and the very tombs in which the ashes of the prophet and his descendants have reposed for ages, have been sacrilegiously destroyed. The kingdoms in Europe, and Africa, and Asia, which have bowed to the doctrines of Islamism, may, for a few years, consider Mahomet as the prophet of God, and may read and respect the Koran as the rule of their obedience ; but a death-blow has struck the empire of superstition at its centre ; and the fatal impulse will be propagated to its most distant limits. A new dynasty has begun to reign, and a new delusion must be practised to support its authority. Upstart chiefs must now wield the physical energies of Arabia, against the happiness of surrounding nations, and impose new restrictions upon the distracted con sciences of the people. The history of superstition for bids us to expect that one system of religious impos ture can speedily rise upon the ruins of another. The Arabs cannot pass in rapid transition to the Wahabee faith ; and a lengthened night of bloodshed and darkness must pass away, before peace and tranquillity can dawn. upon this unhappy land. (A)