The other Abd-el-Kader, already mentioned earlier in this book, was a no less famous character than his predecessor, the _marabout_ after whom he was named. The son of Mai-ed-Din, who claimed direct descent from the Prophet, he was born in the year 1808, and when quite a boy made a pilgrimage to Mecca. During this pilgrimage it is recounted that an angel in the form of a Numidian appeared to Mai-ed-Din and prophesied that one day his son would reign over all North Africa. The boy was intelligent, and spent much of his time studying and interpreting the Koran; and when, therefore, the French landed at Sidi Ferruch in 1830, he felt that his day was at hand. His father had been appointed leader of the Holy War, but it was felt that he had not sufficient personality nor prestige to carry the Faithful to victory, and, remembering the prophecy of the dusky angel, Abd-el-Kader was elected _emir_, and made his solemn entry into Mascara on November 25, 1832. For the next fifteen years his military career is one of the most remarkable in history. His successes were no doubt slightly due to the ever-changing principles of the government in Paris, but a man of smaller personality would not have succeeded in not only holding at bay, but in defeating an army containing veterans of the Napoleonic campaigns and equipped with all the modern implements of war. Furthermore, he was an able diplomatist, and employed all kinds of intrigue to compromise with the French when he felt that he could not meet them successfully with the sword.