He controlled them largely by keeping them occupied with new conquests, and animated by the constant hope of still greater booty, and this became the bond of unity, which, perhaps more than anything else, saved his newly established government from disruption. At the time of his last pilgrimage to Mecca he stood upon an elevation and addressed the assembled thousands of his followers, admonishing them to stand firmly by the faith which he had taught them. Soon afterward his health failed, but he rallied a little and went to the mosque at Medīna, where a large congregation had gathered to hear the latest news from their leader. Mounting the lower steps of the pulpit, he said a few parting words to the people, and then gave some careful injunctions to the general whom he had entrusted with the command of an army to Syria; having finished his admonitions he went to the rooms of his favorite wife, Āyesha, and here he breathed his last.[213] That his successors were able military leaders, is abundantly proven by the later story of Persia and other conquered lands. RECENSION OF THE TEXT. At the time of Mohammed’s death, no collected edition of the Korān was in existence. Many fragments were in possession of his followers, which had been written down at different times, and upon various materials, but by far the greater portion was preserved only in the memories of men, and liable at any moment to be carried away by death. Abū-Bekr, or Omar, had a collection made during his reign, and he employed a native of Medīna to collect and arrange the text from the best available material. This he did, collecting the texts which were written on palm- leaves, skins, blade-bones, and other material, besides recording what could be gathered from the memories of men. He then presented the Caliph with a copy, which was, perhaps very much like the one we now have. It was compiled without reference to any chronological order, and with very little regard to the logical connection of the various portions. The longer chapters were placed at the beginning, and the shorter ones at the end, without regard to the order in which they were written, and there were many odd verses inserted, apparently for no other reason, than because they were in harmony with the rhythm. There were very few vowel points, and these often make a great difference in the meaning of words. The wording of many passages which were copied from memory, was disputed, for the reason that the persons who remembered them did not agree in their statements. In the present recension of the text there are comparatively few different versions recognized, but it is evident that great variations have existed from the time when the first copy was collected, as even then the various wordings were hotly contested.