In Medina, Mohammed met with the most honorable reception. Thither he was followed by many of his converts; and as the number of the faithful continued to increase, he began making preparations for war. Many of those who followed Mohammed did so for the sake of what they obtained from him; but when the hopes of booty were added to other inducements, thousands joined him. His first great military exploit was the spoiling of a rich caravan, led by Abu Sophian, the chief of the Koreishites. Mohammed surprised them, with an inferior force, in the valley of Beder, and inflicted on them a total defeat. He took a rich booty and numbers of prisoners. Many other successful enterprises were now undertaken; but in the third year of the Hegira, Abu Sophian, with 3000 soldiers, attacked Mohammed with 950, on Mount Opud, not far from Medina, and a desperate conflict ensued, in which the Moslems were utterly beaten, and the wounded prophet with difficulty saved his life. Mohammed, with the craftiness common to impostors, attributed this defeat to the sins of the Moslems. He then promised Paradise to all that should for the future die in his cause, and announced that everybody had a fate; that it was of no use to endeavor to withstand it; that every one died at his _appointed hour_, and if he did not die in battle, when the appointed hour came he would die nevertheless. This of course made the poor weak creatures who followed him ready to do anything. In the following year, Abu Sophian appeared before Medina with 10,000 men; but, by a division among themselves, this army broke up, and Mohammed fell upon some bands of Jews who had united with them. These he cut to pieces, slaughtering nearly a thousand, and carried away the women and children into captivity. The next act of the prophet was to offer up prayers to God. He then sent a summons to the principal neighboring princes, and also to those of the various districts of Arabia, to embrace the new revelation of the divine law made through him; and many of these princes embraced his doctrine. But the city of Mecca was a sacred city, according to the religion of the Arabs, and Mohammed knew the importance of making his head quarters, if possible, at so celebrated a place. He craved permission to visit it and its temple as a pilgrim. While at his apparent devotions he converted two men of great renown among the Arabs, called Amru and Othman, and he in consequence became more powerful and raised a larger army. Having made war on the city of Muta, in Palestine, he soon returned to Mecca with an army of 12,000 men; and, having defeated the Koreishites, compelled them, with the point of the sword at their throats, to embrace the Islam. The idols of the Kaba were demolished, and the sacred touch of the prophet made the black stone an object of greater veneration. The temple became the sanctuary of the religion of Mohammed, and its professors were allowed access alone to the holy city of Mecca.