This title, amongst the Mahometans, comprehends the concrete character of Prophet, Priest, and King, and is used to signify _the Vicar of God on Earth_. It is, at this day, one of the titles of the Grand Signior, as successor of Mahomet; and of the Sophi of Persia, as successor of Ali.--HABESCI’S _State of the Ottoman Empire_, p. 9. D’HERBELOT, p. 985. PAGE 195. _Omar Ben Abdalaziz_ This caliph was eminent above all others for temperance and self-denial, insomuch that he is believed to have been raised to Mahomet’s bosom, as a reward for his abstinence in an age of corruption.--D’HERBELOT, p. 690. PAGE 195. _Samarah_ A city of the Babylonian Irak; supposed to have stood on the site where Nimrod erected his tower. Khondemir relates, in his life of Motassem, that this prince, to terminate the disputes which were perpetually happening between the inhabitants of Bagdat and his Turkish slaves, withdrew from thence, and having fixed on a situation in the plain of Catoul, there founded Samarah. He is said to have had, in the stables of this city, a hundred and thirty thousand _pied horses_, each of which carried, by his order, a sack of earth to a place he had chosen. By this accumulation an elevation was formed that commanded a view of all Samarah, and served for the foundation of his magnificent palace.--D’HERBELOT, pp. 752, 808, 985. _Anecdotes Arabes_, p. 413. PAGE 195. _... in the most delightful succession_ The great men of the East have been always fond of music. Though forbidden by the Mahometan religion, it commonly makes a part of every entertainment. _Nitimur in vetitum semper._ Female slaves are generally kept to amuse them and the ladies of their harems. The Persian Khanyagere seems nearly to have resembled our old English minstrel; as he usually accompanied his barbut, or lute, with heroic songs.--RICHARDSON’S _Dissertation on the Languages, etc., of Eastern Nations_, p. 211. PAGE 196. _Mani_ This artist, whom Inatulla of Delhi styles _the far-famed_, lived in the reign of Schabur, or Sapor, the son of Ardschir Babegan, was founder of the sect of Manichæans, and was, by profession, a painter and sculptor. His pretensions, supported by an uncommon skill in mechanical contrivances, induced the ignorant to believe that his powers were more than human. After having secluded himself from his followers, under the pretence of passing a year in heaven, he produced a wonderful volume, which he affirmed to have brought from thence; containing images and figures of a marvellous nature.--D’HERBELOT, p. 458. It appears, from the _Arabian Nights_, that Haroun al Raschid, Vathek’s grandfather, had adorned his palace and furnished his magnificent pavilion with the most capital performances of the Persian artists. PAGE 196. _Houris_