the fairest flower of Islamite civilisation. Traces of the ravages perpetrated by these monsters are visible to this day. The destruction of Baghdad (1258) inflicted a terrible blow upon Arab culture. At that time the caliphate was in reality a petty state having for its capital a metropolis with which Constantinople alone could vie in importance. The end of the caliphate coincided with and marked the close of the glorious period of the Arab empire. Even before it came to pass, the Mongols had annihilated the flourishing civilisation of the East by destroying the great cities there, and massacring their inhabitants. A remnant of Arab culture found refuge in Egypt, whither happily the Mongols did not penetrate. Yet even this conquest actually promoted the spread of Islam. The Mongols settled among the Moslems and soon went over to Islam themselves. The greater part of Asia Minor had already been won over by the Seljuks to Turkish nationality and the faith of Islam, and from thence arose the empire of the Ottoman Turks, for centuries the terror of Europe. At the very time when Islamism, after a protracted struggle, was thrust forth from Spain, the fierce and fanatical worshippers of the God of Arabia bore the banner of his prophet far on the way towards Europe. And while warriors fought for the glory of Allah, Arabic learning was zealously pursued in the theological schools of the Ottoman empire, as it had been in the Middle Ages, and there was much instruction and literary labour after the older Arabic and Persian model, and now and again a work of real scientific value came into being. This mediæval pursuit of learning still prevails wherever Islam holds sway, and its sphere, though circumscribed in Europe, is of vast extent in Asia and Africa, and still continues to expand. It is true that in many Islamite countries the influence of modern Europe makes itself felt even in learning, but it does not go deep, and the genuine Moslem scholar still treads closely in the footprints of the true believers, his predecessors. And Mecca, the home of the prophet, with his sanctuary and his school of theology, is to this day the religious centre for all who admit his claims, and recite the Arabic formulæ of the salat, and listen--though in most cases without the faintest comprehension--to the Arabic _Book of God_. Thither the pious pilgrim makes his way once in his life at least, if he possibly can, nor does he neglect to visit at the same time Mohammed’s grave at Medina. This constant gathering of pilgrims from every quarter at Mecca, and the influence exercised upon their native countries by the theologians who settled there, either temporarily or permanently, are of the utmost importance to the unity and strength of Islam, or, at least, of the creed it involves, which is that held by far the greater number of Semitic races. The language of the Holy City is Arabic, but the population is a mixture of the most diverse elements of nationality.[27]