The Superstitious Abyssinians Fled, Leaving
Claudius Supported By A Handful Of Portuguese, Who Were Soon Slain Around
Him, And He Fell Covered With Wounds.
The Amir Nur cut off his head, and
laid it at the feet of Talwambara, who, in observance of her pledge,
became his wife.
This Amazon suspended the trophy by its hair to the
branch of a tree opposite her abode, that her eyes might be gladdened by
the sight: after hanging two years, it was purchased by an Armenian
merchant, who interred it in the Sepulchre of St. Claudius at Antioch. The
name of the Christian hero who won every action save that in which he
perished, has been enrolled in the voluminous catalogue of Abyssinian
saints, where it occupies a conspicuous place as the destroyer of Mohammed
the Left-handed.
The Amir Nur has also been canonized by his countrymen, who have buried
their favourite "Wali" under a little dome near the Jami Mosque at Harar.
Shortly after his decisive victory over the Christians, he surrounded the
city with its present wall,--a circumstance now invested with the garb of
Moslem fable. The warrior used to hold frequent conversations with El
Khizr: on one occasion, when sitting upon a rock, still called Gay
Humburti--Harar's Navel--he begged that some Sherif might be brought from
Meccah, to aid him in building a permanent city. By the use of the "Great
Name" the vagrant prophet instantly summoned from Arabia the Sherif Yunis,
his son Fakr el Din, and a descendant from the Ansar or Auxiliaries of the
Prophet: they settled at Harar, which throve by the blessing of their
presence. From this tradition we may gather that the city was restored, as
it was first founded and colonized, by hungry Arabs.
The Sherifs continued to rule with some interruptions until but a few
generations ago, when the present family rose to power. According to
Bruce, they are Jabartis, who, having intermarried with Sayyid women,
claim a noble origin. They derive themselves from the Caliph Abubakr, or
from Akil, son of Abu Talib, and brother of Ali. The Ulema, although
lacking boldness to make the assertion, evidently believe them to be of
Galla or pagan extraction.
The present city of Harar is about one mile long by half that breadth. An
irregular wall, lately repaired [21], but ignorant of cannon, is pierced
with five large gates [22], and supported by oval towers of artless
construction. The material of the houses and defences are rough stones,
the granites and sandstones of the hills, cemented, like the ancient Galla
cities, with clay. The only large building is the Jami or Cathedral, a
long barn of poverty-stricken appearance, with broken-down gates, and two
white-washed minarets of truncated conoid shape. They were built by
Turkish architects from Mocha and Hodaydah: one of them lately fell, and
has been replaced by an inferior effort of Harari art. There are a few
trees in the city, but it contains none of those gardens which give to
Eastern settlements that pleasant view of town and country combined.
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