"Mahadi Obeidallah was the name of this grandson of Ali. He was
strong and mighty before Allah, and he held in his strong hand the
green flag of the prophet, of his ancestor, an heir-loom in his
family, as he landed from his ships with his troops, at Alexandria,
the great city that lies on the shore of Africa, and belongs to the
realm of Egypt.

"Nothing could resist the descendant of the prophet, and Mahadi
Obeidallah erected his throne in Alexandria. The conquest of Egypt,
begun by him, was finished by his grandson, Moez. He brought a
hundred thousand men, commanded by his vizier Jauhar, to Alexandria,
and marched with them through the desert toward the great city of
Fostal, which Caliph Amrou had built.

"Near this great city, Jauhar founded another with splendid walls
and palaces, and he called it El-Kahera--that is, the--Victorious.'
Proudly, victoriously, beside the old city of Fostal, arose the new
city of El-Kahera, the wondrous city! Moez sat enthroned there in
the midst of his realm, and he founded in El-Kahera, the Victorious,
the dynasty of the Fatimite caliphs; for Fatima, the daughter of the
prophet Mohammed, had married Ali, who was the head of the house
from which Moez and Jauhar descended.

"The new city, El-Kahera arose quickly, and soon became the model
for all that was beautiful in the arts and sciences in Egypt. The
haughty Bagdad, once so mighty, sank into the dust before her.

"But the Fatimites were neither wiser nor more fortunate than the
Abbassites, of whom I told you yesterday, had been. The people could
not love them, for the Fatimites ruled tyrannically, and knew