Note 036
Al Hemar. He had been governor of Mesopotamia, and the Arabic proverb praises the courage of that warlike breed of asses who never fly from an enemy. The surname of Mervan may justify the comparison of Homer, (Iliad 557, &c.,) and both will silence the moderns, who consider the ass as a stupid and ignoble emblem, (D'Herbelot, Bibliot. Orient. p. 558.)

---

The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire —Fall In The East —Chapter 52