The principal of all these, however, is R. Daniel, the son of Chisdai, who bears the titles of Prince of the Captivity and Lord, and who possesses a pedigree which proves his descent from king David. The Jews call him "Lord, Prince of the Captivity," and the Mohammedans entitle him Saidna Ben Daoud, noble descendant of David. He holds great command over all Jewish congregations under the authority of the Emir-al-Mumenin, the lord of the Mohammedans, who has commanded that he shall be respected, and has confirmed his power by granting him a seal of office. Every one of his subjects, whether he be Jew or Mohammedan or of any other faith, is commanded to rise in the presence of the prince of the captivity, and to salute him respectfully, under a penalty of one hundred stripes. Whenever he pays a visit to the king, he is escorted by numerous horsemen, both Jews and Gentiles, and a crier proclaims aloud: "Make way before our lord the son of David, as becomes his dignity;" in Arabic, _Amilu tarik la-saidna ben-Daud_. Upon these occasions he rides upon a horse, and his dress is composed of embroidered silk; on his head he wears a large turban covered with a white cloth, and surmounted by a chain (or diadem). The authority of the prince of the captivity extends over the countries of Mesopotamia, Persia, Khorassan, Seba, which is Yemen, Diarbekh, all Armenia and the land of Kota near Mount Ararat, over the country of the Alanians, which is shut in by mountains, and has no outlet except by the iron gates which were made by Alexander, over Sikbia and all the provinces of the Turkmans unto the Aspisian mountains, over the country of the Georgians unto the river Oxus (these are the Girgasim of Scripture, and believe in Christianity), and as far as the frontiers of the provinces and cities of Tibet and India. All the Jewish congregations of these different countries receive authority from the prince of captivity to elect rabbis and ministers, all of whom appear before him in order to receive consecration[221] and the permission to officiate, upon which occasions presents and valuable gifts are offered to him, even from the remotest countries. The prince of the captivity possesses hostelries, gardens, and orchards in Babylonia, and extensive landed property inherited from his forefathers, of which nobody can deprive him. He enjoys a certain yearly income from the Jewish hostelries, the markets, and the merchandise of the country, which is levied in form of a tax, over and above what is presented to him from foreign countries. He is very rich, an excellent scholar, and so hospitable, that numerous Israelites dine at his table every day. At the time of the installation of the prince of the captivity he expends considerable sums in presents to the king (or khalif), and to his princes and nobles. This ceremony is performed by the king or khalif, who lays his hands on the prince, after which the latter rides home from the king's abode to his own house, seated in a royal state carriage, and accompanied with the sound of various musical instruments; he afterwards lays his hands on the gentlemen of the university, to reinstal them. Many of the Jews of Bagdad are good scholars and very rich. The city contains twenty-eight Jewish synagogues, situated partly in Bagdad and partly in Al-Khorkh, on the other side of the river Tigris, which runs through and divides the city. The metropolitan synagogue of the prince of the captivity is ornamented with pillars of richly coloured marble, plated with gold and silver; on the pillars are inscribed verses of the Psalms in letters of gold. The ascent to the holy ark[222] is composed of ten marble steps, on the uppermost of which are the stalls set apart for the prince of the captivity and the other princes of the house of David.