The fifth was under Daut, Beglerbeg of Natolia, of forty thousand men. There were besides, the Acangi,[220] volunteer cavalry, with their chief, to the number of thirty thousand. These traversed the country thirty, forty, and fifty miles before the Turkish armies, plundered, burnt, and slaughtered whatever they found before them. They are most valiant in person, and it is their duty to bring provisions to the camp.
With this immense army the Turk started from Amasia, and having with him several large pieces of artillery, took the road to Tocat in capital order, and leaving on the left the town of Siuas[221] on the river Lais,[222] which flows from the mountains of Trebizond, entered a low plain between that city and Mount Taurus. On their way they found Nicheset,[223] a very strong Persian castle, which they did not attack, in order not to lose time on the way. Thus marching, they had on the left the city of Coiliutar,[224] situated among mountains, and surrounded with villages; descending the mountain they halted near the city Carascar,[225] famous for its mines.
The inhabitants of this place had all fled to the mountains; therefore, without halting, the army proceeded to the city of Argina,[226] situated in a wide plain. Here they found in a church a philosopher studying with many books around him, and who,[227] not ceasing to read, in spite of all the noise and uproar they made, was cut to pieces by the Acangian[228] horsemen. All the other people had fled beyond the Euphrates. Having left this, the Turks passed the country called Arsenga,[229] which is Lesser Armenia, and approached the Euphrates not far from Malatia,[230] where, on eleven dromedaries, there arrived before the sovereign the ambassadors of the Soldan of Cairo to deliver an arrow with a letter on its point, to which an answer was soon given; and they having remounted their dromedaries departed, getting over a deal of ground in one day, the dromedary being so swift as to travel without intermission further than any other animal. And St. John Chrysostom, upon Matthew, explains the difficult passage as to how the Magians could have come from the East to Judæa to worship Christ in such a short space of time, as is mentioned in the Evangelist, by supposing that they came upon dromedaries, which are said to be the fastest animals for a long journey. Leaving this place the Turkish army marched along the banks of the river towards the north-east, going up against the course of the stream, when on the other bank Ussun Cassano presented himself with the whole Persian army in array.
In this place the Euphrates, which is an immense river with very high banks, forms many sandy islands; so that it is easy to ford it from one side to the other.[231]
Ussun Cassano had a magnificent army of Lesdians who are Parthians, of Persians, Georgians, Kurds, and Tartars, and the principal captains who led them were Unghermaumet, Calul, and Ezeinel, his sons, and Pirameto, the Caramanian Prince.[232] But, although his army was so large, he nevertheless saw that of the Turk as immense, and occupying as large a space of ground, a thing which he had not at first believed, from hearsay. He marvelled at it for a time, and then all astonished, said: “Hai cabesen ne dentider,”[233] which in the Persian tongue signifies “Oh, son of a ——, what an ocean”; comparing this immense army to a sea. Then the Turk, who thought that by boldness he might anticipate and check the forces of Ussun Cassano, commanded the Beglerbeg of Roumania, Asmurat Palæologus, to cross the river with his men and gain possession of the other bank, which would be an evident defeat for Ussun Cassano and his whole army; and since Palæologus was young and bold, in order that his rashness might not cause some mistake, he joined to him Mahomet Pasha to direct him in any emergency.
He led out an immense squadron to the sound of kettle-drums and other martial instruments, with banners flying, descended into the bed of the river, and crossed from one sand-bank to another. Then Ussun Cassano, irritated by this bold proceeding, sent a powerful force of the flower of his army into the river, where the Persians having joined battle with the Turks, either party without yielding as much as an inch of water or ground, fought bravely for more than three hours continuously, while both armies stood on the banks looking on and encouraging. At last, the Turks being repulsed by the Persians with great loss, were routed and driven from the sand-banks; many were drowned in the tumult, being carried away by the stream; and the Persians falling upon them persistently, caused a renewal of the battle more fiercely and cruelly than before; since, in this retreat Palæologus, carried away by the water, was nearly drowned, and the Turks wishing to assist him made desperate head again, regardless of their lives.[234] Thus the assault was renewed so fiercely that no advantage could be discerned on either side; however, the Persians at last obtaining the victory, again broke the enemy, and beat them back with great slaughter, Asmurat[235] remaining drowned in the waters.
Mahomet Pasha, who was in array on a neighbouring sand-bank, seeing this, adroitly withdrew to the bank, where, on the arrival of the Persians pursuing the enemy, he a third time made head, and valorously sustained the Persian assault; and there would have been fiercer fighting than ever if the night had not come on and separated the combatants.
And there is an opinion that the closing in of the day robbed Ussun Cassano of a great victory; as, if Mahomet Pasha had been beaten, the Persians, to their great honour, would have made themselves masters of the other bank; and, as the Turk in the elevated country could not use his artillery or occupy an open space of ground with his cavalry, he would certainly have become a prey to the enemy; since, in the passage of arms in the river not more than five hundred Persians were killed, and from the Turkish army there were fifteen thousand missing in killed and drowned, and numberless prisoners.
On this account the Turk, harassed by a thousand conjectures, kept his army under arms all the night, fearing an attack. The next day he gave an extra donation to all the troops, liberated the slaves on the condition that they should return with the camp to Constantinople, and having arrayed the army, marched up the river, leaving it near the city of Braibret,[236] which he left on his right hand, across the mountains which separate Greater and Lesser Armenia, which road was towards the north-west in the direction of Trebizond.