Travels to Tana and Persia

by Giosofat Barbaro; Ambrogio Contarini

Chap. XXI.

Tomombei, the new Soldan, hearing of the victory of the Turk, sends Algazeli against the Turks in Gazzara; but Sinan Bassà going to their assistance, confronts and defeats him. The Turk leaves Damascus and goes to Jerusalem, where he gives alms and offers sacrifices.

The new Soldan of Cairo, the great Diodar[509] surnamed Tomombei,[510] was quickly informed of this victory; and Algazeli who was a brave General, on his arrival at Cairo asked permission to go and attack this force. The Turks who had arrived at Gazzara stood firm, and this Algazeli, setting out from Cairo with five thousand well armed Mamelukes, hurried through the country raising troops. The Turks at Gazzara became apprehensive, but nevertheless determined to perish sword in hand; the Grand Turk, on receiving the news, determined to reinforce the troops at Gazzara, and for this purpose send Sinan[511] Bassà with fifteen thousand men. Algazeli having left Cairo arrived at Catia, and after crossing the sandy desert and coming to a caravanserai or villa where he halted, received intelligence of Sinan’s arrival at Gazzara; though this was to his great disgust, as it prevented him accomplishing his object, he nevertheless plucked up spirits, and exhorted his men to fight valiantly, promising them the victory. Having arranged an assault on the Turks during the night, news of this determination came to the ears of the enemy, and Sinan Bassà arrayed his troops for the battle, and resolved to conquer or die; there being no other alternative left them, as they were surrounded by such a number of Moors. That night they held great rejoicings with salutes and bonfires, praying to Allah for victory, and set out on their march; hence the people of Gazzara imagined that they were retreating to join their sovereign, the Grand Turk, and therefore they put to death all the wounded in Gazzara, and informed Algazeli that our troops had fled. This caused him great satisfaction, but at the third hour of the day, seeing the dust made by the army which he thought had fled, coming to meet him in battle, his satisfaction was turned to disgust, and he seemed struck with astonishment. Our men drawing near, dismounted, tightened the girths of their horses, and then asking forgiveness one of another, they shook hands, embraced, and commenced praying to God for the sake of his prophet Mahomet, and his four vicars, Abu Beker, Omar, Osman, and Ali, and all the other prophets, his predecessors, that he would give the victory to the army of the true Mussulmans. Then Sinan Bassà, turning to the army, exhorted them all, saying that they had often before routed larger armies and gained more important battles than these;[512] telling them that they should stand firm, as he who was destined to die would perish even if he fled, and he who was not destined to fall would not do so even if he fought on; and that as male wethers are proper for sacrifices, so ought they to fight for their sovereign. “Let us avenge our friends, whom these dogs have slain at the first outset, whose corpses, if they could speak, would cry, ‘Slay, slay’; if you conquer you will receive great rewards from our ruler, and obtain great fame, as many of you who are now of low rank will be promoted.” They all replied, saying: “God give long life to our sovereign; may the whole earth be subjected to him; and let him who does not submit be put to death. Forward! forward!” Having marched, therefore, and the two armies having met, the Circassians resisted our attack with great courage and daring, each side repulsing the other in turn several times from the third hour till noon, numbers being slain. At last the Circassians were routed, while our troops were highly elated with the victory and immense booty; the Mamelukes fled to Cairo, pursued by some of our men. The others returned to Gazzara with Sinan Bassà, stuffing with straw the heads of the dead chiefs, while the others they fixed to the palm trees in memory of the battle. The great monarch sent two hundred Solacchi to meet Sinan Bassà, and request him to ride forward and meet him in a certain place. But not finding the Bassà, they set out on their return. On the march, numbers of them died, and being again attacked by the Arabs, all but six were killed. These rejoined the great monarch and reported that they had heard nothing of Sinan or of his army. The Sultan hearing this rose up in a great fury to march to the rescue of the valiant Greeks; but just then there arrived some Moors with the news of the rout of Algazeli by the Turkish troops, who had returned in triumph to Gazzara. The Moors were rewarded for their tidings, and the emperor was in the highest spirits; marching from Damascus he came to Peneti, where the two hundred Solacchi were slain, which place he sacked and burnt. He then went to Jerusalem, but had a great deal of rain and bad weather on the road, which caused much suffering and the death of many. In Jerusalem the monarch bestowed much money on the poor of the city, and also made offerings of good rams; so that the sacrificing priests were satisfied with his bounty. Proceeding on the route to Gazzara they arrived at a fearful gorge,[513] where only two horses could advance abreast. The Arabs had seized the defile and had collected huge stones above to roll down when the Sultan was passing; they had also numerous archers. The monarch having heard this, ordered the artillery and the arquebuses to be prepared; but when the need came they could not be discharged, owing to the wind and rain. Nevertheless, the valiant janissaries managed to make use of the arquebuses and put to flight the Moors with great slaughter. When we approached Gazzara the valiant Greek troops, fully armed and sumptuously clad in the spoils of the enemy, came a bowshot out of the city to meet their sovereign. The Moors seeing this great array were filled with astonishment, while the Sanzacchi dismounted to kiss the hand of the Sultan, and the whole army separated into two parts, having the monarch in the centre, and saluted him. Then he met Sinan Bassà, and thanked him, the army, and the Spachi, which means noblemen, and made them many presents. Having remained four days at Gazzara, they advanced to Casali, where they had not been able to go previously from want of water. But the desert being full of water from the rains, they proceeded at their ease, and immediately on arriving Casali was given up to pillage, in retaliation for the attack on the Sultan in the valley above mentioned.

Chap. XXII.

The Turk marches on Cairo, and the Soldan, with Algazeli, confronts him; but in the battle is defeated and flies in disguise; while the Turk enters the capital of the Soldan.

We then set out on the straight route to Cairo, where the newly created Soldan Tomombei[514] was making preparations by digging moats and raising embankments of earth[515] with a great number of labourers. He also posted pieces of artillery with the design when our army appeared of sweeping it all away, and by a sally of fourteen thousand Mamelukes and twenty thousand auxiliaries to rout it utterly. When we arrived in the country six thousand Mamelukes deserted, and informed the Grand Turk of everything. Therefore he turned suddenly into another road, which was unguarded, and in which he could not be molested by the enemy’s artillery. The Circassians and the Soldan seeing that the Sultan was advancing by another route, attacked us with great shouts and yells: Algazeli against the Greek troops, a vizier named Allem[516] against those of Natolia, and the Soldan against the Grand Turk himself; so that, from the morning till mid-day, there was a fierce fight. And in the battle, unfortunately, Sinan Bassà was killed,[517] and with him a great number of his retainers who had partaken of his bread and salt, and who, clad in garments he had given them, devoted themselves to death with their master. They bathed him with their tears, and having enveloped him in a fine cloth, and having sprinkled him in some water called Abzenzom found at Mecca,[518] they buried him in a grave they dug for him. Mustafà Bassà, seeing that all depended on him, with loud shouts and great valour began the combat, which being seen by the men of Natolia, at the head of whom he was, they got so enraged that they cut down the Circassians like grass in the most marvellous manner. The troops of the monarch and of Greece also fought bravely, but at the hour of evening prayers each retired from fatigue, and the Circassians, wearied out, were put to flight, part into Cairo and part to the open country.[519] The Greeks pursued them till night, plundering and slaughtering them; the monarch remained that night on the field of battle, and ordered all the prisoners to be put to death, which was done. They remained here three days, and on the fourth reached the river Nile at a place called Bichieri, where they halted two days. The Mamelukes who had advanced joined the Soldan to the number of nine thousand, planning a night attack; but the Sultan, hearing this, ordered the troops to remain under arms all night. But the enemy, hearing this, changed their plan and determined to attack us by day, and thus came on with fearful yells. The janizzaries fought bravely, and the troops of Greece mounted and fought on horseback. Still, not being able to conquer the enemies that day, both armies retreated. The following morning the great monarch rose with the dawn, and, having returned thanks to God, ordered all the army to be put in array, all mounting, moving with great solemnity and display against the Circassians, who, with their usual cries, began the battle, one side being soon hidden from the other by the dust. The Mamelukes[520] were desperate, and wished for nothing better than to die sword in hand, it appearing to them a disgrace to escape and leave all their possessions in the hands of the enemy, a calamity from which God preserve every one, and more especially all good Mahometans. The monarch, seeing that he could not destroy the Circassians, ordered the city to be set on fire, which the janizzaries did in several places. The Mamelukes, seeing this, cried out for quarter with loud and terrible yells; and the Sultan, having pity on them, ordered the fire to be extinguished, it being almost by a miracle that the whole city was not burnt down. The Circassians renewed the contest with such vigour that the arrows fell like rain; and so many fell on both sides, that the streets of Cairo ran blood, the fight continuing the entire day. At night, the Circassians, being faint and exhausted, retired into a mosque, in which as a citadel they kept up a gallant defence for three days and three nights. But at length, a grand attack being made, the mosque was taken by storm. The Soldan Tomombei escaped in disguise, when the great monarch went to rest and his followers to get booty and prisoners; the heads of these prisoners were afterwards cut off by the banks of the Nile. Algazeli, who had been away from Cairo in order to collect forces of Arabs, was already approaching the city when he was informed that the Turk had proclaimed a free pardon to all the Circassians who came in in the course of three days. Hence many Circassians who had been concealed presented themselves and received gifts; Algazeli also did the same, and gave in his submission to the king. And to him also were presents made. After this the Grand Turk, with the great white standard, with drums, fifes, and naccare, went to the residence of the Soldan; while on the way, they discovered a conspiracy of some Mamelukes who wished to escape, for which some were put to death, and others confined in certain prisons till some days afterwards, when they were drowned in the Nile. In this manner did this monarch Sultan Selim revenge himself on his enemies; also, when at Cairo, hearing that the people of a town named Catia had insulted our soldiers who had been sent there, he commissioned Algazeli and a Beglerbei to go and chastise the Moors and to plunder the city. This being done and the Moors being all put to death, the other places in the vicinity became quite submissive.

Chap. XXIII.

The Turk sends Ambassadors to the Soldan, who had fled, advising him to submit; but, these men being killed by the Circassians, he sends Mustafà with an army to revenge them. The Soldan is defeated; and, being pursued by Mustafà, is taken prisoner, and brought to the Grand Turk, who causes him to be impaled by one of the gates of Cairo.

We remained at Cairo alert to all the movements of the Soldan, who had crossed the Nile and taken flight into the country of the Saettò.[521] As he wished to be informed of what the Turks were doing, he sent secret emissaries to Cairo to stir up the citizens to molest our troops. While things were in this train, Omar,[522] a lord of the Moors, came secretly to kiss the hand of the Sultan, told him all, and was rewarded by a good Sangiacato in the regions of the Saettò. Sentinels were posted everywhere, and artillery to command the river, so that not even a bird could have crossed. They then determined to send two chiefs with the Cadis of Cairo to the Soldan to advise him to submit himself to the Grand Turk, who promised to give him the government of Cairo. But the Circassians, when they got the ambassadors into their power, put them to death. The monarch, hearing of this cruelty, caused bridges to be erected over the river, and commanded Mustafà to cross with the entire army, which was reported to the Soldan, who, with five thousand Circassians and ten thousand Arabs, advanced to meet them by forced marches in one day and one night. At this juncture part of the Greek troops had crossed and others were crossing, not having any intelligence of this; but God so willed it that those who were seeking a good spot to pitch the Sultan’s tent, saw the dust raised by the approaching squadrons, and, being utterly amazed, rode off to tell the news. The monarch ordered Mustafà to mount and set the army in array. The Circassians charged and drove back our troops as far as the standard, but, being reinforced, we repulsed them; the Circassians, seeing this, again closed and drove us back with such slaughter that the blood ran in rivers. The Moors fought only to give the Circassians time to rest, so that our men were at a great disadvantage, fighting on bravely still, but with immense loss. The Bassa, who was in attendance on the Sultan, seeing this, and that the day was in a way to be lost, seized his scimitar and bosdocan furiously, and rushed towards the Soldan, intending to cut the life out of his body before dying himself. The Greeks, seeing this act of valour, struggled on to assist their chief. And it is certain that if their courage had failed them then, they would have lost their lives, as they would all have been cut to pieces. But their bravery showed the Soldan that they would gain the victory, and, seeing that from a great and rich monarch he would become a poor and solitary outcast, looking up to heaven he bewailed his sad lot with such bitter words as to make all who heard him pity him. After many words, accompanied with tears, he took to flight, riding night and day till he reached a bridge, where he rested a short time. Mustafà[523] and the Greeks pursued him, but he managed to keep in advance of them. The Turk set out from Cairo, and halted half a day’s journey distant from Mustafà, who had pursued the Soldan for four days and as many nights, till he forced him from fatigue to take refuge in a Casal of the Moors. Our men, also being very much fatigued, could not get possession of him; so they determined to write to the people of the Casal ordering them under pain of fire and sword to prevent the Soldan proceeding any further. Thence the chief of the fortress, named Sheikh Assaim, told all his men, and Tomombei and the Circassians were surrounded by the Moors, so that they could not escape till the arrival of our men, who soon got them into their power. The Circassians threw themselves into a neighbouring lake, while our soldiers cut some of them to pieces and made prisoners of the others. Tomombei was taken standing up to his knees in water, and conducted to the Bassà, who despatched a troop to the monarch with intelligence of all that had occurred. The messenger on his arrival was received with great rejoicings, and all the Sangiacchi and the lords kissed the Grand Turk’s hand. The Soldan was not brought to his presence, but kept in good custody in a tent near his. After this there was another battle with the Moors in another fortress near the Nile; the inhabitants and some Mamelukes were continually killing and robbing our men. Mustafà set out and destroyed the fortress, and, after remaining four days, returned to the Turk, who was holding a court, and had commanded that Tomombei Soldan[524] should be led through the country of Cairo on a mule, with a chain round his neck, and that at a gate of the city called Bebzomele he should be impaled, which was immediately done. This was the termination of the kingdom of the Mamelukes and the commencement of the greater power of Selim Sultan. The history of this last expedition of Selim against the Soldan and the Mamelukes was carefully written by a Cadi Lascher,[525] who was with the army, to a Cadi in Constantinople, and translated from the Turkish into Tuscan on the 22nd October, 1517.