And Salvatinea, having departed on his journey to Comdovy, before he arrived there, met, opposing his path, a Muhammadan named Madarmeluquo, who was a captain of the King on this side,[528] and who was awaiting him with sixty thousand men. Salvatinea had two hundred thousand men, and had very little fear of him; and with these he went against him, and took and defeated him, and took prisoners himself and his wife and son and horses and elephants and much money and store of jewels, and sent them all to King Crisnarao. The king commanded to put (the captives) in prison, and there they died. And Sallvatinea went to his territories, and after he had stayed there some months and seen to its government and decided matters in dispute, he returned to the King at Bisnaga, by whom he was well received as being the principal person in the kingdom.

CHAPTER 7

How Crisnarao, on the arrival of Salvatinia, determined to attack Rachol, a city of the Ydalcao, and to break the peace that had lasted so long; and the reason why.

After Salvatinia had arrived and had been well received by the King, and after the lapse of some days, the King told him that he desired to fulfil all the wishes expressed in the testament of King Narsynga, one of which was to capture Rachol, which was a very strong city and amongst the principal ones of the Ydallcao, who had taken it from the kings his ancestors; and because there was now peace between both parties, and had been so for forty years, he knew not how he could manage to break it. But Salvatinia said that since the peace had been made under certain conditions — one of which was that if on either one side or the other any land-owners, captains in revolt, or other evil-doers should be harboured and their surrender should be demanded, they should forthwith be given up — there was now great reason for breaking the peace, since many land-owners and debtors to His Highness had tied into the kingdom of the Ydallcao. He counselled therefore that the King should send to demand the surrender of these men, and that on refusal to give them up there would be good ground for breaking the peace. Many, however, disagreed with this advice. Now it happened at this time that the King (of Bisnaga) sent Cide Mercar with forty thousand PARDAOS to Goa to buy horses, which Cide Mercar was a Moor in whom the King of Bisnaga confided on account of various affairs with which he had already been entrusted; and this man, when he arrived at a place where the Moors lived which was called, Pomdaa and is two leagues from Goa, fled from that place, Pomdaa, to the Ydallcao, carrying with him all the treasure. Some say that the Ydallcao wrote to him a letter as soon as he got there. As soon as they gave to the King this news of the flight of Cide, and how he had carried off all the money, he said that he would write to the Ydallcao to send the man back to him with all the money, since he was his friend. Then the King caused a letter to be written, in which he spoke of the friendship that had existed for so many years so that nothing could shake it, and that he hoped that a traitor would not be the cause of breaking a peace of such long standing as had been between them; and he begged that he would send Cide back at once.

As soon as the letter was read to the Ydallcao he sent to summon his kazis and the men of his council, and he bade them read the letter which had come from the King, as to which letter there were many suggestions made. At the end of all they agreed that he should not send him (Cide) to him (the King of Bisnaga), for they said that he (Cide) was one learned in the law and related to Mafumdo.[529] And the Ydallcao, as a cloak to his action, gave Dabull to that Cide, by way of showing that he was not near his person nor knew he aught of him; from which town of Dabull Cide fled, nor had they any further news of him. When those who had come from the King returned bearing the Ydallcao's answer, the King showed great indignation at it, and held that the peace was broken; he at once ordered to appear before him the great lords of his Council, and had the letter read aloud so that all might hear. As soon as it was read he said that without more ado they should make ready, since he was determined to take full vengeance. But the councillors advised the King, saying that for such a small sum of money as this it was not well so to act; that he should think of what would be said and talked of throughout the world; and that if he was bent on breaking so prolonged a peace for such a trifling cause, he should call to mind that there never was any honesty in a Moor; that others were to blame in that which Cide had done; and that if Cide should dare to come to that war which was waged in order to take vengeance on him,[530] then it would be well that those who accompanied him should die, but that they knew that Cide would keep well away from the army.[531]

The councillors, however, saw that the King remained unmoved from his determination to make war, and they then counselled him, saying: — "Sire, do not go to war by that route (Dabull), but go against Rachol, which now belongs to the Ydallcao but of old was part of this kingdom; then the Ydallcao will be forced to come to defend it, and thus thou wilt take vengeance jointly both on one and the other." The King held this advice to be good and prepared for his departure, sending letters to Madre Maluco, and Demellyno, and Desturvirido,[532] and other superior lords, giving them an account of what had taken place in the matter of the Ydallcao, and how he had determined to make war on him; from which lords he received answer that he was doing rightly, and that they would assist him as far as they were able. As to the Zemelluco, at the time when the messengers returned this answer he could find no excuse for not sending some troops to the aid of his sister who was wedded to the Ydallcao.

The King had sent the letters to those lords out of his great craftiness, for he told them of what he was about to do in order to seduce them to his side, — so far at least as concerned their goodwill, seeing that in the matter of troops he had no need of them — because if they had joined the Ydallcao he (the King) would never have conquered as he did; but because the Ydallcao was hated by them all as being a more powerful chief than they, (for there is little faith amongst the Moors, and they bite one another like dogs and like to see one after the other destroyed) he was conquered, as you will see hereafter, in the month of May, on the new moon day, in the year one thousand five hundred and twenty-two.[533]

After the King had made his offerings and performed sacrifices to his idols he left the city of Bisnaga with all his troops; and they marched in the following order. The chief of the guard (O PORTEIRO MOOR)[534] led the advance with thirty thousand infantry — archers, men with shields, and musqueteers, and spearmen — and a thousand horse and his[535] elephants. After him went Trimbicara with fifty thousand foot and two thousand horse and twenty elephants. After him went Timapanayque; he had with him sixty thousand foot and three thousand five hundred horse and thirty elephants; and after him went Adapanayque with one hundred thousand foot and five thousand horse and fifty elephants. After him came Comdamara,[536] and he had one hundred and twenty thousand foot six thousand horse and sixty elephants; after him went Comara, and he had eighty thousand foot and of horse two thousand five hundred, and forty elephants; after him the forces of Ogemdraho,[537] the governor of the city of Bisnaga, with one of his captains, who had one thousand horse and thirty thousand foot and ten elephants. After him went three eunuchs, favourites of the King, who had forty thousand foot and one thousand horse and fifteen elephants. The page who served the King with betel[538] had fifteen thousand foot and two hundred horse, but he had no elephants. Comarberca[539] had eight thousand foot and four hundred horse and twenty elephants. The people of the chief of Bengapor[540] went by another route with the people of Domar, who were very numerous; and in the same way went other captains of ten or twelve thousand men, of whom I make no mention, not knowing their names. The King took of his guard six thousand horse and forty thousand foot, the pick of all his kingdom, men with shields, archers, and three hundred elephants.

All were equally well armed, each after his own fashion, the archers and musqueteers with their quilted tunics,[541] and the shieldmen with their swords and poignards[542] in their girdles; the shields are so large that there is no need for armour to protect the body, which is completely covered; the horses in full clothing, and the men with doublets,[543] and weapons in their hands, and on their heads headpieces after the manner of their doublets, quilted with cotton. The war-elephants go with their howdahs (CASTELLOS) from which four men fight on each side of them, and the elephants are completely clothed, and on their tusks they have knives fastened, much ground and sharpened, with which they do great harm. Several cannon were also taken. I do not speak here of the washermen, who are numberless here — they wash clothes — nor of the public women who accompanied the army; there were twenty thousand of them with the king during his journey. Any one can imagine the amount of baggage that such a large number of people would take. In the rear with the king, but always on the road in front of him, some ten or twelve thousand men with water-skins who go seeking water, and place themselves along the road to give water to those who have no one to bring it to them; this is done so that none of the people should die of thirst. Three or four leagues in front of all this multitude go some fifty thousand men who are like scouts; they have to spy out the country in front, and always keep that distance; and on their flanks there are two thousand horse of the cavalry of that country. These are all bowmen, and they always advance on the flanks of the scouts.

In this order, as I have stated, they left the city of Bisnaga, and with them a great number of merchants, besides many others who were already in advance with all supplies; so that wherever you may be you will at once find all you want. Every captain has his merchants who are compelled to give him all supplies requisite for all his people, and in the same way they carry all other necessaries