Not long after the fall of Cordova, Valencia also submitted to the Christian yoke. Zean, besides being assailed externally by the force of the intrepid Jacques, had, in addition, to oppose within his walls the faction of Zeith, whom he had dethroned. The king of Tunis, too, had been unsuccessful in an attempt to send a fleet to the relief of Valencia: it at once took to flight on the appearance of the vessels of Jacques. Abandoned by the whole world, disheartened by the fate of Cordova, and betrayed {117} by the party of his competitor, Zean offered to become the vassal of the crown of Aragon, and to pay a tribute in acknowledgment of his vassalage; but the Christian monarch was inflexible, and would accede to no terms that did not include a stipulation to surrender the city. Fifty thousand Moors, bearing their treasures with them, accompanied the departure of their sovereign from Valencia. Jacques had pledged his royal word to protect the rich booty which they so highly valued from the cupidity of his soldiers, and he faithfully performed his promise. After the destruction of the two powerful kingdoms of Andalusia and Valencia, there seemed to exist no Moorish power capable of arresting the progress of the Spanish arms. That of Seville, which alone remained, was already menaced by the victorious Ferdinand. But, just at this period, a new state rose suddenly into importance, which maintained a high degree of celebrity for two hundred years, and long prevented the final ruin of the Moors. [1] See note A, page 216. [2] See note B, page 216. [3] See note C, page 218. [4] See Note D, page 220. [5] A.D. 1178. [6] See Note E, page 221. [7] A.D. 1213, Heg. 610. [8] See Note F, page 231. [9] A.D. 1236, Heg. 634. {118} FOURTH EPOCH. THE KINGS OF GRENADA. _Extending from the middle of the Thirteenth Century to the period of the Total Expulsion of the Moors from Spain, A.D. 1493._ The unprecedented success of the Spaniards, and, above all, the loss of Cordova, spread consternation among the Moors. That ardent and superstitious people, who were ever equally ready to cherish delusive hopes, and to yield to despondency when those anticipations were disappointed, looked upon their empire as ruined the moment the Christian cross surmounted the pinnacle of their grand mosque, and the banner of Castile waved over the walls of their ancient capital--those walls on which the standards of the Caliphs of the West and of their Prophet had for centuries floated in triumph.