She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Jamrkan in his battle with Jawamard slew him and slew his men; and, after taking many prisoners and much money and many horses and loads, sent them with an escort of a thousand riders, to Cufa city. Then he and the army of Al-Islam dismounted and expounded The saving Faith to the prisoners, who made profession with heart and tongue; whereupon they released them from bonds and embraced them and rejoiced in them. Then Jamrkan made his troops, who had swelled to a mighty many, rest a day and a night and marched with the dawn, intending to attack Jaland bin Karkar in the city of Oman; whilst the thousand horse fared back to Cufa with the loot. When they reached the city, they went in to King Gharib and told him what had passed, whereat he rejoiced and gave them joy and, turning to the Ghul of the Mountain, said, “Take horse with twenty thousand and follow Jamrkan.” So Sa’adan and his sons mounted and set out, amid twenty thousand horse for Oman. Meanwhile, the fugitives of the defeated Kafirs reached Oman and went in to Jaland, weeping and crying, “Woe!” and “Ruin!” whereat he was confounded and said to them, “What calamity hath befallen you?” So they told him what had happened and he said, “Woe to you! How many men were they?” They replied, “O King, there were twenty standards, under each a thousand men.” When Jaland heard these words he said, “May the sun pour no blessing on you! Fie upon you! What, shall twenty thousand overcome you, and you seventy thousand horse and Jawamard able to withstand three thousand in field of fight?” Then, in the excess of his rage and mortification, he bared his blade and cried out to those who were present, saying, “Fall on them!” So the courtiers drew their swords upon the fugitives and annihilated them to the last man and cast them to the dogs. Then Jaland cried aloud to his son, saying, “Take an hundred thousand horse and go to Al-Irak and lay it waste altogether.” Now this son’s name was Kúraján and there was no doughtier knight in all the force; for he could charge single-handed three thousand riders. So he and his host made haste to equip themselves and marched in battle-array, rank following rank, with the Prince at their head, glorying in himself and improvising these couplets, “I’m Al-Kurajan, and my name is known * To beat all who in wold or in city wone! How many a soldier my sword at will * Struck down like a cow on the ground bestrown? How many a soldier I’ve forced to fly * And have rolled their heads as a ball is thrown? Now I’ll drive and harry the land Irak[FN#15] * And like rain I’ll shower the blood of fone; And lay hands on Gharib and his men, whose doom * To the wise a warning shall soon be shown!”