But the arts by which he made himself king, his valour and cunning, I shall narrate as briefly as possible, as I consider these things worthy to be reported to our nation; for, amongst all the kings of the East, who existed since the Government was taken away from the Persians, and transferred to the Greeks, there have been none who equalled the glory of Darius Hystaspes and Ussun Cassano; and if fortune had favoured him in the second battle at Tabeada in the campaign of Tokat, as it did in the first he had with the Turks on the Euphrates, there is no doubt that by these two victories he would have made himself master of all Asia and Egypt. But it is to be regretted that some Eastern kings, great in power and intellect, have not had historians to celebrate their deeds, since among the Sultans of Egypt and among the Kings of Persia, there have been men most excellent in war,[171] and worthy not only of being compared with ancient barbarian kings famous in arms,[172] but even with the great Greek and Roman commanders, in all those things which constitute able generals of armies. For the record of the deeds of such reach us Europeans, who are admirers of the virtues of men abroad and at home, in a condition so mutilated and imperfect, that from the few particulars we cannot draw up a complete history. Therefore, let no one marvel if in these my notes I do not describe things as fully in some places as I should have done, if I had had ampler information; since M. Caterino, who, as has been said, went as ambassador to Ussun Cassano, wrote several letters, from which I have drawn the pith of this short history, for the satisfaction of those who, hearing discussions about the Sufi, and of his great pomp, are desirous of being informed of the affairs of the Persian Empire. And I know well that in thus writing to a purport different from what has been written by others, many will be apt to criticise me, as it is difficult to efface early impressions from the mind; but before they do so, I beg they will rather consider my good intentions than impute to me any desire to gain a reputation for being better acquainted with the affairs of the world than other writers. But surely we ought far sooner to credit what is told us of the doings of Ussun Cassano, by one who was connected with him, and who got his information from the Queen Despina, his own aunt, than by those who, in their histories, have only availed themselves of the narrations of some Armenians, who, to take away his reputation, went about spreading the report that he was not born of royal blood, and that while he governed certain places in Armenia, by lavish expenditure, and gaining the favour of the soldiery, he seized an opportunity of casting off the sway of Giausa, and treacherously putting him to death with his son.[173] And they add, to further embellish this lie, that in this Giausa the descendants of Moleoncre, formerly a great sultan of the Parthians, became extinct.