The reason of this war between father and son was, that the Kurds, people of the mountains, being envious of Ussun Cassano and the grandeur of the Persian kingdom, in order to sow the seeds of discord in the midst of peace in that realm, spread a report around that Ussun Cassano was dead, to which rumour Unghermaumet gave ear readily, as after the death of his father he aspired to the throne of Persia. Thus, having collected the army his father had given him to guard Bagadet,[254] which was formerly Babylonia, and all the country of Biarbera,[255] he immediately seized Seras,[256] a city on the confines of Persia, gaining over almost all the Kurds to his party, as they, when they heard that Unghermaumet had made himself master of Seras, came together in great numbers and traversed and plundered the country up to Tauris. Hence Ussun Cassano took the field with the “porta”, that is, the standing army, which he always kept as a guard about his person, and marched in great haste towards Seras. Unghermaumet being terrified at this, as he had already discovered the falsehood of the Kurds, and that his credulity had made him rashly endeavour, by force of arms, to complete a matter of such importance, left the territory, and by means of some chiefs, friendly both to him and to his father, tried to obtain forgiveness from him for his fault; but, hearing that Ussun Cassano was coming with a mind embittered against him, he considered that he had made a mistake, and therefore became apprehensive of being betrayed and losing his life. And his imagination coloured it so highly, that without even confronting the troops of his father, he fled, and reached the country of the Ottoman on the frontiers of the Sangiacato[257] of Bajazet, son of the Grand Turk, from whom with the consent of the latter, he obtained a safe conduct to allow him to seek an asylum under Turkish protection; and having sent his wife and sons to Amasia,[258] to give more assurance to Bajazet, he also rode in his direction, and was welcomed and greatly honoured by that prince. And since this gallant young man could not endure being thus, so to speak, deserted by fortune, desirous of trying his chance (which, as is said, often changes about from troublous to the most prosperous, provided one does not fail in duty to oneself), he passed on to Constantinople to incite, if possible, Mahomet, the Grand Turk, to give him some assistance, and was received with the greatest demonstrations of love and many promises, as Mahomet was a man of valour, and admired nobleness and bravery in illustrious men more than any of his predecessors among the Ottoman princes. Nor were his deeds less than his words, since Mahomet, wishing to take away Ussun Cassano’s fame and reputation, and to gain such a friend that for the future the Persian arms might not oppose him in his full career of conquest, thought that he would do much for his advantage by assisting Unghermaumet in this enterprise, and by