The following year Ismail made an enterprise against Diarbeca, which was still in the allegiance of Moratcan, and made himself master in that region of some important places. And since Aladuli[299] had assisted Moratcan from distrust of Ismail and his greatness, he collected an army of more than sixty thousand men and marched against him, not, however, without great fear of exciting against himself the Soldan and the Turk, as the country of Aladuli was situated between these two powers. Then, taking the road of Arsenga and Seras, he arrived in Maseria, through the dominions of the Turk, paying for provisions and tolls, without molesting the inhabitants in any way, showing himself desirous of being on a good footing with the Ottoman. Thus, having arrived in Aladuli’s country, at the town of Alessat,[300] he crossed some mountains in one day, in this way reaching Amaras,[301] putting all the country to fire and sword and rapine. But Aladuli, who had escaped to the mountains of Catarac,[302] and fortified himself there, not wishing to stake all his power at once, took particular care not to give battle to Ismail. Instead, he sent out some bands of good cavalry and, by attacking the Suffaveans, sometimes by day and sometimes by night, and retiring to the mountains, kept continually harassing the hostile army, wherefore Ismail having remained from the twenty-ninth of July to the middle of November, without succeeding in his undertaking, was forced to retreat from want of supplies, the winter, and dearth, to Malatia, a city of the Soldan’s, from whence he passed on to Tauris, having lost on the road many soldiers and an almost countless number of his horses and camels, through the bitterness of the cold and the quantity of the snow.