The Persian ladies themselves follow in arms the same fortunes as their husbands, and fight like men, in the same way as those ancient Amazons who performed such feats of arms in their time. Now, the two captains, Amarbei and Samper, marched ahead, and hearing that Selim had crossed the Euphrates and was advancing by forced marches, retreated to Coi,[328] where Ismail, who had come from Tauris, was in person. Being informed of the large forces Selim was bringing with him on this enterprise, he caused his army to be strongly entrenched, and returned to Tauris to collect more troops, and then to show front to the enemy.[329] Coi is a city which they say was built on the ruins of the ancient Artasata,[330] not more than three days’ journey distant from Tauris; on this account, it appeared likely to Ismail, from its proximity, that he might in a very short time find himself engaged in a battle, and therefore expressly commanded the above-mentioned captains to wait, and when he arrived with fresh forces they would drive back the enemy together. However, shortly after the departure of Ismail, the Turkish army came up in array, on the 24th of August, and spread itself over the plains called Calderane, where the Persians also had their encampment. The latter, seeing the enemy behave with such audacity and provoke them to battle, could not refrain from attacking them, as they had been victorious in so many past wars under the auspices of the greatest monarch of the East: hence, having been joined the night before by some bands of horse from Tauris, making them in all twenty-four thousand men, divided in two deep columns, of which one was led by Stacàlu Amarbei and the other by Aurbec Samper, signal of battle being given, they attacked the enemy bravely. Amarbei, who was foremost, assaulted the troops of Natolia with such a terrific rush, that he broke and routed them utterly, and the Persians made such a slaughter of the Turks, that in that quarter they already had the victory in their hands, if it had not been that Sinan Pasha, to aid that side of the conflict advanced the Caramanian troops, and, taking the Persian force in flank, enabled those who were routed and preparing to fly to make head again. The Persians, resisting Sinan, bore themselves as valiantly as before; nor even when Amarbei was cut to pieces did they fail to keep up the fight courageously.