Travels to Tana and Persia : $b A narrative of Italian travels in Persia, in the 15th and 16th centuriesBarbaro, Giosofat
History
Travels to Tana and Persia : $b A narrative of Italian travels in Persia, in the 15th and 16th centuries
Barbaro, Giosofat
Iran -- Description and travel; Voyages and travels
only to give the Circassians time to rest, so that our men were at a
great disadvantage, fighting on bravely still, but with immense loss. The
Bassa, who was in attendance on the Sultan, seeing this, and that the
day was in a way to be lost, seized his scimitar and bosdocan furiously,
and rushed towards the Soldan, intending to cut the life out of his body
before dying himself. The Greeks, seeing this act of valour, struggled
on to assist their chief. And it is certain that if their courage had
failed them then, they would have lost their lives, as they would all
have been cut to pieces. But their bravery showed the Soldan that they
would gain the victory, and, seeing that from a great and rich monarch
he would become a poor and solitary outcast, looking up to heaven he
bewailed his sad lot with such bitter words as to make all who heard him
pity him. After many words, accompanied with tears, he took to flight,
riding night and day till he reached a bridge, where he rested a short
time. Mustafà[523] and the Greeks pursued him, but he managed to keep in
advance of them. The Turk set out from Cairo, and halted half a day’s
journey distant from Mustafà, who had pursued the Soldan for four days
and as many nights, till he forced him from fatigue to take refuge in
a Casal of the Moors. Our men, also being very much fatigued, could
not get possession of him; so they determined to write to the people
of the Casal ordering them under pain of fire and sword to prevent the
Soldan proceeding any further. Thence the chief of the fortress, named
Sheikh Assaim, told all his men, and Tomombei and the Circassians were
surrounded by the Moors, so that they could not escape till the arrival
of our men, who soon got them into their power. The Circassians threw
themselves into a neighbouring lake, while our soldiers cut some of them
to pieces and made prisoners of the others. Tomombei was taken standing
up to his knees in water, and conducted to the Bassà, who despatched a
troop to the monarch with intelligence of all that had occurred. The
messenger on his arrival was received with great rejoicings, and all the
Sangiacchi and the lords kissed the Grand Turk’s hand. The Soldan was not
brought to his presence, but kept in good custody in a tent near his.
After this there was another battle with the Moors in another fortress
near the Nile; the inhabitants and some Mamelukes were continually
killing and robbing our men. Mustafà set out and destroyed the fortress,
and, after remaining four days, returned to the Turk, who was holding
a court, and had commanded that Tomombei Soldan[524] should be led
through the country of Cairo on a mule, with a chain round his neck,
and that at a gate of the city called Bebzomele he should be impaled,
which was immediately done. This was the termination of the kingdom of
the Mamelukes and the commencement of the greater power of Selim Sultan.
The history of this last expedition of Selim against the Soldan and the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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