[688] In 1549, Knolles says:—“Solyman had now almost three yeares taken his rest, when it fortuned that Ercaces Imirza, King of Sirvan, moved with the often injuries of Tamas, his brother, the great Persian king, fled to Solyman at Constantinople, to crave aid of him against his brother. Solyman, glad of such an occasion to worke upon, entertained him with all courtesie, and promised to take upon him his quarrell and to protect him against his unnaturall brother; and when he had made all things readie for so great an expedition, passed over into Asia; and after long and painfull travell entered at last with a puissant armie into Armenia, and there, in the borders of the Persian kingdome, first besieged the citie of Van, which, after ten daies’ siege, was yeelded unto him upon condition that the Persian souldiors there in garrison might, with life and libertie, depart with their armes as souldiors; which was at the first by Solyman granted, and so the citie surrendered. From thence, Solyman sent his chiefe commanders, with a great part of his armie, to burne and spoile the enemie’s countrey, which they for a time cheerfully performed, and running farre into the countrey strive, as it were, among themselves who should doe most harme; where Imirza, among the rest, for whose sake Solyman had undertaken this warre, was as forward as the best to wast and spoile his brother’s kingdome, sparing nothing that came to hand. The best and richest things he got he presented to Solyman, to draw him on still in that warre. But that served not his turne to recover againe his kingdome of Sirvan; for Tamas, without shewing any power to withstand the Turks, had, after his wonted manner, caused his people to withdraw themselves far into the mountainous countrey, leaving nothing behind them in that wast countrey to relieve them but bare ground; so that the farther the Turks went the more they wanted, without hope of better successe than such as they had before to their losse made proofe of, in their former expeditions into that great kingdome. The conceit whereof so much pierced not the common souldiors only, but even the captaines themselves: that to make an end of that long and unprofitable warre, taken in hand for another man’s good, they consulted among themselves either to kill Imirza, or else to disgrace him with Solyman; which they so cunningly wrought: some suggesting false suspitions of his treacherous dealing in the proceeding of that warre; and others, with like craft, under cover of friendship, giving him warning in secret of the danger he was in: the one filling Solyman’s head with distrust, and the other, Imirza’s with fear. Briefly, to shut the matter up in their owne tearmes, _they persuaded the hare to flie and the hounds to follow_. Imirza, doubting some sudden mischiefe, fled for succour to an old acquaintance of his, one of the princes of Chaldea, who most treacherously sent him in bonds to Tamas, his brother, his most