country and felt herself in safety, she said to her son, King
Herdoub, "Be consoled; for I have avenged thy daughter Abrizeh
and killed King Omar ben Ennuman and brought back the Princess
Sufiyeh. So now let us go to the King of Constantinople and carry
him back his daughter and tell him what has happened, that he may
be on his guard and prepare his forces and that we may do the
like; for I know that the Muslims will not delay to attack us."
"Let us wait till they draw near our country," replied Herdoub,
"that we may make us ready meantime and assemble our power."
Accordingly they fell to levying their forces and preparing for
war, so that by the time the news of the Muslims' advance reached
them, they were ready for defence. Then King Herdoub and his
mother set out for Constantinople, and King Afridoun, hearing of
the arrival of the King of the Greeks, came forth to meet him and
asked how it was with him and the cause of his visit. So Herdoub
acquainted him with the doing; of his mother Dhat ed Dewahi, how
she had slain the Muslim king and recovered the Princess Sufiyeh
and that the Muslims had assembled their forces and were on their
way to attack them, wherefore it behoved that they two should
join powers and meet them. King Afridoun rejoiced in the recovery
of his daughter and the death of King Omar and sent to all
countries, to seek succour and acquaint the folk with the reason
of the slaying of King Omar. So the Christian troops flocked to
him from all quarters, and before three months were past, the
army of the Greeks was complete, besides which there joined
themselves to him the French and Germans and Ragusans and Genoese
and Venetians and all the hosts of the Pale Faces and warriors
from all the lands of the Franks, and the earth was straitened on
them by reason of their multitude. Then Afridoun the Great King
commanded to depart; so they set out from Constantinople and
ceased not to defile through the city for the space of ten days.
They fared on till they reached a spacious valley, hard by the
salt sea, where they halted three days; and on the fourth day,
they were about to set out again, when news came to them of the
approach of the army of Islam and the defenders of the faith of
the Best of Men.[FN#94] So they halted other three days, and on
the seventh day, they espied a great cloud of dust which spread
till it covered the whole country; nor was an hour of the day
past before the dust lifted and melted away into the air, and its
darkness was pierced and dispersed by the starry sheen of
lance-points and spear-heads and the flashing of sword-blades.
Presently, there appeared the banners of Islam and the Mohammedan
ensigns and the mailed horsemen surged forward, like the letting
loose of the billows of the sea, clad in cuirasses as they were
clouds girdled about moons. Thereupon the Christian horsemen rode
forward and the two hosts met, like two seas clashing together,
and eyes fell upon eyes. The first to spur into the fight was the
Vizier Dendan, with the army of Syria, thirty thousand cavaliers,
followed by Rustem, the general of the Medes, and Behram, the
general of the Turks, with other twenty thousand horse, behind
whom came the men of the sea-coast, sheathed in glittering mail
as they were full moons passing through a night of clouds. Then
the Christian host called upon Jesus and Mary and the defiled
Cross, and fell upon the Vizier Dendan and the army of Syria. Now
this was in pursuance of a stratagem devised by Dhat ed Dewahi;
for, before his departure, King Afridoun had gone in to her and
said, "It is thou hast brought this great stress on us; so do
thou advise me how I shall do and what plan I shall follow." "O
great King and mighty priest," replied she, "I will teach thee a
shift, which would baffle Iblis himself, though he should call to
his aid against it all his grisly hosts. It is that you send
fifty thousand men in ships to the Mountain of Smoke and there
let them land and stir not till the standards of Islam come upon
you, when do you up and at them. Then let the troops from the
seaward sally out upon the Muslims and take them in rear, whilst
you confront them from the landward. So not one of them shall
escape, and our stress shall cease and abiding peace enure to
us." Her counsel commended itself to King Afridoun and he
replied, "It is well; thy counsel shall be followed, O princess
of cunning old women and recourse of kings warring for their
blood-revenge!" So when the army of Islam came upon them in that
valley, of a sudden the flames began to run among the tents and
the swords to play upon men's bodies. Then came up the army of
Baghdad and Khorassan, six score thousand horse, with Zoulmekan
at their head. When the host of the infidels that lay by the sea
saw them, they came out and followed in their steps, and
Zoulmekan, seeing this, cried out to his men, saying, "Turn back
to the infidels, O people of the Chosen Prophet, and fall upon
those who deny and transgress the authority of the Compassionate,
the Merciful!" So they turned and fought with the Christians, and
Sherkan came up with another wing of the Muslim army, near six
score thousand men, whilst the infidels numbered nigh upon
sixteen hundred thousand. When the Muslims mingled in the mellay,
their hearts were strengthened and they cried out, saying, "God
hath promised to succour us and abandon the infidels!" And they
clashed together with swords and spears. As for Sherkan, he made
himself a passage through the ranks and raged among the masses of
the foe, fighting so fierce a battle that it would have made
children grow grey for fear; nor did he leave to tourney among
the infidels and work havoc upon them with the keen-edged
scimitar, shouting, "God is most great!" till he drove them back
to the brink of the sea. Then the strength of the foe failed and
God gave the victory to the faith of Submission,[FN#95] and they
fought, drunken without wine, till they slew of the infidels
forty and five thousand in that encounter, whilst of the Muslims
but three thousand and five hundred fell. Moreover, the Lion of
the Faith, King Sherkan, and his brother Zoulmekan slept not that
night, but occupied themselves with looking to the wounded and
heartening their men with assurance of victory and salvation and
promise of a recompense in the world to come.
Meanwhile King Afridoun assembled the captains of his host and
said to them, "Verily, we had accomplished our intent and had
solaced our hearts, but for our over-confidence in our numbers:
it was that which undid us." But Dhat ed Dewahi said to them,
"Assuredly nought shall profit you, except ye seek the favour of
the Messiah and put your trust in the True Faith; for by the
virtue of the Messiah, the whole strength of the Muslims lies in
that devil, King Sherkan!" "To-morrow," said Afridoun, "I will
draw out in battle array and send out against them the famous
cavalier, Luca ben Shemlout; for if King Sherkan come out to
joust with him, he will slay him and the other champions of the
Muslims, till not one is left; and I purpose this night to sacre
you all by fumigation with the Holy Incense." When the amirs
heard this, they kissed the earth before him. Now the incense in
question was the excrement of the Chief Patriarch, which was
sought for with such instance and so highly valued, that the high
priests of the Greeks used to mix it with musk and ambergris and
send it to all the countries of the Christians in silken sachets;
and kings would pay a thousand dinars for every drachm of it, for
they sought it to perfume brides withal and the chief of them
were wont to use a little of it in ointment for the eyes and as a
remedy in sickness and colic. But the priests used to mix their
own excrement with it, for that the excrement of the Chief
Patriarch could not suffice for half a score countries. So, as
soon as the day broke and the morning appeared with its lights
and shone, the horsemen ran to arms, and King Afridoun summoned
the chief of his knights and nobles and invested them with
dresses of honour. Then he made the sign of the cross on their
foreheads and incensed them with the incense aforesaid; after
which he called for Luca ben Shemlout, surnamed the Sword of the
Messiah, and after incensing him and rubbing his palate with the
holy excrement, daubed and smeared his cheeks and anointed his
moustaches with the remainder. Now there was no stouter champion
in the land of the Greeks than this accursed Luca, nor any
doughtier at bowshot or smiting with swords or thrusting with
spears in the mellay; but he was foul of favour, for his face was
as the face of a jackass, his shape that of an ape and his look
as the look of a malignant serpent, and the being near unto him
was more grievous than parting from the beloved. Moreover, he was
black as night and his breath was fetid as that of the lion; he
was crooked as a bow and grim-visaged as the pard, and he was
branded with the mark of the infidels. He kissed Afridoun's feet
and the King said to him, "It is my wish that thou go out against
Sherkan, King of Damascus, and hasten to deliver us from this
affliction." Quoth Luca, "I hear and obey." And the King made the
sign of the cross on his forehead and felt assured of speedy help
from heaven, whilst Luca went out and mounted a sorrel horse. Now
he was clad in a red tunic and a hauberk of gold set with jewels
and bore a three-barbed spear, as he were Iblis the accursed on
the day of marshalling his hosts to battle. Then he rode forward,
he and his troop of infidels, as they were driving to the Fire,
preceded by a herald, crying aloud in the Arabic tongue and
saying, "Ho, followers of Mohammed, let none of you come out
to-day but your champion Sherkan, the Sword of Islam, lord of
Damascus of Syria!" Hardly had he made an end of speaking, when
there arose a mighty tumult in the plain, all the people heard
its voice, that called to mind the Day of Weeping. The cowards
trembled and all necks turned towards the sound, and behold, it
was King Sherkan. For, when Zoulmekan saw that accursed infidel
spur out into the plain, he turned to Sherkan and said to him,
"Of a surety they seek for thee." "Should it be so," replied
Sherkan, "it were pleasing to me." So when they heard the herald,
they knew Luca to be the champion of the Greeks. Now he was one
of the greatest of villains, one who made hearts to ache, and had
sworn to clear the land of the Muslims; and indeed the Medes and
Turks and Kurds feared his mischief. So Sherkan drove at him like
an angry lion, mounted on a courser like a wild gazelle, and
coming nigh to him, shook his javelin in his hand, as it were a
darting viper, and recited the following verses:
I have a sorrel horse, right swift and eath to guide, Shall give
thee of its might what thou mayst ill abide.
Ay, and a limber spear I have, full keen of point, As 'twere the
dam of deaths upon its shaft did ride;
And eke a trenchant sword of Ind, which when I draw, Thou'dst
deem that levins flashed and darted far and wide,
Luca understood not what he said nor did he apprehend the
vehemence of the verse; but he smote his forehead with his hand,
in honour of the cross drawn thereon, and kissed it, then ran at
Sherkan with lance pointed at him. When he came within spear-shot,
he threw the javelin into the air, till it was lost
to sight, and catching it with the other hand, as do the
jugglers, hurled it at Sherkan. It sped from his hand, like a
shooting star, and the people clamoured and feared for Sherkan:
but as it drew near him, he put out his hand and caught it in
full flight, to the amazement of the beholders. Then he shook it,
till it was well-nigh broken, and hurled it up into the air, till
it disappeared from sight. As it descended, he caught it again,
in less than the twinkling of an eye, and cried out from the
bottom of his heart, saying, "By the virtue of Him who created
the seven heavens, I will make this accursed fellow the byword of
the world!" Then he hurled the javelin at Luca ben Shemlout, who
thought to do as Sherkan had done and catch it in mid-flight; but
Sherkan made haste and sped another dart at him, which smote him
on the forehead amiddleward the sign of the cross, and God
hurried his soul to the Fire and the Ill Stead.[FN#96] When the
infidels saw Luca fall dead, they buffeted their faces, crying,
"Alas!" and "Woe worth the day!" and called for aid upon the
priests of the monasteries, saying, "Where are the crosses?" So
the monks offered up prayers and the Christians all drew together
against Sherkan and brandishing their swords and lances, rushed
forward to the attack. Army met army and men's breasts fell under
the hoofs of the horses, whilst the sword and the spear ruled and
arms and wrists grew weak and it was as if the horses had been
made without legs; nor did the herald of war cease to call to
battle, till all arms were weary and the day departed and the
night came with the darkness. So the two hosts drew apart whilst
every warrior staggered like a drunken man, for stress of war and
much thrusting and smiting, and the ground was hidden with the
slain; sore were the wounds and the hurt knew not by whom he
died. Then Sherkan joined his brother and the Chamberlain and the
Vizier Dendan and said to them, "Verily God hath opened a door
for the destruction of the infidels, praised be the Lord of the
Two Worlds!" "Let us never cease to praise God," replied
Zoulmekan, "for that He hath dispelled trouble from the Arabs and
the Persians. Indeed the folk, generation after generation, shall
tell of thy prowess against the accursed Luca, the falsifier of
the Evangel,[FN#97] of thy catching the javelin in mid-flight and
smiting the enemy of God among men; and thy report shall endure
until the end of time." Then said Sherkan, "Harkye, O grand
Chamberlain and doughty captain!" "At thy service," answered he.
Quoth Sherkan, "Take the Vizier Dendan and twenty thousand men
and lead them, by a forced march, seven parasangs towards the
sea, till ye come near the shore, at two parasangs' distance from
the foe. Then hide in the hollows of the ground, till ye hear the
tumult of the infidels disembarking from the ships; and when the
swords have begun to play between us and them and ye see our
troops falling back, as if defeated, and all the infidels
following them, as well those in front as those from the sea-ward
and the tents, do ye lie in wait for them: and as soon as ye see
the standard with the words, 'There is no god but God, and
Mohammed is His Apostle!' up with the green banner and fall on
their rear, shouting, 'God is most great!' and do your endeavour,
that they may not interpose between the retreating army and the
sea." The Chamberlain agreed to this, and he and the Vizier
Dendan took twenty thousand men and set out at once, even as
Sherkan had commanded. As soon as it was morning the troops
donned their armour and drawing their swords, set their spears in
rest and sprang to horse. Then the Christians drew out in battle
array upon the hills and plains and the priests cried out and all
heads were uncovered. Moreover, those who were in the ships
hoisted the cross at their mast-heads and making from all sides
towards the shore, landed their horses and addressed them to the
fray, whilst the swords glittered and the javelins glanced like
levies against the cuirasses. So they all joined battle and the
mill-wheels of death rushed round over footmen and horsemen:
heads flew from bodies and tongues grew mute and eyes dim;
gall-bladders burst and skulls were cloven in sunder and wrists
shorn in twain; whilst the horses plashed in pools of blood and
men gripped each other by the beards. The host of Islam called
out, "Peace and blessing on the Prince of Mankind and glory and
praise in the highest to the Compassionate One!" whilst the
infidels shouted, "Glory to the Cross and the Girdle and the
Vine-juice and the Presser and the Priests and the Monks and the
Festival of Palms and the Metropolitan!" Presently, Zoulmekan and
Sherkan held back and their troops gave way and feigned to
retreat before the infidels, who pursued them, deeming them
routed, and made ready to cut and thrust. Then the host of the
Muslims began to chant the first verses of the Chapter of the
Cow,[FN#98] whilst the slain were trampled under the hoofs of the
horses and the heralds of the Greeks cried out, "Ho, servants of
the Messiah! Ho, people of the True Faith! Ho, followers of the
Pope! Verily the divine grace shines upon you, for see, the hosts
of Islam incline to tree! So turn ye not your backs to them, but
let your swords bite on their necks and hold not your hands from
them, else are ye outcasts from the Messiah, son of Mary, who
spoke even in the cradle!" Thereupon Afridoun thought that the
infidels were victorious, knowing not that this was but a
stratagem of the Muslims, and sent to King Herdoub, to give him
the glad tidings of success, adding, "It was nought but the
excrement of the Arch-Patriarch that availed us, in that the
fragrance of it exhaled from the beards and moustaches of the
servants of the Cross near and far; and I swear, by the Miracles
of the Messiah and by the Waters of Baptism, that I will not
leave upon the earth a single defender of Islam!"[FN#99] So the
messenger betook himself to King Herdoub whilst the infidels
called to each other saying, "Let us take our wreak for Luca!"
and King Herdoub cried out, "Vengeance for Abrizeh!" With this,
King Zoulmekan cried out to his men, saying, "Ho, servants of the
Requiting King. up and smite the children of blasphemy and
disobedience with the white of the sword and the brown of the
spear!" So the Muslims turned upon the infidels and plied them
with the keen-edged scimitar, whilst their herald cried aloud,
"Up, ye lovers of the chosen prophet and at the enemies of the
Faith! Now is the time for those, who hope for salvation on the
Day of Fear, to win the favour of the Bountiful, the Forgiving
One, for verily Paradise is under the shadow of swords!" So
Sherkan and his men fell upon the infidels and cut off their
retreat and tourneyed among the ranks, when lo, a cavalier of
goodly presence opened a passage through the army of the Greeks
and circled hither and thither amongst them, cutting and
thrusting and covering the ground with heads and bodies, so that
the infidels feared him and their necks bent under his blows. He
was girt with two swords, that of his glances and a scimitar, and
armed with two lances, one of cane and the other the straightness
of his shape; over his shoulders flowed down his hair, whose
beauty might have stood him in stead of many warriors, even as
says the poet:
Flowing hair, as I deem, is not fair to the sight, Except it be
spread, on the day of the fight,
O'er a youth with a spear that he giveth to drink Of the blood of
full many a beard-bearing knight.
Or as says another:
I turned to him, what while he girt his faulchion on, and said,
"Surely, the sabres of thy looks should stand thee in
sword's stead."
Quoth he, "The sabres of my looks I keep for those who love, My
sword for those who have no wit of passion's goodlihead."
When Sherkan. saw him, he said to him, "Ho, champion of the
champions! I conjure thee, by the Koran and the attributes of the
Compassionate One, tell me who thou art: for verily by thy deeds
this day thou hast pleased the Requiting King, whom one thing
distracts not from another, in that thou hast discomfited the
children of impiety and disbelief." Quoth the horseman, "Thou art
he who sworest brotherhood to me but yesterday: how quickly thou
hast forgotten me!" Then he uncovered his face, so that what was
hidden of his beauty was disclosed, and lo, it was none other
than Zoulmekan! When Sherkan knew his brother, he rejoiced in
him, except that he feared for him from the throng of adversaries
and the onslaught of the champions; and this for two reasons, the
first, his tender age and exposure to the evil eye, and the
second, that his life was the mainstay of the empire. So he said
to him, "O King, thou adventurest thy life, and indeed I am in
fear for thee from the foe; so join thy horse to mine, and thou
wouldst do well not to hazard thyself forth of these squadrons,
that we may shoot at the enemy with thine unerring shaft." Quoth
Zoulmekan, "I wish to equal thee in battle and I will not spare
myself before thee in fight." Then the host of Islam rushed upon
the infidels and encompassing them on all sides, waged a right
holy war on them and broke the power of the children of impiety
and pride and corruption. King Herdoub sighed when he saw the
evil case that had fallen on the Greeks, and they turned their
backs and addressed themselves to flight, making for the ships,
when lo, there came out upon them from the sea shore a new army,
led by the Vizier Dendan, him who was wont to make the champions
bite the dust, and the Chamberlain of Syria, with twenty thousand
doughty cavaliers, and fell upon their rear with sword and spear,
whilst the army of Islam pressed them in front and flank. Then
some of the Muslims turned against those that were in the ships
and rained perditions on them, till they threw themselves into
the sea, and they slew of them much people, more than a hundred
thousand knights, nor did one of their champions escape, great or
small. Moreover, they took their ships, with all the baggage and
treasure therein, and the Muslims got that day booty, the like of
which was never gotten of time past; nor did ever ear hear of
such a battle. But twenty of the ships escaped, and amongst the
booty were fifty thousand horses, besides treasure and spoil past
count or reckoning, whereat the Muslims rejoiced with an
exceeding joy and thanked God for the aid and protection He had
vouchsafed them.