Page images
PDF
EPUB

that ye, when ye speak or write to us, in your letters of supplication, shall call us by that title above expressed, namely, King of the Faithful, and Protector or Defender of the Faith, hereby distinguishing us from the rest of the kings who govern the cabilas or tribes of Africa and of other regions.

"And furthermore we have determined and allowed, that whoever shall speak to us, or demand anything at our hands by writing, shall require it from our high and royal person under the title and name above written. If so it shall please God, who is in truth the Lord of Protection by His liberality. We greet you well."

CHAP. XII.-OF THE ALLIANCE FORMED BY THE MOSLEMAH OF SPAIN AND JUZEF BEN TAXFIN, AMEER OF THE FAITHFUL, AGAINST ALFONSO BEN FERDILAND, KING OF THE CHRISTIANS; OF THE CONQUESTS OF THE LATTER, AND OF HOW, HAVING TAKEN TOLEDO, HE WRITES TO ABEN ABED, KING OF SEVILLE.

KING Juzef Ben Taxfin dismissed the ambassadors of Andalusia highly satisfied with their reception, he having promised to send them aid that should deliver them from the wrongs and oppressions they were suffering, as well as from the perils which were threatening them, and from the strait of which they complained. And these evils were in fact daily becoming more grievous in Spain, seeing that Alfonso Ben Ferdiland was pouring the thunders of his wrath upon the country, and casting the lightnings of desolation over all that owned the Moslemah name. He now seemed to aspire to nothing less than the deprivation of every Ameer in Spain of his lordships, and the rendering all the princes of that country mere tributaries to himself. He treated such as held intercourse with him with great arrogance and haughtiness, as is manifest from the letters which were written to him by King Omar Ben Alaftas, lord of Algarve.

That Ameer was his nearest neighbour, since his lands lay on the frontiers of Gallicia, and he was exposed more than any other of the Moslemah princes to the menaces

[ocr errors]

of that enemy of Allah, Alfonso Ben Ferdiland. In these letters he complains accordingly of the pride and ambition displayed by Alfonso, and of the purpose of that Christian to render all around him his vassals, and tributary to his power; Alfonso presuming it to be no difficult task to subjugate a district lying so closely upon the borders of his own kingdom. In the terms here following it was, then, > that Omar Ben Alaftas replied to the arrogant demands and menaces of Alfonso Ben Ferdiland:

"Omar Ben Alaftas Almudafar, King of Algarve, to Alfonso, the King of Gallicia :

"From the powerful King of the Christians there hath come to our hands a letter, wherein he, full of presumption, and of confidence in that greatness which the incomprehensible judgments of God have accorded to him, casteth thunders and lightnings against us, whom he menaceth, without any reason given, with the whole might of his > hosts, the terrors of his vast power, and the victory of his

3

arms.

the

"But Alfonso Ben Ferdiland doth not seem to know or understand that God also still possesses armies wherewith he honours and makes triumphant the truth of His Law and the doctrine of our Prophet Muhamad, favouring and assisting those Moslemah who make just war against Christians, or who follow the path which God hath laid open to them without signs of fear, knowing and fearing God, and showing marks of contrition for their sins. These things the King Alfonso doth not know or understand, or he would not write as he hath written. For if the face of the Christian now shines and is resplendent, that is by the permission of God, and to the end that the Faithful may be made aware of their late blindness, and may open their eyes to the light: thus distinguishing the good from the evil, God hath also permitted these things that even the Misbelievers may receive a lesson and a warning.

"With respect to the contempt and mockery wherewith the Christian King hath loaded the Moslemah, because of the defeat that they have suffered and the evils they endure, let him know that we, the Moslemah so reproached, understand these things to have been caused by our sins, and by the misunderstandings and discords which have arisen among

[ocr errors]

ourselves, destroying the unity that should exist in our nation. Yes, of a truth, if we do but become one, and associate ourselves into a firm band, then shall we make you, Oh King Alfonso-you and your Christians-again confess that we still know how to prepare those dainty morsels which our forefathers of other times have made your ancestors taste to their sorrow. Know, therefore, that we have not lost hope in God, and that with His help we shall not desist from believing that there is prepared for thee, Alfonso, the most bitter cup that ever thou hast yet known, or even heard of, but which we shall make thee drink, yea, down to the dregs thereof.

"Meanwhile, and awaiting that day, do thou remember the times of Muhamad Almanzor, and bring to thy memory those treaties wherein thy forefathers offered him the homage even of their own daughters, and sent him those damsels in tribute, even to the land of our rule. As to ourselves, if it be true that our numbers have diminished, and that there is none to aid us, yet between thee and us there flows no sea, nor is there any other impediment to separate us one from the other; nay, rather we have still battle-grounds for our conflict, as thou shalt know, when the edges of our swords, reflecting the breasts of thy people, shall dazzle thine eyes with their pure and resplendent lustre, so that thou shalt be able to see only the fearful glancing of our arms.

"My confidence is in God: in Him, and in His angels appearing under human forms, do I hope to find protection from thy power. We expect help from God only; nor is there any other shelter open to us save of God alone, in whom is our sole refuge: at a word, we are looking only for one of two felicities; either a glorious victory over thy people—and Oh, the rapturous delight of that felicity-or a death that shall be still more welcome and glorious in the path and service of our God. And this! Oh, what a happiness, what a heaven of delights doth it not offer to us! for in that Paradise shall God confer on us the great reward and indemnification for all thy menaces and the result of our honourable death. But it will not be thus, and before that time shall come we shall yet receive a victory from the hands of God that shall redeem and deliver us from all our past sufferings and may God the Highest give to thee, Oh

King Alfonso, the same miseries with which thou hast threatened us!

But with all this appearance of trust and fearlessness, King Omar Ben Alaftas, although a brave and noble captain, felt assured that his forces were not of strength to resist the power of Alfonso, and reflecting that the near neighbourhood of his lands to those of the Christian king would give the latter an opportunity for entering them, as he had just done those of Toledo, he wrote a pressing letter to King Juzef Aben Taxfin, begging that monarch not to delay his arrival in Spain, where his aid was much required to repress the advances of the Christians, who were contending against the Moslemah with continued prosperity: the letter to Jusef was written by his own hand, and was as follows:

"From Ben Alaftas, the Confident in God, to Juzef Ben Taxfin, King of the Moslemah ::

"As the light and splendour of the good guiding star, so be that, O King of the Moslemah, whom may God defend and prosper! which leads, directs, and moves thy steps. Thou who hast chosen for thy path the way of beneficence and wisdom, hast occupied thyself continually for the good of others, and hast turned all thy desires to the making of war on the misbelievers.

"Of all this we have been constantly well informed, and being assured that thou hast dedicated thyself to the honour, exaltation, and defence of our Law, we think it well to have recourse to thee, who art the most powerful conqueror of the infidels, and the most illustrious captain, as well as the greatest emperor of our faith. We therefore implore thy assistance and the aid of thy troops to succour and defend our religion and ourselves.

"And the pressure of our misfortunc indeed extreme; tribulations and calamities surround us on every part of Spain, while there are evils so much greater still menacing the land, that we cannot even think of them without terror. This accursed race of infidels is surrounding us on every side, and hath continued to do so from the time when our people began to neglect the subjugation of their hordes, and above all, since we have ceased to live in amity and union among ourselves. These our enemies have thus

become great and formidable; they have extended their wings, and having ever hated us, these dogs, now finding their power increased, have given way to their inimical fury, and taking us at a defenceless moment, have infused into us a panic which keepeth us with the head ever turned on the shoulder, leaving us not power of helping ourselves, if it be not with perfidious treaties which bring no relief, and with plausible words of pretended submission, which give no comfort to our hearts, but rather keep us in perpetual care and the dread of what may next chance to us.

*

"Nor do the fears we suffer decrease because we daily send these infidels rich and precious gifts, permitting them, moreover, to drain every kind of provisions and muniments from our lands. All these sacrifices do not calm our terrors, nor diminish our periis; yet if the injuries we suffer did not go beyond this, we might endure them cheerfully, content to bear the trials and miseries of our condition; but they are increasing as well as persistent, for these our enemies are insatiable, they daily take from us our possessions, and we, wretched creatures that we are, permit them to do so in silence, nay, we are even compelled to be thankful when they inflict on us no more serious evil than robbery, and have to force ourselves to a sort of gratitude, bethinking ourselves at the same time of what we can find to give them when they next come to make a demand.

66

But, my lord, they draw the very eyes from our head, and the wrongs they have inflicted on us have infected our whole being, so that they would almost appear to have become incurable. For our enemies now know that we possess nothing more to give them, and as their covetousness acknowledges no bounds, they are preparing to seize and plunder our cities and fortresses. At a word, the Christians have carried sword and fire over all Spain; the points of their lances and the keen edge of their swords have drunk and are drinking streams of Moslemah blood, while those who have escaped with life from the sanguinary battle, groan in a hard captivity, amidst the tortures inflicted

* In a state of watchfulness and fear, as one ever looking round him for a refuge.

[ocr errors]
« PreviousContinue »