A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar) Part 21

The King being thus in the camp, he commanded the spoil that remained of the Moors to be collected, and there were found five captains who were taken prisoners (those of highest rank were found amongst the dead); the chiefest of them was Salabatacao,[559] who was captain-general of all the troops of the Ydallcao He had taken for his guard in the battle five hundred Portuguese of the renegades who were with the Moors; and as soon as this Salabatacao saw that his army was defeated, he strove to collect and form a body of men, but could not do it because there was not one amongst them who thought of aught but to save himself. And thinking it worse to be conquered than to die, he threw himself amongst the King's troops, slaughtering them, and doing such wonderful deeds that ever after he and his Portuguese were remembered, so much were their terrible strokes feared, and the deeds they did; so that they let them pa.s.s on, and they penetrated so far amongst the troops that they found themselves close to the King's bodyguard. There the horse of Salabatacao was killed. In order to succour him the Portuguese did great deeds and killed so many men that they left a broad road behind them which no one dared to enter, and they fought so well that they got another horse for Salabatacao. As soon as he was on its back he seemed like nothing but a furious wolf amongst sheep; but since already they were all so exhausted, so wounded all over, and so encircled by the enemy (for they were attacked at every point), Salabatacao was at length overthrown, and his horse with him. And as the Portuguese who tried to succour him were all killed, not one escaping, and he himself was wounded in many places, he was taken prisoner.

The spoil was four thousand horses of Ormuz, and a hundred elephants, and four hundred heavy cannon, besides small ones; the number of gun-carriages for them was nine hundred, and there were many tents and pavilions. I take no account of the sumpter-horses and oxen and other beasts, for they were numberless, nor of the numbers of men and boys, nor yet of some women, whom the King ordered to be released.

Here the King stayed till all the dead had been burned, and the customary honours had been paid to them; and here he gave much alms for the souls of those who had been killed in battle on his side. These numbered sixteen thousand and odd. These things done, he turned again upon Rachol and pitched his camp as he had done before.

During this return of the King there came to meet him Christovao de Figueiredo,[560] who was at that time in the city of Bisnaga with horses, and he took with him twenty Portuguese musqueteers, he also himself having his musquet. The King took much pleasure in his company, glad that he should see the war and his great power; and he ordered some tents to be given to him of those taken from the Ydallcao, and commanded that he should be lodged close to his own quarters. One day Christovao de Figueiredo told the King that he wanted to go and see the city, but the King said that he should not set his heart upon that because he did not want any disaster to befall him. But Christovao de Figueiredo replied that the whole business of the Portuguese was war, and that this would be the greatest favour that he could do him, namely that His Highness should permit him to go and see the Moors. So the King gave him leave and sent some people with him. Christovao de Figueiredo went close to the trench before the walls, keeping himself as much concealed as possible, and seeing how fearlessly the Moors exposed themselves on the wall, began, with the musqueteers whom he had brought, to open fire on them in such a way that he slew many, the Moors being careless and free from fear, as men who up to then had never seen men killed with firearms nor with other such weapons. So they began to forsake the wall (at this point), and the king's troops found an opportunity of coming in safety to it, and they began to destroy much of the masonry; and so many people collected on this side that all the camp was put in commotion, saying that Christovao de Figueiredo had entered the city with his Portuguese. This was told to the King. Those in the city could not understand what was going on, nor how these people came to be in the King's service, until they recollected how on the day of the other fight the Portuguese had come, and then they considered themselves lost. For by the aid of those men the King's people came without fear to the wall, where already it was damaged in many places, because the city had its cannon so high up that these could do no injury to the men who were at the foot of the wall. The wall also was filled up inside with earth, and there were no cannon in the breaches. The people of the city whom up to that time they had killed had been supplied with stones which they had flung on the besiegers from the top of the wall, and with musquets and arrows, so that even if the King's men were able to reach the wall at all they were at least wounded; but as Christovao de Figueiredo with the Portuguese prevented the enemy from appearing at all on the wall, the Hindus were enabled to reach it at their ease.

Here you would have seen how the King's captains begged Christovao de Figueiredo to permit them one day to attack the Moors in his company, and he, in order to content the more honourable of them, went with them on those days. One day he divided his musqueteers into three companies and began to kill several amongst the Moors who showed themselves, insomuch that none durst be seen; and then the King's troops began, in these three divisions, to attack the wall with many pickaxes and crowbars,[561] and he sent to tell the rest that they should attack on their own account; and such was the result that the defenders of the city began to abandon the first line of fortification, and the women and children took refuge in the citadel. The captain of the city, seeing the dismay that had spread amongst his people, began to turn them back with encouraging words, and with some of them betook himself to that part of the wall which he saw was most severely pressed, begging them that they would come back to the wall and not be afraid. He was answered by some that at that point were those Franks[562] who were helping, and that as soon as any one showed himself he was a dead man; and he, wis.h.i.+ng to see for himself where the Portuguese were, reached over with his body in front one of the embrasures and was killed with a musquet-shot that struck him in the middle of his forehead. It was said by the Moors that Christovao de Figueyredo had killed him, and they took notice of him (DERAO SYGNAES D ELLE). As soon as the captain was thus killed there was great lamentation in the city, and soon the wall was deserted, so that the men from the King's camp were left to do as they pleased with it; and they noticed the outcry that arose within and saw that there was no one defending the wall. They therefore retired to see what should happen, and left off fighting for that day.

CHAPTER 11

How those in the city asked for terms, and the king granted them quarter.

Next day, which was twenty days since the battle had taken place in which the Ydallcao had been defeated, the men of the city opened a gate, and with a white flag carried in front of them went the way of the King's camp with their hands uplifted, begging the King's mercy.

When the King was advised of their coming, he commanded Solestema,[563]

his minister, to receive them; and when they saw that he came out to receive them they began to hope that they should experience kindness at the King's hands.

Thus they came to the place where he was, and there they prostrated themselves on the ground with much groaning and tears, and besought his pity and benevolence.

The King commanded them to rise, saying that he would save all their persons and property, and that they need have no fear but should return to the city, and that on the next day he would enter it; and he bade a captain take possession of the city.

Whilst the Moors were thus in presence of the King (the soldiers looking on), they saw Christovao de Figueiredo, and told the King that the conquest and capture of the city was due to that foreigner, that he had slain their captain, and with his people had killed many Moors, which caused the city's destruction. The King, casting his eyes on Christovao de Figueiredo, nodded his head, and turned to the people telling them to observe what great things could be effected by one good man. He then retired to his tent and the men of the city to the city, and the king's troops made great feasting and rejoicing.

CHAPTER 12

How the King entered the city, and of the feast that was made for him, and of the regulations and arrangements he made there.

As soon as the next day dawned, the King, after he had performed both his customary prayers and others which it is their wont to offer after victories, giving thanks to G.o.d (for indeed the princ.i.p.al thing they pray for is a conquest such as this), rode in company with the other great lords and his captains, and with his guard took the way to the city. There the citizens were standing awaiting his arrival, with more cheerful countenances than their real feelings warranted, yet striving to take courage, and they followed him with much loud shouting; crying, -- "G.o.d be praised who has sent to save us after so many years!" and with these and other such words they begged him to spare them and have pity on them. So he proceeded till he arrived close to the citadel, when he sent to call the most honoured men in the city, and to these the King said that he would spare all their property, that they might freely act as they wished regarding both that and their persons, and those who wished to stay in the city might remain in their old state as before; and as for those who wished to depart they might do so at once with all that they possessed. They all raised their hands to Heaven, and threw themselves on the ground in thankfulness for such gentle treatment. While the King was thus engaged there came men to tell him that his troops were robbing the city, and he at once tool; measures to prevent this, and everything was returned to its owner; but as in such cases as these the conquered are content merely with their own liberty, laying little store by anything they may get back, great robberies took place; and some of these afterwards came to the ears of the King, and those who had done it were soundly chastised.

In a short time the defeat of the Ydallcao was known all over India, and also in other regions of the interior, he being a great lord in these parts; and as soon as the news was carried to Zemelluco and Madremalluco and Destuy and Virido, and also to other lords who were like slaves to the king Daquym,[564] although in some measure they rejoiced since they wished him ill, yet on the other hand they began to be fearful for their own safety.[565] So they all took measures to send their envoys, and these found the King still inside the city of Rachol. Astonished though they were to see that the King had captured so strong a city, they were much more surprised to see how great was his power and how numerous his troops. Having arrived where he was they gave him the letters they had brought, and these were forthwith read. In these the chiefs told the King that he ought to content himself with having defeated the Ydallcao as he had done, and ought not to wage further war; they begged him of his goodness to return to the Ydallcao that which he had so taken from him, and that if he did so they would always obey whatever he commanded; but if he was not of a mind to this, then he must know for certain that they would be compelled to turn against him and forthwith join the Ydallcao, for whom they would speedily recover that which he had now lost. The King, seeing what was contained in the letters, answered them in the following manner by one single letter to them all; -- "Honoured Madremalluco, and Zemelluco, Descar, and Veride, and all others of the kingdom of Daquym, I have seen your letters, and thank you much for what you have sent to say. As regards the Ydallcao, what I have done to him and taken from him he has richly deserved; as regards returning it to him that does not seem to me reasonable, nor am I going to do it; and as for your further statement that ye will all turn against me in aid of him if I do not do as ye ask, I pray you do not take the trouble to come hither, for I will myself go to seek ye if ye dare to await me in your lands; -- and this I send you for answer." And he commanded to give many gifts to the messengers, and giving his letter to them sent them away.

CHAPTER 13

How a number of people left the city, and the King did much kindness to them.

Many people left the city, and to many who had nothing wherewith to depart the king commanded to give all that was required for their journey. Here the King stayed some days, after having made all the arrangements that were necessary for the government of the city; and after repairing the walls he left behind him sufficient troops to guard the place, and took the road to the city of Bisnaga, where he was received with great triumphs, and great feasts were made and he bestowed bountiful rewards on his troops.

As soon as the festivals were ended he went to the new city; and, being there, they told him how there was entered an amba.s.sador of the Ydallcao. Already he knew that an amba.s.sador had come but he pretended that he did not know, since it is not customary for the King to send out to receive any amba.s.sador (on his arrival). Since this amba.s.sador was in the city of Bisnaga, knowing that the King was in the new city, which is two leagues from Bisnaga, he betook himself thither; and close to the city bade the people pitch his tent, which was the best and most beautiful and rich that up to that time had ever been seen in those parts. This amba.s.sador was called Matucotam; he brought with him one hundred and fifty horse and much people to serve him and many pack animals, among which were certain camels. He brought also two of the scribes of the chamber of the Ydallcao, so that indeed you would believe that he had brought all the power of the Ydallcao "pera segumdo elle ficou desbaratado."[566]

As soon as he had thus settled himself the amba.s.sador sent to inform the King of his arrival, and begged that His Highness would grant him an audience and despatch him without delay. The King replied that he would see him,[567] but told him that he should not be impatient since he himself had but now arrived, and that he would give him leave to depart as soon as the time had arrived. And with this the amba.s.sador stayed there a month without the King having sought to see him, nor having asked to know why he had come; he went every day to the palace, and seeing the way in which the King acted towards him he determined to speak no more but to wait till the King summoned him. Still he never ceased to go every day to the palace and to speak with the n.o.bles. One day the King sent to tell the amba.s.sador that the following day was an auspicious day, and that he wished to hear him and learn wherefore he had come, and the amba.s.sador made ready as it behoved him to present himself before so great a lord. As was fitting, considering his mission and the request he had to make, he was accompanied by many Moors whom the city contained, and had with him all his people with their trumpets and drums as was customary; and so he went to the palace, where he was received very honourably by the n.o.bles and officers of the household. They seated themselves inside the first gate, awaiting there a message from the King giving permission to enter where he was, and there was no long delay before the command to admit him was given. His obeisance to the King having been made according to his mode and custom, the men of the council standing by the King's side, he was bidden to announce the terms of his emba.s.sy, the King being ready graciously to listen; and the amba.s.sador, seeing that the King so commanded, delivered himself of his message in manner following, with the awed demeanour a.s.sumed by such envoys when they find themselves in presence of such great kings.

CHAPTER 14

How the Captain acquitted himself of his emba.s.sy before the King.

"Sire! the Ydallcao, my master, sends me to thee; and by my mouth he begs thee that thou wouldest be pleased to do justice. He bids me say that he bears very good will towards thee[568] as towards the most true and powerful prince in all the world, and one possessed, of most justice and truth; that thou without reason hast broken the friends.h.i.+p and peace which thou hast had towards him, and not only so but a peace which was made so many years ago and maintained by all the kings so truthfully; that he does not know why thou hast left thy kingdom and made such war on him; that he was without suspicion when they brought him the news how thou hadst besieged the city of Rachol, and hadst robbed and destroyed the country round about, which news caused him to move and come to its rescue; that then all the members of his court were slain by thee, and his camp all plundered and destroyed, thou thyself being good witness of what was done, and that he begs thee to make amends therefor, and to send back to him his artillery and tents, his horses and elephants, with the rest that was taken from him, and also to restore his city of Rachol; that if thou wilt give him the satisfaction for which he prays as to this property and all other things thou wilt have him always for a loyal friend; but if not, thy action will be evil, even though pleasing to thyself." Thus he ended, without saying more. The King said that he might retire and repose, and that next day he would give him leave to depart, and the King gave him a robe of silk and the cloths that are customary.

CHAPTER 15

How the King sent to call the amba.s.sador, and of the answer which he gave to him.

Next day the King sent to call the amba.s.sador, and after other things had been spoken of between[569] them, the King said that he would be content to restore everything to the Ydallcao according to his wish, and would be pleased at once to release Satabetacao, provided the Ydallcao would come and kiss his foot. When the amba.s.sador heard the King's answer he took leave of him and went to his tent; and he wrote to the Ydallcao and told him what had pa.s.sed, sending to him one of the scribes that had come with him. And much time had not pa.s.sed when the Ydallcao sent him a reply, saying: How could it be possible for him to meet the King, seeing that he could not go to Bisnaga? and yet that he was of full mind joyfully to do that which the King wished. With this answer the amba.s.sador went to the King, and since the King would have set higher value on the Ydallcao's coming to kiss his feet than on all that he had taken from him, he said to the amba.s.sador, "Do thou cause the Ydallcao to come to the confines of my kingdom, for I shall be, soon there." Agreeing to this, the amba.s.sador departed, so as to persuade the Ydallcao to come to the boundary. The King on his part went forthwith to a city called Mudugal[570] which is close to the boundary, and there he waited until they told him that the Ydallcao was coming and was already near at hand. Forthwith the King set out to meet him, and entered the kingdom of Daquem, so desirous was he to meet the Ydallcao; but the Ydallcao, after all, dared not meet the King. And the King journeyed so far, whilst they kept saying to him, "Lo! he is here close at hand," that he even went as far as Bizapor,[571] which is the best city in all the kingdom of Daquem. It has numbers of beautiful houses built according to our own fas.h.i.+on, with many gardens and bowers made of grape-vines, and pomegranates, and oranges and lemons, and all other kinds of garden produce.

Hither went the King, for it seemed well for him to await the coming of the Ydallcao in so goodly a city; and he formed the determination that if he got him here he would seize him or command him to be put to death, to avenge the affront that had been put upon him; and seeing that his enemy did not dare to come he remained in the city several days. Then he turned away because water failed him; for since this city lies in a plain and has no water save that which it receives from rainfall into two lakes, of which there are two large ones, the Moors had opened these in order to drain them, so that the King should not be able to stay in their country. For this reason it behoved the King to depart. But the city was left almost in ruins -- not that the King had commanded it to be destroyed, but that his troops, in order to make fires for cooking, had torn down so many houses that it was a great grief to see -- and this was occasioned by there being in the country a dearth of firewood, which comes to them from a great distance. The Ydallcao sent to ask the King what wrong the houses of his captains had done that he had commanded to destroy them; for there remained no other houses standing save only the palaces of the Ydallcao, the King himself being therein. The King sent answer that it was not he who had done it, but that he could not control his people.

When the King went to the town of Modogal the Ydallcao returned to Bigapor, where, seeing the great havoc that had been wrought in it, he took to himself the blame for such damage having been done,[572]

saying that if he had gone to the King such destruction would not have taken place, and that at least he could do this in future; he said that he had been badly advised since for his own part he had been prepared to do it. Thus he took counsel with his advisers, putting before them how secure his position was if he had the friends.h.i.+p of the King, that if allied to him he might be able to still further increase (the greatness of) his State, and that with the King's favour he would be able to carry out all his wishes. Concerning these things and others similar to these he continued constantly speaking with his advisers. Wherefore Acadacao the lord of Bilgao, he who had fled with him in the battle, and who was a man sagacious and cunning in such matters, addressed the Ydallcao begging permission to go himself to the King, and saying that he would remedy everything and would cause everything to take place just as his lord wished; and the Ydallcao listened to him readily.

Now Acadacao did not trouble himself to make this journey because he desired to serve the Ydallcao, for another would have done it as well, but he did it with a villainous motive and from the ill-will he bore to Salebatacao whom the King held in prison at Bisnaga; and the reason that he had this wicked motive was because Salebatacao knew that Acadacao was the man that had caused the Ydallcao to flee, and that the cowardice of such an act was enough to destroy an army. Salebatacao had spoken angrily about this to all those who went to see him or who were sent to visit him, and he always said that he did not desire to be released from his captivity save for one reason only, namely that he might ruin Acadacao and war against him as against a mortal enemy. These things were all known to Acadacao, and he knew that if they released him it would come to pa.s.s as he had said, and therefore he determined to prevent this by contriving his enemy's death, as will be mentioned in its place. It was for this reason that Acadacao asked to be sent as amba.s.sador to the King; and this was done.

CHAPTER 16

How Acadacao went as amba.s.sador for his King and compa.s.sed the death of Sallabatecao.

Acadacao, being despatched by the Ydallcao, accompanied by certain hors.e.m.e.n with some servants took the road to the city of Mudogal where the King was, and the Ydallcao went with him as far as the river. When Acadacao had arrived, being allowed inside the city by command of the King, he remained several days without seeing the King until he was summoned by his order; then he was admitted and spoke with the King, giving him, with the manner of one who in such negotiations is both wise and bold, an excuse for the mistake which the Ydallcao had committed. He knew how to speak to the King so well that he removed all the King's wrath and fury against the Ydallcao, and he told the King that the princ.i.p.al cause why the Ydallcao did not meet him was the conduct of Salebatacao whom he had captured, and that this man had written to the Ydallcao telling him not to do so, and giving for reason that the King desired to slay him. By these and other similar sayings he sought to set the King's mind against Salebatacao, even to the death, and the King, seeing what Acadacao wanted, and believing that a man of such great fame would not be guilty of saying anything that was not perfectly true, angrily commanded that Salebatacao, who was then in Bisnaga, should be beheaded; and this was at once done as soon as the message arrived.

As soon as Acadacao had accomplished this business he thought himself unsafe, and at once asked leave of the King, saying that he wished to go and get the Ydallcao to come to the river, so that when His Highness arrived he might meet him there. But the King told him not to be impatient but to amuse himself there some days, and added that he wished to show him some things, and that he had somewhat about which to speak to him. Acadacao, however, being afraid that his treason would be discovered, did not feel safe, and behaved in such a manner that what he had done concerning Salebatacao was found out; wherefore the King sent to seize him, but when they went to look for him he was already gone. For he fled one night and betook himself to the Ydalcao, telling him that the King had commanded Salebatacao to be put to death, and that he wanted to do the same to him, and so he had escaped; and it seemed to him that he (the Ydalcao) ought not to trust the King, who after all was nothing but a black. After he had spoken in this way he went to Bilgao, where he strengthened his position, and when the Ydallcao sent afterwards to summon him he never obeyed, because he knew that the wickedness that he had done had been found out.

CHAPTER 17

How the King went to the extremity of his territory to meet the Ydalcao, and what he did on not finding him.

The King did not fail to go to the extremity of his territory, and since he did not find the Ydalcao there, nor his mother, as Acadacao had told him, he at once perceived that this was due to trickery on the part of Acadacao, and that he had done it all in order to compa.s.s the death of Salebatacao. Full of fury at this he entered the kingdom of Daquem and marched against the city of Culbergura[573]

and destroyed it and razed the fortress to the ground, and the same with many other places.

Thence he wanted to press forward, but his councillors did not agree to this, saying that water would fail him by that road and that it did not seem to them that those Moorish lords whom they counted as friends would be otherwise than afraid that the King would take their lands as he had taken those of the others, since they all served one sovereign, and that for this reason these lords would probably make friends with the Ydalcao, and together they would come against the King; and although there was no reason to be afraid of them, yet the King must needs fear the want of water, of which they had none. And the King agreed that this counsel was good.

In this city of Calbergara, in the fortress belonging to it, the King took three sons of the King of Daquem. He made the eldest King of the kingdom of Daquem, his father being dead, though the Ydallcao wanted to make King one of his brothers-in-law, who was a b.a.s.t.a.r.d son of the King of Daquem, and had married one of the Ydallcao's sisters; for this reason he had kept these three brothers prisoners in that fortress. He whom he thus made King was received by all the realm as such, and obeyed by all the great lords, and even by the Ydallcao owing to his fear of the King.[574] The other two brothers he took with him, and gave them each one an allowance, to each one every year fifty thousand gold PARDAOS; and he holds them and treats them as princes and great lords, as indeed they are. After the return of the King to Bisnaga, which took place in the same year in which he had left, nothing more pa.s.sed between him and the Ydalcao worthy of record, relating either to peace or war.