But Mohammed had too much firmness of character to sink under these accumulated misfortunes. He opened a campaign against the Christians, in which he resolved either to conquer, or bury himself under the ruins of his monarchy. Having, thanks to their civil troubles, reduced two fortresses, he laid siege to the more important one of Baena. In a combat under the walls of that place, he one day sent his lance through the body of a Christian horseman. As the lance was ornamented with jewels, some of his attendants hastened to recover it, when he detained them saying, "Let the poor wretch alone! If he should not die of his wound, let him, at least, have something to pay for its cure!" Baena soon capitulated, and in one single campaign Mohammed was fortunate enough to recover all the fortresses he had lost, and even gained Gibraltar. Othman, too, returned to his duty, and was pardoned. The A. H. year following, however, (730), though the last place 730. was unsuccessfully besieged by king Alfonso XI., Mohammed was signally defeated by the Castilian monarch, and again deprived of a portion of the places he had recovered. At this time, owing, probably, to the reappearance of the Castilian king on the field of battle, Mohammed applied for aid to the king of Fez; and an African army immediately passed the Straits. But, as the reader must long ago have observed, such aid was generally dearly bought by the Mohammedans of Spain. The new ally, when unsuspectingly received into Gibraltar, did not scruple to usurp the possession of that important fortress. Too weak to think of revenge, the king of Granada could only tamely acquiesce in the usurpation; and the Moors, the most perfidious of men, gloried in their prize. When Alfonso was momentarily freed from the curse of rebellion,-a curse which seldom failed to afflict the sovereigns of his nation during the middle ages, he laid siege to the place; but after vigorously investing it a few months, he was compelled to retire, partly on account of the commotions which again broke out at home, and partly through the valor of the Spanish Moors, who hastened to relieve the place, though it had been so perfidiously usurped from them. But perfidy was not the only thing Mohammed was to receive from his worthless allies. While he remained at Gibraltar, he could not forbear reproaching the chiefs who had, in his opinion at least, so inadequately defended the place, which, indeed, they had been on the point of surrendering. True to their character, which is repugnant alike to faith or gratitude, they vowed his destruction. They knew that he had promised to visit their sovereign Abu Hassan in Africa; that before his embarkation he would dismiss his army, except an escort of cavalry; and they waited for the opportunity of executing their murderous intention. No sooner were his troops on their return to Granada, than assassins hourly watched his motions. One day (the 13th of the moon Dylhagia, A. H. 733,) when he left his camp to enjoy his favorite amusement of hunting, these assassins waylaid and killed him in a narrow defile, where his escort could not defend him. His incensed soldiers returned to the camp, with the view of taking a signal revenge of their base allies; but the Africans shut the gates of their fortress, and from the ramparts insulted and defied them.* YUSSEF ABUL HEGIAG, who at the time of his broA. H. ther's death was returning from Gibraltar with the army, was immediately raised to the throne. 733 to The first care of this prince, who was at once the most 739. pacific, the most patriotic, and the most enlightened of the Nassir dynasty since the days of its founder, was to procure a truce of four years from king Alfonso. This interval of hostilities he employed in reforming the administration of justice, in promoting the interests of religion and morals, in the encouragement of the mechanical and other useful arts, and in the cultivation of letters. His wise and paternal sway recalled the halcyon days of the third Abderahman. His failings, however, must be allowed to detract from the excellence of his character. Either he must have been so much engrossed by his favorite pursuits, as to neglect his first and most imperative of duties, the cares of government, or he must have been blinded by partiality in the choice of his ministers. The first of these ministers, who was haughty, rapacious, and cruel, he was persuaded to depose: the second, a man of stern integrity, showed so much zeal in the punishment of crimes, that justice degenerated into blind vengeance. Unfortunately for the subjects of Yussef, the latter retained his post long enough to do much mischief. Slight offences were visited with death; and in the summary executions on every side, the innocent were often confounded with the guilty. It was probably owing to the sweeping cruelty of this arbitrary man, that Yussef himself subsequently caused the laws to be explained, the relation between crimes and punishments to be clearly and briefly defined, and the knowledge, both of the social duties, and of the penalties involved in their violation, made known to all his people. But if he wished justice to be done between his subjects, he himself was not slow, on one * Abu Abdalla, Vestis Acu Picta (Regum Marinorum Series,) p. 237.; necnon Splendor Plenilunii, pp. 291–297. (apud Casiri, tom. ii.). This writer, though rather diffuse on the events of this period, relates very coolly the murder of the prince, which does not even draw one word of reprobation from him. Cronica del muy Esclarecido Principe y Rey Don Alfonso el Onzeno, passim. Condé, by Marlés, Histoire de la Domination, &c. iii. 179-194. DEFEAT OF A CHRISTIAN FLEET. 101 occasion at least, to plead his sovereign exception from its exercise. He had a friend, Omar by name, for whom he felt, perhaps, as much affection as a monarch usually feels for a subject, whose influence was unbounded, and whose services were deserving of signal favor. One day the whole city was surprised to hear of this favorite's disgrace. He had the misfortune to be the rival of his prince in the affections of a Moorish lady, who, unlike most of her sex, preferred the servant to the master. Yussef could never forgive the man whom he had overwhelmed with the gifts of fortune, for not sacrificing even the strongest and dearest of passions to gratify him; and Omar was consigned to a dungeon. A. H. Soon after the termination of the truce, Alfonso, having reduced his domestic enemies to submission, prepared 740. The fate of his brother for war: Yussef did the same. did not prevent the latter from again seeking the alliance of the Africans, an army of whom, towards the close of the year 740, landed on the coasts of Andalusia. Orders had been given to the Castilian admiral to intercept this armament; and his inability to do so was imputed to him as a crime by some of Alfonso's courtiers, who even insinuated a doubt whether he was not in correspondence with the enemy. This injurious suspicion so wrought on this brave officer, that, with his small fleet, he had the rashness to seek out that of the enemy, many times his superior in strength, and to attack it. The consequences, as might naturally be expected, were fatal to the hopes of Alfonso, whose ships were almost all either taken or 741. sunk. The Castilian king had now the mortification to see Andalusia overrun by African troops, and their king, Abul Hassan, master of the deep. The news of this victory was joyfully received at Granada, where it roused the citizens to greater eagerness for war. Yussef hastened to Algeziras to greet his ally. Here, having agreed on the plan of the ensuing campaign, they opened it by the siege of Tarifa, while detachments of their troops spread devastation to the gates of Xeres and Sidonia. One of the detachments, however, after an unsuccessful assault on Arcos, was cut off by a sortie of the Castilian garrison. To revenge this check, both Mohammedan princes ordered new levies, and pushed the operations of the siege with new vigor. But the besieged defended themselves with great valor; and it was not until their provisions were exhausted, that they sent urgent messengers to Alfonso, praying for aid. This prince at length dispatched another fleet (chiefly supplied by the Genoese), to cruise in the Straits of Gibraltar, and cut off all communication between the king of Fez and the African continent. This fleet, however, had no better success than the former; most of the ships were driven on shore by the violence of the tempest, and became the prize of the misbelievers. The king now perceived that the time was arrived when he must either march to raise the siege, or submit to see his provinces laid waste by a merciless foe. Accompanied by his ally, the king of Portugal, he advanced towards the camp of the besiegers, which they reached in October, A. D. 1340, as it lay encamped on the little river Salado. Having thrown supplies into the place, notwithstanding the opposition of the enemy, the two Christian kings next agreed .that while Alfonso engaged the Africans, the other should fall on the troops of Yussef. On the morning of the battle, the most memorable that had occurred between the two powers since that which had annihilated the force of Africa on the plains of Tolosa,* Alfonso having confessed and communicated from the hands of the archbishop of Toledo, passed the river at the head of his troops, and the struggle began. That the Christians must have performed prodigies of valor will readily be believed, when it is considered that their number did not probably exceed a fourth part of the enemy's forces. At one time Alfonso himself was in great danger. His standard-bearer and the bulk of his guard had passed on to occupy an eminence, which was no sooner perceived by the Moors, than he was assailed by a whole multitude. They found him prepared :- "Do not forget," said the Christian hero to his handful of defenders, "that your king is here; that he is about to witness your valor, and you his!" At the same time he prepared to plunge into the midst of the affray, when the archbishop of Toledo seized the bridle of his horse, reminding him that he ought not, by seeking his own destruction, to risk that of his army, especially as the battle on other parts of the field was evidently in his favor. The arrival of some troops, who were made acquainted with his critical position, enabled him to disperse his opponents, and to superintend the action, which was now become general, nearer the centre of strife. At mid-day the African tribes, exhausted by fatigue, and discouraged by the severe loss they had sustained, began to give way. A seasonable charge by the garrison of Tarifa accelerated their flight. A considerable number indeed returned to defend the tent of their king, which the Christians were furiously assailing; but they were soon dissipated, or added to the slaughtered heaps around; the royal pavilion was forced, and an immense plunder, with the favorite women of Abul Hassan, became the prize of the victors. *See page 73, of the present volume. The Spanish histories estimate their own number, no doubt correctly, at about 60,000, that of the enemy at 460,000. This disproportion is too absurd to be received. During these momentous events, Yussef nobly maintained the honor of the Andalusian name, at the head of his cavalry; but seeing the Africans fleeing in every direction, and being equally disheartened by the severity of his own loss, he gave the signal for his troops to retreat. While Abul Hassan fled precipitately to Gibraltar, and thence without delay into Africa, to sustain the complaints and murmurs of his people, Yussef also fled by sea to Almuñecar, to join with his subjects in the universal mourning caused by this disaster. To ascertain the number of the slain is impossible, but it was doubtless immense; scarcely a family in Granada which had not to mourn the loss of a member.* The submission of several fortresses in the vicinity followed this almost miraculous victory; and the ensuing year the destruction of the Mohammedan fleet was effected by that of the Christians; for Alfonso had succeeded in forming a third from the wrecks of the two former, and from the ships which arrived from Portugal, Aragon, and Italy.t In A. H. 743, Alfonso, who had greatly recruited his army, having resolved to profit by his successes, laid 743 siege to Algeziras. Yussef hastened to relieve the place, to but without success. Defeated by the Castilian army, 753. disappointed in the succor he had expected from Africa, A. H. he had no alternative but to procure as favorable terms of capitulation as he could. The garrison and inhabitants were permitted to retire with their property; the fortress was immediately entered by the Christians, and a truce for ten years was granted to Yussef, on condition, if we may believe the Spanish chroniclers, of his doing homage to Alfonso. Before the expiration, however, of this period (in A. H. 750), the Castilian king invested Gibraltar, the possession of which would have enabled him to command the approaches into Andalusia, and destroy the communication between Spain and Africa. But a contagious disorder broke out among his troops; he himself became its victim, after a siege of six months, just as the place was reduced to extremities, and the Christians retired from the fatal spot. Though glad to be rid of so formidable a rival, Yussef honored alike the virtues and valor of Alfonso, whom he justly regarded as one of the greatest princes Spain * It is outrageously fixed by the Spanish writers at 200,000, while their own is modestly reduced to twenty individuals! Its extent, however, is amply admitted by Abu Abdalla :-"Infortunium alterum huic simile Mohametanis nunquam accidisse fertur," are the words of his translator Casiri. † Chronicon Conimbricense, p. 343. (apud Florez, España Sagrada, tom. xxiii.) Cronica del Rey Don Alonso el Onzeno, passim. Zurita, Anales de la Corona de Aragon (in regnis Alfonso IV. et Pedro IV.) To these add the fragments of Casiri and Condé, by Marlés. The same chroniclers tell us that during the siege a Moor was employed to assassinate Alfonso. This may be very true. |