When he had ravaged Aethiopia fourteen years, and was master
of the greatest part of it, the Emperor David
Sent to implore
succour of the King of Portugal, with a promise that when those
dominions were recovered which had been taken from him, he would
entirely submit himself to the Pope, and resign the third part of
his territories to the Portuguese. After many delays, occasioned by
the great distance between Portugal and Abyssinia, and some
unsuccessful attempts, King John the Third, having made Don Stephen
de Gama, son of the celebrated Don Vasco de Gama, viceroy of the
Indies, gave him orders to enter the Red Sea in pursuit of the
Turkish galleys, and to fall upon them wherever he found them, even
in the Port of Suez. The viceroy, in obedience to the king's
commands, equipped a powerful fleet, went on board himself, and
cruised about the coast without being able to discover the Turkish
vessels. Enraged to find that with this great preparation he should
be able to effect nothing, he landed at Mazna four hundred
Portuguese, under the command of Don Christopher de Gama, his
brother. He was soon joined by some Abyssins, who had not yet
forgot their allegiance to their sovereign; and in his march up the
country was met by the Empress Helena, who received him as her
deliverer. At first nothing was able to stand before the valour of
the Portuguese, the Moors were driven from one mountain to another,
and were dislodged even from those places, which it seemed almost
impossible to approach, even unmolested by the opposition of an
enemy.
These successes seemed to promise a more happy event than that which
followed them. It was now winter, a season in which, as the reader
hath been already informed, it is almost impossible to travel in
Aethiopia. The Portuguese unadvisedly engaged themselves in an
enterprise, to march through the whole country, in order to join the
Emperor, who was then in the most remote part of his dominions.
Mahomet, who was in possession of the mountains, being informed by
his spies that the Portuguese were but four hundred, encamped in the
plain of Ballut, and sent a message to the general that he knew the
Abyssins had imposed on the King of Portugal, which, being
acquainted with their treachery, he was not surprised at, and that
in compassion of the commander's youth, he would give him and his
men, if they would return, free passage, and furnish them with
necessaries; that he might consult upon the matter, and depend upon
his word, reminding him, however, that it was not safe to refuse his
offer.
The general presented the ambassador with a rich robe, and returned
this gallant answer: "That he and his fellow-soldiers were come
with an intention to drive Mahomet out of these countries, which he
had wrongfully usurped; that his present design was, instead of
returning back the way he came, as Mahomet advised, to open himself
a passage through the country of his enemies; that Mahomet should
rather think of determining whether he would fight or yield up his
ill-gotten territories, than of prescribing measures to him; that he
put his whole confidence in the omnipotence of God and the justice
of his cause, and that to show how just a sense he had of Mahomet's
kindness, he took the liberty of presenting him with a looking-glass
and a pair of pincers."
This answer, and the present, so provoked Mahomet, who was at dinner
when he received it, that he rose from table immediately to march
against the Portuguese, imagining he should meet with no resistance;
and indeed, any man, however brave, would have been of the same
opinion; for his forces consisted of fifteen thousand foot, beside a
numerous body of cavalry, and the Portuguese commander had but three
hundred and fifty men, having lost eight in attacking some passes,
and left forty at Mazma, to maintain an open intercourse with the
viceroy of the Indies. This little troop of our countrymen were
upon the declivity of a hill near a wood; above them stood the
Abyssins, who resolved to remain quiet spectators of the battle, and
to declare themselves on that side which should be favoured with
victory.
Mahomet began the attack with only ten horsemen, against whom as
many Portuguese were detached, who fired with so much exactness,
that nine of the Moors fell, and the tenth with great difficulty
made his escape. This omen of good fortune gave the soldiers great
encouragement; the action grew hot, and they came at length to a
general battle; but the Moors, dismayed by the advantages our men
had obtained at first, were half defeated before the fight. The
great fire of our muskets and artillery broke them immediately.
Mahomet preserved his own life not without difficulty, but did not
lose his capacity with the battle: he had still a great number of
troops remaining, which he rallied, and entrenched himself at
Membret, a place naturally strong, with an intention to pass the
winter there, and wait for succours.
The Portuguese, who were more desirous of glory than wealth, did not
encumber themselves with plunder, but with the utmost expedition
pursued their enemies, in hopes of cutting them entirely off. This
expectation was too sanguine: they found them encamped in a place
naturally almost inaccessible, and so well fortified, that it would
be no less than extreme rashness to attack them. They therefore
entrenched themselves on a hill over against the enemy's camp, and
though victorious, were under great disadvantages. They saw new
troops arrive every day at the enemy's camp, and their small number
grew less continually; their friends at Mazna could not join them;
they knew not how to procure provisions, and could put no confidence
in the Abyssins; yet recollecting the great things achieved by their
countrymen, and depending on the Divine protection, they made no
doubt of surmounting all difficulties.
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