And Learning That The
Emperor Of The Turks Had Slain The Soldan In Battle, And Subverted The
Sovereignty Of The Mamelukes In Egypt, He Surrendered The Egyptian Fleet
And The Port Of Jiddah To The Conqueror.
Finding the port dangerous, Soarez came to anchor about a league from
the city of Jiddah, yet so excellent were some of the cannon of the
place, that three or four pieces were able to carry that prodigious
distance.
Soliman sent a message to the Christian fleet offering a
single combat man to man, which Gaspar de Silva and Antonio de Menezes
both offered to accept, but Soarez would not allow the combat. Soarez
now caused the channel leading up to Jiddah to be sounded, and at this
time the inhabitants were much alarmed by the fire of one of the
Portuguese vessels; but Soliman appeased the tumult, and made his
appearance without the walls with some of his men, while the walls were
filled by vast multitudes of the infidels, who rent the air with loud
cries. After two days of inaction, the Portuguese began to complain of
the delay; but Soarez appeased his officers by shewing his instructions,
in which he was ordered to fight the fleet of the Mamelukes, which could
not be accomplished, and not to attack the city, where there might be
much danger and little chance of profit. Though the votes differed in
the council of war, it was resolved by a majority to desist from the
enterprise against Jiddah, and accordingly Soarez and his armament
retired to Kamaran, whence he detached several ships to different parts
of the Red Sea. At this place died Duarte Galvam, a learned and
ingenious man, who had been employed in several embassies in Europe, and
though above seventy years of age was now going ambassador to Prester
John. At the time of his death, he told his attendants that his son
George and all his men had been cast away in their vessel, and that the
inhabitants of the island of Dalac had cut off the heads of Lorenzo de
Cosme and others that had been sent to that place. All this was
afterwards found true, yet it was utterly impossible that the
intelligence could have reached Duarte at Kamaran before his death.
After suffering much distress from famine, of which several men died,
and losing seventeen Portuguese who were made prisoners by the Arabs,
and carried to Jiddah, Soarez set sail from Kamaran and appeared before
Zeyla in the kingdom of Adel, on the north-east coast of Africa, a
little way out from the mouth of the Red Sea. This place was called
Emporium Avalite by Ptolemy, who describes it as a great mart in
ancient times. On the present occasion Zeyla was taken with little
opposition, being unprepared for defence, and was reduced to ashes. From
Zeyla, Soarez went to Aden on the coast of Arabia, but soon found he had
been to blame for not taking possession when formerly offered it; as
Miramirzan had repaired the wall, and now procrastinated the surrender
of his city by various affected delays.
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