St. Thomas the Apostle preached in this region, and after he had
converted the people he went away to the province of Maabar, where he
died; and there his body lies, as I have told you in a former place.
The people here are excellent soldiers, and they go on horseback, for they
have horses in plenty. Well they may; for they are in daily war with the
Soldan of ADEN, and with the Nubians, and a variety of other nations.
[NOTE 3] I will tell you a famous story of what befel in the year of
Christ, 1288.
You must know that this Christian King, who is the Lord of the Province of
Abash, declared his intention to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem to adore
the Holy Sepulchre of Our Lord God Jesus Christ the Saviour. But his
Barons said that for him to go in person would be to run too great a risk;
and they recommended him to send some bishop or prelate in his stead. So
the King assented to the counsel which his Barons gave, and despatched a
certain Bishop of his, a man of very holy life. The Bishop then departed
and travelled by land and by sea till he arrived at the Holy Sepulchre,
and there he paid it such honour as Christian man is bound to do, and
presented a great offering on the part of his King who had sent him in his
own stead.
And when he had done all that behoved him, he set out again and travelled
day by day till he got to Aden. Now that is a Kingdom wherein Christians
are held in great detestation, for the people are all Saracens, and their
enemies unto the death. So when the Soldan of Aden heard that this man was
a Christian and a Bishop, and an envoy of the Great King of Abash, he had
him seized and demanded of him if he were a Christian? To this the Bishop
replied that he was a Christian indeed. The Soldan then told him that
unless he would turn to the Law of Mahommet he should work him great shame
and dishonour. The Bishop answered that they might kill him ere he would
deny his Creator.
When the Soldan heard that he waxed wroth, and ordered that the Bishop
should be circumcised. So they took and circumcised him after the manner
of the Saracens. And then the Soldan told him that he had been thus put to
shame in despite to the King his master. And so they let him go.
The Bishop was sorely cut to the heart for the shame that had been wrought
him, but he took comfort because it had befallen him in holding fast by
the Law of Our Lord Jesus Christ; and the Lord God would recompense his
soul in the world to come.
So when he was healed he set out and travelled by land and by sea till he
reached the King his Lord in the Kingdom of Abash. And when the King
beheld him, he welcomed him with great joy and gladness. And he asked him
all about the Holy Sepulchre; and the Bishop related all about it truly,
the King listening the while as to a most holy matter in all faith. But
when the Bishop had told all about Jerusalem, he then related the outrage
done on him by the Soldan of Aden in the King's despite. Great was the
King's wrath and grief when he heard that; and it so disturbed him that he
was like to die of vexation. And at length his words waxed so loud that
all those round about could hear what he was saying. He vowed that he
would never wear crown or hold kingdom if he took not such condign
vengeance on the Soldan of Aden that all the world should ring
therewithal, even until the insult had been well and thoroughly redressed.
And what shall I say of it? He straightway caused the array of his horse
and foot to be mustered, and great numbers of elephants with castles to be
prepared to accompany them;[NOTE 4] and when all was ready he set out with
his army and advanced till he entered the Kingdom of Aden in great force.
The Kings of this province of Aden were well aware of the King's advance
against them, and went to encounter him at the strongest pass on their
frontier, with a great force of armed men, in order to bar the enemy from
entering their territory. When the King arrived at this strong pass where
the Saracens had taken post, a battle began, fierce and fell on both
sides, for they were very bitter against each other. But it came to pass,
as it pleased our Lord God Jesus Christ, that the Kings of the Saracens,
who were three in number, could not stand against the Christians, for they
are not such good soldiers as the Christians are. So the Saracens were
defeated, and a marvellous number of them slain, and the King of Abash
entered the Kingdom of Aden with all his host. The Saracens made various
sallies on them in the narrow defiles, but it availed nothing; they were
always beaten and slain. And when the King had greatly wasted and
destroyed the kingdom of his enemy, and had remained in it more than a
month with all his host, continually slaying the Saracens, and ravaging
their lands (so that great numbers of them perished), he thought it time
to return to his own kingdom, which he could now do with great honour.
Indeed he could tarry no longer, nor could he, as he was aware, do more
injury to the enemy; for he would have had to force a way by still
stronger passes, where, in the narrow defiles, a handful of men might
cause him heavy loss.
