CHAPTER LXXXI

Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada

by Washington Irving

CHAPTER LXXXI, CHRONICLE OF THE CONQUEST OF GRANADA by Washington Irving

THE SURRENDER OF BAZA.


The old warrior-king was seated in an inner chamber of the castle
of Guadix, much cast down in spirit and ruminating on his gloomy
fortunes, when an envoy from Baza was announced, and the veteran
alcayde Mohammed stood before him. El Zagal saw disastrous tidings
written in his countenance. "How fares it with Baza ," said he,
summoning up his spirits to the question. "Let this inform thee,"
replied Mohammed, and he delivered into his hands the letter from
the prince Cid Hiaya.

This letter spoke of the desperate situation of Baza, the
impossibility of holding out longer without assistance from El
Zagal, and the favorable terms held out by the Castilian sovereigns.
Had it been written by any other person, El Zagal might have
received it with distrust and indignation; but he confided in Cid
Hiaya as in a second self, and the words of his letter sank deep in
his heart. When he had finished reading it, he sighed deeply, and
remained for some time lost in thought, with his head drooping upon
his bosom. Recovering himself at length, he called together the
alfaquis and the old men of Guadix and solicited their advice. It
was sign of sore trouble of mind and dejection of heart when El
Zagal sought the advice of others, but his fierce courage was tamed,
for he saw the end of his power approaching. The alfaquis and the
old men did but increase the distraction of his mind by a variety of
counsel, none of which appeared of any avail, for unless Baza were
succored it was impossible that it should hold out; and every
attempt to succor it had proved ineffectual. El Zagal dismissed
his council in despair, and summoned the veteran Mohammed before
him. "God is great," exclaimed he; "there is but one God, and
Mahomet is his prophet! Return to my cousin, Cid Hiaya; tell him it
is out of my power to aid him; he must do as seems to him for the
best. The people of Baza have performed deeds worthy of immortal
fame; I cannot ask them to encounter further ills and perils in
maintaining a hopeless defence."

The reply of El Zagal determined the fate of the city. Cid Hiaya and
his fellow-commanders capitulated, and were granted the most
favorable terms. The cavaliers and soldiers who had come from other
parts to the defence of the place were permitted to depart with
their arms, horses, and effects. The inhabitants had their choice
either to depart with their property or dwell in the suburbs in the
enjoyment of their religion and laws, taking an oath of fealty to
the sovereigns and paying the same tribute they had paid to the
Moorish kings. The city and citadel were to be delivered up in six
days, within which period the inhabitants were to remove all their
effects; and in the mean time they were to place as hostages fifteen
Moorish youths, sons of the principal inhabitants, in the hands of the
commander of Leon. When Cid Hiaya and the alcayde Mohammed came
to deliver up the hostages, among whom were the sons of the latter,
they paid homage to the king and queen, who received them with the
utmost courtesy and kindness, and ordered magnificent presents to be
given to them, and likewise to the other Moorish cavaliers, consisting
of money, robes, horses, and other things of great value.

The prince Cid Hiaya was so captivated by the grace, the dignity,
and generosity of Isabella and the princely courtesy of Ferdinand that
he vowed never again to draw his sword against such magnanimous
sovereigns. The queen, charmed with his gallant bearing and his
animated professions of devotion, assured him that, having him on
her side, she already considered the war terminated which had
desolated the kingdom of Granada.

Mighty and irresistible are words of praise from the lips of
sovereigns. Cid Hiaya was entirely subdued by this fair speech from
the illustrious Isabella. His heart burned with a sudden flame of
loyalty toward the sovereigns. He begged to be enrolled amongst the
most devoted of their subjects, and in the fervor of his sudden zeal
engaged not merely to dedicate his sword to their service, but to
exert all his influence, which was great, in persuading his cousin,
Muley Abdallah el Zagal, to surrender the cities of Guadix and
Almeria and to give up all further hostilities. Nay, so powerful was
the effect produced upon his mind by his conversation with the
sovereigns that it extended even to his religion; for he became
immediately enlightened as to the heathenish abominations of the
vile sect of Mahomet, and struck with the truths of Christianity as
illustrated by such powerful monarchs. He consented, therefore, to
be baptized and to be gathered into the fold of the Church. The
pious Agapida indulges in a triumphant strain of exultation on
the sudden and surprising conversion of this princely infidel: he
considers it one of the greatest achievements of the Catholic
sovereigns, and indeed one of the marvellous occurrences of this
holy war. "But it is given to saints and pious monarchs," says he,
"to work miracles in the cause of the faith; and such did the most
Catholic Ferdinand in the conversion of the prince Cid Hiaya."

Some of the Arabian writers have sought to lessen the wonder of
this miracle by alluding to great revenues granted to the prince and
his heirs by the Castilian monarchs, together with a territory in
Marchena, with towns, lands, and vassals; but in this (says Agapida)
we only see a wise precaution of King Ferdinand to clinch and secure
the conversion of his proselyte. The policy of the Catholic monarch
was at all times equal to his piety. Instead also of vaunting of this
great conversion and making a public parade of the entry of the
prince into the Church, King Ferdinand ordered that the baptism
should be performed in private and kept a profound secret. He
feared that Cid Hiaya might otherwise be denounced as an
apostate and abhorred and abandoned by the Moors, and thus
his influence destroyed in bringing the war to a speedy termination.*

*Conde, tom. 3, cap. 40.


The veteran Mohammed Ibn Hassan was likewise won by the magnanimity
and munificence of the Castilian sovereigns, and entreated to be
received into their service; and his example was followed by many
other Moorish cavaliers, whose services were generously accepted
and magnificently rewarded.

Thus; after a siege of six months and twenty days, the city of Baza
surrendered on the 4th of December, 1489, the festival of the
glorious Santa Barbara, who is said in the Catholic calendar to
preside over thunder and lightning, fire and gunpowder, and all
kinds of combustious explosions. The king and queen made their
solemn and triumphant entry on the following day, and the public joy
was heightened by the sight of upward of five hundred Christian
captives, men, women, and children, delivered from the Moorish
dungeons.

The loss of the Christians in this siege amounted to twenty thousand
men, of whom seventeen thousand died of disease, and not a few of
mere cold--a kind of death (says the historian Mariana) peculiarly
uncomfortable; but (adds the venerable Jesuit) as these latter were
chiefly people of ignoble rank, baggage-carriers and such-like, the
loss was not of great importance.

The surrender of Baza was followed by that of Almunecar, Tavernas,
and most of the fortresses of the Alpuxarras mountains; the
inhabitants hoped by prompt and voluntary submission to secure
equally favorable terms with those granted to the captured city,
and the alcaydes to receive similar rewards to those lavished on
its commanders; nor were either of them disappointed. The
inhabitants were permitted to remain as mudexares in the quiet
enjoyment of their property and religion; and as to the alcaydes,
when they came to the camp to render up their charges they were
received by Ferdinand with distinguished favor, and rewarded with
presents of money in proportion to the importance of the places they
had commanded. Care was taken by the politic monarch, however,
not to wound their pride nor shock their delicacy; so these sums
were paid under color of arrears due to them for their services to
the former government. Ferdinand had conquered by dint of sword
in the earlier part of the war, but he found gold as potent as steel
in this campaign of Baza.

With several of these mercenary chieftains came one named Ali Aben
Fahar, a seasoned warrior who had held many important commands.
He was a Moor of a lofty, stern, and melancholy aspect, and stood
silent and apart while his companions surrendered their several
fortresses and retired laden with treasure. When it came to his
turn to speak, he addressed the sovereigns with the frankness
of a soldier, but with the tone of dejection and despair.

"I am a Moor," said he, "and of Moorish lineage, and am alcayde of
the fair towns and castles of Purchena and Paterna. These were
entrusted to me to defend, but those who should have stood by me
have lost all strength and courage and seek only for security. These
fortresses, therefore, most potent sovereigns, are yours whenever
you will send to take possession of them."

Large sums of gold were immediately ordered by Ferdinand to be
delivered to the alcayde as a recompense for so important a
surrender. The Moor, however, put back the gift with a firm and
dignified demeanor. "I came not," said he, "to sell what is not
mine, but to yield what fortune has made yours; and Your Majesties
may rest assured that had I been properly seconded death would
have been the price at which I would have sold my fortresses, and
not the gold you offer me."

The Castilian monarchs were struck with the lofty and loyal spirit
of the Moor, and desired to engage a man of such fidelity in their
service; but the proud Moslem could not be induced to serve the
enemies of his nation and his faith.

"Is there nothing, then," said Queen Isabella, "that we can do to
gratify thee, and to prove to thee our regard?"--"Yes," replied the
Moor; "I have left behind me, in the towns and valleys which I have
surrendered, many of my unhappy countrymen, with their wives and
children, who cannot tear themselves from their native abodes. Give
me your royal word that they shall be protected in the peaceable
enjoyment of their religion and their homes."--"We promise it," said
Isabella; "they shall dwell in peace and security. But for thyself--
what dost thou ask for thyself?"--"Nothing," replied Ali, "but
permission to pass unmolested with my horses and effects into Africa."

The Castilian monarchs would fain have forced upon him gold and
silver and superb horses richly caparisoned, not as rewards, but as
marks of personal esteem; but Ali Aben Fahar declined all presents
and distinctions, as if he thought it criminal to flourish individually
during a time of public distress, and disdained all prosperity that
seemed to grow out of the ruins of his country.

Having received a royal passport, he gathered together his horses
and servants, his armor and weapons, and all his warlike effects,
bade adieu to his weeping countrymen with a brow stamped with
anguish, but without shedding a tear, and, mounting his Barbary
steed, turned his back upon the delightful valleys of his conquered
country, departing on his lonely way to seek a soldier's fortune
amidst the burning sands of Africa.*

*Pulgar, part 3, cap. 124; Garibay, lib. 40, cap. 40; Cura de
los Palacios.