One Thousand and One Nights

by Richard Burton

  When Agib read these words and knew the threat they contained, his eyes sank into his head and he gnashed his teeth for rage. Then he tore the letter in pieces and threw it away, which vexed Sehim and he cried out upon Agib, saying, ‘God wither thy hand for that thou hast done!’ With this Agib cried out to his men, saying,’Seize yonder dog and cut him in pieces with your swords’ So they ran at Sehim; but he drew his sword and fell upon them and killed more than fifty of them; after which he cut his way out and won back, covered with blood, to Gherib, who said, ‘What is this, O Sehim?’ And he told him what had passed, whereat he grew livid for rage and crying, ‘God is most great!’ bade the drums beat to battle. So the fighting-men donned their hauberks and coats of strait-woven mail and girt themselves with their swords; the footmen drew out in battle-array, whilst the horsemen mounted and set their long lances in the rest and the champions pricked into the field. Agib and his men also took horse and the two hosts charged down upon each other. Then ruled the Judge of Battle, in whose ordinance is no unright, for a seal is on his lips and he speaketh not, and the blood ran down in streams and laced the earth with curious broidery; heads grew gray [for terror] and the battle raged ever hotter and fiercer. Feet slipped and the valiant stood firm and pushed forward, whilst the faint-heart turned and fled, nor did they leave fighting till the day waned and the night came with the darkness. Then the drums beat the retreat and the two hosts drew apart and returned to their tents, where they passed the night.

  Next morning, as soon as it was day, the drums beat to battle, and the warriors donned their harness of war and girt on their fair swords and mounting their stout horses, couched their brown lances and cried out, saying, ‘Let there be no budging to-day!’ And the two hosts drew out in battle-array, like the swollen sea. The first to open the chapter of war was Sehim, who spurred his charger between the two hosts and played with swords and spears and plied all manner of martial exercises, till the choicest wits were confounded. Then he cried out, saying, ‘Who is for fighting? Who is for jousting? Let no sluggard or weakling come out!’ Whereupon there pricked out to him a horseman of the infidels, as he were a flame of fire; but it was not long before Sehim pierced him with his lance and overthrew him. Then a second came forth and he slew him also, and a third and he rent him in sunder, and a fourth, and he did him to death; nor did they leave to come out to him and he to slay them, till he had done to death two hundred fighting-men. Then Agib cried to his men to charge, and the two hosts met with a mighty shock and great was the clash of arms and the roar of the battle. The shining swords rang out and the blood ran in streams and men’s skulls were as shoes to the horses’ feet, nor did they cease from sore smiting till the day waned and the night came with the darkness, when they drew apart and returning to their tents, passed the night there.

  As soon as it was day, the two hosts mounted and sought the field; and the Muslims looked for Gherib to mount and ride behind the standards as was his wont, but he came not. So Sehim sent a servant to his brother’s pavilion, who, finding him not, questioned the tent-keepers, but they answered, ‘We know nothing of him.’ Whereat he was greatly concerned and went forth and told the troops, who refused to give battle, saying, ‘If Gherib be absent from us, his enemy will destroy us.’ Now there was for Gherib’s absence a cause that we will set out in due order, and it was thus. When Agib returned to his camp on the preceding night, he called one of his officers by name Siyyar and said to him, ‘O Siyyar, I have kept thee in reserve for a day like this; and now I bid thee go to Gherib’s camp and show thy skill by bringing Gherib himself to me.’ And Siyyar said, ‘I hear and obey.’ So he repaired to the enemy’s camp and stealing into Gherib’s pavilion, in the darkness of the night, when all the men had gone to rest, passed himself off for a servant and stood to serve Gherib, who presently, being athirst, called to him for water. So he brought him a flagon of water, drugged with henbane, whereof no sooner had Gherib drunk, than he fell down head fore-most; whereupon Siyyar wrapped him in his cloak and carrying him to Agib’s tent, threw him down at his feet. Quoth Agib, ‘O Siyyar, what is this?’ ‘This is thy brother Gherib,’ answered he; whereat Agib rejoiced and said, ‘The blessing of the idols light upon thee! Loose him and wake him.’

  So they made him smell to vinegar and he came to himself and opened his eyes; then, finding himself bound and in a tent other than his own, said, ‘There is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the Supreme!’ Then Agib cried out at him, saying, ‘O dog, dost thou draw on me and seek to slay me and take on me thy wreak of thy father and mother? This very day I will send thee to them and rid the world of thee.’ ‘O dog of the infidels, replied Gherib, ‘thou shalt see against whom the wheels of fate shall revolve and who shall be overthrown of the Almighty King, Who knoweth what is in the hearts and Who shall leave thee in hell, tormented and confounded! Have pity on thyself and say with me, “There is no god but God and Abraham is the Friend of God!.’ When Agib heard Gherib’s words, he puffed and snorted and railed at his god of stone and called for the headsman and the carpet of blood; but his vizier, who was at heart a Muslim, though outwardly an infidel, rose and kissing the earth before him, said, ‘O King, deal not hastily, but wait till we know the conquered from the conqueror. If we prove the victors, we shall be free to kill him, and if we be beaten, his being alive in our hands will be a strength to us.’ And the Amirs said, ‘The vizier says sooth.’ So Agib bade lay Gherib in irons and chain him up in his own tent and appointed a thousand stout warriors to guard him.

  Meanwhile Gherib’s host, when they awoke and found not their chief, were as sheep without a shepherd; but Saadan the Ghoul cried out to them, saying, ‘O folk, don your harness and trust to your Lord to defend you!’ So the Arabs and the Persians donned their hauberks of iron and their strait-knit shirts of mail and mounting their horses, sallied forth to the field, with the chiefs and the ensigns in the van. Then pricked out the Ghoul of the Mountain, with a mace on his shoulder, two hundred pounds in weight, and advanced and retreated, saying, ‘Ho, worshippers of idols, come ye out to-day, for it is a day of battle! Whoso knoweth me hath enough of my mischief and whoso knoweth me not, I will make myself known to him. I am Saadan, servant of King Gherib. Who is for jousting? Who is for fighting? Let no faint-heart or weakling come forth to me to-day.’ And there came forth to him a champion of the infidels, as he were a flame of fire, and drove at him, but Saadan met him and dealt him a blow with his mace, which beat in his ribs and cast him lifeless to the earth. Then he called out to his sons and slaves, saying, ‘Light the fire, and whoso falls of the infidels, do ye roast him well with fire and bring him to me, that I may make the morning meal of him.’ So they kindled a fire amiddleward the field and laid the slain man therein, till he was cooked, when they brought him to Saadan, who gnawed his flesh and crunched his bones.

  When the infidels saw this, they were sore affrighted, but Agib cried out to his men, saying, ‘Out on you! Fall upon him and cut him in pieces with your swords!’ So twenty thousand men ran at Saadan, whilst the footmen circled round him and rained darts and arrows upon him, so that he was wounded in four-and-twenty places and his blood ran down upon the earth, and he was alone. Then the host of the Muslims drove at the idolaters, calling for help upon the Lord of the World; and they ceased not from the battle till the day came to an end, when they drew apart. But the infidels had made Saadan prisoner, as he were a drunken man for loss of blood; and they bound him fast and set him by Gherib. When the latter saw the Ghoul a prisoner, he said, ‘There is no force and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme! O Saadan, what is this?’ ‘O my lord,’ answered Saadan, ‘it is God (exalted and glorified be He!) Who ordaineth misfortune and deliverance, and needs must this and that betide.’ And Gherib said, ‘Thou sayst sooth, O Saadan!’ But Agib and his host passed the night in joy, and he said to his men, ‘To-morrow, we will fall upon the Muslims and leave not one of them alive.’

  Meanwhile, the Muslims passed the night, dej
ected and weeping for their King and for Saadan; but Sehim said to them, ‘O folk, be not concerned, for the relief of God the Most High is near.’ Then he waited till midnight, when he disguised himself in the habit of a tent-keeper and repairing to Agib’s camp, made his way between the tents, till he came to the King’s pavilion, where he saw him seated on his throne, in the midst of his princes. So he entered and going up to the candles that burnt in the tent, snuffed them and sprinkled powdered henbane on the wicks; after which he withdrew and waited without the tent, till the smoke of the burning henbane reached Agib and his princes and they fell to the earth like dead men. Then he left them and went to the prison-tent, where he found Gherib and Saadan, guarded by a thousand men, who were drowsed with sleep. So he cried out at the guards, saying, ‘Out on you! Sleep not; but watch your prisoners and light the cressets.’

  Then he filled a cresset with firewood, on which he strewed henbane, and lighting it, went round about the tent with it, till the smoke of the henbane entered the nostrils of the guards, and they all fell asleep; when he entered the tent and finding Ghetib and Saadan insensible for the smoke of the henbane, which had been wafted in upon them, aroused them by making them smell to a sponge full of vinegar he had with him. Then he loosed their bonds, and when they saw him, they blessed him and rejoiced in him. Then they went forth and took all the guards’ arms, and Sehim bade them go to their own camp; after which he re-entered Agib’s camp, and wrapping him in his cloak, lifted him up and made for the Muslim camp. And the Merciful Lord protected him, so that he reached Gherib’s tent in safety and unrolled the mantle before him. Gherib looked and seeing Agib bound, cried out, ‘God is Most Great! He giveth aid and victory!’ And he blessed Sehim and bade him arouse Agib. So he made him smell to vinegar, mixed with frankincense, and he opened his eyes and finding himself bound and shackled, hung down his head. ‘O accursed one,’ quoth Sehim, ‘lift thy head!’ So he raised his eyes and found himself amongst Arabs and Persians and saw his brother seated on the throne of his state and the place of his power, wherefore he was silent and spake not. Then Gherib cried out and said, ‘Strip me this dog!’ So they stripped him and beat him with whips, till his body was weakened and his pride subdued, after which Gherib set over him a guard of a hundred cavaliers.

  Presently, they beard shouts of ‘There is no god but God!’ and ‘God is Most Great!’ from the infidel camp. Now the reason of this was that King Damigh, Gherib’s uncle, had set out from El Jezireh, with twenty thousand horse, ten days after his nephew, and on nearing the field of battle, had despatched one of his riders to get news. The scout was absent a whole day, after which he returned and told Damigh all that had passed. So he waited till the night, when he fell upon the infidels, crying out, ‘God is Most Great!’ and put them to the edge of the sword. When Gherib heard the crying aforesaid, he said to Sehim, ‘Go and find out the cause of these shouts.’ So Sehim repaired to the field of battle and questioned the camp followers, who told him that King Damigh had come up with twenty thousand men and fallen upon the idolaters by night, saying, ‘By the virtue of Abraham the friend, I will not forsake my brother’s son, but will do a brave man’s part and beat back the infidels and please the Omnipotent King!’

  So Sehim returned and told Gherib, who cried out to his men, saying, ‘Don your arms and mount your horses and let us succour my uncle!’ So they mounted and fell upon the infidels with the sharp sword. By the morning, they had killed nigh fifty thousand of them and made other thirty thousand prisoners, and the rest of Agib’s army dispersed over the length and breadth of the land. Then the Muslims returned in triumph and Gherib rode out to meet his uncle, whom he saluted and thanked for his help. Quoth Damigh, ‘I wonder if that dog Agib fell in this day’s battle.’ ‘O uncle,’ replied Gherib, ‘have no care for him; know that he is with me in chains.’ When Damigh heard this, he rejoiced mightily and the two kings dismounted and entered the pavilion, but found no Agib there; whereupon Gherib exclaimed, ‘O glory of Abraham the Friend! What an evil end is this to a glorious day!’ and he cried out to the tent-keepers, saying, ‘Out on you! Where is my enemy?’ Quoth they, ‘When thou mountedst and we went with thee, thou didst not bid us guard him;’ and Gherib exclaimed, ‘There is no power and no virtue but in God the Most High, the Supreme!’ But Damigh said to him, ‘Hasten not nor be concerned, for where can he go, and we in pursuit of him?’

  Now the manner of Agib’s escape was on this wise. His man Siyyar, being in the camp in disguise, saw Gherib mount and ride forth, leaving Agib unguarded, and could hardly credit his eyes; so he waited awhile and presently crept to the tent and taking Agib, who was senseless for the pain of the beating, on his back, made off with him into the open country and fared on at the top of his speed all that night and next day, till he came to a spring of water, under an apple-tree. There he set Agib down and washed his face, whereupon he opened his eyes and seeing Siyyar, said to him, ‘O Siyyar, carry me to Cufa, that I may recover there and levy horsemen and soldiers, wherewith to overcome mine enemy: and know, O Siyyar, that I am anhungred.’ So Siyyar went out to the desert and caught an ostrich-poult and brought it to his lord. Then he gathered firewood and striking a light, kindled a fire, by which he roasted the bird and fed Agib with its flesh and gave him to drink of the water of the spring, till his strength returned to him; after which he went to one of the Bedouin encampments, and stealing a horse thence, mounted Agib upon it and journeyed on with him till they drew near the city of Cufa. The governor of the city came out to meet and salute the King, whom he found weak with the beating his brother had inflicted on him; and Agib entered the city and calling his physicians, bade them heal him in less than than ten days’ time. ‘We hear and obey,’ answered they and tended him till he became whole of the sickness that was upon him and of the beating. Then he commanded his viziers to write letters to all his vassals, and he wrote one-and-twenty letters and despatched them to the different governors, who assembled their troops and set out for Cufa by forced marches.

  Meanwhile, Gherib, being troubled for Agib’s escape, despatched a thousand horse in quest of him, who dispersed on all sides and sought him a day and a night, but found no trace of him; so they returned and told Gherib, wno called for his brother Sehim, but found him not; whereat he was sore concerned, fearing for him from the vicissitudes of fortune. However, presently, Sehim entered and kissed the earth before Gherib, who rose, when he saw him, and said, ‘Where hast thou been, O Sehim?’ ‘O King,’ answered he, ‘I have been to Cufa and find that the dog Agib hath made his way thither and is cured of his wounds. Moreover, he hath written letters to his vassals, who have brought him troops.’ When Gherib heard this, he gave command to depart; so they struck the tents and marched for Cufa. When they came in sight of the city, they found it compassed about with a host like the swollen ocean, having neither beginning nor end. So Gherib encamped with his troops in face of the infidels and set up his standards, and the dark fell down upon the two hosts, whereupon they lighted fires and kept watch till daybreak. Then Gherib rose and making the ablution, prayed two inclinations, according to the rite of our father Abraham; after which he commanded the drums to sound the point of war. Accordingly, the drums beat to battle and the standards waved, whilst the fighting-men armed and mounted and sought the lists.

  The first to open the chapter of war was King Damigh, who spurred his charger between the two armies and displayed himself and played with swords and spears, till both hosts were confounded and marvelled at him; after which he cried out, saying, ‘Who is for jousting? Let no sluggard or weakling come out to me; for I am King Damigh, brother of King Kundemir.’ Then there came forth a horseman of the infidels, as he were a flame of fire, and drove at Damigh, without word said; but the King received him with a lance-thrust in the breast, that the point issued from between his shoulders and God hurried his soul to the fire, and ill was the abiding-place [to which he went]. Then came forth a second and he slew him also, and a third, and they ceased not to come
out to him and he to slay them, till he had made an end of six-and-seventy fighting-men.

  Therewith the infidels hung back and would not encounter him; but Agib cried out to his men and said, ‘Out on you, O folk! If ye all go forth against him, one after another, he will not leave one of you, sitting or standing. Charge on them, all at once, and sweep the earth clean of them and make their heads a pavement for your horses’ hoofs!’ So they waved the awe-striking standard and host fell upon host; the blood rained in streams upon the earth and the Judge of battle ruled, in whose ordinance is no unright. The valiant stood firm on his feet in the stead of war, whilst the faint-heart gave back and fled, thinking the day would never come to an end nor the night draw the curtains of the dusk; and they ceased not to battle and smite with swords, till the day waned and the night darkened with the shadows. Then the drums of the infidels beat the retreat, but Gherib, refusing to stay his arms, drove at the idolaters, and the believers in the unity of God followed him. How many heads and hands they sundered, how many necks and sinews they shore, how many knees and spines they crushed and how many grown men and youths they did to death! With the first peep of dawn the infidels broke and fled, and the Muslims followed them till noon and took over twenty thousand of them, whom they brought back bound.

  Then Gherib sat down before the gate of Cufa and commanded a herald to proclaim pardon and safety to all who should leave the worship of idols and acknowledge the One All-knowing God, the Creator of mankind and of light and darkness. So proclamation was made as he bade in the streets of Cufa, and all that were therein embraced the true faith, great and small. Moreover, they all issued forth and made good their submission before King Gherib, who rejoiced in them with an exceeding joy and his breast expanded and he was glad. Then he enquired of Merdas and his daughter Mehdiyeh, and being told that be had taken up his abode behind the Red Mountain, called Sehim and said to him, ‘Find out for me what is come of thy father.’ Sehim tarried not, but mounting, set his brown spear in the rest and fared on till he reached the Red Mountain, where he sought for his father, but found no trace of him nor of his tribe; but in their stead he saw an elder of the Arabs, a very old man, broken with excess of years, and asked him of the folk and whither they were gone. ‘O my son,’ replied he, ‘when Merdas heard of Gherib’s descent upon Cufa, he was smitten with great fear and taking his daughter, set out with his slaves, male and female, and all his tribe, into the deserts, and I know not whither he is gone.’ So Sehim returned to Gherib and told him what he had learnt, whereat he was greatly concerned. Then he sat down on his father’s throne and opening his treasuries, distributed largesse to his braves. And he took up his abode in Cufa and sent out spies, to get news of Agib. Moreover, he summoned the grandees of the realm, who came and did him homage; as also did the townsfolk, and he bestowed on them sumptuous dresses of honour and commended the people to their care.