ABSTRACT
A few months after being in this residence, an order came from the Emperor to the Viceroy that he should go to a certain place, at a distance of twenty days' journey, to recover the bones of Dom Christovao da Gama, which were buried there. So that the reader will understand the events responsible for his bones being buried in that place, I must recall in some detail the invasion of Ethiopia by Mahameth Granhe, who had come from the kingdom of Adel, a neighbouring kingdom to that of Abyssinia, located in the interior of the Cape of Guardafui. Mahameth Granhe was a Muslim, whose name meant Mafamede the Left-Handed, granhe meaning 'left-handed', 1 which he was, and as superstitious in his sect as he was arrogant and cruel. Favoured by conditions of the time and with the assistance of many Turks and Arabs who came to him from Moca as mercenaries, he entered that empire, conquering, destroying, and subduing all the territory in his path. Unable to resist his advance, the Emperors Alexandre, Nahun, David, and Claudio2 sought to place themselves in safety, leaving the field to the victorious Muslim, who became lord of most of that empire and its best parts, roaming through it without opposition, robbing and destroying everything that was sacred, killing many people and forcing almost all the rest to follow his sect. He had been doing this for fourteen years when Emperor David sent a request to the Portuguese king, which went first to Dom Manoel and then to his son Dom Joao the Third, asking him for help in recovering his empire and offering in exchange for this act of friendship his obedience to the Roman Church and one third ofhis empire for the Portuguese
if they would recover his empire for him from the hands of the Muslims. 1 Although the most serene kings did not approve the temporal offer, they did accept, however, the conversion of those great kingdoms to the Catholic faith and considered it a great project and gain for their Catholic zeal, something which they very much desired and had attempted on several occasions at great expense and effort. They consequently ordered the aid to be given, which Emperor David, who had requested it, did not see or enjoy, but rather his son Claudio, who was still a child under his mother's tutelage. 2 Dom Estevao da Gama entered the Strait of the Red Sea with a powerful fleet to burn the Turkish galleys at Sues, as his king ordered him to do, and to give the promised aid to the Emperor. 3 Although he did not implement the first plan, he did implement the second by casting anchor in the port of Masua and putting ashore his brother Dom Christovao da Gama - both were sons of the Conde Almirante4 - with four hundred Portuguese and all the arms and ammunition necessary for the undertaking. The Captain set out for the interior, accompanied by a few Abyssinians and by Empress Ellena, who came to meet him on the road as her liberator, as she hoped. 5 Conquering various lands with great difficulty and some mountains that appeared impregnable to human forces, 6 he finally arrived at a beautiful, level plain called Bellat, 7 many leagues long and two or three leagues wide. Our Captain was unable to meet with the Emperor, although both wanted this very much, because the Emperor was travelling in the remotest confines of his empire, accompanied by the few who were following him, defending himself with this small force, more by the cragginess of his
locationthanbytheforceofhissoldiers.Inaddition,sincethewinter wasbecomingsevere,ithinderedourpeopleintheirprogress,andsince itsfullfurywouldsoonbeuponthem,itdidnotallowtimeforthe twoarmiestojointogetherforthebenefitofall.DomChristovaohad tentspitchedandthePortugueseremainedencampedwhilepreparing tomeettheMuslimking,whowascominginaproud,arrogant manner,makinglightofourpeople,bothbecauseoftheirsmall number,fortherewerenotfourhundredofthemwhiletheMuslims numberedmanythousands,andbecauseofthevictorieswhichhad madehiminsolent.DomChristovaosetupcamp,asIwassaying,on theslopeofamountain,withasmallareaofundergrowthbehindit, whereheplacedsomepiecesofartillerythathebrought,mounting themsothattheywouldbemanoeuvrable.Thesoldiersrestedand gatheredstrengthfortheencounterswiththeenemy,closeathand, whosoonappeared,coveringthefieldswithhismultitudeofcavalry andfoot-soldiers.Seeingbythenumberoftentshowfewpeople appearedtobethere,hesentthismessagetotheCaptainDom ChristovaodaGama:'Iknowverywellthatyouaremonks(meaning peopleoflittleworth,accordingtoaparticularuseofthiswordinthe speechofthatland)andthatyouhavebeendeceivedbythese Abyssinians,whoareevilmen.Returntoyourlands,forIshallgive yousafeconductandprovisionsforthejourney.Takegoodadvice, trustme,takeadvantageofthisgoodopportunityandfriendshipIoffer youbeforethisbenefitchangestoyourloss.'
