The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights: Volume 1

by Penguin; Robert Irwin; Malcolm Lyons; Ursula Lyons

  When the kings heard what Dhat al-Dawahi had to say, they were delighted, but not so the vizier Dandan, who did not believe her and was not taken in by her words. Because of the king, however, he was afraid to speak to her. He was taken aback by what she said and disbelief was clear to read on his face. Dhat al-Dawahi then added: ‘If Decianus comes and sees all these troops here, I’m afraid that he will not dare to enter the monastery.’ At that, Dau’ al-Makan ordered his men to move off towards Constantinople. ‘My plan,’ he said, ‘is that we should go to that mountain taking with us a hundred riders and many mules, so that we can load them with the wealth of the monastery.’

  He sent at once for the grand chamberlain, who came to him, and for the leaders of the Turks and the Dailamis. ‘When morning comes,’ he told them, ‘you are to leave for Constantinople; you, chamberlain, are to take my place as an advisor and planner, and you, Rustam, are to take my brother’s place in battle. You must not tell anyone that we are not with you and we shall rejoin you after three days.’ He then picked a hundred of his best men and went off with them, accompanied by his brother Sharkan and the vizier Dandan, taking along the mules and chests in which to load the treasure.

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the ninety-sixth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that Sharkan, his brother Dau’ al-Makan and the vizier Dandan set off with the hundred riders to the monastery described to them by the damned Dhat al-Dawahi, taking with them the mules and the chests in which to load the treasure. In the morning, the chamberlain gave the army the order to march, and they set off, thinking that Sharkan, Dau’ al-Makan and Dandan were with them and not knowing that they had gone to the monastery. So much for them, but as for the three leaders, they waited until the end of the day. Having asked to be allowed to go, Dhat al-Dawahi’s infidel companions had left secretly, after visiting her and kissing her hands and feet. She had given them permission and told them what she wanted in order to carry out her scheme. When it grew dark, she got up and told Dau’ al-Makan and the others: ‘Come with me to the mountain, but take only a few soldiers with you.’ They did what she told them, leaving five riders at the foot of the mountain, while the others went on with her. Delight had given her such strength that Dau’ al-Makan exclaimed: ‘Glory be to God who has strengthened this ascetic, the like of whom we have never seen.’

  She had sent a message by pigeon to the emperor of Constantinople, telling him what had happened. At the end of this, she had added: ‘I want you to send me ten thousand brave Rumi horsemen. They should move under cover by the foot of the mountain so as not to be seen by the Muslim troops, and then make their way up to the monastery, concealing themselves there until I come to them with the king of the Muslims and his brother. For I have tricked them and brought them together with the vizier Dandan and no more than a hundred riders. I shall hand over to them the crosses that are in the monastery, and I have made up my mind to kill the monk Matruhina, because otherwise my trick will not work, whereas if it does, not a single one of the Muslims will get back home. Matruhina will be a ransom for Christendom and the followers of the Cross; thanks be to the Messiah, first and last.’

  When the message reached Constantinople, the keeper of the pigeon loft brought it to Emperor Afridun. When he read it, he immediately sent out a force, providing each man with a horse, a camel and a mule, as well as provisions for the journey, and ordering them to go to the monastery. On reaching its conspicuous tower, they concealed themselves in it. So much for them, but as for King Dau’ al-Makan, Sharkan, his brother, the vizier Dandan and their men, when they got to the monastery they went in and there they caught sight of the monk Matruhina, who had come to see what was happening. ‘Kill this damned man,’ said the ‘ascetic’, and they struck him with their swords, giving him the cup of death to drink.

  The damned Dhat al-Dawahi then led them to where the votive offerings were stored, and from there they removed even more in the way of rarities and treasures than she had described to them, putting what they had collected in chests and loading them on their mules. Neither Tamathil nor her father had come because of fear of the Muslims, and so Dau’ al-Makan waited for her that day, the next and then a third. ‘By God,’ said Sharkan, ‘I am concerned about the Muslim army and I don’t know in what state they are.’ His brother said: ‘We have taken this vast treasure and I don’t believe that either Tamathil or any other woman will come to this monastery after the defeat that the Rumi army has suffered. So we must be content with the easy spoils that God has given us and set off in the hopes that He may allow us to take Constantinople.’

  They went down from the mountain and Dhat al-Dawahi could not oppose them for fear of giving away her deception, but when they had reached the entrance of a ravine they found there the ten thousand horsemen whom she had posted in ambush. When these saw the Muslims, they surrounded them on all sides, levelled their lances, unsheathed their white swords, shouted out the words of their unbelief and took aim with their evil arrows. Dau’ al-Makan, Sharkan and the vizier Dandan looked, and seeing a huge army, they wondered who had told them about their presence. ‘Brother,’ said Sharkan, ‘this is no time for talking but for fighting with the sword and shooting arrows, so strengthen your resolve and take heart. This gorge is like a lane with two gates. I swear by the Lord of the Arabs and the non-Arabs that if it were not so narrow I would destroy them, even if there were a hundred thousand of them.’ ‘Had we known about this,’ said Dau’ al-Makan, ‘we would have taken five thousand riders with us.’ But Dandan told him: ‘Even if we had ten thousand with us in this narrow place, it would do us no good, yet God will help us against them. I know this ravine and how narrow it is, but I also know that there are many places where we can take refuge, as I campaigned here with King ‘Umar when we laid siege to Constantinople. We camped here and it has water colder than snow. Lead us on, so that we may get out of this defile before the infidels mass more troops against us and reach the mountain crest before us. From there they could throw rocks down on us and in that case we wouldn’t be able to make head against them.’

  They began to hurry out of the ravine, but on seeing this, the ‘ascetic’ said: ‘Why are you afraid? You have sold your lives for the sake of God Almighty on His path. By God, I stayed as a prisoner underground for fifteen years and never protested to God about what He had done to me. Do you, then, fight in His path and Paradise will be the resting place of those who fall, while whoever kills will win glory by his efforts.’ When the others heard this, their cares and distress vanished and they stood their ground until the infidels attacked them on all sides. The swords played with men’s necks and the cups of death circulated among them. The Muslims exerted themselves to the utmost, fighting in God’s service and using their spears and swords against the enemy. Dau’ al-Makan cut at men, overthrew champions, striking off their heads, five or ten at a time, until he had destroyed more than could be numbered or counted. While he was fighting, he caught sight of the damned Dhat al-Dawahi, who was pointing with a sword to the infidels and encouraging them. All those who had been stricken with fear fled to her, and she signalled to them to kill Sharkan. Squadron after squadron attacked him, and as each one came on, he would charge it and rout it, after which another would charge and be driven back by his sword. Thinking that his victory was due to the blessing of the ‘ascetic’, he said to himself: ‘God has looked at this pious man with the eye of His concern, and has strengthened my resolve against the infidels because of the purity of his intent. I see that they are afraid of me and cannot advance against me; every time they start to charge, they turn back and take refuge in flight.’

  The Muslims continued to fight for the rest of the day, and when night fell, they halted at a cave in the ravine because of the hail of arrows and stones aimed at them. During the day, they had lost forty-five men. When the remainder assembled, they looked for the ‘ascetic’ but could find no tra
ce of her. They took this as a serious misfortune and wondered whether she had died a martyr. ‘I saw him encouraging the riders with gestures inspired by God,’ said Sharkan, ‘and protecting them with verses from the Quran.’ Then, while they were talking, they suddenly saw the damned Dhat al-Dawahi coming forward, holding in her hand the head of the chief patrician, the commander of twenty thousand men. He had been a huge and a stubborn man, a rebellious devil: a Turk had killed him with an arrow and God had promptly despatched his soul to hell. When the infidels saw what the Muslims had done to their leader, they all rushed at him, wounding him and then cutting him to bits with their swords, with God giving him a swift passage to Paradise.

  It was after that that the damned woman had cut off the infidel’s head, which she brought and threw down in front of Sharkan, King Dau’ al-Makan and the vizier Dandan. When Sharkan saw her, he jumped to his feet and said: ‘Praise be to God that we see you safe, O worshipper of God, ascetic and fighter in the Holy War.’ ‘My son,’ ‘she said, ‘I looked for martyrdom today, throwing myself between the ranks of the infidels, but they shrank from me in fear. Then, when you broke off the fight, zeal overcame me and I attacked the great patrician, their leader, who was reckoned as a match for a thousand riders. With a blow I severed his head from his body; none of the infidels was able to come near me and so I have brought the head to you…’

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the ninety-seventh night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that the damned Dhat al-Dawahi took the head of the chief patrician, the commander of twenty thousand men, and threw it down before Dau’ al-Makan and Sharkan. She said: ‘When I saw the state that you were in, I was moved by zeal and I attacked the great patrician. With a blow I severed his head from his body; none of the infidels was able to come near me and so I have brought the head to you to encourage you to fight in the Holy War and to please the Lord of mankind with your swords. I now want to leave you busied with the holy war and go myself to your army, even if they are at the gates of Constantinople, in order to fetch you twenty thousand of their riders to destroy these infidels.’ ‘How can you get to them,’ asked Sharkan, ‘now that the valley is blocked on all sides by the infidels?’ ‘God will shelter me from their eyes,’ said the damned woman, ‘and they will not see me, or if anyone does see me, he will not dare to approach, for at that moment I shall have passed into the presence of God and He will protect me from His foes.’ ‘You have spoken the truth, ascetic,’ said Sharkan, ‘for I have seen that with my own eyes. If you can go in the first part of the night, it will be better for us.’ ‘I shall go now,’ she said, ‘and if you want to come with me without anyone seeing you, come. If your brother wants to join us, we can take him but no one else, for the shadow of a saint can cover no more than two.’

  ‘As for me,’ said Sharkan, ‘I cannot leave my companions, but if my brother is willing, there would be no harm in his going with you and escaping from this dangerous position, for he is the fortress of the Muslims and the sword of the Lord of the worlds. If he wants, he could take the vizier Dandan with him, or anyone else he chooses, and he could send us ten thousand riders to help us against these vile men.’ They agreed on this plan and then the old woman said: ‘Wait and let me go first to reconnoitre among the unbelievers, to see whether they are asleep or awake.’ ‘We shall go out with you,’ they said, ‘entrusting our affairs to God.’ She said: ‘If I agree to this, then don’t blame me but blame yourselves, for my advice is that you should give me time to investigate first.’ ‘Go to them quickly,’ said Sharkan, ‘and we shall wait for you.’

  At that, she left and when she had gone, Sharkan said to his brother: ‘This ascetic is a miracle worker, for otherwise he could not have killed that giant. This is enough to show his miraculous power, and the death of that man has broken the power of the infidels, for he was a huge and stubborn man and a rebellious devil.’ While they were discussing the miracles of the ‘ascetic’, the damned Dhat al-Dawahi came to them, promising them victory over the infidels, and they thanked her, without realizing that this was trickery and deceit. The damned woman then said: ‘Where is Dau’ al-Makan, the king of the age?’ He came at her call and she said: ‘Take your vizier with you and walk behind me so that we can set out for Constantinople.’

  In fact, she had told the infidels of the trick that she had played. They were overjoyed and said: ‘We shall not be consoled until we have killed this king in exchange for the death of our leader, as we had no better rider.’ When she told them that she would bring them the king, they replied to her, ill-omened old woman that she was: ‘When you fetch him, we will take him to the emperor.’ She now set off, together with Dau’ al-Makan and the vizier Dandan. She went ahead of them, saying: ‘Walk on with the blessing of Almighty God.’ They obeyed and were pierced by the arrow of fate. She led them on until they were in the middle of the Rumi army and had reached the narrow defile that has already been mentioned. The Rumis were watching them, but, in accordance with the damned woman’s instructions, they were making no move to harm them.

  Dau’ al-Makan and Dandan looked at the infidels and saw that they were watching but not trying to interfere with them. ‘By God,’ said Dandan, ‘this is a miracle performed by the ascetic and there is no doubt that he is one of the great saints.’ ‘By God,’ replied Dau’ al-Makan, ‘I think that the infidels are blind, as we see them and they don’t see us.’ Then, while they were praising the ‘ascetic’ and listing her miracles, together with her abstinence and acts of worship, the infidels suddenly attacked and surrounded them. When they had seized them, they asked: ‘Is there anyone else, apart from the two of you, for us to take?’ ‘Don’t you see this other man in front of you?’ said Dandan. ‘By the truth of the Messiah, the monks, the Primate and the Metropolitan,’ they replied, ‘we have not seen anyone but you.’ ‘By God,’ said Dau’ al-Makan, ‘what has happened to us is a punishment from Almighty God.’

  Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had been allowed to say. Then, when it was the ninety-eighth night, SHE CONTINUED:

  I have heard, O fortunate king, that when the infidels seized King Dau’ al-Makan and the vizier Dandan, they asked: ‘Is there anyone else, apart from the two of you, for us to take?’ ‘Don’t you see this other man in front of you?’ said Dandan. ‘By the truth of the Messiah, the monks, the Primate and the Metropolitan,’ they replied, ‘we have not seen anyone but you.’ The infidels then fettered their feet and set guards over them in their bivouac.

  Dhat al-Dawahi had vanished from the sight of the two Muslims, who were saying sadly to one another: ‘To oppose the pious leads to worse fates than this, and the straits in which we now find ourselves are our reward.’ So much for Dau’ al-Makan, but as for Sharkan, when morning came, he got up and performed the morning prayer, after which he and the rest of his men began to prepare for battle with the infidels. He encouraged them and made them fair promises and they moved off to meet the enemy. But when the infidels saw them in the distance, they called out: ‘Muslims, we have captured your sultan, as well as the vizier who organized your affairs. Either stop fighting us, or we will kill every last one of you. Surrender to us and we will take you to our king, who will make peace with you on condition that you leave our lands and return to your own, and if you do us no harm, we shall do none to you. If you agree, it will be lucky for you, and if you refuse, we shall have no choice but to kill you. We have told you our terms and this is our last word.’

  When Sharkan heard what they had to say and realized that his brother and the vizier had been captured, he found it hard to bear. He shed tears, lost heart and felt certain that he faced destruction. He wondered what had led to their capture and whether they had been guilty of some rudeness towards the ‘ascetic’ and had opposed her wishes, or whether something else had happened. He and his men, however, advanced against the infidels and killed large numbers of them.
That was a day on which the brave were distinguished from the cowards. Swords and spears were stained with blood and the infidels swarmed around the Muslims from every side like flies around juice. Sharkan and his companions fought like men who have no fear of death and who let pass no opportunity, until the valley ran with streams of blood and the earth was piled with corpses.

  At nightfall, both sides parted and each returned to their own camp. The Muslims went back to their cave, looking like men who were on the point of total defeat. Just a few of them were left and their only reliance was on God and on their swords. Thirty-five of the leading emirs had been killed that day, although they themselves had killed thousands of the infidels, both horse and foot. When Sharkan saw this, he was distressed and he asked his companions what was to be done. ‘Only what Almighty God wills,’ was their reply.

  The next day, Sharkan said to them: ‘If you go out to fight, none of you will survive, as we have only a little water and food. The right thing to do, in my opinion, is to draw your swords and to go and stand at the entrance to the cave in order to stop the enemy from breaking in. It may be that the ascetic will get to the Muslim army and bring us ten thousand reinforcements to help fight the infidels, for perhaps they did not see him and his companions.’