United States or Barbados ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
In horror at the sight, he cried out aloud, to the great terror of his family, to whom he said, that these rabbis of the Franks, whom he had ordered to be slain, had come upon him with swords to slay him. The melich likewise sent for the kadi, to whom he communicated his vision, seeking advice and consolation, as he feared to be slain by the martyrs.
On the night following the martyrdom of these holy friars, they appeared to the melich in a vision, glorious and resplendent like the noon-day sun, each holding a sword on high, in a menacing posture, as if about to stab or cut him in pieces.
When the Emperor Dodsi heard of the slaughter of the four friars, he ordered the melich to be brought bound before him, and questioned him why he had cruelly ordered these men to be slain. The melich endeavoured to justify himself, by representing that they had exerted themselves to subvert the laws of Mahomet, against whom they had spoken blasphemously.
The late king of Georgia left two sons, Melich and David, of whom the former was lawful, and the other born in adultery; but he left part of his dominions to his bastard.
The melich ordered the three friars to be carried across a small arm of the sea, into a village at a moderate distance from the city, where he ordered them to be lodged in the house of an idolater. Afterwards the kadi went to the melich, and represented to him that the law of Mahomet would be overthrown if these people were allowed to live.
Upon this the Melich, or governor of the city, called friar James to his presence, and causing him to put on his garments, said to the friars, "We see, brothers, that by the Grace of God ye have suffered no harm from us: wherefore we are convinced that ye are holy men, and that your faith is good and true; we advise you to take yourselves away out of this land as quickly as possible, as the kadi will do his utmost to destroy you, because you have confounded his arguments". At this time, likewise, the people were full of astonishment and admiration of what they had seen, and were so filled with wonder at the miracle, that they knew not what to believe, or how to conduct themselves.
The emperor thus addressed him; "O! most cruel dog! when you had seen how the Almighty God had twice delivered them from the flames, how dared you thus cruelly to put them to death?" And the emperor ordered the melich, and all his family, to be cut in two; sentencing him to the same death which he had inflicted on the holy friars.
Melich appealed to the Tartar emperor for justice, and David went likewise to the court, carrying large gifts; and the emperor confirmed the will of their father, even appointing David to have the superior authority, because eldest born.
The writer then gives details as to the rest of the Sultan's forces, and the total comes to the enormous amount of over 900,000 foot, 190,000 horse, and 575 elephants. "The Sultan moved out with his army ... to join Melich Tuchar at Kalbarga. But their campaign was not successful, for they took only one Indian town, and that at the loss of many people and treasures.
In the middle of the night, the three friars rose up to say matins, and being then discovered by the four armed Saracens, they were dragged out of the village to a place beneath a certain tree, where they thus addressed our friars: "Know ye that we are ordered by the kadi and the melich to slay you, which we are very unwilling to do, as you are good and holy men; but we dare not refuse, as we and our wives and children would be put to death."
Word Of The Day