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XVII. When, the Cid had thus set the land in order he went against the King of Denia, and warred against Denia and against Xativa, and he abode there all the winter, doing great hurt, insomuch that there did not remain a wall standing from Orihuela to Xativa, for he laid every thing waste; and all his booty and his prisoners he sold in Valencia, Then he went towards Tortosa, destroying every thing as he went; and he pitched his camp near unto the city of Tortosa, in a place which in Arabic is called Maurelet, and he cut down every thing before him, orchards and vines and corn.
The tribute demanded was by no means heavy for a country so fertile, in which light culture yields abundant harvests; the delightful valley between Orihuela and Murcia, in particular, being the garden spot of Spain.
The handful of fugitives, sharply pursued by the Moorish cavalry, rode in all haste to the fortified town of Orihuela, a place of such strength that with sufficient force they might have defied there the powerful enemy.
Theodomir was left lord of seven cities,—Orihuela, Valencia, Alicante, Mula, Biscaret, Aspis, and Lorca,—in which he was to harbor no enemies of the Arabs. Vassals and taxable people were to pay half this amount. These conditions were liberal in the extreme.
Orihuela, on the road from Carthagena to Alicante, still looks oriental with its palm-trees, square towers and domes, and Elche is just another such, with flat roofs and the orthodox kasbah, now a prison. The enormous number of palms which surround the town recall Marrákesh, but they are sadly neglected.
Admiration was stronger than mortification in the Moslem’s heart. He praised Theodomir for his witty and successful expedient, and for the three days that he remained at Orihuela banquets and fêtes marked his stay, he occupying the position of a guest rather than an enemy.
Such was the defence of Orihuela, and while it involved no strenuous fighting, it was at the same time no mediocre test of womanly daring.
And the Cid demanded of them fifty thousand maravedis of silver, every year: and the covenant was made between them, and the whole country from Tortosa to Orihuela was under his protection and at his command. And he fixed the tribute which each Castle was to pay, that it should be certain; and it was as you shall be told.
Duke Theodomir, hard pressed in the mountains of Murcia, was obliged to ride for his life; and with but few attendants, he finally succeeded in making his way, after many adventures, to the walled town of Orihuela, with the enemy close upon his heels. To prevent an immediate attack, gain time, and circumvent the Moors in as many ways as possible, Theodomir had to think quickly.
Another instance of the bravery of the Spanish women, which at this distance seems somewhat tinged with the air of comic opera, is connected with the heroic defence of Orihuela. It was at the time of the Moorish invasion, when the Gothic leaders, after their pitiful failure at Guadalete, were seeking cover and scurrying off to places of safety, closely pursued by the ardent sons of the Prophet.
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