ABYSSINIA. 267 



Don Christopher, where they had sought refuge, one 

 of them, to avoid the outrages to which they were 

 about to be subjected, set a light to a powder barrel 

 and blew up the whole camp. The Queen and the 

 Patriarch succeeded in making their escape, and 

 rejoined King Claudius, who was very grieved when 

 he heard of Christopher's death. He soon avenged it, 

 however, defeating Mehemet the Left-handed in a 

 battle at Bet-d'-Isaac, on February 10, 1543. Me- 

 hemet himself was killed by a bullet fired by Pedro 

 Leon, a Portuguese, who cut off his ear and put it in 

 his pocket, returning to the ranks to continue the 

 fight. The Moors, deprived of their general, took to 

 flight, and were pursued until nightfall by the Abys- 

 sinians and Portuguese, who slaughtered them in 

 great numbers. 



Thus Claudius took a splendid revenge upon the 

 Mussulmans who had reduced his father to such cruel 

 extremities, and it only remained for him to punish 

 Joram, who had driven his father from Mount Salim 

 and compelled him to cross the Tacazze on foot at the 

 risk of being drowned. Joram was not at the battle of 

 Bet-d'-Isaac, but he hastened to march in that direc- 

 tion, and the king, informed of his intention, put 

 some of his troops into an ambuscade and cut Joram' s 

 army to pieces. 



"While Mehemet had been ravaging Abyssinia, the 

 provinces of Sire* and Tigre, situated between the 

 Demba and the cities which the Moors occupied on 



T2 



