THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. fcjj} 



was anxious to keep him always in fight, without regarding 

 the ground through which his eagernefs led him. Several 

 days the two armies marched fide by fide in fight of each 

 other, till they came to Debra Tzait, or the Mountain of 

 Olives. There Jacob halted ; he then advanced a little fur- 

 ther, and feeing Socinios encamped, he did the fame in a low 

 and very difadvantageous poll on the banks of the river 

 Lebart. 



Socinios having now obtained his defire, early in the 

 morning of the i oth of March 1607 fell fuddenlyupon Ja- 

 cob cooped up in a low and narrow place, which gave him 

 no opportunity of availing himfelf of his numbers. Jacob 

 foon found that he was over-reached by the fuperior gene- 

 ralfhip of his enemy. Socinios's troops were fo ftrongly 

 polled, that Jacob's foldiers found themfelves in a number 

 of ambufhes they had not forefeen, fo that, fighting or fly- 

 ing being equally dangerous to them, his whole army was 

 nearly deftroyed in the field, or in the flight, which was 

 moil ardently and vigoroufly followed till night, with little 

 lofs on the part of Socinios. 



This battle, decifive enough by the route and difperfion 

 of the enemy, became ftill more fo from two circumftan- 

 ces attending it : The firft was the death of his competitor, 

 who fell unknown among a herd of common foldiers in the 

 beginning of the action, without having performed, in his 

 own perfon, any thing worthy of the character he had to 

 fuftain, or that could enable any fpectator to give an ac- 

 count in what place he fell ; the confequence of which was, 

 that he was thought to be alive many years afterwards. 

 The fecond was the death of the Abuna Petros. This pried 

 K k ? had 



