Heg. 924. J.C.151. they left Damafcus, that the Mammelukes had elected a fucceffor to the unfortunate Gauri. He was called Tumambei, and had been grand diador, or lieutenant general. The grand feignor immediately ordered a detachment, under the command of Sinan bashaw, to advance towards the town of Gaza, which is at the entrance of the isthmus of Egypt. As Sinan was waiting there for the rest of the army, fifteen thousand Mammelukes came to meet him, and encamped near Gaza. The misfortunes of these troops had not broken their courage: the Mammelukes, perfuaded, that, fo far, they had been overpowered only by number, thought themselves always fuperior by their valour and the celerity of their manœuvres. Sinan bashaw commanded, at the moft, about thirteen thousand men, all janiffaries or spahis, the choice of the Turkish army; not having lefs confidence than the Mammelukes, he refolved to go and fight them; he left his fick in Gaza, without a garrifon, or even a guard, because he would not weaken the corps which he commanded, already inferior in number. He had hardly left the haw de- town, when the inhabitants of Gaza, perfuaded that the Turks were retreating, unmercifully lukes near maffacred their fick, and fent to the Mammeluke camp, to affure them, that the enemy fled before them. This intelligence was presently contradicted by Sinan bashaw's army appearing in fight. The Mammelukes, who had not their foudan at Sinan ba. feats a corps of Mamme Gaza. Heg. 924. their head, prepared however to give the enemy 1.C 1518. a good reception. The two armies were in battle in an inftant, and engaged with equal fury; the victory was a long time doubtful; each corps gave ground and rallied by turns. The Mammelukes approached the battalions of janiffaries amidst a smart fire of mufket fhot; they knocked the infantry on the head with their clubs, always expofed to the cavalry; but battalions well clofed, thick fet with pikes, and from the middle of which iffued a continual fire, must needs vanquish in the end light unsteady troops, whofe attacks were more uncertain, and who prefented more front to the enemy. The artillery augmented the flaughter; the lances of the fpahis pierced all those that the janiffaries had thrown into diforder; the defpair of the Mammelukes exposed them a long time to the cruelty of their vanquishers. At length, after having loft three parts of their army, they abandoned the field of battle to the Turks, who had purchased the victory by the blood of two thousand janiffaries, a thousand spahis, and a great many brave chiefs. Sinan bashaw paffed the end of the day and the night in raising trophies. The heads of the vanquifhed fixed on palm trees, and their arms heaped in pyramids, offered an agreeable spectacle to these barbarians, whofe arms had deftroyed fo many of the human fpecies. N n At J.C. 1518. Heg. 924. At break of day they returned to Gaza. This town was not in a fatuation to make the least refiftance. The bafhaw revenged, by facking their town, the blood of the finall number of fick that the Egyptians had maffacred. The Turks found a great deal of riches there. The operations of the campaign, which were but just commenced, not leaving them the time to fell or carry their flaves away with them, they maffacred all those from whom they could not reap any benefit, and remained in this town, become a defert, to wait for the main body of the army. Selim learned that he was vanquisher before he had begun the campaign; this fuccefs whetting his courage, he haftened to take the different corps from their quarters, in order to join a fresh army to victorious troops. During the march from Damafcus to Gaza, the emperor, either through curiofity, to Jerufa or a defire of difplaying to the eyes of the peo Selim goes lem; he joins the ple exterior practices of religion, resolved to visit reft of his army and Jerufalem: he went thither at the head of a feeble conducts it to Egypt. efcort, not being afraid of a surprise in a country which the Mammelukes had abandoned, He performed a number of religious acts in this Holy city, revered almost as much by the Maho. metans as the Chriftians. The mofque, called the temple of Solomon, was the principal object of his curiofity. Selim facrificed a fheep there. he distributed a great many alms during the three days that he paffed at Jerufalem, after which he went Heg. 924 went and rejoined his army a little way from J.C. 1518. Gaza. Sinan bashaw received his emperor at the gates of this ruined town, at the head of the troops with which he had gained the battle. The fultan loaded his general, and those who accompanied him, with the encomiums that their victory merited. He established his quarters in Gaza, and, a few days after, reviewed his army, which he found full of impatience to penetrate into Egypt. The road from Gaza to Grand Cairo is one continued loofe, fandy, burning foil, almost impracticable for an army, on account of the clouds of duft which the march of the foldiers must neceffarily raife in the air, which blinds the men and horfes, ftops the refpiration, and corrupts the provifions, which are moreover exceedingly scarce in the deferts of Africa; the fmall quantity of rain which falls, not being fufficient always to fill fome cifterns, the fole refource of travellers. But nature seemed to confpire for Selim. Ever fince the arrival of the Ottoman army in the plains of Gaza, a plentiful rain had beaten down the clouds of fand, confolidated the earth, and furnished a quantity of water fufficient for the march of the army. The freshnefs of the airhad tempered the rays of the fun; thus this march, which had been expected to be fatal to the weakest, and trying for all, was but a play for foldiers already vanquishers, and who expected to march to certain conquefts. On the arrival J.C.1518. of the Turks within fix miles of Grand Cairo, Heg. 924. near a place called Ridania, in a large, level plain, they met the army of Tumambei. The foudan commanded forty thoufand Mammelukes, the remains of that brave foldiery, whom misfortune only irritated, and who were determined to recover Egypt, or perish in the attempt. Gazeli, the lieutenant of the Mamelukes, who had commanded at the laft defeat, longed to revenge his difafter, and repair the honor of his arms. He meets the Mam The largeness of the place permitting what melukes. order of battle the two armies might like, the Battle of Ridania Mammelukes, who expected victory only from where the defeated. latter are their defpair, attacked all together in a fingle rank and with one common effort. The first onfet was terrible and advantageous for the Mammelukes, as it had been in almost all their battles. Tumambei's orders were, to ftrike at all the chiefs of the troops and the officers of diftinction. In the beginning of the battle, the brave Sinan bafhaw perished by the hands of Gazeli; but his blood was dearly purchafed by. the Mammelukes. The janiffaries, penetrated with grief at feeing their general fall, eagerly endeavoured to revenge him. Without entering into particulars on which historians always differ, we shall content ourselves with faying, that, after a terrible flaughter on both fides, Tumambei ordered the retreat to be founded in order to fave the laft hope of the Mammelukęs; that this re treat |