CHAPTER VII.

HOW THE CALIF OF BAUDAS TOOK COUNSEL TO SLAY ALL THE

CHRISTIANS IN HIS LAND.

I will tell you then this great marvel that occurred between Baudas and

Mausul.

It was in the year of Christ{1} ... that there was a Calif at Baudas

who bore a great hatred to Christians, and was taken up day and night

with the thought how he might either bring those that were in his

kingdom over to his own faith, or might procure them all to be slain.

And he used daily to take counsel about this with the devotees and

priests of his faith,{2} for they all bore the Christians like malice.

And, indeed, it is a fact, that the whole body of Saracens throughout

the world are always most malignantly disposed towards the whole body

of Christians.

Now it happened that the Calif, with those shrewd priests of his, got

hold of that passage in our Gospel which says, that if a Christian

had faith as a grain of mustard seed, and should bid a mountain be

removed, it would be removed. And such indeed is the truth. But when

they had got hold of this text they were delighted, for it seemed to

them the very thing whereby either to force all the Christians to

change their faith, or to bring destruction upon them all. The Calif

therefore called together all the Christians in his territories, who

were extremely numerous. And when they had come before him, he showed

them the Gospel, and made them read the text which I have mentioned.

And when they had read it he asked them if that was the truth? The

Christians answered that it assuredly was so. “Well,” said the Calif,

“since you say that it is the truth, I will give you a choice. Among

such a number of you there must needs surely be this small amount of

faith; so you must either move that mountain there,”—and he pointed to

a mountain in the neighbourhood—“or you shall die an ill death; unless

you choose to eschew death by all becoming Saracens and adopting our

Holy Law. To this end I give you a respite of ten days; if the thing

be not done by that time, ye shall die or become Saracens.” And when

he had said this he dismissed them, to consider what was to be done in

this strait wherein they were.

NOTE 1.—The date in the G. Text and Pauthier is 1275, which of

course cannot have been intended. Ramusio has 1225.

[The Khalifs in 1225 were Abu’l Abbas Ahmed VII. en-Nassir lidini

’llah (1180–1225) and Abu Nasr Mohammed IX. ed-Dhahir bi-emri ’llah

(1225–1226).—H. C.]

NOTE 2.—“_Cum sez regisles et cum sez casses._” (G. T.) I suppose

the former expression to be a form of _Regules_, which is used in

Polo’s book for persons of a religious _rule_ or order, whether

Christian or Pagan. The latter word (_casses_) I take to be the

Arabic _Kashísh_, properly a Christian Presbyter, but frequently

applied by old travellers, and habitually by the Portuguese

(_caxiz, caxix_), to Mahomedan Divines. (See _Cathay_, p. 568.) It

may, however, be _Kází_.

Pauthier’s text has simply “à ses prestres de la Loi.”