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.”