Newes come latle frō Pera, of two most mighti Armies as wel of Fotemē as of Horsmē, trāslated out of Italien, to Frē che and so into Engleshe. And first of the great Duke of Moscouia & of the Soffy, And ye othere of an Hebrewe people neuer spoken of before, foūde not lōg ago comming from ye Mountaines called Caspii, with a newe inuenciō of Weapons, with ye nomber of ye Squadrons, and with the names of two Earles & Capitayns. And the cause whi ye great Turk hath forbyddē wyne, with mani other newes neuer hard of.
AFter ye particuler thinges alleged in mi writynge, to your lordship, I thought it good and conuenient by this my letter to aduertise you singularelie of certayne great, horrible, & feareful thinges that are reported in this quarter. In the other letter that I wrote vnto your lordship I shewed you the pompe and great triumphe at the presentinge of the capitaine of the sea, vnto the great Turke, The miserye and vnhappines of the poore prysoners. The dyscords and contention that came by the sonne of ye Vice Roy of Naples, beinge prisoner.
The threatninges made to the Christians. The receiuinge of ye ambassadours of the Soffy. The pompes, tryumphes, & intertaynementes made vnto thē, and yet dissembled inough with mocking one the other, at their departing.
The presents giuen. The going of ye great Turke a Huntinge, & al [...]r thinges writen at large, [...] [...]derstod of your lordship. But ī another letter of mine I told you of the preparation of [...] armye: of ye braue & proud Triumphe of this Turke & howe ye chaunged sodainly euen in a momēt [...] a murning [...]or heauē toke these [Page] thinges ī disdayne bi a great mortalite and death, which was so much the worse bicause ye begane in the beginnyng of Somer. Ther happened also afterward ī the same towne (paraduē ture neuer the lyke) to wete, a great & continuall derth of al thinges. A horible and fearfull chaunce whiche was vpō the Sea called Mare Maius, the losse of the great multitud of shippes the sorow of the great Turke for the prohibjciō of wine to his losse and hedrance more thā a hundreth and fifty thousand Ducates. The cruelty vsed toward a Turk that had dronk wine puttynge him to death by powringe molten Leade into his throte. The driuing out of whores of this towne The prohibiciō and forbydding that no Christiā being maried, may dwell there, the defence that no Turke shal were any Beard. Al ye which things eyther causeth a great wondering, fere, [...] sorow, so that mē say that the grea [...] [...]ke raueth, or yt he do the yt for ye nons, to the intent that his sōne Selim [...] returning these forsaid thinges unto him (myght get the fauoure of the Genissaries. I haue dyscoursed this, and can yet make rehersal of many thinges vpon these matters [...] [Page] thing of greater importāce dyd pluck me away from it, and so I leue it of.
But now men shal vnderstād at this tyme the greatest, the most wōderful & most horrible thinge that euer was herde of. The which partli hath so trobled ye greate Turke. and al the reste, that the haue left of al other affaires, to prouyde for the peril & danger that at this time hangeth ouer their heade & carieth them. Newes are come that the kyng of Spayne waketh a greate armye, which shal haue for his eide ye Galeys of Gene of Malte, of Florēce of Naple, & of mani other Princes of christendome. And they sai more ouer that the king of France wil help therin, and that the most part of Christiā Prynces wyll come and ayde hym in this enterprice, except the most noble state & Sinorie of venyce which meddeleth nothing at all it. These reporters of newes affirme that there shall more thē a hundreth galeys, besyde other Barkes Shippes and Hulkes wt out nōber, which is occasion that thei hast the armye the more. The whiche thyng not withstandyng men esteme not so much as the ware that is made beyond the Mountaynes, as you shal vnderstand not wythout gret wondering [Page] at it. The Tartares make freendes vpon the greter sea & haue made a leage and frendshippe with ye great Turke, requiringe ayde, for they are molested with warre by ye gret duke of Moscouia, and prince of Sagodie, of Pogore, of Smo [...]egye, of Drossye, of Gazam, of Virg [...]los [...]m, of Cerearie, of cham, of Bieracham, lateli gotten of the Cirenssiens, and of diuers other people and regions lyenge toward the South. They say that this emperour or duke hath two armyes, and is called Iho [...] Dw [...]tillo, a yong mā of the age of .xxiiii. yeares, noble and valiaunt, and a christiā after the institucion of the Grekes, and presumeth that by reason of his bloude the empire of Constātinople doth belōg to him. And these two armies are about a two hundred thousand horse. They were not wont in time past to be so stronge, nor so feared of ye Turkes, for they had not the vse of artillarie in the warre. But now they haue maruaylous great preparaciō their warre. He hathe in wages certayne Duch capitaynes. And aboute a ten thousand maister gonners, & is meruelous well furneshed with harkebuses & artillery. And because mē vnderstand that he hath so drest ye Tartariēs [Page] & brought them to such a state that the cā not much more resist him. And that if yt sayde Moscouites shoulde be maisters ouer ye Tartares the should consequentli be rulers of the greater sea, & the way should be opē and easy for them to come, not only to Constā tinople, but also to dryue ye turke out of Europe. And because that the said great Turke is assured of this enterpryse and commociō of the Greekes, he hath concluded & deteermined, to sēd to they sayd Tartares a good assystaunce of fiftene thousand fightinge men & also for this purpose he hathe sent to the sea, tē galeyes to passe thē ouer. Men make menciō and dought of Mōdatcio, which is a great prince and rular, & able to make fourscore or a hundred thousand horse. And yet mē are vncertaine whose part he wil take, because he is tributar: vnto the great Turke. Ther is newes also frō Affrica, that the king of Bugien, the king of Tramece, the king of Tunts the children of Serit. The lorde of Murocho & of Gran with the Arrabians and other haue takē in hād to driue and expulse the turke holly out of Affrica, and to endomage the sayd turke as much as the may. Mē know not well yet in what place they wyll warre. But we shal know it shortely [Page] The newys also is that ye Soffy is in Campe with a great army, and hath the Medes to helpe him which border vpon the Caspian Sea, and of on side neighbour to ye Hyreās, called at this daye Correxans and Necotans, with whō he hath made a League & peace. And ther are on hys syde also the Ibeians, and Albanians, and also the people of Melibax whych border vpō the Yndians, and likewise with the king of Bosphorus, all beyng peple meruelous swift & nymble. In this so mighty an host and armie is also Baicey ye sōne of the great Turke, By meanes wherof, all in those partes is in grate trouble, as well as here, It seemeth yt the Genyssaryes bring him the lot of Turki, as Baduget, Nermonia, Alepo, and al the Region lyeng nere to ye Soffe is reuolted, Al the which particularites shalbe vnderstode moore at large. This newes is great, and hath made ye great Turke to muse inough vpō it. But aboue all these maruelus and dreadfull newes which ar happened ther is yet chaūced another which hath sered & a bashed generally all mē which neuerthelesse seemeth to be incredible. And yet it is most certaine & that is, that a people here to fore vnknowen, [Page] myghty, swifte, and meruelous nymble, hath taken weapō ī hād to the dysaduantage & losse of ye howse of Ottoman. They say that Alexāder the great did ī tyme past dryue beyōd the Mountayne Caspe nyne trybes & a halfe of the Hebrewes wich worshiped the Calfe and Serpēt of gold, and draue them a waye, yt neuer sins there was no newes of them, nether knewe any man yf thei were in the worlde or not. But bycause the sea of Sand or ye sandy sea, By a certaine incōueniēce of sād Grauell or Beche, swelled and rose so high yt it vtterly toke from thē the wai into this our regiō. But now by the meane of the newe Nauigaciō that the Spaneardes haue made, thei ar ariued in their country, and haue espied out al their doynges. And after that the said Spaniardes had instructed and taught them they science and knowledge of artyllerye, & gon poulder for Harkebuses & Dagges whervnto there horses ar maruelous apt & ready, the are becō in al thinges verye parfyt. After this, the egged them for warde to take weapon in hand and to passe ye sayde Mountain by land. And bycause the sea of sand o [...] the sandy se dyd hynder th [...]r passage, it appereth [Page] yt some Spaniard or Italien, which yet men know not, but not withstanding, some great Astrologian or Cosmographer taught thē ye way makīg some hill playne with her, so that the made thē selues a wai veriely, which is a thīg of great wonder. Now these peple haue two mighty great armies & infinite victuals, they coūtrey beīg very fertyle & fruitful, & also almaner of preporaciō for warre, & there are Spaniardes amōg them so wel exercised in the feate of Artillerye, as hād gōnes and dagges. that is a wonder. And they saye, that they wyll come & recouer ye lande of promise, towarde the which the first armi is already veri nere, not without great terror and dread of euery man, which hath bene sene of dyuers & nombred, and finally report to the great turke, bothe the number and quātitee as you shal vnderstand here folowing.
The spies say, not only one, but many, that would see and vnderstand al thinges, that the Saugiatari whiche border vpon them & are their neighbours wryte & testifie, that besyde a hundred and [...]o armyes ther folow other infinit [...] people, as wel fotemen, as horsemen, and yt first armye is alredy [Page] arryued vpon the limytes & borders of the Turkes, and put al to fire and sworde. And their langage is bastard Ebrew. And because mē speake of it much heare: I wyll not forget to speake also some thing therof worthi to be noted, and wel vnderstode. The Hebreues of Constātinoble saye that the [...] [...]atie certayne prophesies amōg the whyche the one maketh mencion that from the fower parte of ye world shall ryse a people and come īto Gog & Magog, and then shall appeare (as they perswade them selues ther Messias in might and power, & then they shall haue domynyon and rule in the world, wherof they secretly reioyce & are wonderous glad. They say more ouer that ther is a Prophesie grauē ī a pillar set at Podromo, which saith thus. A mighty prince shall rise, whose beginning shall be of small reputacion, but he shall ware of suche force and strengthe (with the helpe of god (that he shal bring to nothing the empire and rule of Ottoman, & shall be the righte possessour and inherytour of ye empire of Constantinoble. And the valeur [...] [...]be this Emperour & d [...]e [...] [...], which is [Page] all ready in great estymacion among the Greckes. The Turkes haue a propheci which thei syng al waies in weepping bytterly, which berokeneth & denounceth vnto the their vtter ruin and destrucciō. And although it sems straūg to say yt the Turkes haue prophesies, it is no meruele: For Balam was a false Prophete. The Sybilles prophesied & were Paganes. For all these causes the great Turk hath forbydden wyne, and wyll that almē go true tymes in a day to the Moschea, & pray to god for their helth and saftie. And so he prepareth .3. great Armyes on a gaynst the Moscouites, another againe the Soffy, and the third for to go agaynste the Hebrewes of ye Moū taynes of Caspii. Within these fewe dais you shal haue other news, wherfore this making an ende I commende me vnto your good grace
The descripcion of the fyrst Armye of the Ebrewes.
FYrst of all of ye trybe of Ruben a kyng of very great stature of a fleshi colour, more red thē otherwyse, withe brode eies, called Loroam, is capitaine general of al the Armyes which ledeth vnder hys Ensaigne twelue thousand Horse & xx thousand fote men. The horsemen are Armed after a lyght sort but veri good Harnese almost after our faciō. The crri long launces of long redes veri hard and lyght, so sharp pointed that the passe thorowe a thing so lightely that it is incredable. The cary shyld or Targetes of bone, & in stead of swordes certayne Courtylasses.
They are aparayled with the colour of ther ensaigne, and al clothed with Sylke. The fote mē carry Pykes of the same sorte with Helmet & Habergyn. Their Ensaigne is of black silk & blewe, with a Dogge folowinge a Hart or Bucke and a sayeng wryttē in it which is in our tong eyther quyke or deade.
ii. Of the Trybe of Gad.
THere is one called Fares whyche is an Erle, younge and valyan [...] not regardyng this presente lyfe. This man hathe fiftene hundred horsemen armed lightly onely on the fore part and head peece: but this armure is so wel tempered and wrought that it kepeth out alance and harquebuse-shotte.
This manner of arminge them selfe the prynce, to the intent the maye neuer turne ther backe to runne away. The bane also fiers and light horses. There are eyghtene thousand footemen appareled with a kynd of sodod leather, of the skyn of a certane beast, so that no pike nor hargebushe canne perle it. These mē are beastly people which wyl neuer fly for any thinge, and are very obedyet and subiect vnto ther prynce, they are apparelled in silke. And the eseigne is a falcon pecking or byllynge with another birde with a sentence that saieth. Ether thine or mine shal breake,
iii. Of the tribe of Asser.
THere is a Marquise of galair called Gooes. Thys man leadeth fyftene hundred mē at armes, which be all excedynglye well armed, & it oute, strōge, and rebust men Theyr horses be moryskes, the greatest the strongest, the fayreste, and the beste that be in the world. There are also seuētene thousand souldyars very well ordred and apoynted with lance & Harquebuse. Their Ensine or armes is a red field with a mayde clothed in greene, holdynge a lyon in her hande, and hathe these wordes I hope to subdue a greater thynge.
iiii. Of the tribe of Neptalym.
THer is a duke of Falach, called Obeth, who hath vnder his cō duct .xx. thousand footmen armed with a certayne metal lyke yron but it is light & hard. They haue māi good swordes, lances and other force Harquebuses and witie lars. Theyr Enseigne or armes is a Mermayd in a blacke fyeld, & thei deuise thus. My singing shall not ceasse vntyl death.
V. Manasses.
OF ye Trybe of Monasses ther is a Captayn called Natison which hath vnder hym .xx. thousād mē apointed & armed with ye skine of a serpent moste hard & stiffe The haue axes or Pollaxes, Pikes, Harquebushes, and other kyndes of weapons shewing a great brauery. And ther Ensene or armes is a whit [...] snale in a black fyelde, with a deuyle a boute it. By lyttle and little mē goe verye farre.
vi. Of the tribe of Symeon the [...] [...] prince of Arsai whose nāe is not yet knowen. But thei saye he is a deuyll, greate, grosse, & thycke beyond measure, with a statte nose, and bothe he & his men are so of the stature of gyantes. And leadeth wyth hym twety thousand fotemen almost al Alfiers. Which are also swifte and nymbell, that they wyl take horses runnynge, thei make a meruelous noyse such as no people vse. There Enseigne is an Cute in a black fielde, & haue for ther posy. Such is my gouerment.