the education of the young nobles and pages about the Court--youths
destined to places of influence in Church and State. She was not a
little surprised when the reputed savant modestly deprecated his
qualifications for such a responsible undertaking, and declared his
wish was to join in the crusade against the infidels in Andalusia.
Some mirth was even provoked by the idea of the foreign scholar
masquerading as a soldier.

In 1489, King Ferdinand, who had assembled a powerful force at Jaen,
marched to the assault of Baza, a strong place, ably defended at
that time by Abdullah, known under the proud title of El Zagal--the
Victorious--because of his many victories over the Christian armies he
had encountered. During the memorable siege that ended in the fall of
Baza, Peter Martyr played his dual rôle of soldier and historian. The
Moors defended the city with characteristic bravery, for they were
fighting for their property, their liberty, and their lives. From
Jaen, where Isabella had established herself to be near the seat
of war, messages of encouragement daily reached the King and his
commanders, inciting them to victory, for which the Queen and her
ladies daily offered prayers. Impregnable Baza fell on the fourth of
December, and, with its fall, the Moorish power in Spain was forever
broken. Smaller cities and numerous strongholds in the surrounding
country hastened to offer their submission and, after the humiliating
surrender of El Zagal in the Spanish camp at Tabernas, Almeria opened
its gates to the triumphant Christians who sang _Te Deum_ within its
walls on Christmas day. Peter Martyr's description of this victorious
campaign has proved a rich source from which later writers have
generously drawn, not always with adequate acknowledgment. From Jaen
the Court withdrew to Seville, where the marriage of the princess
royal to the crown prince of Portugal was celebrated.