Italians--in all, about 15,000 men, with twelve pieces of artillery,
embarked on fifty-five vessels.

On the 4th of August the opposing forces met. The Moorish monarch, who
was stricken with a fatal disorder, was carried on a litter to the
field, and died while struggling with his attendants, who refused to
allow him to rush into the thick of the fight. The Portuguese were
routed with great slaughter, notwithstanding the valour with which
they were led by Don Sebastian. Two horses were killed under the
Christian king; the steed on which he rode was exhausted, and the
handful of followers who remained with him entreated him to surrender.
Sebastian indignantly refused, and again dashed into the middle of the
fray. From this moment his fate is uncertain. Some suppose that he was
taken prisoner, and that his captors beginning to dispute among
themselves as to the possession of so rich a prize, one of the Moorish
officers slew him to prevent the rivalry ending in bloodshed. Another
account, however, affirms that he was seen after the battle, alone and
unattended, and apparently seeking some means of crossing the river.
On the following day search was made for his body, Don Nuno
Mascarcuhas, his personal attendant, having stated that he saw him put
to death with his own eyes. At the spot which the Portuguese noble
indicated, a body was found, which, though naked, Resende, a valet of
Sebastian, recognised as that of his master. It was at once conveyed
to the tent of Muley Hamet, the brother and successor of Muley Moluc,
and was there identified by the captive Portuguese nobles. That their
grief was sincere there could be no doubt; and the Moorish king having
placed the royal remains in a handsome coffin, delivered them for a
heavy ransom to the Spanish ambassador, by whom they were forwarded to
Portugal, where they were buried with much pomp.