of the well-appointed chivalry which thronged from all quarters of the
kingdom, amounted on this occasion to twelve thousand horse and forty
thousand foot; a number, which sufficiently attests the unslackened ardor
of the nation in the prosecution of the war. On the 7th of April, King
Ferdinand, putting himself at the head of this formidable host, quitted
the fair city of Cordova amid the cheering acclamations of its
inhabitants, although these were somewhat damped by the ominous occurrence
of an earthquake, which demolished a part of the royal residence, among
other edifices, during the preceding night. The route, after traversing
the Yeguas and the old town of Antequera, struck into a wild, hilly
country, that stretches towards Velez. The rivers were so much swollen by
excessive rains, and the passes so rough and difficult, that the army in
part of its march advanced only a league a day; and on one occasion, when
no suitable place occurred for encampment for the space of five leagues,
the men fainted with exhaustion, and the beasts dropped down dead in the
harness. At length, on the 17th of April, the Spanish army sat down before
Velez Malaga, where in a few days they were joined by the lighter pieces
of their battering ordnance; the roads, notwithstanding the immense labor
expended on them, being found impracticable for the heavier. [1]

The Moors were aware of the importance of Velez to the security of Malaga.
The sensation excited in Granada by the tidings of its danger was so
strong, that the old chief, El Zagal, found it necessary to make an effort
to relieve the beleaguered city, notwithstanding the critical posture in
which his absence would leave his affairs in the capital. Dark clouds of
the enemy were seen throughout the day mustering along the heights, which
by night were illumined with a hundred fires. Ferdinand's utmost vigilance
was required for the protection of his camp against the ambuscades and
nocturnal sallies of his wily foe. At length, however, El Zagal, having
been foiled in a well-concerted attempt to surprise the Christian quarters