_ 187 _ to fall in. Some of them were wounded by arrows and lances which the enemy threw from the walls, together with stones and sticks and even beehives, such was their determination to defend the city. But our men recovered at once and flung themselves at the walls, so that it seems this pleased our Lord and a part of the wall tumbled down. The noblemen who had come with Afonso de Albuquerque went through the gap, together with many of our men, so that when the Arabs reached them, they had already entered the city. This did not prevent them from fighting hard however, and the struggle lasted for about an hour. During it the noblemen and the other men showed their valour by forcing the Arabs to retreat to the city streets. By this time commander-in-chief and our entire forces were already within the walls and another fierce battle followed resulting in the Arabs’ being thrown out of the city. The commander-in-chief gave orders for nobody to pursue them, for the gates to be shut and the walls watched. He also had the wall repaired at the spot where it had been broken. Afterwards he told his men to sack the city, assigning some streets to each of the captains. Here it was almost impossible to walk because the ground was littered with dead bodies of Arabs; 1500 of them perished by the sword, and many others were wounded
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