_ 216 _ In command of them was the son of Fartharac, King of that island, whose possession was the most highly valued in Arabia among Saracens and Christians alike because of its suitability for making sea voyages in all directions, and because it conferred virtual mastery of the Arabian and Persian Gulfs. When our men had disembarked, the King’s son came out of the castle with his armed men. Defeated and beaten back, they returned in fear to the castle. Our men, at their heels and mingling with them at the same time, burst into the Castle. A bitter struggle on both sides lasted for a long time within the castle, but at last the Saracens were killed, for none of them surrendered. Only two were captured, such was their obstinacy and their desire to die rather than be taken prisoner. Then many of the enemy’s weapons were captured, military engines and other war machines, as well as swords which had apparently been brought in by Christians - oh horrible! -, for they were inscribed with the names of Christian craftsmen, in Latin letters, and on a few was even written ‘God help me’; not only to call upon the Saviour, but to declare him as much the Saviour of the enemy as of his servant. When the castle had been captured, the Saracens killed and the island freed, wonderful was the exultation
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