_ 59 _ The viceroy received this message in Goa, at the same time as some ambassadors from the King of Basra arrived. In alliance with the Gizares, who were great enemies of the Turks and lived in the islands at the mouth of the Euphrates, the king was waging war in the interior against their common enemy who had captured his kingdom fromhim. He sent a request to the viceroy through these ambassadors, asking him to help him by sending a fleet merely to keep a watch on that port, because he and all the Arab kings, his neighbours, were in the countryside with 30,000 men waiting to expel the Turks and recover that city. He offered to hand over to the King of Portugal the fortress built on the bar and half the revenues of the custom house. When the viceroy had read the letters and heard the ambassadors, he realised the importance of the situation, so he summoned the the nobles and captains to the Council and presented the problem to them. He read out the letter and explained what the King of Basra had asked for and promised. After discussing the matter, they all agreed that it was imperative to dispatch immediately a fleet with troops to
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