_ 57 _ I told him that if he was willing to swear it would be a very good thing, and I ordered a solemn oath to be administered by Garcia della Penha, the interpreter of this fortress. Under this oath he told me that the main reason for his coming was that he was a loyal friend to the Portuguese and would inform me of everything he learnt about Ayyaz Pasha, who is the principal captain in Baghdad and the one who came to capture Basra; and also about Muhammad Pasha, who is the Captain of Basra, and about all other areas. He knew that Ayyaz Pasha intended to make Basra a very prosperous commercial centre so that it would make a great deal of money for the Grand Turk. Rustan Pasha, the Guazil and son-in-law of the Grand Turk,had belittled the capture of Basra and had said that it was of no use and a pile of ruins. This has made for great hostility between them, and even before this they had not been friends. For this reason Ayyaz Pasha is making every effort to make Basra an outstanding city, to bring in a great deal of money for the Turk, and in this and other matters he is doing everything he can. I asked him about the fortress of Basra, what it was like and whether any building work had been done there, and he told me that nothing had been done. I asked him
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