Chronicles of al-Sūdān (Taʾrīḫ al-Sūdān)

13. Sound of gunfire and last battle of Maḥmūd Pasha

Almina Wālu
Title
Sound of gunfire and last battle of Maḥmūd Pasha
Short description
The sound of gunfire is heard from the army of Maḥmūd b. Zarqūn Pasha.
Text on source
فلمّا كان اخر الليل ذهب الكفّار في اربعين راميا وعشرة من اهل تنبكت المولدين ولا خبر عند الجيش الّا اصوات المدافع يسمعونها تخبط فوق الجبل عند طلوع الفجر ففزعوا واسرعوا الى موضع قباه فلم يجدوه فيها فتوجّهوا نحوا الجبل فتلقّوا من نجا من اصحابه واخبروهم انه مات وقائد كاغ القائد عليّ بن المصطفى ومن قدّر الله موته معهما فلمّا رموه بالنشاب وطاح على الارض احتمله اولاد تنبكت على اعناقهم لياتوا به الى الجيش ضايق عليهم الكفّار فرموه [ص. ١٧٥-١٧٦]
English translation
When morning was near, Pasha Maḥmūd went after the pagans at the head of forty musketeers and ten men of Timbuktu of mixed descent.The [main body of the] troops knew nothing until they heard the sound of gunfire [aṣwāt al-madāfiʿ] rapping out from the mountain top at first light. Alarmed, they rushed to Maḥmūd's tent, but did not find him. They made for the mountain and met up with those of his party who had escaped, and were told that he had died, along with the Qāʾid of Gao, ʿAli b. al-Muṣṭafā, and others whose fate God had decreed. After Maḥmūd was struck down by arrows, the men of Timbuktu had to hoist him on their necks to bring him back to the army. But the pagans harrassed them, and they abandoned his body.
Folios/Pages
226-227
Date
1594
Observations on the events description
The Pasha's army is said to have been unaware of the fight until they heard the gunfire. In this case, the armed soldiers were defeated by locals with bows and arrows.
The dots on the map indicate the places where sound and music events were described. They don't represent travel stages.

Participants
Name
Role
Notes
Edit
Delete
Bin Zarqūn, Maḥmūd
Viewer
Military leader (Pasha)


How to quote
Pintimalli A., "Sound of gunfire and last battle of Maḥmūd Pasha" (Event description), Echos. Sound Ecosystems in Travelogues. Published 2024 10 09.

doi: 10.25430/echos.travels.139

This work is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0