IV. D7.CV1. OF THE SUDAN 371

XCVI And Ragab pushed forward until he reached the village of Shadli. And as they marched Sheikh Mahmud el Magdhub used to

say " O Sennar the flames have come upon thee ! " and at times " The flood has quenched the flame!"; and on the eve of the battle he said "I and thou!" — referring to the [impending] death of himself and Sheikh Ragab.

XCVII And the armies met at a place called el Teras and fought, and Sheikh Ragab and el Hag Mahmud were slain.

XCVIII Now the sons of Sheikh Ragab were Muhammad and Doka and Badi and Hasan and 'Ali and Ibrahim and Kamatu.

XCIX And it is said of el Hag Mahmud that after he had been buried the call to prayer used to be heard nightly at his tomb, for in

his lifetime he was a muedhdhin ("one who calls to prayer").

C And when Sheikh Ragab had been killed his troops fled in dis-

order and reached the village of 'Abud, and when they had camped there they were all of different minds and some said one thing and some another, but in the end they decided to scatter in flight.

CI Then the feki Hegazi Abu Zayd sent to them and bade them be of good heart and promised them victory and said he would inspire them ; so they were reassured and made Sheikh Nasir walad Muham-

mad their Sheikh. This was in 1202^. CII And Sheikh Nasir remained at el Tomat for two years and then moved to Taiba Kandalawi for a space.

CIII Meanwhile King 'Adlan was being treated for his illness, and [on his recovery] he prepared a mighty host and appointed to com-

mand it el Ami'n Rahma walad Katfawi, with whom were Muhammad walad Khamis Abu Rida and a number of the great men of the Fung.

CIV The armies met at a place called Intarahna and a fierce battle followed. The troops of the king were routed, but among the Hamag

was slain 'Ali walad Salatin, the son of Sheikh Muhammad and brother

of Ibrahim, a man renowned for his bravery.

CV And there was great slaughter among the troops of the Mek,

and some of them were drowned in the river. And Sheikh Nasir's men pursued them and drove them into Sennar. Then the Mek was exceedingly sorry that he had not accompanied his troops in person, and so great was his grief that he sur\4ved but a few days and then died.

CVI But Sheikh Nasir encamped with his army at el Labayh and

closely besieged the Mek's troops, and the population fell into dire straits, so that finally the Mek's army sallied forth to give him battle; but they were discomfited before any fighting actually took place,

1 1787 A.D.

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