hadow where he rewards the deserving."

Moved by such an appeal, Yousouf came with his armies, defeated the
Christians under Alfonso at the terrible battle of Zalakah, and would
have followed up his victory had he not been recalled to Morocco by the
death of his son. He returned to Spain soon after, however, and then
began a conquest in his own interests, having made up his mind that the
emirs could be easily dispossessed and that it would be good to rule as
the absolute master of all Andalusia. Beginning with Granada, he
attacked the emirs each in turn, and in the end subdued them all. Aben
Abed, the Emir of Seville and one of the most learned men in Spain, was
so beside himself at the thought of this possible defeat, that he sought
for aid in any quarter and finally entreated the assistance of the
redoubtable Alfonso, his late enemy. As proof of his good faith and by
way of inducement, Aben Abed decided to offer to Alfonso the hand of his
daughter, Zaida, in marriage. If the traditions be correct, Zaida was a
Christian at heart, in spite of her Mohammedan education and
surroundings, as the Castilians claimed that she had been converted in a
dream in which Saint Isidoro had come to her and prevailed upon her to
change her faith. In any event, Alfonso seems to have been only too glad
to accept this offer, and Zaida was accordingly escorted in great state
to Toledo, which had lately been wrested from the Moors; there she was
baptized as Maria Isabella, and then married to the king with much
ceremony. This Moorish princess was a perfect beauty of the Oriental
type, with dark hair and oval face, and Alfonso may well have been
enamored of her charms; but he was no less enamored of her marriage
portion, which consisted of the rich cities of Cucuca, Ucles, and Huate.
The new queen was hailed with joy by the Christians, as her conversion
was considered prophetic of the ultimate and complete success of
Alfonso's armies. Unfortunately, Zaida lived for but a short time after
her marriage; she died in giving birth to Alfonso's only son, who was
named Sancho. Aben Abed's alliance with the Christian monarch for their
mutual defence was without final result, however, as he was at last
compelled to surrender Seville in 1091, after a stubborn resistance.
Aben Abed was exiled, with his wife and daughters, and was sent to the
castle of Aginat, in Africa, to live his life away. There, if the
reports be true, their food was so scanty that t