Palace; fortress.
And Alimaymon ordered fair palaces to be edified for him, by the wall of the Alcazar, on the outer part, that the Moors of the city might do no displeasure neither to him nor to his companions: and they were hard by a garden of the King's, that he might go out and disport himself therein whensoever it pleased him.
And when they came to the gate which is called Visagra, the messengers who went with him made him enter the town, and he sent one of them to tell the King that he was there, and went on in the meantime towards the Alcazar.
When my Cid had thus encamped, he went to look at the Alcazar, and see if he could by any means enter it.
And Aboeza adorned the Alcazar right nobly, that Yahia and his women and they of his company might lodge within.
The most honourable of his knights took up their lodging in the town, and the cross-bow men and others of low degree lodged round about the Alcazar, and in certain dwellings which were between it and the Mosque, and Alvar Fanez and the Christians who were with him, in the village which was called Ruzaf.
And the first day he entered the lower part of the town, but Abenmazot retired to the Alcazar and the fortresses, and defended the upper part; and the King besieged him there for four months, attacking him every day, till food began to fail both in the army of the King and in the town.
When Abenalfange heard this it pleased him well, and he sent one of his Alcaydes, who was called the Left-handed, to enter the Alcazar, and help to defend it till he could collect a company of Christians who might deal with Alvar Fanez.
So that Left-handed one entered the Alcazar with his company, and the Lord of the Castle which was called Almenar, was already there to help Abenmazot, and encourage him that he should not submit.
And when the King of Zaragoza and the Cid drew nigh unto Valencia, Yahia went out to welcome them, and thanked them greatly for coming to his assistance; and he lodged them in the great garden, which was called the Garden of Villa Nueva, and honoured them greatly and sent them great presents: and he invited them afterwards to come with their honourable men and be his guests in the Alcazar.
And the King and the Guazil bestirred themselves and gathered together foot-soldiers and cross-bow men to defend the Alcazar, and sent speedily to Zaragoza, telling the Cid to come; but he could not set forth so speedily as need was: and the stir which was in the city endured for full twenty days.
And he went to the Alcazar to take counsel with the King, and they gave order that the gates of the town should be barred, and that the walls should be manned.
And the men of the town came to his help, and when he saw the company that were on his side, he came forth and went with them to the Alcazar, and entered it and took the Guazil of the Cid.
And the Almoravides took possession of the Alcazar, and plundered it.
Now the King when he fled from the Alcazar had taken with him the best of his treasures, pearls, among which was one the most precious and noble that could be, so that nowhere was there a better one to be found, nor so good; and precious stones, sapphires and rubies and emeralds; he had with him a casket of pure gold full of these things; and in his girdle he had hidden a string of precious stones and of pearls, such that no King had so rich and precious a thing as that carkanet.
Moreover he made no account of the Alcayde of the Almoravides who held the Alcazar, neither took counsel with him concerning anything, and he gave no heed to him except to supply him and his company with their charges, which he did right sparingly.
And when it was night Abenmoxiz and his friends and the two keepers agreed to seize the Alcazar, which was the place wherein they were imprisoned, and to beat the alarm, and raise a cry for the King of Zaragoza; and they thought the men of the town would join with them, and then they would go to the house of Abeniaf and lay hands on him.
And they did accordingly, and beat a drum, and sent a cryer upon the tower of the Mosque to bid all the people assemble at the Alcazar.
In short time all they who were on his side, both horse and foot, assembled together, and then they knew what it was; and he bade them go to the Alcazar and take Abenmoxiz, and all that held with him.
Abenmoxiz this while was at the gate of the Alcazar with his little company, thinking that the whole town would join him; and behold Abeniaf's company came up and charged him; and he thought to defend himself with the few that were with him, but the most part fled, and he with four others was taken; and they led them with great shame to the house of Abeniaf, who sent him to prison, and gave orders to smite off the heads of the others.
Now there was no food to be bought in the city, and the people were in the waves of death: and men were seen to drop and die in the streets, and the Place of the Alcazar round about the walls thereof was full of graves, and there was no grave which had fewer than ten bodies in it.
Say therefore what ye would have, and I will do that which I think behoveth me: but in this manner, that my dwelling place be within the city of Valencia, in the Alcazar, and that my Christian men have all the fortresses in the city.
And he alighted at the Alcazar, and gave order to lodge all his men round about it, and he bade them plant his banner upon the highest tower of the Alcazar.
And on the morrow the honourable Moors of Valencia assembled together in the Alcazar as they had been commanded to do, and the Cid took his seat upon the estrado, and all the honourable men round about him, and he spake unto them after this manner: Good men of the Aljama of Valencia, ye know how I served and defended King Yahia your Lord, and ye also, until his death.
This was near the Alcazar, and there the Cid went oftenest to hear service.
Two hundred knights did he order out to meet them, others he bade to keep the Alcazar, and the other high towers, and all the gates and entrances.
Who can tell the rejoicings that were made that day, throwing at the board, and killing bulls! My Cid led them to the Alcazar, and took them up upon the highest tower thereof, and there they looked around and beheld Valencia, how it lay before them, and the Great Garden with its thick shade, and the sea on the other side; and they lifted up their hands to thank God.
Then the Cid assembled together the Christians in the Alcazar, and when they were assembled, he rose upon his feet and said, Friends and kinsmen and vassals, praised be God and holy Mary Mother, all the good which I have in the world I have here in Valencia; with hard labour I won the city, and hold it for my heritage, and for nothing less than death will I leave it.
On the morrow the Cid took Dona Ximena by the hand, and her daughters with her, and made them go up upon the highest tower of the Alcazar, and they looked towards the sea and saw the great power of the Moors, how they came on and drew nigh, and began to pitch their tents round about Valencia, beating their tambours and with great uproar.
But he bade Alvar Salvadores and Galind Garcia and all those who were under them, remain and look with heart and soul to the safety of Valencia, and not open the gates of the Alcazar neither by day nor by night, for his wife and daughters were there, in whom he had his heart and soul, and the other ladies with them; he like a good husband gave order that not one of them should stir out of the Alcazar till he returned.
And he went to the Alcazar.
On the morrow the Cid mounted his horse and rode into Alcudia, and brought the Infantes his sons-in-law from thence with him into the city to the Alcazar, that they might see their brides Dona Elvira and Dona Sol.
Full richly was the Alcazar set out that day, with hangings both above and below, purple and samite, and rich cloth.
The Cid entered between the Infantes, and all that noble company went in after them; and they went into the chief hall of the Alcazar, where Dona Ximena was with her daughters; and when they saw the Cid and the Infantes, they rose up and welcomed them right well.
And when they were all assembled in the Alcazar and his sons-in-law with them, the Cid told them the news, and took counsel with them in what manner they should go out against this great power of the Moors.
After Suero Gonzalez and his nephews had taken this evil counsel together, they went to their lodging, and on the morrow they went to the Alcazar and came to the Cid where he was preparing for business.
And when the Cid heard this, he took both his sons-in-law and Suero Gonzalez with them, and went upon the highest tower of the Alcazar, and showed them the great power which King Bucar of Morocco had brought; and when he beheld this great power he began to laugh and was exceeding glad: but Suero Gonzalez and his nephews were in great fear: howbeit they would not let it be seen.
And when they reached Valencia and went into the Alcazar to their mother Dona Ximena, who can tell the lamentation which was made by the mother over her daughters, and the daughters with their mother, and by the women of their household.
When you hold your Cortes let it be in those Palaces of Galiana, for there is better room there than in the Alcazar.
And the King called for Count Don Remond his son-in-law, and gave the knights of the Cid to his charge, and bade them not depart from him; and then the King rose and returned to the Alcazar.
And the Cid gave order that the beasts should be taken care of, and he went to the Alcazar and took the Moor with him; and when they came to Dona Ximena the Moor humbled himself before her and her daughters, and would have kissed her hand, but she would not give it him.
And it came to pass one day, the Cid having risen from sleep and being in his Alcazar, there came before him an Alfaqui whom he had made Alcalde of the Moors; his name was Alfaraxi, and he it was who made the lamentation for Valencia, as is recorded in this history.
Early on the morrow he sent to call all his honourable men to the Alcazar; and when they were all assembled before him, he began to say unto them, weeping the while, Friends and kinsmen and true vassals and honourable men, many of ye must well remember when King Don Alfonso our Lord twice banished me from his land, and most of ye for the love which ye bore me followed me into banishment, and have guarded me ever since.
Then he arose and took leave of the people, weeping plenteously, and returned to the Alcazar, and betook himself to his bed, and never rose from it again; and every day he waxed weaker and weaker, till seven days only remained of the time appointed.
And then all the honourable men, and all the clergy who were in Valencia, assembled and carried it to the Church of St. Mary of the Virtues, which is near the Alcazar, and there they kept their vigil, and said prayer and performed masses, as was meet for so honourable a man.
And when they saw that no person appeared on any side, Abenalfarax returned again into the town, and there went with him a great company of the best Moors; and they went into the Alcazar, and looked through all the halls and chambers, and they found neither man nor living thing; but they saw written upon a wall in Arabic characters by Gil Diaz, how the Cid Ruydiez was dead, and that they had carried him away in that manner to conquer King Bucar, and also to the end that none might oppose their going.