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HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY. 39

accompanied by about two hundred Persian boats, and, on the
following morning, disembarked the Persian army of thirteen
thousand men,* v;ho marched to the town " in a confused
manner." They penetrated without resistance to the market-
place, where they found further progress barred by barricades.
The Portuguese, however, appeared to be afraid of being inter-
cepted in their retreat to the castle, and also anticipated
treachery on the part of the Mahomedan inhabitants, for they
were quickly dislodged and retired into the castle. The
Persians then sacked the town, breaking into all the shops and
houses, and " wearied themselves with carrying aw^ay plunder
all day ;" and at night slept out without any military precaution,
" so that had the Portuguese made a sally, they might have
slain numbers."
The Persians now threw u]) trenches, and the English erected
batteries, and also " vsconces," and other works for protecting
the trenches. The Company's vessels, meantime, engaged the
Portuguese fleet, and sent in fire ships, which, on the 24th of
February, destroyed the ' San Pedro,' formerly flagship of
Admiral Andrada's fleet.
On the 17th the Persians exploded a mine under one of the
bastions, charged with forty barrels of pow^der, by which a
practicable breach was made in the salient angle. They then
tried to assault the works, and about two hundred men made
a lodgment in the bastion, but were eventually repulsed by the
Portuguese, who fought with great bravery. By command of
Emaum Kooli Khan, the Persians also set fire to the city, de-
claredly because his soldiers skulked in the houses, and could
not be rallied to the attack.
Tlie Persian army,— now^ forty thousand to fifty thousand
strong, according to Captain A. Hamilton, though this estimate
is probably exaggerated,—was soon reduced almost to a state
of famine, and the little water found in the cisterns in the city
was soon consumed, so that had our ships been driven off by
a Portuguese squadron, whose arrival was expected, the situa-
tion of the besiegers would have been very critical, as they
had to send daily for supplies to the mainland ; they were also
badly provided with arms, " having only small pieces, with
bows and arrows, and swords ; some of their chiefs had coats
of mail." The patience of the English was much tried by the
'fraudulent behaviour of the Persian general, who " broke con-
ditions with them in several things," and held conferences
with the Portuguese without conmmnicating with the English,
and were guilty of other breaches of faith.
* Accounts differ as to the strength of the Persian Army. Aecordiiin; to
Captain Alexander Hamilton, who served in the Company's Marine, and may be
regarded geuerally as a trustworthy aiitliority, the arraj, when reinforced, num-
bered between I'ortj thousand and liity thousand men.