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Noronha, aware of this traffic, seized a number of the troops en-
gaged in it and had them hanged publicly in the sight of his
assembled forces. He was now resolved to give battle to the Ottomans
and sought assistance from Inofre de Carvalho, a Portuguese
orquitcctij whom the King of Portugal, D. Sebastiao, had send out
lo prepare the defences of Hormuz. This man built a tower-like
structure of timber, on wheels, from the summit of which arquebuses
could be fired at the Ottomans inside their defences.

It was at this moment the Ottoman commander, Mustafa Pasha,
died of wounds that lie had received earlier in conflict against the
men of D. Alvaro da Silveira45. A certain sanjak beg named Mehmed
succeeded to the command of the Ottoman forces4'1. The Ottomans,
through the Persians serving with the Portuguese, made contact
with D. Antao about terms of peace. D. Antao warned the Ottomans
that no negotiations would be possible, unless the Ottomans
surrendered their captives and their arms. On this basis, however,
the tentative moves towards peace made no effective progress. At
this juncture of affairs Mir Sultan Ali entered into the negotiations.
After informing D. Antao de Noronha of his intention, he wrote to
Mehmed Beg, the Ottoman commander, urging him to undertake
serious discussion with D. Antao de Noronha and daclaring that,
he did not do so, the Portuguese would never leave Bahrain until
all the Ottomans had been slain.

These representations from Mir Sultan Ali discouraged the
Ottomans. In an effort to bring D. Antao to a more favourable frame
°f mind, Mehmed Beg sent him a fine ginete, i.e., a horse; it was a
Stft which the Portuguese commander declined to accept. The
Portuguese Aleixo Carvalho came forward now, offering to go and
sec the Ottoman commander. Armed with instructions from
0- Antao, he did in fact have talks with Mehmed Beg, but to no
result. The janissaries, suspicious of their commander and fearing

45‘ A miihimme register (III, p. 143) in the Da^bakanlik archives, tstan-
ut indicates that Mustafa Pasha was dismissed from the beylcrbcylik of Lah-
during the course of the Bahrain campaign and that a certain Murad, the
*artiak beg of Musul, was appointed to replace him at Lahsa.
*6 "que era hum sanglaco, que se chama Mahamcde...* (Couto, p. 142).

v *.