"Near the river Owar,[71] the two great hosts of the two languages and
the two creeds were set in array against each other. The hearts of
Abderrahman, his captains, and his men, were filled with wrath and
pride, and they were the first to begin the fight. The Moslem horsemen
dashed fierce and frequent forward against the battalions of the Franks,
who resisted man-fully, and many fell dead on either side, until the
going down of the sun. Night parted the two armies, but in the gray of
the morning the Moslems returned to the battle. Their cavaliers had soon
hewn their way into the centre of the Christian host. But many of the
Moslems were fearful for the safety of the spoil which they had stored
in their tents, and a false cry arose in their ranks that some of the
enemy were plundering the camp; whereupon several squadrons of the
Moslem horsemen rode off to protect their tents. But it seemed as if
they fled, and all the host was troubled.
"And while Abderrahman strove to check their tumult and to lead them
back to battle, the warriors of the Franks came around him, and he was
pierced through with many spears, so that he died.
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