THE SCENE: Nothing motivates an army like forcing it into a situation where the only options are to conquer or to be destroyed.
THE TEXT: [Abu Hafs] sailed out in springtime and attacked several islands without finding anybody to oppose him. The islands were all destitute of help as the fleet which usually defended them was away fighting with Thomas. Thus he was able to reap much gain from every island he attacked. One day he came to Crete, overran it and took as many prisoners as possible. When he perceived the excellence and pleasant nature of that island this is what he said to his subjects: “Behold, a land flowing with milk and honey.” That was all he said at the time but, having charged his fleet with all manner of good things, he thought about it on the way home.
When winter was over and spring began to shine, he filled forty ships with fighting men then, chancing on a favorable wind, set sail for Crete, more or less bypassing the other isles. When he got to Crete he anchored off the promontory called Charax. As there was no military resistance, neither to his arrival nor to his disembarkation, he set up a fortified encampment and sent out capable men to forage, himself remaining with the others. Then a wind began to get up, and when the foragers were more than ten or fifteen furlongs away he put the fire to the ships and burnt them all; not one of them did he save.
The army returned at once, terrified and amazed by the unexpected nature of this occurrence. They demanded to know the reason for it and began to utter mutinous threats. What they heard was something they had long yearned to hear: “You yourselves are the cause of these events, for you sought to settle elsewhere and in a good land. As I could think of no land better than this, I chose this way of granting you your heart’s desire and ridding myself of your objections.” When they brought to his mind their wives and children, Abu Hafs said: “You take these prisoners here for wives and soon enough they will give you children.” They were reduced to silence by these words for they felt that what had been said was an adequate explanation.
– John Skylitzes, Synopsis of Histories, 11th Century AD
