foot of Aurasium.  And in a place which they call Babosis they made camp and remained there.  So Solomon moved with his whole army and came to that place.  And upon engaging with the enemy, he defeated them decisively and turned them to flight.  Now after this the Moors did not think it advisable for them to fight a pitched battle with the Romans; for they did not hope to overcome them in this kind of contest; but they did have hope, based on the difficult character of the country around Aurasium, that the Romans would in a short time give up by reason of the sufferings they would have to endure and would withdraw from there, just as they formerly had done.  The most of them, therefore, went off to Mauretania and the barbarians to the south of Aurasium, but Iaudas with twenty thousand of the Moors remained there.  And it happened that he had built a fortress on Aurasium, Zerboule by name.  Into this he entered with all the Moors and remained quiet.  But Solomon was by no means willing that time should be wasted in the siege, and learning that the plains about the city of Tamougade were full of grain just becoming ripe, he led his army into them, and settling himself there, began to plunder the land.  Then, after firing everything, he returned again to the fortress of Zerboule.

But during this time, while the Romans were plundering the land, Iaudas, leaving behind some of the Moors, about as many as he thought would be sufficient for the defence of the fortress, himself ascended to the summit of Aurasium with the rest of the army, not wishing to stand siege in the fort and have provisions fail his forces.  And finding a high place with cliff’s on all sides of it and concealed by perpendicular rocks, Toumar by name, he remained quietly there.  And the Romans besieged the fortress of Zerboule for three days.  And using their bows, since the wall was not high, they hit many of the barbarians upon the parapets.  And by some chance it happened that all the leaders of the Moors were hit by these missiles and died.  And when the three days’ time had passed and night came on, the Romans, having learned nothing of the death of the leaders among the Moors, were planning to break up the siege.  For it seemed better to Solomon to go against Iaudas and the multitude of the Moors, thinking that, if he should be able to capture that force by siege, the barbarians in Zerboule would with less trouble and difficulty yield to the Romans.  But the barbarians, thinking that they could no longer hold out against the siege, since all their leaders had now been destroyed, decided to flee with all speed and abandon the fortress.  Accordingly they fled immediately in silence and without allowing the enemy in any way to perceive it, and the Romans also at daybreak began to prepare for departure.  And since no one appeared on the wall, although the besieging army was withdrawing, they began to wonder and fell into the greatest perplexity among themselves.  And in this state of uncertainty they went around the fortress and found the gate open from which the Moors had departed in flight.  And entering the fortress they treated everything as plunder, but they had no thought of pursuing the enemy, for they had set out with light equipment and were familiar with the country round about.  And when they had plundered everything, they set guards over the fortress, and all moved forward on foot.