11. "The Complete Plays," by Christopher Marlowe, pp. 137-153

Tamburlaine the Great, Part One, Act 5

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The Governor of Damascus, seeing Tambulaine's tents turn to black, "the last and cruell'st hue," sends four virgins with laurel branches out to plead for mercy. But Tamburlaine tells them it's too late, "when fury and incensèd hate / Flings slaughtering terror from my coal-black tents." Too bad for the virgins: Techelles reports that his horsemen "on Damascus' walls / Have hoisted up their slaughtered carcasses." Tamburlaine orders him to "put the rest to the sword," then stays to fret about how upset Zenocrate is.

But how unseemly is it for my sex, 
My discipline of arms and chivalry, 
My nature, and the terror of my name, 
To harbour thoughts effeminate and faint!

Techelles returns with word that the town has fallen to them, but that the Sultan and the king of Arabia are marching on them. Theridamas urges that the Sultan be spared "For fair Zenocrate that so laments his state," and Tamburlaine agrees. 


Meanwhile, Bajazeth has been brought on in his cage, and Zabina follows him. He rants for a while about what Tamburlaine has done to him: 

O life more loathsome to my vexèd thoughts
Than noisome parbreak of the Stygian snakes 
Which fills the nooks of hell with standing air, 
Infecting all the ghosts with cureless griefs!

And when he sends Zabina out to fetch a drink of water, he rants some more and then bashes his brains out on the bars of his cage. When Zabina sees what he has done, she has a little mad scene -- "Tamburlaine, Tamburlaine! Let the soldiers be buried. Hell, death, Tamburlaine, hell! Make ready my coach, my chair, my jewels. I come, I come, I come!" -- and bashes her own brains out. 


Zenocrate, fretting about what has happened to Damascus, enters and finds the bodies of Bajazeth and Zabina. Anippe says, "Ah, madam, this their slavery hath enforced, / And ruthless cruelty of Tamburlaine." And Zenocrate adds, "Blush, heaven, that gave them honour at their birth, / And let them die a death so barbarous!" 

Ah, Tamburlaine, my love, sweet Tamburlaine, 
That fight'st for sceptres and for slippery crowns, 
Behold the Turk and his great emperess! 
Thou that in conduct of thy happy stars, 
Sleep'st every night with conquest on thy brows, 
And yet wouldst shun the wavering turns of war, 
In fear and feeling of the like distress, 
Behold the Turk and his great emperess! 

A messenger enters to tell her that the Sultan and the king of Arabia are about to do battle, and she frets, "My father and my first betrothèd love / Must fight against my life and present love / ... With happy safety of my father's life / Send like defence of fair Arabia." But Arabia is not so lucky, and enters mortally wounded. Fortunately, he gets to see Zenocrate again before he dies. 


Then Tamburlaine enters with the Sultan, telling him that Zenocrate has successfully pleaded for his life. The Sultan accepts his fate: 

Mighty hath God and Mahomet made thy hand, 
Renownèd Tamburlaine, to whom all kings 
Of force must yield their crowns and emperies, 
And I am pleased with this my overthrow 
If, as beseems a person of thy state, 
Thou has with honour used Zenocrate.

Tamburlaine assures him that he has done so, and the Sultan yields "with thanks and protestations / Of endless honour to thee for her love." Tamburlaine crowns Zenocrate "queen of Persia / And all the kingdoms and dominions / That late the power of Tamburlaine subdued." He also orders that her "first betrothèd love, Arabia / Shall we with honor as beseems, entomb / With this great Turk and his fair emperess." And they all go off to see Tamburlaine and Zenocrate married. 

10. "The Complete Plays," by Christopher Marlowe, pp. 123-136

Tamburlaine the Great, Part One, Act 4

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Yet another potentate comes in to boast about how he's going to vanquish Tamburlaine. This time it's the Sultan  of Egypt, incensed that "The rogue of Volga holds Zenocrate, / The Sultan's daughter, for his concubine." Advised that Tamburlaine has been successful so far in his campaign and that his army has grown large, the Sultan proclaims, "Yet would the Sultan by his conquering power / So scatter and consume them in his rage / That not a man should live to rue their fall." The messenger bringing the news advises that the first day Tamburlaine arrives on the scene, he pitches white tents, "But when Aurora mounts the second time, / As red as scarlet is his furniture," and if the foe doesn't surrender, "Black are his colours, black pavilion, / His spear, his shield, his horse, his armour, plumes, / And jetty feathers menace death and hell." The Sultan is undeterred, however.

So Tamburlaine and his company enter in white, with Bajazeth in his cage cursing Tamburlaine every step of the way. Tamburlaine orders Bajazeth to "Fall prostrate on the low, disdainful earth / And be the footstool of great Tamburlaine, / That I may rise into my royal throne." Bajazeth is forced to comply. When Zabina protests this treatment of her husband, Tamburlaine tells Zenocrate to "look better to your slave," but Zenocrate points out that Zabina is really her maid's slave, and lets Anippe do the tongue-lashing. And Tamburlaine vows that "Not all the kings and emperors of the earth, / If they would lay their crowns before my feet, / Shall ransom him or take him from his cage." Theridamas says, "I doubt not but the governor will yield, / Offering Damascus to your majesty." Tamburlaine replies,

But if he stay until the bloody flag
Be once advanced on my vermilion tent,
He dies, and those that kept us out so long.
And when they see me march in black array,
With mournful streamers hanging down their heads,
Were in that city all the world contained,
Not one should 'scape, but perish by our swords.

They leave, and the Sultan enters to denounce "bloody Tamburlaine" some more. The king of Arabia asks if the Sultan has heard about "The overthrow of mighty Bajazeth." The Sultan has, and vows,

That Tamburlaine shall rue the day, the hour,
Wherein he wrought such ignominious wrong
Unto the hallowed person of a prince,
Or kept the fair Zenocrate so long
As concubine, I fear, to feed his lust. 

Arabia is hopeful -- "My mind presageth fortunate success" -- and the drums sound and they march off to encounter Tamburlaine.

Tamburlaine et al. are now decked out in scarlet and feasting, while teasing Bajazeth and Zabina with the food. Bajazeth takes the meat offered and trample it under foot, and pours the water they give him on the ground. Zenocrate, meanwhile, is upset to see Damascus under siege, and tries to persuade Tamburlaine to "raise your siege from fair Damascus' walls / And with my father take a friendly truce." Tamburlaine will only say that her father "shall be safe, / And all the friends of fair Zenocrate." Then he taunts Bajazeth some more by crowning Theridamas king of Argier, Techelles king of Fez, and Usumcasane king of Moroccus. Theridamas says that if they don't prove worthy of the honor, "Take them away again and make us slaves."

TAMBURLAINE

Well said, Theridamas! When holy Fates 

Shall 'stablish me in strong Egyptia, 

We mean to travel to th'Antarctic Pole, 

Conquering the people underneath our feet, 

And be renowned as never emperors were. 

Zenocrate, I will not crown thee yet, 

Until with greater honours I be graced.