185 ).^46 And whereas in Marlowe’s Jew of Maltathe Turkish Calymath is omi-
nously poised for conquest when he collects tribute from the Christian gov-
ernor, in Peele there is no sign of impending Turkish domination.^47 The
Turks’ intervention before Alcazar restores Abdelmelec’s regime and leads to
an extended chain of reciprocity and remuneration: Abdelmelec’s sister-in-law
(Abdelmunen’s widow) offers Amurath her son, and another Moorish queen
offers herself, along with “the gold of Barbary” ( 2. 1. 38 ); in turn, the Turk
leaves the “chosen guard of Amurath’s janizaries” to “honour and attend” on
the Moor ( 2. 1. 48 – 49 ). And not only does Abdelmelec rule Morocco without
interference (as Muly’s son will complain) “in eye of all the world” ( 3. 4. 42 ),
he “intitle[s]” his brother, Muly Mahamet Seth “true heir unto the crown”
( 2. 1. 19 ), declaring his “due and duty” “to heaven and earth, gods and Amu-
rath” thereby done ( 2. 1. 22 – 23 ). It is only the discredited Muly and his son who
fear that the Turk will, like “Tamburlaine,” “invade,” “chástise,” and “menace”
Africa’s “lawful kings” and “right and royal realm” ( 1. 2. 22 , 33 – 34 ). Even so,
they envy “that brave guard of sturdy janizaries / That Amurath to Abdelmelec
gave” and that keeps their hated enemy “as safe / As if he slept within a walled
town” ( 1. 2. 40 – 43 ).
Abdelmelec’s efforts to “perform” his legitimacy and his loyalty to the
Turks “in view of all the world” set him meaningfully apart from Muly Ma-
hamet, who embraces rather what appears to be a naive and atavistic isolation-
ism. Indeed, the more isolated he becomes within the dramatic fiction, the
more exaggerated and outmoded his characterization seems.^48 Before his first
attempt to usurp the throne, Muly boasts that his gold will provide “the glue,
sinews, and strength of war” ( 1. 2. 8 ), and he bolsters his campaign only with
the support of his wife Calipolis, his son, and his guard. The consequences are
dire: Muly is quickly overthrown, and he immediately withdraws to the
“shade / Of some unhaunted place, some blasted grove, / Of deadly yew or dis-
mal cypress-tree,” where he means to “pine with thought and terror of
mishaps” ( 1. 2. 80 – 82 , 86 ). Dramatically and politically, what threatens is stag-
nation, alienation, and annihilation. There, in a space of “cursèd solitaries”
( 2. 3. 38 ), the objective correlative of his despair, Muly “lives”—and imagines
he will always live—“forlorn among the mountain-shrubs, / And makes his
food the flesh of savage beasts” ( 2 Pro. 34 – 35 ), with the Furies seeking revenge
against him. His only recourse consists of lamenting his fortunes in “huge ex-
claims,” which his starving wife underscores as pointless ( 2. 3. 16 ). It is only
with the announcement that he has sent word to Sebastian, “the good and
harmless King of Portugal,” promising “to resign the royalty / And kingdom
Enter Barbary 33