A faction of Babylonians kill the Prince of Hyrcania and take power. They rejoice at Astarte’s return and decide to stage a tournament to find the wisest, most valorous man to be her husband and king. To gauge valor each contestant will first fight four knights then the other contestants who defeated the knights. To gauge wisdom each contestant will answer riddles. To become king a man must win both contests.

The contestants are anonymized and separated from the queen to prevent favoritism. Zadig arrives in Babylon on the eve of the competition after Astarte wrote to him at Ogul’s castle. Through Cador, Astarte furnishes Zadig with a suit of armor; Cador gives Zadig an excellent horse. These gifts inspire new hope and strength in Zadig.

The first combatant in the test of valor is a wealthy nobleman called Itobad whose sycophantic servants are convinced should be king. A vain man, he fights in a gold suit of armor enameled with a green that matches other parts of his ensemble. The knights embarrass the clumsy nobleman and the crowd jeers at him as he walks off, lamenting, “What an unlucky accident for such a man as I” (181).

Of the other combatants, only Zadig (wearing white armor) and Prince Otames (wearing blue and gold armor with a matching plume) defeat the four knights.