Full text of "The travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia, A.D. 1503 to 1508"

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THE TRAVELS OF
LUDOVICO DI VA1ITHEMA

M.DCCC.LXIII,

WORKS ISSUED BY

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THE TRAVELS OF
LUDOVICO 1)1 VA11THEMA

M.liCCC.LXlII.

THE TRAVELS

LUDOYICO DI VARTHEMA

EGYPT, SYRIA, ARABIA DESERTA AND ARABIA FELIX,
IN PERSIA, INDIA, AND ETHIOPIA,

a.d. 1503 to 1508.
ftranslatcfc

FROM THE ORIGINAL ITALIAN EDITION OF 1510,

WITn A PREFACE,

JOHN WINTER JONES, Esq., F.S.A.,
&n& CftttcK,

WITH NOTES AND AN INTRODUCTION,
BY

GEORGE PERCY BADGER,

LATE GOVERNMENT CHArLAIN IN THE PRESIDENCY OP BOMBAY,
AUTHOR OP "THE NESTORIANS AND THEIR RITUALS,"
ETC., ETC., ETC.

WITH A MAP.

to/
LONDON:

PRINTED FOR THE IIAKLUYT SOCIETY.

3I.DCCC.LXIII.

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LONDON : T. RICHARDS. 37, GREAT QUEEN STREET.

RIGHT HONOURABLE

SIR CHARLES WOOD, Bart., G.C.B.,

HER MAJESTY'S SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA,
THIS EDITION

OF THE EASTERN TRAVELS OF

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA,

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY,

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED

BY THE EDITOR,

107194

COUNCIL

THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.

SIR RODERICK IMPEY MURCHISON, G.C.St.S., F.R.S., D.C.L., Coir. Mem. Inst. F
Hon. Mem. Imp. Acad. Sc. St. Petersburg, etc., etc., President.

Rear-admiral C. R. DRINKWATER BETHUNE, C.B. )

\ Vice-Presidents.
The Rt. Hon. Sir DAVID DUNDAS, M.P. )

J. BARROW, Esq., F.R.S.

Rt. Hon. LORD BROUGHTON.

Captain CRACROFT, R.N.

Sir HENRY ELLIS, K.H., F.R.S.

JOHN FORSTER, Esq.

R. W. GREY, Esq, M.P.

T. HODGKIN, Esq., M.D.

JOHN WINTER JONES, Esq., I'.S.A.

His Excellency the COUNT DE LAVRADIO.

R. H. MAJOR, Esq., F.S.A.

Sir CHARLES NICHOLSON, Bart.

Sir ERSKINE PERRY.

Major-General Sir HENRY C. RAWLINSON, K.C.B.

WILLIAM STIRLING, Esq., M.P.

CLEMENTS R. MARK HAM, Esq., Honorary Secrexak\.

DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER.

Map of Vartbema's route ...... to face title-p:ige.

Section from Gastaldi's Map ..... „ page cxx.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PREFACE BY THE TRANSLATOR.

This translation made from the first Italian edition of 1510 ; truthful-
ness of Varthema's narrative, and simjjlicity of his style ; later

- editions more or less faulty ; the present version intended to be a
faithful representative of the original text ; Varthema's work imme-
diately attracted attention, i-iii. Different editions and translations
enumerated : Italian ; Latin ; German ; Spanish ; French ; Dutch ;
English, iii-xvi.

INTRODUCTION BY THE EDITOR.

Deficiency of all the aiithorities as to Varthema's antecedents, xvii ; not
supplied by allusions in his dedication, xix ; notice of the Lady Agnesina,
Duchess of Albi and Tagliacozzo, to whom he dedicates, xix ; Eamusio's
preface has no information, and his edition a third-hand version, xxi ;
particulars derivable with more or less certainty from the narrative
itself, xxii ; his motives for travelling, xxiii ; character of his narrative,
xxiii ; scanty recompense, xxiv.

Date of his leaving Europe, xxv ; remarks on his notices of Cairo and
-Egypt under the Mamluks, ib. ; Syria and Damascus, xxvi ; his enrol-
ment as a Mamliik, and reserve as to his profession of Islam, his Mus-
sulman name (Tunas or Jonah), and his knowledge of Muhammedanism,
xxvi ; remarks on such conformity to Islamism, xxvii ; he joins the Hajj
Caravan from Damascus, ib. ; the only European who has reached Meccah
by that route, xxvii ; his sketches of the desert and Bedawin, xxviii ; his
notice of a colony of Jews near El-Medinah, and the fact authenticated,
ib. ; his description of El-Medinah and correction of fables about Mukam-
med's coffin, xxix ; his journey on to Meccah, xxx ; his notice of the
politics of the time confirmed by Arabic authorities, the Kurrat El-
Ay Cm and Riuih er-Ruah, xxx-xxxv; his account of Meccah, its visitors,
holy places, and ceremonies, xxxv ; wonderful truth of his descriptions,
as confirmed incidentally by Burckhardt and expressly by Burton, xxxvi.

Varthema escapes to Juddah from the Caravan, xxxvi-vii ; his voyage down
the Red Sea and arrival at Aden, xxxviii ; suspected as a Christian spy
and imprisoned, and sent to the Sultan of southern Yemen at Radaa,
xxxix ; corroboration of a part of Varthema's story here from the nar-
ratives of Portuguese acts of piracy at this time, xxxix — xli ; outline
of the contemporary politics of Yemen from Arabic authorities, xli — xliv,
and incidental corroboration of Varthema's narrative, xliv; intervention
of one of the Sultan's wives in Varthema's favour, and his pretended
madness, xlv ; morality of the harini, ib. j Varthema obtains leave to
visit Aden, where he engages a passage to India, and spends the interval
before its departure on an excursion through Yemen, xlvi ; he is the first
European traveller who has described that country, and scarcely any but

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Niebuhr have followed, xlvi ; abstract of his route, xlvii ; returns to Aden,
embarks, runs for Africa and visits Zaila and Berbera; truth of his de-
scriptions, xlviii ; circumstantial evidence of the season at which this
voyage was made, xlix ; Varthema crosses the Indian ocean to Diu in
Guzerat ; thence to Gogo ; and thence westward to Julfar in the Per-
sian Gulf, Maskat, and Hormuz, 1 ; notices of Homiuz and its his-
tory, 1, li.

Varthema's visit to Eri or Herat, lii ; difficulty about his " large and fine
river ;" Shiraz, liii ; his meeting with a Persian merchant " Cozazionor,"
who becomes his travelling companion ; advantages of this to Varthema,
liv ; they start for Samarcand, but are turned back by the Sufi's perse-
cution of the Shi'iis; confirmation of this from history, lv,lvi; Cozazionor
proposes to give Varthema his niece in marriage, lvii ; they reach Honnnz
and embark for India, arriving at Cheo or Jooah on the Indus ; they
reach Cambay, lviii ; truth of particulars regarding it.

Political state of "Western India at this period, lviii ; accession to the
throne of Guzerat of Mahmud Shah, surnamed Bigarrah, who reigned
during Varthema's visit, lix ; Mussulman kingdom of the Deccan, its
vicissitudes and subdivision ; 'Adil Shah of Bijapur, Varthema's " King
of Deccan," lx ; the Brahminical kingdom of Bijayanagar ; Ranrraj of
that state, Varthema's " King of Narsinga," lxi ; Rajah of Cannanore;
kingdom of the Zaniuri Rajah or Zamorin, lxii ; history of his pre-
eminence as given by the Portuguese ; Quilon, lxiii ; Chayl ; kingdom
of Bengal under the Purbi sultans.

Varthema's account of the Jains and the Joghis, lxiv ; his description of
Sultan Mahmud's mustachioes confirmed by the Mussulman historians.
Varthema's journey along the coast, inland to Bijapur and back to the
coast, and so to Cannanore, lxv ; his abstinence from communication
with the Portuguese already established there; visit to Bijayanagar,
and remarks on his notices of the coinage ; return to the coast and
journey along it to Calicut, lxvi ; fullness, truth, and originality of his
descriptions of manners and peculiarities here, of the distinctions of
castes and singular marriage customs, lxvii ; remarks upon these.

Varthema and his companion quit Calicut by the Backwaters, for Kayan-
Kulam and Colon or Quilon, lxix ; thence to Chayl ; position of the
latter ; city of Cioromandel, lxx, probably Negapatani ; their visit to
Ceylon ; they proceed to Paleachet or Pulicat, lxxi ; remarks suggested
by the narrative as to the freedom of trade, and protection of foreign
traders in India in those days, lxxi ; many subordinate ports then fre-
quented even by foreign vessels are now abandoned and have disap-
peared from the maps, lxxii ; causes of the greater commercial centraliza-
tion of the present day, and doubts whether the improvement of access
to the old intermediate ports would not have been attended by better
results ; general prosperity which seems to have prevailed, and for which
a much less equal distribution of property has now been substituted ;
impartial administration of justice in old India; the comparative costli-
ness and tardiness of our system ; humorous story in illustration related
by an Arab merchant, lxxiv.

Sketch of the political geography of the Transgangetic Peninsula, lxxvi ;
Pegu, Siam, Ava, and Toungoo ; the various kingdoms of Sumatra ;
" Moors" and "Pagans;" Java, lxxvii; sovereigns of the farther islands
visited by Varthema.

The travellers sail from Pulicat to Tarnassari or Tenasserim, lxxviii ;
truthful features of the description ; Varthema's notice of the Hornbill,
lxxix ; of extraordinary marriage usages ; voyage to the " city of Ban-
ghella," lxxx ; discussion as to the whereabouts of the city so indicated,
with various quotations ; wealth and abundance of products, lxxxii ;
meeting with Christians from the city of Sarnau, and probable identifi-
i at ion of that place, from passage in Odorico ; remarks on the interest-
ing character of Fra Odorico's narrative, lxxxiii ; these Christians advised

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Varthema's companion to visit Pegu with them, lxxxiv ; description of
Pegu, Lxxxv; Varthema's statement about the existence of Christians
there, Lxxxv ; interview with the King of Pegu, lxxxvi.

Departure for Malacca, lxxxvii; "Great Biver," viz. Straits of Malacca,
lxxxvii ; character of the place and people, and corroboration of Var-
thema's narrative ; Sumatra, Ixxxviii ; questions raised by the text
regarding coins and silk in that island ; voyage to the Spice Islands
undertaken, xc ; this part of the route never previously recorded by any
European, but it would be rash to say never travelled, xci ; the Nutmeg
or Banda Islands ; Monoch or the Moluccas ; which of the latter did
Varthenia visit ? xcii ; visit to Borneo, the part not determined, xciii ;
curious particidars as to appliances for navigation, xciv ; the Southern
Cross, xcv; and stories heard of apparently antarctic regions,xcv; curiosity
of the Sarnau Christians about Western Christendom ; this may have
awakened Varthema's desires for home and the abandonment of his
false profession, xcvi ; arrival at Java ; a plea for the account of it
given by Varthema against Mr. Crawfurd's condemnation ; mutilated
children, xcvii.

Return to Malacca and thence to Negapatam, and Calicut, xcviii ; the
two Milanese gun-founders ; Varthema's appearance as a physician, and
as Imam ; his journey to Cannanore and escape into the Portuguese
garrison, xcix.

Varthema present at the sea fight off Cannanore, c ; employed as factor
at Cochin ; in the attack on Ponani ; his knighthood ; remarks on the
fanaticism and violence of the Portuguese.

Varthema finally quits India, ci; remarks on the rapid growth of the
Portuguese power in the East, and its rapid decay, cii ; their religious
conquests have survived their temporal sovereignty, ciii ; success of
Boman Catholic mission in India greater than that of the Beformed
churches, civ ; remarks of Heber quoted.

Mozambique, cvi ; summary of history of the Muhammedan settlements
on the coast of Eastern Africa from Krapf, cvii ; the Portuguese ride
and its fall, cviii ; inscription over the gateway of Monibasa ; rise of the
'Amman Seyyeds of Maskat and Zanzibar, ex ; Varthema's inland excur-
sion at Mozambique, and the illustration it affords of the dealings of the
civilized with the uncivilized, cxi.

Varthema's arrival in Europe, and conclusion of his narrative, cxii.

The Editor's acknowledgments to various gentlemen, cxiii.

Postscript. On the site of the ancient city of Bengala.

Further evidence as to the existence of Bengala as a city and port distinct
from Satgong and Chittagong, cxiv ; some authors, however, mention the
two latter and not Bengala, cxvii ; abstract of the data as to these three
cities afforded by the principal old maps in the British Museum, cxix ;
Bengala appears for the last time in 1740 ; the site of Bengala, and its
probable destruction by the river as supposed by Eennell, cxx.

Advantages of Travel, from the Arabic.

TEAVELS OF LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA.

(The headings in the larger type are those of the original text.)

Privilege of printing granted to Varthema by Raphael Bishop of Portueri
and Cardinal of St. George, the Pope's Chamberlain.

Dedication to Countess of Albi and Duchess of Tagliacozzo, 1-4.

First Chapter concerning Alexandria, 5.

a 2

TARI,F. OF CONTENTS.

Chapter concerning Cairo, 5, 6.

Size of the city, 5 ; Sultan, Mamelukes, and Moors, 6.

Chapter concerning Baruti, Tripoli, and Aleppo, 6, 7.

Sails to Baruti (Beyroot), 6; St. George and the Dragon, 7; goes to
Tripoli, ih. ; to Aleppo, ib.

Chapter concerning Aman and Menin, 8.

First Chapter concerning Damascus, 8-11.

Beauty of Damascus, 8 ; Varthema learns Moorish (Arabic) ; Castle
of Damascus ; story of its builder, a Florentine, 9 ; government of
Damascus under the Sultan of Cairo, and oppressive exactions, 10 ;
watchmen, 11.

Second Chapter concerning said Damascus, 11, 12.

Riches; fruits and flowers; water and fountains, 11; Mosque of St.
Zachariah; legendary sites of St. Pavd's history and others, 12.

Third Chapter concerning [the Mamelukes in] Damascus, 13-15.
Mamelukes, their training, pay, and customs, 13; rudeness to ladies;
dress of ladies ; divorces ; cheese, milk, and goats, 14 ; truffles ; dress
of Moors ; Mameluke oppression ; Christian merchants, 15.

BOOK CONCERNING ARABIA DESERTA.

Chapter showing the route from Damascus to Mecca, wherein
some Arabs are concerned, 16-19.

Varthema joins the caravan to Mecca in the character of a Mame-
luke ; travels to Mezeribe, 16 ; Zambei a great Arab lord ; his plun-
dering excursions ; Arabs described, 17 ; numbers in the caravan,
and its marshalling ; length of the journey to Mecca; food of camels ;
halts to water, 18 ; fights with the Arabs at watering places ; excel-
lence and skill of the Mamelukes as soldiers, archers, and horsemen, 19.

Chapter concerning the city of Sodom and Gomorrah, 19-21.

Valley of Sodom ; barren and blood-red soil, 19 ; deaths from thirst
in the caravan ; mountain with a well, and fight with 24,000 Arabs ;
camel intrenchment, 20; black-mail paid; fight renewed and many
Arabs killed, 21. ,

Chapter concerning a mountain inhabited by Jews, 22-25.

Mountain in which dwelt Jews, naked, short and black, 22, 23 ;
tank of water, and turtle-doves, 24 ; arrives at Medinathalnabi (El-
Medinah) ; barrenness round it ; palm-garden ; fables about Maho-
met's tomb denied, 25.

Chapter concerning where Mahomet and his Companions were
buried, 26-28.

The mosque described ; books of Mahomet and his Companions, 26 ;
tombs of Mahomet, Haly, Babacher, Othman, Aumar, and Fatoma,
27 ; dissensions of Mahometan sectaries, 28.

Chapter concerning the Temple and Sepulchre of Mahomet and
his Companions, 28-31.

Superior of the Mosque tries to trick the caravan, 28; Varthema' s
A nil lie, 29 ; pretended supernatural illumination of the sepulchre, 30;

no truth about the loadstone, 31.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Chapter concerning the journey to go from Medina to Mecca, 31-35.
Pilots of the caravan, 31 ; well of St. Mark, 32 ; sea of sand (which
shoidd have been mentioned before the Jews' mountain) and its
dangers, 33 ; remarkable mountain and grotto, 34 ; two fights with
Arabs ; arrival at Mecca ; four brothers fighting for the lordship
thereof, 35.

Chapter showing how Mecca is constructed, and why the Moors
go to Mecca, 35-37.

Description of Mecca, 35 ; its governors ; caravan enters the city, 36 ;
barrenness round the city renders it dependent for food on foreign
parts, 37.

Chapter concerning the merchandize in Mecca, 38.

Chapter concerning the pardoning in Mecca, 38-41.

The Great Temple or Mosque described, 38 ; the tower (El-Kiiaba), 39 ;
the well, 40; ceremonies performed by the pilgrims, 41.

Chapter concerning the manner of the sacrifices in Mecca, 42-4G.

Sacrifices of sheep at a motmtain ; poor pilgrims, 42 ; discourse of the
Cadi; returns to Mecca; stone-throwing, and legend of its origin, 44;
doves of Mecca, 45.

Chapter concerning the unicorns in the Temple of Mecca, not very
common in other places, 46-49.

Chapter concerning some occurrences between Mecca and Zida, a
port of Mecca, 49-52.

Varthema recognized as a European by a certain Moor, 49 ; but pro-
fesses to be a Mahometan convert, 50; the Moor conceals him in his
house, and the Damascus caravan departs, 51 ; whilst Varthema goes
with another caravan to Zida (Juddah), 52.

Chapter concerning Zida, the port of Mecca, and of the Red
Sea, 52-54.

Zida described; Varthema hides in a mosque, 52; agrees with a
ship-master going to Persia, and sads, 54.

Chapter showing why the Red Sea is not navigable, 54.

THE SECOND BOOK.— OF ARABIA FELIX.

Chapter concerning the City of Gezan [Gazan], and of its fer-
tility, 55, 56.

Chapter concerning some people called Baduin [Bedawin], 56-57.

Chapter concerning the island of the Red Sea called Chama-
ram [Camran], 57, 58.

The island and its productions, 57 ; the mouth of the Red Sea, and
island of Bebmendo (Bab el-Mandeb) ; arrival at Aden, 58.

Chapter concerning the city of Aden, and of some customs respect-
ing the merchants, 59, 65.

Aden described; intense heat; Castle (of Seerah), 59; mode of
securing the Sultan's dues from ships; Varthema denounced as a
Christian spy, and put in irons, 60 ; sent to the Sultan at a city
called Rhada (Radaa), 61 ; dialogue with the Sultan ; the author

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

professes to be a Mahomedan, but cannot utter the creed, and is
cast into prison, 63 ; Sultan's guard of Abyssinians ; tlieir dress and
arms, (34 ; camels and tents, Go.

Chapter concerning the partiality of the women of Arabia Felix for
white men, 65-68.

The Queen's kindness to Varthenia, 65 ; he feigns madness, 66, 67 ;
he is removed to the palace, 68.

Chapter concerning the liberality of the Queen, 68-^3.

The Queen makes much of him, but he evades her advances, 68-70 ;
she procures his release from the Sultan, 71 ; he goes to Aden and
engages a passage to India, 73.

Chapter concerning Lagi, a city of Arabia Felix, and concerning
Aiaz, and the market in Aiaz, and the castle Dante, 73-75.
Whilst the ship delays he travels over Arabia Felix; to Lagi (Lahej),
73; Aiaz ('Az'az), 74; Mahomedan sects; strong city of Dante
(Damt), 75.

Chapter concerning Almacarana, a city of Arabia Felix, and of its
abundance, 75-77.

Goes to Almacrana (El-Makranah), a city on a mountain, 75 ; great
reservoir; and the Sultan's treasure kept there, 77.

Chapter concerning Reame, a city of Arabia Felix, and of its air,
and of the customs of the inhabitants, 77, 78.

Goes to Eeame (Yerim), 77; fat-tailed sheep; seedless grapes ;
longevity of people, 78 ; fashion of horns.

Chapter concerning Sana, a city of Arabia Felix, and of the strength
and cruelty of the King's son, 78-80.

Goes to Sana (Sanaa), 78; the Sultan's endeavours to capture it, 79;
the Sidtan of Sana's mad son, who eats human flesh, 80.

Chapter concerning Taesa and Zibit and Damar, very large cities
of Arabia Felix, 80-82.

Goes to Taesa (Ta'ez), 80 ; its antiquity and buildings, 81 ; goes to
Zibit (Zebid) ; goes to Damar (Dhainar), 82.

Chapter concerning the Sultan of all the above-mentioned cities,
and wherefore he is called by the name of Sechamir, 83, 84.

The name explained ; the Sultan puts no one to death but in war ;
but had thousands in prison.

Chapter concerning apes, and some animals like lions very hostile
to man, 84, 85.

Returns to Aden, 84 ; finds a mountain with numerous apes, and
destructive animals Hke Uons (supposed hyenas), 85 ; goes on board
ship.

Discourse touching some places of Ethiopia, 85.

An accident sends them to the coast of Ethiopia, where they enter the
port of Zeila (Zaila).

Chapter concerning Zeila, a city of Ethiopia, and of the abundance

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

of it, and concerning some animals of the said city, such as
sheep and cows, 86-88.

Traffic of Zeila, slave trade, &c, 88 ; products ; oil of zerzalino ; fat-
tailed Berbera sheep, 87 ; twisted-tailed sheep ; stag-horned cows ;
one-horned cows ; the Sidtan, his soldiers, &c, 88.

Chapter concerning Barbara, an island of Ethiopia, and of its
people, 88-90.
Arrival at Barbara (Berbera), 88 ; sails for Persia, 90.

THE BOOK CONCERNING PERSIA.

Chapter concerning Diuobandierrumi, and Goa, and Giulfar, lands
of Meschet, a port of Persia, 91-93.

After twelve days reaches Diuobandierrunii (Diu in Guzerat), 91 ;
goes to Goa (Gogha), 92; to Giulfar (Julfar in the Persian Gidf), 93 ;
and Meschet (Maskat).

Chapter concerning Ormus, a city and island of Persia, and how
they get very large pearls at it by fishing, 94, 95.

Chapter concerning the Sultan of Ormus, and of the cruelty of the
son against the Sultan his father, his mother, and his bro-
thers, 96-99.

The Sultan's eleven sons, the eldest a devil, the youngest simple, 9G;
the former murders his father, mother, and brothers, except the
youngest ; he tries to get rid of two powerful favourites of his father,
and is slain by one of them, 97, 98 ; who causes the younger brother
to be proclaimed Sultan, 99 ; the many merchants of Ormus.

Chapter concerning Eri in Corozani, of Persia, and of its riches,
and of the abundance of many things, and especially of rhu-
barb, 99-101.

Varthema passe 3 to Persia, and travels to Eri (Herat) in Corazani
(Kkorassan), 99; abundance of silk and rhubarb; population, 101.

Chapter concerning the river Eufra, which I believe to be the
Euphrates, 101-103.

Arrives at a large river called by the people Eufra (? Pnlwan), 101 ;
reaches the city Schirazo (Shiraz) ; turquoises and rubies from
Balachsam (Badakksan), 102 ; musk, and its power when pure ;
character of the Persians; liberality and kindness of Cozazionor

(Khawaja ), a Persian merchant who proposes that Varthema

should travel with him; they set out towards Sambragante (Sainar-
cand), 103.

Chapter concerning Sambragante (as it is called), a very large city
like Cairo, and of the persecution by the Sofn, 103, 104.
The greatness of Sambragante and its king, 103; but they are
hindered from going thither by the Soffi's (Shah Isma'il es-Sufi's)
violence against believers in Bubachar, Othnian, and Auniur (viz.
Sunnis) ; Cozazionor proposes to give Varthema his beautiful niece
Samis (Shams) to wife, 104; they return to Eri, and thence to Ormus,
and take ship for India, where they arrive at the port of Cheo (Jooa
in the Indus delta) .

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

THE FIRST BOOK CONCERNING INDIA.

Chapter concerning Combeia, a city of India, abounding in all
things, 105-107.

The Indus, and city of Combeia (Cambay), 105; its spices (or drugs),
106 ; cotton j and precious stones, 107.

Chapter concerning the estate of the Sultan of the very noble city
of Combeia, 107-110.

Sultan Machamuth (Mahrnud Bigarrah), 107; the Guzeratis, their
virtues and dress, 108; the Sultan's pomp and elephants, 109; his
huge mustachioes ; his daily eating of poison, and spurting it on those
he desires to kill; his embraces fatal, 110; great trade and riches of
Cambay, 111.

Chapter concerning the manner of living and customs of the King
of the Joghe, 111 113.

The Pagan king of the Joghe, his people, and their pilgrimages, 111 ;
their dress, and various acts of devotion, and reputed sanctity, 112 ;
their wars with Sultan Machamuth, 113.

Chapter concerning the city of Ceval [Chaul] and its customs, and
the bravery of its people, 113, 114.

Chapter concerning Dabuli, a city of India, 114, 115.

Chapter concerning Goga, an island of India, and the King of the
same, 1 15, 116.

Varthema and his companion go to Goga (Goa), 115 ; Pardai a gold
coin of the country (pagodas) ,- Mameluke garrison and their wars
with the King of Narsinga, 116; goes on to the city of Decan.

Chapter concerning Decan, a very beautiful city of India, and its
many and various riches and jewels, 117, 118.

The city of Decan (Bijapur) and its Mohamedan King, 117; beautiful
palace and houses ; splendour of the court, 118 ; mountain from which
diamonds are dug ; veiled ladies.

Chapter concerning the activity of the King in military affairs, 118.

His wars with Narsinga ; his navy hostile to Christians ; Varthema
goes to Bathacala, 118.

Chapter concerning Bathacala, a city of India, and of its fertility in
many things, and especially in rice and sugar, 119, 120.
Bathacala (Bathcal, Beitkul, or Sedashevaghur), 119; its trade and
fertility, 120 ; absence of horses, mules, and asses ; Varthema goes to
Anzediva island.

Chapter concerning Centacola, Onor, and Mangolor, excellent
districts of India, 120-122.

Arrives at Centacola (Uncola in North Canara), 120; at Onor (Honah-
war), 121 ; its productions, fine air, and longevity of the people, 122;
Mangolor.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Chapter concerning Canonor, a very great city in India, 123-125.
The King of Portugal's castle at Canonor, 123 ; importation of horses,
124 ; spices (properly so called) begin ; the King's Naeri (Nairs) and
their costume; the travellers take their way to the kingdom of
Narsinga, and reach the city of Bisinegar, 125.

Chapter showing Bisinegar, a very fertile city of Narsinga in
India, 125-128.

Great size and defences of Bisinegar (Bijayanagar), 125; a paradise
of a place, 126 ; the power of the Pagan King ; his horsemen and
elephants; equip inent of the war elephant; his docility, 127; his
dread of fireworks ; how elephants were employed in Varthema's
presence at Canonor to beach a ship ; the absence of joints a fable ;
description of the animal, and power of his trunk, 128 ; height of the
elephant ; pace, and how they are mounted.

Chapter showing how elephants generate, 129-131.

They generate in secret marshes, 129 ; parts of an elephant eaten in
some countries ; various values of elephants ; their great discretion ;
riches of the King of Narsinga ; dress of the people and the king ; his
coinage, 130 ; lions ; the Portuguese honoured in Narsinga, 131 ;
return to Canonor, and go to Tormapatani.

Chapter concerning Tormapatani, a city of India ; and concerning
Pandarani, a place one day distant; and concerning Capo-
gatto, a similar district, 131-134.

Torinapatani (Dorinapatain), 131; misery of the people, 132; timber
for ships ; houses worth half a ducat ; Pandarani ; Capogatto, 133 ;
go to Calicut ; has reserved till now the description of the manners
of the preceding places (because similar to those of Calicut), but he
will now describe that kingdom, for the King of Calicut, called
Samory, is the most important, 134.

THE SECOND BOOK CONCERNING INDIA.

Chapter concerning Calicut, a very large city of India, 135, 136.
Description of the city and poverty of the houses.

Chapter concerning the King of Calicut, and the religion of the
people, 136-139.

The king worships the devil, 136; why, 137; description of the devil's
chapel and images of Deumo and Sathanas ; rites and ceremonies of
the Brahmins in worshipping, 138.

Chapter concerning the manner of eating of the King of Calicut,
139-141.

The King's food first offered to Deumo, 139 ; and how the Brahmins
wait on the King when eating, 140 ; and carry their relics away and
give them to the black crows, 140.

Chapter concerning the Brahmins, that is the priests of Calicut, 141.

The Brahmins are the chief persons of the faith; royal marriage
custom.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Chapter concerning the Pagans of Calicut and of what classes they
are, 141, 142.

Classes of the Pagans, 141 ; Brahmins ; Naeri (Nairs) ; Tiva, or arti-
sans, 142 ; Mechua, or fishermen ; Poliar, who collect pepper, wine,
and nuts ; Ilirava, who plant lice; degradation of the two last before
Brahmins and Naeri.

Chapter concerning the dress of the King and Queen, and others
of Calicut, and of their food, 143.

Chapter concerning the ceremonies which they perform after the
death of the King, 143, 144.

Succession goes to sister's son, 143 ; reasons for this, 144 ; customs
on the King's death; betel eating.

Chapter showing how the Pagans sometimes exchange their
wives, 145-147.

Yarthema shows his Malayahm, 145; dialogue between two mer-
chants exchanging wives; poiyandria of the other classes of
pagans, 146.

Chapter concerning the manner of living, and of the administration
of justice among the Pagans, 147, 148.

How they eat, 147; punishments; impaling; fines; curious mode of
enforcing payment of debts.

Chapter concerning the mode of worship of the Pagans, 149.
Their matutinal washing ; prayers ; and customs of cooking, &c.

Chapter concerning the fighting of these people of Calicut, 149-151.

Army of the King, 149; dress, 150; customs of battle; the Naeri
(Nairs), 151; customs as to burning and burial; money of Calicut;
great variety of nations found trading there ; great numbers of Moors
(Mohamedans) .

Chapter concerning the manner of navigating in Calicut, 152-154,

Mode of ship-building, 152; timber, 153; sails; anchors of niarble;
seasons of navigation ; names of the different classes of vessels, 154.

Chapter concerning the palace of the King of Calicut, 155, 156.

The palace and its small value, 155 ; why they cannot dig founda-
tions, 156; the King's jewels, and his bad humour, with the reasons
thereof; his treasures.

Chapter concerning the spices which grow in that country of
Calicut, 157, 158.
Pepper described, 157; ginger, 158; myrobalans.

Chapter concerning some fruits of Calicut, 159-163.

Fruit called ciccara (jack), 159 ; amba (mango) ; corcopal (?), 161 ;
fruit like a medlar ; comolanga (?) ; malapolanda (plantain), 162.

Chapter concerning the most fruitful tree in the world, 163-166.
The tenga (cocoa-nut tree), 163 ; its many uses, 164 ; the nuts ; sub-

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

stance like flax which is woven, 165 ; another made into cords ; char-
coal ; excellent water contained in the nnt ; oil ; sap drawn and used
for wine ; the cutting down of these trees not forgiven, 166 ; mode of
cultivation; the oil of zerzalino (sesamum).

Chapter concerning the practice they follow in sowing rice, 166, 167.
Ploughing, sowing, and devil-dancing, 167.

Chapter concerning the physicians who visit the sick in Calicut,
167.
Devil-dancers employed to visit the sick, 167 ; potion of ginger.

Chapter concerning the bankers and money-changers, 168-170.

Their balances and touchstones, 168 ; the brokers, and their curious
mode of bargaining with the fingers ; weights used in trade, 170.

Chapter showing how the Poliari and Hirava feed their chil-
dren, 171-173.

Singular treatment of the children, 1 71 ; then' agility ; the many
animals and birds of Calicut, 172 ; parrots ; starlings (or mainas) ;
apes and then- tricks.

Chapter concerning the serpents which are found in Calicut, 173.
Great marsh serpents (crocodiles), 173; venomous serpents; protec-
tion of them ; protection of cows, 174 ; superstitions.

Chapter concerning the lights of the King of Calicut, 174, 175.

Vases used in the king's house for lamps described, 174; feasting
customs on expiry of mourning, 175.

Chapter showing how a great number of people came to Calicut on
the 25th of December to receive their pardon, 175-177.
Temple in a tank, 175; manner of the sacrifice; the great Sathanas;
the vast number assembled, 177.

THE THIRD BOOK CONCERNING INDIA.

His companion cannot sell his goods, because of the war with the
King of Portugal, 178 ; they go by a beautiful river (backwater) to
Caicolon, 179; Christians of St. Thomas, 180; go to Colon (Quilon),
182; and thence to Chayl, 184; pearl-fishery.

Chapter concerning Cioromandel, a city of India, 186-188.

City of Cioromandel, 186; body of St. Thomas, 187; miracle at his
tomb; war with the King of Tarnassari, 188; Varthenia and his
companion go to Zailon (Ceylon).

Chapter concerning Zailani, where jewels are produced, 188-190.

Four kings in the island, 188 ; then' wars, 189 ; elephants ; rubies,
190 ; mining customs ; excellent fruits.

Chapter concerning the tree of the canella [cinnamon], 191-194.

Cinnamon-tree described, 191 ; Adam's Peak; no rice in Ceylon, 192;
dress and character of the people, 193: no artillery; flowers; sum-
moned to show their goods to the King, 194.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Chapter concerning Paleachct, a country of India, 194, 195.

Palcachet (Pulicat), 194; its trade, 195; war with Tarnassari; they
set out for that place.

Chapter concerning Tarnassari, a city of India, 196-199.

Description of Tarnassari (Tenasserim), 196 ; the King's wars with
Narsinga and Banghella (Bengal) 198; his army; products of the
country.

Chapter concerning the domestic and wild animals of Tarnassari,
199-202.

Animals detailed, 199; bird with great beak (hornbill), 200; great
cocks and hens ; cock-fighting ; goats, reniai-kable sheep, &c. ; buffa-
loes, 201 ; great bone of a fish ; dress of the people.

Chapter showing how the King causes his wife to be deflowered,
and so also the other pagans of the city, 202-204.

White men employed, 202; dialogue between merohants and the
author's companion recited.

Chapter showing how the dead bodies are preserved in this city, 204.
Burning of the dead and preservation of the ashes, 204 ; odoriferous
woods, &c, used in burning, 205.

Chapter showing how the wife is burnt alive after the death of her
husband, 206-208.

Description of the ceremonies of widow -burning, 206, 207; another
custom of proving affection, 208.

Chapter concerning the administration of justice which is observed
in Tarnassari, 209.

Punishment of murder, 209; conveying, &c.; the King heir to foreign
merchants ; funeral customs of Moorish merchants.

Chapter concerning the ships which are used in Tarnassari, 210.

Chapter concerning the city of Banghella, and of its distance from
Tarnassari, 210-212.

They go to Banghella (some city of Bengal), 210 ; the Moorish Sultan
and his great army, 211; great plenty in the country, 212; wealthy
merchants ; names of the stuffs exported.

Chapter concerning some Christian merchants in Banghella, 212-
214.

Christian merchants from a city called Sarnau, 212 ; their dress, 213;
their bebef, mode of writing, observances ; they offer to take Var-
thema and his companion to a good market, 214 ; these go with the
Christians to Pego (Pegu).

Chapter concerning Pego, a city of India, 215.

The city of Pego, 215; Christians employed by the King, 217; animals,
2JS; parrots; timber (teak); great canes; rubies from Capelhm; the
King's wars with Ava; they go in search of the King, 219; but
roi urn to Pego, and are admitted to an interview when he comes back
victorious.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Chapter concerning the dress of the King of Pego above-men-
tioned, 219-222.

The King described, and his jewels, 219 ; Yarthenia's companion
shows his corals, 220 ; and presents them to the King, 221 ; the King
gives rubies in return ; his wealth and liberality, 222 ; products of his
country ; approach of the King of Ava ; women burning themselves.

Chapter concerning the city Malacha and the river Gaza, otherwise
Gange, as I think, and of the inhumanity of the men, 223-228.

Go to Melacha (Malacca), 223 ; great river more than twenty-five
miles wide, called Gaza (the Straits of Malacca) ; Sumatra ; Sultan
of Melacha ; tributary to the King of Cini (Siam), 224 ; great amount
of shipping ; trade and produces, 225 ; the people described, 22f> ;
their violence and insubordination, 227 ; the travellers go to Pider
(Pedir) in Sumatra, 22S.

Chapter concerning the island of Sumatra, and concerning Pider,
a city of Sumatra, 228-232.

Circumference of Sumatra, 229 ; he identifies it with Taprobane ;
the inhabitants and their customs, 230 ; the\r money, 231 ; great
elephants, 232.

Chapter concerning another sort of pepper, and concerning silk
and benzoin, which are produced in the said city of Pider,
233, 234.
Pepper and long pepper, 233 ; silk, 234 ; benzoin.

Chapter concerning three sorts of aloes-wood, 234-237.

Three kinds of aloes-wood, viz., calampat, loban, and bochoY, 235 ;
the first and best chiefly purchased in Gran Cathai, in Cini, Macini,
Sarnau, and Giava, 236.

Chapter concerning the experiment with the said aloes-wood and
benzoin, 238.

The Christians show by experiment the excellence of kalanrpat and
of benzoin ; lacca-wood used for dying red.

Chapter concerning the variety of dealers in the said island of
Sumatra, 238.

Beautiful work in gold, 238 ; numerous money-changers, 239 ; timber ;
great junks, with prows each way; swimmers, and fireworkers.

Chapter concerning the houses, and how they are covered in the
said island of Sumatra, 240-243.

Houses covered with turtle shells, 240 ; great elephants' teeth, 241 ;
very great serpents ; they wish to see spices growing, but are informed
that the nutmegs and cloves grow much farther off ; their Christian
companions teach them what they must do to go there, 242 ; they buy
two small vessels, and persuade the Christians to accompany
them, 243.

Chapter concerning the island of Bandan, where nutmegs and mace
grow, 243, 244.
Pass many islands, 243 ; arrive at Bandan, 244 j description of the

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

people, and of the nutmeg-tree ; stupidity of the people ; determine
to go to the clove island.

Chapter concerning the island of Monoch, where the cloves grow,
244-246.

Reach the island of Monoch (Moluccas), 245; the clove-tree de-
scribed, 246.

Chapter concerning the island of Bornei, 246-248.

The Christians propose to show them the largest and richest island in
the world (apjiarently Java), 247; but they niust first go to another
island called Bornei (Borneo) ; which they reach accordingly, 248 ;
the Christians are charmed with Vartheina's conversation about the
saints, and wish him to go home with them ; notices of Bornei ; they
charter a vessel for Giava.

Chapter showing how the mariners manage the navigation towards
the island of Giava, 248-251.

The captain carries compass and chart with lines, 249 ; how he navi-
gated thereby, but tells them how beyond Giava there are some races
who sail by certain stars opposite to the north (antarctic) ; and that
there the day is only four hours long, and 'tis colder than in any
part of the world, 251.

Chapter concerning the island of Giava, of its faith, manner of
living and customs, and of the things which grow in the said
Island, 251-255.

Arrive at Giava, 251 ; religion of the island ; its products, 252 ; cha-
racter and features of the people, 253 ; birds ; dress of the people ;
arms, 254 ; blowpipes ; food.

Chapter showing how in this island the old people are sold by their
children or their relations and afterwards are eaten, 255-257.
Fathers when aged sold in the market for food, 255 ; sick persons
killed and sold, 256 ; Vartheina's comrade takes alann.

Chapter where, at midday, the sun casts a shadow in the island of
Giava, 257, 258.

The sun casts a shadow to the south in June, 257 ; their fear of being
eaten ; purchase of emeralds and mutilated children, 258.

Chapter concerning our return, 258-263.

Charter a junk and return to Malacha, 258 ; part with the Christians
of Sarnau, to the great grief of these, 259 ; sail to Cioromandel, and
take another ship to Colon (Quilon) ; they proceed to Calicut, where
Varthema finds two Milanese Christians who made ordnance for the
king ; Varthema plays the hypocrite, pretending to be a Mussulman
saint, and is much venerated, 262.

Chapter showing how I made myself a physician in Calicut,
263-266.

Varthema called to visit a silk merchant, 263 ; his medical practice,
264 ; and its success ; his fame as a saint spreads, but he keeps up
secret communication with the Christians, 265.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Chapter concerning the news of the ships of the Portuguese which
came into Calicut, 266.

Two Persian merchants of Cannanore report the arrival of the Portu-
guese fleet there, and the comrnencement of a fort ; Varthenia pre-
tends to denounce them, 266.

Chapter showing how the Moors summon to the church those who
are of their sect and faith, 267, 268.

Takes occasion to describe the call to prayer (adh'm), 267 ; Varthema
sets forth (as Imam) to lead the prayers of the congregation in the
mosque ; gives his version of the prayer (Fdtihah) ; pretends illness,
and his comrade proposes his going to Cannanore for change, 268.

Chapter concerning the flight from Calicut, 268-270.

Varthema after doubts and fears sets out by sea with the two mer-
chants of Cannanore, 268 ; they are stopped by the Nairs ; they start
by land till they find a boat which takes them to Cannanore, 270 ;
where a friend of his (Mussulman) comrade receives him hospitably.

Chapter showing how I escaped from Cananor to the Portuguese,
270-274.

He makes his way to the Portuguese factory, and takes refuge with
Don Lorenzo de Almeyda, 271 ; to whom he relates all the prepara-
tions at Calicut ; and is then sent to the Viceroy at Cochin, 272 ; the
Viceroy receives him well and gives him a safe conduct for the two
Milanese ; he makes many attempts to induce them to escape alone
with their jewels and money ; but their avarice causes delays and they
are betrayed, 273 ; the Moorish merchants combine to bribe the King
of the Gioghi, who was then at Calicut, to have them murdered, 274 ;
Varthema protects the son of one of them, who dies a year later.

Chapter concerning the fleet of Calicut, 274-280.

Description of the great fleet which issued from the ports of Calicut,
274 ; the Viceroy's son having but eleven ships to meet them, 275 ; he
exhorts his officers and men ; the chaplain follows with a discourse
and absolution ; but the main fight takes place next day near Can-
nanore, 277 ; gallantry of Captain Joan Sarrano and of Captain Simon
Martin, 278 ; rout and pursuit of the Calicut fleet, 279 ; great slaughter
of the enemy ; bravery of the Portuguese ; and joy of the Viceroy, 280.

Chapter showing how I was sent back to Canonor by the Viceroy,
280-286.

Varthema made factor by the Viceroy and sent to Cannanore, 280 ;
King of Cannanore dying, the new king is hostile, 281 ; war breaks
out and the fort is beleaguered from April to August, 282 ; when they
are relieved by the fleet from Portugal ; miraculous aid hinted at, 284 ;
superstition of the Moors, 285 ; enchanters among them, 286.

Chapter concerning the assault of the Portuguese upon Pannani,
286-288.
Varthema obtains leave to go to Europe, 286 ; but first takes part in
the assault on Pannani, 287 ; desperate fighting; Varthema is knighted
by the Viceroy, 288 ; return to Cannanore.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

THE BOOK CONCERNING ETHIOPIA.

Chapter concerning the various islands in Ethiopia, 289, 290.

They sail from India, and arrive at Mozarubich, 289 ; notices of Me-
lindi, Mombaza, Chiloa (Kilwah or Quiloa), Zaphala (Sofala), Gogia
(Angoxa), Pati (Pate), Brava, the islands of Socotra, of Cumere (Co-
moro), and Penda (Peniba), 290.

Chapter concerning the island of Mozambich and its inhabitants,
291-296.

Products of Mozambich are gold and oil, 291 ; natives, their low state,
292 ; wild elephants, 293 ; extraordinary speech of the negroes ; barter
with them, 294 ; proceed on then- voyage, passing the island of San
Lorenzo (Madagascar) ; the Portuguese conversions in India merit
success for the king's arms.

Chapter concerning the Cape of Good Hope, 296-298.

Pass the Cape of Good Hope at a distance of 200 miles, 296 ; pass near
St. Helena, where they see two great and extraordinary fishes, 291 ; find
the island of Ascension, and certain stupid bh - ds thereon ; begin to
see the north star; reach the islands of Astori (Azores) ; and Lisbon;
Varthema has an interview with the King of Portugal, 298, who con-
firms his patent of knighthood; Varthema proceeds to Rome.

PREFACE,

BY THE TRANSLATOR.

The following translation has been made from the
first edition of Varthema's work printed at Rome in
the year 1510, or, as stated in the colophon : " Nel
Anno M.D.X. a di • vi de Decembrio." It is impos-
sible to peruse Varthema's narrative and not feel a
conviction that the writer is telling the truth, that he
is recording events which actually took place, and
describing men, countries and scenes which he had
examined with his own eyes. There is a manifest
absence of all attempt at composition. The tale is
told with a charming simplicity and all the concise
freshness of a note-book, and the author has evi-
dently not stopt to consider whether the word he
used was Bolognese, Venetian, or "Lingua Toscana."
Neither has he felt any qualms of conscience as to
his grammar. This latter circumstance has occa-
sionally rendered the meaning of a passage somewhat
doubtful. The printers also have added their mite
to the obscurity by sometimes uniting two words
or sentences together, or separating one word or
sentence into two, or by leaving out a word alto-

11 PREFACE.

gether. This edition, however, is the only one which
gives Varthcma's text truly. Even the Latin trans-
lation by Archangelus Madrignanus (a monk of
the abbey of Clairvaux), which was finished on the
25th day of May 1511, or within six months after
the publication of the first Italian edition, is not
always an exact exponent of Varthema's text. Later
editions vary still more, and the English translation,
which is given in Eden's Collection of Voyages and
Travels, printed at London in 1577, is extremely im-
perfect : many passages are totally at variance with the
original, and many others are omitted. It has, there-
fore, been thought advisable by the Council of the
Hakluyt Society that a new version should be exe-
cuted, which should as far as possible be a faithful
representative of the original work. With this
object in view, the translator has endeavoured to
preserve the quaint dry style of the author. This
must be his excuse for retaining some expressions
which are hardly suited to the refinement of the
present day, and for not omitting some anecdotes
which a writer in modern times would hardly ven-
ture to record. They, however, afford an additional
voucher for the truth of the narrator : it is impos-
sible to imagine them to be inventions, and they only
make us feel the more assured that we are really
travelling with Varthema, and sharing with him in
all his adventures. His work at once attracted
attention. It was, as stated above, immediately
translated into Latin, shortly afterwards into Ger-
man, then into Spanish and French, again into

PREFACE. Ill

German, then into Dutch and English, a third time
into German, and again into Dutch in the middle
of the 1 7th century.

All the early editions, as well of the original Ita-
lian as of the translations of this work, are extremely
rare and costly. The consequence is, that there is,
perhaps, no work which has been so frequently re-
produced, of which the lists given by bibliographers
are so inaccurate and imperfect. They have been
obliged to copy one from another without the means
of testing the accuracy of their statements. The
translator has had the advantage of seeing most of
the editions of which he gives the titles, and has
described them somewhat fully for the benefit of
those to whom the originals may not be conveniently
accessible.

The following is a list of the most important
editions of this work : —

Italian.

1. Itineraries de Ludouico de Varthema Bolognesc nello
Egypto, nella Surria, nella Arabia deserta & felice ; nella
Persia, nella India & nella Ethiopa. La fede, el uiuere,
& costumi de tutte le prefate Prouincie con Gratia & Pri-
vilegio infra notato.

Colophon. — Stampato in Roma per maestro Stephano guil-
lireti de Loreno & maestro Hercule de Nani Bolognese,
ad instatia de maestro Lodouico de Henricis da Corneto
Vicetino. Nel Anno m.d.x. a di • vi. de Decembrio. 4°.

This edition contains 102 leaves, besides the title,
100 of which are numbered, and the two leaves con-
taining the last page of the privilege, and the first

b 2

IV PREFACE.

three pages of the table being unnumbered. This is
the first Italian edition, and is of excessive rarity.
Until recently, very few bibliographers were aware
of its existence. A copy is in the Grenville Library
in the British Museum.

S. Itinerario de Ludouico de Varthema Bolognese nello
egypto nella Suria ; nella Arabia deserta et felice nella
Persia nella India et nella Ethiopia Le fede, el viuere et
costumi de tutte le pfate prouincie. Cu Priuilegio.

Colophon. — Impresso in Rome per Mastro Stephano Guil-
lireti De Loreno Nel anno m.d.xvij adi . xvi de Junio
Cum gratia et Privilegio del S. Signore N. S. Leone,
p. p. X. in suo anno quinto. 8°.

This edition contains title, seven leaves of prelimi-
nary matter (viz. the privilege and table of contents),
and 123 leaves of text not numbered. Signatures
A ij to Q vj.

The Privilege is dated 10th of June 1517. In this
Privilege it is stated that licence is given to Stephanus
Guillereti de Lothoringia to print the book, " Ludo-
vico defuncto, neminem ex heredibus superesse qui
ex nova impressione vel jactura vel injuria afficiatur."
It is also stated that all the copies of the former im-
pression were sold.

The only known copy of this edition is in the
Grenville Library.

Mr. Grenville, in a note upon this copy, speaking
of some of the editions of the book, says : —

" It was a third time printed in Italian, at Venice in 1518,
and this third Italian edition is by Haym, and most of the
books of bibliography, described as the first. In truth, the

PREFACE. V

two first Italian editions of 1510 and 1517 are so rare, that
I find no notice whatever of either of them, except in Croft's
Catalogue, No. 8045—8046, and quoted by Brunet from
Croft's. This copy [of the edition of 1517] comes from the
Blandford sale ; it had been bought at Croft's sale. I have
seen no copy but this of this edition. It is unknown to
Panzer, Maittaire, Haym, &c."

3. Itinerario De Ludouico De Varthema Bolognese ne lo
Egypto, ne la Suria, ne la Arabia Deserta & Felice ne la
Persia ne la India ne la Ethiopia. La fede el viuere &
costumi de tutte le pfate pulcie, Nouamete impsso.

Colophon. — Stampata in Venetia per Zorzi di Rusconi
Milanese : Regnando linclito Principe Miser Leonardo
Loredano : Nella incarnatioe del nro signore Jesu xpo
m.d.xvii. adi vi del Mese de Marzo. 8°.

This edition is printed in double columns, and con-
tains ninety-two unnumbered leaves. Signatures A ii
to M. The table of contents occupies four pages, and
commences on the verso of sig. M.

This edition was printed in 1518, new style, the
year then commencing on the 25th of March. A
copy is in the Banksian Library in the British
Museum.

4. Itinerario De Ludouico De Verthema Bolognese ne lo
Egypto ne la Suria ne la Arabia Deserta e Felice ne la
Persia ne la India : e ne la Ethiopia. La fede el uiuere e
costumi de tutte le p'refate prouincie. Nouamente impresso.

Colophon. — Stampata in Milano per Ioanne Angelo Scin-
zenzeler Nel Anno del signor m.cccccxix. Adi vltimo de
Mazo. 4°.

This copy contains fifty-eight unnumbered leaves.
Signatures a ii. to g iii. The colophon is printed on

VI PREFACE.

a separate leaf, and is followed by two leaves of the
table of contents.

A copy of this edition is in the Royal library in
the British Museum.

5. Itinerario De Ludouico De Verthema Bolognese ne
lo Egypto ne la Suria ne la Arabia Deserta & Felice ne
la Persia ne la India : & ne la Ethiopia La fede el uiuere
& costumi de tutte le prefate prouincie. Nouamente irn-
presso.

The type in the colophon has got shifted. It
reads : —

fflSta

M.ccc mpata in Milano per Johanne Angelo
Scinzenzeler nel Anno del Signor
ccxxiii. a di_ xxx <j e Aprile. 4°.

This edition contains title, forty-one leaves num-
bered ii to xlii, and two leaves of table of contents
not numbered. Signatures A ii to F ii.

A copy of this edition of 1523 is in the Grenville
Library.

6. Itinerario de Ludouico De Varthema Bolognese nello
Egitto, nella Soria nella Arabia deserta, & felice, nclla
Persia, nella India, & nela Ethyopia. Le fede el viuere,
& costumi delle prefate Prouincie. Et al psente agiontoui
alcune Isole nouamete ritrouate.

Colophon. — Stampato in Vinegia per Francesco di Ales-
sandro Bindone, & Mapheo Pasini compani, a santo Moyse
al segno de Langelo Raphael, nel m.d.xxxv. del mese
d'Aprile. 8°.

The Itinerary of Varthema terminates on the recto
of page 89, with the following words : —

PREFACE. Vll

" Qui Finisse lo Itinerario de Ludovico de Varthema
Bolognese, de li paesi et Isole la Fede el vivere et costumi
loro. Nuovamente per lui visto in piu parte."

Followed by —

" Qui comencia lo Itinerario de Lisola de Iuchatan noua-
mente retrouata per il Signor Joan de Grisalue Capitan
Generale de Larmata del Re de Spagna e p il suo Capellano
coposta."

This edition consists of 103 leaves, of which 99 are
numbered ; the title-page, and table of contents, and
device at the end, are not numbered. The colophon
is printed at the end of the table ; the device occupies
a separate leaf, and represents the " Archangelus
Raphael" leading with his right hand " Tobiodo,"
(who is represented as a little child with a large fish
in his hand), and having on his left Tobit's dog.

The Itinerary of the Island of Yucatan is printed
in this edition of Varthema for the first time.

A copy of this edition is in the Grenville Library.

7. Itinerario de Ludovico De Varthema Bolognese nello
Egitto, nella Soria, nella Arabia deserta, & felice, &
nella Persia, nella India, & nella Ethyopia. Le fede, el
viuere, & costumi delle prefate Prouincie. Et al Presente
Agiontovi alcune Isole nuouamente trouate.

Colophon. — In Venetia per Matthio Pagan, in Frezzaria,
al segno della Fede. 8°.

The type in the colophon has got shifted. This
edition reads page for page with that of 1535. One
has evidently been closely reprinted from the other.

Mr. Grenville was of opinion that this edition was
printed in 1518. This, however, must be a mistake.

Vlll PREFACE.

as Matthio Pagan or Pagano printed at Venice be-
tween the years 1554 and 1569 (see also " Saggio di
Bibliografia Veneziana, composto da E. A. Cicogna."
Venezia 1847), and his name is not found in any list
of printers prior to that date. The circumstance
which renders it important to fix the date of this edi-
tion is that of the " Itinerario de l'lsola de Juchatan,"
being printed for the first time with the work of
Varthema. If Mr. Grenville be correct, then the
Itinerary was printed in 1518 ; if not, it was not
printed until 1535. It is not included in any edi-
tion bearing a date prior to that of 1535.

A copy is in the Grenville Library.

Varthema is also inserted by Ramusio in his
" Prime volume delle navigationi et viaggi nel qual si
contiene la descrizione dell' Africa, et del paese del
prete Janni con varii viaggi dal Mar Rosso a Calicut et
infin all' isole Molucche dove nascono de spetierie,"
&c. Venetia, 1550. Fol. Ramusio had evidently
never seen the first or second editions, as he tells us
that he had made use of the Spanish translation from
the Latin, in order to correct the corrupted text then
in use. It may naturally, therefore, be supposed that
such a process cannot have restored the language of
the original.

Boucher de la Richarderie (" Bibliotheque Univer-
selle des Voyages ") mentions an edition in Italian
printed by Rusconi at Venice in 1520, and another
printed at the same place in 1589 ; and Ternaux
Compans inserts in his " Bibliotheque Asiatique et
Africa ine" the title of an edition printed by Scin-

PREFACE. IX

zenzeler at Milan in 1525 in 4°. Beckmann ( Vorrath)
mentions an edition printed at Venice in fol. in 1563.

Latin.

We have already said that the travels of Varthema
were translated into Latin within a few months after
the appearance of the Italian edition, the dedicatory
epistle of the translator bearing the date " Mediolani
octavo calen. Junias mdxi." [25 May, 1511.] Al-
though there is no date to this edition, it was most
probably printed in the year the dedication bears
date, or very shortly afterwards. The title is as
follows : —

Ludovici Fatritii Romani novum Itinerarium iEthiopise :
JEgypti : vtriosque Arabise : Persidis : Siriae : ac India; :
intra et extra Gangem. 4°.

The dedicatory epistle bears the following inscrip-
tion : —

Reverendissimo in Christo Patri Domino Domino Bernar-
dino Carvaial episcopo Sabino : Sancte crucis in Hierusalem
Cardinali amplissimo : Patriarchs Hyerosolimeo : ac utri-
usque philosophise monarchal eminentissimo, Archangelus
Carsevallensis.

In this epistle the translator gives a rapid geogra-
phical sketch of the various parts of the world, show-
ing the interest and importance of Varthema's work,
which, he says, " tuis auspiciis effectus est romanus
et, quasi serpens, exuto senio elegantioreque sumpto
amictu juvenescit."

Colophon. — " Operi suprema manus imposita est auspitiis
cultissimi celebratissimiq : Bernardini Carauaial hispani.
Epi sabinen. S.R.E. Cardialis cognometo sancte crucis

X PREFACE.

amplissimi. quo tpe quibus nunq : antca bcllis : Italia
crudele Imodu uexabat."

This edition consists of sixty-two numbered leaves,
besides eight preliminary leaves. Sigs. AA. A. to I v.

Ternaux Com pans (Bibliotlwque Asiatique et Afri-
caine) gives the title of an edition of Madrignanus's
translation of 1508 ; but this is clearly a mistake, the
Italian not having been printed until 1510, and the
epistle to the Latin translation bearing date 1511.

A copy of the edition of 1511 is in the Grenville
Library.

Another Latin edition was printed at Nuremburg
in 1610, and again at Francfort in 1611. It was
also inserted in the " Novus Orbis" of Grynceus.

German.
Four years after the Latin translation a German
version was published with the following title :—

1 . Die Ritterlich vn lobwirdig rayss des gestrengen vn
uber all ander weyt erfarnen ritters vnd Lantfarers herren
Ludowico vartomans vo Bolonia Sagent vo den landen,
Egypto, Syria, vo bayden Arabia, Persia, India, vn Ethiopia
vo den gestalte, syte vn dero menschen leben vnd gelauben.
Auch von manigerlay thyeren voglen vnd vil andern in den
selben landen seltzamen wiiderparlichen sachens. Das alles
er selbs erfaren vn in aygner person gesehen hat.

Colophon. — Auss welscher zungen in teytsch transferyert
und seligklichen volend worden in der Kayserlichen stat
Augspurg in Kostung und verlegung des Ersamen Hansen
Millers der jar zal Christi 1515. An dem. sechzechen den
Tag des Monatz Junij. 4°.

This edition consists of 76 leaves not numbered.

PREFACE. XI

Signatures a ii to t. iii. The printer's device occupies
the last leaf.

A copy is in the Grenville Library.

2. Die Ritterlich und lobwurdig reiss des gestrengen \h
uber all ander weyt-erfarne Hitters vii landtfarers herre
Ludowico Vartomans vo Bolonia Sagend von den landen,
Egypto, Syria, von beiden Arabia, Persia, India, vnd
Ethiopia, von den gestalten, sitten vnd dero menschen
leben vnd glauben. Auch von manigerley thieren, voglen
vnd vil andern in den selben landen seltzamen wunderbar-
liclien sachen. Das alles er selbs erfaren vnd in eygner
person gesehe hat.

Colophon. — Auss Welscher zungen in Teutsch transffe-
riert. Unnd selighlichen volendet unnd getruckt in des
Keyserliche Freystat Strassburg. Durch den Ersame Jo-
hannem Knobloch, Als man zalt vo der geburt Christi
unsers herre mcccccxvj. Jar. 4°.

This edition contains 113 unnumbered leaves.
Signatures A ij to X. v.

A copy is in the British Museum.

Both these editions are copiously illustrated with
engravings on wood.

Panzer (Annalen der cilteren Deutschen Literatur,
p. 421,) gives the following: —

" 3. Die Rittertich vnd lobwirdig raiss des gestregen vnd
iiber all ander weyt erfarnen ritters \n landfarers, herren
Ludowico Vartomans von Bolonia. Sagent vo den landen
Egipto. Syria, vo bayden Arabia. Persia. India, vfi Ethiopia.
Das alles er selbs erfaren vnd gesehen hat." Colophon. —
" Getrucht in der kaiserlichen stat Augspurg, in der jar zal
Christi m.d.xvtii." 4°.

Panzer is of opinion that this translation may have

Xll PREFACE.

been made by Michael Herr. It will be shown,
however, hereafter, that this cannot have been the
case. It was reprinted at Augsburg in 1530.

In 1532 Simon Gryna?us published at Basle, in
folio, a collection of voyages and travels, under the
title, " Novus orbis regionum ac insularum veteribus
incognitarum una cum tabula eosmographica et
aliquot aliis consimilis argumenti libellis," in which
he included the Latin translation of Varthema. This
collection was translated into German by Michael
Herr, under the title, " Die New "Welt," and printed
at Strasburg in 1534. In the introductory epistle to
Regnart Count of Hanau, he says, that if he had
met with the German translation of Varthema (whom
he calls Varthoman) before he had made his own, he
should have been glad to have been spared his trouble.
It is clear, therefore, that Herr did not make the
German translation published in 1515 and 1516.
Herr's translation was executed from the Latin —
that of 1515 from the Italian.

Another translation by Hieronymus Megiserus,
historiographer of the Elector of Saxony, was printed
at Leipzig in 1610, with the following title : —

" 4. Hodeporicon India? Orientalis ; das ist, Warhafftige
Beschreibung der ansehlich Lobwiirdigen Reyss, Welche
der Edel gestreng und weiterfahrne Bitter, H. Ludwig di
Barthema von Bononien aus Italia biirtig, Inn die Orienta-
lische und Morgenlander, Syrien, beide Arabien, Persicn,
nnd Indien, auch in Egypten und Ethyopien, zu Land und
Wasser personlich verrichtet : Neben eigentlicher Vermel-
dung Vielerley Wenderbahren Sachen, so er darinnen
gcsehcn und erfahren, Alss da seynd manigfaltigc sorten

PREFACE. Xlll

von Thieren unci Gewachsen,Dessgleichcn allerhand Volcker
sitteu, Leben, Polycey, Glauben, Ceremoinen unci gebrauch,
sampt anderer seltzamen denckwiirdigen dingen, daselbst zu
sehen : Und endlich, Was er fiir angst, noht und gefahr in
der Heidenschafft vieler ort aussgestanden : Alles von jhme
H.Barthema selber inltalianischerSprach schrifFtlich verfasst
und nu aus dem Original mit sonderm fleiss verdeutsclit :
Mit Kupferstiicken artlich geziert, und aufFs new in Truck
verfertiget : Durch Hieronymum Megiserum. Leipzig.
1610. 8 ."

This edition is copiously illustrated with maps and
plans engraved on copper by H. Gross. A copy is
in the British Museum.

Ternaux Compans has inserted in his Bibliotheque
the title of an edition of Megeserus's translation,
printed at Augsburg in 4° in 1608. This date may
be correct, as the preface to the edition of 1610 is
dated 1 October 1607. He also mentions an edition
printed at Francfort by H. Gulferichen in 1548. An
edition was also printed at Leipzig in 1615.

Spanish.

The first edition of the Spanish translation was
printed in 1520, and the translator, Christoval de
Arcos, informs us that he made it from the Latin
version, because he could not procure the Italian.
He recommends those who doubt the truth of Var-
thema's relation to go and see for themselves ; and to
those who may find fault with his translation, he ex-
cuses himself on account of the obscurity of the Latin
from which it was made. The title is : —

Itinerario del venerable varon micer Luis patricio ro-

XIV PREFACE.

mano : en el qual cueta mucha parte de la ethiopia Egipto :
y entrabas Arabias : Siria y la India. Buelto de latin en
romance por Christoual de arcos clerigo. Nuncia hasta
aqui impresso en lengua castellana.

Colophon. Fue impressa la presente obra enla muy
noble y leal cuidad Scuillapor Jacobo croberger aleman.
Enel aiio dcla encarnaciom del seiior de Mill y quincentos y
veynte. Fol.

This edition consists of fifty-four numbered leaves
(from ii to lv), besides the title, and also the colo-
phon, which is printed on a separate leaf. The book
is printed in double columns. Signatures a iii to g v.

A copy of this edition is in the Grenville Library.
Brunet states that this translation was reprinted at
Seville in 1523 and 1576 in folio, and Ternaux Com-
pans mentions an edition printed at Seville in 1570.

French.

No separate translation into French has been pub-
lished of this work, but a French translation is
printed in the " Description de l'Afrique, tierce partie
du monde contenant ses royaumes, regions, viles, cites,
chateaux et forteresses : iles, fluves, animaux tant
aquatiques que terrestres, &c. Escrite de notre terns
par Jean Leon, Africain." Tome second: "Conte-
nant les Navigations des capitaines Portugalois et
autres faites audit pais, jusques aux Indes, tant
orientales que Occidentals, parties de Perse, Arabie
Heureuse, pierreuse et deserte. . . . L'assiette desdits
pais, iles, royaumes et empires : Les figures, habits,
religion et facon de faire des habitans et autres sin-
gularites cy devant incogneues." Lyons, 1556. Fol.

PREFACE. XV

Dutch.

The Novns Orbis of Grynaeus was again translated,
and this time into Dutch by Cornells Ablijn, and
printed at Antwerp in 1563 in folio. The translator
addresses his work to William Prince of Orange, and,
speaking of the original, announces his own labours
in the following words : —

" Dwelek ich Cornells Ablijn openbaer notarius resi-
derende inder vermaerder coopstadt van Antwcrpen. door
bede van sommige vrienden wt dcr Hoochduytscher in deser
Nederduytscher oft Brabantsche taelen getranslateert ende
oveghesedt hebbe."

This translation, therefore, is further removed from
the original than any of the others. The privilege is
dated 1561.

De uytnemende en seer wonderlijcke zee-en-Landt-Reyse
vande Heer Ludowyck di Barthema, van Bononien, Bidder,
&c., gedaen Inde Morgenlanden, Syrien, Vrughtbaer en
woest Arabien, Perssen, Indien, Egypten, Ethiopien, en
andere. Uyt bet Italiens in Hoogh-duyts vertaelt door
Hieronymum Megiserium, Cheur-Saxsens History schrijver.
En vyt den selven nu eerstmael in't nederdcuyts gebracht
door. F. S. Tot Utrecht, 1654. 4°.

A copy of this edition is in the British Museum.

Meusel, " Bibliotlieca Historica," vol. 2, pt. 1,
p. 340, says that the German translation of Megiserus
was translated into Dutch, and printed at Utrecht in
1615 in 4°; and Ternaux Compans inserts in the
" Bibliotheque" the title of another edition printed at
Utrecht in 4° by W. Snellaert in 1655.

XVI PREFACE.

English.

In 1577 Richard Eden published, a collection of
voyages and travels in 4°, which he entitled " The
History of Travayle in the West and East Indies,"
&c, in which he included the Itinerary of Varthema
with the following title : —

" The navigation and vyages of Lewes Vertom annus,
Gentleman, of the citie of Rome, to the regions of Arabia,
Egypte, Persia, Syria, Ethiopia, and East India, both within
and without the ryver of Ganges, etc. In the yeere of our
Lorde 1503 : conteynyng many notable and straunge thinges,
both hystoricall and naturall. Translated out of Latine
into Englyshe by Richarde Eden. In the yeare of our Lord
1576."

A short extract, greatly abridged, from Varthema's
work, is also inserted in " Purchas his Pilgrimage."
London, 1625-6. Fob

J. Winter Jones.
Dec. 10, 1863.

INTRODUCTION,

BY THE EDITOR.

Who was Ludovico di Varthema 1 Unfortunately,
scarcely any record of him is forthcoming except
what he tells us himself. I have searched every
available repository of such information, to learn
something of his antecedents, and have searched in
vain. Zedler finds no place for him in his Universal
Lexicon ; our own Biographical Collections pass him
over ; and all that the French have to say is this : —
" Varlomanas, gentilhomme Bolonais, et patrice Ro-
main, fut un voyageur celebre clans le xvi e siecle. II
est presque inconnu dans le notre, parce que l'abbe
Prevost, et ceux qui ont ecrit l'histoire des voyages,
ont neglige de parler du sien, quoiqu'il soit un des
plus importants pour l'histoire de la geographie, et
pour Thistoire en general." 1 I had hoped to glean
some stray notices of him in the writings of his own
countrymen ; but they are as barren of what we wish
to know as the rest. Zurla 2 does not even mention
him in his Dissertation on the most illustrious Italian

1 Biographie Universelle, Ancienne et Moderne, Paris, 1827.

2 Di Marco Polo e elegit altri Viaggiatori piu illustri, Disser-
tazione da P. Ab. D. Placido Zurla, 2 vols. Venezia, 1818.

XVlll INTRODUCTION.

travellers ; and Fantuzzi, the only Italian historian
who devotes more than a few lines to him, begins his
article on " Lodovico Bartema" with an admission
which I have been obliged to imitate, and ends it by
erroneously stating that our author's Itinerary was
first published at Venice, and by hazarding a doubt
respecting his return to Italy, — a fact which is plainly
stated at the conclusion of his narrative. Fantuzzi's
notice is as follows : — " Of this person, we know
nothing beyond what the Co. Valerio Zani has written
in the Preface to the Genio Vagante, torn. i. p. 32,
viz., that Lodovico Bartema, a Bolognese by birth,
flourished in the sixteenth century, — that he left
Bologna for Venice, from whence he crossed over
into Asia, and arrived first at Alexandria," etc.
" This is all we learn from the Co. Valerio Zani in
the abovenamed Preface, subsequent to which we
possess no information about Lodovico Bartema ;
hence, we do not know whether he returned to Italy,
or where he died, except that, inasmuch as his Itine-
rary was printed for the first time in Venice, we are
led to believe" that he did return thither ; for it is
not easy to suppose that he sent his manuscripts from
Portugal to be printed in Italy, which they appear to
have been during his lifetime." 1

1 The following is appended to the foregoing extract in a foot-
note : — " This writer's name is spelt in different ways. In his
Itinerary comprised in the edition of Ramusio, by Ferdinando
Leopoldo del Migliore in the Firenze Illustrata, p. 310, and in
P. D. Abondio Collina's Dissertation De acus naufica inventore,
contained in the Commentary delV Accadem. dell' Instituto, torn. ii.

INTRODUCTION. XIX

This is very unsatisfactory, and the deficiency is not
supplied by any incidental allusions in the author's
dedicatory epistle. Agnesina, the illustrious lady to
whom he dedicates his Itinerary, was the fourth
daughter of Federico di Montefeltro, Count and
second Duke of Urbino, by his second wife Battista
Sforza, and was married in 1474 to Fabrizio Colonna,
Lord of Marino, Duke of Albi and Tagliacozza. Of
the lady Agnesina, Dennistoun says: " She inherited
the talents and literary tastes which had descended
to her mother, and transmitted them to a still more
gifted daughter, the illustrious Vittoria Colonna,
Marchioness of Pescara." 1 Her brother, whose

part iii. p. 382, he is called Lodovico Bartema ; but in the title-
page of the edition of the said Itinerary, from the edition of 1535,
of Bumaldi, in the Biblioth. Bonon., p. 158, of Orlandi's Notizia
degli Scritt. Bologn., he is styled Lodovico Vartema. This is
noticed by the Co. Mazzuchelli ; but it must be borne in mind, that
the permutation of the letters B and V, in pronunciation, is very
common with the Portuguese and Spaniards, as has been the case,
moreover, among almost all nations in almost every age. So, like-
wise, the ancient Florentines used to say Voce and Boce, Voto and
Buto, and so forth. By Konig, in the Biblioth. Vctus et Nova, p.
831, he is called Lodovicus Vartomannus, alias Varthema. Doni,
in bis Libreria, p. 33, styles him merely Lodovico Bolognese; and
Simlero, in his Epit. Biblioth. Gesneri, p. 121, has Lodovico da
Bologna. Besides Mazzuchelli, who speaks of him in his Scrittori
(V Italia, he is also mentioned by Sig. Ab. Tiraboschi, in his Storia
delta Letter, d 'Italia, torn. vii. part i. p. 211." Fanttjzzi's Notizie
degli Scrittori Bolognesi, Bologna, 1781.

1 Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino, vol i. p. 277. Writing of
Battista, Agnesina's mother, the same author remarks: — "She
was a remarkable instance of the transmission of talent by female
descent. Her great grandmother, Battista di Montefeltro [daughter

XX INTRODUCTION.

genius and acquirements are justly eulogized by
Varthema, was Guidobaldo, who succeeded to the
dukedom on the death of his father in 1482, and died
on the 11th of April 1508. As he appears to have
been living at the time the Dedication was written,
it must have been prepared immediately after the
author's return to Italy. 1

of Count Antonio di Montefeltro,] was conspicuous among the
ladies of high birth, whose acquirements gave illustration to her
age. By cotemporary authors, her talents and endowments are
spoken of in most flattering terms, whilst her character is cele-
brated for piety and justice, benignity and tranquillity. Though
married to a man of miserable character, she had a daughter,
Elisabetta Malatesta, who inherited her misfortunes as well as her
genius. Elisabetta's daughter was Costanza Varana, the associate
of scholars and philosophers, whose gifts she is said to have
rivalled, notwithstanding an early death that deprived her infant
Battista of a mother's care." The latter, the mother of Agnesina,
displayed remarkable talents while yet a child, and subsequently
made rapid acquisition of solid knowledge. She was married to
Count Federigo, Duke of Urbino, in 1459. (See Id., pp. 206-7.)
According to Litta, the lady Agnesina died in 1522, while return-
ing from a visit to the Sanctuary at Loreto. Her brother Guildo-
baldo having been deprived of the dukedom by Leo X., her son
Ascanio Colonna, Duke of Palliano, was subsequently invested
with that dignity by Clement VII. ; but the bull of the former pope
not having been carried into effect, he never succeeded to Urbino.
See Litta, Famiglie Celebri Italiani, torn. ii. tavola vii.

1 I am inclined to think, indeed, that the Dedication may have
been intentionally antedated, otherwise Varthema must have had
an extraordinary quick passage from India ; for as he left Can-
nanore on the 6th December 1507, stayed fifteen days at Mozam-
bique and two at the Azores, there only remain three months and
eighteen days for the homeward voyage, and for the preliminaries
connected with the preparation of his book, or at least of the

INTRODUCTION. XXI

One would have thought that Ramusio might have
picked up some information respecting the early life
and subsequent career of our author ; but his " Dis-
corso Breve" to Varthema's book is briefer than
many of the notices prefixed to other far less im-
portant Voyages and Travels contained in his valu-
able Collection. Moreover, it is clear that the first
authorized edition of the Itinerary, printed at Rome
in 1510, was either unknown to him or beyond his
reach ; since he tells us that his revised exemplar
was prepared from a Spanish version made from the
Latin translation, — a third hand process, which ac-
counts for the many variations existing between his
copy and the original Italian edition. The following
is all that he says : —

" This Itinerary of Lodovico Barthema. a Bolognese,
wherein the things concerning India and the Spice Islands
are so full g and so correctly narrated as to transcend all that
has been written either by ancient or modern authors, has
hitherto been read replete with errors and inaccuracies, and
might hare been so read in future, had not God caused to be
put into our hands the book of Chrisfoforo di Arco, a clerk
of Seville, who, being in possession of the Latin exemplar of
that Voyage, made from the original itself, and dedicated to
the Most Reverend Monsignor Bernardino, Cardinal Car-
vaial of the Santa Croce, translated it with great care into
the Spanish language, by the aid of which toe have been
enabled to correct in many places the present book, which ivas
originally loritten by the author himself in our own vulgar
tongue, a?id dedicated to the 3Iost Illustrious Madonna

dedicatory epistle, up to the death of Duke Guidobaldo, which,
according to Dennistoun, occurred on the 11th of April 1508.

XX11 INTRODUCTION.

Agnesina, one of the internment and excellent women of
Italy at that period. She was the daughter of the Most Il-
lustrious Si y nor Fcderico, Duke of TJrbino, and sister of the
Most Excellent Guidobaldo, wife of the Most Illustrious
Signor Fabricio Colonna, and mother of the Most Excellent
Signor Ascanio Colonna and of the lady Vittoria, Marchio-
ness Dal Guasto, the ornament and light of the present age.
And the aforesaid Lodovico divided this volume into seven
Books, in the First of tchich he narrates his journey to
Egypt, Syria, and Arabia Deserla. In the Second, he treats
of Arabia Felix. In the Third, of Persia. In the Fourth,
Fifth, and Sixth, he comprises all India and the Molucca
Islands, where the spices groiv. In the Seventh and last, he
recounts his return to Portugal, passing along the coast of
Ethiopia, the Cape of Good Hope, and several islands of the
Western Ocean"

In this dearth of all external aids, we are obliged
to have recourse to the narrative itself; but even
there, the materials for constructing a biographical
sketch of its author are scanty in the extreme. He
tells us on one occasion (p. 263), that his father was
a physician ; but as he was acting a part when that
statement was- made, little reliance can be placed
upon it. On another, he claimed a knowledge of
casting artillery (p. 50) ; and although the circum-
stances under which the pretension was advanced are
calculated to throw a doubt on its truth, it is not im-
probable that Varthema had been brought up to the
profession of arms, or had at some antecedent period
served as a soldier, since he incidentally remarks, in
a subsequent chapter, (p. 280), that he had been pre-
sent at several battles in his time. This conjecture is

INTRODUCTION. XXU1

further supported by the particular attention which
he pays to the military organization and peculiar
weapons of the different people described in the
course of his narrative. The only additional intima-
tion which he lets drop of his private history gives
us to understand that he was a married man, and was
the father of several children (p. 259).

The motives which led him to undertake this
journey are briefly set forth in the dedication of his
Itinerary. He had an insatiable desire of becoming
acquainted with foreign countries, not unmixed with
ambition for the renown which had been awarded
to preceding geographers and travellers ; but being
conscious, withal, of his inaptitude to attain that
object by reading, " knowing himself to be of very
slender understanding" and disinclined to study, he
" determined, personally, and with his own eyes, to
endeavour to ascertain the situations of places, the
qualities of peoples, the diversities of animals, the
varieties of the fruit-bearing and odoriferous trees of
Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and Felix, Persia,
India, and Ethiopia, remembering well that the testi-
mony of one eye-witness is worth more than ten
thousand hearsays." His surprising travels in search
of this knowledge are recorded in the accompanying-
narrative with an ingenuousness and honesty, and his
personal adventures with a ready wit and humour,
which do credit to his head and heart ; the remark-
able success of his book is attested by the successive
editions which were called for in the course of a few
years after its first publication, and its translation

XXIV INTRODUCTION.

into several European languages ; but what reward
was reaped by the enterprising traveller himself, be-
yond the barren honour of knighthood conferred upon
him by Don Francisco de Almeyda after the battle
of Ponani, and subsequently confirmed by Don
Emanuel of Portugal, we have no means of ascer-
taining. As far as we know, the copyright of his
Itinerary, secured to himself and to his heirs for ten
years, officially granted at the special mandate of
Pope Julius II., by the Cardinal Chamberlain of the
Court of Rome, as appears from the document at-
tached to the first edition of 1510, was the only
recompense bestowed upon him by his admiring but
parsimonious countrymen.

Turning from the author to the author's book, I
do not see how I can better introduce it than bv
rapidly leading the reader over the route pursued,
halting here and there to illustrate the traveller's
journeyings by brief sketches of the history of the
countries visited, and the different people with whom
he came in contact. The antecedent investigations
of Dr. Vincent and Dr. Robertson, and the very
recent researches of Mr. R. H. Major, who in his
able Introduction to India in the Fifteenth Century has
done much towards exhausting the subject of the
ancient intercourse with India prior to the discovery
of the route via the Cape of Good Hope, must be my
excuse for not venturing to supplement their learned
essays in that line, — a task, moreover, for which I
am utterly unqualified. With this candid admission,
1 shall now pass on to the narrative under review.

INTRODUCTION. XXV

Varthema appears to have left Europe towards the
end of 1502, and reached Alexandria about the
beginning of the following year, from whence he
proceeded by the Nile to Cairo. In his brief re-
marks on that city, he corrects the exaggerated idea
of its extent which seems to have prevailed in the
West even after his time ; for we find Giovan Leoni
Africano enumerating it as " une delle maggiore e
mirabili citta che siano nel mondo." 1 His summary
account of the people and government is surprisingly
accurate : — " The inhabitants are Moors [Arabs] and
Mamluks. The lord over them is the Grand Sultan,
who is served by the Mamluks, and the Mamluks
are lords over the Moors." Egypt, at the time, was
governed by the Borjeeh Mamliik Sultan, El-Ashraf
Kansooh el-Ghon, whose territories comprised Syria
as far as the Taurus in Cilicia on the north, and the
Euphrates on the east. Already, the Turks under
Bayazid II. had attempted to wrest Egypt from the
hands of the Mamluks ; but their invasion in 1490
resulted in nothing beyond the annexation of Tarsus
and Adana. It remained for Bayazid's second son,
Selim L, surnamed El-Yauz, about thirty years later,
to put an end to a military dynasty which for up-
wards of two centuries and a half had usurped the
authority of the 'Abbaside Khalifs, whose representa-
tive in the person of El-Mustansik bTllah must have
been residing in Egypt, in comparative obscurity, at
the period of our author's visit.

From Egypt Varthema sailed to Syria, landed at

1 Hamusio, vol. i. p. 83.

XXVI INTRODUCTION.

Beyroot, and travelled by Tripoli to Aleppo. He
notices the concourse of Persians and other foreigners
at the latter place, which, until the route via the
Cape of Good Hope became the great highway to
and from India, was one of the principal stations of
the overland transit trade between the Mediterranean
on the one side, and Persia and the Persian Gulf on
the other. Passing through Hamah, the Hamath of
Scripture, and Menin in the vicinity of Helbon, still
famous for the quality of its grapes, he arrived at
Damascus, where he appears to have sojourned
several w T eeks, and to have made good use of his
time in acquiring some knowledge of colloquial
Arabic. Here, he became acquainted with the Mam-
luks of the garrison, and by means of money, accord-
ing to his own statement, induced a captain of that
body, who was a renegade Christian, to attach him
to a company under his command ; but he cautiously
reserves, what is highly probable, that a profession of
Islamism was exacted as a necessary condition of his
enrolment among the Mamliiks. Whether on assum-
ing the new name of Yiinas, (Jonah,) he underwent
any more special initiation than that of repeating the
simple formula, " There is no god but the God, and
Muhammed is His Apostle," does not transpire ; but
the sequel of his narrative proves, that he had been
tolerably well instructed in the outward ceremonies
of Islam, and by practice, combined with an inquir-
ing disposition, and a great facility in adapting him-
self to circumstances, eventually attained as correct
an insight into the doctrines of the Koran as is pos-
sessed by the generality of Mussulmans.

INTRODUCTION. XXVll

This is not the place to discuss the morality of an
act, involving the deliberate and voluntary denial of
what a man holds to be the Truth in a matter so
sacred as that of Religion. Such a violation of con-
science is not justifiable by the end which the rene-
gade may have in view, however abstractedly praise-
worthy it may be ; and even granting that his demerit
should be gauged by the amount of knowledge which
he possesses of what is true and what false, the con-
clusion is inevitable, that nothing short of utter igno-
rance of the precepts of his faith, or a conscientious
disbelief in them, can fairly relieve the Christian, who
conforms to Islamism without a corresponding per-
suasion of its verity, of the deserved odium which all
honest men attach to apostasy and hypocrisy.

Forming one of the Mamliik escort of the Hajj
Caravan, Varthema set out from Damascus on the 8th
of April 1503 on the march towards El-Medinah.
Among the few Europeans who have recorded their
visits to the Holy Places of the Mussulmans, he is
still the only one who has succeeded in reaching
them by that route. Joseph Pitts of Exeter in a.d.
1680, Ali Bey in 1807, Giovanni Finati in 1811,
Burckhardt in 1814, and Burton in 1853, all pene-
trated into the Hijaz and returned therefrom by the
lied Sea. In this respect, therefore, our author's
narrative is unique ; nevertheless, we have the means
of testing its authenticity by the Hajj Itinerary from
Damascus compiled with so much care by Burck-
hardt. This has been attempted in the annotations
on the text of the present edition, and the result is

XXV111 INTRODUCTION.

alike confirmatory of Varthema's intelligence and
accuracy. A journey of thirty days through a desert,
which Sir John Maundeville and other travellers long
after him would have filled with images of their own
marvellous imaginations, is recounted in the sober
colouring of a tourist of our own times, enlivened
ever and anon with vivid sketches of the wild country
and tribes through which the Caravan wended its soli-
tary way. His description of the Bedawin, of their
marauding incursions and mode of warfare, is mi-
nutely correct, and the picture which he portrays
of an Arab encampment is as true to life now as it
was three centuries and a half ago.

Among the most interesting incidents contained
in this portion of Varthema's peregrinations is the
Caravan halt near " a mountain inhabited by Jews,"
within three days' march of El-Medinah. The stature
of these people, which he limits to two feet in height,
w r as either taken on trust from his Muhammedan
companions, or estimated irrespective of the distance
at which he saw them ; but tinged with borrowed
fable as this part of his narrative undoubtedly is, the
existence of a Jewish colony in that locality for ages
anterior to his time is a w 7 ell authenticated fact,
though every trace of them, beyond an unfounded
rumour that their descendants still existed there,
performing in secret all the ceremonies of their reli-
gion, had disappeared when Burckhardt visited the
Hijaz. Arabian authors refer the foundation of the
settlement to different periods extending as far back
as the days of Moses ; but the most probable account

INTRODUCTION. XXIX

is that their first immigration occurred after the
devastation of Juclea by the armies of Nebuchad-
nezzar, and that the colony was enlarged by succes-
sive bands of refugees in after times down to the
destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, and the persecu-
tions to which they were subjected under the Em-
peror Adrian.

On entering El-Medinah, " wishing to see every
thing," our traveller's party engaged the services of
a Muzmvivir, or guide, whose duty it doubtless was
then, as it is still, to instruct the pilgrims in the ap-
pointed ceremonies of the Ilajj, as well as to accom-
pany them in the character of ordinary ciceroni. The
principal object of interest here was the tomb of
Muhammed, and with one or two minor exceptions,
attributable probably to his imperfect knowledge of
Arabic, our author's detailed description of the inte-
rior and exterior of the Mosque is strikingly verified
by the later accounts of it as given by Burckhardt
and Burton. He takes occasion, moreover, in the
course of his observations, to correct the absurd
notion, which prevailed extensively in those days,
that the Prophet's coffin was made of metal, and
hung in mid air by the attraction of a powerful
magnet.

Another superstition which the party ventured to
question on the spot, was the supernatural light
which the more credulous Moslems believe to issue
from the sepulchre of their Prophet, as firmly as
pious Christians of the Greek rite believe in the fable
of the Holy Fire as it is manufactured at Jerusalem.

3JTY 1

XXX INTRODUCTION.

The discussion which took place on this subject
between the Captain of the Mamluks and certain
Sherifs of the Mosque reveals the renegade's general
disbelief in Muhammedanism ; though it may well be
doubted whether such an unreserved manifestation
of it could have been attempted with impunity ex-
cept by a person in his position.

The character of the townspeople, which is pro-
verbially bad, elicits from Varthema the epithet of
" canaglia," and expressing equal disgust at " the
vanities of Muhammed," which form the staple at-
tractions to the pilgrim visitors at El-Medinah, or
The City, par excellence, he resumes his onward jour-
ney towards Meccah, which was accomplished in ten
days. The intervening country appears to have been
in. a very unsettled state, for he records two skir-
mishes with large bands of Arabs, and ascribes the
cause to the prevalence of a great war between
four brothers who were fighting for the lordship of
Meccah. In a subsequent chapter, whilst describing
Juddah, he mentions incidentally that the govern-
ment of that town was administered by one of the
brothers of " Barachet," who was then the ruling
" Sultan of Meccah."

By the latter designation, we are undoubtedly to
understand the " Sherif," which title, as applied to
the Arab ruler of Meccah, has entirely superseded
the more ancient one of " Amir." The particular
family from which candidates for that dignity were
elected claim, in common with several others which
assume the same honourable distinction, to be the

INTRODUCTION. XXXI

descendants of Hasan, the eldest son of 'Ali, through
his two sons Zaid and Hasan el-Musanna ; but the
first historical notice which we possess of their terri-
torial jurisdiction in the Hijaz, is given by Ibn Shub-
nah, during the reign of the Ayyubite princes in
Yemen, who records that in his time El-Medinah
and Meccah were severally governed by two mem-
bers of that family, each bearing the title of "Amir." 1
Although exercising almost sovereign power within
the limits assigned to them, the Sherifs were avowedly
subordinate to the successive Khalifs of the Omeyya
and 'Abbaside dynasties, and subsequently to the
Mamliik Sultans of Egypt, whose prerogative it was
to recognize their authority by investing them annu-
ally with a robe of honour. This suzerainty, in his
time, is casually adverted to by Varthema, who
speaks of the lord of Juddah and the Sultan of
Meccah as being " subject to the Grand Sultan of
Cairo."

But a supremacy which, in effect, was barely
nominal, seldom availed to maintain public order in
the Hijaz, more especially whenever rival factions
among the Sherifs contended for the chief magistracy
of Meccah. Such family feuds were of constant
occurrence, and one was actually in progress at the
time of our traveller's visit, and his incidental re-
marks on the subject are so strikingly corroborated
by native historical records, as to merit special illus-
tration. The following passages, translated from the
Kurrat el-Ayun, an Arabic manuscript Chronicle of

1 See D'Herbklox, sub voce Meccah. v

XXXU INTRODUCTION.

Yemen, besides substantiating the statements of Var-
thema, afford a general view of the political condi-
tion of the Hijaz at the period referred to : —

" a. ii. 906. In the month of ZuF Kaadah of this year,
[corresponding with parts of May and June, a.d. 1500,] a
battle took place between the Sherif Haza'a bin Muhammed
bin Barakat and his brother Barakat ibn Muhammed, the
lord of the Hijaz, wherein the latter was overcome and put
to flight, the Egyptian escort seizing all his property, and
depriving him of everything. The cause was as follows: —
When El-'Adil Tuman Bey, lord of Egypt, succeeded El-
Ashraf Janblat, he expelled an amir of the latter named
Kansooh el-Mahmady, known as El-Burj, who proceeded to
Meccah ; but neither the Sherif nor the Kaclhi, nor any of
the nobles, took any notice of him, fearing the displeasure of
Tuman Bey. On the death, of Tuman Bey, he was succeeded
by El-Ashraf Kansooh el-Ghori, who forthwith sent a letter
to El-Burj, appointing him Niiib of Damascus. Thereupon
the Sherif went to pay his respects to him ; but he refused
to receive him on account of his former conduct. Haza'a
being then at Meccah, Kansooh el-Burj instigated him to
assume the government of Meccah, and to place his brother
Barakat over it [as his subordinate.] To this end he directed
him to go to Yembo, and sent word to the Amir of the
Egyptian Ilajj to meet him there, to make over to him the
imperial firmans, and to invest him with the imperial robe.
This was accordingly done ; and Haza'a put on the robe
which had been brought for his brother Barakat, and dressed
his brother El- Jazani in the clothes which he himself wore
when he presided with his brother Barakat. He then pro-
ceeded with the Egyptian caravan towards Meccah, accom-
panied by about one hundred of the Sherifs of the Benu-
Ibrahim. On hearing this, Barakat went out as far as the
Wadi Marka to meet them, when a battle ensued wherein

INTRODUCTION. XXXlil

Haza'a was routed several times, about thirty of his followers
were killed, and some parts of the caravan plundered. The
Egyptian escort then charged with Haza'a, whereupon Bara-
kat fled, leaving his son Abu'l-Kasam and several of his
soldiers dead on the field. After this, the Egyptians entered
the house of Barakat, seized all he had, his women included,
whom they also plundered. Barakat took refuge in Juddah,
and Haza'a entered Meccah with the Egyptian escort ; but
the city became much disturbed, outrages and fear increased
on the roads, and the pilgrims who had come by sea returned
home ; consequently the Hajj was very small, and the Sherif
Barakat did not perform it. When the Hajj was over,
Haza'a reflected that the cause of all this mischief was owimr
to his contention with his brother Barakat ; and fearing lest
he might be attacked by him in Meccah, he accompanied the
Damascus caravan to Yembo, whither Barakat pursued him ;
but the escort protected Haza'a against him. So Barakat
returned to Meccah, and peace and security were reesta-
blished among the people and on the roads.

"But the year following [a.d. 1501] Haza'a and Barakat
again encountered each other in a place called Taraf el-
Burka, when the latter was overcome, and his brother Abu-
Da'anaj, with seven of the Sherifs of the Benu-Nima, toge-
ther with fourteen of the Turks on his side, were killed.
On this occasion Haza'a had with him three thousand two
hundred horsemen, and Barakat only five hundred. The
latter fled till he reached Salkhat el-Ghorab, and Haza'a
went to Juddah, where he proclaimed an amnesty to the
inhabitants, and appointed Muhammed ibn Rajah ibn Sam-
balali his deputy, and one of his slaves governor in Juddah,
and sent his brother, El-Jazani, to Meccah, to settle matters
in that quarter, whither he subsequently followed him with
a military force. Some time after, a robe of investiture and
a firman were sent to him from Egypt, and he took up his
residence in Meccah.

XXXIV INTRODUCTION.

" On the fifteenth of the month of Rajab, [25th December
1501,] Haza'a ibn Muhammed ibn Barak at was removed to
the mercy of God, and his brother El-Jazani succeeded him,
through the influence of the Kadhi Abu es-Sa'ud ibn Ibra-
him ibn Dhuheirah.

" a.h. 908. In the month of Sha'aban of this year [cor-
responding with January a.d. 1502] there was a fierce battle
between the Sherif el-Jazani and his brother Barakat at
Munhenna, to the eastward of Mcccah, in which the Sherif
Barakat was thoroughly routed, and all the principal men of
his armies killed, he himself escaping with only a few adhe-
rents.

" In the month of Rajab of the same year [December
a.d. 1502] the Sherif El-Jazani ibn Muhammed ibn Barakat
was killed near the gate of the Kaabah by a band of Turks,
on account of some outrages which he had committed, and
they set up in his place his brother Humeidhah. Towards
the end of that same year [between March and May 1503]
the Sherif Barakat fled from Egypt [by which it would
appear that he had been taken there as a prisoner] with the
connivance of the Amir ed-Duweidar, 1 and brought with
him a large army, which he collected from among the Beni
Lam, the Ahl esh-Shark, and the Findiyin, and he pre-
vented the people from performing the JVaJciif," until the
Amir of the Hajj gave him four thousand ashrafi to clear the
road between them and the [place of the] Wakuf ; where-
upon he was able to accompany the people to Arafat and
Muzdelifah and Mina f but in the meantime the followers

1 This was the first dignitary of the state, after the sovereign,
during the regency of the Mamluks. The office corresponded with
that of the Grand Wazir among the Turks, and the court of the
Amir ed-Duweidar was almost equal to that of the Sultan.

~ One of the ceremonies connected with the Pilgrimage, which
is performed at Arafat. Sec p. 43.

:i See note 1 on p. 45.

INTRODUCTION. XXXV

of Barakat plundered a caravan from Juddah,near the gates
of Meccah."

The facts thus recorded are corroborated by the
author of the Ruah cr-Rudh, another Arabic chronicle
of a later date ; but these extracts amply suffice to
attest the truth of Varthema's incidental remarks
respecting the feud which existed between the rival
brothers Barakat, and the general insecurity of the
country resulting therefrom. Moreover, a careful
comparison of dates, as they may be gathered from
our traveller's journal, with those given in the above
quotations, renders it highly probable that the Arabs
whom the caravan encountered between El-Medinah
and Meccah, (see p. 35,) and those also who caused
the precipitate rush from Arafat, (see p. 44,) consisted
of adherents of one or other of the contending factions.

To return to our review of the narrative. Entering
Meccah with the Hajj, Varthema proceeds to give an
account of the city and its inhabitants, noticing par-
ticularly the great number of foreigners who had
arrived there from the east and west, " some for pur-
poses of trade, and some on pilgrimage for the pardon
of their sins"; and the various commodities which
were imported by them from Africa, the western
coast of India, and the Bay of Bengal. Next, he takes
us into the Great Mosque, describing the Ka'abah
and the well Zemzem, with the various ceremonies
performed there ; and thence he accompanies the
pilgrims to Arafat, and returns with them in haste
through the Valley of Mina, where he witnessed the
customary lapidation of the " Great Devil."

cI2

XXXVI INTRODUCTION.

Considering that our author is the first European
traveller on record who visited the holy places of the
Muhammcdans, and taking into account how scanty
must have been his previous knowledge of the history
and distinctive doctrines of Islam, his description of
Meccah and of the Ilajj may fairly claim to be
regarded as a literary wonder. With but few excep-
tions, his minutest details are confirmed by later and
far more learned writers, whose investigations on the
whole have added comparatively little to the know-
ledge which we possess of the Mussulman pilgrimage
through the pages of Varthema ; and the occasional
correspondence between some of his statements and
those of Burckhardt is so striking, as to give rise to
the conjecture that that enterprising traveller had
perused his book either before or after his own journey
into the Hijaz. Burton, whose eastern learning and
personal experience of the Hajj constitute him a most
competent judge, bestows this well merited encomium
on our author's narrative : — " But all things consi-
dered, Ludovico Barthema, for correctness of observ-
ation and readiness of wit, stands in the foremost rank
of the old oriental travellers." 1

The Ilajj over, Varthema being anxious to visit
other countries, or disinclined to return by the same
route he had come, meditated escape from his com-
panions. Fortune favoured the design by throwing
in his way a Mussulman trader who had been to
Europe, and who agreed to aid him in the attempt,

1 Personal Narrative of a "Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah,
vol. ii. p. 352.

INTRODUCTION. XXX Ml

on learning that he intended to manufacture " large
mortars," to be used by the Moslems against the in-
fidel Portuguese, and in consideration of having his
goods passed free of duty out of Meccah, through our
author's influence with the commander of the Mam-
luks. He also furnished him with directions how to
reach the court of the King of the Deccan, from
which latter circumstance it is clear that Varthema
had already contemplated a journey to India. Depart-
ing himself with the caravan, the Mussulman con-
fided his charge to the care of his wife, with instruc-
tions to despatch him, on the following Friday, by the
Indian Jcdfila proceeding to Juddah. According to
his own statement, Varthema succeeded in gaining
the affections of his kind hostess and her young niece,
both of whom held out strong inducements for him
to remain ; but he prudently " declined all their
offers, on account of the present danger," and started
towards the coast with the caravan, " to the no small
regret of the said ladies, who made great lamenta-
tions."

At Juddah, our traveller took refuge in a mosque,
which was crowded with indigent pilgrims, and,
fearing detection, pretended sickness, and even ab-
stained from going abroad except by night in search
of food. Nevertheless, his brief account of the place
is quite correct, and judging from the number of
vessels then in the harbour, which he estimates at
one hundred, " great and small," the commerce of
the port must have been much larger at that time
than it is now, — a result mainly attributable to the

XXXV111 INTRODUCTION.

Cape route having subsequently diverted much of
the trade between India and Europe from its older
channel via Egypt.

In his description of the voyage down the Red
Sea, (which he naively remarks is not red,) during
which the vessel only sailed by day owing to the
numerous coral-reefs and shoals which lie off the
coast, Varthema mentions their landing at Jazan,
now an unfrequented place, but at that time one of
the principal ports of southern Arabia ; then their
skirmish with some wild Bedawin, who are as wild
still; next, their touching at the island of Camran,
which he tells us was subject to the " Sultan of the
Amanni," meaning the Imam of Sanaa, but whose
territories were invaded a few years later by a
combined Egyptian and Turkish army whose fleet
anchored in that very place ; and finally the passage
through the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb, and their safe
arrival at Aden. Here, the day following, being sus-
pected as a Christian spy in disguise, he was forth-
with laden with irons, and placed in confinement
together with another individual, apparently a fellow-
passenger, whose name and country, however, do not
transpire. Three days after, some refugees from a
ship, which had been captured by the Portuguese,
arriving at Aden, the suspicions of the inhabitants
were confirmed, and it was only through the personal
intervention of the deputy governor, who decided
that the case should be referred to the Sultan, that
they were saved from the vengeance of the infuriated
inhabitants. Accordingly, after a delay of sixty-five

INTRODUCTION. XXxi.X

days, the two captives were mounted on one camel,
still in chains, and sent under an escort to Radaa,
eight days' journey from Aden, where they under-
went a preliminary examination before the Sultan ;
but Varthema failing to pronounce the Muhamme-
dan formula of faith, either through fear, or, as he
says, " through the will of God," he and his com-
panion were again cast into prison.

Leaving them there to chew the bitter cud of re-
pentance, it will not be out of place to notice the
coincidence connected with the proceedings of the
Portuguese in the Indian seas at this period, and the
misfortunes which they entailed on our enterprising
traveller.

In a note on the text of this part of the narrative,
I have adduced a passage from an Arabian historian,
to the effect that in the year a.d. 1502, seven native
vessels had been seized by the Franks between India
and the island of Hormuz ; and most of the crews mur-
dered. I am inclined to believe, however, that the
case in which the refugees were concerned may be
gathered more definitely, partly from Greene's Col~*
lection, and partly from the journal of Thome Lopez.
The former has the following : —

" Stephen de Garaa being arrived on the coast of India,
near Mount Deli, to the north of Kananor, he met a ship of
great bulk, called the Meri [probably Miri, i.e. state pro-
perty,] belonging to the Sultan of Egypt, which was very
richly laden, and full of Moors of quality, who were going
to Mekka. The ship being taken after a vigorous resistance,
the General went on board, and sending for the principal

Xl INTRODUCTION.

Moors ordered them to produce such merchandizes as they
had, threatening them, otherwise, to have them thrown into
the sea. They pretended all their effects were at Kalekut;
but one of them having been flung overboard, bound hand
and foot, the rest, through fear, delivered their goods. All
the children were carried into the General's ship, and the
remainder of the plunder given to the sailors. After which,
Stephen de Gama, by Don Vasco's order, set fire to the
vessel ; but the Moors, having broken up the hatches under
which they were confined, and quenched the flames with
the water that was in the ship, Stephen was commanded to
lay them aboard. The Moors, having been made desperate
with the apprehension of their danger, received him with
great resolution, and even attempted to burn the other
ships.

" Night coming on, he was obliged to desist without doing
his work ; but the General gave orders, that the vessel
should be watched, that the passengers might not, by favour
of the darkness, escape to land, which was near. All night
long the poor unhappy Moors called on Muhammed to help
them, but the dead can neither hear nor succour their vota-
ries. In the morning, Stephen de Gama was sent to execute
his former orders. He boarded the ship, and, setting fire to
it, drove the Moors into the poop, who still defended them-
selves ; for some of the sailors would not leave the vessel
till it was half burnt. Many of the Moors, when they
saw the flames approach them, leaped into the sea Avith
hatchets in their hands, and, swimming, fought with their
pursuers. Some even made up to, and attacked, the boats,
doing much hurt ; however, most of them were at length
slain, and all those drowned who remained in the ship,
which soon after sunk. So that of three hundred persons,
(among whom were thirty women,) not one escaped the fire,
sword, or water." 1

1 Greene's Collection of Voyages and Travels, vol. i. pp. 51-2.

INTRODUCTION. xli

If this is the same act of piracy recorded by Thome
Lopez, which appears tolerably certain, it occurred
on the 29th of September 1502. The main incidents
are identical, and he dilates with admiration on the
gallant defence made by the Arabs, and stigmatizes
the conduct of the Portuguese admiral as cruel and
barbarous. But as all the unfortunate Arabs perished
on that occasion, the case alluded to in Varthema's
narrative, wherein several ships are said to have been
captured and some of the crews to have escaped,
must be a different one, though perhaps both were
connected. The desideratum is supplied by Thome
Lopez, who, in continuation of his account of the pre-
vious engagement, describes, the chase of four Moorish
ships immediately after, of which three escaped, and
one was stranded, and the capture of two others on
the 22nd and 26th of* October following. 1 The six
or seven months which elapsed between these out-
rages and Varthema's arrival at Aden, would allow
time for any of the surviving crews to reach that
place, and the coincidence thus established is another
striking example of the accuracy of our author's state-
ments.

In order to illustrate this still further, it will not
be irrelevant to the subject to give a general outline
of the political condition of Yemen at that period,
referring the reader to the annotations on the text for
the corroboration of particular facts mentioned in the
course of the original narrative.

During the reign of the more warlike Khalifs, the
1 See Ramttsio, vol. i. pp. 136-38.

xlii INTRODUCTION.

turbulent tribes of Yemen appear to have been kept
in tolerable subjection ; but towards the end of the
tenth century the authority of the 'Abbasides became
virtually extinct, and the country was divided into a
number of petty sovereignties, each assuming differ-
ent titles, and exercising various degrees of territorial
jurisdiction. This state of things continued till the
accession of Salah ed-Din, the first of the Ayyubite
Sultans, whose brother Tooran Shah captured Sanaa,
the capital of the province, about a.d. 1173, and
reduced many of the independent chiefs both in the
interior and on the coast to submission. Successive
princes of that family continued to exercise a limited
supremacy over Yemen long after the dynasty had
been superseded by the Baharite Mamluks of Egypt ;
but the country gradually relapsed into complete
anarchy until about a.d. 1429, when the government
was seized by two brothers of the Beni Tahir, named
severally Shams ed-Din 'Ali and Salah ed-Din 'Amir
surnamed El-Melek edh-Dhafir, claiming descent from
the Koreish tribe, who eventually succeeded in taking
possession of Sanaa, and in establishing their joint
sway over the southern provinces of Yemen. The
capital, however, was soon after retaken by its former
governor Muhammed ibn Nasir, and in a fruitless
attempt to recover it Salah ed Din 'Amir lost his life.
The surviving brother was succeeded in 1454 by
Mansiir Taj ed-Din 'Abd el-Wahhab, on whose death
in 1488 the government fell into the hands of his
nephew 'Amir ibn 'Abd el-Wahhab, who was the
ruling sovereign of southern Yemen during the time

INTRODUCTION. xlHi

of Varthema's visit. 1 On the accession of 'Amir ibn
'Abel el-Wahhab the government of the peninsula,
according to the author of the Rutih er-Ruah, was
divided as follows : — " The Tehama, and Zebid, and
Aden, and Lahej, and Abyan, as far as Radaii, were
under 'Amir. Sanaa and its districts were subject to
Muhammed ibn el-Imam 2 en-Nasir. Kaukaban and
its districts under El-Mutahhir ibn Muhammed ibn
Suleiman. Esh-Shark, and Edh-Dhawahir, and Sii'a-
dah, with their dependencies, were divided between
El-Muweyyed, the Sherifs of the Al el-Mansur, and
the Imam el-Mansiir, Muhammed ibn 'Ali es-Seraji
el-Washli."

1 He mentions him by name as " Sechamir" or Sheikh 'Amir.
See p. 83.

2 In a religious sense, this title ordinarily designates the leader
of the services in the Mosque, and as the Khalifs were recognized
as spiritual as well as temporal presidents, they early adopted it.
When the authority of the 'Abbasides declined in Yemen, it was
assumed by the regents at Sanaa, who moreover usurped that of
Amir el-Mu 'amanin, or Lord of the Faithful. In course of time,
however, other rulers of Yemen seem to have called themselves
" Imam ;" so that eventually it came to signify nothing more than
a presiding prince, or one having authority over subordinate chiefs.
At the present day, it would be difficult to trace the right of bear-
ing the distinction to lineal descent; in fact, those who now use
it in Yemen cannot lay claim to it on that score. On the other
hand, in 'Amman it appears to have been conferred, by the general
consent of the people, for some real or fancied excellence in the
person of the sovereign ; and it is remarkable that whereas all the
predecessors in the dynasty of the late Seyyed Sa'id bore the ap-
pellation, he himself was never so styled except by Europeans,
and his successor at Maskat is known only by the title of
"Seyyed." I may also add that the title of "Imam" has fre-
quently been given to renowned authors, either because they have
at some period taken the lead in the religious services of the
Mosque, or on account of their acknowledged learning and piety.

xllV INTRODUCTION.

It is easy to imagine, from the bare enumeration
of these petty chiefdoms, that the country at this
period was in a most distracted state ; but the genius
and military prowess of 'Amir soon effected a great
change. One after another, most of the inland chiefs
submitted to his sway, and in a.d. 1501 he made an
attempt to capture Sanaa, but was ignominiously
repulsed. Determined, however, not to abandon the
project which he had conceived of removing the only
impediment to his complete ascendancy over Yemen,
he two years after collected a vast army, which
according to the Rudh cr-Ruah consisted of 180,000
men, including 3,000 cavalry, and after a severe
conflict entered the capital in triumph.

Comparing the dates given by the Arabian his-
torian with the probable time of Varthema's arrival
at Kadaa, there can be no doubt that the 80,000
troops which he saw reviewed there, and which he
tells us marched two days after towards Sanaa, headed
by the Sultan, was a portion of the army which shortly
after, as has just been stated, succeeded in capturing
that city. The" coincidence is as perfect as it was
undesigned, and the inference substantiates with
the highest proof the authenticity of our author's
narrative.

After a similar digression, wherein he describes in
detail the arms and military equipment of the Sultan's
army, Varthema invites us to return to his prison. 1
There he would probably have languished for an in-

1 Prisons in many parts of the East arc attached to the palace
or residence of the governor.

INTRODUCTION. xlv

definite period but for the intervention of one of the
Sultan's wives, whom he honours with the title of
" queen," who, impelled by various motives, in-
terested herself in his behalf, and employed her
maidens to minister to his necessities. But Var-
thema, intent on effecting his escape, and reasonably
doubtful whether the queen's liberality alone was
likely to promote that object, drew lots with his com-
panion which of the two should feign madness, 1 — a
stratagem of ancient date, if not of authority, (see
1 Sam. xxi. 13 — 15.) The lot fell on our traveller,
and if in the course of his simulation he sometimes
transgressed the bonds of decency, the freaks were
not inconsistent with his assumed character; and his
examination by two hermits, or sheikhs, who were
sent for to decide on the case, would probably have
resulted in a confirmation of his sanctity, but for the
practical joke which he imprudently played on the
persons of the venerable examiners, which sent them
scampering from the prison, exclaiming : " He is
mad ! He is mad ! He is not holy !"

The amusement which these eccentricities afforded
the Sultana and her attendants is so inconsistent with
our notions of female modesty as to be almost in-
credible ; nevertheless, if the inner life of many native
harims were similarly exposed to view, it would exhibit
ladies of rank revelling in scenes far more revolting
than those described in the " Chapter concerning the

1 It is a popular superstition throughout the East to attribute
madness to the influence of a separate spirit acting upon the
maniac.

xlvi INTRODUCTION.

Partiality of the Women of Arabia for White Men."
What else, indeed, could reasonably be expected ?
Brought up without education, confined to the seclu-
sion of the women's apartments, and debarred from
sharing in public amusements, it is not surprising that
the uncultivated mind of eastern females should follow
its natural bent, and seek to satisfy the longing for en-
joyment, inherent in us all, by kindred gratifications.

The queen was evidently convinced from the
outset that our hero's madness was merely a feint ;
but he very discreetly resisted all her consequent
blandishments, only availing himself of them as
might best conduce to his own ends. Simulating
sickness, he obtained her consent to visit a holy man
at Aden renowned for miraculous cures, and was
furnished, moreover, by her liberality with a camel
and the very opportune gift of twenty-five ashrafi 1
for the journey. On reaching Aden, he forthwith
engaged a passage on board a native ship which was
to sail for India, via the Persian Gulf, in the course
of a month, and, taking advantage of that interval to
escape from the notice of the Adenites, he set out on
an excursion into the interior.

In the subsequent pages, I have annotated so fully
on the text of this part of our author's wanderings,
that it would be superfluous to notice any details
here. The Arabic MS. Chronicles already men-
tioned and Niebuhr's voyages, conjoined with per-
sonal experience derived from natives of the country,
have been my principal guides in illustrating his trip

1 The ashrafi appears to have been equivalent to a ducat, or
about J.v. t'u/. of our mono)'.

INTRODUCTION. xlvii

into Yemen ; in fact, I am not aware that any others,
in the shape of general travels, exist, unless it be the
very meagre account given by Ibn Batuta in the
fourteenth century. Varthema is undoubtedly the
first European who has left us a description of this
portion of Arabia, and between his time and the
present, Niebuhr as far back as 1761, (with the ex-
ception of several brief personal narratives of the
route between Mokha and Sanaa, and a trip from
thence to Mareb by Mons. Arnaud in 1843,) is the
only European traveller who has penetrated into the
country more than a few miles from the sea-coast.
Even Niebuhr's journey, performed in comparative
security and luxury, does not embrace so large an
extent of Yemen as that of our author ; but where-
ever his testimony or that of others was available, it
substantiates in a remarkable manner the accuracy
of Varthema's observations. The annexed abstract
of his route conveys, in a tabular form, the different
towns visited, with their approximate distances : —

Aden to Damt, 1 via Lahej and 'Az'az

Damt to Yerim, via, El-Makranah

Yerim to Sanaa

Sanaa to Ta'ez

Ta'ez to Zebid

Zebid to Dhamar

Dhamar to Aden

General

Direction.

Miles.

N.W.

120

110

N.E.

E.N.E.

120

Total 595

1 In a note on the text (p. 75) I have identified this place, which
Varthema calls " Dante," with Niebuhr's Dimne ; but on second
thoughts I think it more likely that it represents his Denn, which
he describes as " une petite ville, avec une bonne citadelle, et line
place de foire." Voy. en Arabic, vol. hi. p. 214.

xlviii INTRODUCTION.

On his return to Aden, of which place he gives a
very accurate description, Varthema again sought
refuge in a mosque under pretence of sickness ; but
when the time for departure arrived, he was smuggled
on board by the conniving Arab skipper, who doubt-
less received some of the queen's ashrafi which Her
Majesty had given for a different purpose. Sailing
towards the Persian Gulf, the vessel probably en-
countered one of those north-westerly gales which,
at the season of the year when I have calculated the
voyage to have been made, blow for several days
together along the north-east coast of Arabia. Being
obliged to veer, they ran with a fair wind for the
north-east coast of Africa, anchoring first at Zaila,
from whence they subsequently proceeded to the
contiguous snug port of Berbera,

Varthema's account of Zaila comprises all that there
is to be said of the place. He notices the large number
of Abyssinian slaves which were exported from thence
to different parts, — a traffic which has only been ar-
rested within the last few years ; the various produce
which found its way there from the interior ; some
of the animals peculiar to the country ; and his de-
scription of the Somali inhabitants is true to life
still. Except that he erroneously calls Berbera an
island, (wherein he possibly translated from the
Arabic jezirah, a term which the natives also apply
to a peninsula, and sometimes conventionally to
havens on the mainland,) his brief account of that
locality also, and of the pastoral habits of the people,
is equally truthful.

INTRODUCTION. xlix

Though originally bound for the Persian Gulf, the
Arab skipper most probably picked up some addi-
tional freight at the above-mentioned places for
India, between which and the north-east coast of
Africa a considerable trade is still carried on, chiefly
by Borah merchants of Guzerat and Cutch. This
commerce, which in more ancient times appears to
have been conducted through the intermediate ports
of Hadhramaut on the north-east coast of Arabia,
eventually took the more direct route across the
Indian ocean, and was in full play when the Portu-
guese first found their way to the Red Sea. The
fact of the skipper having made for Zaila proves that
the voyage occurred during the north-east monsoon,
which is the only season for foreign trade there,
the coast being generally dangerous throughout the
opposite or south-westerly monsoon.

In twelve days, the vessel reached the small island
of Diu in Guzerat, which Varthema calls " Diu
bander-er-rumi," i.e., Diu the Port of the Bum, and
describes with his usual accuracy. The suffix, which
I have not met with elsewhere, was probably a con-
ventional designation among the Arabs owing to so
many " Turkish merchants," (more correctly, Cir-
cassians, Affghans, and Persians,) being resident
there. The familiar intercourse which existed be-
tween that part of Western India and the opposite
coast of Arabia is attested by incidental notices
occurring in Arabian chronicles of the time.

From Diu, the ship proceeded up the Gulf of
Cambay to Gogo, and from thence steered across

1 INTRODUCTION.

the Indian Ocean, doubling Mussendom, to Julfar,
an Arab town on the western side of that pro-
montory, which was subsequently occupied by the
Portuguese as a station for the pearl-fishery. Here,
a retrograde movement was made by redoubling
Mussendom in order to reach Maskat, of which
place our author barely gives the name, and the next
port gained was Hormuz, where he appears to have
sojourned for several days.

The eligibility of that island, situated directly in
the line of the Indian trade, via the Persian Gulf,
appears to have given it considerable importance as
a commercial emporium at a very early period. If it
was the Nekrokis of Benjamin of Tudela, which is
highly probable though his description of that place
is most perplexing, it was largely frequented by
traders to and from India in the middle of the
twelfth century. A century later, Marco Polo makes
it the resort of many merchants who brought thither
spices, pearls, precious stones, elephants' teeth, " and
all other precious things from India ;" and 'Abd er-
Razzak, sixty years prior to our traveller, says that
" the merchants of the seven climates all make their
way to this port." Varthema's account of the island,
— its situation near the mainland, its utter barrenness
and yet withal its prosperity as " a chief maritime
port, where sometimes as many as three hundred
vessels are assembled," — is in perfect accordance
with these preceding travellers, and he describes the
mode of fishing for pearls just as it exists at the
present day.

INTRODUCTION. H

All this is now changed, and Hormuz, like the
Tyre of Scripture, is little better than a rock for
fishermen to spread their nets on. It was captured
by the Portuguese under Albuquerque in 1508, who
were in turn expelled in 1662 by the Persians, aided
by a British fleet, during the reign of Shah Abbas,
who caused the colony to be removed to Gombrim
on the opposite mainland, and dignified it with the
name of Bander Abbas. The intervention of Great
Britain in this affair is thus judiciously commented
on by Sir John Malcolm : —

" If the English ever indulged a hope of deriving per-
manent benefit from the share they took in this transaction,
they were completely disappointed. They had, it is true,
revenged themselves upon an enemy they hated, destroyed
a flourishing settlement, and brought ruin and misery upon
thousands, to gratify the avarice and ambition of a despot,
who promised to enrich them by a favour, which they should
have known was not likely to protect them, even during his
life, from the violence and injustice of his own officers, much
less during that of his successors. The history of the English
factory at Gombroon, from this date till it was abandoned,
is one series of disgrace, of losses, and of dangers, as that of
every such establishment in a country like Persia must be.
Had that nation either taken Ormuz for itself, or made a
settlement on a more eligible island in the gulf, it would
have carried on its commerce with that quarter to much
greater advantage ; and its political influence, both in Persia
and Arabia, would have remained unrivalled." 1

We are now to accompany our traveller through a
part of the journey where the landmarks of his route

' History of Persia, vol. i. p. 547.

c 2

lii INTRODUCTION.

are less distinctly traceable. We must, of course,
suppose him to have crossed over to the mainland ;
but how far he had penetrated into the interior when
he writes : " Departing thence, I passed into Persia,
and travelling for twelve days I found a city called
Eri," is not specified. Nevertheless, as I see no
cause to question his visit to Eri, the ancient name
of Herat, and as it is tolerably certain that he could
not have reached that place in the time given, we
may reasonably infer either that an error has in this
instance crept into the original narrative, or that
Varthema dates his departure from a point which he
has omitted to record. As far as his rather summary
account of Herat goes, — of the city, its productions,
its manufactures, and its population, — his information
is perfectly correct ; and that fact, taken in conjunc-
tion with a subsequent avowal that he described
Samarcand by report only, may be fairly regarded as
a proof of his veracity ; for if he was disposed to mis-
represent in the one case, there is no reason why he
should not have done so in the other.

Twenty days' march from Herat brought our tra-
veller to " a large and fine river, called Eufra," which
" on account of its great size" he supposes to be the
Euphrates. As he was then three days distant from
Shiraz, to which city the onward road lay " to the left
hand" of his Eufra, I have supposed him to have struck
on the Pulwan at or near Merghab, a little to the
southward of which town there appears to be a high-
way, leading by Istakar, to a point below the junction
of the Pulwiln with the Bendemir, from whence it is

INTRODUCTION. liii

continued to Shiraz. Should this identification be
correct, (and I can suggest no other, unless he pur-
sued a route by Neyriz and Bakhtcgan, mistaking
the neighbouring lake which goes by those names for
a river,) Varthema must unquestionably be charged
with exaggeration, as neither the Fulwan nor the
Bendemir is entitled to the epithet of " a large and
fine river."

Arrived at Shiraz, which our author describes as a
great mart for turquoises and Balass rubies, remark-
ing, however, that those stones were not produced
there, but came, as was reported, from a city called
" Balachsam" (Badakshan,) accident threw him in
the way of a Persian merchant called " Cazazionor,"
by whom he was recognized as a fellow-pilgrim at
Meccah, and whose friendly overtures on the occasion
were destined to exert a powerful influence in shaping
his subsequent course.

We, who carry with us on our travels circular
notes or letters of credit negotiable in any part of
the globe, can form a very inadequate conception of
the difficulties which an adventurer under Varthema's
circumstances must have encountered in making his
way from one place to another. He never alludes
directly to the subject, but his management may be
gleaned from incidental passages occurring in his
narrative. At the outset, he appears to have had a
supply of money, for he bribed the Captain of the
Mamliiks to admit him into that corps. While with
them, he probably received pay and shared in their
exactions, which, with any remains of his original

liv INTRODUCTION.

funds, sufficed to take him to Aden. From thence,
he was sent into the interior, as the saying is, at
Government expense, and the liberality of the Arabian
sultana furnished his viaticum as far as Shiraz ; for, it
may be remarked, that there is not the slightest evi-
dence to prove his having engaged in any commercial
transactions up to that period, and, if he did so sub-
sequently, it was merely as sleeping partner to his
Persian benefactor. Be that as it may, his encounter
with the latter was a piece of good fortune, without
which it may fairly be questioned whether he would
have been able to extend his travels as far as he did.
On the other hand, the Persian merchant, who ap-
pears to have been a wealthy trader in jewels, was
evidently glad to secure an intelligent companion in
the projected journey, and his oriental hospitality
looked for no other recompense. Instances of such
generosity are not as uncommon in the East as in
the West, and the experience of Varthema in this
respect forms a striking contrast to that of Don Alonzo
Enriquez de Guzman in the course of his European
travels during the same century. 1

The first place for which our travellers started in
company was Samarcand, whether with the intention
of limiting the trip to that city, or of making their
way from thence to India, does not appear. How-
ever, they had not proceeded far when they were
obliged to return, because " the Soffi was going
through this country putting every thing to fire and

1 Hakluyt Society's Publications, The Life and Acts of
Don Alonzo de Guzman, translated and edited by C. 11. Markham.

INTRODUCTION. lv

flame ; and especially he put to the sword all those
who believed in Bubachar and Othman and Aumar,
who are all companions of Mahomet ; but he leaves
unmolested those who believe in Mahomet and Ali."
Here, we have another undesigned coincidence with
contemporary Persian history which deserves special
notice. Isma'il es-Sufi, the first of the Sufawian
dynasty, was the son of the famous Sheikh Haidar,
the son of Juneid the great grandson of Seif ed-Din,
who claimed descent from 'Ali by Hussein his second
son, whose branch, according to the Persians, is that
of the Imams. Haidar's mother was the daughter of
Hasan Beg, the first of the Turkman dynasty called
BayanduiT, who furnished his son-in-law with an
army to avenge the death of his father Juneid, who
had been killed in battle with Ferukhzad king of
Shirwan ; but Haidar lost his life in the attempt, his
two sons Isma'il and 'Ali Mirza were made prisoners,
and most of his adherents destroyed. Haidar's two
sons were afterwards set at liberty by Rustam Beg,
the grandson of Hasan Beg, who succeeded his
uncle Ya'acub. The subsequent portion of Tsmai'il's
career illustrative of our narrative, I translate from
DTIerbelot : —

" At this period there were among the Mussulmans scat-
tered throughout Asia an infinite number of people who
professed publicly the sect of 'Ali, and especially the dis-
tinctive form of it ascribed to Haider, which Sheik Sufi
one of his illustrious ancestors had raised into high repute.
Isma'il Sufi, hearing that there were a great many of these
in Caramania, which is the ancient Cilicia, repaired thither,

lvi INTRODUCTION.

and raised a levy of seven thousand men attached to the sect,
and more particularly devoted to his family, because either
they or their fathers had been delivered out of the hands of
Tamerlane through the intercession of Sheik Sufi.

" Young Isma'il, who was then only fourteen years old,
undertook with this handful of men to wage war with
Ferukhzad, king of Shir wan, a province of Media, whom
he regarded as the murderer of his father. This enterprise
was so successful, that he challenged and slew his enemy,
seized his kingdom, and thereby gained a position which
opened Asia to his ambition.

" This first essay in arms took place a.h. 906, correspond-
ing exactly with a.d. 1500, and the following year Isma'il
attacked and took the city of Tabriz, obliging Alvend, the
grandson of Usuncassan [Hasan Beg] who reigned there,
to flee and shut himself up in Baghdad ; but that sultan was
forced to leave that city also and take refuge in Diarbekir,
where he died, a.h. 910, and Baghdad fell into the hands
of Isma'il.

" In a.h. 908, [a.d. 1052,] Isma'il Shah, after making
himself master of Tabriz, Media, and Chaldea, turned
his arms against Persia, where another grandson of Usun-
cassan reigned, named Murad Beg, or 'Amrath son of
Ya'acub Beg. This prince, finding himself vigorously at-
tacked by his adversary, wished to decide the contest by a
general engagement. Leaving Shiraz with that object, he
marched towards Hamadan, where the battle took place,
wherein he was overcome and obliged to flee to Baghdad,
as his cousin Alvend had done before him.

" In a.h. 909, [a.d. 1503,] Isma'il having besieged Murad
in Baghdad, the latter took to flight, and running from one
province to another was ultimately slain by the soldiers of
Isma'il." 1

1 Bibliotkeque Orientate, sub voce Ismael.

INTRODUCTION. lvii

The disturbed state of the country consequent on
these intestine politico- religious contests may reason-
ably be inferred, and as they were at their height
during Varthema's sojourn in Persia, his incidental
notice of them, as interrupting his journey to Samar-
cand, is entitled to be regarded as a strong internal
proof of the truthfulness of his narrative.

The Persian merchant became so much attached
to our traveller during the abortive attempt to reach
Samarcand, that on their return to Shiraz he inti-
mated to the latter his intention of giving him the
hand of his niece, who was called " Samis, that is, the
Sun," and so far transgressed Mussulman etiquette in
his favour as to present him personally to the damsel,
with whom Varthema "pretended to be much pleased,
although his mind was intent on other things." He
tells us, however, that his destined bride was " ex-
tremely beautiful, and had a name which suited her ;"
and lest the designation should be considered a mis-
nomer, it must be remembered that the Sun takes
the feminine gender in most of the oriental languages.

Starting afresh from Shiraz, the two travellers
reached Hormuz, where they embarked for India,
and in due course anchored " at a port which is
called Cheo, near to a very large river called the
Indus, which Indus is near a city called Combeia."
Faulty as Varthema's geography is of that part of
the coast, there is no difficulty in identifying his
" Cheo" with Joah, or Kow, a village on one of the
estuaries of the Indus about four miles from the sea,
which is still frequented by native boats trading with

lviii INTRODUCTION.

Scind. His account of Cambay, however, which is
the next port gained, — of the city ; its situation
near another river (the Myhee;) the produce of the
district, comprising abundance of grain, " an im-
mense quantity of cotton" and manufactured silk
stuffs, with which between forty and fifty vessels
were laden every year ; and the cornelians and chal-
cedonies for which Cambay is still famous ; — in all
these particulars his description is as applicable now
as it was then. Moreover, the extraordinary tides
called the Bore, which prevail in the Gulf of Cam-
bay, are recognizable in his remarks on that subject,
although he erroneously makes the waters " rise in
the reverse of ours," that is, " when the moon is on
the wane."

Before accompanying our author any farther, it
may serve to illustrate his subsequent progress, and
obviate needless repetition, if we take a general view
of the political state of Western India at this period.

Till the end of the fourteenth century, Guzerat
was a dependency of the Affghan or Ghori empire
of Hindustan, -and in a.d. 1391 Nasir-ed-Din Mu-
hammed Shah bin Firuz Shah, the ruling emperor,
appointed Dhafir Khan viceroy over that province ;
but the disorders which subsequently ensued among
the successors of Firuz Shah induced Dhafir Khan to
throw off his allegiance to the court of Delhi, and in
1408 he declared himself independent under the title
of Muzaffir Shah. Three years later, he was poisoned
by his grandson Ahmed Shah, who succeeded him on
the throne of Guzerat, and the sovereignty continued

INTRODUCTION. llX

in the same family till the accession of Mahmud Shah,
snrnamed Bigarrah, who was the reigning sultan when
Varthema reached Cambay.

The next native state with which onr narrative
brings us in contact is the Mussulman kingdom of
the Deccan, comprising several dependencies in the
Concan, of which the principal appear to have been
Dabul and Goa, ruled by tributary governors, and
extending as far south on the coast as the vicinity of
Varthema's " Bathacala." Towards the end of the
fifteenth century, the different principalities forming
this kingdom were still subject to the Bahmani
sultans of Kalberga, or Ahsunabad, a dynasty founded
by 'Ala-ed-Din Bahmani, a servant at the court of
Muhammed Shah Toghlak, the Ghori Emperor of
Hindustan, who about a.d. 1347 conquered all the
Deccan and established his capital at Kalberga. But
during the reign of Mahmud Shah II., (a.d. 1482 —
1518,) the fourteenth of the Bahmani dynasty, the
territories of this state were divided by the revolt of
several of its subordinate governors : Fath'-Allah
Tmad Khan, of Berar, appropriated that province ;
Ahmed Nizam Shah, of Ahmednagar, followed his
example ; Kasim Berid, the Shah's minister, made
himself master of Bidar, or Ahmedabad ; and Yusuf
'Adil Khan seized upon Bijapur. The latter per-
sonage was the reputed son of Murad II. of Anatolia,
who on the accession of his elder brother Muhammed,
and while yet a child, was sent secretly into Persia
by his mother to escape the law which ordained that
only one son of the reigning family should be suffered

lx INTRODUCTION.

to live. Brought up until sixteen years old among
the disciples of the famous Sheikh Sufi, he subse-
quently determined to try his fortune in Hindustan,
became one of the body-guard in the royal house-
hold at Kalberga, and eventually governor of Bijapur.
Taking advantage of the dissensions which arose at
that period in the Bahmani empire, and supported by
a strong party in the state, he assumed independence
with the title of 'Adil Shah. This event occurred in
a.d. 1501, and as his reign lasted for ten years, he is
undoubtedly the " King of the Deccan" referred to
by Varthema in his description of Bijapur.

After passing the maritime provinces of Bijapur,
our narrative brings us into the territories of Bijaya-
nagar, which at the period under review comprised
several tributary dependencies on the Western coast
extending from Bathacala, or Bathcal, near or iden-
tical with the more modern town of Sedashevaghur,on
the north, and Mangalore on the south. This Brah-
minical kingdom of the Carnatic, having its capital
at Bijayanagar on the Toongabudra, and which in
more ancient times included the greater part of the
peninsula, had been deprived of several of its pro-
vinces by the encroachments of the Mussulman
sovereigns of the Deccan ; nevertheless, at the be-
ginning of the sixteenth century it was still a power-
ful state, and exercised jurisdiction over a number of
tributary rajahs on the Coromandel coast as far north
as the Kistnah. At that time, the affairs of the
kingdom were administered by Ramraj, whose ac-
cession to the regency is thus narrated by Ferishta: —

INTRODUCTION. lxi

" The government of Beejanuggur had remained in
one family, in uninterrupted succession, for seven
hundred years ; when Seeroy dying was succeeded
by his son, a minor, who did not live long after him,
and left the throne to a younger brother. He also
had not long gathered the flowers of enjoyment from
the garden of royalty, before the cruel skies, proving
their inconstancy, burned up the earth of his exist-
ence with the blasting winds of annihilation. Being
succeeded by an infant, only three months old,
Heemraaje, one of the principal ministers of the
family, celebrated for great wisdom and experience,
became sole regent, and was cheerfully obeyed by all
the vassals of the kingdom for forty years ; though,
on the arrival of the young king at the age of man-
hood, he had poisoned him, and put an infant of his
family on the throne, in order to have a pretence for
keeping the regency in his hands. Heemraaje at his
death was succeeded in office by his son Ramraaje,
who having married a daughter of Seeroy, by that
alliance greatly added to his influence and power.
By degrees, raising his own family to the highest
ranks, and destroying the ancient nobility by various
intrigues, he at length aspired to reign in his own
name, and totally to extirpate the family of Seeroy." 1
This Ramraaje, or RamraV), was the person whom Var-
thema designates as " the king of Narsinga" in the
account of his visit to Bijayanagar.

Adjoining the littoral provinces of the latter, on
the south, was the small independent rajahship of

1 Scott's Fcrishta, vol. i. p. 262.

lxii INTRODUCTION.

Cannanore, beyond which began the kingdom of the
Tamuri Rajah, commonly called the Zamorin, whose
territories extended as far south as Fonani, and who
appears to have exercised certain rights of suzerainty
over the contiguous state of Cochin. The origin of
the preeminence of the Zamorin, as collected from
the early Portuguese historians, is as follows : —
" About 600 years ago, Malabar was all united under
one prince, whose name was Sarana Perimal. In his
time, the Moors (Arabs) of Mekka discovered the
Indies ; and coming to Koulan, [Quilon,] which was
then the royal seat, the king was so taken with their
religion, that not content with turning Mohammedan,
he determined to go on a pilgrimage to Mekka, and
there spend the remainder of his life. Before his
departure, he divided his dominions among his kin-
dred, reserving only twelve leagues of land lying near
the sea. This, just before he embarked, he gave to
his page, who was a relation, ordering it to be in-
habited, in remembrance of his embarking there.
He also gave him a sword and his cap as ensigns of
state, and commanded all the other princes, among
whom he had divided his territories, to acknowledge
him as their Samorin or Emperor, except the kings
of Koulan and Kananor ; but forbid all to coin
money but this Emperor. After this, he embarked
where Kalekut now stands: on which account the
Moors took so great an affection to the place, that
thenceforward they deserted the port of Koulan, and
would never since lade goods at any but that of
Kalekut, which by this means became the greatest

INTRODUCTION. IxiU

mart in all India for all sorts of spices, drugs, precious
stones, silks, calicoes, silver, gold, and other com-
modities." 1 Varthema's account of the predominant
authority exercised by the Zamorin on the Malabar
coast, coincides generally with the foregoing, and
with all other writers on the subject.

Passing down the coast, our narrative brings us to
Quilon, which it describes as the capital of an inde-
pendent Hindu rajahship, comprising the maritime
districts as far as Cape Comorin on the south, and
extending beyond that cape to " Chayl " towards the
north-east.

Intermitting any further notice of the prevailing
government on the Coromandel coast, which, as has
already been stated, was ruled generally by deputies
subject to the Rajah of Bijayanagar, the only Indian
kingdom remaining to be noticed is that of Bengal.
Incorporated towards the end of the twelfth century
with the Ghori or Patan empire of Hindustan,
Bengal was formed into a separate province under
Kutb ed-Din, the second Emperor, and placed under
the administration of Muhammed Bakhtiar Khilji,
governor of Berar, who is considered as the first
Sultan of the Purbi dynasty. According to some
authors, Bengal threw off its allegiance to the Em-
pire under Nasir ed-Din Baghra about the end of
the fourteenth century ; whilst others postpone its
sovereignty to the reign of Fakhr ed-Din Iskandar,
who is said to have assumed independence a.d. 1840.

The succession continued in the same family till

1 Greene's Collection of Voyages and Travels, vol. i. p. 29.

lxiv INTRODUCTION.

the province was subjugated by Akbar in 1573, and
at the period of Varthema's visit the reigning Sultan
was 'Ala ed-Din Husein Shah bin Seyyed Ashraf,
who held his court at Lucknouti or Gour, situated on
the left bank of the Ganges, about twenty-five miles
below Rajemal.

We must now return to our traveller whom we
left at Cambay. His account of the Jains of Guzerat,
and of the habits and customs of the Joghi ascetics,
is as interesting as it is accurate, while his description
of the person of the reigning sovereign supplies
another remarkable instance of his great observation
and veracity : — " The said Sultan has mustachios
under his nose so long that he ties them over his
head as a woman would tie her tresses." According
to 'Ali Muhammed Khan, the historian of Guzerat,
Sultan Mahmud received his surname of " Bigarrah,"
the name applied to a cow with twisted horns,
because his mustachios were long and curled in a
similar way.

From Cambay the travellers sailed along the coast
to Chaul in the" Northern Concan, and then to Goa,
from whence they started to Bijapur, which Varthema
styles, after the province, the " city of Decan," where
they arrived in seven days. His description of this
capital, — of its inhabitants, the splendour of the
the Sultan's court, the magnificence of his palace, his
military prowess, and the number of foreign merce-
naries enrolled in his army, as also his wars with the
neighbouring Rajah of Bijayanagar, — is fully cor-
roborated by the history of the times as recorded by

INTRODUCTION. lxv

Ferishta, as well as by the monuments of its former
extent and grandeur which still mark the site of the
once famous city of Bijapiir.

Returning to the coast, our travellers touched at
Bathcal, Uncola, and Honahwar, in North Canara, —
places of greater trade then than they are now, — from
whence they proceeded to Cannanore, where Var-
thema mentions the presence of the Portuguese, who
had arrived three years prior to his visit : the first
occasion being that of Cabral in 1501, and the next
of any importance that of Vasco de Gama in 1503,
when he obtained permission to establish a factory in
the harbour. It is noticeable that our author appears
to have eschewed all intercourse with the resident
Europeans at this time, though Cannanore was
eventually the place where he sought their protec-
tion. He was evidently not yet tired of his adven-
turous mode of life, and his assumed profession of
Islam might have been suspected by his companion,
and his future aim thereby thwarted, had he estab-
lished amicable relations with the Portuguese.

Fifteen days' journey inland from Cannanore
brought the travellers to Bijayanagar, where they
remained some time. After describing the city, its
noble site, and the hunting grounds in the neighbour-
hood, our author's narrative is taken up with a full
account of the elephants maintained by the Rajah,
detailing the various uses to which they were applied,
their armour when employed in war, their surprising
intelligence, and the manner of their propagation.
He also gives the names of the different coins cur-

lxvi INTRODUCTION.

rent in the country, with their relative value, on
comparing which with a similar list supplied by the
Arabian traveller 'Abd er-Razzak sixty years before,
some changes appear to have been made in the
interval in the silver and copper money; but the gold
coinage had undergone no alteration, unless it was
the withdrawal of the Vardha, or Double Pagoda,
from circulation.

Returning to Cannanore, the party proceeded along
the coast to Tormapatani, Pandarani, and Capogatto.
The first of these places is undoubtedly the " Dorma-
patam " of Hamilton, situated near the Tellicherry
river. The two last I have been unable to identify
satisfactorily with the names of any existing towns ;
but they are distinctly mentioned by Bakkeus as
occurring between Cannanore and Calicut, and appear
to have occupied the sites of Hamilton's " Burgara "
and " Cottica," answering to the " Bergara " and
" Cotta " of D'Anville, and the " Vadacurry " and
" Kotacull " of Buchanan and Arrowsmith. Vasco
de Gama landed at this Pandarani, (which must not
be confounded with a place which then bore a similar
name, to the south of Calicut, but now 7 called Ponani,)
when he paid his first visit to the Zamorin.

Our adventurers made a long stay at Calicut, and
an entire book of Varthema's narrative is taken up
with reminiscences of the memorable things observed
there. Its topography, trade, agriculture, animal
and vegetable productions, the court and state of the
Zamorin, the administration of justice, the Brahmins,
the religion of its inhabitants, their every-day worship

INTRODUCTION. lxvti

and funeral services, their division into castes, the
influence acquired there by the foreign and native
Muhammedans, their mode of navigation and war-
fare,— all these subjects are treated of in detail,
and with more than ordinary care, forming together
a most complete domestic history of what he calls
" the place of the greatest dignity in India." Bearing
in mind that all this matter is original, and that
many of the particulars noted were communicated to
Europe for the first time through our author's
writings, one cannot but express surprise at the extent
of his observation and the depth of his researches.
What strikes us most is the generally clear insight
which he obtained into some of the abstruse doctrines
of Hinduism, and the correct account which he gives of
the modeof succession to the sovereignty, the oligarchy
of the Nairs, and the distinctions between the sub-
ordinate castes down to the half savage Poiilias or
Poulichees. Not less remarkable is his description of
the extraordinary relations, sanctioned by usage if
not by law, existing between the Nambouris, or
highest caste, and the wife or wives of the Zamorin,
which, coupled with the picture which he draws of
the polyandry prevailing among the JSTairs, reveals a
state of social depravity as revolting as it is lament-
ably true.

Through what medium did Varthema acquire all
this information, so diffuse in detail and yet so
authentic 1 He had no books of reference, and his
prejudiced Mussulman companions alone would un-
doubtedly have led him into frequent misrepresenta-

lxviii

INTRODUCTION.

tioiis regarding the Kafirs. The only inference we
can draw is, that he did not confine his inquiries to
them, but associated familiarly with the Hindus also,
and, being endowed with uncommon perspicacity,
was enabled to separate the true from the false, and
to present us with a narrative almost unrivalled for
originality of investigation and accuracy of statement
among the published travels of his age. Moreover,
how did he compile his book ? Did he keep a jour-
nal, noting down day by day his acquired experience,
or did he trust to recollection alone ? If the latter,
the retentiveness of his memory would not be the
least qualification for the task which he accomplished
with such surprising exactness.

The suspension of trade at Calicut, owing to the
hostile proceedings of the Portuguese on the coast,
was a serious drawback to Cogiazenor's mercantile
speculations, apparently causing him and Varthema
to leave the place sooner than they had otherwise
intended. In describing their onward progress, the
latter says : " We departed and took our road by a
river, which is the most beautiful I ever saw, and
arrived at a city called Cacolon, distant from Calicut
fifty leagues." This river was unquestionably what
is known to sailors as the " Backwater of Cochin,"
formed by the inland confluence of different streams
with the numerous estuaries along the coast, by
which, especially during the rainy monsoon, naviga-
tion is practicable in a line parallel with the shore.
It seems very likely that the journey was continued
by the same mode of conveyance as far as Quilon,

INTRODUCTION. lxix

for Varthema tells us, in a subsequent part of his
narrative, that they went from that place to Calicut
by this same " river" on their return from the Indian
Archipelago. " Cacolon," the modern Kayan Kulam,
and the Coilcoiloan of Hamilton, is described by the
latter, in his time (1688 — 1723) as " a little princi-
pality contiguous to Porkah," which our author calls
" the island of Porcai," probably from its being almost
insulated by the " Backwater of Cochin." At Kayan
Kulam he fell in with the " Christians of St. Thomas,"
or Nestorians, the ancestors of the native Christian
community still existing in Malabar, and notices
briefly some of their ritual differences from the
Church of Rome. Quilon, the town next gained,
and which Varthema calls " Colon," he describes as
fertile in fruits but not in grain, and speaks of the
king as being very powerful, and a great friend of
the Portuguese, which is true, for they had obtained
permission to settle a factory there two years prior to
his visit.

Leaving Quilon, our travellers rounded Cape Co-
morin, and proceeded in a north-easterly direction to
" Chayl," noticing by the way the pearl-fishery near
Tuticorin. Chayl, I take to represent the " Calligi-
cura" of Pliny, and the " Kolkhi" of the author of
the Periplus, and appears to have been situated near
the promontory forming one side of the Pamban
Passage. 1 Their next voyage was to the city of

1 I have identified it with Barbosa's " Cael," which he locates
on the mainland " after passing the province of Quilicare [Killi-
karai] towards the north-east," and also with Hamilton's " Coil,"
(see note I, on p. 184); but I do not find the name in that neigh-

1XX INTRODUCTION.

" Cioromandel," " distant from Colon seven days'
journey by sea, more or less, according to the wind,"
and subject to the Rajah of Bijayanagar. From
the indications given, I presume this to be Nega-
patam, though, if right in the conjecture, it was a
place of greater commercial importance then than
it is now. Departing thence, and passing a gulf
where there were many rocks and shoals, (the Palk
Strait,) they reached Ceylon, and from Varthema's
description of the locality as being situated near a
large river, surrounded by cinnamon-plantations, and
in the neighbourhood of high mountains, I infer that
they landed at Colombo. Though their stay here
was short, owing to some jealousy of Cogiazenor on
the part of a resident Arab merchant, our author
managed to collect a considerable amount of general
information respecting the island. He mentions the
intestine wars which prevailed between four rival
kings, — a fact corroborated by Sir J. E. Tennent and
other historians ; the various gems found there ; the
cultivation of cinnamon ; Adam's Peak, and the tra-
dition associated with it among Mussulmans ; the
dress of the people, their ignorance of fire-arms, and
the weapons in use among them, with which, how-
ever, " they did not kill each other overmuch, because
they are cowardly fellows."

Three days' sail from Ceylon brought our party

bourhood in any of the modern maps. Colonel Yule identifies
Burbosa's Cael with a Coilpatam near the Tinnevelly river; but I
think that position is too far south to correspond with Varthema's
" Chayl." tSce Friar Jordanus, p. 40.

INTRODUCTION. lxxi

to " Paleachet," the modern Pulicat, about twenty-
two miles north of Madras, then subject to the Nar-
singa, or Rajah of Bijayanagar. The neighbouring
district is represented as abounding in grain, and the
port as largely frequented by " Moorish" merchants.
Varthema also mentions that " the country was at
fierce war w 7 ith the king of Tarnasseri," — a statement
which I have been utterly unable either to question
or to confirm for want of any historical records, known
to me, of any such international hostile relations
between the rulers on the Coromandel coast and
those of the Burmese peninsula.

Before accompanying our travellers from the shores
of Hindustan, I venture to submit a few brief obser-
vations on the narrative under review, as far as it
treats of that continent.

Notwithstanding the civil wars which prevailed
at the time, the external commerce of the country,
except in the single instance attributed to the pro-
ceedings of the Portuguese fleet off Calicut, appears
to have been carried on without interruption, and to
have been subject to no restrictions beyond the levy
of a fixed customs duty at the place of entry or em-
barkation. Moreover, foreign merchants residing at
the seaports, or periodically visiting them, seem to
have enjoyed perfect immunity in person and property,
to have been under the special protection of the local
authorities, and were withal wholly free in the exer-
cise of their religion. The principal seaports on the
western side were Cambay and Calicut; on the Coro-
mandel coast, Negapatam, Pulicat, and Masulipatam;

lxxii INTRODUCTION.

and, farther cast, Banghella near the eastern month
of the Ganges, and Satgong on the Hooghly ; but
between these were numerous subordinate depots,
occupied originally on account of their harbours, and
as affording more direct communication with different
points in the interior, which were much frequented not
only by coasting craft, but by vessels engaged in the
foreign trade. Many of these ports, some of which
were selected for factories by the early European
traders to India, have been abandoned, and even the
names of a few of those mentioned by Varthema have
disappeared from the modern maps. One cause of this
is doubtless assignable to a considerable share of the
external commerce, in which a great many native
boats were engaged, having been diverted from the
lied Sea and Persian Gulf to the route via the Cape
of Good Hope. The larger vessels employed in that
transport required deeper anchorage, and sought the
most eligible harbours, whither the trade followed
them ; whilst the gradual absorption of the native
states by the British Government tended still further
to promote commercial centralization. That the
trade of the country has progressively increased is
certain ; nevertheless, it may fairly be questioned
whether it would not have increased in a higher
ratio had good roads been more generally substituted
for those numerous outlets on the coast which, by
the combined operation of the causes aforesaid, were
eventually disused and forsaken. This conjectural
inference is confirmed by the fact, that notwith-
standing the efforts which have been made of late

INTRODUCTION. lxxiii

years to facilitate inland intercommunication, the
desirableness of adding to the existing harbours has
originated several schemes for improving several of
the old ports and for creating new ones.

Another inference deducible from our narrative is
the uniform prosperity which prevailed among the
inhabitants. Excepting the case of the outcast
Poulias of Malabar, the different classes of the popu-
lation appear to have been in a thriving condition,
and we read of no systematic oppression on the part
of their rulers. These, and the higher ranks of the
community, are represented as being very opulent;
but their riches served to support large establish-
ments of retainers, and being wholly expended in
the country contributed to promote the general
well-being of the people. It may fairly be doubted,
indeed, whether in this respect the natives of India,
on the whole, have benefited by their subjection to
British rule. Larger fortunes are perhaps amassed
by private individuals, but the domestic changes
which a different system of government has intro-
duced have closed many of the outlets through
which the wealth of the few found its way among
the many ; besides which, no insignificant portion of
the incomes realized in the country is now taken out
of it and disposed of elsewhere. In consequence of
this altered state of things, property is becoming
more unequally distributed, and the native popula-
tion is gradually assimilating itself to the European
model. It remains for the future to decide whether
the results in the East will correspond with the
workings of the social organism of the West.

IXX1V INTRODUCTION.

Varthema's reiterated encomium on the impartial
administration of justice, wherein he corroborates the
testimony of ancient Greek and Roman authors,
reveals another striking feature in the Indian polity
at this period. That no declension, in that respect,
has resulted from the supersession of the old native
tribunals by British legislation cannot be doubted ;
nevertheless, the two systems are frequently con-
trasted by the people to the decided disparagement
of the latter. The chief defect complained of, how-
ever, is the comparative tardiness of our law ; for
under the oriental mode of procedure, punishment
follows hard on the offence, and cases are disposed of
without the intervention of those intricate forms and
delays, and without the heavy fees, which seem in-
separable from a British law court. There are, un-
questionably, many among the better informed natives
who appreciate the even and solid justice ultimately
aimed at and dispensed ; but the masses revert with
regret to the good old days when awards were
attainable in much less time, and at far less cost,
than at present. ' This subject reminds me of a wealthy
Arab pearl merchant from the Persian Gulf, whom
I met at Maskat upwards of two years ago, and who
occasionally formed one of a party of evening visitors
whose opinions I frequently endeavoured to elicit on
points connected with British policy in the East.
The theme under discussion was the administration
of justice in India, in the course of which the Arab
merchant, who was well acquainted with Bombay,
spoke as follows, as nearly as I can remember his

INTRODUCTION. lxXV

words: — "There can be no doubt that the government
of the English is the best in the world, and no
Eastern government can be compared to it. Their
law too is excellent, and their judges and magistrates
incorruptible ; still, there are serious drawbacks in
the way of obtaining justice. Knowing this by
experience, I long forbore pressing a case against a
man who was indebted to me to a large amount ; but
a Parsee acquaintance eventually persuaded me to put
myself into the hands of an English lawyer who, he
was sure, would get my claim settled promptly and
economically, and moreover gave me a note of intro-
duction to his legal adviser. Thanking him for his
courtesy, but still wary of the machinery of the law,
I took the note to a Banyan and begged him to read
it for me. It contained this sentence : — ' My dear

, I send you a good fat cow ; milk him well.'

I need not tell you that my suspicions were con-
firmed, and that I preferred a voluntary compromise
with my debtor, to an involuntary milking at the
hands of the English advocate." The anecdote,
whether true or fabricated, is illustrative of a very
common notion among the natives respecting the
obstacles in the way of securing prompt justice from
a British court of law in India.

It is high time to revert to our travellers, but we
must leave them a little longer in the house of the
" Moorish " merchant at Pulicat, (who was delighted
with the corals and saffron, figured-velvet and knives,
which they had brought for sale,) while we take a
cursory glance at the political condition of the
countries whither they subsequently proceeded.

B [MIW

lxxvi INTRODUCTION.

The principal monarchies in the great Burmese
peninsula at this period were those of Pegu and
Siam. The capital of the former was the city of the
same name, and of the latter, Yiithya, or Odia,
situated on the river Menam above the modern
capital of Bangkok. The kingdom of Pegu appears
to have comprised the sea-coast as far as the fifteenth
degree of south latitude, and that of Siam the whole
of the Malayan peninsula, the maritime districts of
which were divided into three provinces, viz., Tenas-
serim, Ligor, and Queda, ruled by semi-independent
viceroys, of whom the chief was the viceroy of
Tenasserim. It would seem, however, that Malacca,
though subject to Siam, formed a separate jurisdic-
tion under a Muhammedan deputy, whereas the
governors of all the other provinces, like the mass of
the people, were Buddhists. There were frequent
wars at this time between Pegu and Siam, and
between Pegu and the inland states of Ava and
Toungoo, which before the end of the sixteenth
century considerably modified the territories of the
rival sovereigns.

The island of Sumatra was divided into several
kingdoms, of which the principal were those of Achin
and Pedir, though it is not improbable that the
latter was tributary to the former. Most of the in-
land sovereigns professed Hinduism, and in Var-
thema's time the king of Pedir was a " Pagan ;" but
there were many " Moors " resident on the eastern
coast, and Achin had embraced Islamism as early, at
least, as the fourteenth century.

INTRODUCTION. Ixxvil

Java, also, was ruled by a number of petty Hindu
kings, who were for the most part subject to a
paramount sovereign, called " Pala-Udora " by Bar-
bosa, who resided in the interior. According to the
same authority, this personage was a " Pagan ;" but
Crawfurd assigns a.d. 1478 as the date when the
principal Hindu state was overthrown by the Muham-
medans. There were many " Moors " settled at the
different seaports, and about this period Islamism
appears to have been making rapid progress among
the inhabitants of the maritime provinces.

Of the places visited by our travellers to the east-
ward of Java, there is but little to be remarked under
this head. According to Varthema, the inhabitants
of the Banda or Nutmeg Islands were "Pagans, who
had no king, nor even a governor ; " Barbosa makes
them Moors and Pagans, and Pigafetta, Moors only;
to which De Barros adds, that " they had neither
king nor lord, and all their government depended on
the advice of their elders." The people of the
Moluccas were Pagans and Muhammeclans, but most
of the " kings " were of the latter denomination.
Barbosa describes one of these sovereigns, however,
as being " nearly a Pagan ; " from which we may
infer that the population generally, as regards re-
ligion, were in a state of transition between heathen-
ism and Islam. Of the prevailing government in
Borneo, we know scarcely anything, beyond the fact
that it comprised a number of petty independent
states, which were chiefly subject to heathen rulers.
The inhabitants of the place where Varthema landed

lxxviii INTRODUCTION.

were Pagans, as were those of the island generally ;
but Crawfurd adduces evidence to prove that many of
the Malay and Javanese settlers had embraced Islam-
ism long prior to this period.

Rejoining our travellers, we shall now proceed to
accompany them in their subsequent wanderings.
From Pulicat, they sailed to " Tarnassari," which 1
have found no difficulty in identifying with Tenas-
serim, although Dr. Vincent was disposed to locate it
either at Masulipatam, or between that place and
the Ganges. Varthema's description of this city, —
its situation on the southern bank of a large river,
forming a good port; the military power of the king,
who maintained a standing army of 100,000 men,
whose weapons were bows and lances, swords and
shields, some of the latter made of tortoise-shell ;
the animal and vegetable productions of the country;
the domestic habits of the people generally ; ] the

1 Varthema describes the cocks and hens at Tenasserim (p. 200)
as the largest he ever saw ; and among the domestic usages of the
people, he speaks of their eating out of " some very beautiful
vessels of wood." (p. 201.) Colonel Yule informs me that the big
cocks and hens, and very handsome vessels of lackered wood, are
notable features in Burmah at the present day. He also suggests
whether the word " Mirzel," which he has found applied to an
Indian dye in a work written by a Dutch author twelve hundred
years ago, and which seems to indicate the brazil-wood, one of the
products of Tenasserim, may not have originated the Italian
" verzino," which Varthema uses to describe the dye, but the
etymology of which I have failed to discover. (See note on p.
205.) The quotation with which he has kindiy supplied me is as
follows : — " Tinctura quaxlam, Mirzel illis dicta, qua panni ele-
gantissimo colore jecorario sive castaneo inficiuntur." Whereon he
remarks : " Now, has the illis dicta any foundation ? It might

INTRODUCTION. lxxix

peculiar dress of the Brahmins, or, more correctly,
Buddhist priests ; the amusement of cock-fighting ;
the concremation of the dead bodies of the kings and
principal Buddhists, and the prevailing practice of
Salt, or widow-burning, with their attendant rites ; —
all these subjects are treated of in detail, and with an
accuracy which is amply confirmed by the testimony
of subsequent writers. Among the birds enumerated
by our author, there is one " much larger than an
eagle," with a yellow and red beak, " a thing very
beautiful to behold," the upper mandible of whicli
was made into sword-hilts. Professor Owen con-
siders that this parti-coloured bill applies to the
Buceros galeatus, of which a jewelled bowl, belong-
ing to the crown jewels of the Ottoman Sultan, is
formed ; but which tradition had believed to have
been made from the beak of the fabulous Phoenix.

Varthema devotes a whole chapter to the descrip-
tion of an extraordinary usage among the people of
Tenasserim, connected with their marriages, in which
the concurrence of foreigners was importunately so-
licited, and illustrates it by the personal experience
of his party. Extravagant and obscene as the custom
is, its prevalence in the Burmese provinces is con-
firmed by writers of a later date, and evidence is not
wanting of its existence up to a very recent period.

help us to the origin of the words brazil and verzino. Drury or
Ainslie would give the synonymes." I have searched through
both writers in vain for an Indian name anything approaching that
of Mirzel either in form or sound, and am therefore inclined to
think that it is nothing more than a native corruption of Verzino.

lx.XX INTRODUCTION.

A voyage of eleven days from Tenasserim brought
our travellers to the " city of Banghella." In my
annotations on the text (p. 210,) I have inferred
that this place was the ancient Gour on the Ganges ;
but the following judicious remarks, which Colonel
Yule has been good enough to transmit to me, lead
me to doubt the accuracy of that identification. He
observes : — " I think it is to be deduced from what
Varthema says, that the ' city of Banghella ' was a
seaport, and therefore could not be Gour. In an old
Dutch Latin geography book, which I have chanced
on in the salle of this hotel, (Hotel Royal, Genoa,)
with wonderfully good maps, by J. and C. Blaen,
(no title ; date about 16-40, as Charles I. is spoken
of as reigning,) I find Bengala put down as a town
close and opposite to Chatigam (Chittagong.) I don't
lay much stress on this ; but I suspect it was either
Chittagong, or Satgong on the Hoogly, which was
the great port one hundred years later, and also
in Ibn Batuta's time." By Satgong I presume the
Colonel indicates Ibn Batuta's SddMwdn, which the
latter describes as " the first town he entered," [in
Bengal,] and as being " large and situated on the
sea-shore." 1 But the following quotation from Pata-
vino, whose work was published in 1597, seems to
upset my friend's deduction as well as my own ; for
it also describes Bengala as a town distinct from either
Gour, or Chittagong, or Satgong. He writes: —
" GOVRO vrbs Regia habitatio fuit, et BENGALA
urbs qua? regioni nomen dat, inter vniversa? India?

1 Lee's Translation, p. 194.

INTRODUCTION. lxxxi

praeclarissimas connumeratur. Pi-aster has iuxta maris
ripam ad ostia Chaberis insignia emporia Catigan et
Satigan iacent, quae centum propemodum leucis ab
invicem distant." 1 I find, moreover, on further investi-
gation, that Rennell likewise recognizes Satgong and
Banghella as distinct towns, and gives some clue to-
wards determining the position of the latter. The
former he describes as follows : — " Satgong or Sata-
gong, now an inconsiderable village on a small creek
of the Hoogly river, about four miles to the north-
west of Hoogly, was, in 1566, and probably later, a
large commercial city, in which the European traders
had their factories in Bengal. At that time, Satgong
river was capable of bearing small vessels ; and I
suspect, that its then course, after passing Satgong,
was by way of Adaumpour, Omptah, and Tamlook ;
and that the river called the Old Ganges was a part of
its course, and received that name while the circum-
stance of the change was fresh in the memory of the
people. The appearance of the country between Sat-
gong and Tamlook countenances such an opinion."
Of the other place, which seems to be Varthema's
Banghella, he says : " In some ancient maps, and
books of travel, we meet with a city named Bangella ;
but no traces of such a place now exist. It is de-
scribed as being near the eastern mouth of the
Ganges, 2 and I conceive that the site of it has been

1 Geoff. Univ. turn Vet. turn Nova absolutissimum opus, p. 258.

2 It is so placed in several of the old maps belonging to the
British Museum. For some further notes on this subject, the
reader is referred to the Postscript at the end of this Introduction.

lxxxii INTRODUCTION.

carried away by the river, as in my remembrance a
vast tract of land has disappeared thereabouts. Ben-
galla appears to have been in existence during the
early part of the last century." 1

To return from this digression : Varthema repre-
sents Banghella as one of the finest cities he had
hitherto seen. The Sultan was a Muhammedan, and
had a standing army of 20,000 men. Here they
found the richest merchants they had ever met ;
the principal exports were cotton and silk stuffs,
which were woven by men and not by women ; the
country abounded in grain of every kind, sugar,
ginger, and cotton, and was, withal, the best place
in the world to live in. In this latter particular,
our author's statement is corroborated by the ex-
perience of Ibn Batuta nearly two centuries before,
who says: " I never saw a country in which
provisions were so cheap. I there saw one of the
religious of the West, who told me that he had
bought provisions for himself and family for a whole
year with eight dirhems," 2 or about twenty-four
shillings of our money !

At Banghella our adventurers met two Christians
from the city of Samau in Cathay, a place which I
was unable to identify when writing the notes, but
for which I have since discovered, what appears to
me, a very probable representative in one of the
letters of Fra Odorico (a.d. 1318), who, in his ac-
count of " Catay," speaks of Christians inhabiting that

1 Memoir of a Map of Hindooslan, p. 57.
2 Lee's Translation, p. 194.

INTRODUCTION. lxxxiii

province in considerable numbers, and mentions that
of the 4,009 doctors who attended on the. " Gran
Cane," eight were Christians. He then adds : —
" During the winter, this lord resides at Cabalec,
[Kanbalii=Pekin,] but at the beginning of summer
he leaves it to take up his abode in a city called
Sanay, situated towards the north, a very cold lo-
cality and habitation, and in removing from the one
place to the other, he goes in wonderful state.' 1
This quotation is from the narrative which Fra
Guglielmodi Solona professes to have taken down from
Fra Odorico's own lips, at Padua, in the year 1330.
In the other account, which is also preserved by
Ramusio, and which appears to have been written
by the missionary Friar himself, this summer-palace
of the Great Khan is called Sandojj ; but the names
of the same places are so differently spelt in the two
exemplars as frequently to defy identification without
the aid of the accompanying narrative. In this in-
stance, there can be no doubt that Sanay and Sandoy
represent one and the same locality ; and although it
is beyond me to decide which is the more correct or-
thography, I deem it tolerably certain that the place
so called was identical with Varthema's " city of
Sarnau."

There is so much interesting matter in these early
travels of Fra Odorico, that it is to be hoped some
competent hand will prepare an annotated transla-
tion of them for the Hakluyt Society. A striking-
feature in the two narratives, which evidently de-

1 Ramusio, vol. ii. p. 251.

;/2

l.XXXiv INTRODUCTION.

scribe the same journey, is that one of them, viz., that
written by Fra Guglielmo, contains an account of
several places on the western coast of India between
Thana (Tanna) and Cape Comorin, including Alan-
drina (Fandaraina=Pandarani 1) and Mebor (Mala-
bar,) and also of S'umoltra (Sumatra?) and Iana (pro-
bably for Iatia=Ja\3,1) as far &sllicunera,a, large island
in the ocean towards the south about 2,000 miles in
circuit, from whence the traveller proceeds to Silam,
(Ceylon,) then to Dadin, an island one day distant, and
next, after a navigation of many days, to Manzi on the
frontiers of China ; whereas, in the other exemplar,
most of these intermediate places are omitted, and
the writer goes direct from Tana (Tanna) to Nicoverra,
and then to Mangi by Diddi. Whencethis discrepancy 1
Was the additional matter an interpolation of a
later date? The subject deserves a thorough investi-
gation.

The two Sarnau Christians whom our travellers
encountered at Banghella had evidently come to that
part of India for trading purposes, and as Varthema
describes them as writing from right to left, they
were probably Nestorians. On seeing the branches
of coral which Cogiazenor had for sale, they advised
him to accompany them to Pegu, as being the most
eligible market for such articles ; and the party ac-
cordingly set off together on a voyage of " about one
thousand miles," 1 during which they " passed a gulf

1 It is somewhat strange that Varthema should make the dis-
tance between his Banghella and Pegu three hundred miles more
than he interposes between Tenasserim and Banghella. See pp.
213, 214.

INTRODUCTION. IXXXV

towards the south," (Martaban,) and in due time
reached their destination.

Varthema correctly describes the Pegu of his day
as a great city, situated to the west of a beautiful
river, containing " good houses and palaces built of
stone, with lime," and as beiug enclosed within a
wall. The old town has long since disappeared, but
Symes tells us that its extent may still be traced by
the remains of the ditch which surrounded it, and
that the bricks from its ruins now pave the streets of
the new town. Among the vegetable productions of
the kingdom, its splendid timber-trees and enormous
bamboos, and, among the animals, the abundance of
civet-cats, are particularly noticed. The chief mer-
chandize of the place was in jewels, and the mines of
Capellan, which Tavernier a century and a half later
locates in a mountain twelve days' journey from
Sirian, are mentioned as the great source of rubies.

In his account of the Peguese army, our author
makes the singular statement that it contained one
thousand Christians like those found in Sarnau, mean-
ing thereby Nestorians. As there is not the slightest
evidence to prove that so large a number of native
Christians ever existed in Pegu, I have been led to
suppose that Varthema had heard that many of the
soldiers, like the Buddhists in general, believed in a
trinity, or, as Yule explains it in commenting on a
similar remark made by Nicolo de' Conti, " the Triad
of Buddha, Dharma, and Sanga" and incontinently
christianized them. The same writer, in another
place, quotes the old Geographer in Ramusio as iden-

lxXXVi INTRODUCTION.

tifying the Hindu Triad with the Christian doctrine
in personal detail : — " All the country of Malabar
believes in the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, and this, beginning at Cambay, and ending
at Bengal." 1

Finding that the King was absent on an expedition
against the King of Ava, our party hired " a ship,
made all of one piece," and set forth in search of
him, their course being, as may be presumed, down
the river of Pegu and then up the Irawaddy. Not
being able to reach Ava on account of the war, they
retraced their steps, and on the return of the King
five days after were admitted to an audience of His
Majesty, who was so bedizened with jewels that, if
seen by night, " he appears to be a sun." The
Christians, who acted as interpreters on the occasion,
apprised him of the merchandize which Cogiazenor
had brought for sale ; but that business was deferred
to the day after the next, " because the next day the
King had to sacrifice to the devil for the victory
which he had gained" over his A van enemies. The
account which Varthema gives of the subsequent
interview reveals the craft of the Persian in placing
his corals at the King's disposal for the mere honour
of having them accepted by royalty. The artifice
was eminently successful ; for although the King
was unable to pay in ready cash, owing to the heavy
expenditure occasioned by two years' war, he gave
the wily merchant a handful of rubies for his corals,
and presented the Christians with two rubies each.

1 Friar Jordanus, p. 24, note.

INTRODUCTION. lxXXVU

" Wherefore," remarks our author, " he may be con-
sidered the most liberal King in the world ; " adding
for our information that his principal revenue was
derived from the lac and sandal-wood, brazil-wood
and cotton, which the country produced in great
abundance. Five days after, news arrived that the
King of Ava was marching to attack the King of
Pegu, and as the latter left the city with a large
army to encounter him, our party embarked on board
a ship and in eight days reached Malacca.

Near this place was a river twenty-five miles wide,
called " Gaza." This was undoubtedly the Straits of
Malacca, which are about that width between the
mainland and the opposite island of Rupat, and the
name is most probably a contraction of Bogluu, the
common Arabic designation of a strait. As Var-
tliema describes their course from Pegu as being
" towards the west," he had evidently a very incor-
rect idea of the geography of the peninsula. The
country about Malacca was not very fertile, but it
abounded in fruits and different kinds of birds and
animals, and the commerce carried on at the port
was very extensive, for " more ships arrived there
than at any other place in the world." The natives
generally were a bad race, and foreign merchants
slept on board their ships to avoid assassination.
Distinct from the more civilized community of the
place, who dressed after the manner of Cairo, there
was another class who set the local authorities at de-
fiance, and who did not care to reside on land be-
cause they were " men of the sea." I have pointed

lxxxviii INTRODUCTION.

out in my annotations on the text how strikingly
this part of Varthema's narrative is corroborated
by the learned researches of Mr. Crawfurd. " Men
of the Sea" is the literal translation of the Malay
Orang-laut, or sea-gipsies, who are to be found so-
journing from Sumatra to the Moluccas. The only
habitations of this people are their boats, and they
live exclusively by the produce of the sea, or by the
robberies which they commit on it.

The next place to which our party proceeded was
Pider in the island of Sumatra, which Varthema
locates about eighty leagues from the mainland, — a
correct estimate if measured from the coast directly
opposite, but nearly twice that distance from Malacca.
After portraying the physical features of the people,
and remarking that their religion and customs, that
of Saft included, were like those of Tenasserim, Var-
thema describes the currency as consisting of gold,
silver, and tin coins, " all stamped, having a devil
[idol] on one side, and something resembling a cha-
riot drawn by elephants on the other." This state-
ment is somewhat in opposition to Mr. Crawfurd, who
says that the natives of the Archipelago generally had
no coined money prior to the arrival of the Eu-
ropeans ; but this conclusion is modified by the ex-
ception of Java, and more especially of A chin, where
he states that a gold coin existed inscribed with
Arabic characters, bearing the names of the sove-
reigns under whom it w r as struck, from which it may
be inferred that the date of coinage was subsequent
to the establishment of Islamism in that province.

INTRODUCTION. lxxxix

Still, as Ibn Batiita found a Muhammedan sovereign
reigning at Sumatra in the fourteenth century, and
as Achin was most likely the place which he touched
at in that island, there is nothing incredible in Var-
thema's account of the different coins current at
Pedir in his time ; for Pedir is the next adjoining
province to Achin, and was probably at some period
tributary to that state. It is possible, however, that
some of these coins were imported in the course of
trade with the continent of India, for Varthema de-
scribes one street of Pedir as occupied by five hun-
dred money-changers, and associates the remark with
the great number of foreign merchants who carried
on an extensive traffic at the place. As a colony of
Hindus still exists at Malacca, whose profession it is to
try gold by the touch and to refine it, it is not unlikely
that the money-changers at Pedir were also natives of
India ; and, if so, the importation of Indian money is
readily accounted for. Perhaps some one learned in
oriental numismata may succeed, where I have failed,
in identifying the devices on Varthema's stamped
money of Pedir with some of the old Hindu coins.

In his enumeration of the natural productions of
Sumatra, our author includes most of those peculiar
to the island, such as pepper, specifying the long
pepper, of which he gives a detailed description ;
benzoin ; different qualities of sandal-wood, the eagle-
wood of commerce ; and silk, both domestic and
wild. With regard to the latter article, Crawfurd
says, in commenting on a similar statement made by
De Barros, that it is probably an error, as he is not

XC INTRODUCTION.

aware of any kind of silk being produced in the
islands of the Archipelago ; and as I can suggest no-
thing to modify this wide discrepancy, I must just
leave it as it is, and rejoin our travellers in their on-
ward journey. 1

A desire on the part of Cogiazenor to see the place
where the nutmegs and cloves were produced, in-
duced him and Varthema to put themselves under
the guidance of their two Christian companions, who
were now anxious to return to their own country,
but who eventually consented to accompany them,
on hearing that Varthema had been a Christian, and
had seen Jerusalem, where he had been purchased as
a slave, and brought up as a Mussulman. This
fabricated story so delighted the simple Sarnau couple,
that they endeavoured to persuade Varthema to go
with them to China, promising that he should be
made very rich there, and be allowed the free ex-
ercise of his adopted faith. Cogiazenor objected to
the latter arrangement, informing them that his
companion was the destined husband of his bright-
eyed niece " Samis," which finally settled the matter.
Smaller boats being required for the projected trip,

1 Varthema also mentions that many of the houses in Sumatra
were covered with shells of sea turtles, — a remark which I have
been able to illustrate by the researches of Mr. II. H. Major (see
note 1, on p. 240). But the colossal tortoise of Diodorus Siculus,
and even the Colossochelys Atlas of the British Museum, is out-
done by one described by Fra Odorico in a country which he calls
" Zapa," somewhere in the Indian Archipelago. He says :
" And in this place I also saw a turtle of wonderful size like the
cuba or trullo [the square tower] of [the church of] Saint An-
thony at Padua"! Ramusio, vol. ii. p. 248.

INTRODUCTION. XC1

wherein there were no dangers to be apprehended
from pirates, though the Christians could not promise
them immunity from the chances of the sea, two
sampans, ready manned, were bought by the Persian
for 400 pardai, (about £280,) and after taking on
board a stock of provisions, including the best fruits
which Varthema had ever tasted, the party sailed from
the island of Sumatra.

We are now to follow our adventurers on a route
never before traversed by Europeans, or, more safely,
of which no European before him has left any record. 1
" About twenty islands " were passed during the
voyage, leading us to infer that they steered along
the coast of Java, and in fifteen days they arrived at
" Bandan," one of the Banda or Nutmeg group.
The inhabitants are represented as being " like
beasts : " they had no ruler, neither was any law
necessary, " because the people were so stupid, that
if they wished to do evil they would not know how
to accomplish it. 1 ' Nevertheless, they must have
been within the area of the trade at that period,
and in frequent contact with a superior civilization,

1 As far as I can recollect, Marco Polo and Fra Odorico are the
only Europeans, prior to our author, who have given us a personal
account of any of the countries to the east of the Malayan peninsula,
yet neither of them travelled to the eastward of Borneo. Never-
theless, it is by no means improbable that stray foreigners from
the West may have been there long before Varthema. Until very
lately, I believed with the rest of the world that Burton was the
first European who visited Hurrur ; but Padre Sapeto affirms that
he himself was there some years before Burton, and that several
other Europeans had resided at the place half a century antecedent
to his time.

XC11 INTRODUCTION.

for " money circulated there as at Calicut." The
only production of the island was the nutmeg, which
grew spontaneously, and was common property, each
person gathering as much as he chose. The tree,
nut, and mace, are described with Varthema's usual
accuracy, and he states that the market price of
twenty-six pounds of nutmegs was half a carlino, or
about three pence of our currency.

Leaving Banclan, the next place gained was
" Monoch," 1 a distorted form of 3Ialuka, the proper
collective name of the Moluccas, which they reached
in twelve days. Mr. Crawfurd remarks that Var-
thema " seems to consider the Moluccas as one island,
including probably under this name the great island
of Gilolo." 2 This is hardly so ; for our author
mentions expressly "other neighbouring islands where
cloves grow," but says " they are small and unin-
habited." It is impossible to decide with certainty
which of the islands the party landed at, but as it is
described as being " much smaller than Bandan," I
have conjectured that it was either Ternate or Tidor.
The inhabitants are represented as being worse than
those of Bandan, but lived much in the same style.
The only object of interest here was the cloves, — an
object which, as Mr. Crawfurd correctly says, " mainly
prompted the European nations of the fifteenth cen-
tury to the discovery of the New World." Varthema
gives a very fair account of the clove tree, the soil in

1 I perceive that, by an oversight, I have written " JITc/luck"
for Monoch in the 23rd line of the note on p. 247.

2 Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands, etc., p. 64.

INTRODUCTION. XClil

which it flourished, and the simple manner of gather-
ing the spice. The price of the cloves was double
that of the nutmeg, but they were sold by measure
" as the people did not understand weights." He
says the country was very low, which is only true of
the latitude of the Moluccas; and that was evidently
our author's meaning, for he immediately subjoins :
" and the north star is not seen from it."

After a short stay at " Monoch," the Christians
proposed to conduct our travellers to " the largest
island in the world;" for so they designated Java,
proving how ignorant they were of its relative size.
But they must first go to " Bornei," or Borneo, and
procure a large ship there, " because the sea is more
rough." As this precaution would have been un-
called for had the party taken the same route as that
by which they had come, I was at first inclined to
suppose that they might have sailed through the
Macassar Strait ; but that would not agree with the
course pursued, which Varthema says was " constantly
to the southward." Hence, I have been led to infer
that the Java Sea was the rougher passage indicated;
though one fails to see the necessity for their having
taken the route by Borneo, when they might have
reached Java without touching there at all, unless,
indeed, the Christians had some particular object in
visiting that island. Unluckily, the space of two
hundred miles, which Varthema interposes between
the Moluccas and Borneo, affords no clue to de-
termine the route, as the nearest extremities of those
two places are more than twice that distance apart,

XC1V INTRODUCTION.

which leads to the conjecture that by some mischance
the word miles has been substituted for leagues.
However this may be, the place where they disem-
barked was certainly in the highway of trade, for
" a very great quantity of camphor " was shipped
from it every year. Varthema heard that this sub-
stance was the gum of a tree, but not having seen
the tree himself, he abstains from asserting the truth
of the report.

Chartering a vessel at " Bornei," the party pursued
their course towards the south. The captain, — who
was probably a Malay, for Varthema and the Persian
communicated with him through the Christians,
whereas, had he been an Arab, they would not have
required an interpreter, — " carried the compass and
magnet after our manner, and had a chart which was
all marked with lines perpendicular and across."
Mr. Markham assumes that the compass was of Euro-
pean manufacture, its index pointing to the north,
and not like that of the Chinese pointing to the
south. It may be so ; nevertheless, I have not yet
met with any conclusive proof that the Easterns
borrowed the use of the compass, as they now have
it, from the West. However, as the polar star was
invisible, Cogiazenor inquired of the master how he
navigated. To which he replied, that he steered by his
compass, which was adjusted to the north ; but,
pointing out "four or five stars, among which he said
there was one which was opposite to our north star,"
he stated that on the other side of the said island,
towards the south, [Java?] there were "some other

INTRODUCTION. XCV

races who navigate by the said four or five stars
opposite to ours." There can be no doubt that the
constellation of the Southern Cross is here indicated;
but the additional information respecting other races
to the south, " where the day lasted only four hours,"
which would be about 15° to the southward of Van
Diemen's Land, is most interesting. It is highly im-
probable that the Malay could have guessed at phe-
nomena so true, and yet so different to anything
which he himself had experienced; still, from whence
did he derive his knowledge, superficial as it was \
In a note which Mr. R. H. Major kindly drew up for
me on this chapter, he remarks: — "This reference to
Australia is the more remarkable, as it precedes, in
time, those early indications of the discovery of that
country which I have shown to exist in manuscript
maps of the first half of the sixteenth century,
although the discoverers' names, most probably Por-
tugese, and the date of the discovery, as yet remain a
mystery." The mystery of the old Malay's knowledge
will never be revealed : Varthema might have aided
us in the matter by pursuing his inquiries, but he
winds up his record of the skipper's communications
with the exquisite peroration : " On hearing this, we
were much pleased and satisfied" !

The tedium of the voyage between Borneo and Java
was relieved by the anxious inquiries of the Christians
respecting their brethren in the far West. On this
subject Varthema had much to communicate which
would be deeply interesting to them ; and when he
told them " of the Volto Santo at St. Peter's, and of

XCV1 INTRODUCTION.

the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul, and of many
other saints," his ingenuous listeners would fain have
taken him back with them to their country. It is
by no means improbable, that this friendly converse
had some influence in determining our traveller to
bring his wanderings to a close at the first favourable
opportunity. He had slaked his thirst for adventure
by seeing parts of the globe which no other European
of his day had yet visited, and the associations of
kindred and home, and of the things which he once
regarded as sacred, revived as they were by these dis-
cussions, made him long to throw off the trammels of
a profession which was now becoming a burden
to him.

Five days' sail from Borneo brought the vessel to
Java, but at what place on the island the party
landed is uncertain ; doubtless, it was somewhere on
the northern coast. The king and all the people
were " Pagans," and although one class of the com-
munity consisted of " the most trustworthy men in
the world," there was another class still so barbarous
as to be addicted to the practice of eating human
flesh. Mr. Crawfurd ridicules the latter idea, which
would perhaps have been preposterous had our tra-
vellers touched at one of the more civilized maritime
towns ; but that, as it appears to me, was not the
case : first, from this recorded statement respecting
the subsistence of cannibalism, which, as I have
shown in my notes, prevailed in other parts of the
Archipelago at this period. Secondly, because the
inhabitants were all Pagans, whereas most of the

INTRODUCTION. XCV11

frequented ports contained many Muhammedans who
had introduced a superior civilization together with
their religion. Thirdly, because in such localities
fire-arms were well known, while the natives where
our party disembarked were quite ignorant of ar-
tillery, their only weapons being bows and darts of
cane, and the peculiar Smnpitan, or blow-pipe. And,
lastly, these separate considerations receive general
confirmation from the absence of all mention in Var-
thema's narrative that the place which they visited
was one of trade, — a circumstance which he never
omits to record whenever such was the case.

Before quitting Java, Cazazionor purchased a
couple of young children who had undergone the
cruel operation regarded as desirable for fitting them
to become attendants on a Mussulman harim. The
barbarous practice, which also prevailed in different
parts of India at this period, was most probably in-
troduced into these countries with Islam, and many
"Moorish merchants" are said to have made a trade
of buying and preparing these wretched victims for
exportation to foreign markets.

Crossing over to Malacca, steering at first to the
eastward to avoid the surrounding islands, our tra-
vellers there took leave of the Sarnau Christians, with
sincere regret on both sides, and from thence proceeded
to " Cioromandel" (Negapatam), where they engaged
a sampan to take them to Quilon. At that place
Varthema found twenty Portuguese, and would gladly
have made his escape to them, " but they were very
few," and the eyes of some Mussulmans who knew

XCVlll INTRODUCTION.

him to be Hajji were upon him. At Quilon they em-
barked on the "river" (see p. lxviii. ante,) and in ten
days reached Calicut.

At Calicut, our author met two Milanese, who had
deserted from the Portuguese at Cochin, and were
there employed in casting artillery for the Zamorin.
Varthema concerted with these renegades how to
effect their escape, but the attempt was surrounded
with difficulties on all sides, and he was obliged to
trust to his own resources. Long practice had made
him fertile in expedients, and an adept at dissimula-
tion, and on this occasion he set himself up as a
Muhammedan santon, affecting abstinence from ani-
mal food, (though he clandestinely helped the Milanese
to consume two brace of fowls every day,) and a se-
verity of demeanour consistent with his assumed cha-
racter. As such, he was consulted in the case of a
sick friend of Cazazionor, and requested to prescribe
for him. The narrative of his mode of treating the
patient, as recorded in the chapter entitled " How I
made myself a physician in the town of Calicut," is
as extravagant as it is ludicrous. Fortunately, the
sick man survived the severe treatment to which he
was subjected, and the success of his amateur medi-
cal practice greatly enhanced our author's repute,
insomuch that he was solicited to act the part of
Imdm, and lead the prayers of the congregation in
the mosque. Conceiving that his saintliness was
now generally established, he next simulated sick-
ness, and suggested that a change of air might be
beneficial. Cazazionor, who appears to have been

INTRODUCTION. XC1X

wholly blinded by his companion's deceit, readily
gave his consent, and furnished him with letters of
recommendation to a friend at Cannanore. Var-
thema narrowly escaped detention by the Zamorin's
IS 1 airs at the place of embarkation, but his good
star was in the ascendant, and after travelling some
distance along the coast, he eventually picked up a
boat which carried him to his destination. Under
the hospitable roof of Cazazionor's acquaintance, he
breathed more freely, and after reconnoitering the
spot where the Portuguese fort was in course of erec-
tion, he availed himself of the next favourable oppor-
tunity to place himself under the protection of the
garrison. Lorenzo de Almeyda, the Viceroy's son,
who was there at the time, gave a hearty welcome to
one who was so well able to describe the warlike
preparations which were being made at Calicut to
oppose the Portuguese, and after discussing such mat-
ters with him for several days, sent him on board a
galley to his father at Cochin, who also gave him
an honourable reception, and remanded him to
Cannanore to use his best endeavours in behalf
of the two Milanese at Calicut. His efforts, how-
ever, to effect their liberation were unsuccessful. The
unfortunate men were betrayed by the spy he em-
ployed to communicate with them, and were barba-
rously murdered by a crowd of infuriated Joghis in
their own house at Calicut.

The sequel of our author's Indian career may be
told in a few words. He appears to have been pre-
sent at a great naval engagement between the Por-

C INTRODUCTION.

tuguese and the Zamorin's fleet off Cannanore, and was
subsequently employed for a year and a half as factor
at Cochin. He also describes the siege of the Por-
tuguese fort at Cannanore by the justly-incensed
population, which occurred during his tenure of office,
and the opportune relief of the beleaguered garrison
by the fleet under Tristan de Cunna. He also took part
in the attack on Ponani, and in the destruction of the
Zamorin's ships which were anchored there, and after
the battle was, with several others, dubbed a knight
by the Viceroy Don Francisco de Almeyda, the gal-
lant Captain Tristan de Cunna acting as his sponsor
on the occasion. His account of these different ope-
rations is replete with interesting details, and its
general authenticity is fully corroborated by nume-
rous undesigned coincidences between his narrative
and the records of later Portuguese historians. Un-
fortunately, one is unable to deduce any reflection,
from Varthema's independent testimony, palliative of
the unwarrantable proceedings of the Portuguese
towards the native states on the western coast of
India at this period. Those proceedings, the offspring
of national ambition and selfishness, were carried
out in a spirit of barbarity mingled with fanaticism
which outraged the first principles of justice, and dis-
graced the religion which it was one design of such
conduct to promote. Would that the history of our
own first transactions in India were unstained by any
such blemishes ! Let us hope that some, at least, of
those early faults have been atoned for, and that the
remainder will be forgotten in the future prosperity

INTRODUCTION. CI

of an empire which has been justly called the brightest
jewel in the diadem of Britain's glorious Queen.

On the 6th of December 1507, our traveller finally
left Cannanore with the homeward-bound ships, on
board the San Viccnzo, a vessel belonging to one Bar-
tolomeo Marchioni, a Florentine resident at Lisbon.
While on the voyage, he takes a brief retrospect of
the recent conquests of the Portuguese in the East,
and predicts a glorious future for that monarchy
owing to the simultaneous efforts which were made,
under its immediate auspices, to promote Christianity
among the natives of India. t: Ten, and even twelve,
Pagans and Moors were baptized every fete day" at
Cochin alone, and the work of conversion, which was
being zealously prosecuted, was everywhere crowned
with signal success. The prognostication, as regards
territorial aggrandizement, was speedily realized ;
for, fifteen years later, the Portuguese had made
themselves masters of the principal ports on the Ma-
labar and Coromanclel coasts, of parts of Ceylon and
the Malayan peninsula, and also of the Moluccas.
Their possession of Malacca in the east, and their
settlements at Diu and Goa on the west, enabled
them to engross the entire trade, including that of
the Persian Gulf on the one side, where they held the
important island of Hormuz, and that of China, Japan,
and the Indian Archipelago on the other. Their
ships frequented every port, and their merchandize
was to be found from the Cape of Good Hope to the
river of Canton ; while along this immense line of
coast they had established a chain of forts and fac-

Cll INTRODUCTION.

tories, where their traffic was carried on and pro-
tected, unrivalled and uncontrolled. The commercial
empire of the Portuguese in the East* whether con-
sidered in the dimensions which it attained, the brief
space in which it was consolidated, its opulence, the
splendour with which its government was conducted,
or the very slender powers with which it was formed,
is unique in the history of nations.

But the dominion thus acquired was as short-lived
as the sincere piety, the generous courage, and the
indefatigable energy which had created it. No longer
animated by the spirit of the original conquerors,
their successors, heedless of the common cause, be-
came indolent, debauched, and effeminate, and strove
solely for their own individual profit. Officers and
soldiers were without subordination, discipline, or
patriotism, and the governors, corrupt themselves,
found it their interest to foment divisions among their
countrymen. These intestine cabals alone, combined
with the oppression which was exercised towards the
natives, would have sufficed in time to disintegrate
the newly-formed empire ; but its downfall was pre-
cipitated by the appearance of a formidable enemy
from without. The revolted Dutch, interdicted by a
decree of Philip II., of Spain and Portugal, from all
commercial relations with those kingdoms, seized
every opportunity of harassing and humiliating their
former masters, and, taking advantage of the anarchy
which pervaded the Portuguese colonies in the East,
boldly prosecuted their trade in that quarter, and
determined at length to expel their rivals. In the

INTRODUCTION. Clll

course of a few years they deprived them of the
Moluccas, the Spice Islands, Amboyna, Tidor, Ceylon,
and Malacca. The English, also, who had now begun
to claim a share of the spoils, wrested from them
Surat and other parts of Guzerat, and in conjunction
with the Shah of Persia drove them from the island of
HormuZjWhile the Imam of Maskat expelled them from
'Amman, and from many of their settlements in East
Africa. And now, Macao in China, with Dili, Goa,
and Daman on the Guzerat and Canarese coasts, are
the only fragments which remain to them of an em-
pire which Alexander coveted but could not win.

The religious conquests of the Portuguese, how-
ever, have survived their temporal sovereignty, and
the descendants of the first converts, with large
additions won over to the Church of Rome by the
zeal of subsequent missionaries, are still to be found
scattered over the continent of India, and more
especially in the Madras Presidency, the scene of
their earliest efforts at evangelization, where their
numbers are very considerable. Political influence,
emanating from every department of the Govern-
ment, was undoubtedly used at the outset to promote
Christianity among the natives ; for that, indeed, was
one of the avowed objects of the invaders, who pro-
fessed to be as anxious to destroy the strongholds of
heathendom, as to secure territorial dominion. But
the withdrawal of State cooperation, consequent on
the extinction of Portuguese supremacy, was not
followed, as might have been expected, by any
general apostacy of the proselytes ; on the contrary,

CIV INTRODUCTION.

though arrested for a time, the work of conversion
progressed, and fresh native churches were formed,
whose members at the present day far outnumber the
converts to Protestantism made by the combined
efforts of Dutch, American, and English missionaries,
of all denominations.

How are we to account for this remarkable pheno-
menon in the history of Christianity in India? Whence
comes it that Roman Catholic missions there have
ever been more successful than missions from the
Reformed Churches 1 Whence, that their converts,
a feeble folk though they be, have persistently
clung to their adopted faith amidst all the political
changes which have surrounded them, the social in-
fluences which both directly and indirectly have been
levelled against them, and the strenuous exertions
which have been put forth to win them over to a
purer creed \ And, supposing the case, that British
domination in India were to terminate as suddenly as
did that of the Portuguese, is it probable that two
centuries later there would be found amidst its ruins
native communities professing the Reformed religion
as we now find congregations of native Christians
firmly attached to the Church of Rome % One of
our own Bishops in India, after describing some of
the old Portuguese churches in the neighbourhood
of Bombay makes the following remarks : — " They
are melancholy objects to look at, but they are monu-
ments, nevertheless, of departed greatness, of a love
of splendour far superior to the anxiety for amassing
money, by which other nations have been chiefly

INTRODUCTION. CV

actuated, and of a zeal for God which, if not accord-
ing to knowledge, was a zeal still, and a sincere one.
It was painful to me, at the time, to think, how few
relics, if the English were now expelled from India,
would be left behind of their religion, their power,
or their civil and military magnificence." 1 During
the forty years which have elapsed since the late
lamented Heber penned these lines, a great advance
has been made in our own civil and political status in
India, and much has undoubtedly been done to im-
prove the secular and intellectual condition of the
people generally; but as regards the diffusion of our
religion among the natives, how insignificantly little
has been effected, especially when compared with the
profuse and expensive machinery which for the last
century has been set in motion to that end !

I would be understood as alluding to this subject
in its purely human point of view, and wholly apart
from all supernatural or Divine affinities ; but even
under that aspect, the reflections which it is calcu-
lated to evoke deserve the serious consideration of
such as believe that Christianity alone can regenerate
India, and particularly of those who, whether in this
country or on the spot, are engaged in promoting its
extension among our fellow-subjects in that vast
continent.

To discuss this interesting topic more fully would
be foreign to a work like the present, and perhaps
an apology is due for the foregoing intrusion of it.
Readily granting the same, I return again to the
narrative of our Europe-bound traveller.

1 Bishop Heber's Journal, vol. iii. p. 91.

CV1 INTRODUCTION.

After a course of "about three thousand miles"
from Cannanore, the San Vincenzo reached Mozam-
bique on the east coast of Africa, or^ as the coun-
try was then called, "Ethiopia." They saw " many
lands" on the way, where the King of Portugal
held strong fortresses, but whether they landed at
those places or not is uncertain. Varthema enu-
merates Malindi, Mombasa, Kilwah, Sofala, Pate,
and Brava, but omits all mention of Mukdishu and
Lamu on the continent, and the adjacent islands of
Zanzibar and Pemba, which latter is called by the
Arabs Jezirat el-Khaclhra, or the Green Island.
Most of these localities had been captured by the
Portuguese before our author's arrival, and several
of them were well garrisoned. The conciliatory policy
adopted by Vasco de Gama when he first visited this
coast in 1498 had been reversed by his successors,
whose arrogant pretensions, inspired by a thirst after
gold and conquest, soon brought them into collision
with the inhabitants, who were eventually obliged to
succumb to the superior arms of the invaders. Almost
all the places above-mentioned were at this period in
the hands of the Arabs, whose original settlements on
the coast must have taken place at a very early
period. Eschewing the knotty question of the
locality of the Scriptural " Ophir," which some have
attempted to identify with Sofala, and whether Solo-
mon was supplied with " ivory, apes, and peacocks,"
by Arab traders between Eziongeber and the east
coast of Africa, the reader will find in the following
quotation from the researches of Dr. Krapf a valuable

INTRODUCTION. CVU

summary of the more authentic history of these
foreign colonists. —

" It is well known that the Muhammeclan Arabs, during the
first period of their history, for 150 years, overran a large
section of Asia, Africa, and Europe, and that soon after the
death of their prophet Muhammed they fell a prey to political
and religious dissensions, and the defeated party resolved to
abandon the land of their birth. Where was a better home
to be found than the fruitful strand of Eastern Africa?
There they were already known, and would be safe from
the pursuit of their fanatical conquerors. It seems that the
first settlements of the kind were made in various points of the
East- African coast in the year 740 by the Emosaids, or ad-
herents of Said, a great grandson of Ali, the prophet's cousin
and son-in-law. Said, proclaimed Caliph by the rebels, was
defeated and slain, on which his adherents were obliged to
seek safety in flight, and it was in East Africa that they
found refuge. In the works of various Arabian historians
and geographers, for several centuries afterwards, we find in-
teresting notices of these Arab settlements. From all these
notices it is to be gathered, that the Muhammedan Arabs
founded political and religious states or towns in Eastern
Africa, and that their migration to that country was some-
times voluntary, sometimes forced upon them. Among these
Arabian states or towns the most prominent are: Mukdishu,
Kilwah, Brava, Malindi, and Mombasa. Mukdishu was
supreme in the north, while Kilwah was queen of the south,
from Zanzibar to Sofala. With the declining power of these
two states and towns, Malindi and Mombasa, situated mid-
way between them, appear to have increased in influence
and importance. Mukdishu seems to have been founded
between a.d. 909-951 ; and Kilwah between a.d. 960-1000.
It is likely from the narrative of the famous Ibn Batuta, 1
1 [See Lee's Translation, pp. 55-57.]

CV111 INTRODUCTION.

who visited Mombasa about a.d. 1330, that the Wanika
[a native tribe] had not then settled in the vicinity of the
coast. ...

" These Arabian cities and communities were prosperous,
and in some degree civilized ; but they were deficient in
military organization. They had not been founded by con-
querors, but by traders, emigrants, and exiles, who behaved
peaceably to the natives, and so developed and established
their influence slowly, but at the same time more surely.
They were pacific colonists, and by the trade and commerce
which they originated, the natives of the interior could not
but recognize the advantage of peaceful intercourse with the
strangers, and be glad of their presence. . . . But the
Arabs were not to remain for ever in exclusive possession of
the knowledge, the commerce, and the power of Eastern Africa,
— a possession which would have led them to rule and
to convert the whole of Southern Africa. Providence inter-
posed, and at the right time led into those waters and to
that coast a Christian power, to check the progress and
weaken the influence of Muhammedanism."

The subsequent domination of this " Christian "
power, and its baneful results, are thus described : —

" In East Africa, Portugal enriched herself by levying
tribute and taxes, in addition to her enormous gains from
the gold-mines of Sofala ; but East Africa received nothing
in return. She ruled the East-Africans with a rod of iron,
and their pride and cruelty had their reward in the bitter
hatred of the natives. In Eastern Africa, the Portuguese
have left nothing behind them but ruined fortresses, palaces,
and ecclesiastical buildings. Nowhere is there to be seen a
single trace of any improvement effected by them. No
wonder that the Portuguese rule was of short duration, and
that it fell as quickly as it had risen. John IV. had, indeed,
restored independence to Portugal in 1640; but he could
no longer save his colonies. In 1620, Portugal had already

INTRODUCTION. C1X

lost the island of Hormuz, and its loss was the more felt,
because it gave the Arabs of Oman courage and leisure to
extend and to strengthen their influence in the Persian
Gulf and in Eastern Africa. Portugal had no longer men
like Albuquerque, capable of restoring the fallen influence
of their country in those seas. All were now alike corrupt
and incapable. In India and its waters, England and
Holland had appeared, and with their appearance the star of
Portugal had to sink to the horizon."

Some idea of the hostile relations which existed
between the Portuguese and the natives towards the
middle of the seventeenth century, may be gathered
from an inscription over the gateway leading into the
fortress of Mombasa. I had not time to transcribe
it during my short stay at that island in December
1860, but relied on a copy in my possession, which I
believe was taken by Dr. Krapf. The following is a
translation of the original Portuguese : —

" In 1635, Chief Captain Francisco de Xeixas cle Cabreira,
aged 27 years, after having commanded this fortress for
four years, rebuilt it, and raised this corps-de-garde. And
he reduced into submissio7i to His Majesty the coast of
Malindi, where a tyrant king had sprung up, and made the
kings of Tondo, Mandra, Lazieva, and Jaca, tributaries.
He also visited Pate and Sio with a punishment never before
witnessed in India, levelling the walls thereof to the ground.
He imposed a fine on the Muzungidos , and punished Pemba
and its rebel people, killing the petty king, who had been set up
by them and by others of note, obliging the Pariahs to pay
to His Majesty the tribute which they had evaded for years.
For these services, he teas raised to the dignity of Fidalgo of
His Majesty' 's Household, having previously received, for other
similar services, the decoration of the Knight of the Order of
Christ, an annuity of a thousand Reis, and six years' tenure

CX INTRODUCTION.

of the Governorship of Jafampatas and four of that of
Bcligas, with flic faculty of making all [appointments] therein
during his lifetime. [This inscription teas raised] a.i>. 1639,
when Pedro cle Silvoa was Viceroy.''''

" We have still to show how the authority of the Arabian
princes of Oman first rose, and gradually replaced that of the
Portuguese along the East- African coast. Oman comprises
the north and south-eastern portions of Arabia, which lie on
the Gulf of Persia and the Indian Ocean. In the year 1624,
after great disorders and dissensions, Oman and its inhabi-
tants became subject to the rule of a sagacious and energetic
Imam, Nasir bin Murshid, the Ya'arabite. After establishing
his sovereignty in Oman, he planned the complete expulsion
of the Portuguese from their Arabian and African posses-
sions. . . . His victories over the Portuguese were con-
tinued by his cousin and successor, Sultan bin Seif bin
Malik, who took Maskat in 1658, leaving the Portuguese
then no seaport of any consequence on the coast of Arabia.
His second son, Sultan Seif, who defeated his brother
Bel'arab and usurped the throne, at the request of the
people of Mombasa, sent a fleet to Eastern Africa, captured
Mombasa, Zanzibar, and Kilwah, and laid siege to Mozam-
bique in 1698. He placed a governor in Mombasa who
was nominally subject to Oman. After the fall of Mombasa,
the Portuguese on "the East-African coast were everywhere
massacred or expelled ; and there was an end of their
sovereignty from Cape Delgado to Cape Gardafui. Even
the town of Mukdishu, which had retained its independence
during the period of the Portuguese rule, placed itself under
the protection of the princes of Oman." 1

The different towns and forts on the coasts, to-
gether with the adjacent islands, from Cape Delgado

1 Ivkaim's Travels and Missionary Labours in Eastern Africa,
pp. 521-29.

INTRODUCTION. CXI

to Mukdishu, still remain in the hands of the 'Amman
Seyyeds or Sultans ; but by a recent arrangement
the African territories have been detached from the
parent state, and placed under the sovereignty of
Seyyed Majicl, a younger son of the late Seyyed Said,
known to Europeans as the Imam of Maskat, his
eldest brother Seyyed Thoweynee retaining possession
of 'Amman.

But it is high time to rejoin our party whom we
left at Mozambique. During their fifteen days' resi-
dence at that island, they made several trips on the
mainland, and Varthema gives a graphic description
of the physiognomy of the aboriginal 3fakuas, their
strange jargon, and peculiar and scanty costume.
The excursionists carried torches to frighten the ele-
phants which abounded in the neighbourhood, but,
notwithstanding this precaution, they were chased by
three dams followed by their young, and only escaped
by running up a mountain. On this occasion also,
they met some natives who dwelt in caves, and our
author's account of their bartering with them reveals
the cupidity of the foreigners and the simplicity of
the barbarians. The former had the dishonesty to
demand thirty bullocks for a bombardier's rasor and
a little bell, with the addition of a shirt which Var-
thema incontinently divested himself of for the sake
of obtaining a meal of fresh meat. They were even-
tually content with fifteen head of cattle, on the un-
derstanding, however, that the owners should conduct
the animals to the top of the mountain. On the way,
and while these Christians were exulting over their

CXU INTRODUCTION.

extortionate bargain, a great noise was heard which
was supposed to arise from a warm discussion among
the natives, as to which of their number should be-
come the happy possessor of the little bell. What
a picture of civilized and uncivilized humanity !
Europe and Africa !

Madagascar, or the Island of San Lorenzo, as it
was then called, was sighted on the voyage to the
Cape, beyond which the vessels composing the fleet
were scattered by a furious storm, and did not meet
again till they reached Portugal. That in which our
author sailed passed under St. Helena and Ascension,
at which latter place he notices the swarms of boo-
bies which alighted on the deck, and were easily
taken with the hand. Next, they reached the Azores,
remaining for two days at the island of Terceira, and
finally arrived at Lisbon, — in Varthema's case, after
an absence from Europe of about five years. He
leaves to the conception of his readers the delight
which he experienced at being once more within easy
reach of home, while he himself sets off on a visit to
Don Emanuel of Portugal. That deservedly " For-
tunate" monarch welcomed the enterprising traveller
to his court, where he detained him several days lis-
tening with pleasure to the interesting tale of his
discoveries and adventures, and was graciously pleased
to confirm the honour of knighthood which had been
conferred upon him by the Viceroy of India after the
battle of Ponani. Receiving his Majesty's permission
to depart, Varthema hurried away to the land of his
birth, and takes leave of us from the city of Rome as
abruptly as I bring my following him to a close.

INTRODUCTION. CX111

[n the annotations on the text, I have specified my
obligations to Professor Owen, to J. J. Bennett, Esq.,
and to R. H. Major, Esq., of the British Museum,
and also to C. R. Markham, Esq., for their prompt
aid where my own knowledge was at fault. A similar
recognition is due to J. Winter Jones, Esq., my col-
league in the preparation of this work, for his uni-
form kindness in aiding me in my part of the task.
To J. Crawfurd, Esq., whose learned researches into
the history of that region were my principal guide in
tracing our author's route through the Indian Archi-
pelago, I owe my best thanks. And last, though
not least, I feel deeply indebted to my friend Colonel
H. Yule, C.B. for many useful suggestions, and,
moreover, for having volunteered to compile the
Table of Contents, and also the valuable Index at
the end of this volume, which may justly elicit the
encomium, finis coronat opus.

I had designed to write an Introduction, but have,
I fear, written a book. The mistake will be un-
accompanied with regret, if the attempt be found
useful to the Members of the Hakluyt Society in
illustrating the early and wonderful travels of old
Ludovico di Varthema.

George Percy Badger.

London,
7, Dawson Place, Bayswater,
November 1863.

POSTSCRIPT

ON THE SITE OF THE ANCIENT CITY OF BENGALA.

I am surprised to find that in transcribing a quotation
from Barbosa respecting the City of Bengala, (note 3
on p. 210,) I omitted a part of his account which,
had the passage been more carefully studied, might
have prevented my erroneous identification of Var-
thema's Banghella with the capital of Gour, and
afforded me at the same time a clue to the position
of the former town. Premising that Barbosa was
travelling from west to east, and had just before
described the kingdom of Orixa, (Orissa,) and the
Guengita, or Ganges, whereby the Hoogly branch is
clearly indicated, he proceeds to say : —

" Beyond the Ganges, onward towards the East, is the
kingdom of Bengala, wherein there are many places and
cities, as Avell inland as on the sea-coast. Those in the in-
terior are inhabited by Gentiles, who are subject to the king
of Bengala, who is a Moor ; and the stations on the coast are
full of Moors and Gentiles, among whom are many mer-
chants and traders to all parts. For this sea forms a gulf
which bends towards the north, at the head of which is
situated a great city inhabited by Moors, which is called
Bengala, with a good port. The inhabitants thereof are
white men, who are well-disposed. In the same city there
are many foreigners from all parts, including Arabia, Persia,
and Abyssinia. The country being very extensive, and the

INTRODUCTION. CXV

climate temperate, many persons frequent it, and all are
great merchants, who possess large ships made like those of
Mecca, and some like those of China, called Giunchi, which
are very large, and carry large cargoes, and with these they
navigate towards Coromandel, Malabar, Cambaia, Tarnasscri,
Sumatra, Zeilam, and Malaca, and they trade with all kinds
of merchandize from one place to the other." Ramusio,
vol. i. p. 315.

The foregoing extract, taken in conjunction with
Varthema's narrative, is satisfactory evidence that a
city called Banghclla or Bcngala existed at this period,
that it was a seaport of considerable trade, and was
situated beyond the Hooghly, at the head of the gulf
known in those days as the Gulf of Bengal. It is
remarkable that Barbosa makes no allusion whatever
either to Satigan or Chatigam, (Satgong and Chitta-
gong ;) but in the Sommario de Regni, etc., as given
by Ramusio, the former place is mentioned under the
name of Asedegam, and some further particulars are
supplied respecting the city of Bengala. After de-
scribing the kingdom of Bengala, the author sub-
joins: —

" Of the seaports of the kingdom, the principal is in the
city of Bengala, from which the kingdom takes its name.
One goes in two days from the mouth of the Ganges to the
city, which [Mouth of the Ganges] now goes by the name of
Sino Gangetico or Gulf of Bengal, and in the best roadsteads
the water is three braccia deep. The city contains about
40,000 hearths, and the king has a residence there at all
times, which is the only one covered with tiles, and is built
with well-made bricks.

"There is also another port, called Asedegam, towards the
kingdom of Oriza, which is a good port, with a wide en-

»2

CXV1 INTRODUCTION.

trance, where there is a good and wealthy city, containing
many merchants, and about 10,000 hearths. These are the
principal mercantile cities of Bengala." Ramusio, vol. i.

rtnet

p. ooo.

As far as my researches go, these are the only
circumstantial accounts which we possess of the
ancient Bengala, subsequent to which I find it men-
tioned by Purchas and Mandelslo, but by no other
writers. Mandelslo does not appear to have visited
it personally, and merely enumerates it among the
principal cities of the then kingdom of Bengal. (See
a quotation from his Voyages in the note on p. 211.)
Purchas has the following : —

" The kingdome of Bengala is very large, and hath of
coast one hundred and twentie leagues, and as much within
land. Francis Fernandas measureth it from the confines of
the kingdome of Ramu or Porto Grande [Chittagong] to
Palmerine, ninety miles beyond Porto Pequene, in all six
hundred miles long. The river Chaberis, (which some call
Guenga, and think it to be the ancient Ganges,) watereth
it : it is plentiful in rice, wheat, sugar, ginger, long-pepper,
cotton and silke, and enjoy eth a very wholesome ay re. The
inhabitants neere the shoare are, (for the most part,) Ma-
humetans, and so also was the king, before the Great Mogore,
(one likewise of his owne sect,) conquered him. Gouro, the
seat royall, and Bengala, are faire cities. Of this, the Gulfe,
sometimes called Gangeticus, now beareth name Golfo di
Bengala. Chatigan is also reckoned amongst these cities."
Voyages, vol. v. p. 508.

Of the travellers subsequent to Barbosa, Caesar
Fredericke (a.d. 1563) represents Satigan as a flour-
ishing commercial port, and locates it 120 miles from
the mouth of the Ganges (Ilooghly,) but he does not

INTRODUCTION. CXV11

allude cither to Bengala or Chatigam. (Ramusio,
vol. i. p. 392.) Ralph Fitch, twenty years later,
describes both S a tag an and Chatigan, and tells us
that Chatigan was called " Porto Grande " by the
Portuguese ; but he says nothing about Bengala.
In Hamilton's time, a.d. 1688 — 1723, the town of
Hooghly appears to have succeeded Satigan as the
chief seaport on the western branch of the Ganges,
for he represents the former as " driving a great
trade, because all foreign goods are brought thither
for import, and all goods of the product of Bengal
are brought hither for exportation," which circum-
stance sufficiently accounts for his not naming Sati-
gan. " Chittagoung, or, as the Portuguese call it,
Xatigam," he describes at some length, but he never
mentions the city of Bengala, which the earlier writers
located at no great distance from that town. (See
Pinkerton, vol. ix. p. 414-16. Vol. viii. p. 415.)

Turning from the travellers to the historians of
the period under review, one is surprised to find the
same omission. De Barros, as quoted by Ramusio,
in describing the Ganges, says : —

" Its first mouth, which is on the West, is called Satigan,
from a city of that name situated in its streams, where our
people carry on their mercantile transactions. The other,
which is on the East, comes out very near another and more
famous port called Chatigam, which is frequented by most
of the merchants who arrive at and depart from this king-
dom." Ramusio, vol. i. p. 390.

De Faria y Souza is equally explicit with regard
to Satigan and Chatigan, but never alludes to Ben-

CXV111 INTRODUCTION.

yala. After indicating the line of coast between the
Ilooghly and the eastern branch of the Ganges, he
writes: —

" Within this interval is contained the Bay of Bengala,
called by some Sinus Gangeticus, because the river Ganges,
after watering the country of Bengala, falls into this bay
about the latitude of 23 degrees. . . . Though the river
Ganges has many mouths, the two most remarkable are called
Satigan to the west, and Chatigan on the east, near one hun-
dred leagues distant from each other."

And, again : —

" This river [Ganges] has its springs in the mountains of
Great Tartary, from whence it runs to the southward near
600 leagues, and divides India into two parts, Intra and Ex-
tra Gangem. In the mouth that falls into the sea to the
eastward is the city Chatigam, on that to the westward Sati-
gam. The principal city is Gouro, seated on the banks of
Ganges, three leagues in length, containing one million two
hundred thousand families, and well fortified." Portuguese
Asia, translated by Stevens, vol. i. pp. 96-97, 416-17.

The absence of all allusion to Bengala by travellers
and historians generally subsequent to Varthema and
T3arbosa, with the exception of Mandelslo and Purchas,
is the more remarkable from the fact of its appear-
ance, together with Chatigam, in most of the early
maps of Asia and of India, and its reproduction by
succeeding cartographers for nearly two centuries
later. The following is a list of the principal maps
belonging to the British Museum, arranged in chrono-
logical order, wherein both cities are noted : —

INTRODUCTION.

CX1X

Map.
Asia

Author.

Gastaldi -

Date.

Venetia, a.d.

1561

Orthography.

Bengala and Catigan

India

Kcerius

Amst.,

1620

- -

Ben gala,

Chatigam.

Asia

Speed

London,

1626

- -

Bengala,

Chatiga.

Asia

Bleauw 1 -

Amst.,

1640

- -

Bengala,

Chatagam.

India

Mariette -

Paris,

1650

. ..

Bengala,

Chatigam.

India

Bleauw

Amst.,

1660

- -

id.

Asia

Visscher -

Amst.,

1657

- -

id.

Asia

Berey

Paris,

1671

- -

Bengala,

Chatiga.

Asia

DeWitt -

Amst.,

1680

- -

Bengala

Chatigam.

Asia

Dankerts

Amst.,

1690

- -

id.

Asia

Sanson

Paris,

1696

- -

id.

India

Visscher -

Amst.,

1710

- -

id.

Asia

Mathys -

Amst.,

1715

- -

id.

India

Seutter

Augs.,

1730

- -

id.

Hindoostan id.

id.,

1730

- -

id.

Asia

Ottens

Amst.,

1740

- -

id.

To the above I may add that in the map of India
Orienlalis attached to Patavino's Geography, (date,
a.d. 1597,) Bengala is marked as a town situated at
the head of the gulf, on the right bank of the eastern
mouth of the Ganges. It also occupies the same
position in Hondius his Map of the East Indies, as
given in Vol. i. of Purchas.

The following cartographers, immediately succeed-
ing Ottens, omit the city of Bengala* and the name
does not reappear in any map of a subsequent date: —

Asia - Hasius
India - Mayer
Hindoostan Blair -

- Nurnberg, 1744

id., 1748

- London, 1773

- Satigan [for Chatigam].

- Chatigan.

- Chitta^ong orShatig;an.

The time when Bengala thus ceases to be repre-

1 This is most probably the map referred to by Colonel Yule,
(see p. lxxx. ante.) He writes the author's name Bleau, mis-
printed Blcan ; but in the copy of the map in the British Museum it
is spelt as above.

CXX INTRODUCTION.

sented in the maps corresponds with RenneH's state-
ment, that the city " appears to have been in exist-
ence during the early part of the last century." (See
p. lxxxi. ante.)

The next subject which calls for inquiry is the site
of this ancient Bengala. All the maps enumerated
in the first of the foregoing lists, with the exception
of the oldest one by Gastaldi, locate Bengala either
on the north-east, due east, or south-east of Chatigam.
Now, if the relative situation of the two cities cor-
responded with one or other of these descriptions,
it is difficult to conceive how the site of Bengala
could have been carried away by the river, as Rennell
supposes, and that of Chatigam, or Chittagong, left
intact. Reverse the position of the two places, and
such a result would not only be probable, but would
moreover serve to account for the present greater
depth of the Gulf of Bengal in that direction as com-
pared with the delineations of it given in the old maps,
and also for the increased distance which now appears
to exist between Chittagong and the eastern mouth
of the Ganges. Singularly enough, Gastaldi does so
transpose the sites of the two cities, placing Catigan
on the south-east of Bengala, as will be seen from the
accompanying section copied from his map.

This alone is but slender ground whereon to form
an hypothesis ; nevertheless, the inference which I
am disposed to draw therefrom receives support from
the manner in which De Barros and De Faria y Souza
describe the Ganges in the extracts already quoted
from their writings. Both profess to indicate its two

INTRODUCTION. CXX1

extremities where it debouches into the sea, and in
doing so both select Satigan as its western and Chati-
gam as its eastern boundary ; whereas, had Bengala
been to the south-eastward or southward of Chatigam,
it is presumable that, standing as Barbosa tells us it
did on the mouth of the nether Ganges, they would
have chosen it, rather than Chatigam, to mark the
eastern termination of that river.

In the absence, therefore, of any direct proof to
the contrary, beyond the not very reliable informa-
tion contained in the old atlases, I am inclined to
infer that Bengala occupied a position between the
Hattia and Sundeep islands, situated at the present
mouth of the Brahmaputra, which I conceive to be
the eastern branch of the Ganges of the earlier geo-
graphers, and have so placed it, marked with a star,
in the map attached to this volume. That I may be
mistaken is more than possible ; but it is worth while
hazarding an erroneous opinion on a subject of this
nature, if it were only for the sake of eliciting ulterior
research and discussion, which may result in defining
the correct site of the ancient city of Bengala.

G. P. B.

ADVANTAGES OF TRAVEL. 1

Go, traverse distant lands, in each you'll find
Some in the place of those you leave behind :
Some, it may chance, of more congenial hearts, —

Sympathy is life's charm, — its bane ennui, —

No honour lies in inactivity, —
Then quit your home, go, range in foreign parts.
The stagnant puddle foul and fetid grows,
Healthful and clear the running fountain flows :
Unless the changes of the moon on high
Revealed the future to the sage's eye,
He would not watch her aspect in the sky :
Unless he left his den, the forest-king

Would win no trophies of the sylvan war :
Unless the arrow parted from the string,

It could not hit the destined mark afar :
The Tibr, 2 when from its native mine cast forth,
Appears as vile unprofitable earth ;

The aloes-wood enjoys but slight esteem
In its own land, — mere fuel for the hearth ;
Let either quit the country of its birth,

The one, an ore all-coveted we deem,
The other, a perfume of priceless worth.

1 Translated from the Arabic. Tor the English versification, the Editor is
indebted to the Eev. P. G. Hill.

2 Tibr means unwronght gold, either in the form of dust or nuggets. The
word is also applied to designate native ores generally.

THE ITINERARY

of Ludovico di Varthema, of Bologna,

in Egypt, in Syria, in Arabia Deferta and

Felix, in Perfia, in India, and in

Ethiopia. The religion, mode of life,

and cuftoms, of all the aforefaid

Provinces, with the Grace

and Privilege hereinafter

mentioned.

[For the Publishers' unities ami Jate of publicatiou, see the end of the volume on p. 298.]

[PRIVILEGE.]

f Translated from the original Latin by the Editor.]

RAPHAEL, by Divine grace, Bishop of Portueri,
Cardinal of Saint George, Chamberlain of our
Most Holy Lord the Pope, and of the Holy Roman
Church, to alt and singular, by whatsoever name
called, and with whatsoever dignity or office invested,
and to all others whom it does or may concern, to
whom these our letters may come, — Peace in the
Lord for ever.

Whereas among other subjects and sciences which,
as well by the inspiration of genius as by art and
experience, promote the benefit, usefulness, and
enjoyment of mankind, and by transmission from
hand to hand are enlarged and illustrated, the de-
scription and measurement of the world and of parts
of the earth, which the Greeks call Cosmography,
Geography, Topography, Geometry, and other like
names, do not hold the last place, and yield no less
pleasure than profit ; on which account those who
have devoted themselves to such studies have always
been held in the highest honour, and have been
abundantly rewarded. — Therefore, whereas our well-
beloved friend Ludovico Vartomanus of Bologna,

PRIVILEGE.

who (as we are assured) has for the space of seven
years travelled over the most remote and hardly-
known regions of Asia and Africa, and has largely
written in the vernacular tongue of their sites, seas,
rivers, pools, lakes, forests, mountains, cities, lands,
people, and their established manners, rites, laws, and
other memorable things, and has corrected many
places, (as one may well do who sees all with his own
eyes, and has not merely heard thereof or received it
from others,) in Ptolemy, Strabo, Pliny, and other
most famous writers, and has also added much to
what others have written thereon up to this time. — It
is our pleasure, being moreover advised thereto by
many other Most Reverend Cardinals of the Apostolic
See, that what he has committed to writing and
collected into a volume, should be printed for the
public use and study of the things therein contained,
and that it should be held worthy, not only of praise
and commendation, but of ample reward. We, being
desirous (as is meet) to assist him as far as we are able,
and to recompense his industry with all due favours,
do, by these presents, proclaim, decree, and inhibit,
in virtue of a mandate from our Most Holy Lord the
Pope in person, communicated to us by word of
mouth to that effect, and by the authority of our
Chamberlain's office, that all Printers who shall be
applied to by the said Ludovico, that they print his
writings on his own request or that of any of his
heirs; and that all other Printers abstain from print-
ing them, and that no Printers or persons of any
other condition whatsoever, either of themselves, or

PRIVILEGE.

through any other or others, shall dare or presume to
sell the printed books or volumes of the said Ludo-
vico, without the consent of the said Ludovico or of
his acknowledged heirs, for the space of ten years to
come, to be reckoned from the date of their first
impression ; and, further, that they lend no aid,
counsel or countenance, to either Printers or Venders
of the same, against the wishes of the said Ludovico
and his heirs, under the penalty of one hundred
ducats of gold to be exacted for every counterfeit
and from every one so counterfeiting, without any
other declaration of the fact, through the medium of
the Apostolic Chamber, to be applied to the use of
the said Ludovico or his heirs. We further command
and inhibit, under the same penalty, all those whom
it may concern, that this our edict, decree, and will,
be executed in like manner at the instance of the
said Ludovico, or of his successors and heirs, for the
space of the aforesaid ten years, against all and every
one who, in any manner, or under any pretext, shall
be guilty of counterfeit, — the Apostolical constitu-
tions, ordinances, statutes, and customs, even when
confirmed by oath, also the privileges and licenses
granted to any persons whatsoever, under any words
or form of words, notwithstanding.

Given at Rome, at our Palace of Saint Laurence
in Damaso, the xviith day of November m.d.x., with
the usual seal of our Chamberlain's office appended.

MATTHEUS BON FINIS, Secretarius.

THE TRAVELS OF

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA

TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS AND MOST EXCELLENT

LADY THE COUNTESS OF ALBI AND DUCHESS OF

TAGLIACOZZO, MADAME AGNESINA FELTRIA

COLONNA, LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA OF

BOLOGNA WISHES HEALTH.

There have been many men who have devoted themselves
to the investigation of the things of this world, and by the
aid of divers studies, journeys, and very exact relations, have
endeavoured to accomplish their desire. Others, again, of
more perspicacious understandings, to whom the earth has
not sufficed, such as the Chaldeans and Phoenicians, have
begun to traverse the highest regions of Heaven with careful
observations and watchings ; from all which I know that
each has gained most deserved and high praise from others
and abundant satisfaction to themselves. Wherefore I, feel-
ing a very great desire for similar results, and leaving alone
the Heavens as a burthen more suitable for the shoulders of
Atlas and of Hercules, determined to investigate some small
portion of this our terrestrial globe ; and not having any

% THE TRAVELS OF

inclination (knowing myself to be of very slender understand-
ing) to arrive at my desire by study or conjectures, I
determined, personally, and with my own eyes, to endeavour
to ascertain the situations of places, the qualities of peoples,
the diversities of animals, the varieties of the fruit-bearing
and odoriferous trees of Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and
Felix, Persia, India and Ethiopia, remembering well that
the testimony of one eye-witness is worth more than ten
heard-says. Having then, by Divine assistance, in part ac-
complished my object and examined various provinces and
foreign nations, it appeared to me that I had done nothing if
I kept hidden within myself the things I had witnessed and
experienced, instead of communicating them to other studious
men. Wherefore I bethought myself to give a very faithful
description of this my voyage, according to my humble
abilities, thinking thereby to do an action which would be
agreeable to my readers ; for that, whereas I procured the
pleasure of seeing new manners and customs by very great
dangers and insupportable fatigue, they will enjoy the same ad-
vantage and pleasure, without discomfort or danger, by merely
reading. Reflecting, then, to whom I might best address
this my laborious little work, you, Most Illustrious and Most
Excellent Lady, occurred to me as being a special observer
of noteworthy things, and a lover of every virtue. Nor did
my judgment appear to me vain, considering the infused
learning transferred by the radiant light of that Most
Illustrious and Excellent Lord the Duke of Urbino your
Father, being as it were to us a sun of arms and of science.

LUD0V1C0 Dl VARTHEMA. 3

I do riot speak of the very Excellent Lord your Brother,
who (although still a young man) has so distinguished him-
self in his Latin and Greek studies as to be spoken of as
almost a Demosthenes and a Cicero. "Wherefore, having
derived every virtue from such broad and clear streams, you
cannot do other than take pleasure in honourable works and
entertain a great desire for them. He who can justly appre-
ciate them, would willingly go with his corporeal feet where
he flies with the wings of his mind, remembering that one of
the praises awarded to the most wise and eloquent Ulysses
was, that he had seen many customs of men and many
countries. But as your Ladyship is occupied with the affairs
of your Most Illustrious Lord and Consort (whom, like
another Artemisia, you love and respect), and about the dis-
tinguished family which, with admirable rule, you adorn by
your graces, I say it will suffice if amongst your other good
works you will feed your mind with this fruitful, although,
perhaps, unpolished reading, not acting like many other
ladies who lend their ears to light songs and vain words,
taking no account of time, unlike the angelic mind of your
Ladyship, which allows no moment to pass without some
good fruit. Your kindness will easily supply all want of
skill in the connection of the narrative, grasping only the
truth of the facts. And if these, my labours, should prove
agreeable to you and meet with your approbation, I shall
consider that I have received sufficient praise and satisfaction
for my long wanderings, my rather fearful exile, during
which I have endured, innumerable times, hunger and

bSJ

4 THE TRAVELS, ETC.

thirst, cold and heat, war, imprisonment, and an infinite
number of other dangerous inconveniences, and shall gain
fresh courage for that other journey which I hope to under-
take in a short time ; for having examined some parts of the
countries and islands of the east, south, and west, I am re-
solved, if it please God, to investigate those of the north.
And thus, as I do not see that I am fit for any other pursuit,
to spend in this praiseworthy exercise the remainder of my
fleeting days.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA.

THE TRAVELS

THE FIRST CHAPTER, CONCERNING ALEXANDRIA.

The same desire to behold the various kingdoms of the
world which has urged on others, excited me also to a similar
enterprise ; and inasmuch as all countries have been very
much laid open by our people, I deliberated in my own
mind that I would see those which had been the least
frequented by the Venetians. Wherefore spreading our sails
to a favourable wind, and having implored the Divine aid, we
committed ourselves to the sea. When we came to Alexandria,
a city of Egypt, I, longing for novelty (as a thirsty man longs
for fresh water) departed from these places as being well
known to all, and, entering the Nile, arrived at Cairo.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING CAIRO.

On my arrival in Cairo I, who had been previously much
astonished at the account of its size, came to the conclusion
that it was not so large as it had been reported to be. But
its size in circumference is about equal to that of Rome. It
is true, however, that it contains very many more habita-
tions than there are in Rome, and that the population is
larger. The mistake which many have made is this, that
there are several hamlets outside the walls of Cairo which
some believed to be within the circuit of Cairo itself; this,

b THE TRAVELS OF

however, cannot be the case, for they are distant some two
or three miles, and are distinct villages. 1 I shall not enter
into any long account of their faith and manners, because
everyone knows that they are inhabited by Moors 2 and
Mamelukes. The lord over them is the Grand Sultan, 3 who
is served by the Mamelukes, and the Mamelukes are lords
over the Moors.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING BARUTI, 4 TRIPOLI, AND
ALEPPO.

I say nothing about the riches and beauty of the afore-
said Cairo and of the pride of the Mamelukes, because they
are well known to all our countrymen. I sailed thence into
Syria ; and first to Baruti, the distance from the one place to
the other by sea is 500 miles. In that Baruti I remained
several days. It is a country thickly inhabited by the
Moors, and is well supplied with everything. The sea
breaks against the walls, and you must know that the dis-
trict is not entirely surrounded by walls, but only in some
parts, that is to say, towards the west and towards the sea. 5

1 Misr el- 'Ateekah or Old Misr, corrupted by Europeans into " Old
Cairo," and the large suburb of Boolak, are probably the " distinct vil-
lages" indicated.

' 2 The author frecpiently uses this term as laxly as we do that of
" Arabs," and sometimes as synonymous with " Mussulmans."

3 As Varthema commenced his travels a.d. 1503, Egypt was still
under the rule of the Borjeeh or Circassian Mamluks, and the " Grand
Sultan" of the text must have been Sultan el-Ghoree of that dynasty.
Contemporaneous with him in Egypt was the Khalifa el-Mustansik
b'lllah of the 'Abbasieh or Abbaside Caliphs, who, however, had long
ceased to exercise more than a nominal sovereignty over the country.

4 Beyroot is still written and pronounced as above by the Levantines
and Italian residents in Syria.

b Until very recently Beyroot was completely enclosed on the land
side by a wall, whereas there is only a small extent of wall " towards the
sea." Possibly, at the period of our author's visit, some parts of the

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 7

I did not see anything there worthy to be recorded, ex-
cepting an ancient building, which, they say, was inhabited
by the daughter of the king when the dragon wanted to
devour her, and where St. George killed the said dragon. 1
This ancient building is all in ruins ; and I departed thence,
and proceeded in the direction of Tripoli in Syria, which is
two days' journey towards the east. This Tripoli is sub-
ject to the Grand Sultan, 2 and all are Muhammedans, and the
said city abounds in everything. And I departed thence
and went to Aleppo, which is eight days' journey inland,
which said Aleppo is a very beautiful city, and is under the
Grand Sultan of Cairo, and is the mart [scala] of Turkey
and Syria, and they are all Muhammedans. It is a country
of very great traffic in merchandize, and particularly with
the Persians and Azamini, 3 who come as far as there. This

former had been levelled, and were subsequently restored by the Ameer
Fakhr ed-Din, who repaired and strengthened the fortifications in the
beginning of the seventeenth century ; and he may have mistaken for a
wall the numerous ancient columns which form the foundation of the
quay, and against which the sea frequently beats with great violence.

1 The legend of St. George and the Dragon has been attached to this
locality since the Crusades, and the remains of an old brick building,
situated about two miles from Beyroot, on the road to Jebail, are still
pointed out as occujjying the exact site of the renowned encounter.
Varthema describes it as it is now, " an ancient building in ruins,"
though d'Arvieux, in 16G0, speaks of a chapel of St. George in this
neighbourhood which had been converted into a mosque, and Pococke
repeats the same in 1738. If a Christian chapel ever existed here, the
Muhammedans, in converting it into a mosque, would not scruple to
retain the original dedication, as the JVabi Jergees (the Seer George) is
regarded as an orthodox saint by all Mussulmans.

2 Of Cairo, of course, as the whole of Syria at the time was subject to
the Mamluk sovereign of Egypt.

3 This is, doubtless, a distorted plural form of ^Ajami, a Persian, the
Italian initial z being used to express the^' sound of the Arabic, just as
in the sequel we find " Zida, cioe porto della Meccha," where Juddah
( Jiddah) is obviously indicated. Also " xii zomate" for xii giornate.
The phrase " Persians and Azamini," moreover, is not altogether a
pleonasm ; since the latter term, in the original, has a wide significa-
tion, and denotes the natives generally of all the countries comprehended

8 THE TRAVELS OF

is the route which is taken to go into Turkey and Syria by
those who come from Azemia.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING AMAN 1 AND MENIN. 2

And I departed thence and went towards Damascus,
which is distant ten short days' journey. Midway there is
a city which is called Aman, in which there grows a vast
quantity of cotton, and very good fruit. And near to Da-
mascus, sixteen miles distant from it, I found another dis-
trict called Menin, which is situated on the summit of a
mountain, and is inhabited by Christians of the Greek
Church, who are subjects of the lord of Damascus. In this
place there are two very beautiful churches, which are said
to have been erected by Helena, the mother of Constantine.
Very excellent fruits grow there, and most especially good
grapes ; and here also there are very beautiful gardens and
fountains. I departed thence, and went to the most noble
city of Damascus.

THE FIRST CHAPTER CONCERNING DAMASCUS.

Truly it would not be possible to describe the beauty and
the excellence of this Damascus, in which I resided some

under the Persian empire. Besides which, the word " 'Ajami" conveys
the same idea among the people of the East as " Barbarian" did with
the ancient Greeks, and " Gentile" among the Jews.

1 The modern town of Hamah, the Hamath of Scripture, the Epi-
phania of the Greeks and Romans, and the birthplace of Abu'1-Feda,
the eminent Arabian geographer and historian, which lies midway on
the caravan route between Aleppo and Damascus, is obviously indicated.
It is somewhat surprising that Varthema does not mention the river
Orontes, which bisects the town.

8 Menin is situated ten miles from Helbon, still famous, as of old, for
the quality of its grapes. (See Ezek. xviii. 28.) The vine is the chief

LUDOVICO Ul VARTHEMA. 9

months in order to learn the Moorish language, because
this city is entirely inhabited by Moors and Mamelukes and
many Greek Christians. Here I must give an account of
the government of the lord of the said city, which lord is
subject to the Great Sultan of Cairo. You must know that
in the said city of Damascus there is a very beautiful and
strong castle, which is said to have been built by a Floren-
tine Mameluke at his own expense, he being lord of the
said city. And, moreover, in each angle of the said castle,
the arms of Florence are sculptured in marble. It is sur-
rounded by very wide fosses, and has four extremely strong
towers and drawbridges, and powerful and excellent artil-
lery are constantly mounted there. 1 Fifty Mamelukes, in
the service of the Grand Sultan, are constantly quartered
with the governor of the castle. This Florentine was a
Mameluke of the Grand Sultan ; and it is reported that in
his time the Sultan was poisoned, and could find no one
who could relieve him of the said poison, when it pleased
God that this Florentine should cure him. For this service
he gave him the said city of Damascus, and thus he came
to build the castle. Afterwards he died in Damascus ; and
the people held him in great veneration as a holy man, pos-
sessing great knowledge, and from that time forward the

product of the district, which abounds also in fountain-streams tribu-
tary to the Barada. One of these streams takes its rise at Menin.
Christians of the orthodox Greek rite are more numerous in this neigh-
bourhood than in any other part of Syria.

1 The citadel of Damascus is an extensive quadrangular fortress, with
towers, surrounded by a deep fosse. I remember noticing several sculp-
tured escutcheons built into the exterior wall of the city during my visit
in 1835, when a portion of the same was being demolished by Ibrahim
Pasha to furnish materials for a military hospital ; but the tradition of
the Florentine is quite new to me, neither do I find it alluded to by any
of the older or more recent travellers in Syria. In its present form the
castle is evidently of Saracenic origin, though its foundations probably
date from a very early age. There is nothing improbable, however, in
the story of a renegade Christian having rebuilt or restored it.

10 THE TRAVELS OF

castle has always been in the possession of the Sultan.
When a new Sultan succeeds to the throne, one of his lords,
who are called Amirra, 1 says to him : " Lord, I have been
for so long a time your slave, give me Damascus, and I will
give you one hundred thousand, or two hundred thousand,
teraphim 2 of gold." Then the lord grants him this favour.
But you must know, that if in the course of two years the
said lord does not send him 25,000 teraphim, he seeks to
kill him by force of arms, or in some other manner ; but if
he makes him the said present, he remains in the govern-
ment. The said lord has always ten or twelve lords and
barons of the said city with him, and when the Sultan wants
two or three hundred thousand teraphim from the lords or
merchants of the said city, who are not treated with justice,
but whom they vie with each other in oppressing by rob-
bery and assassination (for the Moors live under the Mame-
lukes like the lamb under the wolf), the said Sultan sends
two letters to the governor of the said castle, one of which
simply enjoins him to bring together in the castle such lords
or merchants as he may think proper. And when they are
assembled, the second letter is read, the object of which is
immediately carried out, whether for good or for evil. And
in this manner the said lord seeks to obtain money. Some-
times the said lord becomes so powerful that he will not go
into the castle ; whereat many barons and merchants, feeling
themselves in danger, mount their horses and retire towards
Turkey. 3 We will say no more upon this subject, except-
ing that the men of the guard of the said castle, in each of
the four great towers, are always on the watch. They make

1 Ameer.

2 In the Third Chapter concerning Damascus, and in some editions,
this word is spelt " Saraphi" and also "Sarahpi." I take it to be the
Sherlf or Ashrafi, an old Arabian ducat.

3 In some editions it is the Lords and Merchants who are said to
refuse to go into the castle when they have become powerful, and this
appears V> be the more correct reading.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 1 1

no cry during the night, but each has a drum, made in the
shape of a half-box, 1 upon which they beat vigorously with
a stick, and each answers the other with these said drums.
He who delays answering for the space of a pater noster, is
imprisoned for a year.

THE SECOND CHAPTER CONCERNING THE SAID
DAMASCUS.

Now that we have seen the customs of the Lord of Da-
mascus, it is necessary that I should make mention of some
circumstances relating to the city, which is extremely popu-
lous and very rich. It is impossible to imagine the richness
and elegance of the workmanship there. Here you have a
great abundance of grain and of meat, and the most prolific
country for fruits that was ever seen, and especially for
fresh grapes, during all seasons. I will mention the good
and the bad fruits which grow there. Pomegranates and
and quinces, good : almonds and large olives, extremely
good. The most beautiful white and red roses that were
ever seen. There are also good apples and pears and
peaches, but with a very bad taste, the reason of which is
that Damascus abounds much in water. 2 A stream runs
through the city, and the greater number of the houses have
very beautiful fountains of mosaic work. The houses are

1 The buz or small tall, still generally used by the Musahhirs, who
traverse the streets during the Ramadhan, to announce the hour of the
Sahoor, or last meal of the early dawn.

2 It is rather surprising that no mention is made of oranges and apri-
cots, the former being very plentiful, and the latter by far the most
abundant produce of the orchards round Damascus, and one of its chief
articles of export ; but as Varthema left the city early in April, that
fruit was not in season.

Roses, from which the rich perfume of the \itar is extracted, are ex-
tensively cultivated in a part of the great plain about three miles from
the city.

12 THE TRAVELS OF

dirty externally, but within they are very beautiful, adorned
with many works of marble and porphyry.

In this city there are many mosques. One, which is the
principal, is as large as St. Peter's at Rome. It has no roof
in the centre, but the surrounding parts are covered in. It
is reported that they keep there the body of St. Zachariah
the prophet, and they pay him very great honour. In the
said mosque there are four principal doors of metal, and
within there are many fountains. Again, we see where the
canonica stood, which belonged formerly to the Christians,
in which canonica there are many ancient works in mosaic. 1
Again, I saw the place where they report that Christ said
to St. Paul, " Saule, Saule, cur me persequeris ?" which is
without the city, about a mile from one of the gates thereof.
They bury there all the Christians who die in the said city.
Again, there is that tower in the wall of the district where
(as they say) St. Paul was imprisoned. The Moors have
many times rebuilt it, but in the morning it is found broken
and thrown down, as the angel broke it when he drew St. Paul
out of the said tower. I also saw the house where (as they
say) Cain slew Abel his brother, which is a mile without
the city in the opposite direction, on the side of a hill in a
large deep valley. 2 We will now turn to the liberty which
the said Mamelukes enjoy in the said city of Damascus.

1 The"Masjid Yahya" or " Jamaa Beni Umeyya" (the Temple of
John or the Mosque of the Omruiades), a part of which is generally sup-
posed to have formed a Christian church dedicated to St. John the
Baptist, the son of Zechariah. This is still regarded as the adytum or
most sacred portion of the building, and is believed by Muhauiinedans
to contain the head of the aforesaid Apostle. A peristyle, supported on
splendid Corinthian pillars, surrounds the quadrangular court, in which
there are several marble fountains for religious ablution. Buckingham,
like Varthema, speaks of the mosque as having been a church dedicated
to St. Zechariah.

2 These and several other absurd local traditions, such as the house
of Ananias, the grave of the martyr George who assisted St. Paul to
escape through a window in the wall, and a cleft in the rock, about a

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 13

CHAPTER THE THIRD, CONCERNING THE MAMELUKES
IN DAMASCUS.

The Mamelukes are renegade Christians, who have been
purchased by the said lord. Certain it is that the said
Mamelukes never lose any time, but are constantly exercis-
ing themselves either in arms or in letters, in order that
they may acquire excellence. And you must know that
every Mameluke, great or little, has for his pay six saraphi
per month, and his expenses for himself, his horse, and a
family ; and they have as much more when they are en-
gaged on any warlike expedition. 1 The said Mamelukes,
when they go about the city, are always in companies of two
or three, as it would be a great disgrace if they went alone.
If they accidentally meet two or three ladies, they possess this
privilege, or if they do not possess it they take it : they go
to lay in wait for these ladies in certain places like great inns,
which are called Chano, 2 and as the said ladies pass before the

mile from the city, through which the Apostle evaded his pursuers, are
still current among the monks and Christians at Damascus.

1 Browne's account of the Mamluks in Egypt in 1722, coincides in
the main with the foregoing description. " These military slaves are
imported from Georgia, Circassia, and Mingrelia. A few have been
prisoners, taken from the Austrians and Russians, who have exchanged
their religion for an establishment. ..Particular attention is paid to the
education of these slaves. They are instructed in every exercise of
agility or strength, and are in general distinguished by the grace and
beauty of their persons... They have no pay, as they eat at the table in
the house of their master... Any military officer may purchase a slave,
who becomes ipso facto a Mamluk. After a proper education, the candi-
date thus constituted a Mamluk, receives a present of a horse and arms
from his master, together with a suit of clothes, which is renewed every
year in the month of Ramadhan." Browne was assured that during
the eleven years preceding his visit, sixteen thousand white slaves, of
both sexes, were imported into Egypt. Travels in Africa, Egypt, Syria,
etc., pp. 53-56, 76.

" Khans, buildings generally designed for the accommodation of mer-
chants and their goods. In some instances the principal bazaars are
held in the khans.

14 THE TRAVELS OF

door each Mameluke takes his lady by the hand, draws her in,
and docs what he will with her. But the lady resists being
known, because they all wear the face covered, so that they
know us, but we do not know them. The Mameluke says
to her, that he wishes to know who she is, and she replies :
" Brother, is it not enough that you do with me what you
will, without desiring to know who I am?" and she entreats
him so much that he lets her go. And sometimes they
think that they take the daughter of the lord, when in fact
they take their own wives ; and this has happened while I
was there. These ladies go very well clad in silk, and
over it they wear certain white garments of wool, thin and
bright like silk, and they all wear white buskins and red or
purple shoes, and many jewels around their heads, and in
their ears, and on their hands. These ladies when they are
married, at their own will and pleasure, that is, when they
do not wish to remain with their husbands any longer, go to
the cadi of their faith and cause themselves to be talacare, 1
that is, to be separated from their husband ; and then they
take another, and he takes another wife. Although they
say that the Moors have five or six wives, I for my part
have never seen any who had more than two or three at the
most. These Moors for the greater part eat in the streets,
that is, where the clothes are sold ; they have their food
cooked and eat it there, and there are very many horses,
camels, and bufi'alos, and sheep and goats. There is here
an abundance of good fresh cheese ; and if you wish to pur-
chase milk, there are forty or fifty goats, which go every
day through the district, and which have ears more than a
span in length. The master of these goats takes them up
into your chamber, even if your house have three stories, and

1 An Italianized infinitive of the Arabic talak, to divorce. Ac-
cording to Muhammedan civil law a woman cannot repudiate her hus-
band against his will, unless it be for some grievous fault or cruelty on
his part, and even in that case a formal decision of the Kadhi is neces-
sary to dissolve the union.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 15

there in your presence he milks as much as you please into
a handsome tin vessel. 1 And there are many milch goats.
Here, again, is sold a great quantity of truffles : sometimes
twenty-five or thirty camels arrive laden with them, and in
three or four days they are sold. They come from the
mountains of Armenia and Turkey. 2 The said Moors go
clothed in certain long and wide garments, without girdles,
made of silk or cloth, and the greater number wear breeches
of wool and white shoes. "When a Moor meets a Mameluke,
although he may be the principal merchant of the place, he
is obliged to do honour and give place to the Mameluke,
and if he do not so he is bastinadoed. The Christians have
there many warehouses, which contain cloths, and silk and
satin, velvets, and brass, and all merchandize that is re-
quired ; but they are ill treated. 3

1 The long-eared goats of Damascus are correctly described, and the
custom of hawking them about the streets still prevails.

2 Truffles (Arab. Kama) are found in large quantities, at certain
seasons of the year, along the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris, and
are transported by the Bedawin long distances. The price at Mosul
and Baghdad varies from one to six shillings the 'okkah of four
pounds.

3 Until within the last few years Varthema's Moors or Mussulmans at
Damascus were quite as overbearing in their conduct towards the
Christians as the Mamluks were in his time. As late as 1835 a haughty
Seyyed insisted on my descending from the pavement into the street
while he passed, and he literally foamed at the mouth with rage because
I declined obeying him.

16 THE TRAVELS OF

THE BOOK CONCERNING
ARABIA DESERTA.

THE CHAPTER SHOWING THE ROUTE FROM DAMASCUS TO
MECCA, WHEREIN SOME ARABS ARE CONCERNED.

The matters relating to Damascus having been here
described perhaps more diffusely than was necessary, oppor-
tunity invites me to resume my journey. In 1503, on the
8th day of April, the caravan being set in order to go to
Mecca, and I being desirous of beholding various scenes and
not knowing how to set about it, formed a great friendship
with the captain of the said Mamelukes of the caravan, who
was a Christian renegade, so that he clothed me like a
Mameluke and gave me a good horse, and placed me in com-
pany with the other Mamelukes, and this was accomplished
by means of the money and other things which I gave him ;
and in this manner we set ourselves on the way, and travelled
three days to a place which is called Mezeribe, 1 and there we
remained three days, in order that the merchants might
provide themselves, by purchase, with as many horses as they
required. In this Mezeribe there is a lord who is named

1 El-Mczarib, where, according to Burckhardt, the pilgrim caravan
to Mcccah generally remains encamped for ten days to collect stragglers,
obtain supplies, and pay the accustomed tribute to the different Arab
tribes for tho passage of the caravan through the desert. Travels in
Syria, pp. 240-242.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. IT

Zambei, 1 and he is lord of trie country, that is to say, of the
Arabians ; which Zambei has three brothers and four male
children, and he has 40,000 horses, and for his court he has
10,000 mares. And he has here 800,000 camels, for his
pasture-ground extends two days' journey. And this lord
Zambei, when he thinks proper, wages war with the Sultan
of Cairo, and the Lord* of Damascus and of Jerusalem, and
sometimes, in harvest time, when they think that he is a
hundred miles distant, he plans some morning a great in-
cursion to the granaries of the said city, and finds the grain
and the barley nicely packed up in sacks, and carries it off.
Sometimes he runs a whole day and night with his said
mares without stopping, and when they have arrived at the
end of their journey they give them camels' milk to drink,
because it is very refreshing. Truly it appears to me that
they do not run but that they fly like falcons ; for I have
been with them, and you must know that they ride, for the
most part, without saddles, and in their shirts, excepting
some of their principal men. Their arms consist of a lance
of Indian cane ten or twelve cubits in length with a piece of
iron at the end, and when they go on any expedition they
keep as close together as starlings. The said Arabians are
very small men, and are of a dark tawny colour, and they
have a feminine voice, and long, stiff, and black hair. And
truly these Arabs are in such vast numbers that they cannot
be counted, and they are constantly fighting amongst them-
selves. They inhabit the mountain and come down at the
time when the caravan passes through to go to Mecca, in
order to lie in wait at the passes for the purpose of robbing
the said caravan. They carry their wives, children, and all

1 Burckhardt enables me to identify this with Ziiabi or Ez-Zaabi, the
patronymic of the principal Arab family in this district. He says: "At
three hours from Mezarib is the village of Ramtha,...the sheikh of which
is generally a santon, that dignity being in the family of Ez-Zaabi,
who possess there a mosque of the same name." — Ibid. Appen-
dix iii.

18 THE TRAVELS OF

their furniture, and also their houses, upon camels, which
houses are like the tents of soldiers, and are of black wool
and of a sad appearance. 1

On the 11th of April, 2 the said caravan departed from
Mezeribe ; there were 35,000 camels, about 40,000 persons,
and we were sixty Mamelukes in guard of the said caravan.
One third of the Mamelukes went in advance of the caravan
with the standard, another third in the centre, and the other
third marched in the rear. You must understand that we
performed our journey in this wise. From Damascus to
Mecca is a journey of forty days and forty nights : thus, we
set out from Mezeribe in the morning and travelled for
twenty hours. At that point certain signals made by the
captain were passed from band to band that the whole
company should stop where they then found themselves,
and they pass twenty-four hours in unloading, and feeding
themselves and their camels. And then they make signals,
and the camels are immediately laden again. And you must
know that they give the said camels for food only five loaves
of barley-meal, uncooked, and each of about the size of a
pomegranate, 3 and then they mount their horses and journey
all night and all the following day for the said twenty-two
hours, and then for twenty-four hours do as before. And
every eight days they find water, that is, by digging in the
earth or sand ; also, certain wells and cisterns are found, and
at the end of the eight days they stop for one or two days,
because the said camels carry as great a burthen as two

1 A most graphic and correct description of the predatory and warlike
customs of the desert Arabs, and of their physical and social peculiari-
ties. The picture is throughout true to the life at the present day.

2 This is either an error, or Varthema meant thereby to reckon his
travelling days only ; otherwise, as he left Damascus on the 8th of the
month, was three days in reaching Mezarib, and remained there another
three days, the date should be April 14th.

3 The meal or flour is made into a paste and then formed into a ball.
Cameleers throughout the East, especially on long journeys, adopt the
same mode of baiting their animals.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 19

mules, and they only give the poor animals drink once in
every three days. When we halted at the said waters we
always had to fight with a vast number of Arabs, but they
never killed more than one man and one lady, for such is the
baseness of their minds, that we sixty Mamelukes were
sufficient defence against forty or fifty thousand Arabs ;
for pagans, there are no better people with arms in their
hands than are the Mamelukes. You must know that I had
excellent experiences of these Mamelukes during the journey.
Amongst others, I saw a Mameluke take one of his slaves
and place a pomegranate on his head, and make him stand
twelve or fifteen paces distant from him, and at the second
trial strike off the pomegranate by a shot from a bow. Again,
I saw another Mameluke, running at full gallop, take off his
saddle and place it upon his head, and afterwards return it
to its original place without falling, and always at full gallop.
Their saddles are made according to our usage.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE CITY OP SODOM AND
GOMORRAH.

And when we had travelled twelve days we found the
valley of Sodom and Gomorrah. Verily the Scriptures do
not lie, for one sees how they were destroyed by a miracle
of God ; and I say that there are three cities which were on
the top of three mountains, and around them to the height
of three or four cubits is still seen what appears to be blood,
like red wax mixed with earth. Of a truth, I believe,
upon what I have seen, that they were a wicked people, for
all around the entire country is desert and barren. The
earth produces no one thing, nor water ; and they lived
upon manna and were punished, for not acknowledging the
benefits they received ; and by a miracle everything is still
seen in ruin. Then we passed that valley, which was at

c 2

20 THE TRAVELS OF

least twenty miles, and there died there from thirst thirty-
three persons, and many were buried in the sand who were
not quite dead, and they left only their faces uncovered. 1
Afterwards we found a little mountain, near which was a
well, whereat we were well pleased. We halted upon the
said mountain. The next day, early in the morning, there
came 24,000 Arabs, who said that we must pay for their water. 2
We answered that w T e could not pay, for the water was
given by God. They began to fight with us, saying that
we had taken their water. We fortified ourselves, and made
a wall of our camels, 3 and the merchants stood within the

1 After twelve days' journeying our traveller must have passed the
valley of the Dead Sea proper, but being in the neighbourhood it was
natural that he should refer to the Scriptural narrative of the destruc-
tion of Sodom and the other cities of the Plain. Besides which, it is
now ascertained that the depression about the Dead Sea is but a section of
a continuous valley, extending between Banias, at the foot of Jebel esh-
Sheikh, and the head of the Gulf of 'Akabah. True, Varthema's route,
if he followed that of the Hajj at the present day, was about twenty miles
to the eastward of the Wadi 'Araba (the name which the valley takes to
the south of Petra) ; but it is not surprising that he should have confounded
therewith a dreary and difficult pass which branches off from the cen-
tral chain of mountains, and which is known as the 'Akabet esh-Shami,
for with that I am disposed to identify his " Valley of Sodom and
Gomorrah." Burckhardt gives this as the twelfth day's journey of the
pilgrims from Damascus, and describes it as follows : " The Hadj route,
as far as Akabet Esh-Shami, is a complete desert on both sides. The
mountain chain continues about ten hours to the west of the Hadj
route... Here the Hadj descends a deep chasm, and it takes half an hour
to reach below... The mountain consists of a red grey sandstone, which
is used at Damascus for whetstones." [Was it this colour of the geolo-
gical formation which Varthema's vivid or pious imagination converted
into " what appeared to be blood, like red wax mixed with earth" 1] —
Travels in Syria, Appendix iii.

2 The caravan was now in Edom, traversing a section of the route
taken by the Israelites when they turned "northward" to "'pass through
the coast of the children of Esau," with whom they were commanded
" not to meddle," but peaceably " to pass through the coast," and to
" buy meat and water of them for money." (See Deut. ii. 3-6.) Payment
for water is still exacted by the descendants of Esau in the same locality
at the present day.

3 A prevailing custom among the Bedawin when defending themselves

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 21

said camels, and we were constantly skirmishing, so that they
kept us besieged two days and two nights, and things came
at last to that state, that neither we nor they had any more
water to drink. They had completely surrounded the
mountain with people, saying that they would break through
the caravan. Not being able to continue the fighting, our
captain consulted with the Moorish merchants and we gave
them (the Arabs) 1200 ducats of gold. They took the money,
and then said that 10,000 ducats of gold would not pay for
their water, and we knew that they wanted something else
besides money. So our prudent captain arranged with the
caravan, that all those men who were capable of bearing arms
should not ride on the camels, aud that each should prepare
his arms. The morning having come, we put forward all
the caravan, and we Mamelukes remained behind. We
were in all three hundred persons, and we soon began
to fight. One man and one lady were killed by bows on
our side, and they did us no further harm. \Ve killed of
them 1600 persons. 1 Nor is it to be wondered at that we
killed so many of them : the cause was, that they were all
naked and on horseback, without saddles, so that they had a
difficulty in turning on their way.

against an attack. The right fore-leg is first bent at the knee, and firmly
secured with the leading halter so as effectually to prevent the camel
rising. The animals are then made to lie down in close contact, their
mass serving as a rampart, the space between the shoulders as embra-
sures, and their bodies as rests for the matchlocks of the defenders.

1 Probably an exaggeration, though Strabo records a battle between
the Roman army under iElius Gallus and the Arabians of the southern
part of the Hijaz, with a loss of two only of the former and ten thousand
of the latter. Lib. xvi.

22 THE TRAVELS OF

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING A MOUNTAIN INHABITED
BY JEWS.'

At the end of eight days we found a mountain which ap-
peared to be ten or twelve miles in circumference, in which

1 This is a most interesting subject, and deserves more than a cursory
notice. Our traveller describes the locality as being three days' journey
from El-Medinah, which brings it to about " Hedye," given in Burck-
hardt's Itinerary as the twenty-fourth halt of the modern Hajj from
Damascus, and four hours distant from Khaibar, "whither the people of
the caravan often go to buy provisions." Travels in Syria, Appendix iii.

Mons. Caussin de Perceval has collected together the various notices
found in the principal Arabian historians respecting the first Jewish
colony in the Hijaz, from which it will be seen that Khaibar was one of
their most important settlements. According to Ibn Khaldoon, the ori-
ginal immigrants formed part of an army sent by Joshua against the Ama-
lica (Amalekites), which, after destroying that people, took possession of
their country, and occupied Yathrib (El-Medinah), Khaibar, and the sur-
rounding places.

Others, and among them the author of the Aghdni, make the original
colonists to have consisted of a large body of troops which Moses, on
reaching Syria, had despatched against the Amalica, with order to exter-
minate them utterly; but that having spared the young son of the Ainalek-
ite king, Arcam, the Israelites refused to receive them on their return
from the expedition. Whereupon they retraced their way back to the
Hijaz, and finally settled at Yathrib, Khaibar, and the adjoining
districts.

Caussin de Perceval, in noticing the striking resemblance which this
narrative bears to the Scriptural account of the Amalekite king Agag,
whose life was spared by the soldiers of Saul against the positive com-
mand of the prophet Samuel, remarks that if the Arab tradition is
founded on any historical truth connecting the fact of the disobedience
of the Israelitish troops with the establishment of a Jewish colony in
the Hijaz, it would serve to fix the date of that emigration to the time
of Saul, or four centuries after Moses.

Other Arabian historians assert that the emigration did not take place
till after the fall of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, and the devasta-
tion of Judea by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, when many Jewish
families sought refuge in the Hijaz. Personal experience enables me to
add that such also is the prevailing tradition among the Jews of Yemen
of their original settlement in that country.

From these various accounts it is natural to infer that the Jewish

LUBOV1CO Bl VARTHEMA. 23

mountain there dwell four or five thousand Jews, who go
naked, and are in height five or six spans, and have a fe-

colony in the Hijaz was formed by several successive immigrations in
very remote times, and that it received new accessions by similar im-
migrations of a more recent date, one of which, specially noticed by the
author of the Aghani, may be referred either to the period of the re-
duction of Judea into a Roman province by Pompey, B.C. 6-1, to the de-
struction of Jerusalem by Titus, a.d. 70, or to the cruel persecution of
the Jews under Adrian, a.d. 136. It is, indeed, highly probable that on
each of those occasions many fugitive Jews from Judea sought an
asylum with their co-religionists in the Hijaz.

The existence of a considerable Jewish population in the district in-
dicated by Varthema at the period of Muhammed is a well-authenticated
historical fact. His cursory description of the particular locality is
equally correct ; and the enmity of the resident Jews towards the
Muhammedans appears to have been inherited by them through many
generations. Referring to that period, Caussin de Perceval says: "The
Jewish race was still powerful. They possessed, between three or four
days' journey from Medinah, a fertile territory, abounding in grain and
date-trees, and protected by several forts, the principal of which, called
El-Cammoos, was situated on a mountain difficult of access. The dis-
trict occupied by these strongholds was denominated Khaibar, a word
which Arabian authors take to signify a castle. [More probably a con-
federation or colony, from the Hebrew *")2n (khabar) to be confederated].
Its population was composed of different families, which had been esta-
blished in the country from time immemorial. The Jews of Khaibar
had manifested an active and implacable hatred towards the Prophet
and his followers. United by an old alliance with their neighbours the
Bedawin descendants of Ghatafan, they laboured incessantly to stir up
the hostility of that and other adjacent tribes against Muhammed."

In the month of Muharram of the seventh year of the Hijrah (12th
April — 12th May, a.d. 628) Muhammed led an army in person against
Khaibar, and after a severe conflict, which lasted for several days, suc-
ceeded in capturing all the forts in that and the surrounding districts,
and in reducing the Jews to abject submission. At first, they merely
begged that their lives might be spared, promising to quit the country
forthwith ; but they were subsequently permitted to remain as simple
farmers of the soil, binding themselves to give half of the produce to its
new Mussulman proprietors. It was expressly stipulated, however, that
their future expulsion should depend on the will of the Prophet.

Though it is generally believed that 'Omar, on his succession to the
Khalifate a.d. 634, availed himself of this proviso to banish the Jews
from the country, in order to execute an injunction said to have been

«4 THE TRAVELS OF

minine voice, and are more black than any other colour.
They live entirely upon the flesh of sheep, and eat nothing
else. They are circumcised, and confess that they are Jews;
and if they can get a Moor into their hands, they skin him
alive. At the foot of the said mountain we found a tank of
water, which is water that falls in the rainy season. We
loaded with the said water 16,000 camels, whereat the Jews
were ill-pleased ; and they went about that mountain like
wild goats, and on no account would they descend into the
plain, because they are mortal enemies of the Moors. At
the foot of the mountain, by the said water, there were six
or eight feet of beautiful thornbushes, in which we found
two turtledoves, which circumstance appeared to us like a
miracle, inasmuch as we had travelled fifteen days and

given by Muhammed when dying, that two religions were not to be
tolerated in Arabia ; nevertheless, it is tolerably certain that they con-
tinued to occupy the neighbourhood of Khaibar in considerable numbers
up to a very recent period. As late as 1762, Niebuhr was informed that
that district was still inhabited by several independent Jewish tribes, who
had sheikhs of their own like other Arabs. Burckhardt mentions the
old colony of the Jews at Khaibar, but says that it had disappeared,
though there still existed an unfounded belief at Meccah and Juddah
that their descendants still existed there, strictly performing the duties
of their religion. They seem, indeed, to have become extinct as a separate
race, for Burton was assured that there is not a single Jewish family now in
Khaibar, adding : "it is, indeed, the popular boast in El-IIejaz that, with
the exception of Jeddah (and perhaps Yembo), where the Prophet never
set his foot, there is not a town in the country harbouring an infidel. This
lias now become a point of fanatic honour ; but if history may be trusted,
it has become so only lately." Pilgrimage to Meccah and Bl-Medinah,
vol. ii. p. 118, note. See also Caussin de Perceval, Histoire des Arabes
avant V Islamisme, etc., vols. ii. 641-644; iii. 193-201, 444. Niebuhk,
Description de VArabie, pp. 326, 327.

Varthema evidently miscalculated the effects of distance in diminish-
ing objects ; hence, I presume, his fabulous measurement of the Jews at
five or six spans in height, and his failing to see the scanty cloth round
their loins, which still constitutes the only garment of the common
Bedawin of the Hijaz. As to complexion, if those seen by our traveller
were like the generality of the Jews in Yemen, he aptly describes it as
" more black than any other colour." In that respect they are not to be
distinguished from the Arab Bedawin.

LTJDOVICO Dl VARTHEMA. 25

nights and had not met with a single animal or bird. The
next day we resumed our journey, and in two days time
arrived at a city which is called Medinathalnabi. 1 Near
that city, at a distance of four miles, we found a well, by
which the caravan halted for a day, and at this well each
person washed himself, and put on clean linen to go into
the said city, which contains about three hundred hearths,
and is surrounded by walls made of earth. 2 The houses
within are constructed with stone walls. The country
around the said city lies under the curse of God, for the
land is barren, with the exception that about two stones'
cast, outside the city, there are about fifty or sixty feet of
palmtrees in a garden, 3 at the end of which there is a certain
conduit of water, which descends at least twenty-four steps,
of which water the caravan takes possession when it arrives
there. 4 Now, some who say that the body of Mahomet is
suspended in the air at Mecca must be reproved ; I say that
it is not true. I have seen his sepulchre in this city, Medi-
nathalnabi, in which we remained three days, and wished
to see everything. 5 The first day we went into the city, at
the entrance by the door of their mosque, and each of us,
small or great, was obliged to be accompanied by some per-

1 Medinat en-Nabi, the City of the Prophet.

2 These earthen fortifications, according to Burton, were built by
order of Kasim el Daulat el Ghori. The wall is now of stone, " well-
built of granite and lava blocks, in regular layers, cemented with lime."

3 "This alludes to the gardens of Kuba. The number of date-trees is
now greatly increased." Bukton, ut supra.

4 Burckhardt, in his plan of El-Medinah, marks these " steps leading
down to the canal in different parts of the town." Burton supposes the
water to come from a spring in the date-groves of Kuba. " It flows
down a subterranean canal, about thirty feet below the surface. In
some places the water is exposed to the air, and steps lead to it for the
convenience of the inhabitants."

3 This absurd story, so long current in Christendom, but utterly un-
known to Mussulmans, is supposed by Niebuhr to have originated from
the position, one above the other, which the three enshrined tombs are
represented as occupying in the rude drawings of the mosque made by
native artists.

26 THE TRAVELS OF

son, 1 who took us by the hand, and led us where Mahomet
was buried.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING WHERE MAHOMET AND HIS
COMPANIONS WERE BURIED.

The mosque is made square in this manner : being about
one hundred paces long, and eighty wide, and it has around
it two doors on three sides, and the roof made arched, and
there are more than 400 columns made of burnt stone, all
whitened, and there are about 3,000 lighted lamps burning
on one side of the arches. 2 On the right hand, at the head
of the mosque, there is a square tower, about five paces
on every side, which tower has a cloth of silk around
it. At the distance of two paces from the said tower
there is a very beautiful grating of metal, where per-
sons stand to see the said tower ; and at one side, on
the left, there is a little door which leads you to the said
tower, and in the said tower there is another little door, and
by one of the doors there are about twenty books, and on the
other side there are twenty-five books, which are those of Ma-
homet and of his Companions, which books declare his life
and the commandments of his sect. 3 Within the said door

1 A guide, called Dal'll or Muzawwir.

2 Burckkardt makes the dimensions 165 paces in length by 130 in
breadth. Burton calls it "a parallelogram about 420 feet in length by
340 broad." The former says : "It forms an open square, surrounded on
all sides by covered colonnades, with a small building in the centre of

the square The columns are of stone ; but being plastered white it

is difficult to decide what species The roof of the colonnade consists

of a number of small domes." The latter styles it " a hypsethral build-
ing with a spacious central area, called El Sahn, El Ilosh, El Haswah,
or El Ramlah, surrounded by a peristyle with numerous rows of pillars,
like the colonnades of an Italian monastery. Their arcades, or porticoes,
are llat-ceilinged, domed above with the small ' Media Naranja,' or half-
orange cupola of Spain."

3 " Near the south-east corner stands the famous tomb, so detached

LU DO VI CO DI VARTHEMA. 27

there is a sepulchre, that is, a pit under ground, wherein
was placed Mahomet, also Haly, and Babacher, and Oth-
nian, and Aumar, and Fatoma. Mahomet was captain, and
he was an Arab. Haly was son-in-law of Mahomet, that is,
he was the husband of Fatoma, who was the daughter of
Mahomet. 1 Babacher was he of whom we should say that

from the walls of the inosque as to leave between it and the south wall
a space of about twenty-five feet, and fifteen feet between it and the
east wall. The enclosure [Varthema's ' tower'] forms an irregular
square of about twenty paces, in the midst of the colonnade, several of
its pillars being included within it. It is an iron railing painted green
...the railing is of good workmanship, in imitation of filagree, and is
interwoven with open-work inscriptions of yellow bronze... What appears
of the interior is merely a curtain carried round on all sides, resembling
a bed, which is of the same height as the railing, and fills nearly the
whole space. ..This veil is a rich silk brocade of various colours, inter-
woven with silver flowers and arabesques. A band of inscriptions in
gold characters runs across the middle." — Bukckhardt.

" The Hujrah, or Chamber, as it is called, from the circumstance of its
having been Ayisha's room, is an irregular square of from fifty to fifty-
five feet in the south-east corner of the building, and separated on all
sides from the walls of the mosque by a passage about twenty-six feet
broad on the south side, and twenty on the eastern... Inside there are,
or are supposed to be, three tombs facing the south, surrounded by stone
walls, or, as others say, by strong planking. Whatever this material may
be, it is hung outside with a curtain, somewhat like a large four-post bed.
The outer railing is separated by a dark narrow passage from the inner
one, which it surrounds, and is of iron filagree, painted of a vivid grass
green, whilst carefully inserted in the verdure, and doubly bright by
contrast, is the gilt or burnished brass work forming the long and grace-
ful letters of the Suls character, and disposed into the Moslem creed,
the profession of unity, and similar religious sentences. This fence has
four gates. ..they are constantly kept closed, except the fourth." —
Burton.

The foregoing extracts prove the remarkable correctness of Varthema's
brief description of this mosque. Neither of the two enterprising tra-
vellers, however, throws any light on the books mentioned by him as ex-
isting in the vicinity of the Hujrah. The mosque library, according
to Burton, is now kept in large chests near the Bab el Salam.

1 Muhammed, 'Ali, Abubekr, 'Othman, 'Omar, and Fatimah. Here
Varthema is in error, for it has never been believed by Mussulmans
that either 'Ali or 'Othman was buried in the Prophet's mosque.

Burton says : " The sepulchre or cenotaph of Fatimah is outside the

28 THE TRAVELS OF

he was cardinal, and wanted to be pope. 1 Othman was one
of his captains. Aumar was another of his captains. And
these said books treat about each of his people, that is, of
the said captains ; and on this account it is that this canaille
cut each other to pieces, for some wish to act according to
the commandments of one, and some of another, and thus
they do not know how to make up their minds ; and they
kill each other like beasts about these heresies, for they are
all false.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE TEMPLE AND SEPULCHRE
OF MAHOMET AND HIS COMPANIONS.

In order to explain the sect of Mahomet, you must know
that over the said tower there is a cupola, in which you can
walk round the top, that is, outside. 2 You must understand

enceinte and the curtain which surrounds her father's remains." Burck-
hardt describes it thus : " Near the curtain of the Ilejrah [Hujrah], but
separated from it, though within the precincts of the railing, which
here, to admit it, deviates a little from its square shape, is the tomb of
Sitna Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed and wife of Ali. But some
difference of opinion exists whether her remains actually rest here, or
in the burial-ground called Bakya, beyond the town."

1 I know of no passage in Abubekr's life which merits this remark.
He was throughout the firm ally of Muhammed, and on the death of
the latter proposed two candidates, 'Omar and Abu-'Obeidah, as most
worthy to succeed him. It was mainly through the intervention of
'Omar, who recognized his superior claims as the special favourite of the
Prophet, as his sole companion in the cave at Thor, and as having been
designated by Muhammed to preside at the public prayers when he saw
his end approaching, that the dignity of being his first successor was
accorded to the aged Abubekr.

2 The dome over the Hujrah, or Chamber, containing Muhammed's
tomb. " Above the hujrah is the green dome, surmounted outside by a
large gilt crescent springing from a series of globes. The glowing imagi-
nations of the Moslems crown this gem of the building with a pillar of
heavenly light, which directs from three days' distance the pilgrims'
steps towards El-Medinah." — Burton, Pilgrimage (o El-Medinah and
Meccah, vol. ii. pp. 73, 74.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 29

the trick they played off upon the whole caravan the first
evening we arrived at the tomb of Mahomet. Our captain
sent for the superior of the said mosque, to whom he said :
that he should show him the body of Nabi — this Nabi
means the Prophet Mahomet — that he would give him three
thousand seraphim of gold ; and that he had neither father
nor mother, nor brothers nor sisters, nor wife nor children,
neither had he come to purchase spices or jewels, but that
he had come to save his soul, and to see the body of the
Prophet. Then the superior answered him with great vio-
lence, and rage, and pride, saying : " How do those eyes of
yours, which have done so much evil in the world, desire
to see him for whom God has created the heavens and the
earth !" Then answered our captain : " Sidi intecate el
melie ;" that is to say, Sir, you say true ; l but do me a fa-
vour, let me see the body of the Prophet, and immediately
that I have seen it, I will pull out my eyes for the love of
him. And Sidi 3 answered : " O Sir, I will tell you the truth.
It is true that our Prophet wished to die here, in order to
set us a good example ; for he could well have died at
Mecca had he so willed, but he desired to exercise poverty
for our instruction ; and as soon as he was dead, he was
carried at once into heaven by the angels, and he says that
he is equal with God." Our captain said to him : " Eise
Hebene Marian phion ?" that is, Jesus Christ the son of
Mary, where is he ? The Sidi answered : " Azafel al Nabi,"
that is, at the feet of Mahomet. 3 Our captain answered :

1 Sidi, anta tahki el-melieh. Sir, you say well. I shall correct the
orthography and mistranslations of Vartherna's romanized Arabic,
preserving the barbarisms of the original. The orthography varies in
different editions, but in all it is execrably bad.

2 Meaning the JShenf belonging to the mosque.

3 Isa ibn Mariam fain hu? Jesus, the Son of Mary, where is He?
As/el en-Nabi. Below (or under) the Prophet. Burton, having
before him only the translation of these words, as he found it, unaccom-
panied by the Arabic, in Eden's History of Travels, supposes the reply

30 THE TRAVELS OF

" Besbes, hiosi," 1 that is, enough, enough ! I will not know
more. Then the captain came out and said to us: " See
where I wanted to throw away three thousand seraphim !"
In the night time, at three o'clock, there came into the camp
about ten or twelve of those old men of that sect, for the
caravan was encamped near the gate, two stones' cast off,
and these old men began to cry out, some in one part and
some in another : " Lei la illala, Mahometh resullala ; lam
Nabi, hia la, hia resullala, stasforla !" that is, God pardon
me. " Leilla illala," means, God was, God will be ; and " Ma-
hometh resullala" is, Mahomet, the messenger of God, will
rise again ; " lam Nabi" signifies, O Prophet ! O God ! " hia
resullala" means, Mahomet will rise again; " stasforla" sig-
nifies, God pardon me. 2 Our captain and we, hearing this
noise, immediately ran with our arms in our hands, thinking
they were Arabs who wanted to rob the caravan, saying to
them : " What is this you are crying out ?" for they made
just such a noise as is heard amongst us Christians when a
saint performs a miracle. These old men answered : " Inte
mar abser miri igimen elbeit el Naby uramen il sama?"
that is, Do you not see the brilliant light which comes out
of the sepulchre of the Prophet ? 3 Our captain said : " I do

to refer to the burial-place of Christ, and justly remarks that in that
sense it is incorrect, since no Moslem ever believed that Christ left his
body in this world. My own impression is, that it merely conveys the
speaker's belief of Christ's inferiority to Muhammed, either locally or in
rank, when the question was propounded.

1 Bass, lass. Enough, enough; but I cannot decipher the "hiosi,"
unless it is a corruption of the vulgar mush 'awaz, I don't want [any
more].

9 La ilah ilia Allah ; Muhammed RasM Allah. Ya Nabi ! Hayya
Allah ! Ilayya Rasill Allah ! Istaahfir lana ! There is no god but
God. Muhammed is the Prophet of God. Prophet ! Salute God !
Salute the Prophet ! We invoke forgiveness !

3 Antamatabsar en-nur [alladhi] yaji min belt en-Nabi warn min es-
sama ? Do you not see the splendour proceeding from the house of
the Prophet beyond the heavens'? The superstition that a super-
natural light issues from Muhammed's tomb -is still popular among
pious Moslems.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 31

not see anything ;" and he asked all of us if we had seen
anything, and we answered : c< No." One of the old men
replied : " Are you slaves ?" that is, Mamelukes. The cap-
tain said : " Yes, they were slaves." The old man answered :
" Oh, sirs ! you cannot see these celestial things because
you are not well confirmed in our faith." Our captain
replied : " Lami ianon ancati telethe elphi seraphi : vualla
anemaiati chelp menelchelp," which means, " Oh, fools, I
was willing to give you three thousand ducats, by God, but
I won't give you them now, you dogs, sons of dogs." 1 You
must know that these lights were certain artificial fires which
they had cunningly lighted on the top of the said tower to
make us believe that they were lights which issued from
the sepulchre of Mahomet ; wherefore our captain ordered
that none of us should on any account enter the said mosque.
And you must know (I tell it you for a truth) there is no
coffin of iron or steel, nor loadstone, nor any mountain within
four miles. We remained there three days in order to give
rest to the camels. The people of the said city supply
themselves with the provisions which come from Arabia
Felix, and from Cairo, and from Ethiopia by sea, for from
thence to the sea is four days' journey.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE JOURNEY TO GO FROM
MEDINA TO MECCA.

Now we being tired of these things and vanities of
Mahomet, prepared ourselves to pass onwards, and with our
pilots, great observers of their compasses and charts, 2 neces-

1 Ya majnun ! ana ''ailti thalath elf ashrafi ! W Allah, ana ma
'aati. Kelb bin el -kelb. You fool ! I give three thousand ducats ! By
God, I will not give. You dog, son of a dog.

2 E con nostri Piloti delle sue bussole e carte al corso del mare ne-
cessarie grandi obseruatori coininciauio a caminare per rnezo giorno."
The passage is obscure. If it means, as I conclude it does from a similar
statement a few lines farther on, that the guides in the Ilijaz used such

32 THE TRAVELS OF

sary when traversing the sea, began the journey southwards,
and we found a very fine well in which there was a great
quantity of water, which well, the Moors say, was made by
St. Mark the Evangelist, by a miracle of God, on account of
the want of water which prevails in that country. This well
was dry at our departure. 1 [I must not forget to mention our

instruments in order to direct their course between El-Medinah and
Meccah, it is unquestionably absurd. Our traveller may have been led
into the erroneous inference by seeing the leaders of the caravan consult-
ing small portable compasses, called Kiblah-ndmeh, to ascertain the true
K'lhlah, or prescribed point to which they should turn during prayer.
Nevertheless, the comparison which he here institutes leads to the con-
jecture that the Arabs who navigated the Red Sea at this period, one
year at least before the appearance of the Portuguese in that cpuarter,
were in possession of the mariner's chart and compass, which he expressly
tells us in a later chapter were used on board the vessels in which he
sailed from Borneo to Java. It is to be regretted that Varthema did
not record the name by which the native pilots designated the compass.
That of Bushla or Bnsla, from the Italian Bussola, though common
among Arab sailors in the Mediterranean, is very seldom used in the
eastern seas. Da'irah and Beit el-Ibrah (the Circle, or House of the
Needle), are the ordinary appellatives in the Red Sea. In the Persian
Gulf, Kiblah-ndmeh is in more general use.

1 There are four roads leading from El-Medinah to Meccah ; but it is
impossible, from Varthema's brief description, to decide with certainty
which was taken by his caravan. " St. Mark's well " affords no clue, as
the name of that Apostle is utterly unknown to the Mussulmans of the
llijaz at the present day ; nevertheless, its occurrence in connexion with
this locality is somewhat remarkable. Has the tradition a much earlier
origin ? Eusebius makes St. Mark the first Bishop of Alexandria, and the
patriarchal see of Egypt has borne that title ever since. Ecclesiastical
historians further assert that one Pantaenus, a teacher of divinity, was
sent by Julianus, bishop of Alexandria, to preach the Gospel in Arabia
towards the end of the second century. Ibn Khaldun and the author
of the Aghdni state that several of the Arab tribes between Egypt and
Palestine professed Christianity at the time of Muhammed ; and the
destruction of an Abyssinian army before Meccah, a.d. 570, is a well
authenticated historical fact. Now, as the first introduction of Christ-
ianity into Arabia is referrible to the zeal of the patriarchal see of St.
Mark in Egypt, to which the Abyssinian church has always been eccle-
siastically subject, it is just possible that the occurrence of the Apostle's
name, as mentioned by Varthema, may be a traditional relic handed
down from the earliest Christians in the Hijaz.

LTJDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 33

meeting with the sea of sand, which we left before we found
the mountain of the Jews, and through which we travelled
five days and five nights. 1 Now you must understand all
about this. This is a very large level plain, which is full of
white sand as fine as meal, where, if unfortunately the wind
should blow from the south as you come from the north, all
would be dead men, and although we had the wind with us
we could not see each other at a distance of ten paces. The
men ride on camels in certain wooden boxes, 2 in which they
sleep and eat, and the pilots go in advance with their com-
passes as they do at sea. And here many died from thirst,
and a great many died because when they dug and found
water they drank so much that they burst ; and here
mummies are made. 3 When the wind blows from the north
this sand collects against a very large mountain, which is a spur

1 Burton remarks on this chapter generally, that " It is impossible
to distinguish from this description the route taken by the Damascus
caravan in 1503. Of one thing only we may be certain, namely, that
between El-Medinah and Meccah there are no ' seas of sand.' " Ibid.
p. 358. I am of opinion that the passage which I have placed be-
tween brackets is retrospective, and refers to a part of the journey be-
tween Damascus and El-Medinah, for Varthema describes his having
left the sea of sand before he came to the Mountain of the Jews.
Burckhardt's brief description of the stages on the present Hajj route
does not enable me to identify the precise locality ; but I think it
should be looked for between El-Akhdar, the sixteenth stage from Da-
mascus, and Hedye or Khaibar (the Mountain of the Jews), three days
from El-Medinah ; for in a note attached to El-Akhdar, in his enume-
ration of the caravan halts, Burckhardt says : " Two or three hundred
years ago the Hadj route went to the east of the present route, and
it is even now called Darb esh-Sharki, the Eastern Road."

2 The Shugduf, the Taktraivan, the Shibriyah, and the Mahaffah,
vehicles of different construction, borne by camels, and used by the
more wealthy pilgrims in making the Hajj.

3 " Wonderful tales are still told about these same mummies. I was
assured by an Arabian physician, that he had broken a fowl's leg, and
bound it tightly with a cloth containing man's dried flesh, which caused
the bird to walk about, with a sound shank, on the second day." —
Burton, ibid. p. 361, n.

34 THE TRAVELS OF

of Mount Sinai. 1 When wc were at the top of the said moun-
tain we found a door [or doorway] of the said mountain made
by the hand of man. On the left side upon the top of the said
mountain there is a grotto to which there is a door of iron.
Some say that Mahomet stopped there to pray. At this door

' Burton, having inferred that Varthema was describing a part of
the route between El-Medinah and Meccah, supposes this to be Jebel
Warkan, on the sea-route to the latter place. For the reason already
given, I prefer identifying it with the mountains in the vicinity of
Hedjer (more correctly, El-IIijr), which, though with great latitude, may
be styled an offshoot of Sinai. I am confirmed in this opinion by our
author's somewhat romantic account of the ancient remains existing
there, and the traditions with which they are associated. Burckhardt's
description of them is as follows : " The most interesting spot on the
caravan route between Damascus and Medinah, within the limits of
Arabia, appears to be Hedjer, or, as it is sometimes called, Medayen
Saleh, seven days north of Medinah. This place, according to many
passages of the Koran (which has a chapter entitled Hedjer), was
inhabited by a gigantic race of men, called Beni Thamoud, whose
dwellings were destroyed because they refused to obey the admoni-
tions of the prophet Saleh. In circumference, Hedjer extends several
miles ; the soil is fertile, watered by many wells, or running streams.
...An inconsiderable mountain bounds this fertile plain on the west,
at about four miles' distance from the ground where the pilgrims'
caravan usually encamps. In that mountain are large caves cut out
of the rock, with sculptured figures of men and various animals, small
pillars on both sides of the entrances, and, if I may believe the Be-
douins, numerous sculptures over the doors." — Travels in Syria, Ap-
pendix vii. According to the Koran, (chap, vii.), the destruction of
the Thamudites was accompanied by " a terrible noise from heaven,"
and Muhammed's own conduct, on the occasion of his expedition against
El-IIijr, shortly after his destruction of the Jews at Khaibar, served to
perpetuate among his followers a dread of that signal example of the
Divine vengeance, for he refused to let them drink at one of the wells
in the valley, bidding them flee the accursed spot. The vivid imagina-
tion of pious Moslems still attributes supernatural noises, "like violent
and repeated claps of thunder," to the desolate abode of those ancient
Troglodytes, and it may fairly be presumed that these and similar tra-
ditions, and the fact of a chapter of the Koran being entitled " El-Hijr,"
— subjects which his Muhammedan companions would freely discuss
while in that vicinity, — gave rise to the fable with which this part of
Varthema's narrative is disfigured.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 35

a very great noise is heard. We passed this said mountain
with great danger, so much so that we thought we should
never arrive at this place.] Then we departed from the said
well and travelled for ten days, and twice we fought with
50,000 Arabs, till at length we arrived at Mecca, and there
was a very great war, one brother with another, for there
are four brothers, and they fought to be Lords of Mecca. 1

THE CHAPTER SHOWING HOW MECCA IS CONSTRUCTED,
AND WHY THE MOORS GO TO MECCA.

We will now speak of the very noble city of Mecca, what
it is, its state, and who governs it. The city is most beauti-
ful, and is very well inhabited, and contains about 6,000
families. The houses are extremely good, like our own, and
there are houses worth three or four thousand ducats each.
This city is not surrounded by walls. 2 A quarter of a mile
distant from the city we found a mountain where there was
a road cut by human labour. 3 And then we descended into

1 The remarkable coincidence of this casual remark with the historical
record of the period has been fully noticed in the Introduction.

a " The city is open on every side ; but the neighbouring mountains,
if properly defended, would form a barrier of considerable strength....
The mode of building is the same as that adopted at Djidda, with the
addition of windows looking towards the street : of these many project
from the wall, and have their framework elaborately carved or gaudily
painted. Before them hang blinds made of slight reeds... Every house
has its terrace." — Burckhaudt's Travels in Arabia, vol. i. pp. 189, 190.

3 Burton identifies this with the Saniyah Kuda, a pass opening upon
the Meccah plain. It is, doubtless, the same as that described by Burck-
hardt in the following extract : " Opposite to this building [a house
belonging to the Sherif Ghaleb], a paved causeway leads towards
the western hills, through which is an opening that seems artificial.
El-Azraki applies the name of Jebel el-Hazna to this part of the moun-
tain, and says that the road was cut through the rock by Yahia ibn
Khold ibn Barmak. On the other side of the opening, the road descends
into the plain of Sheikh Mahmoud, so named from the tomb of a saint,
round which the Syrian pilgrims generally encamp." — Hid. p. 234.

36 THK TRAVELS OF

the plain. The walls of the said city are the mountains, and
it has four entrances. The governor of this city is a Sultan,
that is, one of the four brothers, and is of the race of
Mahomet, 1 and is subject to the Grand Sultan of Cairo. His
three brothers are always at war with him. On the 18th
of May we entered into the said city of Mecca ; we entered
from the north, and afterwards we descended into the plain.
On the side towards the south there are two mountains
which almost touch each other, where is the pass to go to
the gate of Mecca. On the other side, where the sun rises,
there is another mountain pass, like a valley, 2 through which
is the road to the mountain where they celebrate the sacrifice
of Abraham and Isaac, which mountain is distant from the
said city about eight or ten miles. 3 The height of this
mountain is two or three casts of a stone by hand, and it is
of some kind of stone, not marble, but of another colour.
On the top of this said mountain there is a mosque accord-
ing to their custom, which has three doors. At the foot of
the said mountain there are two very beautiful reservoirs of
water. One is for the caravan from Cairo, and the other
for the caravan from Damascus ; which water is collected
there from the rain and comes from a great distance. 4 Now,

1 A Sherif. " In Arabia the Sherif is the descendant of Hasan through
his two sons, Zaid and Hasan el-Musanna." — Burton's Pilgrimage to
el-Medinah, etc. Vol. ii. p. 257, n.

2 " This is the open ground leading to the Muna Pass." — Ibid. p.
362, n.

3 " An error. The sacrifice is performed at Muna, not at Arafat, the
mountain here alluded to." — Ibid. p. 362, n.

4 Burckkardt's account of Arafat reads like an amplification of Var-
thema's briefer description. " This granite hill, which is called Jebel
cr-Rahme, rises on the north-east side of the plain, close to the moun-
tains which encompass it, but separated from them by a rocky valley.
It is about a mile or a mile and a half in circuit : its sides are sloping,
and its summit is nearly two hundred feet above the level of the plain...
On the summit is shown the place where Mohammed used to take his
station during the hadj ; a small chapel [Varthema's 'mosque'?] for-
merly stood over it, but it was destroyed by the Wahabys... Several large

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA, 37

let us return to the city. At the proper time we will speak
of the sacrifice which they make at the foot of the said
mountain. When we entered into the said city we found
the caravan from Cairo, which had arrived eight days before
us, because they had not travelled by the same route as our-
selves. In the said caravan there were sixty-four thousand
camels and one hundred Mamelukes. You must know that,
in my opinion, the curse of God has been laid upon the said
city, for the country produces neither grass nor trees, nor
any one thing. 1 And they suffer from so great a dearth of
water, that if every one were to drink as much as he might
wish, four qaattrini worth of water daily would not suffice
them. 2 I will tell you in what manner they live. A great part
of their provisions comes from Cairo, that is, from the Red
Sea. There is a port called Zida [Juddah], which is distant
from the said city forty miles. A great quantity of food also
comes there from Arabia Felix, and also a great part comes
from Ethiopia. We found a great number of pilgrims, of whom

reservoirs lined with stone are dispersed over the plain : two or three are
close to the foot of Arafat... They are filled from the same fine acqueduct
which supplies Mecca, and the head of which is about one hour and a
half distant in the eastern mountains." — Travels in Arabia, vol. i. pp.
40-42. Burton says the Meccans have a tradition that the water comes
from Baghdad.

1 " Moslems who are disposed to be facetious on serious subjects often
remark, that it is a mystery why Allah should have built his house in a
spot so barren and desolate." — Burton, Ibid. Vol. ii. p. 3G3, n.

2 " With respect to water, Mecca is not much better provided than
Djiddah. There are but few cisterns for collecting rain, and the well
water is so brackish, that it is used only for culinary purposes... The
famous well of Zemzem, in the Great Mosque, is indeed sufficiently
copious to supply the whole town ; but, however holy, its water is heavy
to the taste, and impedes digestion... The best water in Mecca is brought
from the vicinity of Arafat, six or seven hours distant. The supply
which it affords in ordinary times is barely sufficient for the use of the
inhabitants, and during the pilgrimage sweet water becomes an absolute
scarcity. A small skin of water, two of which skins a person may carry,
being then often sold for one shilling, a very high price among Arabs."
— Bukckhakdt's, Travels in Syria, vol. i. pp. 193-195.

38 THE TRAVELS OF

some came from Ethiopia, some from India Major, some
from India Minor, some from Persia, and some from Syria.
Truly I never saw so many people collected in one spot as
during the twenty days I remained there. Of these people
some had come for the purposes of trade, and some on
pilgrimage for their pardon, in which pardon you shall
understand what they do.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE MERCHANDIZE IN
MECCA.

First we will speak of the merchandize, which comes
from many parts. From India Major there come a great
many jewels and all sorts of spices, and part comes from
Ethiopia; and there also comes from India Major, from a
city called Bangchella, 1 a very large quantity of stuffs of
cotton and of silk, so that in this city there is carried on a
very extensive traffic of merchandize, that is, of jewels,
spices of every kind in abundance, cotton in large quantites,
wax and odoriferous substances in the greatest abundance.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE PARDONING IN MECCA.

Now let us turn to the pardoning of the said pilgrims.
In the midst of the said city there is a very beautiful temple,
similar to the Colosseum of Rome, but not made of such
large stones, but of burnt bricks, and it is round in the same
manner ; it has ninety or one hundred doors around it, and is
arched, and has many of these doors. 2 On entering the said

1 Bengal, pronounced Bangala by the Arabs(f)

2 Joseph Pitts, who visited Meccah in 1608, describes the Great
Mosque as having " about forty-two doors to enter into it, — not so much,
I think, for necessity, as figure ; for in some places they are close by
one another." Ali Bey says : " The temple has nineteen gates with

LUDOVICO 1)1 VARTHEMA. 89

temple you descend ten or twelve steps of marble, and here
and there about the said entrance there stand men who sell
jewels, and nothing else. And when you have descended
the said steps you find the said temple all around, and every-
thing, that is, the walls, covered with gold. 1 And under the
said arches there stand about 4,000 or 5,000 persons, men
and women, which persons sell all kinds of* odoriferous
things; the greater part are powders for preserving human
bodies, 2 because pagans come there from all parts of the
world. Truly, it would not be possible to describe the
sweetness and the odours which are smelt within this temple.
It appears like a spicery full of musk, and of other most
delicious odours. On the 23rd of May the said pardon
commences in the above-mentioned temple. The pardon is
this : Within the said temple, and uncovered, and in the
centre, there is a tower, the size of which is about five
or six paces on every side, 3 around which tower there is

thirty-eight arches." Burekhardt, in 1814 : " The gates of the mosque
are nineteen in number, and are distributed about without any order of
symmetry. As each gate consists of two or three arches or divisions,
separated by narrow walls, those divisions are counted in the enumera-
tion of the gates leading into the Kaabah, and thus make up the number
thirty-nine." Burton says : " The principal gates arc seventeen in num-
ber. In the old building they were more numerous." The latter fact,
coupled with Burckhardt's description of the double and triple division
in each gate, may account for Varthema's approximate estimate, and
might have spared hiui Burton's remark thereon, who calls it " a pro-
digious exaggeration."

1 " Seven [or, according to Burton, eight] paved causeways lead from
the colonnades towards the Kaabah or Holy House in the centre... The
whole area of the moscpue is on a lower level than any of the streets sur-
rounding it. There is a descent of eight or ten steps from the gate on
the north side into the platform of the colonnade, and of three or four
steps from the gate on the south side." — Burckhardt's Travels in
Arabia, vol. i. p. 247.

* " I saw nothing of the kind, though constantly in the Ilaram at
Meccah." — Burton.

3 The Kaabah is here described. Burckhardt calls it "an oblong
massive structure 18 paces in length, 14 in breadth, and from 35 to 40

40 THE TRAVELS OF

a cloth of black silk. 1 And there is a door all of silver,
of the height of a man, by which you enter into the said
tower. On each side of the door there is a jar, which
they say is full of balsam, and which is ' shown on the
day of Pentecost. 2 And they say that that balsam is part of
the treasures of the Sultan. On each side of the said tower
there is a large ring at the corner. 3 On the 24th of May all
the people begin, before day, to go seven times around the
said tower, always touching and kissing each corner. 4 And
at about ten or twelve paces distant from the said tower
there is another tower, like one of your chapels, with three
or four doors. In the centre of the said tower there is a
very beautiful well, which is seventy fathoms deep, and the
water is brackish. 5 At this well there stand six or eight

feet in height." Burton says it is 18 paces in breadth, and 22 in length ;
but as the Kaabah was entirely rebuilt as it now stands in 1627, these
measurements afford no test of the accuracy of Varthema's statement.

1 The Kisivah, or curtain covering the Kaabah. Burton says that the
material now is a mixture of silk and cotton. It is renewed annually at
the time of the Hajj.

2 The door of the present Kaabah, according to Burckhardt, is " wholly
coated with silver, and has several gilt ornaments ; upon its threshold
are placed every night various small lighted wax candles, and perfuming
pans filled with musk, aloe-wood, etc."

Giovanni Finati (1814) restricts the opening of the Kaabah to once
a year. Burckhardt says it is opened two or three times a year. Burton,
that " the house may now be entered ten or twelve times a year gratis ;
and by pilgrims, as often as they can collect, amongst parties, a sum
sufficient to tempt the guardians' cupidity."

Varthema was probably thinking of Good Friday and the Easter
which follows, and connecting in his mind the Muhammedan sacrifices
at Arafat with the solemnities of those Christian seasons, when he sjioke
of " the day of Pentecost."

3 " These are the brazen rings which serve to fasten the lower edge of
the Kisivah, or covering." — Burton.

4 " Then commenced the ceremony of Tawdf, or circumambulation....
I repeated, after my Mutawwif, or cicerone : ' In the name of Allah, and
Allah is omnipotent ! I purpose to circuit seven circuits unto Almighty
Allah glorified and exalted.' " — Burton.

5 " A true description of the water of the well Zemzem." Burton. The

LUDOVIGO 1)1 VARTHEMA. 41

men appointed to draw water for the people. And when the

said people have gone seven times around the first tower,

they go to this well, and place themselves with their backs

towards the brink of the well, saying : " Bizmilei erachman

erachin stoforla aladin," which means, In the name of God,

God pardon me my sins. 1 And those who draw the water

throw three bucketsful over each person, from the crown of

their heads to their feet, and all bathe, even though their

dress be made of silk. And they say in this wise, that all

their sins remain there after this washing. 2 And they say

that the first tower which they walked round was the first

house that Abraham built, 3 And all having thus bathed,

* ...

they go by way of the valley to the said mountain of which

we have before spoken, and remain there two days and one

night. And when they are all at the foot of the said

mountain, they make the sacrifice there. 4

building which encloses the well (Varthema's " tower") was erected,
according to Burckhardt, a.d. 1072. Burton estimates the distance
between the well and the Kaabah at forty cubits.

1 B'ism-IUdh er-rahmdn er-rahlm. Istaghfir lana. In the name of
God, the Pitiful, the Compassionate. Pardon us.

3 " Many hadjis, not content with drinking it, strip themselves in the
room, and have buckets of it thrown over them, by which they believe
that the heart is purified as well as the body." — Burckhardt, Idem.
vol. ii. p. 264.

3 " Mohammedan mythology affirms that the Kaabah was constructed
in heaven two thousand years before the creation of this world, and that
it was then adored by the angels, whom the Almighty ordered to perform
the Tawaf, or walk round it. Adam, who was the first true believer, erected
the Kaabah on earth on its present site, which is directly below the spot
it occupied in heaven. ..The sons of Adam repaired the Kaabah, and after
the deluge Ibrahim [Abraham], wheu he abandoned the idolatry of his
forefathers, was ordered by the Almighty to reconstruct it. His son
Ismayl [Ishmael], who from his infancy resided with his mother Hadjer
(Hagar) near the site of Meccah, assisted his father, who had come from
Syria to obey the commands of Allah." — Burckhardt, Idem. p. 297.

4 Burton justly observes that there is great confusion in this part of
Varthema's narrative, and gives the following as the consecutive order of
the ceremonies : "On the 9th of Zu'l Hijjah, the pilgrims leave Mount
Arafat. On the 12th, many hasten into Meccah, and enter the Kaabah.

42 THE TRAVELS OF

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE MANNER OF TUE
SACRIFICES IN MECCA.

Every generous mind is the most readily delighted and
incited to great deeds by novel events. Wherefore, in order
to satisfy many of this disposition, I will add concisely the
custom which is observed in their sacrifices. Every man and.
woman kills at least two or three, and some four and some
six sheep ; so that I really believe that on the first day more
than 30,000 sheep are killed by cutting their throats, facing
the east. Each person gives them to the poor for the love
of God, 1 for there were about 30,000 poor people there, who
made a very large hole in the earth, and then put in it camels'
dung, and thus they made a little fire, and warmed the flesh
a little, and then ate it. 2 And truly, it is my opinion, that
these poor men came more on account of their hunger than
for the sake of the pardon; and as a proof that it was so, we
had a great number of cucumbers, which came from Arabia
Felix, and we ate them all but the rind, which we afterwards
threw away outside our tent. And about forty or fifty of
the said poor people stood before our tent, and made a great
scrambling among themselves, in order to pick up the said
rinds, which were full of sand. By this it appeared to us

They then return to the valley of Muna, where their tents are pitched,
and sacrifice the victims. On the 10th, the tents are struck, and the
pilgrims re-enter Meccah."

1 " Others stood before their tents, and, directing the victim's face
towards the Kiiabah, cut its throat, ejaculating : ' Bismillah ! Allahu
Akbar!"'

" It is considered a meritorious act to give away the victim without
eating any portion of its flesh." — Burton.

2 This extempore style of cooking is common among the Bedawin.
Niebuhr describes it with his usual accuracy : " Quelquefois ils [les
Arabes du desert] mettent une boule de pate sur des charbons de bois
allumes, ou sur du fumier de chameau seche ; ils la couvrent soigneuse-
ment de ce feu, afiu qu'elle en soit penetree ; ensuite iis en otent les
cendrcs, et la mangent toute chaude." — Voyai/e en Arabic, vol. iii. p. 40.

LUDOVICO DI VAKTHEMA. 43

that they came rather to satisfy their hunger than to wash
away their sins. 1 On the second clay a cadi of their faith,
like one of our preachers, ascended to the top of the said
mountain and made a discourse to all the people, which
discourse lasted for about an hour ; 2 and he made in their
language a sort of lamentation, and besought the people that
they should weep for their sins. And he said to them in
a loud voice : " Oh, Abraham, well- wished for and well-
loved of God !" And then he said : " Oh, Isaac, chosen of
God, friend of God, beseech God for the people of Naby !"
and then were heard very great lamentations. 3 And when
he had finished his sermon, the whole caravan rushed back
into Mecca with the greatest haste, for at the distance of
six miles there were more than 20,000 Arabs, who wanted
to rob the caravan, and we arrived for the defence of

1 Burton remarks that " this well describes the wretched state of the
poor Takruri and other Africans, but it attributes to them an unworthy
motive." He gives a still more revolting instance of their abject poverty,
which occurred on the road between El-Medinah and Meccah : " After
the long and sultry afternoon, beasts of burden began to sink in con-
siderable numbers. The fresh carcases of asses, ponies, and camels,
dotted the wayside : those that had been allowed to die were abandoned
to the foul carrion-birds, the Rakham (vulture), and the yellow Ukab ;
and those whose throat had been properly cut, were surrounded by troops
of Takruri pilgrims. These half-starved wretches cut steaks from the
choice portions, and slung them over their shoulders till an opportunity
of cooking might arrive. I never saw men more destitute." — Ibid. vol.
iii. pp. 7,8.

2 The Khuibat el- Wakfah, or Sermon of the Standing, usually preached
by the Kadhi of Meccah from Arafat, the orator taking his stand on the
stone platform near the top. In Burckhardt and Burton's time the
sermon lasted nearly three hours, i.e. from three p.m. till towards sun-
set.

3 Joseph Pitts, the first Englishman who visited Meccah, describes a
similar scene during the Hajj of 1680 : — " It was a sight, indeed, able to
pierce one's heart, to behold so many thousands in their garments of
humility and mortification [clad in the white ihrdm], with their naked
heads, and cheeks watered with tears ; and to hear their grievous sighs
and sobs, begging earnestly for the forgiveness of their sins." — A Faith-
ful Account of the Religion and Manners of the Mahometans, etc.

44 THE TRAVELS OF

Mecca. 1 But when we had gone half way, that is, between
Mecca and the mountain where the sacrifice is made, we
found a certain little wall four fathoms high, and at the
loot of the said wall a very great quantity of small stones,
which stones are thrown there by all the people when
they pass that way, for the objects which you shall hear.
They say that when God commanded Abraham that he
should go and sacrifice his son, he went before him, and he
said to his son that he must follow after him, because it was
necessary to fulfil the commandments of God. The son
answered him : " I am well pleased to fulfil the command-
ment of God." And when Isaac' 2 arrived at the above-men-
tioned little wall, they say that the devil appeared to him in
the form of one of his friends and said to him : " My friend
Isaac, where art thou going ?" He answered him : " I am
going to my father, who is waiting for me in such a place."
The devil answered him : " Do not go, my son, for thy
father will sacrifice thee to God and will put thee to death."
And Isaac replied : " Let it be so ; if such be the will of
God, so let it be." The devil then disappeared, and a little
farther on he appeared in the form of another dear friend
of Isaac, and said to him the above-mentioned words. They
relate that Isaac answered with anger : " Let it be so ;" and

1 On this particular occasion the return of the pilgrims may have been
hastened by fear of an apprehended attack from the Bedawin ; but the
same rush, often attended with fatal results, occurs at every Hajj, and
has given to that part of the ceremonies the name of JSd-Defaa min
Arafat, the Hurry from Arafat. " Every man," says Burton, " urged
his beast with might and main : it was sunset ; the plain bristled with
tent-pegs, litters were crushed, pedestrians trampled, and camels over-
thrown ; single combats with sticks and other weapons took place ; —
here a woman, there a child, and there a camel were lost ; briefly, it was
a state of chaotic confusion." The cause of this precipitation is that,
in accordance with the example of Muhammed, the Salat el- Esha, or
Prayer shortly after Sunset, should be said at the mosque of Muzdalifah
about three hours distant.

- Here Varthema is in error. According to Muhammedan theology it
was Ishmael and not Isaac who was ordered to be sacrificed.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 45

took a stone and threw it in the devil's face : and for this
reason, when the people arrive at the said place, each one
throws a stone at the said wall, and then they go to the city. 1
We found in the street of the said city 15,000 or 20,000
doves, which they say are of the stock of that dove which
spoke to Mahomet in the form of the Holy Spirit, 2 which
doves fly about the whole district at their pleasure, that is,
in the shops where they sell grain, millet, rice, and other
vegetable productions. And the owners of the said articles

1 " Bartema alludes to the 'Shay tan el Kabir,' the "Great Devil,' as
the buttress at El Munah is called. His account of Satan's appearance
is not strictly correct. Most Moslems believe that Abraham threw the
stone at the ' Rajim,' — the lapidated one ; but there are various tradi-
tions on the subject." — Burton.

Tbis custom of maledictory lapidation prevails elsewhere in the East.
In 1835, while travelling from Sidon to Tyre, not far from the former
place, my muleteer and another Mussulman who accompanied us each
took up several small stones, at the same time giving me a handful, and
requesting me to follow their example. Shortly after, we came in sight
of a conical heap of loose pebbles and stones which stood in the road, on
approaching which my companions hurled their stones at it with great
vehemence, uttering simultaneously a long string of curses on the me-
mory of a famous robber and murderer, who, as I afterwards learned,
had been killed and buried there half a century before. It has often
occurred to me since, that the ancient practice, recorded in the Old
Testament, of raising a heap of stones, or cairns, over notorious crimi-
nals, may have been analogous to that which I have just mentioned,
and was, perhaps, the origin of the rite instituted by Muhammed of
casting stones at the places where Satan is said to have appeared to
Abraham in the Valley of Muna (more properly, Mina). The language
in which Scripture describes the execution of Achan is remarkable : —
" And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned him with fire after
they had stoned him with stones. And they raised over him a great heap
of stones unto this day." Joshua vii. 25, 26. I think it may fairly
be inferred from this account that the stoning on the occasion was not
only general on the part of the Israelites, but that the action or cere-
mony was, or was intended to be, perpetuated. See also Joshua viii. 29 ;
2 Sam. xviii. 17.

3 " A Christian version of an obscure Moslem legend about a white
dove alighting on the Prophet's shoulder, and appearing to whisper in
his ear whilst he was addressing a congregation." — Burton.

40 THE TRAVELS OF

are not at liberty to kill them or catch them. And if any-
one were to strike any of those doves, they would fear that
the country would be ruined. 1 And you must know that
they cause very great expense within the temple.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE UNICORNS 2 IN THE

TEMPLE OF MECCA, NOT VERY COMMON IN

OTHER PLACES.

In another part of the said temple is an enclosed place in
which there are two live unicorns, and these are shown as

1 " Meccah generally, hut the mosque in particular, abounds with
nocks of pigeons, which are considered the inviolable property of the
temple, and are called the Pigeons of the Beit- Allah. Nobody dares to
kill any of them when they enter private houses. In the square of the
mosque several small stone basins are regularly filled with water for their
use." — Burckhardt, Travels in Arabia, vol. i. p. 227.

When Muhammed, accompanied by Abubekr, fled from Meccah, he
took refuge in a cave of Mount Thor, situated about three miles to the
south of that city, to which spot he was traced by the emissaries of the
hostile chiefs of the Koraish ; but on noticing that a dove or pigeon had
laid its eggs in the narrow passage, and that a spider had spun its web
across it, they discontinued the search, remarking that if the refugees
had entered there, the eggs would have been broken, and the web de-
stroyed. The reverence for the pigeon which prevails among the Mos-
lems of the Hijaz is supposed to originate in this tradition ; neverthe-
less, Burton states that.at El-Medinah it is sometimes used as an article
of food. The same is true of many other parts of the East, but, as a
general rule, Moslems everywhere have a superstitious notion that ill-
luck is associated with the killing of pigeons.

2 Burton remarks that these animals " might possibly have been
African antelopes, which a lusus naturae had deprived of their second
horn," adding, "but the suspicion of fable remains." I was inclined, at
first sight, to coincide in this opinion, and to conclude that Varthema
saw merely two anomalous specimens of the Oryx, by no means an un-
common quadruped on the north-east coast of Africa, judging from the
quantity of its horns brought to Aden by the Somalis. On further re-
flection, however, I am induced to believe that the " unicorns" which
our traveller describes with so much exactness, and which were " shown

LUDOVICO 1)1 VARTHEMA. 47

very remarkable objects, which they certainly are. I will
tell you how they are made. The elder is formed like a

as very remarkable objects," were living representatives of a species of
the antelope family, the existence of which is very generally doubted.

The following extracts on this interesting subject are from the notes
of Dr. Edward Robinson, the learned American editor of Calmet's
Dictionary of the Holy Bible, under the head of " Unicorn," who, among
other authorities, quotes the above testimony of Varthema.

The figure of the unicorn is depicted, according to Niebuhr, on almost
all the staircases found among the ruins of Persepolis. Voyage en Arabie,
vol. ii. p. 109.

Pliny {Hist. Nat. viii. 21) in speaking of the wild beasts of India says :
" The unicorn (fera monoceros) is an exceedingly fierce animal, resem-
bling a horse as to the rest of its body, but having the head like a stag,
the feet like an elephant, and the tail like a wild boar ; its roaring is
loud ; and it has a black horn of about two cubits projecting from the
middle of its forehead." With the exception of the Sacred Scriptures,
these seem to be the chief ancient notices of the existence of the animal
in question.

Don Juan Gabriel, a Portuguese colonel who lived several years in
Abyssinia, assures us, that in the region of Agamos in the Abyssinian
province of Damota, he had seen an animal of the form and size of a
middle-sized horse, of a dark chesnut-browu colour, and with a whitish
horn about five spans long upon the forehead; the mane and tail were
black, and the legs short and slender. (Ludolph, Hist. JEthiop. lib. i.
c. 10.) This account is confirmed by father Lobo, who lived for a long
time as a missionary in Abyssinia. He adds, that the unicorn is ex-
tremely shy, and escapes from closer observation by a speedy flight into
the forests. {Voyage Hist. d'Abyssinie, Amst. 1728, vol. i. p. 83, 291.)

Dr. Sparrman, the Swedish naturalist, who visited the Cape of Good
Hope in 1772-6, gives an account of one Jacob Kock, who had travelled
over the greater part of South Africa, and who had found on the face of
a rock a drawing representing a quadruped with one horn. The Hot-
tentots told him, that the animal there depicted was very like a horse,
but had a straight horn on the forehead. They added that these ani-
mals were rare, that they ran with great rapidity, and were very fierce.

A more definite account of a similar animal is contained in the Trans-
actions of the Zealand Academy of Science at Flushing. (Pt. xv. Mid-
delb. 1792. Pra?f. p. lvi.) The account was transmitted from the Cape
of Good Hope by Mr. Henry Cloete. It states that a bastard Hottentot,
named Gerritt Sliuger, related that while engaged with a party in pur-
suit of the savage Bushmen, they got sight of nine strange animals,
and shot one of them. It resembled a horse, and was of a light-gray

48 THE TRAVELS OF

colt of thirty months old, and he has a horn in the forehead,
which horn is about three braccia in length. The other
unicorn is like a colt of one year old, and he has a horn of
about four palmi long. 1 The colour of the said animal re-
sembles that of a dark bay horse, and his head resembles
that of a stag ; his neck is not very long, and he has some

colour, with white stripes under the lower jaw. It had a single horn,
directly in front, as long as one's arm, and at the base about as thick.
The hoofs were round like those of a horse, but divided below like those
of oxen. Mr. Cloete mentions that several different natives and Hotten-
tots testify to the existence of a similar animal with one horn.

The Quarterly Review for October 1820 (vol. xxiv. p. 120) contains a
letter from Major Latter, commanding in the Rajah of Sikkim's terri-
tories, addressed to the Adjutant-General Nicol, wherein he explicitly
states that the unicorn, so long considered a fabulous animal, actually
exists at this moment in the interior of Thibet, where it is well known
to the inhabitants, and is called by them the one-horned tso'po. They
describe it as being as large as a middling-sized horse ; fierce and ex-
tremely wild ; seldom, if ever, caught alive, but frequently shot.

A paragraph in the Calcutta Government Gazette, August 1821, gives
the following sequel to the foregoing: " Major Latter has obtained the
horn of a young unicorn from the Sachia Lama, which is now before us.
He expects shortly to obtain the head of the animal, with the hoofs and
skin, which will afford positive proof of the form and character of the
tso'fo, or Thibet unicorn."

Whether Major Latter's expectation was ever realized, I am unable
to say; but Professor Owen, whom I had the pleasure of consulting on
the subject, regards the existence of the unicorn as mythical, to be classed
with the mermaid and sea serpent, and he consequently infers that Var-
thema, however trustworthy on other matters of fact, was led astray
in this instance, either through zoological ignorance, preconceived notions,
or defective examination, or, perhaps, by a combination of these draw-
backs. Not presuming, for a moment, to contest the learned professor's
opinion, which is unquestionably founded on pre-eminent knowledge of
this branch of science, I am still disposed, nevertheless, to rely on the
credibility of Varthema, and to believe that he saw at Meccah two ordi-
nary specimens of the famous unicorn, an animal which further research
in the unexplored parts of Central Africa, or among the mountains of
Thibet, may yet bring to light.

1 Varthema's scale of measurements was probably Venetian. What
it was in his time I have not ascertained. The modern braccia at Venice
varies from 25.08 to 26.87 inches. The palmo is 3.937 inches.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 49

thin and short hair which hangs on one side ; his legs are
slender and lean like those of a goat ; the foot is a little
cloven in the fore part, and long and goat-like, and there are
some hairs on the hind part of the said legs. Truly this
monster must be a very fierce and solitary animal. These
two animals were presented to the Sultan of Mecca as the
finest things that could be found in the world at the present
day, and as the richest treasure ever sent by a king of
Ethiopia, that is, by a Moorish king. He made this present
in order to secure an alliance with the said Sultan of Mecca.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING SOME OCCURRENCES BE-
TWEEN MECCA AND ZIDA A PORT OF MECCA.

I must here show how the human intellect manifests itself
under certain circumstances, in so far as it became necessary
for me to exercise it in order to escape from the caravan of
Mecca. Having gone to make some purchases for my
captain, I was recognized by a Moor who looked me in the
face and said to me : " In te menaine ?" that is, " Where are
you from ?" I answered : " I am a Moor." He replied :
" In te chedeab," that is, " You are not telling the truth."
I said to him : "Orazalnabi Aneymuz lemma," that is, "By
the head of Mahomet, I am a Moor." He answered: "Thale
beithane," that is, " Come to my house ;" and I went with
him. 1 When I had arrived at his house, he spoke to me in
Italian, and told me where I had come from, and that he
knew that I was not a Moor, and he told me that he had

1 Anta min ain ? Where are you from ?
Anta kadh-dhdb. You are a liar.

Wa-rds en-Nabi ana Muslim. By the head of the Prophet, I am a
Moslem.

Tudl ila beitana. Come to our house.

50 THE TRAVELS OF

been in Genoa and in Venice, and gave me proofs of it.
When I heard this, I told him that I was a Roman, and that
I had become a Mameluke at Cairo. When he heard this
he was much pleased, and treated me with very great honour,
and as it was my intention to proceed further, I began to say
to him, if this was the city of Mecca which was so renowned
through all the world, where were the jewels and spices, and
where were all the various kinds of merchandize which it
was reported were brought there. I asked him this only
that he might tell me why they had not arrived as usual,
and in order not to ask him if the king of Portugal was the
cause, he being Lord of the Mare Occano [the Atlantic] and
of the Persian and Arabian Gulfs. Then he began to tell
me by degrees why the said articles had not come as they
were accustomed to do. And when he told me that the king
of Portugal was the cause, I pretended to be much grieved,
and spoke great ill of the said king, merely that he might
not think that I was pleased that the Christians should make
such a journey. 1 When he saw that I displayed hostility to
the Christians, he showed me yet greater honour, and told
me everything point by point. And when I was well in-
formed, I said to him : " 0, my friend, I beg you, Mena-
hamena lhabi, 2 to tell me some mode or way by which I may
escape from the caravan, because my intention is to go to find
those beings who are hostile to the Christians ; for I assure
you that, if they knew what I am capable of, they would
send to find me even to Mecca." He answered me : " By
the faith of our prophet what can you do ?" I answered
him that I was the most skilful maker of large mortars in
the world. Hearing this he said : " Mahomet be ever

1 According to the Kurrat el-Ayun, a manuscript History of Yemen
in my possession, the Portuguese had seized seven native ships be-
tween India and the Persian Gulf, and massacred their crews, prior to
Varthema's visit to Meccah. See note on p. 61.

2 Probably atmaannak min en-Nabi, I beseech you from (or, for the
sake of,) the Prophet.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 51

praised, who has sent us such a man to serve the Moors and
God." So he concealed me in his house with his wife.
And he begged me that I would induce our captain to drive
out from Mecca fifteen camels laden with spices, and this he
did in order not to pay thirty seraphim to the Sultan for the
toll. I replied that if he would save me in this house, I
would enable him to carry off a hundred camels if he had
so many, for the Mamelukes have this privilege. And when
he heard this he was much pleased. Afterwards, he in-
structed me in the manner in which I should conduct my-
self, and directed me to a king who is in the parts of India
Major, and who is called the king of Deccan. When the
time comes we will speak of that king. The day before
the caravan set out he concealed me in his house in a secret
place. In the morning, two hours before day, there went
through the city a great quantity of instruments and trumpets,
sounding according to their custom, and making proclama-
tion that all the Mamelukes, under pain of death, should
mount their horses and commence their journey towards
Syria. Whereupon, my heart was seized with a great per-
turbation when I heard this proclamation, and I earnestly
recommended myself with tears to the wife of the said mer-
chant, and besought God that he would save me from such
violence. On Tuesday morning the said caravan departed,
and the merchant left me in his house with his wife ; and
he went with the caravan, and told his wife, that on the
following Friday, she must send me away in company with
the caravan of India which was going to Zida, which is a
port of Mecca, forty miles distant. I cannot express the
kindness I received from this lady, and especially from her
niece of fifteen years old, they promising me that, if I would
remain there, they would make me rich. But I declined all
their offers on account of the present danger. When
Friday came, I set out with the caravan at noon, to the no
small regret of the said ladies, who made great lamentations,

52 THK TRAVELS OF

and at midnight we arrived at a certain city of Arabia, and
remained there all night and until noon of the following
day. On Saturday we departed and travelled until mid-
night, when we entered into the said port ' of the city of
Zida.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING ZIDA, 1 THE PORT OF MECCA,
AND OF THE RED SEA.

This city is not surrounded by walls, but by very beautiful
houses, as is the custom in Italy ; we will, therefore, not
dwell long on a description of it. 2 It is a city of very ex-
tensive traffic, because a great number of the pagan people
come here ; the reason being that neither Christians nor Jews
are admitted. 3 When I had arrived at the said city I imme-
diately entered into a mosque, that is, a temple, where there
were at least 25,000 poor people, and I hid myself in a corner
of the said temple, and remained there for fourteen days.
All day long I remained stretched upon the ground covered
up with my garments, and keeping up a constant groaning

1 Jiddah, or, more correctly, Juddah,

2 The present wall which surrounds Juddah on the land side was built
by El-Ashraf Kansooh El-Ghoree, the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt, a.h.
917, or thirteen years after the date of Varthema's visit. The town is
superior to any in the Hijaz : the houses are well built of stone and
madrepore, and consist generally of two stories.

3 The rule which excluded all but Muhammedans from Juddah has
been practically rescinded within the last half century, and there are
now several Christian merchants, chiefly Greeks, resident in the town.
Niebuhr experienced greater civility there than in Egypt, but he was
warned against approaching the gate leading to Meccah. At the period
of Burckhardt's visit there were no Christians settled in Juddah, but a
few Greeks from the islands of the Archipelago brought merchandize to
the market from Egypt. He says : " In the time of the Sherifs they
were much restricted, compelled to wear a particular dress, and prohi-
bited from approaching the Meccah gate ; but the Turks, having become
masters of the Hijaz, abolished these restrictions, and a Christian now
enjoys complete liberty there."

LUD0V1C0 DI VARTHEMA. 53

as though I were suffering intense pain in my stomach aiftl
body. The merchants said: "Who is that who is lament-
ing so ?" The poor people who were near me said : " It is
a poor Moor, who is dying." Every evening when night
came I quitted the mosque and went to buy food. I leave
you to judge whether or no I had an appetite, eating
only once a day, and that very badly. This city is governed
by the lord of Cairo. The lord of it is one who is a brother
of Barachet, that is, of the Saltan of Mecca. 1 They are sub-
ject to the Grand Sultan of Cairo. There does not occur
to me much to say here, for they are Moors. The land does
not produce one single thing, and there is a great scarcity
of water, that is to say, of fresh water.- The sea beats
against the walls of the houses. 3 All sorts of necessaries are
found here, but they come from Cairo, from Arabia Felix,
and from other places. In this city there are always a great
number of sick people, and they say that this is in consequence
of the bad air of the place. It contains about five hundred
families. 4 At the end of fourteen days I made an agreement

1 This is another striking proof of Varthema's general correctness.
The patronymic of the ruling Sherif of Meccah at the time was Barakat,
of which family several notices, collected from Arabian historians, have
already been given in the Introduction.

2 With the exception of a few palm-trees near one of the mosques
there is no vegetation of any kind in Juddah, and the country beyond is
a barren desert. Rain water is carefully preserved in cisterns, with
which many of the houses are provided ; but most of that used for drink-
iug is drawn from wells about one mile and a half distant on the south-
ern side. Water, indeed, may be found everywhere in the vicinity at
a depth of a few feet from the surface, but it is so brackish as scarcely
to be drinkable.

3 Only to a very small extent now, and that at high water, or, more cor-
rectly, according to the winds, by which the tides in the harbour are greatly
influenced. This circumstance seems to corroborate Niebuhr's opinion
that the sea had gradually receded from the town: the combined result,
perhaps, of growing coral-reefs and silt. Voyage en Arable, vol. i. p. 222.

4 The population is much larger now. Ali Bey estimated it at 5,000,
which was probably an exaggeration. Burton, on the authority of Mr.
Cole, H.M. late vice-consul at Jiddah, states ic to be 2,500, but thinks
that figure too low.

54 THE TRAVELS OF

with the master of a vessel which was going towards Persia,
for in the said port there were about one hundred ships
great and small. Three days afterwards we set sail, and
began to navigate the Red Sea.

THE CHAPTER SHOWING WHY THE RED SEA IS NOT
NAVIGABLE.

It will be understood that this sea is not red, but that the
water is like that of any other sea. In this sea we sailed
one day until the setting of the sun, because it is not pos-
sible to navigate it during the night time. And every day
they proceeded in this manner until they arrived at an
island called Chameram. 1 After this island you can proceed
in safety. The reason why it is not possible to sail during
night is, that there are many islands and many rocks, and
it is necessary that a man should always be stationed on the
top of the mast of the ship in order to see the route, which
cannot be done during the night-time, and therefore they
can only navigate during the day. 2

3 Camran, generally written Camaran.

3 The same precautions are still taken to avoid the numerous coral-
reefs, sunken rocks, and dangerovis patches, which exist between Leet,
about ninety miles to the south of Juddah, and the island of Cainrau.
The navigation below the latter place is much more easy.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 55

THE SECOND BOOK
OF ARABIA FELIX.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE CITY OF GEZAN, 1 AND OP
ITS FERTILITY.

Having discoursed of the places, cities, and customs of the
people of Arabia Deserta, as far as it was permitted me to
see them, it appears to me that it will be proper, with brevity
and more happily, to enter upon Arabia Felix. At the end
of six days we arrived at a city which is called Gezan,
which city has a very fine port ; and we found there forty-
five vessels belonging to different countries. This city is
situated on the sea shore, and is subject to a Moorish lord,
and is a district very fruitful and good, like Christian coun-
tries. Here there are very good grapes and peaches,

1 Jeezan, or Gheeziin, is situated in a fertile district, but the town Las
fallen into decay. It has a few stone buildings, but the principal part
consists of grass huts, with pyramidal tops. It possesses a large fort,
in a ruinous condition, and the small bazaar is now scantily supplied
with such provisions as the natives use, the principal of which is the
dhurah (Varthema's " dora"), a species of millet, extensively culti-
vated throughout Yemen, where it is called tadm. There is a good
inner anchorage for small boats off the town. The dress of the male
portion of the population, like that of the common Arabs of the country
generally, consists of a cotton cloth, called a footah, worn round the
loins. El-Edrisi states that the district of Jeezan was occupied by a
family of the famous tribe of Ghassan (the Ghassanides,) which proba-
bly became extinct, or was made subject by the Imams of Yemen, during
the thirteenth century of our era. Niebuhr, Voyage en Arable, vol. iii. p.
232. See also Moresby's Sailing Directions for the Red Sea, pp. 27, 28.

56 THE TRAVELS OF

quinces, pomegranates, very strong garlic, tolerable onions,
excellent nuts, melons, roses, flowers, nectarines, figs, gourds,
citrons, lemons, and sour oranges, so that it is a paradise.
The inhabitants of this city go almost naked, and live after
the manner of the Moors. There is here abundance of flesh,
grain, barley, and white millet, which they call clora, and
which makes good bread. We remained here three days
in order to lay in provisions.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING SOME PEOPLE CALLED
BADUIN.'

Departing from the said city Gezan, we went for five days
always in sight of land, that is to say, the land was on our
left hand ; and seeing some habitations on the sea shore, we
disembarked fourteen of our people to ask for some provi-
sions in exchange for our money. They answered our request
by beginning to throw stones at us with slings, and these were
certain people who are called Baduin : they were in number
more than one hundred, and we were only fourteen. We
fought with them for about an hour, so that twenty-four of
them remained dead on the field, and all the others took to
flight; for they were naked, and had no other arms than these
slings. We took all that we could, namely, fowls, calves,
oxen, and other things fit to eat. In the course of two or three
hours the disturbance began to increase, as did also the inha-

1 Bedouin, or more correctly Bedawin, sing. Bedawy. From the col-
lective Bedu, properly ' a desert.' Hence the literal rendering is
' desert-men ;' but the designation is frequently applied to Arabs who
inhabit the open country in contradistinction to those who dwell in towns.
In this instance, however, Varthema may have taken the term from the
village El-Bedawi, there being one of that name midway between Jeezau
and Camran. Another locality in the neighbourhood, called Khabt el-
Bakkar, Niebuhr describes as being inhabited by some wandering fami-
lies who were accused of plundering all travellers who came in their
way. Voyage en Arable, vol. iii. p. 233.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 57

bitants of the said land, so that they were more than six
hundred, and we were obliged to withdraw to our ship.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE ISLAND OF THE RED
SEA CALLED CHAMARAM. 1

On that same day we took our course towards an island
called Chamaram, which island appears to be ten or twelve
miles in circumference, where there is a place containing
about two hundred families, which is inhabited by Moors.
In this said island there is sweet fresh water and flesh, and the
best salt I ever saw is made there. It has a port towards
the mainland, from which it is distant about eight miles.
This island is subject to the Sultan of the Amanni, 2 that is,
the Sultan of Arabia Felix, and we remained there two
days. We then steered towards the mouth of the Red Sea,
and for two days you can navigate in safety night and day,
but from the island to Zida you cannot navigate by night.
And when we had arrived at the said mouth, it really ap-

1 Camran is eleven miles long and from two to four broad. There are
seven villages on the island, consisting mostly of huts belonging to the
fishermen employed on the neighbouring pearl banks and turtle islands.
Several spots are under cultivation, good water is plentiful, and other
supplies, such as oxen and sheep, are tolerably abundant ; for which
reasons, as well as on account of its secure harbour, the island is much
frecpiented by native vessels trading between the coasts of India and
Persia and the Red Sea.

" " Soldano delli Amanni." This was either the reigning Imam of

Sanaa, or Sultan 'Amir ibn Abd el-Wahhab. The latter, about this
period, was contesting the sovereignty of Yemen with the former, and
had already succeeded in wresting from him a large portion of the
southern districts, including the sea-board. As Varthema does not men-
tion the term " Imam," the ordinary designation of the rulers at Sanaa,
and which he must frequently have heard used, I apprehend that he
misconstrued the title into the name of a country or people, and then
Italianized it, distorting " Imam" into " Amanni." Or, it may be a
contraction and corruption of [Amir el-Mu~\amanin, (Lord of the Faith-
ful,) another title common to all the Imams of Sanaa.

58 THE TRAVELS OF

pcarcd as though we were within a hemmed-in house ; for that
embouchure is about two or three miles wide, and on the right
hand thereof there is land about ten paces high and unin-
habited, so far as we could perceive from a distance. On
the left hand of the said embouchure there is a very high
mountain, and it is of stone ; and in the middle of the said
embouchure there is a certain little uninhabited island which
is called Bebmendo. 1 Those who wish to go to Zeilla take
the route on the right hand, and those who want to go to
Aden take that on the left hand ; and this we did in order
to go to Aden, and we always sailed in sight of land. From
the said Bebmendo we arrived at the city of Aden in a little
less than two days and a half.

1 The narrowest part of the " Little Strait" is one and a half mile wide.
Varthema's description of the low land on the African side, and the
" very high mountain" on the Arabian side, (Bab el-Mandeb Cape,) is
remarkably correct. Native craft going from the Red Sea to Zeila, or
any other ports on the former coast, still take the right or wider chan-
nel ; those bound for Aden the left. By a pardonable misconception,
however, he gives the name of the two Straits, "Babmendo," (Bab el-
Mendeb) to the small island which forms them, and which will be re-
cognized at once as Perim, called by the natives, Mayun.

The Arabs have a tradition respecting the formation of the Straits of
Bab el-Mandeb which, for its absurdity, surpasses very many of their ex-
travagant legends. I quote the following from a manuscript in my pos-
session, entitled Tdrikh Thaghr 'Aden (a History of the Valley of
Aden), written by the learned and devout Kadhi, Aboo-Abdallah bin
Ahmed Muhrirn. He says : " Formerly from Kalzam [the Gulf of
Suez?] to Aden, and beyond the mountains of Socotra, all was dry
land : there was no sea, and no outlet ; but when Alexander the Great,
in his voyage round the world, came here, he opened a gulf wherein the
sea flowed until it was arrested near the mountains of Bab el-Mandeb,
whereby Aden was surrounded by water, and nothing was visible there
but the tops of the mountains jutting up into peaks Then Alex-
ander, (but others say, some other person,) cut a passage through Bab
el-Mandeb, whereby the water rushed in and filled the whole of El-Kal-
zam. When the rush was over, Aden rose up, and the waters about it
were drained in the direction of Esh-Sham."

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 59

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE CITY OF ADEN, AND OF
SOME CUSTOMS RESPECTING THE MERCHANTS.

Aden is the strongest city that was ever seen on level
ground. It has walls on two sides, and on the other sides
there are very large mountains. On these mountains there
are five castles, and the land is level, and contains about
five thousand or six thousand families. 1 The market is held
at two o'clock in the night, on account of the intense heat
in the city during the day.- At a stone's cast from this
city there is a mountain, upon which stands a castle, and at
the foot of this mountain the ships cast anchor. 3 This city

1 The ruins of these towers still exist, also of the two walls, one of
which extended along the shore of " Front Bay" (which appears to have
been the principal harbour at that period), and the other over the heights
commanding Bandar Hokkat, now called Holket Bay. These walls, con-
necting as they did the Mansuri heights on the north-east with the
offshoots of the lofty Shamsan range on the south-west, completely en-
closed the area where the town of Aden is situated, and which seems at
one time to have been the crater of a volcano, forming a tolerably per-
fect circle from one to one mile and a half in diameter. According to
the Arabian author last quoted, most of these fortifications were built by
'Othman ez-Zenjily, who was appointed governor of that district by
Tooran Shah bin Ayyub, brother of the famous Salah ed-Din (Saladin),
Sultan of Egypt, on his departure from Yemen in the year of the Hijrah
571, a.d. 1175. Ez-Zenjily erected many other public buildings at
Aden, some of which were standing when the British captured the
place in 1839 ; but his rapacity rendered him odious to the in-
habitants, and on hearing of the approach of Taghtakin, another
brother of Salah ed-Din, who was sent with an army against Yemen,
a. h. 579, he fled from Aden, and died at Damascus four years
after.

2 An incidental proof that Varthema was at Aden during the hot
season, which lasts from May to October. By " two o'clock in the night,"
I understand two hours after sunset.

3 The mountain here mentioned is the small island of Seerah, which
has lately been joined to Aden by a causeway. The following absurd
tradition respecting this spot is recorded by the author above quoted :
" Cain, having killed his brother Abel, and being afraid of his father
Adam, fled from India to Aden, and took up his abode on Seerah. Be-
coming sad at the separation from his home and relatives, Satan appeared

GO THE TRAVELS OF

is extremely beautiful, and the capital of Arabia Felix. It
is the rendezvous for all the ships which come from
India Major and Minor, from Ethiopia and from Persia.
All the ships which are bound for Mecca put in here. As
soon as a ship comes into port, the officers of the Sultan of
the said city board it, and desire to know whence it comes,
the nature of its cargo, and when it left its own country, and
how many persons there arc on board. And when they
have obtained all this information, they remove from the
said ship the masts, sails, rudder, and anchors, and carry
them all into the said city ; and this they do in order that
the said persons may not depart without paying the dues to
the Sultan. 1 The second day after my arrival in the said
city I was taken and put in irons, and this occurred through
one of my companions, who said to me : " Christian dog, son
of a dog." Some Moors heard this speech, and through
this I was taken with great violence to the palace of the
Vice-Sultan, and they immediately consulted whether they
should at once put me to death, because the Sultan was not
in the city. They said that I was a spy of the Christians.
But as the Sultan of this country never puts any one to

to him, and presented him with sundry musical instruments, such as the
lute, with which he managed to amuse himself." According to another
tradition, the fire of the day of judgment is to spring from this rock ;
and the same author states that a well existed there up to a compara-
tively recent period, from the bottom of which flames used to issue, and
that the end of a rope, let down by way of experiment in the presence
of many witnesses, was found to be burnt on being drawn up. There is
nothing improbable in this story, for the peninsula of Aden is undoubt-
edly of volcanic origin, and the same igneous agency still occasionally
manifests itself among the Zebair islands in the Red Sea, and on the
opposite coast of Africa.

The Portuguese, under Lopez Soarez de Albergaria, occupied the
island of Seerah in 1516, and during their short stay repaired the old
fort which stood on its summit, and further strengthened the position
by enclosing it with a strong wall, the remains of which are still extant.

1 This is a common custom with the native chiefs on the Arabian
shores when they wish to detain a vessel.

LUDOVICO Dl VARTHEMA. 61

death, these people respected my life, and kept me sixty-five
days with eighteen pounds' weight of iron on my feet. On
the third day after we had been taken, there ran to the
palace forty or sixty Moors, belonging to two or three ships
which had been captured by the Portuguese, 1 and who had
escaped by swimming, and they said that we belonged to
these Portuguese ships, and that we had come there as spies.
For this fancy of theirs they ran to the palace in the greatest
fury, with arms in their hands to slay us ; but through the
merciful intervention of God, those who guarded us fastened
the door on the inner side. At this report the district rose
in arms, and some desired that we should die and some not.
At last the Vice-Sultan obtained that we should be spared.
At the end of sixty-five days the Sultan sent for us, and we
were both taken on a camel, still, however, with the said
irons on our feet. We were eight days on the road, and
were then presented to the Sultan at a city called Rhada.
At the time when we arrived at the city the Sultan was
reviewing eighty thousand men, because he was about to go
to war with another Sultan of a city called Sana, which is
distant from Rhada three days' journey. 2 This city lies

1 The following passage, which I translate from the Kurrat el-Ay&n,
confirms this statement: "In this year [a.h. 908=a.d. 1502, about one
year before Varthema's arrival at Aden], the ships of the Sultan of the
Franks made their appearance in the sea between India and the island
of Hormuz. They seized seven vessels and murdered most of the
crews."

2 Radaa is situated about one hundred and sixty miles north of Aden,
and sixty to the south of Sanaa. The town possesses a strong citadel
and several detached forts, now in a very ruinous condition. The name
in full is Radaii el-'Arsh.

The preparations for an expedition against Sanaa, incidentally mentioned
by Varthema, are strikingly corroborated by the following extract from
the Kurrat el-Ayun : " In the month of Safar of this year [a.h. 910 =
a.d. 1503-4] El-Meleh Edh-Dhafir, [The Victorious King, the surname

given to 'Amir ibn Abd el-Wahhab, the then reigning Sultan of Aden
and southern Yemen], projected an attack on Sanaa, and made pre-
parations accordingly. To that end he despatched several of his

62 THE TRAVELS OF

partly on an acclivity and partly on the plain, 1 and it is very
beautiful and ancient, populous and rich. "When we were
presented before the Sultan he asked me whence I came. I
answered : "Anabletrom iasidi anaigi assalem menel Cayro
anegi Medinathalnaby & Mecca & badanigi bledech cul ragel
calem inte sidi seich hiasidi ane abdech Inte maarf sidi ane
musolimim." That is, the Sultan said : ' Whence are you
and what do you purpose doing ?" I answered : " that I was
a Roman, that I had become a Mameluke at Cairo, that I
had been to Medina, to Naby, where Mahomet is buried,
and to Mecca, and that then I had come to see his High-
ness ; because through all Syria, and at Mecca, and at
Medina, it was said that he was a saint, and if he was a saint,
(as I believed), he must know that I was not a spy of the
Christians, and that I was a good Moor and his slave." 2

officers to the Tihama to levy a force from among the Arabs, and in the
month of Rabiii el-Akhir, a body of Arab horsemen, consisting of the
Ziialiyyin, the Samiyyin, the Kahra, the Munasika, the Warnah, the
Lamiyyin, the Kaabiyyin, the Miiazibah, and the 'Arshiyyin, proceeded
to the seat of government. And in the same month our lord [the Sultan]
marched towards Sanaa, stopping for some days at Radaa el-'Arsh, from
whence he went to Dhamar, and on the twenty-second of the same month
to Sanaa, before which city he halted with a very large army and many
terrible engines of war, and he pressed the siege until the date herein-
after mentioned." It seems highly probably that Varthema's interview
with the Sultan at Radaa, occurred during the short stay made by the
latter at that place while on his march towards Sanaa.

1 The passage in the original is : " Et e questa Citta parte in costa,
parte in piano." As the town of Radaii is nearly two hundred miles
from the sea, Varthema undoubtedly uses the word "costa" in the sense
given above, which is, moreover, locally correct. Dante affixes the same
signification to it : —

" Lo sommo er' alto, che vincea la vista,
E la costa superba piu assai
Che da mezzo cpuadrante al centro lista."

Del Puroatorio, Canto iv.

which Boccacio paraphrases thus : " L' acclivita di essa costa rispetto al
piano orizontale era assai maggiore di 45 gradi."

2 Ana \_min~\baldd er- Rilm, ya sidi. Ana&ji asallim min el-Kdhirah.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 63

Then said the Sultan: "Say, Leila ilala Mahometh resul-
lala." 1 But I could not pronounce the words at all, whether
such were the will of God, or through the fear which had
seized me. The Sultan, seeing that I could not pronounce
these words, commanded that I should be thrown into prison
and kept with the greatest strictness by the men of eighteen
castles, that is, four for each castle. They remained four
days, and then were changed for four others from four other
castles. And in this order they guarded me for three
months, with a loaf of millet in the morning and one in the
evening, although six of these loaves would not have suf-
ficed me for one day, and sometimes I should have been
well pleased if I could have had enough water.

Two days afterwards, the Sultan took the field, and
marched to the said city Sana with his army, in which there
were three thousand horsemen, sons of Christians, as black
as Moors. They were of those of Prester John, 2 whom they

Ana aji Medinut-en-Nabi, u-a-Meccah, wa-hiiad ana aji baladak. Kid
rajid kallam ; Anta, sidi, sheikh. Ya sidi, ana abdak. Anta ma tuaraf,
sidi, ana Muslim ? " I am of the country of Rum, my lord. I became
a Muhammedan at Cairo. I came to El-Medinah of the Prophet, to
Meccah, and then I came to your country. Every one says, sir, you are
a sheikh. Sir, I am your slave. Do you not know, sir, that I am a
Mussulman ?"

1 La Huh ilia Allah ; Muhammed Rasdl Allah. " There is no god
but the God ; Muhammed is the Prophet of God."

2 That is, Abyssinians, " Prester John " being the fanciful name which
the Portuguese had given to the Emperor of that people during the
preceding century. The late Professor Lee, in a note on the^ title of
" Rasul" {sent or commissioned), which Ibn Batuta, in his Travels, says
had been maintained by some of the Sultans of Yemen up to his time be-
cause their grandfather was so called when commissioned as the Emir of
Yemen by one of the Khalifs of the house of 'Abbas, remarks as fol-
lows : — " A title of this sort seems to have originated the Prester John of
Abyssinia, of which the missionary accounts said so much. A Tartar king
seems also to have assumed this title, which in Persian was translated
Ferishta Jan, John the Angel, probably because he had received Christ-
ianity. Hence the European ' Prester John ;' but how this became
ascribed to the King of Abyssinia, it is not easy to say, unless he had

64 THE TRAVELS OF

purchased at the age of eight or nine years, and had them
trained to arms. These constituted his own guard, because
they were worth more than all the rest of the eighty thou-
sand. The others were all naked, with the exception of a
piece of linen worn like a mantle. When they enter into
battle they use a kind of round shield, made of two pieces of
cow hide or ox hide fastened together. In the centre of the
said round shields there are four rods, which keep them
straight. These shields are painted, so that they appear to
those who see them to be the handsomest and best that could
be made. They are about as large as the bottom of a tub,
and the handle consists of a piece of wood of a size that can
be grasped by the hand, fastened by two nails. They also
carry in their hand a dart and a short and broad sword, and
wear a cloth vest of red or some other colour stuffed with
cotton, which protects them from the cold and also from their
enemies. They make use of this when they go out to fight.
They all also generally carry a sling for the purpose of
throwing stones wound round their heads, and under this
sling they carry a piece of wood, a span in length, which is
called mesuech, with which they clean their teeth, 1 and gene-
rally from forty or fifty years downwards they wear two
horns made of their own hair, so that they look like young
kids. 2 The said Sultan also takes with his army five thou-

assurned the title mentioned here by our traveller which belonged to the
King of Yemen." Travels of Ibn BatMa, p. 54, n.

1 This custom still prevails throughout Yemen. The Misivdk, which
is generally carried about the head-dress, is made from the branch of an
indigenous shrub, the wood of which is very fibrous, and is covered with
a tough spongy bark, about an inch of which is cut off in order to allow
the enclosed fibres to expand, thereby forming the tooth-brush. The
Indigo/era pancifiora is applied to a similar purpose in Scinde and by
the Hindus of India.

2 This style of wearing the hair is peculiar, I believe, to some of the
tribes of central Yemen ; but I have seen a similar coiffure among the
African female slaves at Zanzibar. The Arabs nearer the coast, generally
bind their long shaggy hair lightly on the top of the head, leaving the
ends to form a large waving tuft.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 65

sand camels laden with tents, all of cotton, and also ropes of
cotton. 1

CHAPTER CONCERNING THE PARTIALITY OF THE WOMEN
OF ARABIA FELIX FOR WHITE MEN.

Having seen this army depart, let us return to my prison.
In the said palace of the city there was one of the three
wives of the Sultan, who remained there with twelve or
thirteen very beautiful damsels, whose colour was more near
to black than otherwise. This queen was very kind to me.
I and my companion and a Moor, being all three in prison
here, we arranged that one of us should pretend to be mad,
in order the better to assist one another. Finally, the lot fell

1 It is remarkable that in the foregoing account of the weapons borne
by the Arabs no mention is made of fire-arms, and I find from the
Chronicles of the Kurrat el-Ayihi, and likewise from the Ruiih er-Ruah,
another MS. in my possession, that they were not generally known in
Yemen before a.h. 921 = a.d. 1515, when they were introduced by
the Egyptian expedition, and used with murderous effect on the inha-
bitants of the coast opposite Camran, which island they had previously
seized and fortified. A year later, the Egyptian forces were joined by a
Turkish fleet and army under Suleiman Pasha, who had been sent by
Sultan Selim to cooperate with them against the Portuguese ; for the
attack made on Yemen by the former does not appear to have been
authorized by Kansooh el-Ghoree, the then reigning sovereign of Egypt.
The following is a description given by the author of the Kurrat el-
Ay An of the Turkish matchlock : — " The soldiers of the Lord of the Room
were armed with musket-bows with which they took aim. It is a most
wonderful weapon, and whoever confronts it must be overcome. It is
something like a gun, only it is longer and thinner. It is hollow, and in
this hollow is inserted a piece of lead as large as a lote berry, and it is
filled with powder, and then discharged by means of a match at the
bottom of the musket, and if it strikes any one he must perish, for it
goes in at one side of him and comes out at the other."

Slings as well as bows and arrows had ceased to be used by the Arabs
of Yemen as far back as Niebuhr's time. {Voyage en Arable, vol. iii. p.
187, n.) They are now generally armed with matchlocks ; those who
do not possess that weapon carry a sword or spear ; but all are provided
with thejanbeah, or curved dirk, worn in a girdle round tie waist.

(;() THE TRAVELS OF

upon me to be mad. Having then taken this enterprise
upon myself, it behoved me to do such things as were natu-
ral to madmen. Truly, I never found myself so wearied or
so exhausted as during the first three days that I feigned
madness. The reason was that I had constantly behind me
fifty or sixty little children, who threw stones at me, and I
threw stones at them. They cried out: " Iami iasion Iami
ianun ;" that is to say : " Madman." 1 And I had my shirt
constantly full of stones, and acted like a madman. The
queen was always at her window with her damsels, and re-
mained there from morning till evening to see me and talk
with me ; and I, being mocked by many men and merchants,
taking off my shirt, went, quite naked as I was, before the
queen, who took the greatest delight in seeing me, and would
not let me leave her, and gave me good and sound food to
eat, so that I gained my point. She also said to me : " Give
it to those beasts, for if you kill them it will be their own
fault." A sheep was passing through the king's court, the
tail of which weighed forty pounds. I seized it and de-
manded of it if it was a Moor, or a Christian, or, in truth, a
Jew ; and repeating these words to it and many others I
said : " Prove yourself a Moor and say : Leila illala Ma-
hometh resullala ;" and he, standing like a patient animal
which could not speak, I took a stick and broke all its four
legs. The queen stood there laughing, and afterwards fed
me for three days on the flesh of it, than which I do not
know that I ever ate better. Three days afterwards I killed,
in the same manner as I had killed the sheep, an ass which
was carrying water to the palace, because he would not
become a Moor. Acting in the same manner by a Jew, I
cudgelled him to such an extent that I left him for dead.
But one day, being about to act in my usual manner, I came
across one of those who had me in custody, and who was
more mad than I was, who said to me : " Christian dog, son
1 Yamajrv&n! Va majw&n ! Madman! Madman !

LUD0V1C0 DI VAKTHEMA. 67

of a dog." I threw a good many stones at him, and he
began to turn towards me with all the children, and struck
me with a stone in the breast which did me an ill service.
I, not being able to follow him on account of the irons on
my feet, took the way to my prison ; but before I reached
it he struck me with another stone in the side, which gave me
much more pain than the first. I could easily have avoided
both if I had chosen to do so, but I chose to receive them to
give colour to my madness. And therefore I immediately
entered my prison and blocked myself in with very large
stones, and remained there two days and two nights without
eating or drinking. The queen and the others feared that I
might be dead, and caused the door to be broken open, and
these dogs brought me some pieces of marble, saying: "Eat,
this is sugar ;" and some others gave me grapes 1 filled with
earth, and said that it was salt, and I eat the marble and the
grapes and everything, all together. On that same day,
some merchants belonging to the city brought two men who
were esteemed amongst them as two hermits would be
amongst us, and who dwelt in certain mountains. I was
shown to them, and the merchants asked these men-: " Whe-
ther did it appear to them that I was holy or mad ?" One
of them said : " It appears to me that he is holy ;" the other
said it appeared to him that I was mad. In this way they
kept disputing for more than an hour, and I, in order to get
rid of them, raised my shirt and p — d over them both ;
whereupon they began to run away crying out : " Migenon
migenon suffi maffis," that is, " He is mad, he is mad, he
is not holy." The queen was at her window with her
maidens, and seeing this they all began to laugh, saying :
" O achala o raza al Naby ade ragel maphe donia metha-
lon ;" that is, " By the good God, by the head of Mahomet,

1 Radaa is famous for its grapes. Most of those which are sent to
the Aden market come from that district.

F 2

68 THE TRAVELS OF

this is the most capital fellow in the world." 1 The next
morning I found asleep him who had given me the two
blows with the stones. I seized him by the horns, 2 and put-
ting my knees upon the pit of his stomach, gave him so
many blows upon the face that he was covered with blood,
and I left him for dead. The queen remained standing at
her window, exclaiming : " Kill those beasts." The govern
nor of that city, discovering through many circumstances
that my companions treacherously wished to escape, and had
made a hole in their prison and removed their irons, and
that I had not done so, and as he knew that the queen took
great pleasure in me, he would not do me any injury until
he had spoken with her ; who, when she had heard every-
thing, considered me in her own mind to be rational, and
sent for me, and had me placed in a lower chamber in the
palace without any door, but still with the irons on my feet.

CHAPTER CONCERNING TIIE LIBERALITY OF THE QUEEN.

The first night ensuing, the queen came to visit me with
five or six of her damsels, and began to examine me, and I
began to give her to understand by degrees that I was not
mad. She, being a clever woman, saw that I was not at all
mad, and began to make much of me ; ordered a good bed
after their fashion to be given me, and sent me plenty of
good food. The following day she had prepared for me a
bath according to their custom, with many perfumes, and
continued these caresses for twelve days. Afterwards, she
began to come down to visit me every night at three or four
o'clock, and always brought me good things to eat. Enter-

1 Majnfin, majniln ; sUfi ma fish. He is a niadinan ; he is not intel-
gent (or pious).

WAttah, xoa-ras en-Nabi \haclha er-rajul ma fid-il&nya mithlu. J'>y God,
by the head of the Prophet, there is not one in the world like this man.

2 That is, l.y the tufts of his hair.

LUDOVICO Dl VARTHEMA. 69

ing where I was, she called me " Iunus tale inte iohan,"
that is, " Lodovico, come here, are you hungry ?' n And I
replied : " E vualla," that is, " Yes," 2 for the hunger which
was to come ; and I rose on my feet and went to her in my
shirt. And she said : " Leis leis camis foch," that is, " Not
in that manner, take off your shirt." 3 I replied : " Iaseti
ane maomigenon de lain," which is, " O, madam, I am not
mad now." 4 She answered me : " Vualla ane arfin te habe-
denin te migenon inte mafdunia metalon," that is, "ByGod,
I know well that thou never wast mad, on the contrary, that
thou art the best witted man that ever was seen." 5 In order
to please her I took off my shirt, and held it before me for
modesty's sake, and thus she kept me before her for two
hours, contemplating me as though I had been a nymph,
and uttering a lamentation to God in this manner : " Ialla
in te sta cal ade abiat me telsamps Inte stacal ane auset ;
Ialla Ianaby iosane assiet : Villet ane asuet ade ragel abiath
Insalla ade ragel Iosane Insalla oel binth mit lade," that is,
" O God, thou hast created this man white like the sun,
thou hast created my husband black, my son also is black,
and I am black. Would to God that this man were my
husband. Would to God that I might have a son like this
man." And saying these words she wept continually and

1 Yihias, tiidl ; anta ju\ln ? Jonah, come ; are you hungry ?

2 Ay vf Allah, a common expletive affirmation.

3 Leis leis kamisfok. No, no, not with your shirt on.

4 Ya sitti, ana ma majmln Hun. Madam, I am not mad now.

6 W Allah, ana ''aiiraf anta abadan anta majmfoi. Anta ma fid-
dunya mithlak. By God, I know that you were never mad. There is
not another in the world like you.

6 Ya Allah! Anta khalakt hddha abyad mithl esh-sliams. Anta
khalaktani ana asivad. Ya, Allah ! Ya Nabi ! zanji aswad : waladi
ana aswad : hddha er-rajul abyad. In- shda- Allah hddha er-rajid zanji !
In shda-Allah awallad ibn mithl hddha. God ! Thou hast created
this [man] white like the sun. Thou hast created me black. God !
Prophet ! my husband is black ; my son is black ; this man is white.
Would that this man may become my husband ! Would that I may
bear a son like this [man] !

TO THE TRAVELS OF

sighed, passing her hands over mc all the while, and pro-
mising me that, as soon as the Sultan returned, she would
make him take off my irons. On the next night the queen
came to me with two of her damsels and brought me some
good food to eat, and said to me : " Tale Iunus," that is,
" Come here, Lodovico ;" " Ane igi andech," I replied.
" Leis setti ane mochaet ich no," that is, said the queen,
" Lodovico, would you like that I should come and stay a
little while with you." I answered : " No ; that it was
quite enough that I was in chains, without her causing me
to have my head cut off." Then said she : " Let caffane
darchi alarazane," that is, " Do not be afraid, for I will
stake my own head for your safety." " In cane in te may-
rith ane Gazella in sich : olla Tegia in sich olle Galzerana
insich," that is, " If you do not wish me to come, shall Ga-
zella, or Tegia, or Galzerana come V n She only said this
because she wished to come herself and remain with me in
the place of one of these three. But I never would consent,
because I thought of this from the time when she began to
show me so many kindnesses. Considering also, that as soon
as she had had her wish she would have given me gold and
silver, horses and slaves, and whatever I had desired. And
then she would have given me ten black slaves, who would
have been a guard upon me, so that I should never have
been able to escape from the country, for all Arabia Felix
was informed of me, that is to say, at the passes. And if I
had once ran away, I could not have escaped death, or

1 Tiidl Yilnas. Come hither, Jonah. Ana aji andah. I will come
to you.

Leis \y(t~\ sitti ; ana mukayyad, jaJcfi. No, madam, I am in chains,
and that is enough.

La takhuf, ana taralii \tla rdsana. Do not be afraid ; I take all the
responsibility on my head.

In-knn anta ma tarid ana, Gazelle ansieh ; wa-illa Tujiah ansieh ;
wa-illa (iuherdna ansieh. If you do not want me, I will call Gazelle ;
or I will call Tajiah ; or I will call Gulzenma [for you].

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 71

chains for life. For this reason, therefore, I never would
yield to her, and also because I did not wish to lose both
my soul and body. 1 wept all night, recommending- myself
to God. Three days from that time the Sultan returned,
and the queen immediately sent to inform me that if I would
remain with her she would make me rich. 1 replied : "That
if she would cause my chains to be taken off, and perform
the promise she made to God and Mahomet I would then
do whatever her highness wished. She immediately had me
taken before the Sultan, who asked me where I wished to
go when he had taken off my chains. I answered him :
" Iasidi habu maris una mafis, meret maris uuellet mans,
ochu mafis octa mafis alia al naby Intebes sidi in te iati iacul-
ane abdech," that is, " O lord, I have no father, no mother,
no wife. I have no children, I have neither brothers nor
sisters, I have only God, and the Prophet, and you, O lord :
will it please you to give me food, for I wish to be your
slave all my life V n And I wept constantly. The queen
was present all the time, and said to the Sultan : " Thou
wilt have to render an account to God of this poor man,
whom without any cause thou hast kept so long in chains.
Beware of the anger of God." Said the Sultan : " Well, go
w r here thou wilt, I give thee thy liberty." And immediately
he had my chains taken off, and T knelt before him and
kissed his feet, and then I kissed the queen's hand, who
took me also by the hand saying : " Come with me, poor
fellow, for I know that thou art dying of hunger." When
I was in her chamber she kissed me more than a hundred
times, and then she gave me many good things to eat. But
I did not feel any inclination to eat, for I had seen the
queen speak privately to the Sultan, and I thought that she

1 Ya sidi, abb ma fish ; umm ma fish ; marat ma fish ; waladma/ish;
akh ma fish; okht ma fish. Allah, en-JS/abi, anta, bas, sidi. Anta
taatini akul, ana abdak. lord, I have no father, no mother, no wife,
no child, no brother, no sister. God, the Prophet, [and] you only. You
give me food to eat, and I am your slave.

72 THE TRAVELS OF

had asked me of the Sultan for a slave. Wherefore I said to
the queen: "I will not eat unless you promise to give me my
liberty." She replied : " Scut mi Ianu inte maarfesiati alia,"
that is, " Hold thy peace, madman, thou dostnot know what
God has ordained for thee." "Incane inte milie inte amirra,"
that is, " If thou wilt be good thou shalt be a lord." 1 Now,
I knew the kind of lordship she wished to confer upon me ;
but I answered her that she should let me get a little fatter,
and get back my blood, for the great fear I was in filled my
breast with other thoughts than those of love. She answered:
" Vuulla inte calem milie ane iaticullion beit e digege e amani
c filfil e cherfa e gronfili e iosindi," that is, " By God, thou
art right, but T will give thee every day eggs, hens, pigeons,
pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmegs." 2 Then I recovered
my spirits somewhat at the good words and promises she
gave me. In order the better to restore me, I remained
fifteen or twenty days in her palace. One day she sent for
me and asked me if I would go hunting with her. I replied
in the affirmative and went with her. On our return I pre-
tended to fall sick from weakness, and remained in this
feigned state eight days, while she continually sent persons

1 Ashut, majnftn ; anta ma tiiaraf aish jd'ati Allah. Silence, rnadman ;
you do not know what God will give.

In-hdn anta malieh, anta amir. If you are good, you [shall be] an
ameer.

2 W Allah, anta titkdllam malieh : ana ''aiitilc kuljom baidh, wa-dujdj,
wa-hamdm,"wa-filjil, wa-kirfah, wa-karanful, wa-juz- Hindi. By God,
you say well : I will give you every day eggs, fowls, pigeons, pepper,
cinnamon, cloves, and cocoa-nuts. The spices named are in common use
among the Arabs. It is not surprising that Varthema should have mis-
taken Joz-Ilindi for nutmeg ; the word is so misapplied still by the
common Maltese and other Franks in Syria and Egypt. Ibn Batiita's
description of the cocoa-nut is quaint. He says : " It is like a man's
head ; for it has something like two eyes and a mouth, and when green
is like brains, and its properties are, to nourish and quickly to fatten the
body, to make the face red, and greatly to stimulate to venery." And
in a subsequent chapter he more broadly than modestly describes the
effect of the incentive on himself. Lee's Translation, pp. G0,17G.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 73

to visit me. One day I sent to inform her that I had made
a promise to God and to Mahomet that I would visit a holy
man who was in Aden, and who, they said, performed
miracles ; and I maintained that it was true in order to
accomplish my object. She sent to tell me that she was well
pleased, and ordered a camel and twenty-five seraphim of
gold to be given to me, whereat I was much rejoiced. The
following day I mounted and went to Aden in eight days,
and immediately visited the holy man, who was worshiped
because he always lived in poverty and chastity, and spent
his life like a hermit. And, truly, there are many in that
country who pass this kind of life, but they are deceived
from not having been baptised. 1 When I had performed
my devotions on the second day, I pretended to be cured by
virtue of that holy man. Afterwards I wrote to the queen,
that by the virtue of God and of that holy man I was cured,
and since God had been so merciful to me I wished to go
and see the whole of her kingdom. This I did because the
fleet was in that place, and could not depart for a month. I
spoke secretly with the captain of a ship, and told him that
I wished to go to India, and if he would take me I would
give him a handsome present. He replied : " That before
he went to India he wished to touch at Persia." With that
I was satisfied, and so we agreed.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING LAGI, A CITY OF ARABIA
FELIX, AND CONCERNING AIAZ, AND THE MARKET
IN AIAZ, AND THE CASTLE DANTE.

The following day I rode for fifteen miles, and found a
city which is called Lagi ; a the place is level and very popu-

1 According to contemporaneous Arabian historians, Yemen teemed
with such devotees at the period referred to. The fashion, or piety, has
considerably decreased within the last two centuries.

2 Lahej, the place indicated, is about thirty miles to the north-west

7 t THE TRAVELS OF

lous. A vast number of date-trees grow here, there is also
plenty of animal food and grain as with us. But there are
no grapes here, and a great scarcity of firewood. This city
is uncivilized, and the inhabitants are Arab's, who are not
very rich. I departed thence and went to another city,
which is one day's journey from the first mentioned, and is
called Aiaz. 1 It stands upon two mountains, between which
there is a very beautiful valley and a beautiful fountain, in
which valley the market is held to which the men come
from both the mountains. And very few of those markets
are held without quarrels taking place. The reason is this :
those who inhabit the mountain towards the north wish that
those who inhabit the mountain towards the south should
believe with them in Mahomet with all his companions ;
while these will only believe in Mahomet and Ali, and say
that the other captains are false. For this reason they kill

of Aden. The name, though frequently applied to the town, designates
more correctly the surrounding district, the former being generally
called El-Hawtah by the Arabs, signifying a level spot. It is situated
in a fertile plain, and is watered by the torrents which periodically
descend from the mountains in its rear. The country is well cultivated
and produces abundance of dhurah, sesamum, several kinds of pulse,
and a small quantity of cotton, besides various culinary vegetables. It
also affords good pasturage, and supplies the Aden market with excel-
lent cows, sheep, and goats. It raises very little fruit, and, as Varthema
remarks, no grapes grow there. At the period of his visit, Lahej was
under the government of Sultan 'Amir ibn Abd el-Wahhab, who ruled
over the greater part of southern Yemen. On his death, a.d. 1517, it
reverted to the Imam of Sanaa, and continued under that jurisdiction,
though not without frequent intervals of independence, till the year
1728, when the chief of the Abdali tribe inhabiting the district threw off
his allegiance to the Imam, and subsequently succeeded in capturing
Aden. His successors in the same family retained the government of
both places until dispossessed of the latter by the British in 1839.

1 I presume this to be the "Asas," or, according to his Arabic ortho-
graphy, the " 'Az'az," of Niebuhr, which he describes as a village on the
confines of the domain belonging to Aden. As I have not met with the
name in any of the Arabian authors within reach, I conclude it is a place
of little note.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. i 1)

each other like dogs. 1 Let us return to the market, to which
are brought many kinds of small spices, and a great quantity
of stuffs, of wool, and of silk, and very excellent fruits, such
as peaches, pomegranates, and quinces, figs, nuts, and good
grapes. You must know that on each of these mountains
there is a very strong fortress. Having beheld these things I
departed thence and went to another city, which is distant
from this two days' journey and is called Dante, 2 and is an
extremely strong city, situated on the top of a very great
mountain, and is inhabited by Arabs, who are poor, because
the country is very barren.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING ALMACARANA, A CITY OF
ARABIA FELIX, AND OF ITS ABUNDANCE.

In order to follow out the desires after novel things already
conceived in our minds we departed from that place, taking
our way towards another city, distant two days' journey,
which is called Almacarana, 3 and is situated on the top of a

1 That is, the northerners were Sunnis, and the southerners Skids, or
more probably Zaidis, the followers of Zaid, son of Ali, surnarned Zain
el-'Abidin, which sect was very numerous in Yemen, and comprised the
person and family of the Imam. They held with the Shiiis that Ali was
unjustly superseded in the Khalifate by Abubekr, 'Omar, and 'Othman,
and are represented as having no respect for the Twelve Imams, and for
omitting all mention of the saints in their devotions. These were the
more salient points of antagonism between them and the Sunnis, which
frequently led to bloody feuds. There were other differences of a more
abstruse character respecting the Divine decrees, free will, and human
responsibility. (See Sale's Preliminary Discourse to the Koran, p. 233,
Niebchr, Voy. en Arable, vol. iii. pp. 17, 18, and D'IIerbelot, sub
voce Zeidiah, vol. iii. p. 734.)

a More correctly Damt. Niebuhr's orthography is worse than Var-
thema's : he writes it " Dimne," and describes it as a " bourg a foire au
sud de mont Maharras," which mountain he says is very high and steep.
It appears to have been an important stronghold, and will be found
mentioned in the succeeding note.

3 El-Makranah. It is surprising that Niebuhr has not enumerated

76 TI1K TRAVELS OF

mountain, the ascent to which is seven miles, and to which
only two persons can go abreast on account of the narrow-
ness of the path. The city is level on the top of the moun-
tain, and is very beautiful and good. Food enough for the
whole city is collected here, and for this reason it appears
to me to be the strongest city in the world. There is no
want of water there nor of any other necessary of life, and,
above all, there is a cistern there which would supply water

this place in his list of the towns and villages of Yemen. Arabs who
have come to Aden from that and the adjoining districts have frequently
dilated on the by-gone impregnability of its castle, and the extent of its
great reservoir. The following extract, also, from the Ruuh er-Ruah,
recording the capture of the place from Sultan 'Amir ibn Abd el-Wahhab
by the Egyptian army, strikingly corroborates several details contained
in this chapter : — " Then the Ameer Bar-Sabbai [the Egyptian com-
mander] deputed the Ameer Akbai over the affairs of Ta'ez, and went
himself with his army towards El-Makranah. On hearing this, Sultan
Amir hastened to the place, and took from thence his women [or wives],
and as much treasure as he could conveniently remove, and departed
towards El-Halkah, where he remained. Immediately after, the Egyp-
tian army entered El-Makranah and plundered it, taking therefrom the
immense stores of wealth and provisions which it contained, and forcing
some of the people to surrender the valuables which 'Amir had deposited
with them." Subsequently, a Fakih named 'Amr el-Jabraty, who had
acted as jester to the Sultan, disclosed to the Egyptian commander some
treasures which were hidden in the castle, consisting of a vast amount
of specie, jewels, and other valuables belonging to the royal family, all
of which the captor seized and distributed among his soldiers.

Notwithstanding this spoliation, however, El-Makranah was not plun-
dered of all its wealth. Twelve years later, after the Imam had suc-
ceeded in expelling the Egyptians from Saniia, his son Mutahhir attacked
them at El-Makranah and Damt, and carried away considerable booty.
The following narration of that event is from the author above quoted :
— " Then Mutahhir proceeded to take Malikiah and all the intervening
strongholds as far as Damt, which castle he captured, and proclaimed an
amnesty to the inhabitants. Next he entered El-Makranah, granting an
amnesty to the Circassian [MamlOk] garrison, and receiving the sub-
mission of the tribes. He then took all the arms and guns which he
found there ; also many copper utensils of (Jhassdni manufacture inlaid
with silver, and costly China ware, which had belonged to the Beni
Dhahir" [the Sultan's family].

LTJD0V1C0 DI VARTHEMA. 77

for 100,000 persons. The Sultan keeps all his treasure in
this city, because he derives his origin and descent from it.
For this reason the Sultan always keeps one of his wives
here. You must know that articles of every possible kind
are brought here, and it has the best air of any place in the
world. The inhabitants are more white than any other
colour. In this city the Sultan keeps more gold than a
hundred camels could carry, and I say this because I have
seen it.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING REAME, A CITY OF ARABIA

FELIX, OF ITS AIR, AND OF THE CUSTOMS OF

ITS INHABITANTS.

When I had rambled about the above-mentioned city, on
parting thence I went to another place, distant from this one
day's journey, which is called Keame, 1 and is for the most
part inhabited by black people, who are very great mer-
chants. This country is extremely fertile, excepting in fire-
wood, and the city contains about two thousand families.
On one side of this city there is a mountain, upon which
stands a very strong castle. And here there is a kind of
sheep, some of which 1 have seen, whose tails alone weigh
forty-four pounds. They have no horns, and cannot walk
on account of their size. 2 Here also is found a kind of white

1 This is undoubtedly Yerim, which Niebuhr describes as " une petite
ville mal biitie, munie d'une forteresse sur un rocher escarpe ; et situee
dans une plaine assez vaste, et a 4 lieues d'Allemagne de Damar ;"
nevertheless it was the residence of a Dowla, or governor, of the Imam.
He adds, that as the name of this town resembles that of the famous
garden of Irem mentioned in the 89th chapter of the Koran, it is inferred
by some that the terrestrial paradise stood in this region ; but having
himself travelled through the district, he considers that it is less fertile
than many others in Yemen. It was at Yerim that one of his com-
panions, the lamented Forskal, died on the 11th of July 1763, just a
century ago. Niebuhr gives a view of the town in vol. i. of his Voyage
en Arable.

a This is generally a correct description, though I cannot vouch for
the weight ascribed to the sheep's tails.

78 THE TRAVELS OF

grape, which has no seeds within, than which I never tasted
better. 1 Here also I found all kinds of fruit as I said above.
The climate here is most perfect and singular. In this place
I conversed with many persons who were more than one
hundred and twenty-five years old, and were still very
healthy. The people here go more naked than otherwise,
but the men of good condition wear a shirt. The lower
orders wear half a sheet crosswise, after the fashion of
prelates. 2 Through the whole of this Arabia Felix the men
wear horns made of their own hair, and the women wear
loose trowsers, after the fashion of seamen.

TEE CHAPTER CONCERNING SANA, A CITY OF ARABIA

FELIX, AND OF THE STRENGTH AND CRUELTY OF

THE KING'S SON.

Then I departed and took to a city named Sana, 3 which is
distant from the said city Reame three days' journey. It is

1 These grapes are brought to Aden during the season in small baskets
covered with wild sage. They resemble the sultanas which are imported
from Smyrna.

2 The original is : Li altri di bassa conditione portano mezo un linzolo
ad armacolla a la apostolicha, the sense of which is very obscure. Per-
haps it means that the cloth in question, which is oblong in shape, is
worn like a pallium or a stole, sometimes thrown loosely round the neck,
and sometimes over one shoulder, which is precisely the case. In addi-
tion to this, however, they generally wear a similar cloth round the loins.
The uses of these simple garments are thus correctly described by
Niebuhr : — " En deployant sa large ceinture il a vin matelas, avec le
lingo d'epaule il couvre le corps et la tete, et e'est entre ces draps qu'il
dort nud et content." Voyage en Arable, vol. iii. p. 56.

3 Sanaa, the capital of Yemen and the residence of the Imam, is situ-
ated at the foot of a high range of mountains called Jebal Nikam. With
this exception, Varthema's notes, which are unusually brief on the sub-
ject, are generally correct. Edrisi describes it as " abounding in good
things, and full of buildings. It is the oldest, the largest, and most
populous city of Yemen. It is in the centre of the first climate, has an
even atmosphere, a fertile soil, and the heat and cold there are always

LUDOVICO DI VAUTHEMA. 79

situated on the top of a very large mountain, and is ex-
tremely strong. The Sultan encamped before with 80,000
men for eight months in order to capture it, but could
only gain it by capitulation. 1 The walls of this city are
of earth, of the height of ten braza, and twenty braza

temperate." Ibn Batuta merely says " it is a large and well-built city."
The Rev. Mr. Stern, who visited Sanaa in 1856, estimates the population
at about 40,000 inhabitants, of whom 20,000 are Muhammedans, and
18,000 Jews. Niebuhr gives a plan and a detailed description of the
city in his Voyage en Arable, vol. i. pp. 326-329.

' He should have said that the Sultan had utterly failed in capturing
the place. The circumstances of the attempt referred to, which occurred
two years before Varthema's visit, are thus narrated by the author of the
Kurrat el- Ay An : — "During this year [a.h. 907:= a. d. 1501] Sultan
'Amir besieged Sanaa, and when the inhabitants were reduced to great
straits, they wrote to Bahal, offering him certain presents, together
with the fortress of Dhamarmar, if he would come to their assistance.
(Before their arrival, the Zaidieh [Zaidis] abandoned the side of the
Sultan.) They accordingly came in vast numbers, and a severe battle
was fought between them and the Amir 'Ali el-Blladaui, [one of the Sul-
tan's generals,] in which neither party gained the advantage. Eventually,
however, the Ameer's soldiers were overpowered ; whereupon the Sultan
collected all his forces, which were dispersed around Sanaa, and formed
them into one camp, in consequence of which movement the enemy were
able to stop the road, and to cut off all his supplies. The Sultan then
decided to return homewards, and to fall on the Zaidis who had gathered
in strength to circumvent him ; but God came to his relief. [Here, a
different hand, probably a Zaidi, has added these words to the MS., ' had
he remained he would have been caught.'] The Sultan, having collected
his troops and equipage, retired from before Sanai on the 7th of Muhar-
ram, a.h. 90S, followed by the Zaidis who harassed his rear ; but his
soldiers charged them like 'An tar aud attacked them like 'Omar, and put
them to an ignominious flight. Finally, he reached Dhamarmar in
safety, [' and a fugitive,' adds the interpolator], losing nothing of any
consequence, so that his safety was in effect a great victory to him and
to those who were with him over the enemy, who were in such large
numbers, and had succeeded in stopping all his supplies. This first
siege lasted five months."

'Amir's second attack on Sanaa was more successful. On that occa-
sion, according to the author of the Runh er-Ruah, his army consisted
of 180,000 men, of which 3,000 were cavalry. When Varthema met him
at Radaii, on his march towards Sanaa, he witnessed a review of 80,000
(See p. 61 ante and note 2.)

80 THE TRAVELS OF

wide. Think, that eight horses can go abreast on the top of
it. 1 In this place many fruits grow the same as in our coun-
try, and there are many fountains. In this Sana there is a
Sultan who has twelve sons, one of whom is called Mahometh.
lie is like a madman: he bites people and kills them, and
then eats their flesh until his appetite is satisfied. He is four
braza high, well proportioned, and of a dark brown colour. 2
In this city there are found some kinds of small spices
which grow in the neighbourhood. This place contains
about 4,000 hearths. The houses are very handsome and
resemble ours. Within the city there are many vines and
gardens as with us.

TEE CEAPTER CONCERNING TAESA AND ZIBIT AND
DAMAR, VERY LARGE CITIES OF ARABIA FELIX.

After seeing Sana I resumed my journey and went to
another city called Taesa, 3 which is distant three days' jour-

1 Niebuhr says that the walls are of earth, faced with unburnt brick
and surmounted by a great many small turrets. According to the nar-
rative of the French travellers who visited Sanaa in 1712, as given by
De la Roque in his Voyage de V Arable Heureuse, the breadth of the walls
is sufficient to admit of driving eight horses abreast.

2 The then ruling Imam was Ahmed ibn el-Imam en-Nasir, surnamed
El-Mansur, who was taken prisoner by Sultan 'Amir when he captured
Sanaa, and died at Ta'ez under suspicion of having been poisoned. I have
not succeeded in discovering any notices corroborative of Varthema's
statement respecting the cannibal propensities of one of his sons. Bur-
ton remarks on the passage : " This is a tale not unfamiliar to the
western world. Louis XL of France was supposed to drink the blood of
babies, — 'pour rajeunir sa veine ejmisee.' The reasons in favour of such
unnatural diet have been fully explained by the infamous M. de Sade."
Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Mecca/t, vol. ii. p. 352, n.

:i Ta'ez is about one hundred and ten miles to the south of Sanaa.
Abulfeda says that in his time (fourteenth century) it was the residence
of the princes of Yemen, and describes it as " a fortress situated in the
midst of the mountains which overlook the Tihama [the sea coast],
and the plain of Zebid. Above Ta'ez there is a pleasure-ground
called Sahlah, to which spot the prince of Yemen has conducted a stream

LTJDOVICO Dl VARTIIEMA, 81

ncy from Sana aforesaid, and is situated in a mountain.
This city is very beautiful, and abounds in all kinds of
elegancies, and, above all, in a vast quantity of rose water,
which is distilled here. It is reported of this city that it is
extremely ancient : there is a temple there built like the
Santa Maria Rotonda of Rome, and many other very ancient
palaces. There are very great merchants here. These people
dress like those above mentioned. They are olive coloured.
Departing thence I went to another city, distant from this
three days' journey, which is called Zibit ; l a large and very

of water from the neighbouring heights. He has also erected several
large buildings in a garden, and, altogether, it is a most agreeable
place." Niebuhr, who gives a detailed account of the town together
with a view and plan, says it is situated at the foot of a fertile moun-
tain called Jebel Sabir, and is surrounded by a wall of crude bricks with
a slight revkement of burnt bricks. Within the enceinte of the walls is
a steep rock four hundred feet high, on which the citadel El-Kahirah
stands. Varthema's " temple" was probably the mosque of the re-
nowned Mohammedan saint Isma'il Mulk, which Niebuhr styles the
" Cathedral of Ta'ez." There are many mosques and other public build-
ings both within and without the city, but most of them are in a very
dilapidated condition. Baskets of rosebuds are brought from Ta'ez to
Aden during the season. The place was occupied by the Egyptian forces
on its evacuation by Sultan 'Amir ibn Abd el-Wahhab, a few days
before his capture and death. At present, though nominally subject
to the Imam of Sanaa, it is governed by the chief of the Sherjebi tribe
who inhabit the district.

1 Zebid, situated in one of the most fertile valleys of Yemen, was for-
merly the capital of the Tihama, and a place of considerable importance ;
but owing to the gradual filling-up of the old port of Ghalitkah, much
of its trade was diverted to Mokha, Hodeidah, and Loheia, and it is now
reduced to a second-rate town. El-Edrisi describes it in bis time as
" a large city, its inhabitants are prosperous, being men of wealth and
substance, and the voyagers thereto are many. There assemble mer-
chants from the Hijaz, and Abyssinia, and Egypt, who go up in Juddah
vessels. The Abyssinians bring their (raMk) slaves thereto, and from
thence are exported different kinds of Indian aromatics, Chinese and other
commodities." (I was surprised to find that Gabriele Sionita, in his Latin
translation of El-Edrisi, makes merces of the Arabic raMk, which occurs
in this and in another extract which I have quoted in note 1, page 86.
Raktk is a common word for slave in Yemen and in Egypt.) Abul-

82 THE TRAVELS OF

excellent city, situated near the Red Sea, at half a day's
journey. It is a place of very considerable extent by the
Red Sea, and is supplied with an immense quantity of sugar,
and has most excellent fruits ; is situated on a plain between
two mountains, and has no walls around it. A very great
traffic is carried on here in spices of all kinds, which are
brought from other countries. The dress and colour of
these people is the same as of those before mentioned. Then
I departed from this place and went to another city, distant
one day's journey, called Damar, 1 inhabited by Moors, who
are very great merchants. The said city is very fertile, and
the manner of living and customs of the inhabitants are the
same as of those before mentioned.

feda says Zebid is " situated in a plain, somewhat less than a day's
journey from the sea. Its water is derived from wells, and it abounds
in palm-trees. It is surrounded by a wall, and has eight gates." As
this latter observation contradicts the statement of Varthema, it must
be borne in mind that Abulfeda wrote two centuries before his time,
and the more recent account of Niebuhr is sufficient to establish our
traveller's general veracity. Niebuhr states that " the wall of the town
is almost entirely demolished to a level with the ground, and the poor
people dig into the foundations to obtain stones wherewith to build
their houses." Notwithstanding the existence of a river, which during
the rainy season flows in a copious stream through the valley, the same
author says that the inhabitants draw water from sunken wells, and that
it is of an excellent quality. Voy. en Arabie, vol. i. pp. 261-264.

Zebid was taken from 'Amir ibn Abd el-Wahhab by the combined
Egyptian and Turkish armies on the 17th of Jumad el-Awwal, 922 =
17th June, 1516. The excesses which they committed on the occasion,
as recorded by the author of the Kurrat el Ay an, were atrocious in the
extreme. It was wrested from the conquerors not long after by the
Imam of Sanaa, and continued, nominally, a dependency of that princi-
pality until it finally fell into the hands of the Turks, together with
several towns on the coast, about A.D. 1832.

1 More correctly, Dhamar, situated about sixty miles to the east of
Zebid, — a hard day's journey, but by no means an uncommon one with
the Arabs, mounted on their fleet dromedaries. Abulfeda remarks that
it is a well known city, and the birthplace of many authors on the
Traditions. Niebuhr, who visited it, says that it is situated in a fertile
territory, and is renowned for its breed of horses. The town, which is
large and well built, has no wall, but is defended by a strong fortress

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 83

THE CHAFTER CONCERNING THE SULTAN OF ALL THE

ABOVE-MENTIONED CITIES, AND WHEREFORE HE

IS CALLED BY THE NAME SECHAMIR.

All these above-named cities are subject to the Sultan of
the Amanni, 1 that is, the Sultan of Arabia Felix, who is
called Sechamir. 2 Secho is the same as saint, amir, lord, and

adjoining. It contains a famous Medresseh, or College, belonging to the
sect of the Zaidieh, which was frequented by five hundred students.
Voyage en Arable, vol. i. pp. 324-5.

1 It now strikes me as most probable that Varthema's " Amanni" is
merely his Italian way of writing " Yemen," which Gabriele Sionita, in
his Latin version of El-Edrisi, renders " Iaman." (For a different
solution see note 2 on p. 57.)

2 We have here another remarkable coincidence strikingly confirma-
tive of Varthema's general correctness. The reigning prince at the time
was 'Amir ibn Abd el-Wahhab ibn Daood ibn Dhahir, etc., surnamed
Edh-Dhafir Salah ed-Din, who succeeded his father Abd el-Wahhab,
generally styled El-Melek el-Mansur, a.h. 894 = a.d. 1488. In the
course of a few years he wrested the greater part of Yemen from the
Imam, and eventually occupied Sanaa. His career, indeed, was an
unbroken series of victories until arrested, first by the Egyptian expedi-
tion in 1515, and then by the Turks, who invaded Yemen the year fol-
lowing. He was overtaken as a fugitive, on his way to seek shelter in
the castle of Dhamarmar, by a detachment of the Egyptian army with
which he had had a fierce engagement on the preceding day, and was
murdered by them in cold blood on the 24th of Rabiaa el-Akhir, 923 =
12th May, 1017. His head they carried to Sanaa, and exhibited it
before the walls ; whereupon the people surrendered at discretion, and
opened the gates to the Egyptian commander.

The following account of the various public monuments erected by
'Amir ibn Abd el-Wahhab is from the Kin-rat el-Aydn : — " He built the
Great Mosque in the city of Zebid, which excels all others, and expended
thereon enormous wealth. Also the Medresseh [College] called Edh-
Dhafirieh, opposite the Dar el-Kebir, in the same city. Also the Me-
dresseh of Sheikh Isma'il ibn Ibrahim el-Jabraty, and the tomb of
the Fakih Abi-bekr ibn 'Ali el-Haddad, outside the town, near the Bab
el-Kartab. Also two Medressehs at Ta'ez, to which place he also brought
a stream of water. Also the Great Mosque and a Masjid at El-Makra-
nah. Also a Medresseh at Radaa el-'Arsh. Also a Masjid at Aden, to
which place he also conducted the water [from the country beyond] as
far as the outer gate, and built a large reservoir iu the town itself, and

r '>

84 THE TRAVELS OF

the reason why they call him holy is this, that he never put
any one to death excepting in war. You must know that in
my time he had 15,000 or 16,000 men in chains, and to all
he gave two quattrini per man for their expenses daily, and
thus he left them to die in prison when they deserved death.
He also has 16,000 slaves whom he maintains, and they are
all black.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING APES, AND SOME ANIMALS
LIKE LIONS, VERY HOSTILE TO MAN.

Departing from this place I went to the above-mentioned
city of Aden for five days. In the middle of the route I
found a most terrible mountain, in which we saw more than

another at the village of 'Aik ; besides innumerable other mosques, re-
servoirs, wells, and dams, wherever they were needed, and in detached
hamlets. He it was who laid down the aqueduct to Aden from a distant
place, which cost him immense treasures. Other pious acts without
number are attributed to him,... and no passage of his life is censurable
except his interference with the Fakihs and their endowments. And I
think this was the cause of his downfal, and therefore counsel all
sovereigns who may rule over the affairs of the Mussulmans, and all
others who may have anything to do with them, not to meddle with the
pious endowments, or with the Ulema, for I have never heard of any
doing so who was not punished, either in his person, his property, or his
family."

I find that 'Amir ibn Abd el-Wahhab was styled " Sheikh" prior to
his succession to the principality, and although Arabian historians
denominate him subsequently as " Sultan," it is highly probable that
he continued to be styled, generally, " Sheikh 'Amir." The word Sheikh
means primarily an aged man, an elder ; thence, a chief or ruler, a learned
man, or one renowned for piety.

Varthema's statement that 'Amir never put any one to death except
in war, is contradicted by the narrative of his life contained in the
Ktirrat el-Ay An ; though, as compared with his predecessors, and espe-
cially with the Egyptian and Turkish pashas who succeeded him, he
was a remarkably lenient ruler. The " slaves" mentioned above were
chiefly Abyssinians, and formed the principal part of the standing
army.

LUDOVTCO DI VARTHEMA. 85

10,000 apes, 1 amongst which were certain animals like lions,
which do great injury to man when in their power to do so.
On their account it is not possible to pass by that route ex-
cepting in companies of at least one hundred persons. We
passed in very great danger, and with no little hunting of
the said animals. However, we killed a great number of
them with bows and slings and dogs, so that we passed in
safety. As soon as I had arrived in Aden, I placed myself
in the mosque pretending to be ill, and remained there all
day. In the evening I went to find the captain of the ship,
so that he put me on board secretly.

DISCOURSE TOUCHING SOME PLACES OF ETHIOPIA.

Having determined to see other countries we put to sea
according to our intention; but as fortune is accustomed to
exercise her unstable will on the water, equally unstable,
we were turned somewhat from our design ; for, six days
from that time we took the route to Persia, sailing for seven
days, and then an accident occurred which made us run as
far as Ethiopia, together with twenty-five ships laden with
madder to dye clothes ; for every year they lade as many as
twenty-five ships in Aden with it. This madder grows in
Arabia Felix.- With extreme labour we entered into the
port of a city named Zeila, and remained there five days, in
order to see it and wait for favourable weather.

1 In the original " gatti maimoni." Niebuhr states that he frequently
saw hundreds of apes at a time in the woods of Yemen. Voy. en Arable,
vol. iii. p. 147.

Varthema's animal " something like a lion" was probably the hyena,
which is not uncommon in the country. Some large apes still exist in
the hills at Aden, and a hyena was killed there a few years ago.

2 Arabice, Foowivah. This root is still extensively exported from
Aden and other ports of Yemen.

83 THE TRAVELS OF

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING ZEILA, A CITY OF ETHIOPIA,

AND OF THE ABUNDANCE OF IT, AND CONCERNING

SOME ANIMALS OF THE SAID CITY, SUCH AS

SHEEP AND COWS.

The beforenamed city of Zeila 1 is a place of immense
traffic, especially in gold and elephants' teeth. Here also
are sold a very great number of slaves, which are those
people of Prcster John whom the Moors take in battle, and
from this place they are carried into Persia, Arabia Felix,
and to Mecca, Cairo, and into India. In this city people
live extremely well, and justice is excellently administered.
Much grain grows here and much animal food, oil in great
quantity, made not from olives but from zerzalino, 2 honey and

1 Zaila, which Vincent identifies as the ancient Moonclus, is situated
on the north-east coast of Africa, opposite to Aden, and about sixty
miles from the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb. El-Edrisi, who calls it
" Zalegh," says " it is a town small in size, but with many inhabitants ;
voyagers thereto also are numerous. Most of the ships of Kalzam come
as far as this town, bringing various merchandise which is traded with
in Abyssinia. Slaves and silver are taken from thence." (As silver does
not appear among the exports from Abyssinia either in ancient or modern
times, except in the shape of foreign coin which had previously been
imported into the country, the Nubian geographer must have been mis-
informed in that particular.) Abulfeda correctly describes Zaila as
" situated at the bottom of a bay, in a plain, and the heat of the place
is excessive. The water is derived from wells, but is brackish. There
are no gardens or fruits." Ibn Batuta says : " the stench of the coun-
try is extreme, as is also its filth, from the stink of the fish, and the
blood of camels which are slaughtered in the streets." I may add, from
personal experience, that it is a most wretched place in every respect ;
with a population of nearly a thousand souls, it can only boast of about
a dozen houses built of madrepore, the remaining dwellings consisting
of mats and reeds. Nevertheless, Zaila, as the principal seaport of
Hurrur and southern Abyssinia, has still a considerable trade, of which
gold dust and elephants' teeth form a part. Until within the last few
years, also, it carried on a brisk traffic in slaves, who were exported to
the places mentioned above by Varthema. It is now under the Ottoman
Porte, but its customs are farmed by the Pasha of Hodeidah to a native.

51 Eden, following the Latin version, has translated the passage thus :

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 87

wax in great abundance. Here is found a kind of sheep,
the tail of which weighs fifteen or sixteen pounds, and with
the head and neck quite black, but the whole of the rest of
the body white. 1 There are also some other sheep, which
have tails a brazzo long and twisted like vines, and
they have the dewlap like that of a bull, which almost
touches the ground. Also in this place I found a certain
kind of cows, which had horns like a stag and were wild,
which had been presented to the Sultan of the said city. 2 I
also saw here other cows, which had a single horn in the
forehead, which horn is a palmo and a half in length, and
turns more towards the back of the cow than forwards. 3 The
colour of these is red, that of the former is black. There is
an abundance of provisions in this city, and there are many
merchants here. The place has poor walls and a bad port,

" It hath also oyle, not of olyues, but of some other thyng, I knowe not
what." The word " zerzalino" puzzled me till I remembered how fre-
quently our author uses the letter z to express the sound of j, when I
perceived at once that he me&ntjzdjultin, (Forskjil writes if'dsjildjylari;"
in India and farther east it is pronounced "jinjli" or ". jirjili ;" and
Baretti gives " giuggiolana" as an Italian equivalent for sesame,) one of
the Arabic names for the Sesamum Indicum, the oil of which is largely
exported from Zaila. Honey and wax, also, are among its exports still.

1 A correct description of the Berbera sheep generally. It is rare to
see an entirely white one, or one marked otherwise than above stated ;
they have also a long dewlap. The other species mentioned is less com-
mon. The caudal extremity of the latter may be likened to an exagge-
rated pig's tail.

3 Most probably the oryx, though Varthema would have been more
correct had he represented the horns as similar to those of an antelope.
The oryx abounds inland from Zaila, is often shot, but very rarely taken
alive.

3 We have here another monoceros, but it is quite clear that the ani-
mals described differed from the unicorns which Varthema saw at Meccah
(see p. 47 ante.) He may have met with some specimens of the African
rhinoceros at Zaila ; but if so, they must have been brought thither
from the distant interior, as the animal is not found in the neighbour-
hood ; indeed, though the horns are frequently imported from thence to
the Aden market, I have never heard of a live rhinoceros existing on
that coast.

88 THE TRAVELS OF

nevertheless it is situated on level ground and the main-
land. The king of this Zeila is a Moor, and has many-
soldiers, both foot and horse. v The people are warlike. Their
dress consists of a shirt. They are olive-coloured. They
go badly armed, and are all Mahomraedans. 1

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING BARBARA, AN ISLAND OF
ETHIOPIA, AND OF ITS PEOPLE.

As soon as the weather became favourable, we set sail and
arrived at an island which is called Barbara, 2 the lord of

1 A tolerably accurate description of the SomCdis, so called from
Barr es-Sumdl, by which name the country from Ras Hafun on the
eastern coast of Africa as far as Zaila westward is designated. The in-
habitants, according to Cruttenden, " are divided into two great nations,
who, both tracing their origin from the Arab province of Hadhramaut,
are yet at bitter and endless feud with each other. The principal of
these two great families is that to the eastward, or windward, of Burnt
Island. It is divided into four large and three smaller tribes.... They
claim as their common father Darrood, the son of Ishmail, the son of
Okeil, the son of Arab, who came from Hadhramaut, and, marrying a
daughter of the Ilaweea tribe residing on the north-east coast of Africa,
became the first Muhammedan founder of the Somali nation to the east-
ward...

" The second of these two nations extends from Burnt Island, or
Bunder Jedid, to Zaila, and is divided into three great tri!>es, namely,
the Haber-Gehajjis, the Haber-Awwal, and the Habert el-Jahlah, {Haber
meaning the sons of), who were the children of Isaakh by three wives,
the said Isaak having crossed over from Hadhramaut some time after his
countrymen had founded the nation to the eastward, and settled at the
town of Meyt, near Burnt Island, where his tomb exists to this day.
Isaakh, finding his influence on the increase, owing to his intermarriage
with a Galla tribe, made a sudden descent upon the neighbourhood of
Berbera, then in the hands of a celebrated Galla chieftain, Sultan
Ilarireh, and succeeded in obtaining possession of the country as far as
Zaila... The patriarch Isaakh was gathered to his fathers at a very ad-
vanced age, and was buried at the town of Meyt, leaving behind him a
name which is respected to this day." Transactions of the Bombay
Geographical Society, vol. viii.

a This was undoubtedly Berbera, but it is not an island as Varthcma

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 89

which with all the inhabitants are Moors. This island is
small but good and very well peopled, and contains many-
supposed. The name is generally applied to a deep and narrow inlet,
forming a safe harbour during the north-east monsoon, and to the
country in its neighbourhood. It is situated about one hundred and
twenty miles to the south-east of Zaila.

Dr. Vincent identifies Berbera with the Mosullon of the author of the
Periplus, and that it " has existed as a port of great trade for several
centuries," writes Cruttenden, " I conceive to be almost sufficiently
proved by the fact of its being an annual rendezvous for so many nations
to the present day, and from the time for this great meeting having
been chosen so as to suit the set of the Red Sea and Indian Monsoons...
The annual fair is one of the most interesting sights on the coast, if
only from the fact of so many different and distant tribes being drawn
together for a short time, to be again scattered in all directions. From
April to the early part of October the place is utterly deserted, not even
a fisherman being found there; but no sooner does the season change,
than the inland tribes commence moving down towards the coast, and
preparing their huts for their expected visitors." It is estimated that
as many as 20,000 natives assemble annually at this fair to barter their
gums, resins, ostrich feathers, coffee, ghee, oil, cattle, and sheep, with
merchants from the Red Sea, Muscat, Baharain, Basra, Porebunder,
Mandavie, Bombay, and other Indian ports. A considerable quantity
of these commodities is also brought over to the Aden market by the
Somalis, and the town and garrison there are almost entirely supplied
with butcher's meat from Berbera. Speaking of that country Crutten-
den further says : " The number of sheep, goats, she-camels, etc., found
on these plains is perfectly incredible, fully realizing the account given
of the flocks and herds of the patriarchs of old ; for many of the elders
of these tribes own each more than 1,500 she-camels, and their flocks of
sheep are literally uncounted." The territory is governed by the elders
of the different tribes, but during the fair at Berbera no chief is acknow-
ledged, the customs of by-gone years being the only recognized laws of
the place.

As Berbera was inhabited when our traveller arrived there, it is obvi-
ous that his visit took place during the north-east monsoon, and that
fact explains the circumstance of his having been driven back towards
the African coast after sailing from Aden. The vessel probably encoun-
tered one of those strong north-westerly gales, called Balat by the Arabs,
which occasionally occur during that season along the north-east coast
of Arabia.

Although Varthema supplies us with few dates, we are enabled to
verify this inference by several incidental remarks in the preceding nar-

90 THE TRAVELS OF

animals of every kind. The people are for the most part
black, and their wealth consists more in animals than in
other things. We remained here one day, and then set sail
and took the route towards Persia.

rativc. lie left Damascus on the 8th of April, reached Meccah in six
weeks, and remained there several days at least. Was twelve days tra-
velling to El-Medinah, where he also sojourned some time before starting
for Juddah. He was detained a fortnight at the latter place, and was
seventeen days more making the voyage to Aden. At Aden he was impri-
soned for two months before being sent to Radaa,, where he arrived
during the hot weather, for grapes were in season, and on his release he
travelled through a great part of Yemen, which occupied him not less
than six weeks more. These periods combined make between seven and
eight months, so that he probably left Aden about the middle of Decem-
ber, when the north-easterly monsoon was fully set in, and the fair at
Berbera was at its height.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 91

THE BOOK CONCERNING PERSIA.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING DIUOBANDIERRUMI, AND

GOA, AND GIULFAR, LANDS OF MESCHET,

A PORT OF PERSIA.

When we had sailed about twelve days we arrived at a city
which is called Diuobandierrumi, 1 that is, " Diu, the port of

1 Though Vartherna heads this chapter as relating to Persia, the two
places first named obviously belong to the Indian province of Guzerat,
and the change in the course of the vessel in which he sailed, originally
bound for the former country, may have been caused by the shipment of
cargo for those places at Zaila and Berbera, between which and the
Somali coast there is still considerable traffic.

Diu Bander er-Rdm, which our traveller correctly renders " Diu the
Port of the Turks" (or Greeks,) but which Eden, following the doubtful
Latin version, mistranslates " The holy porte of Turkes," is undoubtedly
the small island of Diu, situated in the Gulf of Cambay, at that period
subject to Mahmud Bigarrah, the reigning Sultan of Guzerat. I have
sought in vain for the distinctive title which Vartherna gives it, and
which is Arabic in its form, in any other writer either before or after hi3
time. The author of the Kurrat el-WyAn mentions a severe hurricane
"at Bander Diu in the Indian Sea," in the month of January 1495,
wherein many vessels were lost ; and the Ruah er-Ruah records the death,
five years later, of one 'Abdallah ibn Muhammed ibu 'Alowi, a famous
Seyyed of Yemen, " at Bander Diu in India ;" but the suffix " Er-Riimi"
never occurs in their works in connexion with the place. The following
extract from the Histoire des Voyages, relating the events of 1530, though
it fails to solve the difficulty, goes to prove that the name was familiar
in those parts, and that foreigners styled " Rutni" or " Rum" resided at
Diu about that period : — " Badur [Bahadur], qui avait succecle au tron
de Cambaye, se crut redevable de son salut a Mustapha. II lui accorda
pour recompense le gouvernement de Baroche, avec le titre de Rami,

92 THE TRAVELS OF

the Turks," which city is situated a short distance from the
mainland. When the tide rises it is an island, and when
it falls you can pass over on foot. This city is subject to the
Sultan of Combeia, and the captain of this Diuo is one
named Menacheaz. We remained here two days. There is
an immense trade in this city. Four hundred Turkish mer-
chants reside here constantly. This city is surrounded by
walls and contains much artillery within it. They have
certain vessels which are called Thalac, which are somewhat
less than galleys. We departed thence and went to a city
which is called Goa, 1 distant from the above about three

parce qu'il ctait Grec, et celui de Kan. Ainsi nous le verrons paroitre
desormais sous le nom de Rumi-Kan." Vol. i. p. 118.

The town of Diu is situated at the eastern extremity of the island, and
is well fortified, being surrounded by a wall strengthened with towers at
regular intervals. The channel between the island and the mainland is
navigable only for fishing-boats and other small craft. Notwithstanding
the excellence of the harbour for ships of moderate draught, there is but
little traffic. (See Thornton's Gazetteer of India.) In this latter respect
the place must have fallen off considerably since Varthema's time.
M. Csesar Fredericks, who visited it a.d. 1563, describes it as "a small
city, but of great trade, because there they lade very many great ships
for the straights of Mecca and Ormus with merchandise." (Uakloyt's
Voyages, vol. ii.) Diu was captured by the Portuguese in 1515, and
remains in their possession still. In 1539 they repelled an attack on
the place by the Turkish fleet under Suleiman Pasha, who was obliged
to return to Suez. On his way thither he remained some time at Zebid,
exciting the people to revolt, with a view to extort money from the
Imam. Such is the opinion of the author of the Rudh er-Ruuh, who
adds : — "I have, moreover, heard from credible witnesses, that he accepted
rich gifts from the powers in India to induce him not to prosecute the war
in that quarter."

1 This was unquestionably Gogha, or, as it is now usually called, Gogo,
a town situate in the peninsula of Katty war, on the western shore of the
Gulf of Cambay, about one hundred miles to the north east of Diu.
Forbes describes it at present as " a neat and thriving seaport town,
containing upwards of eight thousand inhabitants, and possessing the
best roadstead in the Gulf of Cambay. Its seamen, called Goghilrees,
partly of the Mohammedan faith, and partly Koolee or Hindoo, the
descendants of the navigators fostered by the kings of Unhilwara, still
maintain their ancient reputation, and form the best and most trusted

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 93

days' journey. This Goa is a district of large extent and
great traffic, and is fat and wealthy. The inhabitants, how-
ever, are all Muhammedans. We quitted Goa and went to
another district called Guilfar, which is most excellent and
abounding in everything 1 There is a good seaport there,
from which port setting sail with propitious winds we arrived
at another port which is called Meschet. 3

portion of every Indian crew that sails the sea under the flag of Eng-
land. On the south-west corner of the town, and outside the circuit of
the present wall, may, however, be observed the site of the ancient
citadel... The situation was admirably selected for defensive purposes,
being the highest in the neighbourhood, and commanding an extensive
view of the gulf and the island of Perumbh, or Peerum, on the one side,
and on the other of the whole country as far as the foot of the Khokura
hills." (Ms Mala, vol. i. p. 318.) In Hamilton's time (1688-1723) Gogo
was " governed by an officer from the Great Mogul." It was taken from
the Mahrattas by the British in 1S05, and now forms part of the district
of Ahmedabad.

1 From Gogo, Varthema must have crossed the Indian Sea and
entered the Persian Gulf, for Julfar is situated within the Gulf, on the
western side of Mussendora, about twenty miles to the south of that
cape. It is one of five towns belonging to the Shihiyyin Arabs, and its
inhabitants form the more stationary and civilized portion of that tribe,
beiug engaged chiefly in pearl-fishing, trade, and agriculture. Their
food consists of dates, wheat, barley, meat, and fish in abundance. The
remainder of the tribe is occupied in gaining a precarious livelihood by
fishing in the small bays on the coast, or in wandering over the arid rocks
of the interior, which supply a scanty vegetation for their flocks. The
male adults of the tribe are said to amount to 14,000.

Julfar was captured by the Portuguese in the early part of the six-
teenth century. They maintained an establishment there, protected by
a fort, for the purpose of pearl-fishing, until their expulsion from the
gulf, when it reverted to the Arabs. In 1819 the town and fort were
destroyed by a combined British and Maskat expedition, in retaliation
for several acts of piracy committed by vessels belonging to the tribe.

2 Maskat (Muscat), the principal seaport town of the province of
Oman, or, more correctly, 'Amman. As that place is situated on the
north-east coast of Arabia, bordering the Indian Sea, in lat. 23° 28' N.,
long. 59° 19' E., a retrograde voyage was made of two hundred miles.
The native vessel, however, does not appear to have had a fixed
course, although her destination on leaving Aden was the Persian Gulf;
but the Arab skipper was probably guided in his movements by the

94 THE TRAVELS OF

TIIE CHAPTER CONCERNING ORMUS, A CITY AND ISLAND

OF PERSIA, AND HOW THEY GET VERY LARGE

PEARLS AT IT BY FISHING..

Pursuing our journey, we departed from Meschet and went
to the noble city of Orraus, 1 which is extremely beautiful.

freights which he picked up here and there on the coast, and our
traveller availed himself of the opportunities thus afforded to satisfy his
desire for seeing new countries.

Maskat, at the period of Varthema's visit, was governed by a native
sovereign who resided at Nezwa, two days' journey inland. It was
captured by the Portuguese, together with several other places on the
Bfitinah coast, in the early part of the sixteenth century. They re-
tained possession till 1640, when they were expelled from the country
by Sultan Bin Seif, in whose family the sovereignty of Amman remains
to the present day.

1 'Abd er-Razzak, who visited the island of Hormuz sixty years before
Varthema, speaks in similar terms of its commercial prosperity. (See
India in the Fifteenth Century, Hakluyt Society's Publications, pp.
5, 6.) Ralph Fitch, in 1583, describes it as " an island in circuit about
five and twenty or thirty miles, and the driest island in the world ; for
there is nothing growing in it but only salt ; for the water, wood, or
victuals, and all things necessary, come out of Persia, which is about
twelve miles from thence. The Portuguese have a castle there, wherein
there is a captain for the king of Portugal, having under him a con-
venient number of soldiers, whereof some part remain in the castle and
some in the town. In this town are merchants of all nations, and many
Moors and Gentiles. Here is a very great trade of all sorts of spices,
drugs, silk, cloth of silk, fine tapestry of Persia, great store of pearls,
which come from the isle of Baharim [Baharein], and are the best pearls
of all others, and many horses of Persia, which serve all India. They
have a Moor to their king, who is chosen and governed by the Portu-
guese." Pinkeiiton's Voyages, vol. ix. p. 407.

Hormuz was captured by the Portuguese under Alberquerque in 1508,
who were expelled in turn by Shah Abbas, assisted by the British, in
1G22, since which time it has been a dependency of Persia. Shah Abbas
transferred its commerce to Gombrun, or Gamrun, situate on the conti-
nent, and styled after him Bander Abbas. The island was a dependency
of Persia when Marco Polo visited it towards the middle of the 13th
century, and, although governed by an Arab ruler, it was tributary to
that power when taken by the Portuguese, who allowed him to retain
his dignity on payment of an annual tribute of 15,000 ashrafi, about

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 95

It is an island, and is the chief, that is, as a maritime place,
and for merchandise. It is distant from the mainland ten
or twelve miles. In this said island there is not sufficient
water or food, but all comes from the mainland. Near this
island, at a distance of three days' journey, they fish up the
largest pearls which are found in the world, and the manner
of fishing for them is as you shall hear. There are certain
fishers with some little boats, who throw out a large stone
attached to a thick rope, one from the stern and one from
the prow, in order that the said boats may remain firm : they
throw down another rope, also with a stone, to the bottom.
In the middle of the boat is one of these fishers, who hangs
a couple of bags round his neck, and ties a large stone to his
feet, and goes fifteen paces under water, and remains there
as long as he is able, in order to find the oysters in which
are pearls. As he finds them he puts them into the bags, and
then leaves the stone which he had at his feet, and comes up
by one of the said ropes. 1 Sometimes, as many as three hun-
dred vessels belonging to different countries are assembled
at the said city, the Sultan of which is a Mahommedan.

.£1,250 of our money. {Ilistoire des Voyages, vol. i. p. 110.) It is now
farmed of the Persian Shah by the Sultan of Maskat, together with
Bunder Abbas, Minau, and several other places on the mainland, for a
yearly payment of 16,000 Toonians=.£7,G00 ; but it has lost all its
former trade and prosperity, and its population consists of about four
hundred inhabitants, mostly employed in the salt trade and as fishermen.
The island has no water except what is saved in reservoirs during the
rains. There are a number of these reservoirs in good repair, and the
ruins of some hundreds, showing what the place was in former times.
The old Portuguese lighthouse is still standing, though fast falling to
decay. Large quantities of salt are exported from the island to all
parts of the Persian Gulf and the coasts of Arabia. The fort is garri-
soned by a hundred men belonging to the Sultan of Maskat. The chan-
nel between Hormuz and the mainland directly opposite is only four
miles broad. Between the island and Bunder Abbas it averages between
eleven and twelve.

1 This is a correct description of the pearl fishery as it exists at the
present day.

96 THE TRAVELS OF

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE SULTAN OF ORMUS, AND

OF THE CRUELTY OF THE SON AGAINST THE SULTAN

HIS FATHER, HIS MOTHER, AND HIS BROTHERS.

At the time when I visited this country there happened
that which you shall hear. The Sultan of Ormus had eleven
male children. The youngest was considered to be simple,
that is, half a fool : the eldest was looked upon as a devil
unchained. Also the said Sultan had brought up two slaves,
the sons of Christians, that is, of those of Prester John,
whom he had purchased when quite young, and he loved
them like his own children. 1 They were gallant cavaliers
and lords of castles. One night, the eldest son of the Sultan
put out the eyes of his father, mother, and all his brothers,
excepting the half-witted one ; then he carried them into
the chamber of his father and mother, and put fire in the
midst, and burnt the chamber with the bodies and all that
was therein. Early in the morning what had taken place
became known, and the city arose at the rumour, and he
fortified himself in the palace, and proclaimed himself Sultan.
The younger brother, who was considered a fool, did not,
however, show himself to be such a fool as he was supposed
to be ; for, hearing what had taken place, he took refuge
in a Moorish mosque, saying : " Vualla occuane saithan
uchatelabu eculo cuane," that is, " O God, my brother is a
devil ; he has killed my father, my mother, and all my
brothers, and after having killed them he has burnt them." 2
At the expiration of fifteen days the city became tranquil.

1 Ilabeshi, or Abyssinian slaves, mostly of Christian parentage, were
the roost trusted and favourite soldiers of the sultans and other chiefs of
Arabia at this period. They were also imported largely into India, and
frequently acquired considerable influence in the courts of the native
princes.

- W Allah, akh&na shaitdn : hua kdtel abdh, wa-hul a&hwdnana. By
God ! our brother is a devil : he has killed his father, and all my
brothers.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA.

The Sultan sent for one of the slaves above mentioned and
said to him : " Thale inte Mahometh." The slave, who
was named Mahometh, answered : " Escult iasidi," that is,
" What dost thou say, lord ? Said the Sultan : " An ne
Soldan ?" that is, " Am I Sultan ?" Mahometh replied :
" Heu valla siti inte Soldan," that is, "Yes, by God, thou
art Sultan." 1 Then the Sultan took him by the hand and
made much of him, and said to him : " Roa chatel zaibei
anneiati arba ochan sechala," that is, " Go and kill thy com-
panion, and I will give thee five castles." 2 Mahometh re-
plied : " Iasidi anue iacul menau men saibi theletin sane
vualla sidi ancasent," that is, " O lord, I have eaten with
my companion thirty years and acted with him, I cannot
bring my mind to do such a thing." 3 Then said the Sultan :
" Well, let it alone." Four days afterwards, the said Sultan
sent for the other slave, who was named Cairn, and made
the same speech to him that he had made to his companion,
that is, that he should go and kill. " Bizemele," Cairn said
at once, (s erechman erachin Iasidi," that is, " So be it,
lord, in the name of God ;" 4 and then he armed himself
secretly and went immediately to find Mahometh his com-
panion. When Mahometh saw him, he looked him fixedly
in the face, and said to him : " O traitor, thou canst not
deny it, for I detect thee by thy countenance ; but look now,
for I will slay thee sooner than that thou slay me." Cairn,
who saw himself discovered and known, drew forth his
dagger, and threw it at the feet of Mahometh, and falling

1 Tadl anta, Muhammed. Come hither, Muhammed. Aish kult, ya
sidi ? What do you say, sir 1 Ana sultan 1 Am I sultan 1 Ay w" 1 Al-
lah, sidi, anta sultan. Yes, sir, you are sultan.

2 Ruh aktal sdhibek, iva-ana 'aattk arbda aw khams kalda. Go kill
your comrade, and I will give you four or five castles.

3 Ya sidi, ana akalt mda , u rain sabi, — thldthin sana . W'Allah, sidi,
anlcdssir. Oh, sir, I have eaten with him from childhood, — thirty years.
By God, sir, I shall fail.

4 B'ism-Illah, er-Rahm&n, er-Rahim. In the name of God, the Piti-
ful, the Compassionate. A formula frequently used to express assent.

98 THE TRAVELS OF

on his knees before him said : " O, my lord, pardon me
although I deserve death, and if it seem good to thee take
these arms and kill me, for I came to kill thee." Mahometh
replied : " It may be well said that thou art a traitor, having
been with me, and acted with me, and eaten together with
me for thirty years, and then at last to wish to put me to
death in so vile a manner. Thou poor creature, dost thou
not see that this man is a devil. Rise, however, for I par-
don thee. But in order that thou mayest understand, know
that this man urged me, three days ago, to kill thee, but
I would not in any way consent. Now, leave all to God,
but go and do as I shall tell thee. Go to the Sultan, and
tell him that thou hast slain me." Cairn replied : " I am
content," and immediately went to the Sultan. When the
Sultan saw him he said to him : " Well, hast thou slain thy
friend ?" Cairn answered : " Yes, sir, by God." Said the
Sultan : " Come here," and he went close to the Sultan,
who seized him by the breast and killed him by blows of
his dagger. Three days afterwards Mahometh armed him-
self secretly and went to the Sultan's chamber, who, when
he saw him, was disturbed and exclaimed : " O dog, son of
a dog, art thou still alive ?" Said Mahometh : " I am alive,
in spite of thee, and I will kill thee, for thou art worse than
a dog or a devil ;" and in this way, with their arms in their
hands, they fought awhile. At length Mahometh killed the
Sultan, and then fortified himself in the palace. And be-
cause he was so much beloved in the city, the people all ran
to the palace crying out : " Long live Mahometh the Sul-
tan !" and he continued Sultan about twenty days. When
these twenty days were passed, he sent for all the lords and
merchants of the city, and spoke to them in this wise :
" That that which he had done he had been obliged to do ;
that he well knew that he had no right to the supreme
power, and he entreated all the people that they would
allow him to make king that son who was considered crazy ;"

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 99

and thus he was made king. It is true, however, that Ma-
hometh governs everything. All the city said : " Surely this
man must be the friend of God." Wherefore he was made
governor of the city and of the Sultan, the Sultan being of
the condition above mentioned. 1 You must know that there
are generally in this city four hundred foreign merchants,
who traffic in silks, pearls, jewels, and spices. The common
food of this city consists more of rice than of bread, because
corn does not grow in this place.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING ERI IN CORAZANI OF PERSIA,

AND OF ITS RICHES, AND OF THE ABUNDANCE OF

MANY THINGS, AND ESPECIALLY OF RHUBARB.

Having heard this lamentable event, and seen the customs
of the abovenamed city and island of Ormus, departing
thence I passed into Persia, and travelling for twelve days
I found a city called Eri, 3 and the country is called Cora-

1 I have not succeeded in finding any historical notices corroborative
of the events recorded in this chapter ; but the following extract from
the Histoire des Voyages, referring to the capture of the island by Albu-
querque in 1508, four years subsequent to Varthema's visit, tends to
confirm several of the principal facts narrated : — " Albuquerque trouva
sur le trone Sayf Addin, jeune prince d'environ douze ans, dont les
affaires etoient gouvernees par un esclave adroit et courageux." Vol. i.
p. 109.

2 Eri or Heri is the ancient name of Herat, and the question is,
whether Varthema means that city, and, if so, whether he personally
visited it. His description is sufficiently accurate to warrant an in-
ference in the affirmative. Herat at the time was the capital of Khoras-
san, and the residence of Sultan Husein Mirza, a descendant of Timour.
Its commercial and general prosperity under that enlightened ruler has
been perpetuated by the celebrated historian Khondemir, and the natural
resources of the country correspond with our traveller's account of
them. Moreover, Varthema speaks as an eye-witness, and thus far I
have not discovered a single instance inclining me to doubt his testimony
as such. Besides, there appears no sufficient reason why, if he had not
personally visited Herat, he should not have described it as he does

100 THE TRAVELS OF

zani, which would be the same as to say " The Ilomagna."
The king of Corazani dwells in this city, where there is
great plenty, and an abundance of stuffs, and especially
of silk, so that in one day you can purchase here three thou-
sand or four thousand camel loads of silk. The district is
most abundant in articles of food, 1 and there is also a great
market for rhubarb. 2 I have seen it purchased at six pounds

Sarnarcand in a subsequent chapter, wherein he repeatedly states that
his information is based on hearsay and the authority of others.

The only difficulty is the time occupied by our traveller in performing
the journey. The distance between the coast opposite Hormuz and
Herat is about six hundred miles, and, according to Abd-er-Razzak's
itinerary, he was twenty-two days on the road. True, Varthema says
distinctly, that, after travelling twelve days, he reached Eri ; but it is by
no means clear that Hormuz or Bunder Abbas was his starting-point, for
he first " passed into Persia," from which we may infer that he had pene-
trated some way into the country before setting out for Herat.

In the following chapter Varthema gives an account of his route from
Herat to Shiraz, which he accomplished in twenty or twenty-three days,
the usual length of the caravan journey between the two places. That
coincidence may be fairly considered as a corroborative proof of our
traveller's personal visit to Herat.

1 " Herat is the most fertile country in the whole of Khorassan. The
suburbs are covered with rich and green orchards, producing consider-
able quantities of fruits. Silk is a native production of Herat. It is
produced in great quantities, and is exported to many countries. The

wheat is of many kinds Cotton is abundantly cultivated in Herat, and

sometimes is sent to Mashad. Mash, adas, nakhud, lemghash or niuth,
shamled or halbah, jawari and lobia, are also among its productions.
Sebist andshaftal grow exuberantly, and are given to horses. Opium is
much grown here, and is transported to Bokhara and other places."
Mohun Lall's Travels, pp. 272-275.

2 Herat is styled by the natives the key of the commerce between
Turkestan, Afghanistan, Persia, and India. It is much less so now
than it was formerly. At the time of Varthema's visit it is highly
probable that it was the principal highway between Mongolia and
Thibet, the chief rhubarb-growing countries, and the West. That fact
would account for the abundance of the drug found in the market of
Herat. Tavernier mentions a northern road between Bhutan or Lassa
and Cabul ; and Bernier, writing in 1655, says : " It is not yet twenty
years that there went caravans every year from Cashmere, which crossed
all those mountains of the great Tibet, and arrived in about three

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 101

for the ducat, according to our use, that is, twelve ounces to
the pound. This city contains about 6,000 or 7,000 hearths. 1
The inhabitants are all Mohammedans. I quitted this place
and travelled twenty days on the mainland, finding cities
and castles very well peopled.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE RIVER EUFRA, WHICH
I BELIEVE TO BE THE EUPHRATES.

I arrived at a large and fine river, which is called by the
people there Eufra, 2 but, so far as 1 can judge, I believe
that it is the Euphrates, on account of its great size. Travel-
ling onwards for three days to the left hand, but following
the river, I found a city which is named Schirazo, and this
city receives its lord, who is a Persian and a Mahommedan,
from the Persians. In this city there is a great abundance
of jewels, that is, of turquoises, 3 and an infinite quantity of
Balass rubies. It is true that they are not produced here,

months at Cataja... bringing back musk, cinnamon, rhubarb, and naa-
rniron." (Pinkerton's Voyages, vol. viii. p. 221.) I notice in the
Description of Persia, contained in the same Collection, that " a kind
of rhubarb, with which they purge their cattle," grows in that country ;
but the writer adds, " the best rhubarb comes from China, or rather
from Eastern Tartary." Ibid. vol. ix. p. 181.

1 Ferrier estimated the population of Herat in 1845 at from 20,000
to 22,000 souls. Caravan Journeys, p. 166.

3 As there is no river between Herat and Shiraz bearing any resem-
blance in name to that above mentioned, I am inclined to think that if,
as is very probable, his route was by Yezd, Varthema must have struck
upon the Pulwan, near Merghab, about eighty miles to the north-east of
Shiraz, from which point there appears to be a highroad on the " left
hand," or east, of that river, leading to the latter city by Istakar. The
Pulwan flows into the Bendemir, which is a rapid stream crossed by a
bridge three hundred feet wide, and Varthema must have passed that
also before reaching Shiraz.

3 Shiraz is a great mart for turquoises. The best stones are found in
the mountains near Nishapore in Khorassan. Malcolm's History of
Persia, vol. ii. p. 515.

102 THE TRAVELS OF

but come (as is reported) from a city which is called Balach-
sam. And in the said city there is a very large quantity
of ultra marine, and much tucia and musk. 1 You must
know that musk is rarely met with in our parts, which is not
adulterated. The fact is this, for I have seen some experi-
ments on this wise. Take a bladder of musk in the morn-
ing, fasting, and break it, and let three or four men in file
smell it, and it will immediately make blood flow from the
nose, and this happens because it is real musk and not
adulterated. I asked how long its goodness continued.
Some merchants answered me: " That if it were not adul-
terated it lasted ten years." Upon this it occurred to me
that that which comes to our part is adulterated by the
hands of these Persians, who are the most cunning men in
intellect, and at falsifying things, of any nation in the world.
And I likewise will say of them, that they are the best com-
panions and the most liberal of any men who inhabit the earth.
I say this because I have experienced it with a Persian mer-
chant whom I met in this city of Schirazo. However, he was
of the city of Eri above mentioned, in Corazani. This same
merchant knew me two years previously in Mecca, and he
said to me : " Iunus, what are you doing here ? Are you
not he who some time ago went to Mecca?" I answered

1 Badakhshan, in the Khanat of Kunduz, is still famous for its lapis
lazuli quarries and ruby mines. Tucia, spodium ; or, more probably,
ti'it/ja, the Persian and Arabic name for antimony, which is used exten-
sively in the preparation of the kohl, a collyrium. Antimony is said to
abound in Persia. (Pinkekton's Voyages, vol. ix. p. 181.) Musk probably
reached Badakhshan from Thibet and Tartary, where the best quality
is found. Pigafetta writing in 1522 says : " The grains of musk brought
to Europe are no other than small pieces of goat's flesh steeped in real
musk." (Pinkekton, vol. xi. p. 378.) I am not able to vouch for the
truth of Varthema's experiment, but it is well known that " some per-
sons, from idiosyncrasy, cannot endure the remote odour of musk : it
produces headache, giddiness, nausea, and fainting. Drowsiness and
stupor have occasionally been induced by it when given in small medici-
nal doses." Brande, Dictionary of Materia Medica.

LUDOVICO Dl VARTHEMA. 103

that I was, and that I was going about exploring the world.
He answered me : " God be praised ! for I shall have a com-
panion who will explore the world with me." We remained
fifteen days in the same city of Schirazo. And this merchant,
who was called Cazazionor, 1 said : " Do not leave me, for we
will explore a good part of the world." And thus we set
ourselves together en route to go towards Sambragante.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING SAMBRAGANTE, (AS IT IS

CALLED), A VERY LARGE CITY, LIKE CAIRO, AND OF

THE PERSECUTION BY THE SOFFI.

The merchants say that the present Sambragante 2 is a city
as large as Cairo. The king of the said city is a Mohamme-
dan. Some merchants say that he has sixty thousand horse-
men, and they are all white people and warlike. We did
not proceed farther ; and the reason was, that the SofH
was going through this country putting everything to fire
and flame ; and especially he put to the sword all those who
believed in Bubachar and Othman and Aumar, who are all
companions of Mahomet ; but he leaves unmolested those
who believe in Mahomet and Ali, and protects them. 3 Then

1 The first part of this word is undoubtedly Khawaja, generally ab-
breviated into K/wja, equivalent to our English " Mister."

2 Samarcand.

3 The occurrence of these fierce religious dissensions between the two
principal sects of Islam at this period is corroborated by contempo-
raneous history. Shah Isma'il es-Sufi, the founder of the Sufawian
dynasty, attained sovereign power over Persia and Khorassan about a.d.
1500. Deeply imbued with the Shiah doctrines of his austere father,
Haidar, who had endeavoured to revive the opinions of a famous Silfi
derwish, he put himself at the head of his adherents when only fourteen
years old, and, taking advantage of the religious enthusiasm of his dis-
ciples, eventually succeeded in subjugating the whole country, and in con-
verting the great mass of the people to the Shiah creed. This was not
effected without great strife and bloodshed, and Varthema's visit must
have occurred when the contention between the rival factions was at its
height. " The Persians dwell with rapture on the character of Isma'il,

104 THE TRAVELS OF

my companion said to me : " Come here, Iunus : in order
that you may be certain that I wish you well, and that you
may have reason to know that I mean to exercise good fellow-
ship towards you, I will give you a niece of mine who is
called Samis, 1 that is, the Sun. And truly she had a name
which suited her, for she was extremely beautiful. And he
said to me further : " You must know now that I do not travel
about the world because I am in want of wealth ; but I go
for my pleasure, and in order to see and to know many
things." And with this we set ourselves on our way, and
returned towards Eri. When we had arrived at his house,
he immediately shewed me his said niece, with whom I pre-
tended to be greatly pleased, although my mind was intent
on other things. We returned to the city of Ormus at the
end of eight days, and embarked on board ship, and steered
towards India, and arrived at a port which is called Cheo. 2

whom they deem not only the founder of a great dynasty, but the per-
son to whom that faith, in which they glory, owes its establishment as a
national religion. He is styled in their histories Shah Shian, or ' the
King of the Sheahs.' " Malcolm's History of Persia, vol. i. p. 505.

1 Shams, the sun.

2 As it is evident from the succeeding chapter that this place was in
Scind, I find no difficulty in identifying it with Jooa (sometimes written
Joah, Joaah, and Kow), one of the estuaries or creeks of the Indus.
Dr. Ileddle, in his memoirs of that river, describes the raj or village of
Joah as four miles and a half from the sea by the winding of the stream.
The largest sized native boats, which frequent this branch of the river
for grain, are obliged to remain there, and their cargoes are brought
down in flat-bottomed boats, called doondies." Bombay Government
Selections, No. xvii. pp. 434-5.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 105

THE FIRST BOOK CONCERNING INDIA.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING COMBEIA, A CITY OF INDIA.
ABOUNDING IN ALL THINGS.

Having promised at the commencement, if I remember
rightly, to treat all subjects with brevity, in order that my
narrative might not be wearisome, I will continue to relate
concisely those things which appeared to me the most worthy
to be known, and the most interesting.

We entered India where, near to the said port [Cheo], there
is a very large river called the Indus, which Indus is near to a
city called Combeia. This city is situated three miles inland,
and to the south of the said Indus. You must know that
you cannot go to the said city either with large or middling-
sized ships, excepting at high water. There is a river which
goes to the said city, and the tide flows up three or four
miles. 1 You must know that the waters rise in the reverse

1 Varthema appears to have had very confused notions respecting the
relative positions of Cambay (more correctly, Khumbdyut) and the
Indus. This is not surprising, since Philip Baldseus, writing a century
and a half later, describes it as " situated at the entrance of one of the
largest channels of that river." (Collection of Voyages, vol. iii. p.
566.) Nicold de' Conti, who preceded our traveller by fifty years, places it
more accurately " in the second gulf after having passed the mouth of
the Indus." {India in the Fifteenth Century, iii. p. 19.) However, he
correctly locates it to the south of the Indus, and near another river,
which was undoubtedly the Myhee, and his description of that estuary is
confirmed by the following extract from Horsburgh : — " Opposite the

106 THE TRAVELS OF

way to ours ; for with us they rise when the moon is at the
full, but they increase here when the moon is on the wane. 1
This city of Combeia is walled, after our fashion ; and truly
it is a most excellent city, abounding in grain and very good
fruits. In this district there are eight or nine kinds of small
spices, that is to sa} r , turbidi, gallanga, spiconardo, saphetica,

city of Cambay, seven or eight miles from the sea, the width is probably
about three miles, and the water is so shallow from side to side, at low
water spring tides, that the ground is left almost dry, and navigation
is impracticable even for the smallest boats." India Directory, vol.
i. p. 475.

1 This is an error iuto which Varthema may have been led by the
accounts which he heard, or by his own limited observation, of the pecu-
liar and extraordinary tides in the Gulf of Cambay, called the Bore,
which is thus described by the late Captain Ethersey of the Indian navy :
" The eastern or principal Bore rises five miles to the W.S.W. of Cambay
Creek, and is not perceptible on the neaps without the previous springs
have been very high, when it may be observed slightly through the
quarter. It generally commences when the springs begin to lift, the
wave increasing daily in height as the tides gain strength, and is at its
greatest height about two days after the new and full moon. Its height
depends upon the position of the moon with respect to the earth, and
consequently on the rise and strength of the tide; for at new moon,
when she is in perigee, at which time the highest tides occur, the wave
of the Bore will be the greatest ; and at full moon, when she is in apo-
gee, and the low tides lower than any other springs, it will be least. It
also varies with the night and day tide, because the higher the tide the
greater is its velocity; and as the two tides differ from six to eight feet,
and still the flood of both runs the same length of time, the highest tide
must have the greatest velocity; and hence the wave of the Bore will be
highest with the greatest tide." {Bombay Government Selections, No.
xvii. p. 87.) Dr. Vincent recognizes the Bore in the account which the
author of the Periplus gives of the navigation of the Gulf of Cambay
{Commerce and Navigation of the Ancients, etc., vol. ii. p. 396); and so
imposing is its appearance, and so striking its effects, that we cannot be
surprised at the notice which it attracted from the early travellers to
India. Forbes says : " The first rush of the spring tide is irresistible in
its force, and affords a scene which only an eyewitness can fully realize.
A perpendicular wall of water, three or four feet in height, and extend-
ing across the Gulf as far as the eye can reach, approaches at the rate
of twelve miles an hour in speed, and with an alarming noise, carrying
certain destruction to the mariner whose ignorance or foolhardiness leads
him to neglect its warning voice." Ras Mala, vol. i. p. 319.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 107

and lacra, 1 with other spices, the names of which I do not
remember. An immense quantity of cotton is produced here,
so that every year forty or fifty vessels are laden with cotton
and silk stuffs, which stuffs are carried into different countries.
In this kingdom of Combeia also, about six days' journey,
there is the mountain whence cornelians are extracted, and
the mountain of chalcedonies. Nine days' journey from
Combeia there is another mountain in which diamonds are
found. 2

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE ESTATE OF THE SULTAN
OF THE VERY NOBLE CITY OF COMBEIA.

We will now declare the estate and condition of the sultan
of this Combeia, who is called the Sultan Machamuth. About

1 The Latin version of Varthema omits all these names. The Italian
edition in Ramuslo has " turbitti, galanga, spico nardo, assa fetida, e
lacca." The first is the well known drug turbith, the root of a species
of convolvulus (C. Turpethum, L.) which is found throughout India,
and also in the islands of the South Sea. I find it enumerated under
that name in a list of drugs purchased by Captain John Saris in 1612
from the captain of a native vessel which had arrived at Mokha from
Surat. Galanga, according to Baretti, is a kind of arrow-root used
medicinally. Spikenard and assafostida are well known Indian drugs.
Lacca is, doubtless, the dye produced by the lac insect, of which Dr.
Buchanan gives a full account in his Journey through Mysore, Canara,
and Malabar. (See Pinkerton's Voyages, vol. viii. pp. 760-1.) Nicolo
de' Conti, writing of Cambay, says : " it abounds in spikenard, lac,
indigo, myrobalans, and silk ;" and Nikitin mentions "lek daakyk dalon"
as among its produce. These latter I take to be, lac ; 'akeeh, the Arabic
for agates ; and ddl, the Hindostani for lentils, phaseolus aconitifolius.
(See India in the Fifteenth Century, ii. p. 20 ; iii. p. 19.)

2 Cambay is still famous for agates, cornelians, and onyxes, which are
wrought into a great variety of ornaments. The best agates and corne-
lians are found in a peculiar stratum, about thirty feet below the sur-
face, in a small tract among the Rajpeepla Hills, on the banks of the
Nerbudda, about seventy miles to the south-east of Cambay. I am not
aware of any diamond mines existing in or about Guzerat. Probably
those at Golconda are indicated.

108 THE TRAVELS OF

forty years ago he captured this kingdom from a king of the
Guzerati, which Guzerati are a certain race which eats
nothing that has blood, and never kills any living thing. And
these same people are neither Moors nor heathens. 1 It is my

' The Sultan at the time was Fath Khan, entitled Mahmud Bigarrah,
who began to reign a.d. 1459 and died in 1511 ; but our author is not
so correct in his history of the succession. Guzerat became independent
of Delhi under Dhafir Khan, who assumed the sovereignty of the pro-
vince in 1408. For obvious reasons that event does not tally with the
occurrence referred to by Varthema. The mention of " a king of the
Guzerattis", who was neither a Moor nor a Heathen, inclines me to
think that he distorted the accounts which he had heard of Mahmud
Khan's successful wars with some of the native princes into the apocry-
phal statement respecting the time and manner of his accession to
supreme power. The most probable event in the history of that sove-
reign which may have led to this misapprehension, was his final capture
of the strong forts of Girnar and Janagarh from Rao Mandalik in 1472.
Those fortresses are in Kattywar, a province of Guzerat, and appear to
have been inhabited at the time chiefly by Jains. Writing of Girnar,
Postans says : " The whole of this extraordinary mount is invested with
peculiar sanctity, the origin of which would seem to be of high antiquity.
That the present system of worship would seem to be a graft of the
ancient Buddhist faith which obtained here, there can be no doubt.
The edicts of Pyadasi testify abundantly that the hill of Girinagar and
its neighbourhood was originally a stronghold of the Monotheists, whose
form of worship has now degenerated into the modern system of Jain-
ism." {Notes on a Journey to Girnar, p. 882.) I am the more inclined
to draw the foregoing inference from Varthema's description of the
creed and habits of the people to whom he refers ; for the Jains generally,
who are numerous in and about Cambay, are very careful of animal life.
The Shravakas, one of the Jain castes, have many Pinjreepols, or hos-
pitals for animals and reptiles, however vile. They have also another
peculiar establishment called a Jevkotee. This is a dome, with a door
large enough at the top for a man to creep in. In these repositories
wevils, and other insects which the Shravakas may find in their grain,
are provided with food by their charity and extraordinary protection
to everything containing life. Moreover, they profess to worship the
Supreme being alone, and wholly reject the agency of Devtas and the
Aryhuntas, or Gooroos. (See Bombay Government Selections, No. xxxix.
p. 342-5.) Fitch notices the Pinjreepoles. He says : " In Cambaia they
will kill nothing, nor have anything killed. In the town they have
hospitals to keep lame dogs and cats, and for birds. They will give
meat to the ants." Pinkehton's Voyaaes, vol. ix. p. 409.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 109

opinion that if they were baptized, they would all be saved
by virtue of their works, for they never do to others what
they would not that others should do unto them. Their
dress is this : some wear a shirt, and some go naked, with
the exception of a piece of cloth about their middle, having
nothing on their feet or on their legs. On their heads they
wear a large red cloth ; and they are of a tawny colour. And
for this, their goodness, the aforesaid sultan took from them
their kingdom.

You shall now hear the manner of living of this Sultan
Machamuth. In the first place he is a Mohammedan, toge-
ther with all his people. He has constantly twenty thousand
horsemen. In the morning, when he rises, there come to
his palace fifty elephants, on each of which a man sits astride ;
and the said elephants do reverence to the sultan, and they
have nothing else to do. So in like manner when he has
risen from his bed. And when he eats, there are fifty or
sixty kinds of instruments, namely, trumpets, drums of several
sorts, and flageolets, and fifes, with many others, which for
the sake of brevity I forbear mentioning. When the sultan
eats, the said elephants again do reverence to him. When
the proper time shall come, I will tell you of the intelligence
and understanding which these animals possess. The said
sultan has mustachios under his nose so long that he ties
them over his head as a woman would tie her tresses, and
he has a white beard which reaches to his girdle. 1 Every
day he eats poison. Do not, however, imagine that he fills
his stomach with it ; but he eats a certain quantity, so that
when he wishes to destroy any great personage he makes
him come before him stripped and naked, and then eats

1 'Ali Muhammed Khan, in his History of Guzerat, gives the follow-
ing account of Sultan Mahmud : — " Regarding his surname of Bigarrah,
the people of Guzerat say, that each of his mustachios being large and
twisted like a cow's horn, and such a cow being called Bigarrah, they
thus obtained for him the name." Bird's Translation, pp. 202-3.

110 THE TRAVELS OF

certain fruits which are called chofole, which resemble a
muscatel nut. He also eats certain leaves of herbs, which
are like the leaves of the sour orange, called by some tam-
boli; and then he eats some lime of oyster shells, together
with the above mentioned things. When he has masticated
them well, and has his mouth full, he spurts it out upon that
person whom he wishes to kill, so that in the space of half
an hour he falls to the ground dead. This sultan has also
three or four thousand women, and every night that he sleeps
with one she is found dead in the morning. 1 Every time
that he takes off his shirt, that shirt is never again touched
by any one ; and so of his other garments ; and every day
he chooses new garments. My companion asked how it was
that this sultan eats poison in this manner. Certain mer-
chants, who were older than the sultan, answered that his
father had fed him upon poison from his childhood.

Let us leave the sultan, and return to our journey, that

1 A similar account is repeated by Odoardo Barbosa, who appears to
have visited Carabay shortly after Mahroud Khan's death. He says :
" I have heard that he was brought up from childhood to take poison ;
for his father fearing that, in accordance with the usage of the country,
he migbt be killed by that means, took this precaution against such a
catastrophe. He began to make him eat of it in small doses, gradually
increasing them, until he could take a large quantity, whereby he be-
came so poisonous, that if a fly lighted on his hand, it swelled and died
incontinently, and many of the women with whom he slept died from
the same cause." (Rajmusio, vol. i. pp. 204-5.) Varthema seems to have
believed further, that Mahinud's spittle, after masticating the Betel leaf,
in conjunction with the fruit of the Areca palm and fine lime, was fatal
to any upon whom his Majesty might choose to eject it. Beyond the
fact that he was an enormous eater, I can find nothing to substantiate
these fabulous statements, which remind us of Mithridates, and of the
Arabian Nights. The author of the Miraiit Sikandari, quoted by 'Ali
Muhammed Khan, says : " Sultan Mahmud was the best of all the Guze-
rat kings, on account of his great justice and beneficence, his honouring
and observing all the Muhammedan laws, and for the solidity of his
judgment, whether in great or small matters. He attained a great
age, and was distinguished for strength, bravery, and liberality." Bum's
Translation, p. 203.

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. Ill

is, to the men of the said city, the greater part of whom go
about in a shirt, and are very warlike and great merchants.
It is impossible to describe the excellence of the country.
About three hundred ships of different countries come and
go here. This city, and another of which I will speak at the
proper season, supply all Persia, Tartary, Turkey, Syria,
Barbary, that is Africa, Arabia Felix, Ethiopia, India, and a
multitude of inhabited islands, with silk and cotton stuffs.
So that this sultan lives with vast riches, and fights with a
neighbouring king, who is called king of the Ioghe, distant
from this city fifteen days' journey.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE MANNER OF LIVING
AND CUSTOMS OF THE KING OF THE JOGHE.

This king of the Ioghe 1 is a man of great dignity, and has
about thirty thousand people, and is a pagan, he and all his
subjects ; and by the pagan kings he and his people are con-
sidered to be saints, on account of their lives, which you
shall hear. It is the custom of this king to go on a pilgrim-
age once in every three or four years, like a pilgrim, that
is, at the expense of others, with three or four thousand of
his people, and with his wife and children. And he takes

1 I am unable to identify this " king of the Ioghe" ( Joghees), with
whom Sultan Mahmud is said to have been at war. No dependance can
be placed on Varthema's names and distances when given on the report
of others. In this instance he probably indicates the Rajah of Eedur
in the Myhee Kanta, against whom Mahmud marched with a large
force in 1494, and between the Koolee Rajahs of which place and the
sovereigns of Guzerat there was a succession of fierce contests from a.d.
1400 till the latter country became a province of Akbar's empire in 1583.
(See Bird's Translation of the Mirdt Ahmadi, pp. 121, 137, 222, 266,
325. Also Forbes's Ras Mala, vol. i. pp. 378, 381, 385, et seq.)

Perhaps the place of pilgrimage referred to by Varthema was the
famous Buddhist shrine (Boodkhana) at Perwuttum, which Nikitin
describes as " the 'Jerusalem of the Hindoos, where people from all parts
of India congregate." India in the Fifteenth Century, iii. p. 16.

112 THE TRAVELS OF

four or five coursers, and civet-cats, apes, parrots, leopards,
and falcons ; and in this way he goes through the whole of
India. His dress is a goat skin, that is, one before and one
behind, with the hair outwards. His colour is dark tawny,
for the people here begin to be more dark than white. They
all wear a great quantity of jewels, and pearls, and other pre-
cious stones, in their ears, and they go dressed a Vapostolica}
and some wear shirts. The king and some of the more noble
have the face and arms and the whole body powdered over
with ground sandal-wood and other most excellent scents.
Some of these people adopt as an act of devotion the custom
of never sitting on any high seat ; others, as an act of devo-
tion, never sit on the ground ; others adopt the custom of
never lying at full length on the ground ; others, again, that
of never speaking. These always go about with three or
four companions, who wait upon them. All generally carry
a little horn at their neck ; and when they go into a city
they all in company sound the said little horns, and this they
do when they wish alms to be given to them. When the
king does not go, they go at least three or four hundred at a
time, and remain in a city three days, in the manner of the
Singani. 2 Some of them carry a stick with a ring of iron at
the base. Others carry certain iron dishes which cut all
round like razors, and they throw these with a sling when they
wish to injure any person ; and, therefore, when these people
arrive at any city in India, every one tries to please them ;
for should they even kill the first nobleman of the land, they
would not suffer any punishment because they say that they
are saints. 3 The country of these people is not very fertile ;

1 We have here the same expression as in page 78. On second
thoughts, I am inclined to think that Varthema borrows his figure from
the Roman toga, in which the old Italian artists generally represent the
Apostles. Not an inapt comparison with the manner in which the com-
mon people of India frequently wear the langhHti.

~ Zingani, gipsies (?).

8 By no means an exaggerated account of the austerities practised by

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 113

they even suffer from dearth of provisions. There are more
mountains than plains. Their habitations are very poor, and
they have no walled places. 1 Many jewels come into our
parts by the hands of these people, because through the
liberty they enjoy, and their sanctity, they go where jewels
are produced, and carry them into other countries without
any expense. Thus, having a strong country, they keep the
Sultan Machamuth at war.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING THE CITY OF CEVUL, AND
ITS CUSTOMS, AND THE BRAVERY OF ITS PEOPLE.

Departing from the said city of Combeia, I travelled on
until I arrived at another city named Cevul, 2 which is distant

some of the Joghee Fakirs, and of the estimation in which they were
held by their co-religionists. On this occasion, Varthemais more modest
in his description than either Bernier or Hamilton, who descend to the
most disgusting particulars in the habits of these filthy ascetics. See
Pinkerton's Voyages, vol. viii. pp. 180, 317-8.

1 This description of the country inhabited by Varthema's " Ioghe"
confirms me in the impression that the Myhee Canta is indicated.

2 Chaul, Choul, or Chowul, a town and seaport of the Northern Concan,
in the British district of Tanuah, twenty-three miles south of Bombay.
It appears to have been a place of considerable trade in former times.
Nikitin, the Russian traveller, who calls it Chivil, visited it about thirty-
five years before Varthema, and describes the manners of the inhabitants
much as he does : " People go about naked, with their heads uncovered,
and bare breasts. ..Their fcniaz [prince] wears a, fata [a large silken gar-
ment] on the head, and another on the loins; the boyars wear it on the
shoulders and on the loins, [Varthema's alia apostolicha.] The servants
of the hniaz and of the boyars attach the fata round the loins, carrying
in the hand a shield and a sword, or a scimitar, or knives, or a sabre, or
a bow and arrows; but all naked and barefooted." {India in the XVth.
Century, iii. 8, 9.) Ralph Fitch, who was at Chaul in 1583, after its
capture by the Portuguese, says : " Here is great traffic for all sorts of
spices and drugs, silk and cloth of silk, sandals, and elephants' teeth."
The trade had fallen off considerably in Hamilton's time, for he says :
"the place is now miserably poor." Pinkerton's Voyages, ix. p. 408;
viii. p. 351.

114 THE TRAVELS OF

from the above-mentioned city twelve days' journey, and
the country between the one and the other of these cities is
called Guzerati. The king of this Cevul is a pagan. The
people are of a dark tawny colour. As to their dress, with
the exception of some Moorish merchants, some wear a
shirt, and some go naked, with a cloth round their middle,
Avith nothing on their feet or head. The people are war-
like : their arms are swords, bucklers, bows and spears made
of reeds and wood, and they possess artillery. This city is
extremely well walled, and is distant from the sea two miles.
It possesses an extremely beautiful river, by which a very
great number of foreign vessels go and return, because the
country abounds in everything excepting grapes, nuts, and
chestnuts. They collect here an immense quantity of grain,
of barley, and of vegetables of every description ; and
cotton stuffs are manufactured here in great abundance. I
do not describe their faith here, because their creed is the
same as that of the king of Calicut, of which I will give
you an account when the proper time shall come. There
are in this city a very great number of Moorish merchants.
The atmosphere begins here to be more warm than cold.
Justice is extremely well administered here. This king has
not many fighting men. The inhabitants here have horses,
oxen, and cows, in great abundance.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING DABULI, A CITY OP INDIA.

Having seen Cevul and its customs, departing thence, I
went to another city, distant from it two days' journey,
which is called Dabuli, 1 which city is situated on the bank of

1 Situated in the British district of Rutnagherry, in lat. 17° 34' N.,
long. 73° 16' E., on the northern bank of the river Washishtee, (called
llalewacko and Kaleivacko by the earlier navigators), and about two miles
from its mouth : apparently a place of little consequence now, as it is

LUDOVICO DI VARTHEMA. 115

a very great river. This city is surrounded by walls in our
manner, and is extremely good. The country resembles
that above described. There are Moorish merchants here
in very great numbers. The king of this place [Dabuli] is a
pagan, and possesses about thirty thousand fighting men,
but according to the manner of Cevul before mentioned.
This king is also a very great observer of justice. The
country, the mode of living, the dress, and the customs, re-
semble those of the aforesaid city of Cevul.

THE CHAPTER CONCERNING GOGA, AN ISLAND OF INDIA,
AND THE KING OF THE SAME.

I departed from the city of Dabuli aforesaid, and went to
another island, which is about a mile distant from the main-
land, and is called Goga, 1 and which pays annually to the
king of Decan ten thousand golden ducats, called by them
pardai. These pardai are smaller than the seraphim of
Cairo, but thicker, and have two devils stamped upon one

not mentioned by Thornton, but formerly one of the principal seaports
of Bijapur. There 'Adil Shah landed from the island of Hormuz in 1458,
and thither an ambassador from Persia was escorted from the capital,
on his return homeward, in 1519. (Scott's Ferishta, vol. i. pp. 209, 258.)
Nikitin describes it as a very large town and an extensive seaport, " the
meeting-place for all nations navigating the coasts of India and Ethi-
opia." It was captured by the Portuguese under General Almeida in
1508. When Mandeslo visited it in 1639, its fortifications had been
mostly demolished (lib. ii. p. 243) ; and fifty years later its importance
as a seaport appears to have been a thing of the past ; for Hamilton,
after indicating its situation at the mouth of a large river, merely adds :
" it was of old a place of trade, and where the English once had a fac-
tory." Pinkerton's Voyages, vol. viii. p. 350.

1 The island of Goa, (Ibn Batuta writes it " Kawah"), now belonging
to the Portuguese, but at that time a dependency of the Muhammedan
kingdom of the Deccan. The place was surprised and captured by the
Portuguese under Albuquerque in 1510 ; but they were expelled shortly
after by 'Adil Shah, the reigning sovereign. It was retaken by them, the

116 THE TRAVELS OF

side of them, and certain letters on the other. 1 In this island
there is a fortress near the sea, walled round after our man-
ner, in which there is sometimes a captain, who is called.
Savain, who has four hundred Mamelukes, he himself being
also a Mameluke. When the said captain can procure any-
white man, he gives him very great pay, allotting him at
least fifteen or twenty pardai per month. Before he in-
scribes him in the list of able men, he sends for two tunics
made of leather, one for himself and the other for him who
wishes to enlist ; each puts on his tunic, and they fall to
blows. If he finds him to be strong, he puts him in the list
of able men ; if not, he sets him to some other work than
that of fighting. This captain, with four hundred Mame-
lukes, wages a great war with the king of Narsinga, 2 of
whom we will speak at the proper season. I departed
thence, and, travelling for seven days on the mainland, I
arrived at a city which is called Decan.

year following, from 'Adil Shah's successor, and has remained in their
possession ever since. It does not appear to have been a great mart of
trade prior to the Portuguese conquest, but its commerce increased con-
siderably during the early period of their domination. Ralph Fitch,
who visited Goain 1583, says: "there are many merchants of all nations."
It has now fallen into a hopeless state of decay.

1 Pardao or pertab. The same coin appears to have been called also
a hun. According to