wind and weather Niencheu Kincheu Chucheu Kinhoa Vencheu Ningpo and Xoahing all chief Cities and bravely adorned not far from Ningpo lies Liampo once much frequented by the Portugals The whole Province of Chekiang is every where cut through with Rivers Rivulets and murmuring streams some natural others artificial The chief River Che which gives name to the Country of which they tell us that annually upon the eighteenth day of the eighth Moon which is our October a prodigious Spring-tide happens roaring extreamly in its ascent beyond the loud murmur of Cataracts or Water-breaks and comes with a head high and strangely mounted above the Waters The Province of Nanking by the Tartars called Kiangnan is the second in honour in magnitude and fertility in all China It is divided into fourteen great Territories having Cities and Towns an hundred and ten Nanking or Kiangning being the Metropolis a City that if she did not exceed most Cities on the Earth in bigness and beauty yet she was inferior to few for her Pagodes her Temples her Porcelane Towers her Palaces and Triumphal Arches Fungiang Sucheu Sunkiang Leucheu Hoaigan Ganking Ningue Hoeicheu are also eminent Places and of great Note and Trade The Province of Quantung lies along upon the Sea-shore having many convenient Havens and Harbors It contains ten Counties and eighty great and small Cities Quancheu or Canton by the Portugals is the Metropolis and chief of the Province exceedingly beautified with Pagodes Palaces stately Structures and Triumphal Arches fortified with strong Walls Towers Bulwarks and Redoubts defended by five Castles Of the greatest Trade and the richest in the whole Kingdom The other great Cities are Xaocheu Hoeicheu Chaocheu Chacking Liencheu and Luicheu The Island of Ainan or Hainan is reckoned for the tenth County it lies in the Bay of Tunking separated from China by a Chanel of about five leagues broad where they fish for Pearls it chief City is Kiuncheu or Ingly fortified with strong Walls handsom Buildings and well seated for Trade and the whole Island produceth all Necessaries for human sustenance Southwards of Canton lie many small Islands in the Sea on one of which or rather a little Rock joyned to a great Island lieth the City Macao once possessed by the Portuguese so naturally fortified that 't is almost invincible being defended with two strong Castles against the attempts of an Enemy The Province of Quansi in Bigness plenty of Merchandise and pleasant Fields may compare with the rest It is divided into eleven great Countries which contain ninety eight Cities great and small the chief whereof is Quilia full of stately Structures other chief Cities are Gucheu Kingyang Cincheu Nunning Taping Chingan and others The Province of Quicheu is divided into eight Counties having great and small Cities to the number of eighty one of which Quiyang is the chief Chinyveng Tunying Liping are the next considerable The Province of Junnan though the last in place is not the least in extent and goodness viz. in the abundance of rich commodities 'T is divided into twelve Provinces contaning eighty seven Cities great and small besides thirteen Garisons The Metropolis Junnan boasts to be one of the best and greatest Cities in all China flourishing in Trade and Riches adorned with fair Structures and Temples Jungning Likiang Yaogan Tali Manhoa Kinghung and Lancand are other chief places In short they reckon in these Counties twelve hundred ninety nine Towns two hundred forty seven great Cities called Cheu and eleven hundred fifty two little Towns called Hien yet as big an ordinary City in Europe Martinius sets down thirteen hundred forty eight Towns whereof one hundred fifty nine are great called Cheu and the other Hien There are also great Garisons or Military Countries every one with lesser Garisons under their commands thirty seven in number also several Forts and Castles to the number of one hundred seventy six Besides these Towns and Fortresses China is very full of innumerable Villages and Hamlets so that it appears to be as one entire City Corea is divided into eight Territories On the North it joins to Nieuche in Tartary the South respects the Island Fungma or Quelpaerts on which in the year 1653 the Ship Sperwer of Batavia was Shipwracked and of sixty four men thirty six got to shore who suffered many extreamities and there found one of their Dutch Country men that had been prisoner twenty seven years The whole Country is exceeding populous full of Towns built after the Chinese manner whose Fashions Language Letters Religion and Government the Coreans follow It s chief City is Pinjang but by the aforesaid Dutch mens Relations Sioor was the Royal City from whence in the year 1666 in a Fishermans bark in ten days eight of them got to Gotto Island and from thence to Nengesaque on the Island Dysma The Isle Formosa once Paccand now under the Tartars abounds with Deer wild-Goats Hares Coneys Swine and Tygers the Woods with Pheasants and Pidgeons and the Ground produceth Rice Wheat Sugar Ginger Cinnamon Coco-Nuts and several other necessaries for human Sustenance Their chief practice or special Virtues are Theft Murder and Adultery but if any of the Women prove with Child before they are thirty seven years of Age when they are ready to be delivered the Midwife kneads it to death in the womb They Write Read and have Registers In Anno 1654 hapned a mighty Earthquake which continued seven weeks with little intermissions In December and January is generally the fairest Weather Their greatest Rains are in July and August The Mousons or stormy Seasons begin in October and continue till March which is called the Northern the other or Southern begins in May and holds till September Against the North-East part of Formosa lies a rich golden Mine surrounded by many Rocks from whence in August the Rains wash down great store of gold Oar not far from the Fort Kelang which the Dutch had in possession Taywan or Tayovan upon the Isle Formosa the utmost North-point being distant almost a league but the Southermost point within a Bow-shot of the Land it is about two leagues and an half in Length and a quarter in Breadth on the North-side upon a Sand-Hill stands the Fort Zelandia built by the Dutch 1632 under the Castle Westward lies another Fort guarded by two points of the Sea A Bow-shot distant lies a strong Outwork being the Key to the Castle called Utrecht Eastward from which stands the Town built by the Dutch On the other side on the main of Formosa stands the Fort and Village Sakkam well planted with Cannon but in the year 1661 Coxinga and his Associates being a crew of Rebels Chineses took both the Island of Formosa and Tayoven from the Dutch after a siege of ten Months where Coxinga found ten Tun of Gold forty pieces of Ordnance and other things to a great value Of JAPAN JAPONAE ac TERRAE IESSONIS Novissima Descriptio Robt. Morden THE Island of Japan
Father They write upon Rolls of Paper cut into long scrowles and glu d for 25 or 30 Ells together They wear long Robes under which they have close Coats down to their knees but they tye their Girdles under their Bellies they make their Collations with spie'd Bread Aqua-vitae and Hydromel that is Watâ—r and Honey mixt There are two things remarkable amongst the Muscovites one is that they begin the day at the rising of the Sun and end it at the Sun-setting so that their Night begins at the Suns-setting and ends at its rising The other is they begin their year the first day of September allowing no other Epoche than from the Creation of the world which they think to be in Autumn and they reckon 5508 years from the Creation of the World to the Nativity of our Saviour whereas most of our Chronologers account but 3969. As for their Armies they generally consist of a 100000 or 200000 but then you must count the Beasts Botis Frederowitz Grand Duke of Moscovy toward the beginning of this Age appeared with an Army of 300000 Men. Alexis Michaelowitz after the defeat of Stephen Radzin had an Army no less numerous when the dispute was about stopping the Turks Progress into Poland Infantry is better esteemed by them than Cavalry being more able to sustain a Siege and patiently to endure all imaginable hardships rather than yeild as they did in our times at the Castle of Vilna and in the Fortress of Notebourg As to the forming a Siege the Muscovites understand little as they made appear before Smolensko 1633 before Riga 1656 and before Azac 1673. Their Forts are generally of Wood or Earth upon the windings of Rivers or else in Lakes The chiefest strength of the Kingdom consists in Forreign Forces to whom they give good allowances in time of War. The Prince bears the Title of Grand Duke he boasts himself descended from Augustus and stiles himself Grand Czar or Tzaar that is to say Caesar The habits which he is said to wear make him look like a Priest they that treat with his Ambassadors have the greatest trouble in the world to give him his Titles because of their so extraordinary pretensions In the year 1654 to the end he might make War in Poland and uphold the Cossacks the Great Duke pretended that some of the Polish Lords had not given him his due Titles and that they had Printed Books in Poland in derogation of his Honour One of his Predecessors was so cruel that he caus'd the Hat of a French Ambassador to be nailed to his head because he refus'd to be uncovered in his presence He commands absolutely and the Muscovites call themselves his Slaves and he calls them in contempt by a diminutive name Jammot Pierrot His will is a Law to his Subjects who hold it for an undeniable truth that the will of God and the Great Duke are immutable His Treasure is very large for he heaps up all the Gold and Silver he can lay his hands on in his Castles of Diolikzen and Vâ—lâ—gda and never makes his Presents or his Payments but in Skins or in Fish or else in some few Hides or Pieces of Cloth of Gold. The Religion of the Muscovites differs little from that of the Greeks For they follow their Faith their Rites and their Ceremonies The principal part of their Devotion after they are Baptized consists in the Invocation of their Saints for every house hath its Saint Pictured and hung up against the wall with a small Wax-candle before it which they light when they say their Prayers The Pictures of the Virgin Mary and of St. Nicholas their Patron are in great Veneration amongst them And the sign of the Cross is the ordinary Preface to all their Civil Actions On Sundays and their Festival Days they go three times to Church Morning Noon and Evening and are standing and uncovered at the time of Divine Service Besides their Ordinary Fasts on Wednesdays Fridays and the Eves before Holidays they have four Lents every year during which they eat neither Butter Eggs nor Milk only the first week of their chief Lent serves them as a Carnaval but after this the most strict of them eat no Fish but on Sundays and drink nothing but Quaz or fair water They commonly take the Communion on a Fasting-day at Noon-service and if any one receives it on a Sunday he must not eat Flesh that day 'T is administred in both kinds with Leavened Bread and Wine mingled with warm water They believe no Transubstantiation nor reckon no Adultery but marrying another mans Wife They believe no Purgatory but hold two distinct places where the Souls remain that are separated from the Bodies Yet allow Prayers for the Dead They hold Baptism of great Importance And admit Children of seven years old to come to the Sacrament All their Images are in flat Painting They never feast but upon the Annunciation of the Virgin They have a Patriarch at Musco the chief of their Religion Three Archbishops or Metropolitans at Rosthou at Susdal and at Grand Novogrode Bishops at Wologda at Resan at Susdal at T wer at Toboleska at Aâ—â—racan at Casan at Plescou at Colomna and almost in all the Provinces of the Great Duke being all chosen out of the body of their Monks They have this good quality that they force no mans Conscience they hate the Roman Catholicks for the exorbitances committed by them when the Polander's became Masters of Musco in the year 1611. But there are likewise some Idolaters of them toward the North. Muscovy is divided into two parts the Southern and the Northern that toward the River Volga this toward Duvina Volga it was the Rhe of Ptol. Tertaris Thamar Armenis the greatest River in Europe throws it self into the Caspian Sea after it has rowl'd above seven hundred Leagues The Duvine after it has run by the Cities of most Trade in Muscovy by six mouths empties it self into the Gulf or St. Nicholas which is called the White Sea because of the now that environs it The Donn which separates Europe from Asia begins not above a hundred Leagues from the place where it ends and yet it winds above six hundred miles first toward the East and then toward the West formerly a conjunction of these three Rivers was designed to the end the principal Seas of our Continent might have participated one with another to facilitate the Trade of the Ocean Mediterranean and Caspian but the contrivance fail'd There are few good Cities in these parts none or very few being pav'd and those that be are pav'd with Wood very few Fortified or Wall'd but have till'd Land between the Streets The Houses are low and made of Wood and Loine a Man may go to Market and buy one of these Houses ready built and so to be carried away great fires happen oft'times by reason both of their Timber buildings and for that the combustible matter is easily set on fire by the great
delicious part and so well Peopled that for 18 Leagues in Length and 12 in breadth it contains above 130 Monasteries well endow'd 1460 Parishes 5000 Fountains of Spring-water two hundred Stone-Bridges and six Sea-Ports some call it the Delight and Marrow of Spain Porto by the Dutch and by the English Port a Port a City containing about 4000 Houses is a place of great Trade and Braga Braecaria Augusta of Ptol. Bracara of Ant. and Braecae of Plia is renown'd for the several Councils that have been held there and for the pretension of the Arch-Bishop who claims to be Arch-Bishop of all Trales-Montes is stored with Mines and adorn'd with the City of Braganca the Capital of a Dukedom of 40000 Duckets Revenue wherein there are also fifty little Towns and other Lands which Entitle the Duke of Braganca to be three times a Marquis seven times an Earl and many more times to be a Lord. The Princes of that Name who are now in Possession of the Crown usually Resided at Villa Viciosa and had a Prerogative beyond the Grandees of Spain to sit in publick under the Royal Canopy of the Kings of Spain Beyra is fertile in Rye Millet Apples and Chesnuts Her City of Coimbra formerly the Residence of Alphonsus the first King of Portugal who enjoyed a longer Soveraignty than any Prince since the beginning of the Roman Monarchy attained to faith Heylin Sapores the Son of Misdales King of Persia whose Father dying left his Mother with Child and the Persian Nobility set the Crown on his Mothers Belly before she was quick came short of him by two years is famous for the University and for the Bishoprick which is reckon'd to be worth above a hundred thousand Livres of Annual Rent Estremadura produces Wine Oyl Salt and Honey which the Bees there make of Citron Flowers and Roses her City of Lisbon Oliosippon of Ptol. Olisipon of Ant. Olysippo of Solynus and Olysipo of Pliny a Municipium of the Romans sirnamed Faelicitas Julia the Royal Seat of the Kings of Portugal an Arch-Bishops Sea the Residence of the Vice-Roys a flourishing Empory situated upon five rising Hills upon the right Shore of the River Tagus Tajo incolis about 5 Miles from the Ocean having the advantage of the Ebbing and Flowing of the Sea. It is said to contain 32 Parish-Churches 350 Streets 11000 dwelling Houses 160000 Inhabitants besides Church-men Strangers and Courtiers and with the Suburbs about 7 Miles in compass the Capital City of all the Kingdom one of the fairest richest the biggest and best peopled of Europe The little Town of Belem which is near to it is the Burying-place of many of the Kings of Portugal Santarim is so happy in the great number of Olives that grow round about it that the Natives boast that they could make a River of their Oyl as big as Tagus It was the Scabaliscus of Ptol. the Scabalis of Ant. and Pliny sirnamed Praesidium Julium then a Roman Colony and a juridicial Resort named from St. Irene a Nun of Tomar here martyred and enshrined Setubal the Salatia of Ptol. is well situated and well built and is a Town of good Trade it is the best Haven in all the Kingdom 30 Miles long and 3 broad her Salt-pits and her Wines by what the Portuguezes relate bring a greater Revenue to their King than all Arragon to the King of Spain Alen teio passes for the Granary of Portugal by reason of the Corn which it produces The City of Evora claims the next place in Dignity to Lisbon In the year 1663 the Portuguezes overthrew the Spaniards in a memorable Battel near to this City Elvas is famous for its excellent Oyls and for the Sieges that it has prosperously held out against the Spaniards Ourique is the place where was fought that famous Battel which occasioned the Proclaiming the first King of Portugal Portelegre is a Bishops See Beja is supposed to be the Pax Julia of Plin. and Ptol. Algarve tho small in extent it assumes the Title of a Kingdom and was reunited to the Crown by the Marriage of Alphonsus the 3d with Beatrice of Castile It produces Eggs Olives Almonds and Wines which are very much esteemed and indeed the word Algerbia in the Language of the Moors signifies a fruitful Champaign Chief Towns are Tavila or Tavira the Balsa of Ptol. and Plin. Faro is seated near the Cuncum Promontorium now Capo St. de Maria. Silves is the ancient Ossonaba of Ptol. the Onoba of Mela the Sonoba of Strabo by the Moors Excuba by the Spaniards Estoy by some Estomber Lagus is seated near the Promontorium Sacrum of Strab. and Ptol. now Cape St. Vincent from the Relicks of the Holy Martyr brought from Valentia by the persecuted Christians flying the Cruelty of Abderrahman the first King of the Spanish Moors removed afterwards to Lisbon by King Ferdinand Of Italy ITALIA by Robert Morden at the Atlas in Cornhil London ITaly Anglis Italia Incolis Hispanis Italic Gallis Welschlandt Germanis Wolska Zemia Polonis Vloska Sclavonice called also by the Ancients Ausonia Camesena Oenotria Hesperia Janicula Salevmbrona Saturnia c. once Empress of the then known World still the fairest and most delicious Country of Europe After so long time so many Ages elapsed it is not certainly decided who were her first Inhabitants nor whether some one Nation did plant here after the Confusion of Babel or that it was peopled by little and little as several Nations did arrive 't is equally dubious whether it received its general Name at first or whether particular Parts had first their Appellations 'T is certain that several Nations at sundry times did transport themselves thither from Greece and Peopled all the Sea-Coast said to be Janus An. Mun. 1925. after whom came Saturn out of Creet Evander or Oenotrus out of Arcadia with their followers after them arrived some Trojans under the conduct of Aeneas whose kind entertainment by Latinus King of the Latins occasioned the Wars between him and Turnus King of the Rutuli but after the Romans grew Potent all Italy fell under their Subjection until the time of Honorius after which several barbarous Nations viz. Goths Vandals Herules and the Huns passing the Alps over-ran all Italy and divided it into several Kingdoms And when these were ejected or at least subdued by the Lieutenants of the Emperor Justinan it was once more united to the Empire till the Empress Sophia envying Narsis Honour recalled him from his Government whereupon he opened the Passage of the Country to Albonius King of the Lombards who possessed themselves of that Country calling it by their own Name Longobardia These were at length subdued by Pepin King of France who was called into Italy by the Bishop of Rome After that the Seat of the Roman Empire being fixed in Germany Italy was reduced into several Parcels and Factions so that the Soveraign Princes thereof at this day are 1. The Pope Pontifex Maximus under whose Dominion are these
and Sylla and in the Wars of Vespasian and Vitellius Here was the Temple of Janus open in the time of War and shut in the time of Peace which hapned but three times during all their Monarchy 1. In the time of Numa 2. After the Punick War And 3ly in the Reign of Augustus when our Saviour was born Nor must I forget the Ponte Molle a mile out of the City anciently Pons Milvius where Constantine was shewed the Cross with these words In Hoc Signo Vinces This City is seated on the Banks of the River Tyber formerly upon ten Hills though now chiefly in the Campus Martius On the top of the Vatican Hill is the proud Palace of the Popes large enough to Entertain three Soveraign Princes at once and their Attendants beautified and enriched with excellent Paintings and Curiosities with the Garden Beluedere famous for its rare Plants delightful Walks and curious Statues On this Hill is the Church of St. Peter the most splendid and famous in all Rome the most sumptuous stately and magnificent Structure in the World of that Majestick bulk and greatness that it exceeds in all dimensions the most famous Temples of the Ancients in length 520 Foot and 385 in breadth adorned with Paintings Tombs and other choice Reliques My Bounds will not permit to speak of its other Churches Hospitals Monasteries Convents of its Libraries as the Vatican the Jesuites Colledg c. The Palaces of the Cardinals are stately Structures and richly adorned to which are joyned pleasant Gardens Here are several Piazza's abundance of Antiquities and Statues which I shall not name but may not forget the Castle of St. Angelo which for its strength is esteemed impregnable unless starved and here the Pope liveth in more State than any Prince in Christendom The chief of the other Cities and Territories belonging to the Estates of the Church are Bologna alias Bononia famous for its Study of the Civil Law for the Pope's Palace or retiring-place Rich Populous and well Inhabited by Nobility and Gentry the chief University in Italy Ferrara Ferrarea with its Iron Mines beautifully built adorned with many Suburb-Edifices in the midst of it is a spacious Market-place into which do open about twenty Streets uniform and strait and Comachio The once fair Haven Ravenna in the Province of Romandiola when Caesar Augustus kept his Navy here famous for the Seat of the Emperor Honorius and Successors of the Gothish Kings of the Exarchs and of its Patriarch now the Haven is choaked up and its Land covered with Water Cervia invironed with Fens and is famous for its great quantity of Salt as Fienza is for its Earthen Ware. Vrbin Vrbinum seated at the bottom of the Apennine Hills once famous for a sumptuous Palace and a most excellent Library as also for Polydore Virgil the Author of the History of England Rimini Ariminum of old the taking of which so frighted Pompey that he left Rome Other places are Fano the Sea-Port Town to Vrbin Senigaglia the Seno-Gallia of old and Pesaro both Maritine Towns. On the Banks of Metro of old Metaurus was fought the great Battel betwixt Asdrubal the Brother of Hannibal and the two Consuls Livius and Cl. Nero where 56000 of the Carthaginians were slain 5400 taken Prisoners as Livy writeth Ancona in Marchia Anconitana or Strato Marcha del Ancona the best Haven of Italy towards the Adriatick Sea And here I must not forget Loretto or St. Maria Lauretane famous for the Church of the Virgin Mary a stately Structure richly adorned with Presents Offerings and Gifts of Princes Nobles c. whose Organs and other Musick makes an Harmonious Sound to those that go on Pilgrimage thither either for Devotion or Penance Ascoli is the Asculum near which was fought the second Battel between the Romans and Pyrrhus it was also the Seat of the War called Bellum Sociale Macerata the Seat of the Governours of this Province Firmo the Strong Perugia or Perusia is chief of the Province so called seated on the Banks of Tyher in a rich and fruitful Soil Here it was that Augustus Besieged L. Antonius and Fulvia the Wife of M. Antony and near to this City is the Lake de Perugia of old Thrasemene of about 30 miles in compass near whose Banks Hannibal slew Flaminius and 15000 of his Romans Spoleto in the Dutchy of Vmbria of great Antiquity where are yet remaining stately Aquaducts the Temple of Concord and the Ruins of a spacious Theater Here is also the high Orvieto in the Province of Orvietin seated on a high Rock In Terra Sabina are Narni Nequino and Terni In Campania Romana the chief places besides Rome are Ardea now ruined once the Seat of Turnus King of the Rutuli the Rival and Competitor to Aeneas taken by Tarq. Superbus the refuge of the Romans when the Gauls had taken Rome as is also Alba Longa once the Seat of the Sylvian Kings after the Duel between the three Brethren of the Horatii and Curatii it was ruined by Tullus Hostilius Iteranni of old And the River Allia where Brennus with his Gauls overcame the Roman Army of 40000 and marched to Rome and had agreed for 1000 pound weight of Gold to forsake the City but before the payment of the money they were vanquished by Camillus Alba the Seat of the Sylvian Kings Palestrina Praeneste of old the refuge of Marius against Sylla who killed 12000 of the Citizens when he took the Town Ostia built by Ancus Marcius seated at the mouth of Tibur but its Haven stopped up whose Bishop Consecrates the Pope Lavinia so named from Lavinia Daughter to Latinus King of the Laurentini married to Aeneas Trivoli Tibur of the Ancients Chief places in the Patrimony of St. Peter are Veii a City once of great strength wealth and compass In the assault of which 306 of the Fabii were slain in one day only one Child left at home who restored the Family and was the Ancestor of Fabius Maximus the Preserver of Italy against Hannibal After a Siege of ten years this City was taken and destroyed by Furius Camillus Civita Vecchia Maritine Town abounding with Allom. Here are kept the Popes two Gallies maintained by 30000 Duckets the yearly Tribute of 40000 Curtezans Terracina is the ancient Anxur near the Promontorium Circeium now Monte Circello famous for the dwelling of the Enchantress Circe Monte Fiascone where is the so much celebrated Wine near the Lake Volsinii now Bolsena Viterbo is a large and well-situate Town where is the Monument of Pope John 21 in the Domo Here are Sulphure-Wells and hot Springs Intermingled with the Estate of the Church lies the Dutchy of Castro with the Town of Ronciglione the Country of Citta di Castello Strato del Duca di Parma whose chief place is Castellana The Sabatia now il Ducato di Bracciano the Title of the Family of the Vrsines near the Lake so called And lastly the Republick of Marino a little Town on the top
made his Refuge but was strangled before he could accomplish his design Dadacardia Tav The Ruines whereof denote it to have been a large Town but now the Inhabitants have no other Habitation but the Hollows of Rocks Cousasar Tav Kodgiasar Thev is a Village where you pay the Customs of Diarbequir Tav rather of Merdin teste Thev Merdin Marde Herod Ptol. Merdino Onuph Mirdin Barb. Mirdanum Procopio two Leagues from Kodgiasar is a little City seated on a Mountain with good Walls and a Castle where is resident a Basha who hath under him 200 Spahi's and 400 Janizaries Karasara Tav Caradene Thev shews the Ruines of seven or eight Churches and was once a great Town one days Journy from Nesbin Nesbin is but the shadow of the ancient Nisibis of Strab. Ptol. Plut. Plin. and formerly a great Town now hardly an ordinary Village Mosul upon the West side of the River Tygris is encompassed with Walls of rough Stone plaistered over with little pointed Battlements on the Top. It hath a Castle built of Free Stone and the Walls are about three Fathom high on the Land side separated from the Town by a Ditch five or six Fathoms broad and very deep In the Castle there are six large Guns whereof one is broken and one is mounted several Field-pieces whereof two mounted The Tygris here in Summer is not broader than the River Sein in France but deep and rapid and in Winter 't is as broad again And here I cannot omit what Thevenot affirms of Sanson's Map of this Country viz. That besides the mistakes of Rivers he hath made so many Faults in the position of Places in their Distances as also in their Names that nothing of the Country is true in the Map. Diarbeck taken in general comprehends Arzerum the Assyria of old and Yerac the ancient Chaldea or Babylonia the chief Cities whereof are Babylon and Nineveh which were heretofore very famous now altogether ruined Nineveh just over against Mosul was the Residence of the King of Assyria 24 Leagues in Circuit The voluntary death of Sardanapalus and the Repentance of the Inhabitants have renowned it in Story Towards the Frontiers of Assyria inhabited a Warlike People called The Curds where many great Battels have been fought viz. That at Arbela and Gaugamela Plin. or Gangamela Strab. now near to if not the same with Schiahrazur the Seat of a Turkish Beglerbeg Renowned for the Victory of Alexander the Great against Darius killing above 400000 Persians with the loss of 300 Macedonians There the Califfs wan the Battel of Maraga which made them Masters of all Persia And near to Chuy Selim defeated Ishmael Sephi who had always been a Victor before Babylon lay a small days Journy from Bagdat which stands upon the Tygris and is only a heap of Ruins in a place called Felougia near to which they shew the place where stood the Tower of Babel famous for the Confusion of Languages This Babylon was built by Nimrod whom some affirm to be Belus Semiramis and Nebuchadnezzar much augmented it The first of the two having encompassed it with such Walls as were accounted one of the Seven Wonders of the World and the high and fair Gardens upon the Terras were no less admir'd It was taken by Cyrus by Darius by Alexander the Great who died there and by Seleucus The power and wealth of Babylon was so great that it contributed more to the Grand Cyrus than the third part of all his Dominions Next to Babylon Seleucia called Coche and Alexandria then Seleucia from Antiochus the Son of Seleucius teste Martiano now Bagdad or Bagadat teste Sansone was the most considerable City in all Asia and then Ctesiphon Baghdat or Bagadad generally called Babylon is not only the Rendezvous of several Merchants but also of the Mahumetans of all parts of Asia who go to visit the Sepulchres of Omar and Haly and other Mahometan Saints It was a long time the Residence of the Caliphs Ulit who was one of them was Master of one of the greatest Monarchies in the World for it extended from the most Western parts of Barbary to the East-Indies Another Caliph of this City at his death left Eight Sons Eight Daughters Eight Millions of Gold Eight thousand Slaves and the addition of Eight Kingdoms to his Dominion In the Year 1638. when Amurath the Fourth re-took it from the Persians he caused three Men out of every Tent through his Army to be cast into the Moat and over them a vast number of Bavins and Wooll-Sacks that he might the more easily assault the Town Kufa or Mecha Ali is a City for which the Mahometans have a particular Veneration as being the Burying place of Haly. Bassora or Balsora is the Teredon of Strab. Plin. Ptol. a Town near the mouth of Tygris which they of the Country call Shat. It is large and pleasant by reason of its Palm-Trees The conveniency of its Port furnishes India and Persia with Dates which are Bread and Wine to those that know how to order them Some few Years since Balsora fell under the Jurisdiction of Ali-Bassa who styl'd himself King thereof who left it to his Successors who enjoy it from Father to Son paying a small Tribute to the Grand Signior who is afraid to oppress him lest he should revolt but these two last Places properly belong to Arabia Of CANAAN CANAAN by Rob. Morden THis Country was first Inhabited by Canaan the Son of Cham and called by his Name He dying left it to his 11 Sons that bore the Name of the Children of Canaan at what time it contained 52 Kingdoms and 5 Satrapes Divided afterwards into 12 Tribes that bore the Names of the Sons of Jacob and Israel being conquered by Joshua and possessed by the Israelites who for 386 years were governed by Captains and Judges after that for 418 years by Kings From Rehoboam 10 Tribes revolted who chose the fugitive Jeroboam for their King His Successors were styled Kings of Israel so that it then contained 2 Kingdoms viz. 1st of Judah whose regal Seat was Jerusalem 2d of Israel whose Seat was at Samaria After 259 Years the Israelites were led into Captivity by the King of Assyria some say beyond the Caspian Mountains from whence they never returned And the Assyrians possessed their Land and were called Samaritans The People of Judah were also afterwards carried Captive into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar after set at liberty by Cyrus and returned back under the Conduct of Zerubbabel After this they were called Jews and the Country Jewry and for about 364 years they were governed by Aristocracy until the Maccabees who after many Conflicts with their powerful Neighbours uphold the Government 131 years during which interval the Romans under Pompey conquer'd Judea and after the Death of Antigonus the last of the Race of the Maccabees Herod is made King by Augustus and Anthony a man of admirable Virtues and execrable Vices fortunate abroad unfortunate in his Family his
the Husband getting a Divorce quits himself of his Wife and Dishonour together Amongst all the Priviledges that the Sultan enjoys above his Subjects this one he has less than they that he cannot marry yet hath as many Women as serves his use though never so libidinous which are kept in the Seraglio like Horses in Stables Circumcision is not reckoned one of the five Points which constitute a true Mahometan Believer but is only proposed as a tryal and proof of Man's obedience to the more necessary parts of the Law. They never Circumcise their Children until the Age of 7 years and upwards and then they do it by a Barber or Chyrurgion The Forces of the Turks are very numerous their Armies well disciplin'd and the Belief of Predestination besides the use of Opium makes them bold to undertake any Enterprize Their Militia is of two sorts one receives maintenance from certain Lands bestowed on them by the Grand Signior And these again are either Zaims or Timariots which together may amount to about 100000 Men and come under the general denomination of Spahi's and compose the Turkish Horse The other sort which receive their constant Pay in ready Mony out of the Grand Signior's Treasury are the Janizaries who are now increased to the Number of an 100000 and the next main Sinew of the Ottoman Power being considered in the Wars they are the best disciplined Soldiery of the Turkish Camp. Besides these in Egypt there are 20000 Horse paid at the Charge of the Country and 80000 Timariots The Crim Tartars are also to furnish him with an 100000 Men and the Prince in person to lead them if the Grand Signior come into the Field otherwise but half the number And the Princes of Valachia Moldavia and Transilvania are never excused from personal attendance in the Camp with 6 or 7000 Men apiece But the Ottoman Armies are not now so renowned for their Chivalry and Discipline as in former times that ancient Sublimity and Majesty of the Sultan is much abated their Forces by Land decayed their Maritime power weakned nothing remains of their ancient Government and Valor nor doth the Ottoman Court remunerate the Services exalt the Interest of the Cavalry or maintain the Reputation of the Janizaries but grown rich and luxurious with Peace and Plenty they are much declined from their Greatness and Power for in this vast and large Empire Countries are depopulated Villages abandoned whole Provinces as pleasant and fruitful as Tempe or Thessaly uncultivated and turned into a Desert or Wilderness Of ARABIA A New Map of ARABIA By Robt. Morden THE Arabians were first called Ishmaelites from Ishmael Then Saâ—â—â—â—s from Sarah the Wife of Abraham Though others derive the Name from Saara which signifies a Desert Others from Sarake which signifies Robbery They that deduce the Etymology from Sarah affirm That the Sarazens being at first called Agarens chose rather to bear the Mistresses than the Servants Name and so changed their Appellation The Arabians that live in Cities go by the Names of Moors They that live in the Deserts are divided into Tribes and every Tribe into Families which have every one a particular Cheik who acknowledges the supreme Cheik These vagabond Arabians boast themselves to be the most noble People in the World for which Reason they never ally themselves with any other Nation but their own They could never be subdued either by the Egyptians Persians Greeks Romans or Turks But on the contrary they have setled themselves in several parts of Africa where they have a large Dominion They wander up and down in that fashion the better to find out Pasturage for their Cattel and to free themselves from the oppression of the Turks The Basha's of the Grand Signior who are their Neighbors and the Caravans are forced to give mony to the Cheiks to preserve themselves from being molested or despoiled by them in their Journies Under Ulit one of the Caliphs or Arabian Princes their Empire extended from Messa upon the Atlantick Sea to the River Indus so that in length it exceeded the Roman Empire The Arabick Language is so enchanting that 't is a common Hyperbole That the Saints in Heaven and those in Paradise speak it And as in it the Holy Decalogue was given so as an Allay therein was hatched the Delusive Alcoran and therefore is generally received in Asia These Arabians because of their continual lying in the open Fields were once accounted the best Astrologers and Physicians in the World as Rhasis and Mesue Avicen and Averroes Philosophers Algazalâ—â— Hali Albumazar Astrologers great Geographers Leo and Abulfâ—da The Beduins and Bengebres who are the most known People are so inclined to Robbery that their principal Maintenance consists in plundering of Passengers claiming a Priviledge to demand Ishmael's Right from the Sons of Isaac They are very dextrous on Horseback in managing their Bows and Half-Pikes so that Thirty Turkish Musqueteers will hardly attack Ten of these Arabians armed after their manner Their Wealth consists in Herds of Cattle and Horses which will travel great Journies of which they make so great reckoning that they keep a Register of their Breed which is approved by certain Judges They sit at Meals upon their Heels and the oldest among them wears the richest Habit and the most gay Colours Their Predecessors forbad Building and Tilling their Lands alledging that were but to invite Enemies to invade and make them a Prey to enjoy it The Succession of the Kingdom belongs to that Noble Person who was first born after the King was proclaimed And indeed to compare the Manners and Maxims of the Asiaticks and Europeans together we may say That the Arabians are like the Italians the Persians like the French and the Turks like the Spaniards Arabia in general was first called Ethiopia is subject to such excessive Heats that People are constrained generally to Travel by Night There are abundance of Mountains but few Rivers It is divided into three parts The Stony the Desert the Happy The two first belong almost to the Turk the Happy Arabia acknowledges several petty Princes The Stony Arabia Barraab Nabathaea Ptol. Barrha Castald Bengaucal Zeigler Rathal-Albagh incolis was anciently possessed by the Midianites Moabites Amalekites and the Idumeans or Edomites The Lands of the Ammonites or Amorites and of Og King of Basan were parts of Arabia Petraea though it be also true that some part of Arabia Deserta belonged to the Ishmaelites and Amalekites the Inhabitants thereof at this time pay a Tribute to the Basha of Cairo Petra gave it its Name which signifies a Rock whereon it was built was a place of great strength and much noted as well in Holy Writ as in prophane History Besieged in vain by Severus and before him by Trajan who was compelled to throw away his Imperial Habit and flie for his Life Yet Amaziah King of Judah after he had slaughtered 10000 of the Edomites took it by War and called it
Joktheel 2 Kings 14.7 The Soldans of Egypt for the exceeding strength thereof kept therein all their Treasures Of this place see more in the Description of Canaan and the bordering Countries Bostra now Bussereth is a place of good Esteem I suppose the same with Petra Tor or El Tor upon the Red Sea is a pitiful Haven defended by a Four-square Castle near to it are found Champignons petrified white Coral Seal-skins Small Oysters and somtimes Sea-Monsters like Men. They report that this was the Haven Ezion Geber from which Solomon sent his Ships for Ophir Mount Horeb and Sinai are famous in Scripture Arabia the Desert or Beriara is a place almost quite destitute of Water or if there be any Wells the Water is for little service Ana upon the Euphrates the place where the Grand Signior's Tribute is paid as the Lord of the Country is the best place in it There is one King in Arabia that has a moving and portative City that is to say it consists in Tents which he can command them to carry where he pleases Sumiscasac is thought to be the ancient Saba whence the Magi set forth to adore Christ and the Queen to visit Solomon But Sir Thomas Herbert tells us That after the Flood Nimrod Sovereignizing at Babylon his Brother Havilah seated his Colony in Susiana Seba Raamah and Sabbata in Arabia Seba or Sheba fixed on the Western Coast adjacent to the Red Sea where he built a City after his own Name from whence the Queen came that visited Solomon as he supposeth That Sabata planted the South-part of Arabia and Raamah or Rhegma on the North-East part towards Balsera where they built Cities after their Names mention'd Ezek. 27. In these parts was the Wilderness where the Children of Israel wandered 40 years Here Moses established Ecclesiastical and Political Laws Here was the burning Bush the Water-bearing Rock the Mountains of Sinai and Horeb and Mount Hor where Aaron died The Happy Arabia Hyaman or Aiman Gemen or Giamen Turcis Marmotta Sarracenis Sabaea Plin. carries that Name as being a more fruitful Soil than either of the two It breeds excellent Horses Manna Cinnamon Myrrhe Balsam Benjamin Incense and other Perfumes so that if Aromatick Gums Succulent Fruits Fragrant Flowers and such sort of Delicacies please thy Sense say Arabia is the Phoenix of the East and with Danaeus The Epitome of Delight and with St. Austin Paradise The Air is temperate and healthful The Country enriched with pleasant Streams and Fountains whose Waters are Medicinal Aden is a Town of great Trade standing in a little Peninsula at the foot of a Mountain guarded with two Castles towards the North and a small Fortress at the Entry into the Haven The Portugueses when they first setled themselves in the Indies had a design to make themselves Masters of this City as also of Ormus and Malaca But the Turk prevented them from taking Aden the King whereof they hung at the Yards-Arm of the Admiral 's Gally Since which some other Revolutions have happen'd so that the Natives of the Country have again dispossessed the Turks Mecca and Meâ—ina are famous for the Pilgrimages of the Mahometans For which they that make them are in high esteem among the rest They go particularly to Mecca to pay their Devotions to a Four-square House which they call The House of God and pretend the same to have been built by Abraham This City containing about 6000 Houses stands about a days Journy from the Red Sea being the place where Mahomet was born whose Body was afterwards translated to Medina upon the discovery of Albuquerque the Portuguese's design to have surprized the Port of Ziden otherwise Gidde with an intention to have carried away that Mahometan Relique The Country about Mecca produceth abundance of that sort of Berry of which Coffee is made Kufa or Kalufa the Holy City called Rastack when walled by Omir the Burial place of Mortis-Ali Saint King and Prophet of the Persians Medina is three days Journy from the Red Sea the burying place of Mahomet as the Turks pretend The Sepulchre or Tomb wherein Mahomet lieth is enclosed within an Iron Grate and covered with Green Velvet which is every Year made new and sent by the Grand Signior the old one being by the Priests cut in little pieces and sold at great Rates as Reliques to the Pilgrims In the Temple where this Tomb is placed there are said to be 3000 Lamps of Gold and Silver wherein is Balsam and other rich Odors Ointments and Oils continually kept burning They would impose it for a Miracle that his Tomb should hang in the Air by means of the Loadstone But besides that there is no such thing were it true there were no wonder in it For Democrates the Athenian by the Order of Ptolomy King of Egypt undertook to make the Statue of Arsinoe all of Iron and to hang it up in the same manner And in the Temple of Serapis in Alexandria there was an Iron Sun that hung in the Air by the force of a Loadstone being a rare piece of Workmanship The Prince of Mecca called Sultan Sheriff is one of the most potent Princes in all Arabia His Residence is usually at Almacharana seated on the top of an high Mountain of difficult access Sanaa is one of the greatest fairest and strongest Towns of Arabia adorned with Vineyards Meadows and Gardens Dafar is one of the chief Ports upon the Red Sea next to Zibit near the mouth of the Red Sea which is Fair Rich and of great Trade for Drugs Spices Perfumes c. Once the Residence of a Turkish Beglerbeg before that the Seat of a King beheaded by the Turks at the same time when the King of Aden was hanged at the Yards-Arm of the Admiral 's Ship. The Ports of Dolfar and Pescher are most renowned on the South-Coast for Frankincense The Grand Signior the Persian Sophi and other Mahometan Monarchs oft-times send him Presents and the first allows him also some part of the Revenue of Egypt because he is of the Race of Mahomet and to oblige him to be kind to the Pilgrim Turks Fartach a Kingdom and City near the Sea Caxem Gubelhaman Alibinali Amanziridin Masfate Mascalat and Jemen are so many Sultanies or petty Kingdoms in the Happy Arabia Mascate or Mascatsaif not far from Rozelgate Corodanum Ptol. Macin Amian thought to be Rhaguma Rhegma of Ptol. the Raamah of Ezek. 27.22 formerly belonging to the Portuguese had for a long time all the Trade of the Indies to Mecca through the conveniency of the Cities Elcatif or the ancient Gerra which communicates its Name to the Persian Gulph and Labsa or Lazarch Sohar in the Eastern part had also formerly the Trade but since the same hath been translated to Ormus and Gombron Mocha upon the Red Sea is an open City indifferently well built and fortified with a small Castle In it there live Jews Persians Armenians Indians and Banians So that it is a Town of
But generally their Armies now adays consist not of above 50 or 60000 Horse besides 30000 which are always kept upon the Frontiers The Militia is divided into three sorts which are the Corschis generally called Kesel-Bashi or Red-heads in Number about 22000 all good Soldiers and Horsemen The second sort the Goulams or Slaves Renegado Georgians who are about 18000 being also Horsemen The third sort are the Tafenkgis who are composed of Men taken from the Plough as most fit for Labor they are Footmen arm'd with a Scimiter and a Musquet The Persians especially the Rich are much less subject to Sickness than the Europeans nor are they much troubled with the Pox for the dry Air of the Country is an Enemy to it besides they go often to the Bath to sweat out the Venom of that Distemper for as for any method of Physick they have none Diet is the chief Remedy which the Physicians prescribe in all Diseases and account most sovereign They divide the Natural Day into four parts from Sun-rising to Noon from Noon to Sun-set from Sun-set to Midnight and from Midnight till Sun-rise and in the Vulgar Computation of Time make use of Lunar Months which they always begin from the first Appearance of the New Moon But in their Astronomical Accounts they make use of Solar Months The first Month begins upon the 11th of our March the day of the Vernal Equinox being the first day of their year upon which day if a Persian hath not mony to buy him a new Habit he will mortgage his own Body to have one The Persians betroth their Children very young at nine or ten years and among the Armenians some are married and lie together at five or six their Law allows them but four Wives but they may have as many hired Women as they please and may also enjoy their Slaves whom they purchase the Children both of the one and of the other are accounted Lawful and inherit all alike The Nobility of the Persians is founded upon their being descended from Mahomet and these have the Title of Mir or Prince and the Daughters that of Mirza or Princess The Persians wear Red Turbants the Tartars of Giagatay Green ones The Turkish Turbants are White and the Greeks Blue And as they are thus distinguish'd in the Colours of their Turbants so if we regard the natural Enmities of Nations we shall find as great an Antipathy between the Turks and Persians as there is between the Chineses and Japanners the Armenians and Nestorians the Arabians and Abassines the French and Spaniards the Italians and Greeks the Germans and Polanders the Danes and Suedes or the Moscovites and Tartars The Capital City of all Persia is Ispahan built by Arsaces who enlarged the Parthian Dominions and called Dara afterwards Aspadara also Nymzamena by Ben. Jonas Hagistan Clu. Asbahawn by the Arabian Geographer Saphaon Mandevel Spahawn Herb. Spahan Aspachan Izpaan and Hispahan in some Maps and Authors 537 Miles from the Persian Sea 360 from the Caspian 450 from Babylon and 870 from Candahor By which last distance agreeing very near with what Tavenier makes it viz. 390 Agats every Agat being a Province League I find Persia is at least 3 or 400 Miles too much in length in most Maps and in some much more As it is the Residence of the Persian King and in the Centre of his Empire Noble as seated on a vast Plain which extends three ways 15 or 20 Leagues Fair and pleasant for Air healthy considering her Palaces Stately her Gardens Delicious and Fragrant her Piazza's and the Wealth of her Bazars or publick Market places Rich and populous only the Streets are narrow and dark annoyed with Loads of Ordure and Filth in the Summer dusty and in the Winter miry Zulpha or Jelphey Herb. is a little City separated from Ispahan by the River Sonderou and is a Colony of Armenians who enjoy Lands and great Priviledges They have 15 or 16 Churches and Chapels and no Mahometans may live amongst them Schiras Sherazz à Persis Schirasium Baud. Sheraz Herb. Syaphas Ben Jonas Xirias Don Garcias Zyras P. Venet. Cirecatha Steph. Cyropolis Muslaedini-Saddi A City no less ancient than great according to that Proverb Quando Schiras erat Schiras tunc Cairus erat ejus pagus and is now the second City for Magnificence in the Persian Monarchy pleasantly seated at the end of a spacious Plain circumvolved with lofty Hills enriched by Trade made lovely by Art. The Palaces rise so amiably the Mosques and Hummums with their caerulean Tiles and gilded Vanes amongst the Cypresses so glitter by reflecting the Sun-Beams in a curious splendor The Vineyards Gardens Cypresses Sudatories and Temples ravishing the Eye and Smell so that in every part she appears fair and delightful Here Cyrus the most excellent of Heathen Princes was born and here his Body all but his Head which was sent to Pisagard lies entombed Here the great Macedonian glutted his Avarice and Bacchism Here the first Sybil sung our Saviour's Incarnation And here a Series of 200 Kings have swayed their Scepters The Government of Schiras is one of the highest Commands for a Subject and is particularly famous for the most excellent Wines in all Persia Tavernier tells us That now it looks rather like a Town half ruined than a City And that there is a wonderful Well which is 15 years rising to the Top and 15 years falling or sinking to the Bottom Persepolis by the Greek and Latin Authors Elamis by the Persians and Oriental Nations when in its Perfection was the Metropolis of the World Totius Orbis Splendor when in its flourishing condition saith D. Siculus and Q. Curtius the Richest the Noblest and the Loveliest City under the Sun so beautiful and so stately in its Structure being most of Cedar and Cypress Wood the Order of Building so curious and regular as it was in that Age justly styled The Glory of the World. The Success Antiochus Epiphanes had at Jerusalem when he sacrilegiously ravished ten Tuns of Gold made him march to Persepolis with an Army in hopes of getting the greatest Exchequer in the World for though Babylon and Shushan were very Rich the one furnishing the Macedonian Victor with 50000 Talents the other with 9 Millions of Gold and 50000 Talents in Bullion yet in Persepolis there was found 120000 Talents or according to Strabo 32 Millions 750000 Pounds Time would fail me to mention the lofty Palace of the Persian Emperors which for Situation Prospect Richness in Materials and Curiosity of Art rendred it incomparable of that Majesty and Splendor as put the World's Conqueror into amazement at his entrance thereinto But alas this rich and famous City yea the Palace also was at a drunken Feast in a debauched Humor by the Instigation of Thais and at the Command of Alexander set all on Fire an Act which the great Prince would have quenched with his Tears but preceding Mischiefs are not amended by succeeding Lamentations But of
Ethiopia the King reserves for himself The King and chief Nobility think it an office beneath them to lift their Hands to their Mouths to feed themselves and keep Boys to cut their Meat and put it into their Mouths which they do in great gobbets as those that cram Poultry Axuma or Ascum erroneously Chaxumo was formerly the Metropolis of Habessinia from whence they were called Axumites And then adorned with beautiful Structures a fair Palace and a Cathedral proudly vaunting her Obelisks Sculptures and sumptuous Edifices but now demolished by the Wars or defaced with Age and the City now totally ruined seated it was in the 14d 30 m North Latitude and distant from the North Sea forty five Portugal Leagues or six or seven tiresome days Journeys by reason of the Mountains Besides Axuma there are no Cities in Habessinia and but few Towns Dobarowa in Tygra is the Seat of the Vice-Roys Fremona was the first Residence of the Fathers enlarged by the Portugals Gubay a Town in Dembea where the Queen resides Nanina in Gojam was long inhabited by the Portugals The Celebrated Mountains of Amhara are their only Citidels where the Kings Children were formerly committed to custody The Kings he says always live in Tents and seldom long in a place In the year 607 the Camp pitched in Coga In 1612 it was at Duncaza and after at Guendra which Bernier called the Metropolis of Ethiopia Their Tent is of a white colour and very large standing in the midst of the Camp a large space being left round it for the conveniency of Persons to approach it Next this two Temples are plac'd and Tents for the Queen and her Attendents Next these the Nobles the Kings Friends Servants and other Courtiers pitch their Tents then all the common Soldiery with the necessary Attendents of the Camp and those that come to Negotiate When they remove as they often do and come to set down anew in a few hours space all things are seen plac'd in the same order they were before for every man knows his place and the measure of his ground the order of the Camp being always the same But Peter Pays built the King a Palace after the European manner in Gorgora by the Tzaneo Lake not much inferiour to the Country Palaces of our European Princes Murtherers are given to the nearest Relations of the Person murthered it being in their power to pardon them or take a sum of Money or to sell them as Slaves or put them to what death they please If the Murtherer be not found the Inhabitants of the Place and all the Neighbourhood are fin'd In the third Book which treats of the Ecclesiastical Affairs of the Habessines our Author tells us That some hold they have had the knowledge of God ever since the time of Solomon That they use Circumcision though not on any Religious Account in Obedience to the Law of Moses but only as a Custom of their Country being done by a Woman privately the Jews slit the Skin with their Nails till the Preputium falls down and leaves the Nut bare The Habessines only round the Skin with a Knife That they do not Circumcise Women as some idly affirm though it 's a Custom not only with the Habessines but likewise with other People of Africa as the Egyptians and Arabians to cut off from Girls something which they think to be an undecency and superfluity of Nature That they abstain from Swines Flesh Blood and suffocated things not as commanded by Moses but by Apostolick Constitution this having been always observed in the Oriental Church and in the Western Church for many Ages and having been ratified by some Councils And they condemn us for leaving the practice Nor do they allow the Jews Sabboth out of respect to Judaism but because it was the antient Custom of the Primitive Church for which they have some written Antient Constitutions Yet they prefer the Lords Day before the Jewish Sabbath for upon that Day say they our Lord Jesus Christ rose And upon that Day the holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles in the Oratory of Sion And upon that Day Christ shall come again to reward the Just and punish the Evil. He says If an Habessine marries his Brothers Wife or commits Polygamy the Civil Magistrate takes no notice of it For they are of opinion that whatsoever does not offend the Commonwealth nor the security of Private Persons ought not to be chastised with Secular Punishments Nevertheless the Church is severe in the case and will not permit Persons so married to receive the Sacrament He also tells us That Habessinia is full of Monks that their Institutions and Habits are different from the Greek and Latin. He speaks of the portentous Miracles of their Saints their Austerities and Spontaneous Torments It 's a common fame in Europe that the Conversion of the Habessines to the Christian Faith was effected by the Eunuch of Queen Candaces But our Author says this is certain that in the time of St. Athanasius Patriarch of Alexandria in the Reign of Constantine the Great about the year of Christ 330 or not long after it the Conversion of Ethiopia hapned after this manner Meropius a Tyrian Merchant going into India came to the Coast of Ethiopia in the Red-Sea dying there he left two Sons Frumentius and Aedesius who being taken and carried to the King were kindly received by him and he finding them ingenious employ'd them in keeping his Books of Account During the time of their Employ they did all good Offices to Christian Merchants that came to those Parts and shewed so fair a specimen of their Virtue and Integrity that they wrought in the Habessines a great esteem for the Christian Religion Which ground being laid Frumentius went to St. Athanasius who considering the excellency of his parts and the constancy of his Faith created him the first Bishop of Ethiopia and returning thither he baptized the Inhabitants created Deacons built Churches and so first planted the Christian Religion The Habâ—ssines received the Scripture with Christian Religion and it is translated into the Ethiopick Language from the version of the Septuagint and that according to a Copy used in the Church of Alexandria They have the New Testament translated from the authentick Greek Text. They enjoy the holy Scriptures intire and reckon as many Pooks as we do tho' they divide them after another manner They acknowledge the holy Scripture to be the sole and only Rule of what they are to believe and do They use the Nicene Creed they admit of the antient Greek Councils they acknowledge the Trinity and the sufficient Merits of Christ one Person in Christ his Divinity and Humanity they use Baptism and the holy Communion they Administer it to the Laiety and Clergy as it is the Custom of all the Eastern Churches and acknowledge the Real Presence but not Transubstantiation pray for the Dead deny a Purgatory He gives an Account of their Errors as
to transport themselves thither As to the right which the twenty four Proprietors have to this Country it is derived from the Title of the late Sir George Carteret by conveyance from the Earl of Bath and other Trustees joyning with the Lady Carteret and is since granted and confirmed in the year â—â—82 to them their Heirs and Assigns for ever by his present Majesty King James the Second under his Hand and Seal with all the Royalties Powers and Governments thereof The late King Charles the Second was also pleased to approve of the said Grant and Confirmation by publication under his Royal Signet and Sign Manual dated 23d of November 1683. therein and thereby commanding all Planters and Inhabitants within the Limits of the said Province to yield all due Regard and Obedience to the said Proprietors their Deputies Agents c 1686. In this Province are some Noblemen and several Gentlemen of the Scotch Nation interested as well as those of England some of which are gone themselves and Families and are setled there and many hundred others are sent from thence who have made good Farms and Plantations there and sundry persons are concerned in Shares under several of the Proprietors some have half some a quarter others an eighth or tenth Share c. and these have Tracts of Land laid out to them by the Surveyor General according to the proportions of their respective Interest upon their sending over Families and Servants to settle there The Traders in the Towns being furnished with such Goods and Merchandize from England as are proper for those Parts where the â—lanters and Farmers may be supplied with all such necessaries They having good Stocks of Corn and Cattle not only for Commutation at home but for Exportation abroad to other places that want The Town of Newark alone in one year made ready a thousand Barrels of good Cyder out of the Orchards of their own Planting And the Town of Woodbridge above five hundred Barrels of Pork this Province affording Corn and Cattle and other product to ship off to the Caribbe Islands c. to supply those Neighbours who have not that plenty In this Province of East Jarsey is this further encouragement there is such good Provision made for Liberty of Conscience and Property in Estate by the Fundamental Constitutions or great Charter on behalf of all the Inhabitants as Men and Christians that very many from other parts of America as well as from Europe have chosen to go thither to live where they do not only quietly and freely enjoy their Estates but also an uninterrupted freedom in the Exercise of their Religion according to their particular Persuasions Such as desire to Transport Themselves and Families or be otherways concern'd in this Colony may be directed at the Sign of the Star in George Yard in Lombard-street where and when to meet with some of the Proprietors who will give them further Information A New Map of NEW ENGLAND and NEW YORK By Robt. Morden NEw England is a vast Tract of Land happily Situated reaching from forty to forty five Degrees of Northern Latitude in the middle of the Temperate Zone and parallel to some part of Italy in the Eastern Hemispere The Country for many Miles it not Mountainous yet intermixt with pleasant Collines Plains and Meadows For Rivers it hath in its largest extent Delaware River navigable one hundred and thirty Miles Hudsons River Navigable above one hundred Miles Connecticut River Navigable above fifty Miles Marimeck River Pascataway and many others conveniently Navigable and for less Rivers and Brooks you can hardly travel a few Miles without passing one The Soil is fruitful and yields Wheat Rye Pease Beans Barley Oats Indian Corn Flax Hemp and all sorts of English Herbs and excellent Simples proper for the Country For Food it hath Beef Pork Mutton plentiful besides Goats Deer c. For Fish Fowl and good Cyder it excels with good Cellarage to preserve all which is not common in Virginia The South side of their Houses are in many places begirt with Hives of Bees which increase very much For Fruit it hath Apples Pears Plums Quinces Cherries Apricoks Peaches in standing Trees and many sorts of wild Blew Black and White Grapes and their wild white Muscadine Grape makes a pleasant Wine For Timber it hath several sorts of Oak and their white Swamp Oak whereof they have great quantities is esteemed near as tough as any in Europe besides Walnut Ash Pine Cedar c. For Trade they have all sorts of Provisions for the Belly as of Flesh Fish and all Grain as Corn Pease c. And Masts for Ships Deal-boards Iron Tar Bever Moose-skins Furs and some hundred Vessels and Ships of their own and Merchants who disperse their commodities to the West Indies and from thence to England The Country is capable of many other Commodities as Wine Salt Brandy c. When labor grows more cheap by the farther increase of their own Children or purchase of Negros They have many Towns supplied with good Ministers and have two Colleges at Cambridge they train their Youth when past sixteen year old and so make them bold and resolute As to their Government they had fourteen Magistrates and were not to exceed eighteen Assistants by their Patent whereof one is annually chosen Governor and another Deputy-Governor by the People who are jealous of the infringment of their Priviledges For Religion they are Protestants much as Perkins they pray for the King and the English Nation and for the Protestant Religion throughout the World. As to the Weather the old Planters say that fifty years since when the Country was not so much opened by the felling of the Woods they had much more heat in Summer and more cold in Winter then they had since and that they find the Winters still lessen as the Country is more opened Their Winter begins in December and commonly ends in February The North West Winds blow very keen and sometimes hold forty eight hours After that with the change of the Wind they have moderate Weather So they reckon to have ten or twelve cold days in a Winter which days are colder than in the same Climate in Europe Their Summer is hotter and that heat more certain and yet more tolerable than this of England being moderated and allayed with often Breezes and is very peculiar and agreeable to the Bodies of those of our Nation the Air being most generally serene sweet and exceeding healthy And if any Fogs arise the North West and West Winds do quickly disperse them and the Country sends forth such a fragant smell that it may be perceived ere we make Land. The Metropolis of New England is Boston commodiously seated for Traffick on the Sea-shore a very large and spacious Town or indeed City composed of several well-ordered Streets and adorned with fair and beautiful Houses well inhabited by Merchants and Tradesmen it is also a place of good strength having several Fortifications