it Masre a name common to all Aegypt and which we have several times rendred the ancient Metropolis of Aegypt in the Mahumetan History Alexandria is on the Sea-side near the Western mouth The Nile flows in one single Chanel through the midst of the plain from Eliphantina to the point of the Delta which is about fifty leagues from the Sea there it is divided into two afterwards into several branches before it falls into it Their conjecture who held Aegypt to be a new Land and come from some remote part was that heretofore the space between the two Mountains from Elephantina or a little below it to Alexandria had been a gulph of the Sea like and in a manner parallel in its situation to that which is called the Red Sea and entred into the Countries from the North towards the South as the Red Sea enters into them from South to North and that in processe of time the abundance of slime which the Nile brings down when it is overflown had filled that space and framed therein the land which is now seen there and which had no resemblance to those of Arabia and Africk which are adjoyning thereto whence they imagined it a stranger and come from far Herodotus was of opinion that that collection of slime might have been made in less then twenty thousand years taking haply his conjecture according to the increase of it from Homer's time to his own For Homer affirms that the Island of Pharos was in his time at a far greater distance from the Continent then it hath been since as Pliny hath observed inferring consequently thence that Aegypt was augmented and advanced nearer the Sea What I think miraculous in this is that the Inhabitants of a Countrey which in appearance began not till a long time after the rest should count the Years of their Antiquities in a far greater number then other Nations their Neighbours and should make in their Countrey sumptuous Structures which yet could not preserve the memorie of their Authors to a time when other Nations were but in a manner beginning to entertain thoughts of doing somewhat of that kind though they have lasted a long time after the ruine of those which were made much later And yet all this methinks depends on the same cause which is the excellency of the soil of that Province and the facility of cultivating it in as much as having always been able to maintain a far greater number of men then were requisite about the culture of it the Princes who were possessed thereof were obliged to find out other employments for the greatest part of their Subjects and this occasioned the early invention of Philosophy by those who were inclined to meditate on the wonderful things of nature and to spend the rest allowed their bodies in employing the intellectual faculties of their souls in those noble labours Aristotle speaks thus of it when he says that they studyed Philosophy in Aegypt sooner then any where else because there they soonest permitted the Priests to live in a commendable exemption from labour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As for others who could only work with their hands in regard the mild temperature of the Air dispenced with their employing themselves in many professions necessary elsewhere to secure mens bodies from its injuries it was requisite they should be employed in such works as might declare the powerfulness and magnificence of their Kings Whence I conceive Pliny justly blameable for the character he gives these Miracles of the World when he says they are Regum pecuniae stulta ostentatio and that after he had said that those who had written of them before him differed about the Names of the Kings who built them he should add these words Justissimo casu obliteratis tantae vanitatis authoribus For if all the works which contribute nothing to the supply of the necessities of humane life are follies Pliny himself is in hazard to be esteemed to have done many and this conceit of his is in my judgement much different from that of Pythagoras who as Cicero relates affirms that among the several sorts of persons who met ordinarily at the great general Assembly of all Greece those who came not thither upon any business nor out of design to get any thing but only to see what passed were the honester people Genus vel maxime ingenuum whom he therefore compared to the Philosophers These great Princes therefore are methinks rather to be bemoaned that their Names were already forgotten above fifteen hundred years since after they had made for the eternization thereof the Works which are to this day seen and admired rather then they are to be blamed for having done such noble things And this oblivion also no doubt proceeds from the excellency of their Countrey which having been envyed by all Foreiners who have known it hath always been one of the first preys of the Conquerours and by that means so often changed Masters that it is no wonder the memorie of the most Ancient should be lost whereas the Princes who once settled themselves therein were well satisfied with that possession and thought not of disturbing their Neighbours True it is that Strabo affirms that in Thebais above Diospolis and Memnon's Temple he saw on the magnificent Tombs of forty Kings Obelisks on which there were writings graven which mentioned great Conquests made by those Kings as far as Scythia Bactriana and the Indies Herodotus affirms the same of Sesâ—stris but it may be doubted whether these great Conquerours were natural Egyptians or Strangers who among other Countries had subdued Aegypt for Alexander the Great was no Aegyptian though he had his Tomb at Alexandria and had been the Founder of that great City However it were yet this is certain that the inclination of the Kings of Aegypt for great Structures is very ancient since the Pharao's who Reigned in the times of Joseph and Moses and who probably are comprehended by Herodotus under the single name of Pheron had it as may be seen by the complaints of the Israelites against them when they made them work hard in the making of Brick and paid them ill That Pheron of Herodotus was such a Person as the Pharao's are represented to us for he was no Conquerour but an insolent and impious Prince and the Pharao's were such as the Arabian expression at this day affirms it who say To play the Pharao that is to demean himself insolently and tyrannically whence haply comes the French word Faire le Fanfaron As to the Antiquity of the Sciences in Aegypt there is no doubt to be made of it since Plato and Eudoxus learn'd Astronomy there in a School where they studied thirteen years and which was shewed at Heliopolis as a rarity in Strabo's time who affirms he saw it there and adds that the Grecians never knew exactly of how many Days Hours and Minutes the Year consisted till they had read thereupon the Books of the Priests of Aegypt
The subject of those Verses was that Quisias the son of Caltham one of the Children of Som Gods mercy on him came from Syria to Masre with Gamron the Son of Gasus and entered into it with 100 men of his Nation bringing their equipage on horses which men he commanded having belonging to him 50 Servants and 30 Horses Gamrou and the Mussulmans being afterwards resolved to besiege the Castle Quisias chose a place where he and his men might continue and caused his Tent to be pitched there according to the relation of Abugamrou Mahumet the Son of Joseph and aboad there during the whole Siege of the Castle till God brought it into their power After that Quisias was with Gamrou at Alexandria leaving his people and his baggage in that place and after Alexandria had also been taken by the Mussulmans as Gamrou was returning to Masre having imposed on the Alexandrians the Tribute they were to pay and signed the Articles of their Accommodation Quisias returned also to his Quarters at Masre and lodg'd there still The Mussulmans marked Lodgings for themselves and Gamrou caused his own to be marked opposite to that heap of Sand where Quisias had taken up his Post Then the Mussulmans had a Council about the building of a Mosquey where they might meet together and writ concerning it to the Commander of the Faithful Omar Gods peace be with him who returned this answer I have received the news of the resolution which you have taken up all together for the building of a Mosquey where you may celebrate the Friday and make your Assemblies It is no doubt athing necessary for you and you follow in that the example of your Prophet Gods peace and mercy be upon him For the first mark whereby he began to signalize the Mussulman Religion and the first foundation upon which he would settle it was the building of his own Mosquey in the place of his Retreat Assemble therefore hereupon your Commanders and take counsel of your ancients who are Companions of the Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with them for the benediction of God is in the Ancients What they shall resolve on with a general consent approve it OGamron and oppose it not For the assembly of the Council brings the mercy of God who protects that Nation out of the kindness he hath for his Prophet Gods peace and mercy be with him Through the grace and mercy of God they will never agree about a thing wherein there is any errour God keep you in union and prosper your affairs and settle you in the possession of your Conquests and assist both you and me with his graces and bless Mahumet and his family The Mussulmans having seen Omar's answer Gods peace and mercy be with him held a Council concerning the building of the Mosquey and found it might be conveniently built on the place where Quisias the son of Colthom was lodg'd Gamrou sent for him and ask'd his advice saying O Abugabdorrachaman I will take up a lodging for you instead of this where you please to have it Whereupon Quisias spoke thus I have already told you O ye Mussulmans who are hear assembled that this habitation pleases me well and that it is mine but I bestow it with all my heart on God and the Mussulmans He therefore quitted that place and lodg'd with those of his Nation who were the children of Som and took up his Quarters among them Whereupon Abucainan the son of Magamar the son of Rabagui the Nachesian in memory of those adventurers and to honour these Victories made the ensuing verses And we had the good fortune to Conquer Babylon where we have pitch'd upon booty in abundance for Omar and for God The good man Quisias the son of Calthom quitted and delivered up his habitation and the lodging which belonged to him upon the divine intreaty All those who shall do their devotions in our structure will know with the inhabitants of Masre what I say and will publish it Abumansor the Balavian Gods mercy on him made these Verses upon the same subject wherein he speaks of Gabdorrachaman the son of Quisias the son of Calthom Gods peace be with him And thy Father quitted and deliver'd up his habitation to the people of prayer and adoration Lithus the son of Sagad Gods mercy on him a Lawyer of Masre speaks thus of the ancient great Mosquey of that City Our Mosquey was only Gardens and Vineyards Abugamrou the son of Serragus sayes this of it which he had from Saguidus who had it from the Ancients of his time The place saith he of our great Mosquey of Masre was heretofore only gardens and groves of Palmes but the Mussulmans got it and caused a Mosquey to be built there for their assemblies Gods peace be with them all Guemarus the son of Zebirus the Cryer sayes his Father spoke thus of it I have heard said he our Ancients of whom some had been present at the Conquest who spoke thus There were fourscore of the Companions of the Prophet of God God's peace and mercy be with them present at the foundation of the Mosquey of Masre Zebirus the son of Gavam Mecdad the son of Asouad Guebad the son of Samet Abuldarda Phedal Gamron Gaqueb and the rest as well of the number of those who came for refuge as of that of the Protectors Gods peace be with them all Jezibus the son of Chebib speaks thus of it Our Mosquey was founded by four of the Companions of the Prophet Gods peace and mercy be with them Abudar Abunasre Mahumet the son of Gerou the Zebirian and Manbehe the son of Derar Gabidol the son of Gegafur speaks thus of it in these terms Our Temple was raised by Guebad the son of Samet and by Raphecus the son of Malichus who were two Captains of the Protectors Gods mercy on them Abudaoud saith that Gamrou the son of Gasus sent Rabigas the son of Sergil and the son of Galcamas the Carsian the Guedavian to determine on which side should be the Front of the Mosquey and that he spoke thus to them Go you and stand on the top of the Mountain when the Sun is ready to set and when there shall be one half of it under the Horizon do you turn so as that it may be on your Eye-brows and take with all the exactness you can the true side on which the Temple ought to be turned I pray God to assist you in the doing of it They did what he had commanded them I have heard says Lithus Gods mercy on him that Gamrou the son of Gasus went up to the Mountains and exactly observed the time and the shade of the Sun setting till the side on which the front of the Temple should be turn'd was agreed upon Guemarus related to me that he had heard his Father say that Gamrou the son of Gasus said to his Companions Turn the front of the Mosquey towards the East that
beauty of the Original and the Gold glittering in the two first pages after the manner of other Books cuâ—iously written in the East had not engaged my longer consideration of them whereby I was satisfied that the Italian Inscription was not answerable to the Arabian Art and could not forbear crying out O soeculum infelixâ— as Erasmus did upon a like occasion having found as he saith Commentaries on Mimus Publianus Qui neque coelum neque â—erâ—â—m attingerent tamen accuratissime depictos ceu rem sacram This impertinent title had no doubt been given our Manuscript by a person who had casually cast his eye on some passages where it mentions the Enchanters of Egypt and the same injury might haply have be done by a like precipitation to the Sacred Books of Genesis and Exodus wherein there is also mention made of those Magicians and the wonderful effects of their Magick which they had the impudence to compare with the Divine miracles of Moses and Aaron These Enchanters then are part of the subject of this Book but not all as being one of the things which many ages since had raised admiration in those who considered Egypt but not the onely one nor the principal in a Country where the Earth the Waters and the Air out-vy one the other in affording extraordinary subjects of Meditation to Philosophers upon natural things and whose Inhabitants have signalized themselves by their prodigious structures and by the invention even of Philosophy it self The Land of Egypt is it self a stranger in the place of its situation if we credit the conjectures of it of Philosophers who have attentively viewed and considered it it came thither from a Countrey so remote that the industry of men could never settle any Commerce for the importation of fruits from those places whence nature conveys them the very soil whereby they are produced The air there is in a perpetual serenity never disturbed at any Season of the Year with Snow Hail Rain Lightning or Thunder The Waters there rise to a prodigious height during the greatest heats of Summer when they are elsewhere lowest or dryed up and in Winter when they are every where either frozen up or over-flown they there gâ—id gently below their ordinary course The surface of the Earth is spread with a pleasant verdure with so sweet a temperature of the Air that the fairest Springs of other Countries come not near it In the Moneth of March the Harvest ready to be cut down guilds the pregnant Fields which are devested thereof before the Moneth of April And in the Moneths of July and August the same Fields are changed into so many Seas and the Cities and Villages into so many Islands by a fortunate inundation which spares the Inhabitants the trouble of tilling and manuring them as must of necessity be done elsewhere for the Egyptians have no more to do but to Sow the Seeds therein when the Waters are fallen away and slightly to stir the slime which is spread thereon that they may be covered which they did heretofore as Herodotus relates by driving Herds of Swine after the Sowers Thus do they get the Fruits of the most fertile piece of earth in the Universe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to use the terms of the same Author most easily and without any trouble after they have gathered the productions of the Waters by a yet more easie fishing or rather as Aelian expresses it by an Harvest of Fish 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which lie scattered on the slime in the midst of the Fields These natural prodigies have alwaies engaged the greatest wits in an enquiry into their causes which are reducible onely to two heads For the serenity of the Air proceeds no doubt from the nature of the adjacent and neighbouring Countries and Waters which are not apt to send thither any vapours which might be condensed into Rain Hail or Snow nor yet any mineral exhalations which might cause thunder and lightning and the other Miracles which are seen by the Raies of that delightful Sun are the effects of that admirable River which keeps the Inhabitants of that Countrey in such quiet after it hath brought them the soil which is to sustain and nourish them For the better understanding of this it is to be observed that Aegypt is only a Plain or rather a spacious Valley reaching in length from South to North from the Tropick of Cancer or a little beyond it to the Mediterranean Sea for the space of about two hundred and thirty Leagues and in breadth from East to West between two Mountains which are its limits one towards Arabia and the other towards Africk but not alwaies at an equal distance one from the other For at the Northern extremity along the Shore of the Mediterranean Sea that distance is about six score leagues above the places where Heliopolis heretofore stood and where now Cairo is about fifty leagues distant from the Sea it diminishes so for the space of about seventy leagues that the two Mountains are not above six or seven leagues distant one from the other Above that space they dilate again and the Countrey grows wider even to its Meridional extremitie which makes the upper Aegypt otherwise called Thebais Thus is Aegypt naturally divided into three parts which may be called Upper the Lower and the Middle In the Middle which is much narrower then the others and which our Author calls Gize as much as to say the passage was the City of Memphis near the Western Mountain on which not far thence there are several Pyramids and those of the most sumptuous In the upper Aegypt was heretofore the famous City Thebes which had a hundred Gates and was afterwards called Diospolis and Syene seated directly under the Tropick of Cancer so that the day of the Summer Solstice the Sun at noon shined to the bottoms of Wells and streight and perpendicular Pillars made not any shade and Elephantina beyond which presently began Ethiopia and Copta whence there was a way to the Red Sea the shortest and easiest of any along that Coast by which there were brought on Camels abundance of Indian Commodities which were afterwards embarqu'd on the Nile and the little Cataract where Strabo saies the Mariners fell down from the top to the bottom with their Boats in the presence of the Governour of Aegypt to make him sport and the Lake of Maeris with two Pyramids in the midst of it each six hundred foot in height three hundred under water and three hundred above and the Labyrinth yet more prodigious then the Pyramids In the Lower Aegypt are the mouths of the Nile whereof the two most distant one from the other make the Delta which is a Triangular Island the Basis whereof is the shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the two sides the two arms of the Nile which come to those mouths Cairo is above the Delta towards Arabia near the place where heretofore Heliopolis stood The Arabians now call
is nothing Miraculous or extraordinary For at that time it was Summer in Aegypt as it is this day and consequently at the same time it was Winter in those Places where the current of the Nile begins since the Sources of it are at a great distance beyond the Equinoctial Line where the Seasons are directly contrary to those which are on this side it The Waters therefore were then about those Sources higher then at any other Season but having fourteen or fifteen hundred leagues to advance ere they got to Aegypt after the rate of about four leagues a day they were about a year by the way and consequently there could not be an overflux of the Nile in that Province sooner then now And if it be true that the Ganges overflows also in Summer as Pliny and Modern Relations seem to affirm and that consequently it is now in the same condition in the Indies as the Nile is in Aegypt the cause may haply be the same For its course being but half the length of that of the Nile there needs but six Moneths for the Waters to get from the Sources to their Mouths it being supposed those of the Nile take up a whole Year Now it was Winter six Moneths before at the Sources of the Ganges which are on this side the Equinoctial Line as it was a Year ago at the Sources of the Nile which are beyond it The same is to be said of the River Menam As to the long continuance of the overflux of the Nile which is a hundred days according to Herodotus or rather six Moneths according to the same Author in another passage where he says that in his time the water flowed out of the Nile into the Lake Myris or Moeris during the space of six Moneths and returned out of the same Lake into the Nile at the same place whereat it had entred into it during the other six Moneths of the Year this continuance I say hath no other cause according to this position but that which prolongs the Inundations of other Rivers For it proceeds partly from the length of time that the Snow is dissolving or the Waters falling and partly from the different distance of the place from which they come into the Chanel of the Nile after the dissolving or falling For thence it comes that some get a long time after others from the place of their Rendezvous and consequently they come in like manner into Aegypt We see also in all other Rivers something like the overflowings of the Nile For many times the Seine for example is high and overflows at Paris when no rain has fallen thereabouts nor any Snow dissolved and it is ordinarily some days after the Rain is past or the Snow dissolved when the weather is fair and clear that its overflux is in its greatest force and height Moreover That the Waters which cause the augmentations of the Nile and its Inundations in Aegypt come from the Torrents the slâ—me which they bring along with them and which hath made some conjecture that it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seem to testifie it For the Waters which come from running Springs by ordinary Chanels are not muddy It may also methinks be inferred from the same slime that those Torrents force their way through cultivated and manured Lands for the Waters which fall from the Sky upon Desert and Untilled places are pure and clear in their descent thence If this be true with the conjectures we have mentioned before it must follow that the Meridional parts of Africk were inhabited and cultivated before Aegypt was in the World and that being granted if the Nitre of Aegypt be of the nature of our Saltpeter which is framed of old Manure amass'd and fermented a long time together it might seem to be rather an effect then a cause of the overflowing of the Nile But haply we have said too much of the Nile and Aegypt in a Preface which was to serve only for an Introduction to what is said thereof by our Author of whom the Reader might expect we should give some account though we have nothing to say of him but only what may be conjectured by the Reading of his Book according to which he was as I conceive of Cairo that is to say of Masre for thus is that Famous City called to this day by its Inhabitants as we have already observed and the name of Cairo under which it is known in Europe came to it from that which the Mugazzoldinil after he had conquered Aegypt caused to be built near it for the Quartering of his Militia and which he called Cahire or Cahâ—re that is to say the Victorious or Conqueress either for the reason given thereof by Macinus in the Year 362 or in regard that being the Habitation of the Soldiery it subdued in effect and caused its Commands to be obeyed not only by the Neighbouring City but also by the whole Empire of the Phatimite Chaliphs as the Camp near Rome in the time of the Roman Emperors Commanded both the City and the Empire and many times the Emperour himself Our Author then as far as I can conjecture was of the same Countrey with Macinus and lived about the same time that is above four hundred Years since For methinks he speaks of the Sultan the Macolcamel the Son of Abubeker the Son of Job as of a Prince Reigning in his time and he mentions not any other that Reigned since though he speaks of divers who had Reigned before The esteem which the Arabians have at this day for his work sufficiently appears in my judgment by the beauty of the Copy out of which we have made this Translation and which was communicated to us by the late Cardinal Mazarine's Library-keeper by the favour of Monsieur Colbert who amidst his infinite cares for what concerns the Glory of his Majesty and the happiness of his Subjects is some times pleased to think on our Arabian Muses and forgets not our labours in the distribution of the Favours which he obtains from his Majesty for those who seriously apply themselves to the noblest kind of Learning The Manuscript of the Onirocrit Mussulman whereof we have lately published the Translation was put into our hands by Monsieur de Montmor principal Master of Requests a Person as Eminent for his great Wit and rare Learning as his Quality I am glad to make this Discovery for their satisfaction who were desirous to know whence I had it and that it might be an acknowledgement of the kindnesses I have received from that Person upon that and divers other occasions But to return to our Aegypt Were there nothing butthe History or rather the Fable of Gebirus and Charoba and the Nymph Marina which is about the middle of this Work I should not repent me of the Translation of it for I little imagined to find in a Mussulman Author any thing so much allyed to the witty Fables of the ancient Greek and Latine
and Books and among others the Laughing Statue which was made of a green Precious Stone They had dispos'd all these things within that place for fear of the Inundation and spoil As to the Priests who were in Egypt after the Deluge there were a great number of them The first who then follow'd that Profession was the Son of Philemon who was imbarqu'd in the Ship with his Father and Sister whom Noah married to Bansar the Son of Cham which happened thus King Pharaan sent the Priest Philemon to the Prophet of God Noah to dispute with him about the Worship of the Idols but Philemon by the grace and conduct of God believed in Noah and confirm'd his Mission He afterwards imbarqued with him in the Ship he and his Children and seven of his Disciples and after that gave his Daughter in Marriage to Bansar the Son of Cham the Son of Noah After they were come out of the Ship Philemon carried Bansar his Son in Law into Egypt where his Daughter had by the said Bansar her Husband a Son whom he named Masar who was since King of Egypt and caused it to be call'd Masre from his own Name always worshipping one onely God according to the Religion of Noah The name of Priest was not then a reproach among them for the Priest was then look'd upon as a Judge who does not oppose the Laws prescribed unto him The first who made an absolute profession of Priesthood in Egypt who brought Religion into esteem and applyed himself to the Worship of the Stars was Bardesir the Son of Cophtarim the Son of Masar the Son of Bansar the Son of Cham for he was King after his Father and it is reported that he made the great Laws build the Pyramids and set up for Idols the Figures of the Stars The Coptites affirm that the Stars spoke to him and many Miracles are attrited to him Among other things it is said he kept himself out of the sight of Men for several years of his Raign appearing only from time to time that is to say once a year when the Sun entred into Aries Then People came in to him and he spoke to them but they saw him not afterwards he absented himself from them till the like time again and then he gave them Commands and Prohibitions yet so as that they saw him not with their Eyes After a long time thus passed he ordered to be built a Tower of Silver Gilt and to be embellished with several Ornanaments then he began to sit on it in a most Magnificent and Magestical form and to speak to them After that he went and sate before them in the Clouds in a Humane form then he absented himself from them save only when he discovered to them his Figure in the Temple of the Sun when the Sun entred in Aries and ordered them to take for their King Garim the Son of Cophtarim acquainting them that he would not return any more to them wherein they obeyed him As to the Priestess Bedoura she was a strong Woman and as they say the Sister of Bardesir and that he gave her his Art of Priesthood and Divination whereupon she made most of the Talismans in the Pyramids She also made the speaking Idols in Memphis The Priesthood continued in her Family and Posterity who received it successively one of another and enjoyed its advantages The Egyptians affirm that in her time the wild Beasts and the Birds hindered them from drinking the Water of the Nile so that most of them dyed of Thirst and that she sent against these Animals an Angel who made so great a cry amongst them that the Earth shook and the Mountains were cleft It is said that by her Magick she fled in the Air and that the Angels smote her with their Wings As for Savan the Asmounian who they say was the ancient Hermes he it was that built the House of the Statues by which the measures of the Nile are know and built to the Sun a Temple in the Province named Basta and also ordered the building of Asmounia and in the like manner that of the City of Basre in Egypt which was twelve miles in length above which he caused a Castle to be made He also built Danae where he established the Schools and the Recreations 'T is also said that he built the Pyramids of Behansa where the women were in favour of his Daughter and that he there erected Pillars on which he raised a Tower of fine Glass which might be seen from the City of Gainosamse He also built on the descent of the Eastern Mountain in Egypt a City which he named Outiratis that is in the Coptick Language The King's Favourite and put into it abundance of miraculous things Among others he ordered four Pyramids to be made on the four sides of each Gate and caused to be set on the Eastern Gate a Tower in the form of a Turret or Steeple on which there was the Figure of a Black Eagle and on the Western Gate another Tower like the former with the Figure of a Bull on the Maritime Gate the like Tower with the Figure of a Lyon and on the outer or Southern Gate another such Tower with the Figure of a Dog He sent into these Figures Spirits that spoke so that when any Stranger came into that City at what Gate soever he entred the Figure upon it made a noise and the Inhabitants knew thereby that a stranger was come into their City and immediately they seiz'd on him where-ever he were He planted there also a Tree which shaded the whole City and bore all sorts of Fruits He also raised in the midst of the City a high Watch-tower the heighth whereof was fourscore Cubits according to the measure of that time and on the top of it a little Turret which every day assum'd a different colour till the seventh day after which it re-assumed its first colour wherewith it filled the whole City About this Watch-tower he disposed a great quantity of Water wherein there was bred abundance of Fish All about the City he set Talismans which diverted all inconveniencies from the Inhabitants and he called it the City of the Jovians that is Enchanters There was in it for him a great Tower for the exercise of the Sciences of Magick wherein he caused Assemblies to be made It was seated on a mountain opposite to the City God smote the Inhabitants of it with the Pestilence so that they all died and so ruin'd it that there is not any track of it to be seen As to the time when the Pyramids were first built in Egypt Historians relate that there was a King named Saurid the Son of Sahaloc three hundred years before the Deluge who dreamt one night that he saw the Earth overturned with its Inhabitants the Men cast down on their faces the Stars falling out of the Heavens and striking one against the other and making
second Pyramid which is the Colour'd is an ancient Nubian having a Basket on his head and in his hands a Censer like those used in Churches wherewith he incenses about it at all the Obelisks As to the Birba of Achemima its Spirit is a Young Man Beardless and Naked sufficiently known among the Inhabitants of the place The Spirit of the Birba of Semir is a black swarthy Old Man of high Stature and having a short Beard The Spirit of the Birba of of Phacat appears in the form of a black young Woman having in her arm a little black Infant deformed shewing his Dogs teeth and having his eyes all white The Spirit of the Birba of Ridousa appears in the form of a Man having the head of a Lion with two long Horns The Spirit of the Birba of Busira appears in the form of an old white Monk carrying a Book The Spirit of the Birba of Gaphi appears in the form of a Shepherd clad in a black Robe with a Staff in his hand As to the Pyramids of Dehasoura their Spirits are seen in the form of two black old Men. The Spirit of the Birba of Samnos appears in the form of a Monk who comes out of the Sea and views himself in it as in a Looking-glass All these Spirits are manifestly seen by such as come near them and the places of their retirement and frequent there abouts along time There are for all of them certain particular Offerings by means whereof it is possible the Treasures of the Birbas and the Pyramids may appear and that there may be a friendship and familiarity between Men and Spirits according to what the Sages have establish'd Saurid the Son of Sahaloc says the Author continued King of Egypt a hundred and seven years His Astrologers told him the time he should die whereupon he made his last Will to his Son Hargib told him whatever was necessary for him and ordered him to have him carried into the Pyramid and to have him disposed into the Tomb which he himself had caused to be made that he should cover the bottom of it with Camphire and Santal-wood and that he should enbalm his body with the drugs which prevent corruption and that he should leave by him the richest of his Armour and the most precious of his Housholdstuff His Son performed all this after his death and then Hargib Reigned after his Father in the Land of Egppt and follow'd his footsteps being careful as he had been to administer Justice to the People to have the Countrey cultivated and inhabited and to procure the wellfare of his Subjects which obliged them to have a great affection for him He afterwards caused to be built the first of the Pyramids of Dehasoura and to be brought thither abundance of Wealth and precious Stones of great value Hargib was particularly addicted to Chemistry to get Metals out of the Mines and to gather money he afterwards enterred every year a great quantity thereof and minded not the putting of Statue and speaking Idols into his Pyramid He a long time continued that exercise during which he had a Daughter who being grown up suffer'd herself to be debauched by one of hi◠people which obliged him to sent her away into the West where he had a City built for her in the Countrey of Barca This City being built they gave it the name of that Princess which was as they say Domeria For he caused a Pilory t◠be built in the midst of the City and her name to be grav'd on it then he sent to live there with her all the old Women of his House He continued King ninety nine years then dyed and was interred in the Pyramids His Son Menaos Reigned after him in Egypt and was a proud and hauty Prince who spilt much blood ill treated his Subjects Ravished many Women and squandered away a great part of the Treasures of his Ancestors For he built Palaces of Gold and Silver into which he brought Chanels of the Nile the bottom whereof he caused to be covered with Jacinths and other precious stones instead of Sand. He tormented Men and took away their goods and Cattel by force This got him the hatred of the People and at last the Beast he rid on threw him and broke his neck Gods curse go with him So God delivered the Egyptians of him As to the History of the Deluge and the adventures of Noah to whom God grant peace and mercy take in few words what is said thereof They relate that Adam Gods peace be with him after God had descended from Paradice and been merciful to him after his Sin was by God himself appointed King of the Earth and Mankind descended of his Race He was the first that Prayed to God Fasted and knew how to Read and Write He was Beardless and Hairless comely and well made There was afterwards sent him one and twenty pages of Writings then he dyed aged nine hundred and fifty years His li 〈…〉 should have been a thousand years but he bestowed fifty of them on hi◠Son David His Successor and L 〈…〉 gatee was his Son Seth to whom a 〈…〉 to whose Children continued the Prophecy with the true Religion and the Superintendency of Divine Laws God afterwards sent Seth twenty nine sheets He liv'd on the Mountain and Cabel built in the bottom of the Valley Seth lived nine hundred and twelve years and had for Successor his Son Enos who lived nine hundred and fifty years and appointed for hi◠Successor after his death his Son Cainan in whose favour he made his last Will and afterwards distributed the Earth among the Sons of his Sons Cainan died aged nine hundred and twenty years and made his last Testament in favour of his Son Mahalel In his time the square Temple was built He died aged nine hundred seventy five years and appointed for Successor his Son Jared whom he taught all the Sciences and told all that was to happen in the World He considered the Stars and read the Book of the secrets of the Kingdom which was sent from Heaven to Adam then he had to his son Enoch who is Edrisus Gods peace be with him There was then King in the World Mechavel the son of Cabel The Devil Gods curse with him went to him seduced him by his deceits and made him fall into errour then he told him that there was born to Jared the son of Mahalel a son who should be an enemy to theie Gods and come to great reputation Whereto Jared answered Canst not thou destroy him I 'le endeavour to do it said the Devil Whereupon God gave Edrisus Gods peace be with him Angels to guard him from the Devil and from his Progeny and Artifices When he was grown up to adolescency his Father made him Guardian of the Temple and taught him the sheets of Seth and Adam Gods peace be with them He was
by some of his own House He was a delicate young man and they travelled during the great heat of the Sun so that when they came near the Land of Egypt Masar made a kind of Arbour of the Boughs of Trees at the place now called Garisa that is to say the Arbour and covered it with the Grass he found on the ground Near that place he afterwards built a City which he called Darsan that is to say the Door of the Garden about which they planted Trees and sow'd the grounds and made sweet smelling Orchards Between Darsan and the Sea-side there were tilled Fields and Gardens and well cultivated grounds Masar's people were mighty robust and valiant They cut stones and raised remarkable Buildings and liv'd very much at ease for a long time Masar married a Woman of the Race of the Priests of whom he had a Son named Coptim and he was the Father of all the Coptites Afterwards at ninety years of age he married another Woman and had by her Sons Coptarim and Asmomus and Abribus who grew up and peopled the Land and were prosperous therein Their Cities were called from their names and will be so call'd till the day of Judgment They say the number of those who accompanied Masar was thirty Men and that they built a great City which they called Maca for Maca signifies thirty and that it is the City of Memphis Philemon afterwards discovered to them the Treasures of Egypt made them understand the writing of the Birbas opened the Pyramids for them and taught them the Talismans of their gates and the ways to be obey'd by the Spirits appointed over them He shew'd them the Mines of Gold and Silver and Topazes and Turqueses and Esnadosammes He taught them the Art of handling white and black Marble and Jasper whereof they made their Vessels and Instruments and the Pillars of their habitations He writ down for them the Operations of the Art which he attributed to a Man of his house named Moncatam who practised Chemistry upon Mount Mactam They say the origin of the art of working Marble as well White as Black came from Chemistry in as much as the waters and essences which they distill and circulate by their artifices passing through the earthen vessels he compos'd for them the white stone in Sand and Glass and made the hard red stone for them of a soft stone and red Arsnick or Sandarack and Pitch he kindled a fire thereon and ordered them by his wisdom He made Mills for them in the ground and caused these materials to be put into them then the stones came out figured after what manner they desired in all sorts of vessels Nay they say that the stones were soft with them from the break of day till the afternoon and that they made what they would of them Philemon taught them also to make Talismans for there came out against them out of the Sea certain Creatures which threw down their Buildings whereupon they made Talismans against those Creatures and they never came afterwards They built several Cities upon the Roman Sea and among others that of Racoda at the place where now Alexandria stands They made in the midst of that City a little Turret upon pillars of Copper guilt and set upon it a Mirrour consisting of a mixture of divers materials in length and breadth five spans and the Turret of the height of 100 Cubits according to their measure When therefore any Enemy came against them they made certain Operations on the Mirrour then they made the rays of it fall on the Enemy so that they burnt him This Turret and the Mirrour remained there till the Sea reach'd and destroyed them The Pharos also of Alexandria had not been made but for a Mirrour that was upon it and discovered those who came against them from the Roman Countrey One of the Roman Emperours prevailed so far by his artifices and great expences that he destroyed it It was of white Marble well design'd and well wrought They relate says the Author to whom God be merciful that God promised Noah Gods peace be with him to hearken to him in a prayer he should make for his son and that he deferred that prayer till the next morning at which time very early in the morning he was to call his son and him of his sons who should readily answer him God would bless when he had prayed for him and he who answered not should not have that benediction The readiest to answer was Sem wherefore he prayed God for him and his posterity and the most backward to answer were Cham and Japhet wherefore he prayed God against them Masar the son of Bansar the son of Cham was an useful and serviceable Young man for which reason Noah cherished him and he was always with him never leaving him Having therefore heard the prayer which Noah had made against his Grandfather and his children and the children of his children he fell a weeping and turned to Noah and said thus to him O Great Grandfather I have heard the Imprecations you have made against my Grandfather Cham and against his children and yet for my part I have been always obedient to you and ready to serve you Pray therefore unto God for me These words pleased Noah and immediately he put his hand on his head saying O great God behold here one of my sons who answered me when I have called him bless him him and his posterity and divert from them weakness and grief and affliction and give them generosity and valour and drive away far from them trouble care and displeasure Arm the middle of their bodies with girdles of Steel never let them be disabled to perform the Sacred voyage give them for their habitation a Land whereof the air is pleasant the waters sweet and the pastures green which may be the Mother of Nations and the relief of Men which may allure to it all sorts of persons Citizens and Countrey-people out of all the Plains and out of all the Mountains both far and near a Land that hath a River transcending all Rivers whereof the History may be the most admirable of Histories from which the Abysses of the Sea are derived which divides the Desarts of Countries with its pregnant surges and swollen waves from the remainder of Countries to the Metropolis of all other places the chosen City the Countrey of fair ways through which the noble Nile flows with its excellent waters on which the eye of the Almighty watches night and day supplied with springs and fair waters the Favourite of Heaven in all its parts adorned with a River coming from Paradise replenished with the favours of the Gratificator and the mercies of the Merciful where Plants sprout forth and thrive exceedingly where there is abundance of all sorts of good things and an aâ—fluence of all benedictions After that Noah prayed his Lord to subject the Land to Masar
and his children to sortifie them over it and to make it submissive to them to assist them to cultivate it and to relieve the Prophets among them Noah Gods peace be with him was heard in all this When Masar says the Author was near death he made his Will in favour of his son Coptim He had before divided the Land among his children and had given Coptarim all the Countrey which reaches from Copta to Syene to Asmoumus what is from Asmon to Memphis and to Abribus all the flat Countrey from about Saram and the Fennes as far as beyond Barca so that he was Lord also of Afric and the Africans He recommended it to every one of his children to build himself a City in his Country and enjoyn'd them all together at the hour of his death to make him a Cave in the earth to pave it with white Emeralds to dispose his Body into it and to bury with him whatever there was in his Treasuries of Gold Silver and Precions Stones and to write thereupon such names as might divert any from approaching it They made a Cave 150 Cubits in length and in the midst a place of Assembly wainscoated with Plates of Gold and Silver having 4 Doors and over every Door a Statue of Gold wearing a Crown beset with Precious stones and seated on a Throne of Gold the feet whereof were of Topaze They graved on the breast of each Statue great names able to divert any from approaching them and disposed the body of Masar into a Tomb of Marble covered with Plates of Gold and writ upon it Masar the son of Bansar the son of Cham the son of Noah died aged seven hundred years from the days of the Deluge He died without ever having adored any Idol not broken with old age nor troubled with sickness not having felt any evil or pain nor afflicted with any sadness care or displeasure They fortified him also with the great Names of GOD which never permit such as are fortified therewith to fall into contempt or be oppressed They swore moreover the greatest of all Oaths that none should come near him unless he were a King who had 7 of his sons Kings and not any of them a servant or slave or poor or necessitous who followed the Religion of the King the just Judge that is to say the true God and believed the Prophet of the Merciful sent with the Alcoran to bring the World to the Faith in the last times They also placed near him a thousand pieces of Topaze made round about him and a thousand Statues of precious Stones of great value and Gernes or great Vessels containing the Sciences of the Divine Art and the secret Drugs and the admirable Talismans and Ingots of gold in great heaps like sand or stones They cover'd that Cave with great stones and sand spread thereon between two Mountains opposite one to the other The first King of Egypt who Reigned after the Deluge was Masar the son of Bansar the son of Cham after him Reign'd his son Coptim then his son Coptarim then his son Budesir then his son Gadim then his son Sedathe then his son Mancaos then his son Casaos then his son Marbis then his son Asmar then his son Citin then his son Elsabas then his son Sa then his son Malil then his son Hadares then his son Cheribas then his son Calcan then his son Totis who is he whom the Arabians call The Just For this is the Pharao of Egypt who had conversation with the Beloved of God Abraham Gods peace be with him as also with Mahumet and Mercy and who by force would have taken away from him his Wife Sara which happen'd thus The Beloved of God Gods peace and mercy be with him after God had destroy'd the cursed Nimrod his enemy took his Journey out of the Land of Gueraca and came to Egypt accompany'd by his Wife Sara Gods peace be with her and left Lot behind him in Syria Sara was one of the most beautiful Women in the World they say Joseph Gods peace be with him inherited her Beauty Abraham therefore says the Author being come he and his wife into Egypt the Guards who were at the City-gate having seen Sara admired her beauty and went presently to give notice of it to King Totis and said to him There came into the City a man of the Eastern Countrey accompany'd by a Woman the most beautiful and most handsom that can be seen Immediately Totis sent for Abraham and said to him Whence are you Of Gueraca reply'd Abraham The King enquired further of him concerning his business and he gave him an account thereof Then he said to him What relation hath that woman to you She is my Sister said Abraham Then the King said to his Visier Bid him bring her to me that I may see her That displeased Abraham very much but it was not possible for him to disobey yet he knew that God would not permit any dishonour to happen in his Family he therefore said to Sara Go your ways to the King but without fear or troubling your self for you are under his tuition who hath created you who will divert from you whatever you may be afraid of and will assist both you and me with his favours But what would the King with me said Sara more then with you I hope said Abraham it will be nothing but what is good with the help of the Almighty They therefore conducted Sara to Totis's Pa-Palace accompany'd by Abraham The King having seen her was surpriz'd with her beauty and behaviour and said to Abraham What is this Woman to you She is my Sister reply'd Abraham He meant his Sister in God according to the Religion which he professed Whereupon Abraham's heart felt the ordinary sentiments of a jealous man he wished he had never come into Egypt Then he began to say O God suffer not the Family of Abraham to be dishonoured At which words the Veils and the Curtains were drawn before him so that he saw Sara speaking to the King The King put forth his hand to touch her but she presently said to him If you put your hand on me you are undone Accordingly even before the Kings hand was quite come to Sara and had touched her that hand shrunk up all the Kings members shook and Death presented it self on all sides He continued immoveable not able to stir and spoke thus O Woman deliver me from the evil that is fallen upon me and go whither you will I will do it said she conditionally you do not renew your attempt against me I promise it reply'd the King Whereupon she prayed God for him and God delivered him from the evil which had happen'd to him He recovered his health and said Certainly he is a great Lord whom you adore that is manifest Then he enquir'd of her who Abraham was and of what Religion He is the darling of God reply'd she his Religion is
that he shall be able to see all sorts of Spirits He there found also the Figure of an Icâ—neumon or Egyptian Rat made of Gold which being exposed to the Air the Sky was overcast and immediately there came Rain He there found moreover a Seat of Marble on which there was the Figure of a Raven made of a black Stone which being questioned spoke and answered to what was asked of it They say that in each of those Store-houses there were ten Miraculous things which it would be long to declare one after another wherefore we shall content our selves with what we have briefly said thereof After Gebirus saith the Author had acquitted himself of the Building of the City he sent the tidings of it to Charoba and invited her to come and see it It was her Nurse who brought her the news and withall said to her Fear not nor give your self any trouble concerning him Then presently she carried to Gebirus a piece of Tapistry of great value and said to him Put this on the Seat in which you shall sit and afterwards divide your people into three parties and send them to me that I may give them a Treatment such as they deserve When the first party shall be about a third part of the way you shall send away the second then afterwards the third to the end they may be near us dispersed in the Countrey for our safety He did so and in the mean time she continued sending to him precious Houshold-stuff till such time as she knew that they were upon their way and that he had sent to her the third part of his Army Then she caused to be set for them Tables replenish'd with Poisoned Meats and Drinks and when they were come to the Tables her Servants Men and Maids made them stay and sit down to eat standing all about them with Umbrellos or Fans so that they all died from the first to the last They afterwards quitted that Post and passed to the other where the second party met them whom they treated after the same manner Then they removed to the third and serv'd them as they had done the others so that all died After that she sent word to the King that she had left his Army in her own City and in her Castle and thereabouts for the safety of her Women and that she would be served by his Attendants who should be about him ready to obey him Accordingly she went to his Palace accompanied by her Nurse and some of her meaner Women who were with her and carried Perfumes in Porcelain Dishes He rose up and went to meet her and immediately her Nurse put about him a sumptuous Robe but poisoned which she had prepared for that purpose and blew a Fume into his face which in a manner deprived him of his senses then she sprinkled him with a water which she had which loosened all his members and dislocated all his joyn 〈…〉 so that he fell to the ground in a swound Then she opened his veins and emptied them of all his bloud saying The bloud of Kings is an excellent remedy Her Nurse came up to him and said to him Is the King well to night Mischief on your coming hither replied he may you be treated accordingly Do you stand in need of any thing replied she before you taste death I do said he I would intreat thee to cause these words to be engraved upon one of the pillars of the Castle I Gebirus the son of Gevirus the Mutaphequian who have caused Marble to be polished and the hard red stone and the green to be wrought who have been possessed of Gold and Precious stones who have built Palaces and raised Armies who have cut through Mountains who have stopped Rivers with my arm with all this my power and my might and my prowess and my valour I have been circumvented by the artifices of a Woman weak impotent and of no worth who hath deprived me of my understanding and taken my life and discomfited my Armies Whoever therefore is desirous to prosper though there be no prosperity in this world let him have a care of the wilely subtilties of Women This is the advice I give those who shall come after me I have no more to say Charoba thereupon commanded his head to be cut off and that it should be set upon the gate of the City of Memphis which was put in executtion by her people After that she caused the Tower of Alexandria to be built and to be graved thereon her own name and that of Gebirus and what she had done to him and the time when the City had been built Her fame came to the ears of Kings who respected and esteemed her and made submissions and proffers of obedience to her She did since that many miraculous things in Egypt among others she caused Castles and Bridges to be made upon the Frontiers and put Garrisons of Souldiers therein to be a Guard and to repell Enemies on which side soever they came to plunder them They say that Gebirus made this discourse to her at the point of death O Charoba triumph not at my death for there will happen to thee a day like this and yet much longer such is the custom of Fortune She troubled not her self at what he said but she had not lived above a year after him when having imbarqu'd upon the Nile in a small Vessel which she had to take the air by Moon-light on one side of the Pyramids and being afterwards gone ashore to ease nature attended by her Men and Women-servants who were about her whilest she was in the height of her mirth and jollity she trod on a Serpent which stung her in the heel and made her immediately lose her sight Wo is me cried she It will prove nothing Madam replied her Attendants You are deceived said she the day which Gebirus threatened me withall is come Accordingly she died he next morning The Egyptians made King in her stead her Cousin-german Dalic or rather as others affirm they made Queen her Cousin Dalica for she had continued a Virgin and was never married Dalica was endowed with a great understanding prudence and conduct and wanted not beauty She caused the body of Charoba to be embalmed in Camphire and brought into the City which she had built on the West side For Charoba had caused to be prepared for her there a Tomb embellished with all sorts of ornaments and had appointed for Inhabitants of the City a great number of Priests and Artizans and Doctors and Military persons That City continued in a flourishing condition and populous till it was ruined by Nabuchodonosor upon the Conquest of Egypt Dalica reigned 70 years and then died King Ablin reigned after her and after him the Valide son of Domegus the Amalekite and after him his son the Rajan son of the Valide who was the Pharao of Joseph and after him his son Magadan and after
preserve Some make another Description of Egypt saying that it is a Land wherein there are for famous places Qâ—irata and Ecbata and Damiette and Igora and Rebata whose River is clear and its waters sweet where diseases are dispell'd and hope crown'd with effect where the vicissitude of things passes without confusion and without disturbance Those who come thither with an intention to do ill return thence without accomplishing their design those who contrive the destruction of it meet with their own those who have their Habitations therein are in safety and make their advantage and those who leave it repent them of it It was said one day to an excellent person What say you of Egypt What reply'd he would you have me say of that Province Those who leave it repent them that they ever did it It quels Kings and destroys them and supports the poor All those who have an affection for it find there how to employ themselves about what they like best according to their power An Extract of the Annals of the Geranian An ancient Egyptian of the chiefest of the Countrey relates as having taken it out of Abuquilus the Mogapherian the Pacifier whom Gabdol the Son of Nasilus had taught That Noah Gods peace and mercy be with him after he had divided the Earth among his Children had a numerous Posterity by whom he caused it to be Inhabited and Cultivated The Kingdom of Egypt fell to Masar the son of Bansar the son of Cham the son of Noah who had many children and by them a great progeny Noah had prayed God for Masar or Mesraim that he would give him his benediction in his Land and to his Children after him whence it came that the Land was fertile and abundant to them it s Nile overflow'd all its quarters fructify'd its Cattel were multiply'd its Mines had been discovered The Trees bore Dates as big as Pillars The Grains of Wheat were as big as Hens Eggs soft as Butter and sweet as Hony There were some among them who particularly apply'd themselves to the Mines of Topazes which are adjoyning to the Countries of Syene at the upper part of High Egypt opposite to the Provinces of the Nubians whom Mesraiâ— the son of Bansar had appointed for his Lieutenants upon the Frontiers of of Egypt saying unto them Be my Lieutenants over the Frontiers of this Land whence they were called Nubians that is to say Lieutenants One man took out of the Mines such a piece of Tapaze as that he might make a Table of it with Dishes and Trenchers to set upon it All their Vessels were Marble and Gold and Silver and Topaze The Nile cast on its Shores certain Leaves which came from Paradise so Odoriferous that they needed not other perfumes There were on both sides of the Nile Gardens from Syene quite to the extremities of the Land of Egypt so that a man walking along the Banks of the Nile had a perpetual coolness and shade and had not his head any way incommodated by the heat of the Sun The first City which Mesraim founded in the Land of Egypt was Memphis There was not then in Egypt any thing that incommodated the Inhabitants of the kind of Serpents or other venemous Beasts They lived along time without being impaired by old age sickness or infirmity and without having any having any hatred or envy one against another till they alter'd the Religion of their Ancestor Noah Gods peace and mercy be with him and changed his Law Then the Devil Gods enemy got dominion over them by his craft and circumventions distracted their affairs and sowed discord and enmity amongst them He made them delight in the worship of Idols so that they adored them during the space of five hundred years whence it came that their fruits diminish'd their Cattel perished and their Mines became barren There came out against them mischievous Creatures out of the Earth and out of the Sea the shade forsook them the Benedictions were taken away from them and exemplary punishments fell upon them Certainly God changes not the state of a Nation untill it be changed of it self and the rest of the Verse Thus their affairs went worse and worse till the King of the Amalekites came out of Syria to War against them The King of Egypt then was Cophtarim the son of Cophtim the son of Masar the son of Bansar The King of the Amelekites was named Gainon from whom Baitgainon in the Land of Syria derives its â—ame He was insolent and impious and very corpulent He had to his Uncles among the Amalekites Gebirus the Mutaphequian and his Brother Gebrin This King then came with his Forces consisting of a thousand Amalekite Lords and six hundred thousand Soldiers They entred into the Land of Egypt and Encamped upon its Frontiers on the side of the great Banks Gainon Warred against the Inhabitants of Egypt for the space of a Moneth after which he defeated them and took possession of the Countrey Cophtariâ— and his Forces having forsaken it and got into the Desarts of the West The Amalekite continued in Egypt without injuring any person for he said to the the Egyptians You are the Inhabitants of the Countrey his Subjects who is possessed of it and his Servants who is Conquerour He afterwards gave them security as to his part and appointed over them for Governour his Brother named Gamrou on whom he bestow'd for Visier a Coptite named Zephton who was then of the principal Inhabitants of Egypt being there possess'd of a great estate and having many Friends and others inclin'd to his party His skin was black and he resembled the children of Cham. Gamrou founded a City upon the Nile's side which he named Gamra and ordered his Visier Zephton to build such another opposite to it The Visier obeyed him and named the City he built Zephta each of them deriving its name from the Founder They caused them both to be built and whitened with great care and Vault to be made therein under ground and Aqueducts coming out of the Nile and compassing the publick places They also caused Walls and Trenches to be made about their Cities enrich'd them with Villages and Farms ordering Justice and Equity to be strictly observ'd in the Land of Egypt They took but the tenth part of the profits of the Dairies and Farms In the mean time Gainon got Provisions together and fitted his Army to pursue Cophtarim and his People who were fled towards the West They pursued them so closely that they forced them to enter into Afriâ— and to take refuge on a Mountain called the Mount of Sosa where Cophtarim and his People Fortify'd themselves There was on the descent of the Mountain a Castle built by one of the Children of Cham very high and inaccessible They held out stifly in that Castle and got into it their goods There was on one side of the Castle a Spring of fresh water which occasioned them to put their Cattel
and Horses that way Gainon the Amalekite came and Encamped about the Castle and Besieged it That Siege lasted two Years for they play'd upon him with Stones and Arrows and he could do them no hurt whereupon he caused Trenches to be made about them and pressed not upon them having resolved to take them by a long Siege He therefore caused Houses and Huts to be made in the Plain his Visier Gamrou relieving him with Money and Provisions which he sent out of Egypt They grew at length so confident that they began to neglect the business of Cophtarim and his People so that at last in a Winter night the weather being cold they entered into their Tents and fell a Drinking having no Guard abroad because they had no distrust Cophtarim had Spies among them who presently gave him notice of that opportunity and told him the Enemies were all Drunk and immoveable as dead men and if he let pass that night without taking advantage of the posture they were in he should never escape out of their hands Upon this intelligence Cophtarim came out of the Castle accompany'd by his Infantry onely without Horse His People being set upon the enterprise he divided them into four Battallions and ordered them at the same time to set upon the four quarters of Gainon's Camp They gave a great shout and fell a cutting them to pieces not one of them making any resistance The slaughter continued all night till the next morning those who escaped fled some one way some another not knowing which way to go and afterwards dyed of hunger and thirst Cophtarim's men took all their Baggage their Cattel their Horses and their Money and took King Gainon Prisoner with the chiefest Lords of his Court King Gainon recovered not himself out of his Debauch till they had bound him with Chains of Iron weighing fifty pound They set him on a Camel and immediately took their way towards Egypt joyful and well satisfy'd This news coming to Gamrou Gainon's Lieutenant he secretly packed up for his departure out of Egypt with those that were about him His Visier Zephton followed him with his Baggage and Equipage and his Family and those of his party They got both of them into Syria Cophtarim and his Forces returned in good order with Colours flying marching night and day not making any stop upon any occasion whatsoever till he got into his Countrey and had put on his Arms and was advantageously dressed and his Soldiers in like manner causing to march before him Gainon bound and chained and the Camels loaden with the Heads of his Favourites who had been killed and their Cattel and their Horses The Egyptians went to meet him joyful and glad of his coming after they had beautified and adorned the City for his reception Cophtarim came and lodged in his Royal Palace with great joy and caused it to be publickly Proclaim'd that his intention was to have Justice and Equity and good manners to flourish He ordered also that Gamra and Zephta the Cities built by Gamrou and Zephton should be demolished as well out of the horrour he had for their Names as to give a good presage of their punishment saying He would not leave in Egypt any track of the Amalekites Wherefore the Coptites have it among their Proverbs Gainon was blind and Zephton covered with Infamy When any one digs the ground and finds it so hard that he cannot get forward they say of him He hath met with Zephton ' s good Fortune Mean time the chiefest among them put Cophtarim's action among the Stratagem of the Coptites inasmuch as his flight say they was a mischievous subtilty against Gainon and not an effect of the fright he had put him into for they will ever be sly and subtile The tracks of the two Cities Gamra and Zephta continued a long time in the same condition they were afterwards both rebuilt by one of the Kings thendestroy'd again by Nabuchodonosor when he entered into Egypt and wasted it Then when those who were remaining of the Inhabitants of Egypt return'd thither with Belsa the son of the Coptess when he entered into Egypt after his death that is after the death of his Father Nabuchodonosor they advised him after he had build the Castle of Cira and the Church of Mugalleca and the others to built also upon the ground of the City of Gamrou and that which was opposite thereto upon the Nile but he would not Yet they say concerning these two Cities that a long time after there were two Villages built upon their Ruines which were called by their names and that those names have continued to them God knows how it is how ere it be kept secret from men They relate that when the Commander of the Faithful Omar the son of Chettabus Gods peace be with him came into Syria to receive the Keys of Jerusalem according to what Abugabidas had writen to him of it in regard the Patricians of the Romans who were then in Syria had intreated him to do it when he was come near them he made a halt at a Village not far from Jerusalem and continu'd there some time during which the Governour of the City sent a Spy to him saying Go thy ways and observe the King of the Arabians who comes hither to take possession of our Lands and the Patrimony of Caesar and return quickly to tell me how he looks and describe him so to me that I may know him as well as if I had seen him my self The Spy came away and made a shift to get just over against Omar and view'd him as he sate on a She-Camel he had clad in a Wollen Garment mended with a piece of Sheep-skin made as it were into a thread on that side towards the Sun which had already burnt and blacken'd his face with a bag hanging behind him into which having put his hand he pulled out pretty big pieces of Barley-bread and with his Fingers struck off the husks saying In the Name of God then he did eat till he was satisfied and afterwards took a Bottle of Leather which he carry'd with him full of water and quench'd his thirst saying after that Praise be to God The Spy brought this news to the Patrician who sent him and describ'd in what posture he had seen him whereupon the Patrician continued along time without saying any thing and then he spoke thus to such as were about him Grant these people all they desire for otherwise there is no way to be rid of them without fighting with them and they have the favour of Heaven Their Law and their Prophet enjoins them Humility and Modesty and Compliance and these qualities lead to advancement and dominion This description proceeds from that little party which appears above all the Inhabitants of the Earth Their Law shall abolish all the Laws My Father predicted this to me having learnt it of his Father who had received it from his Grand-father They