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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30860	The late travels of S. Giacomo Baratti, an Italian gentleman, into the remote countries of the Abissins, or of Ethiopia interior wherein you shall find an exact account of the laws, government, religion, discipline, customs, &c. of the Christian people that do inhabit there with many observations which some may improve to the advantage and increase of Trade with them : together with a confirmation of this relation drawn from the writings of Damianus de Goes and Jo. Scaliger, who agree with the author in many particulars / translated by G.D.	Baratti, Giacomo.; G. D.; Góis, Damião de, 1502-1574.; Scaliger, Joseph Juste, 1540-1609.	1670 (1670)	Wing B677; ESTC R11736	63,785	282

because at a certain time of the year they send a sweet perfume unto them a Purse full of Gold and Silver and in consideration of this yearly tribute they suffer them to exact cheat and rob the poor Travellers and Merchants We advanced far into the Country many days journey before we came to the Turks Army they were upon their return from pillaging the Christians they were laden with spoils and slaves They made as much haste as they could in their march for the Precious John had gathered his Army together and was in the pursuit of them from Suez we came first into the Country called by the Inhabitants Ganfila next to Dafroha and so through Barnagasso Lacca and part of Dangali we arrived at last upon the borders The body of the Turks Army when we met it was near a large lake full of excellent fish The people of this Country are ignorant of all kind of Arts they have not the address of fishing with Bows and Arrows they kill Birds and Beasts upon which they feed and live they own the Turks for their Masters against their will This lake is in the Kingdom of Bamagasso which was lately conquered and taken from the Great Neguz the people retain some Reliques of Christianity but with that ignorance that one can scarce distinguish them from the Heathens unless it be by the name up and down the Country some sorry houses are erected fitter for wild beasts than men The walls are of mud and stones the roofs of a sort of slender Cane and Reeds which grow near the water side and in low places the middle of it is supported by a Pillar of wood that stands in the huts and keeps the whole Fabrick from falling to the ground for this miserable people are not acquainted with the Art of Architecture The Towns are composed of this sort of dwellings there are not many of them but those that are have chosen the best Land for their scituations near some fresh waters or lakes for unless it be in these places the ground is parched up all the year long but during the time of the Rains In Egypt they never fall but in Aethiopia they are very extraordinary about the month of January and February Such violent showers do pour down that no creature is able to abide without a shelter several parties of the Turks Army were stragling up and down but the main body was at the lake Gueresh When we came up to them they were composed of Horse and Foot about six thousand not able to abide a a combat with the Abyssins therefore they thought upon nothing else than a safe retreat They had plundred the Country people that were yet subject to Prester John and had carryed men women and children into captivity A sad sight it was unto us that were Christians to behold our brethren and our Christian name so miserably abused by the enemy of Christ our Abuna could not refrain from tears he laboured to relieve some of them and to comfort them in their affliction but for fear of discovering himself he was not willing to express too much grief or kindness to them The Embassadours credit saved us from all affronts we lodged two nights with them for during that time they expected the coming up of some Troups that were sent to pillage It is the custom of the people that border upon the Abyssins once a year to visit their Territories for they meet with a considerable deal of plunder with little or no hazard The Abyssins are more superstitious than warlike they have been renowned for Valour but at present they are Cowards they suffer every petty Nation that is daring to destroy their borders which is the fault chiefly of their Governors for having so much Riches as they have so many Mines of Gold and other considerable Commodities they might allow a part to some war-like people to fight under their banners and assist them against their troublesome Neighbours At present they have little communication with people of their Religion which if they had it would be a mighty support to them and their interest When the Portugueses were sent with an unconsiderable party into those Dominions the Abyssin Emperour felt the benefit of forrein succours for the enemy was beaten in two battels and forc'd to yield to the Christian Valour Amongst the Prisoners several Noblemens children were seen who by their Meen and Garb were distinguishable from the ordinary sort These poor creatures were led to be sold in Turky and other places as beasts and the worst is they were to be forced to renounce their Religion What a grief was it to their Christian Parents to suffer such a loss to have their Sons and Daughters amongst the Infidels This inconveniency might be prevented did these In-land Christians keep a strong Guard upon their confines or with a stout resolution labour to drive these Robbers far from their habitations or labour to revenge themselves by carrying the War into their own Land or by seizing on the Sea coast and the passages of the mountains that limit their Country where they might place such strong Castles and numerous Guards as might keep the Turks and Moors from all such attempts But when we have fully taken a view of Abassia or Aethiopia Superiour and of the Emperour and Government we may be better able to see the cause of these disorders that happen almost every year in some corner of the Land Having therefore spent some days in the view of our Christian brethren that were led into Captivity we took our leave of them and of the Turks Army and marched on our journey towards a large Town of the Kingdom of Tigremahon called Bashaw it lies beyond a large River that runs through Africa it receives the tribute from other small Rivers and then it runs through many Countreys until it discharges it self into Nilus the people of the Country call it in their language Togassi and others Guekrahock Were it not for this River it were not possible to subsist in this In-land Country but it divides it self into so many branches and waters so large a Territory that no part of the Emperours Country is without some benefit that it brings unto it The Country round about did hear the Marches of the enemies rage and fury the Towns were burnt to the ground the people either fled or carryed into captivity the land and trees were not spared in some places for they had cut down a great quantity to facilitate their passages over some Rivers Here we came into a Country far more fruitful than any other I had seen in Africa it was capable of more improvement did the Inhabitants skill and industry answer the goodness of the soil I do not find but this part might bear as excellent Fruits as any other place of the world The heat of the climate quickens nature in the production of all Vegetatives so that it is blessed with two Springs every year or at

of his de Emendatione temporum speaks thus of the Ethiopians We have not been the first that have heard of the Ethiopian Chri 〈…〉 ans for they have Churches not only in Constantinople but also at Rome and Venice where for a while they have had liberty to perform their devotions From the Voyages of the Portugueses and the Journal of Francis Alvarez who passed into the heart of Ethiopia many things may be known of them and of their customs until this time we have heard only of the name of Ethiopia but it is strange that in the time of our fore-fathers we first heard that there were Ethiopians from those of Asia for about 300 years ago they did command in Asia especially Drangiana upon the confines of Sufiana also in India and amongst the Chinenses a great Continent until the Emperours of the Tartars did drive them out of Asia for the Abyssins being vanquished were driven out of China by Cingi King of the Tartars when Uncam the great Emperour of Ethiopia was kill'd Afterwards Cincan Son of Cingis and his Son Bathin Can Emperours of the Tartars pursued the Abyssins and forced them out of Moni and all the Region of the Chinenses and obliged them to return into Africa We may at present wonder that this Nation should be so ignorant of the Art of Navigation who was so powerful by Sea and by Land that it commanded from Ethiopia as far as China from that time we have heard of the Emperour of Ethiopia by the name of Prestegiani which in the Persian language that is in Asia as universal as the Latin is in Europe signifies Apostolick Padescha Prestegiani the Apostolick King that is the Christian King The Arabians call him Melich Ressuli and the Ethiopians Negusch Chavvariavvi There are many Crosses yet standing in Asia in Japan China and other places that declare how large the Empire of the Ethiopians was in that Continent besides in Malabar there is a Temple of St. Thomas yet to be seen that is of the Structure and manner of building of the Ethiopians A Continuation of Segn ● Barat 〈…〉 Of the Growth and Commodities of the Country THis Country stretches 〈…〉 self about eight degrees North and as many South from the Line So that it lies exposed to the fury of the Sun beams The soil nevertheless in many places is extream fruitful and the ay● temperate especially towards the Evening then the great Dew● come to refresh the herbs and fruits that the parching Sun had injured Part of this Country is very barren and incommodious for habitation sometimes we have felt such extream heats that it was not possible to subsist out of the shade and about sixe miles further between the Mountains and amongst the trees we had such a pleasant ayr that I never saw any more temperate in Europe I met with a great many Lakes and fresh Rivers especially upon the borders of Tigremahon where the ground yields all manner of Fruit Trees and Corn Pomegranates of extraordinary bigness Apples Pears Peaches and Apricocks are very small but of a very pleasant taste They have here a Fruit that they call Cavashau that grows in their Gardens it is very delicious and much like unto our little Muskmellons but of a contrary taste The Abyssins make a great account of it in their Feasts The Corn of this Country is very good bigger than that of Italy in most places They have Beans Pease Lentils Barley Wheat and all sorts of Grains but where the Country is so dry and barren that it will not answer the labour of the Husbandman nature hath provided instead o● Corn a wild Grain called Taf● Deguza of this the Inhabitants make a Bread which is as course and unpleasant as the Climate In many places Oranges and Limons grow naturally in the Woods here is also many Trees that yield an odoriferous smell and a great deal of Brazil-wood Sugar Canes in great abundance which the Inhabitants do make use of not as we do for they have not the Art to extract the Sugar but they feed upon them raw They have no Oil nor Olive Trees but an Herb that serve● them instead of Olives it is called Henar they steep it and draw out the juice that looks like Gold very beautiful to the eye and n● less pleasant to the taste for the Oil or Liquor extracted from it hath neither smell nor taste and is very fat as Oil uses to be so that the Inhabitants are by that means supplyed with that which serves them as well as the best Oil of Italy The Woods and Rocks are full of Bees so that they have much Honey and Wax with which they make Candles for they have no Tallow because they do not kill many tame Beasts Here is a great Trade of Raw Silks and Stuffs which the Blacks fetch from hence to carry into their Country where no Trees are to be found to harbour the Silk-worm Upon the confines of the Neguz dominions near the Kingdom of Damut are Mines of Gold about the lake out of which the River Niger proceeds so that this river carrys away some of the sandy part and rowls it with the stream that is extream fierce for it falls from high Mountains and runs with a great impetuosity to the main Ocean upon the sand the Negers do pick up much Gold which crumbles from the Rocks and proceeds out of the Mines that are dispersed all over the Country The N 〈…〉 hath people daily at work in them they are commonly men taken Captives from their Enemies When the Ethiopians go out to War they save the lives of all those that submit themselves to their mercy and send them to these places to prepare the Gold and fit it for the use of the people Some Silver Mines are also here but not so many as of Gold for the hot country is not so proper for that kind of Oar. The parching Sun is more powerful in this Climate in the bosom of the earth so that all the ground that is proper for the substance of Gold it turns it into this Metal The Mines are not so deep as in other Kingdoms they are much like unto our Quarries of Stone in Italy The Stone or Rock with which the Gold is mingled is very sandy so that it will crumble without any difficulty The mine doth usually run in a vain it is easie to distinguish it by the colour which is distinct from the other part of the Rock The Inhabitants say that all along the River that bursts forth of the Lake Laira many such Golden Quarries are to be found so that the violence of the stream doth sometimes unloose the more precious part from the rest and carry it away to the great benefit of the Inhabitants who gather it up along the shoar after great Rains and afterwards they carry it to Gui●y or to Mozambique and other places of note where Merchants resort In the Land towards the Country of

least with two Crops of every thing that is sown or planted unless it be in those places that want the benefit of water we met here with some flying parts of the Turks Army riding apace after the main body for they were pursued by several troops of the Abyssins Those thieves had adventured almost near the Imperial Tents without resistance not without considerable plunder able to reward them for their labours we proceeded on our way about two leagues before we came to meet with the inhabitants of the Country the first were a party of horse-men very well mounted pursuing their enemies they complained unto the Embassadour of the Turks violences we were afraid that they would have violated the Law of Nations upon him they received us with that rage the presence of the Abuna hindred them from offering injury to his Person Him they received with all expressions of honour and kindness and suffered some of them to return back to guard him the rest continued on their way They overtook the Turks at the ford of a little River very busie to get over their Captives and Goods we heard that they fell upon them with a wonderful fury and recovered much of the spoils killing great numbers of them They returned afterwards in triumph with much honour having so successefully encountred with their enemies In the mean whiles we proceeded in our journey towards the Emperour of Abassia who hearing of the Abuna's arrival sent some of his Court to Complement him and bid him welcome where ever he passed the Clergy people came to receive him with more signs of kindness than pomp the processions of the people came to meet us at the entrance of the towns and when we came within sight of the Emperours tents he sent all the Court to receive the Abuna I did carefully observe all the ceremonies of Reception and Instalment The Abuna as soon as he came within the tents went to kiss the Emperours Girdle He was standing in a stately tent erected in the middle of the rest about it was a large place much like to a Market where the Courtiers are accustomed to walk at the right hand is another very beautiful where the Emperours Wives and Concubines dwell at the top of the Princes tent is a Golden Cross with an Angel holding it in his left hand with a drawn Cymeter in the right The Abuna went to change his habit and put on another according to the Abyssin custom It is a very singular one none but the High-Priest hath the liberty to wear it for it is the badge or character by which he is distinguished from the other Papa's or Bishops of that Country and from the rest of the Clergy he was conducted next to pay his respects to the Emperour he was in the Kingdom of Beleguaze near a town very well peopled and scituated in a pleasant plain called Ikroah about six leagues distant from the River Tagassi I had the satisfaction to accompany the Abuna for he was a man of a very mild and kind spirit very pleasant in company yet grave and serious he was led by the Master of the Ceremonies into the Inner room where the Emperour lay upon a curious Bed of White Cotton Bed with a large fringe of Gold behind him stood his naked Sword and round about were the Lords of his Privy Councel above was a Canopy of cloath of Gold with green silk interwoven the room it self was hung with the same stuffe assoon as the Abuna enter'd the room he kneel'd three times on the ground and then ascended the steps to the Bed to perform his respects In the mean whiles the Emperour rose from his couch and half up embraced the Abuna wishing him much felicity in his Empire they discoursed some time together and then he was dismist with all honour and civility the Emperour was pleased to take notice of his retinue and particularly of my self I was also admitted to the honour of kissing his Girdle a ceremony only due to the Prince I followed the Abuna who received me into his own lodgings and would not suffer me whiles I was in that Country to be obliged to any other place for my retreat Now I have brought my Reader into the Imperial tents of Abassia it is convenient that we should take a view as from a high place of all the inferiour orders of men and of all particulars which his curiosity may be inquisitive And first Of the Emperour THe Emperour of the Abyssins is a Prince highly honored of his subjects because they fancy him to be lineally descended from that noble and Religious King that first planted the Christian Religion amongst them and as they are extreamly devoted to it so much that they appear almost extravagant in many of their practises they have no small respect to his Posterity who first brought them the advantage of the Christian Faith None hath access to him of his subjects unless it be upon solemn occasions but the chief Officers of his Crown when he rides or is carryed abroad in a Royal Throne all his people fall upon their knees and adore him this throne is a kind of Sedan but far more stately with steps ascending to it made of wood gilt over covered with Gold it is carryed upon mens shoulders or between four Horses the Emperour appears in it with much state and with more glory than in any other thing that I have seen He never stirs out of his tents but 600 men do follow him at his heels they are his daily guard they wear a Livery and a Habit distinct from all other people on their head a Scarlet bonnet with three white plumes fastned behind with a blew cross on their shoulders they have a very convenient Coat that comes down to their middle with a Girdle or Sash over it a Roman Mantle hangs more proper for State than action the colour is green it is not very long nor troublesome when they are obliged to make use of their hands sometimes they ride sometimes they go afoot as the Emperours occasion requires for that purpose he hath always ready in his Stables great numbers of Horses The Emperours Person is whiter than any of his Kingdom for the Abyssins are tawny a colour drawing near to black I never saw any others of his Relations or kindred but I hear they are all of the same colour The people interpret this to his advantage that God by this distinction hath singled out that Family that is to Reign amongst them out of which they always chuse their Emperour their custom is that he should never marry until he be crowned then with the consent of his Nobles he chuseth two Wives out of his Kingdom he entertains besides as many Concubines as he pleaseth They are always with him in his tents with all their Attendants The first Male-child usually succeeds the Father in his Kingdom Assoon as the children are named they are carryed to a very delicious place

fury of the Eagles and Vultures and other ravenous Birds without any harm These cruel fowl instead of feeding upon his naked body unable to defend it self did bring up to him of the choicest meat that they could steal in the lower Country and on the top of that hard Rock there burst forth a large stream of living water so near his head that he had the liberty to sup some up and refresh himself when he was dry The spring continues yet to run it falls down above sixty fatham high from a steep rock down a precipice They say that their fore-fathers when they saw this miracle and that at the end of two or three months he was in perfect health as formerly they embraced the Christian faith They shew besides the Tomb of this Saint that dyed amongst them in a very old age It is visited by several pilgrims that come from the other Kingdoms of the great Neguz The Inhabitants are excellent Marks-men they have been tryed in the wars against the King of Adel so that they have approved themselves the best Souldiers of the Emperours dominions They use Bows and Arrows a long lance much like to a Roman of late they have fire Arms and some few pieces of Artillery The Emperour chuseth out of this Kingdom his common guards because that they are not only good Souldiers but have a meen more manly than the ordinary sort of people of these Regions In this Kingdom that is the largest and the best belonging to the Neguz great numbers of Jews are dispersed The Christians treat them with much civility they suffer them to trade amongst them to reap the fruit of the earth to enjoy the liberty of their Religion by that means great numbers have embraced that profession that did teach love and kindness to strangers hoping to meet with greater advantages when they should become brothers for there is no invitation more powerful upon the spirits of a man to oblige him to initiate himself in Religion than a sincere affection expressed by the professors of it The advantages to be expected in Christianity are sufficient to perswade us violence better becomes a Mahomet than Christ he never made use of his whip but to drive men out of his Church The Jews have here their Synagogues but they are at present so little frequented that I think the name will be one day lost by reason of their great numbers that daily turn Christians It was in this Kingdom that I saw a Black-a-moor with two heads joyned one to another and two faces one behind and another before the rest of his body was very well proportioned It was a monster of about twenty years of age he was way strong in his Limbs he discoursed unto us with one Tongue sometimes with the other and sometimes both together he was obliged to feed● behind and before he eats as much as two men The heads were distinct and separated until they came to the neck bone there they joyned together This irregularity in nature happens more frequently amongst the beasts than amongst the men of this Country for the heat that commands their inclinations moves their bloud and carrys them to unlawful Copulations when they meet together as they often do at the Springs of fresh water Of the Kingdom of Angote IT is not so large as the former but no less populous Belequanze is on the South of it Tigremahon on the West and North and the Kingdom of Adel on the East it stretcheth it self about twenty leagues in length from Fatigar to Dangali it contains two fruitful Provinces Buguna and Guanamora they are full of all manner of Fruit-trees especially of Dates and Pomgranates for here the Inhabitants are far more industrious than their Neighbours in improving their ground to the best advantage Here are many Religious houses built as they say upon the Sepulchers of their Saints that were there interred several good towns do belong to it Demars Angote and Buguna are the chief near the latter which is not far distant from a large River that bursts forth of the lake Barceum scituate beyond the mountains of Ainora is a large Pool of water called the Pool of Pontius Pilate if any should cast into it a stone or any other thing the water would rise swell grumble and in an impatient manner run over the sides although that which is cast in be never so inconsiderable but if the water be let alone it remains without motion About 15 leagues from that place towards Adel is a little Town called Bachlar where in the Church at one end of it grows a Vine the Inhabitants name it the Holy Vine it grows within the walls of the Church in a room that is made a purpose for it It is planted upon the Sepulchre of one St. Maximin that was buryed here The people told me it was above a thousand years of age and would subsist until dooms-day that the Saint at his death commanded it to be planted there telling them that as often as any twig should wither they would receive a considerable loss from the enemies and that when it should dry up Christ would come to judge the world or the Infidels would over-power the Christians I was admitted to visit and pay my devotions to it the cluster of Grapes that it yields are very big I could not see whether they grew naturally upon the branches that curiosity was unseasonable amongst a people that would admit of no contradiction and that did find a great benefit from this belief for both Heathens and Christians are possessed with this vulgar errour that the story is true I that was not so apt to receive such unusual tales upon trust did desire to touch the Grapes and examine their reality but the Priest forbad me telling me that it was an impurity that never any had been yet guilty of and that he wondred how I that waited not upon the Altar did dare to handle such holy things I did not offer to examine further the business after this severe reprehension It discovered to me as much as I was desirous to know that piae fraudes are in use in that Climate as well as in ours a continual profit makes them nourish this opinion and cherish it in themselves and others The Priest sells the leaves and the Grapes he says that he keeps them for the Wine in the Sacrament the leaves are good for many sorts of diseases as Agues Feavers Consumptions c. Many cures are said to have been effected by them but I think that the fancy of the sick hath rather cured them than the vertue of the leaf Of Beleguanze THis Kingdom is more barren than the rest the Kingdoms of Fungi Amara Bagamidri Angote Tigremahon do shut it in on all sides It is a plain Country but full of sand only on that side where the River passeth is fruitful the most considerable Towns are Dahrab Shubi and Grochar all three in sight of the Current there is

the Blacks lives a people very deformed and mishapen different from the rest of men not in the main composition of the body but in the disproportion of the parts They do not love to appear amongst persons that have the true form of men necessity constrains them to entertain a Trade which they do in such a strange manner that they are not like to the rest of Nations They inhabit the Country called Guangara and Media it is mountainous and inconvenient for passengers whom they never suffer to go through their dominions The River Niger so full of Gold passeth along their Territories and furnishes them with that Commodity to exchange for those other Commodities that nature requires and that they have not in such plenty as their Neighbours It is a business of difficulty to speak with some of them they are so savage Those that Trade upon the River may Land their Goods and see them afar off but they seldom do shew themselves They are very just in their dealings and will not wrong strangers of a farthing which if they did it might put a stop to their Trade without which they cannot probably live They seem to have some Government amongst them for upon the mountains places are fortified and the passages blockt up and they have been seen to observe a Decorum in their manner of Life and behaviour From this place many Nations of Europe have their Golden dust for the ships go up the River many hundred leagues to Trade with this obscure sort of people who shew themselves afar off leaving with their Merchandise such tokens and signs that may express their demands but they alwayes retreat at the same time into the Woods and will not suffer any to come near This hath been related to me for certain by many eye-witnesses and by persons of Credit and Worth this is a strange sort of people which none of their Neighbours can certainly know Ethiopia yields many other Commodities Hides are very plentiful especially of the wilde Beasts and Buff-skins which in this Country are bigger and thicker than in any other Here are stuffs made of the Bark of the Indian-tree that grows also here in every place the common people are employed to fit it for sale and work Some Spices Drugs and Roots do naturally come forth in this Climate called by the ancients the Torrid Zone The Merchants of Adel and Mozambique and of other places adjoyning to the Sea do enter into the Land in times of Peace to Trade with the Inhabitants and fetch from them their Commodities to convey them afterwards to the Sea-side where the Moors the Arabs and Banyans of the Indies do meet them with the Factors of other Nations to take from them their Goods Now this is the policy of all the Princes that keep the Sea shoar not to suffer an Abyssin unless he be an Apostate to have liberty to Trade out of the Country of the Neguz of whose power they are very jealous least he should recover again the Dominion of the Sea which he hath lost with all his Ships and Sea-port Towns some few years since When he offers to stir all his Neighbours do joyn together to force him into his bounds for he is lookt upon as their common enemy Some nevertheless of the Abyssin Monks have correspondency with the Indians and Chineses but it is only for those Merchandises that are for the supply of their own territories A short Relation of some of their Emperours found in an ancient Ethiopian Record that the Author hath brought with him into Itaty THis Empire is very ancient and was as large in its first beginning the people were warlike incroaching daily upon their Neighbours especially upon those that live in Egypt and about the River Nilus The Egyptians have had continual wars with them In the time of the Pharoes our Emperours were famous Moses the Lawgiver of the children of Israel was the General of Pharaoh or of King of Egypt he was ordered to march with a party of Israelites against Mouchadir Emperour of Ethiopia he readily obeyed and with a small party he routed the great Army of our Emperour not s● much by valour as by the assistance of a divine power the King of Egypt was grown jealous of him and of his people and therefore he sent them to this war hoping to free himself from his fears by the swords of the Ethiopians who were become terrible to all their Neighbours but God caused that which was intended for the mischief of the Israelites to turn to their advantage for by the Victory they purchased unto themselves the esteem and admiration of all their enemies It is true that the King did then begin to vex the Children of Israel with hard burthens and grievous taxes thinking by that means to weaken their spirits and disable them from in●uring either himself or any other but this also turned to their benefit for it procured their freedom and the ensuing miracles that forced it from those that kept them in bondage When the Egyptians were overthrown the Ethiopians had wonderful success against them they subdued all the Country as far as Thebis bordering upon the Red Sea but about thirty years afterwards there rose a King of Egypt that was valiant in war that recovered with his small numbers of men all the dominions belonging to his Predecessors as far as the Mountains where the River Nilus hath a terrible downfall In his race it continued until the time of Cambyses who entered Egypt and conquered it but could never subdue Ethiopia for when he sent his Embassadours to our Emperor they were sent back with a defiance of his Power as he was passing over some of the sandy hills between Ethiopia and Egypt with some of his Troops they lost a great number of men in a storm of wind for they were there buryed alive some of them saved themselves with their King out of the violent storm but this overthrow prevented his coming into our Country where our Emperour expected him with all his people The wind did fight for us against our enemies it saved us the trouble and hazard of venturing against them with our swords In the time of King Solomon our Empire was governed by Queen Maqueda she sent Embassadors to him and afterwards went to visit him her self she was kindly entertained at her return she was brought to bed of a Son which she had by Solomon called Melich she brought Circumcision into the Land and laid the foundations of the Jewish Religion which her Son afterwards when he was come from Jerusalem did establish commanding all people under his command to receive it After him many Kings did Reign in Ethiopia the most famous was Ubsharem Habraini David the 1 Solomon the 1 and many others The Scepter hath always continued in the same race since that time until now Ubsharem was a warlike Prince he conquered all the Provinces as far as the Sea-coast South-wards and made all the Kings his