relapsing into the faults wherewith he was charged Noah Gods mercy to him expected till the day of one of their great Festivals on which they assembled themselves to serve their Idols He then came to them and said thus Say there is no other God then the true God and that I am his Servant and Apostle With those words the Idols fell down of all sides and the people fell upon Noah cruelly beating him making several wounds in his head and dragging him along the ground with his Face downwards Then the Heavens and the Earth the Mountains and the Seas cryed vengeance to God saying O Lord do you not see the cruel treatment made to your Prophet Noah The Almighty and All-good God made them sensible that that cruelty was exercised on himself that he would punish those Rebels and do right to Noah They afterwards carried Noah before the King who spoke thus to him Have not I already pardoned thee and opened my Fathers Prisons conditionally thou shouldst not return to thy faults I am replied Noah a Servant who does what he is commanded Who hath given thee that command said the King My God replyed Noah Who is that God said the King The Lord of the Heavens and the Earth said Noah the Lord of all Creatures And what hath he commanded thee said the King He hath commanded me replyed Noah to call you to his service and he commands you and your Subjects to forsake the Worship of Idols and to follow the ordinances of Prayer payment of the Sacred Tribute and the observance of Fasting And if we do it not said the King what will be the issue If he please replied Noah he will immediately destroy you and if he please he will give you time to reflect on your ways till a certain term Let thy God alone said the King and what he desires of us and do thou thy self give over importuning us How can I give over replied Noah when I am a Servant who does what is commanded him and cannot disobey his All-good and Almighty Master Then the King says the Author caused Noah to be imprisoned to make an oblation of him to the Idols as his Father had done before Presently after Saudib who was a powerful Lord and a Priest rebelled against the King and attempted to deprive him of his Crown The Wars which the King was engaged in against him diverted him from thinking on the business of the Prophet of God Noah and obliged him to put him out of Prison till he had the leisure to have him brought before him He afterwards agreed with Saudib by granting him a portion of the upper part of Egypt and return'd to his Royal Palace The Devil Gods curse on him soon began to sollicit him to put the Prophet of God Noah to death but Almighty God diverted him so that the affaires of Noah were in different postures The Son of Darmasel sent thereupon to all the Kings of the Earth desiring them to send him all the Priests and Doctors that they might dispute against Noah They came to him from all parts and disputed against the Prophet but he baffled them all Among others came to him the Egyptian Priest Philemon of whom we have already spoken God shew him mercy He disputed against him and Philemon acknowledged the Unity of God who directed him so that he became faithful and embarqued with Noah in the Ship After that God revealed his will to Noah in these terms Make the Ark and the rest of the Verse How shall I make it said Noah Then Gabriel came to him and shew'd him the Model of it ordering him to give him the Figure of a Gondola of glass He was ten years a building of it and he made it of the Indian Plane Tree a hundred Cubits in length according to the measure of his time and fifty Cubits in height and divided it into three Stories The people of his Countrey in the mean time pass'd by him and laughed and scoffed at what he did Some brought to him their little Children and charged them to beware of him And sometimes the Children seeing him endeavoured to hurt and disturb him When Noah had compleated the Ship he made the entrance on the side and it continued lying on the ground seven Moneths till they had offered up to their Idols three companies of those who had believed Noah Then was the Decree of their chastisement confirmed and God commanded Noah to put into the Ship two pairs of every species Whence shall I be able to get all that said Noah Immediately God commanded the four Winds to bring together about him all he had ordered to be put into the Ark which they did He took in at the first door the Wild and Tame Beasts the Reptiles and the Birds at the second which was that of the middle he took in Meat and Drink and the Body of Adam which was in a Shrine Then he entered himself at the highest door with his children and those who had believed in him Relations agree not about the number of the Faithful who entered into the Ark most affirm they were forty Men and forty Women When Noah and his Companions were got into the Ship the news of it came to the King who began to laugh at it saying Where is the water on which that Vessel is to Sail They knew well enough that the Deluge was to come but had no notice of the time of its coming that the will of God might be fulfilled upon them Upon that Mechavel the Son of Darmasel got on Horseback with a party of his People and went first to the Temple of his Idols where he stayed a while then went towards the place where the Ship was with an intention to fire it Being come near it he call'd Noah with a loud voice and Noah having answered him Where said he is the water which is to bear thee in this Ship It will be immediately with you replied Noah before you go out of this place Come down O Noah said the King and also those who are with thee O unhappy Man said Noah turn to God for behold his Chastisements are ready to fall upon you These words incensed the King so that he commanded fire to be cast into the Ship upon him and upon his Companions But immediately there comes a Messenger in great haste telling him for news that a Woman heating the Oven to bake her Bread water rush'd out of it as out of a great Torrent Unfortunate Man replied the King how could water come out of a hot Oven Unfortunate King replied Noah 't is one of the signs of my Lords wrath which is descending on you and yours according to what he hath revealed to me to threaten you withall Another sign of the same thing is that the Earth is going to shake and to stagger that the water is going to overflow it on all sides and that it is going to spring up under the Horse's
of thy Cittadels spread over me the vail of thy protection and turn not away thy eyes from me give me not over into the tuition of any other free me from the evil devices of thy creatures favour me with the abundance of thy graces and with that of thy goods whereof the use is allowed through thy mercy O most merciful of all the merciful God give his Benedictions to our Lord Mahumet and to those of his family and to those of his company and to his wives and to those who follow them in well-doing to the day of judgment Praise be to God the Lord of the world Megavius the son of Salichus relates as having learnt it of Abuharirus God shew him mercy that Ioseph Gods peace be with him when he was brought into Aegypt began to weep night and day out of the grief it was to him to be so far from his father and brethren and that one night which he consecrated to God and which he spent in prayer he implor'd the assistance of God and without any noise spoke thus to his Lord O Lord thou hast brought me out of the Country which I love best of any in the world do me good in this where I now am and assist me therein with thy favours cause me to be loving to the Inhabitants of these Provinces into which thou hast brought and conducted me and in like manner cause them to love me give me wherewithall to subsist therein happily and handsomely and do me favour that I may not die till thou hast brought my Brethren and me together with joy and satisfaction and put us into a capacity of enjoying the happiness of this world and that of the other After that Ioseph fell asleep and saw in his dream some body who said to him Ioseph God hath heard thy prayer he will raise in thee an affection to the Country into which he hath brought thee insomuch that there shall not be any other in the world more pleasant to thee as he hath alwaies made it amiable to those who have entred into it before thee and in like manner he will render it amiable to those who shall enter into it after thee for no body shall be desirous to go out of it after he is once come into it He will in like manner cause thee to be lov'd by its Inhabitants and will make thee Master and Governour of it He will also bring you together thee and thy Father and thy Brethren in the midst of thy reign and government and will give thee joy and satisfaction Take courage therefore upon this hope and be jocund and chearful and know Ioseph that this Province is the Mother of Nations and the support of Men and that the Treasures and Wealth of the Earth are in it Joseph awaked thereupon extreamly glad and satisfi'd and from that time advanc'd by degrees to the condition which God had promis'd him alwaies hoping the accomplishment of the promises which he had made him till that God brought â—hem together him and his Father and his Brethren Ever since Aegypt hath been ever lov'd and desir'd no Forreigner comes into it but is glad to continue there and departs thence but he regrets it and desires to return into it again After God had brought him to Reign and brought them together him and his Father and his Brethren in the flower of his glory power and grandeur he humbled himself before God and abstain'd from the goods of the world aspiring to those which are with God and said according to what God himself relates of him by the mouth of his Prophet Mahumet Gods peace and mercy be with him in his glorious Book My Lord you have brought me to Reign and have given me the knowledge of interpreting obscure discourses O Creator of the Heavens and the Earth You are my Protector in this world and in the other give me the grace to die a Mussulman and bring me into the company of the Vertuous God granted him all that God bless him and his holy Fathers Abumuchammed the Achemimian the Dyer God have mercy on him related to me at Masre what follows sayes the Author I went often said he to the Country of Gize about some affairs I had there and some debts I was to receive from certain Labourers of those parts so that I saw the Pyramids at a distance but the trouble and disquiet I was in proceeding from my affairs permitted me not to go to them nor to come nearer them to consider them at leisure and to contemplate their structure and the exquisite artifice of their Fabrick I was acquainted with and much esteem'd the Prelate of the great Mosquey of that Country so that one night I took up my lodging at his house and discover'd to him my thoughts concerning the Pyramids telling him that I had always been so taken up with my affairs that I had not as yet gone so far to consider them but that I had a great desire to see them and to contemplate the structure thereof and the excellency of the artifice employ'd therein He thereupon spoke thus to me Brother if these Pyramids were in China or at the extremities of the West those who should hear talk of them would have the curiosity to go thither to see them and to consider the admirable structure thereof what therefore ought they to do who are here in the Country where they are and so near them My Father told me that he had seen Magedolmelic Macherir the blind man who got the Alcoran read to him at the gate of the Western Castle Gods mercy on him in the time of the Prelate Must agalibemrillus who had seen him I say at these Pyramids attended by an Ethiopian Youth who led him by the hand and that the Youth having brought him upon the Pyramid which lies Eastward he felt the graving of it with his hand and what was written upon it and admir'd it praising and giving thanks to God continually for the knowledge he had inspir'd his servants withall and the excellency of their workmanship and Geometry My Father saluted him and spoke thus to him O Lord you put your self to much trouble and take a great deal of pains to get up and down this Pyramid O Brother reply'd he to travel up and down the Country and to consider the tracks of ancient Nations and past ages is one of those things which are recomended to us that those who want examples may thereby find some for their instruction and that the sloathful and sleepy may therein meet with what may awake them out of their slumber and oblige them to consider the Kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth and the Miracles and prodigious things which God hath placed therein These Pyramids are one of the most miraculous things of any in Egypt after the Nile For as to the Nile its flowings and ebbings depend on a wisedom known only to him who gives it its
From God comes strength and power and all things return to him Know Lord Commander of the Faithful that the Countrey of Egypt is nothing but a blackish Soil and green Plants between a dusty Mountain and a reddish Sand. Between its Mountain and its Sand there are high-raised Plains and levelled Eminences It is surrounded by an Ascent which supplies it with provisions and is in compass from Syene to the extremities of the Land and the side of the Sea a Moneths riding for a Man on Horse-back Through the midst of the Countrey there runs a River blest in the morning and favoured of Heaven at night which rises and falls according to the course of the Sun and Moon It hath its time wherein the Springs and Sources of the Earth are opened to it according to the command given them by its Creator who governs and dispenses its course to supply the Province with sustenance and it follows according to the order prescribed it till such time as its waters being risen and its Waves rolling with noise and its surges being come to their greatest elevation the Inhabitants of the Countrey cannot pass from one Village to another but in little Boats and a man sees the little Wherryes turning to and â—ro as white and black Camels in the imaginations of the people Then when it is come to this condition behold it begins to return back and to confine it self within its Chanels as it came out of it before and rose up by little and little And then the most forward and the most slothful prepare themselves for labour they are scattered up and down the Fields in multitudes the people of the Law whom God preserve and the people of Alliance whom men protect they are seen stirring to and fro like Ants some weak others strong and wearying themselves out at the task imposed upon them for that is not obaained of them by their good will but by force and constraint by ill-treating and oppressing them They are seen searching into the Earth and turning up so much of it as hath been overflown and casting into it all sorts of Grain which they hope with the assistance of God will multiply therein And it will not be long ere the Earth puts off the black hew of its manure and cloaths it self in green and casts forth a pleasant scent while it produces Stalks and Leaves and Ears making a delightful show and giving a good hope the dew of Heaven watering it from above and the moisture giving nourishment to its productions from beneath Sometime there come certain Clouds with a little Rain sometimes there fall onely certain drops of water and sometimes none at all After that Lord Commander of the Faithful the Earth displayes her Beauties and makes a Triumph of her Favours cheering up the Inhabitants and assuring them of a good Harvest of her Fruits for the sustenance of them and their Cattel and to be Transported elsewhere and to make their Beasts multiply She appears now Lord Commander of the Faithful like dusty ground then presently it is a blewish Sea and as it were a white Pearl then like black Dirt then as green Taffata then as a piece of Embrodery of divers colours then like a fount of molten Gold Then they Harvest their Corn which being Thrash'd out passes afterward diversly among Men some taking what belongs to them and others what does not belong to them This vicissitude returns every year every thing in its Season according to the order and providence of the All-mighty may that great God be ever praised blessed be he the best of Creatures As to what is necessary for the carrying on of these Works and what should make the Countrey populous and well cultivated maintain it in a good condition and make it advance from good to better according to what hath been told us by such as are acquainted therewith as having had the government of it in their hands we have made a particular observation of three things The first is not to credit the malicious discourses of the meaner sort of people against the chiefest of the Countrey because they are envious and unthankful for the good which is done them The second is to lay out one third of the Tribute raised therein towards the reparation of Bridges and Causeys And the third is not to raise the Tribute out of any Species till it be in its perfection This is the Description of Egypt Lord Commander of the Faithful whereby you may know it as if you had seen it your self God continue you in your good conduct and make you happily manage your Empire and assist you to undergo the charge he hath imposed on you and inspire you with an acknowledgment of the favours he hath done you Peace be with you May God be praised and assist with his favours and benedictions our Lord Mahumet and those of his House and those of his party The Commander of the Faithful Omar Gods mercy on him having read says the Author Gamrou's Letter spoke thus He hath made an exquisite Description of the Land of Egypt and its Appurtenances he hath design'd it so well that it cannot be mistaken by such as are capable of knowing things Praised be God O Assembly of Mussulmans for the favours he hath done you by bringing you into the possession of Egypt and other Countries He it is whose assistance we all ought to implore They relate that when the House of Gamrou the son of Gasus was demolish'd and made part of the great Mosquey of Masre there was found in a corner a stone on which these verses were written Slight not a favourable occasion wherein thou maist stretch forth thy hand to do some good We live but to die and death is deceitfull from one hour to another there is a change of affairs They relate also that while the same Gamrou was Governour of Egypt certain Coptites came and made evil reports to him against certain persons about affairs which he knew nothing of thinking by that means to insinuate themselves into his favour and be powerful about him but he reproved them of it saying O ye Coptites who are here assembled know that when any one comes to give us evil reports of his Brother we shall advance his Brother to higher Dignity and debase the Detractor for the Detractor envies the prosperity of his Neighbour and endeavours to ruine him the cauldrons of his malice boil in his breast so that it rises up into his Tongue and these wicked discourses are the smoke of that fire which sets them a boyling He said also Gods peace be with him he who makes ill reports to thee calumniates thy self he who speaks ill to thee of another speaks ill of thy self He said sometimes to his Captains and those whom he employed about his affairs Use me not as a Dagger to stab people withall Shew your selves kind and obliging to all for who would live in peace must practise it Be carefull to
So speaks of them Armelius Author of the Book of Illustrious Men. Abumasar the Astrologer in his Book of Thousans says that the reason of building the Pyramids was the Dream which Saurid the Son of Sahaloc saw He confirms it in his Book of Miraculous Dreams where he adds that he sent for the Priests and Southsayers of his time and the Astrologers and related to them what he had seen of the descent of the Moon upon Earth in the form of a Woman of the overturning of the Earth with its Inhabitants and of the total Eclipse of the Sun and the dream he had after that and that the Priests declared to him the coming of the Deluge whereof mention is made in the Book of the Annals which the Egyptians attribute to two Brothers Coptites saying that those two Brothers interpreted an ancient Book which had been found in some one of their Sepulchres on the breast of a man They say these two Brothers were the Children of a certain man of the Race of the ancient Egyptians to wit those who escaped the Deluge and were embarqued with the Prophet of God Noah We shall with the help of God say somewhat hereafter of the History of these two Brothers It was found therefore in the Book they Translated that Saurid the Son of Sahaloc King of Egypt after he had seen his dreams and related them to the Priests and that Aclimon had also related his to him commanded the Priests to see what remarkable events the influences of the Stars portended to the World and that the Priests having exactly erected a Celestial Figure for the hour of his question found that it signified a great mischief which was to descend from Heaven and issue out of the Earth which they declared unto him whereupon he caused Pyramids and great Structures to be built to serve for refuges to him and his Domesticks and Sepulchres for the conservation of their Bodies as also that they might engrave and mark on their Roofs their Walls and their Pillars all the obscure and difficult Sciences whereof the Egyptians made profession learning them and treasuring them up as Illustrious Inheritances from those who were grown famous in all Nations and that they should also represent on them the Figures of the Stars in their Signs with their effects and significations and the secrets of Nature and the productions of Arts and the great Laws and the beneficial Drugs and the Talismans and Medicine and Geometry and all the other things that might be advantageous to men as well for the publick as for private persons clearly and intelligibly to those who were acquainted with their Books their Language and their Writings King Saurid knew certainly that the calamity was to be general to all Countries in the World or come very near it Then he said to them When shall this great evil happen wherewith we are threatned Whereto they replyed thus When the heart of the Lion shall come to the first Minute of Cancer's head and the Plantes shall be in their Houses in those places of the Sphere the Sun and Moon in the first minute of Aries Pharouis who is Saturn in the first degree Raouis which is Jupiter in Pisces at 27 degrees 3 minutes Mars in Libra and Venus in Leo at 5 degrees and some minutes Then he said to them See whether after this great evil there will happen any other accident in Egypt They consider'd and saw that the Stars portended another great misfortune which was to descend from Heaven contrary to the former that is a Fire that should consume the Universe Whereupon he said to them When is that to happen They reply'd we have made our Observation and found that it is to happe when the heart of the Lion shall be at the end of the fifteenth degree of Leo and that the Sun shall be with him in one minute joyning that of Saturn Jupiter is direct in the Lion and with him Mars changing the minute and the Moon in Aquarius near the Dragons Tail at twelve parts There will be at that time an Eclipse of the greatest congruence Venus shall be at the greatest distance from the Sun and Mercury the like Then Saurid said unto them Is there yet any other great accident that you can fore-see besides those two remarkable evils They look'd and found that when the heart of the Lion shall have compleated two thirds of his circle there would not remain any Animal moving on the Earth which should not be destroy'd and that when he should compleat his revolution the knots of the Sphere would be dissolved The King was very much astonished at that and commanded the great Pillars to be cut down and that the great Pavement should be melted he caused Tin to be brought out of the Western parts then he made them take black stones which he caused to be laid for the foundations of the Pyramids about Syene They were brought from the Nile upon Engines and they had certain particular impressions and marks and upon them painted Billets which the Sages had set there so that when they had smitten the stone it advanc'd of it self the space of a Flight-shot These stones were set in the foundations of the Pyramids to wit of the first which is the Eastern and of the Western and of the Coloured They put in the midst of every piece an Iron Bar like a Pivot standing up then they set on that another piece after they had made a hole through the middle of it that the Iron Pivot might enter into it and fasten it to that which was under after which they melted Lead and it was poured all about the piece after they had adjusted the Writing which was above He caused Gates to be made under ground at four Cubits depth according to their measure which Gates had Sallies into vaulted Casemates built of stone and fortify'd with much Artifice and whereof the Situation was conceal'd every Vault being fifty Cubits in length The Gate of the Eastern Pyramid was on the South-side a hundred Cubits distant from the midst of the Western wall on the Western side They measur d also from the Western wall that is from the midst of it a hundred Cubits and they digg'd till they got down to the door of the vaulted Casemate through which they entred into it As to the Colour'd Pyramid made of stones of two colours the Gate of it was on the Maritime or North-side and they measur'd also from the midst of the Maritime wall a hundred Cubits which made five hundred according to the Mussulman measure He built it perpendicularly into the ground to the depth of forty Cubits then he raised it as much though what is above ground of the Pyramids do not exceed the third part so that this last is the highest built after the manner of the raised Floors and high Rooms of our present time They built them in the time of their good fortune while all their
time as his enterprize having been observed Men bewared of him and the King heard of him They say that Mechavel God curse him imprisoned Noah 3 years before he died and that after his death his son Darmasel who was his Successor brought Noah out of Prison and commanded him to forbear corrupting Religion and exclaming against the Gods There was among them for their seven great Idols a Feast which they celebrated every year during which they assembled to offer Sacrifices and make Processions about the Idols The time of that Feast being come which is also the Feast of Jagoth the people came together from all parts and then Noah came to that Assembly and having pass'd through the midst of the People and cry'd with a loud voice O Friends say as I do There is no other God then the great God The people put their fingers into their Ears and their Heads into their garments but the Idols fell at Noah's cry which obliged the men to fall upon him and to beat him cruelly giving him several wounds in the head then dragging him along the ground with his face towards the Kings Palace into which they made him enter and brought him before him Have not I done thee a favour said the King in taking thee out of Prison though thou hast spoken against our Religion rail'd at our Gods and forsaken the footsteps of thy Fathers and Grand-fathers Mean time thou comest again to exercise thy Magick against the Gods so as thou hast made them to fall from their thrones torn from their stations and the places of their honour and their glory What hath forc'd thee to this extremity If these Idols replied Noah were Gods as you imagine they would not have fallen at my voice Fear God unhappy Prince turn to him and believe nothing equal to him for he sees you Who is he said the King who has made thee so confident as to speak to me in these terms I will sacrifice thy Bloud to the Idols He thereupon commanded him to be kept in prison till the day of the Feast of Jagoth that he might be sacrificed to him and that the Idols might at the same time be exalted to their thrones But he saw afterwards a Dream which startled him and obliged him to order Noah to be put out of prison giving out among the people that he was distracted Noah being afterwards 500 years of age had his son Sem and after him Cham and after him Jam then Japhet Their mother was named Noubaâ—he the Daughter of Enos the son of Enoch Noah was afterwards a long time preaching to hiâ— Nation yet could convert to the profession of the Unity of God but a small company of the meaner sort of people wherefore they made this reproach to him according to what God himself said to him Thou hast been followed by the drâ—gs of the people Noah was a Carpenter and those who believed in him were of his own profession He spent afterwards three Ages in preaching always to the people the Religion of Almighty God without other effect save that they grew the more impious and insolent Nay they kill'd some of those who believed in him and rifled their honses and then God revealed to him that of his Nation there would be no other Believers save onely those who had already embraced the Faith Noah despairing of their Conversion began to pray to God against them and to say O my Lord suffer not upon earth any habitation of the Unbelievers Then Almighty God commanded him to build the Ship then he smote them with Sterility as well to the Fruits of the earth as the Procreation of children making their women unable to bring forth and in like manner the Females of their Cattel incapable of generation and withdrawing his benedictions from their Orchards and Agriculture They invoked their Idols but it did bestead them nothing with God Then Noah began to build the Ship and spent three years in cutting down Indian Plane-trees and polishing them in making Nails and Pins and providing whatever was necessary then he set it together in the moneth of Regebe Those of his Nation would needs pass by him as he was at work laughing and making sport at him After he had finished it God commanded him to put into it two pairs of every species Those who embarqued with him of the sons of Adam and his own were Sem Cham and Japhet and the others who belonged to him and were of his family The Angels brought to him Adams Shrine which was in the Countrey of Tehama which is the Septentrional Territory of Meca There was also with him in the Ark the Egyptian Priest Philemon with his family and his daughters The rest were of the children of his Father and of his Grandfather Edrisus After the chastisement was completed by the destruction of the Inhabitants of the Earth that the Heaven had given a check to the Rains that the Earth by the permission of her Lord had drunk up the waters and that the Ark rested on Mount Gâ—edis they went out and built a City which they called The Match of Fourscore and which is at this day famous in its place under the name of Themanine which signifies Fourscore They say that the several Nations though they were not ignorant of the Deluge and that they knew well enough it was to come yet could not learn of their Priests precisely the time of its coming because it was the will of the Almighty and All-good God to punish them The Mountains cast stones at them and they knew not which way to turn to avoid the falling of the Rain and the Stones They say also that the water which fell was hot and corrupted as if i had come out of a boiling Pool of Sand. Some affirm that the Ship continued on the water a hundred and fifty days others that it continued 11 Moneths God knows how it was Some affirm also that the Deluge happen'd in the Moneth of Regebe and that the Ark nested on Mount Geudis the tenth day of the Moneth of Mucharram There were between the descent of Adam and the Deluge two thousand one hundred fifty six years When God would restore the Earth to a good condition he sent a wind upon the water which dry'd it and put a stop to the Springs The ordinary light return'd to the World and the Sun and the Moon and the Night and the Day Forty days after God commanded Noah to open the Ark. He opened it and let out the Raven to see how low the water was The Raven went out and stayed to feed on the Carrions of the dead and returned no more Whereupon Noah made imprecations against her that she might always be a Stranger and never a domestick Bird and that it should feed on Carrions Then he let out the Dove after her She soon return'd with her feet dy'd with the slime of the Earth which was grown hot Wherefore Noah prayed God to
him his son Axames and after him his son Lates and after him Tolma the Coptite otherwise called the Valide son of Masgab who was the Pharao of Moses and who governed unjustly and tyrannically attributing to himself what belonged not to him wherefore Moses destroyed him after he had given him the space of 400 years to be converted and drowned him and all his people and all the Egyptians who had followed him in the Red Sea by the virtue of his Rod according to the Decree of the Malediction of God as we shall relate hereafter if God give us leave Some would have the Pharao of Joseph to be the same with that of Moses grounding their conjecture on what Almighty God said of him A Believer of the house of Pharao said thus Joseph is already come to you heretofore and the rest of the verse God knows how it is AN ABRIDGMENT OF The Second Part of the Book OF THE PRODIGIES OF EGYPT THE Reverend Prelate the Doctor Murtadi the Son of Gaphiphus the Son of Chatem the Son of Molsem the Macdesian the Sapheguian Gods mercy upon him saith citing his Author That the Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with him said what follows When I was raised to Heaven I saw two Rivers and I asked Gabriel which they were He answered me thus They are the Nile and Euphrates The Son of Guebasus says that the same Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with him spoke thus The All-mighty and All-good God hath caused to descend from Paradise upon the earth five Rivers Sichone which is the River of the Indies Gichone which is the River of Balca the Tigris and Euphrates which are the two Rivers of Gueraca and the Nile which is the River of Egypt He made them descend from one of the Springs of Paradise seated at the lowest of its stories upon the wings of Gabriel Gods peace be with him and hath committed them to the custody of the Mountains causing them to flow upon the earth and making them useful for men for divers conveniencies of their Lives And that is it which the Almighty saith And we have made the Waters of Heaven to descend after a certain measure and have appointed them their habitation upon earth and we and the rest of the verse When the time of the going forth of Gog and Magog was come Almighty God sent Gabriel Gods peace be with him who took up by his Order from above the earth the Alcoran and Science and the Black Stone and the Support which is the place of Abraham Gods peace and mercy be with him and the Shrine of Moses Gods peace be with him with what was within it and these five Rivers mentioned before All this was taken up into Heaven And that is it which the Almighty saith And it is in our power to carry it away and when I have taken up these things from the earth the Inhabitants of it were the choice part of Religion and of the World And citing his Authors he speaks thus I have heard Abulamamus the Bahelian and Gabdollus the son of Basar the Mazenian who said The Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with him one day called his Companions together and said to them The All-mighty and All-good God shall enable you to conquer Egypt after me Make your advantage of the Fruits it brings forth for he who wants money wants not honesty for that Egypt is the Mother-nurse it supplies wherewithall to live plentifully Other Countries want her but she does not stand in need of any other Countrey He said to them also I have received it from Gabriel that God hath sent four Rivers out of Paradise the first of Wine the second of Milk the third of Water and the fourth of Honey Then the All-mighty and All-good God said I have made my particular standard of the Lord of Rivers which is the Nile in the book of God and it is a River flowing out of Paradise Megavius ask'd Cabay and said to him I ask thee in the Name of the great God giver of all good things Doest thou find in the Book of the All-mighty and All-good God that God declares his Will to this Nile twice a year I do replied he God tells her when he would have her flow and saith to her The All-mighty and All-good God commands thee to flow and she flows as far as God orders her and after that God discovers his Will to her and saith to her O Nile the All-mighty and All-good God commands thee to return to thy former condition and to praise him Jezidus the son of Chebibus speaks thus of it When Moses called upon God against Pharao and his Servants God hindered the Nile to encrease as much as it would have done Then they had recourse to Moses and desired him to pray to God for them which he did hoping they would believe in God This happened during the time they adored the Cross The next morning God had augmented the Nile for them 16 full Cubits Quisus the son of Chagegus affirms that somebody related it to him that Gamrou the son of Gazus after he had conquered Egypt having entered into it in the moneth of Baune which is one of the barbarous moneths the Inhabitants of the Countrey came to him and said Lord Commander our Nile which you here see governs its course according to a Law which it inviolably observes What Law is that says Gamrou When the 12th of this present moneth is come said they we take a young Maid a Virgin from her Father and Mother after we have satisfied them both and made them condescend to what we would do according to the custom we dress and adorn her with Jewels and Sumptuous Clothes then we bring her in the night time and cast her into the Nile and immediately it increases and spreads and raises its course This cannot be continued said Gamrou according to the Mussulman Law for the Mussulman Law destroyes the profane customs that have been in vogue before her So the Moneth Banne and the Moneth Abibe and the Moneth Mesri pass'd away and the Nile encreased not its course neither more nor less so that the Inhabitants of Egypt were upon thoughts of leaving the Countrey Gamrou seeing that writ of it to the Commander of the Faithful Omar Gods peace be with him acquainted him with what the Egyptians had said to him and desired to know his resolution thereupon Omar made him answer in these terms After that O Gamrou you have done what you ought to have done upon that occasion for the Mussulman Law abolishes the evil customs that have preceded it But I have inclosed a Note within the fold of this present Letter when you have read it take that Note and cast it into the Nile and God will do what he shall think fit Gamrou having receiv'd the Letter took the Note out of it on which he found these words written In the Name
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
three hundred young maids Others say he went abroad on Horse-back attended by ninety thousand Servants Men and Maids who belonged to him young men and young maids all Marriageable They relate that he gave very reproachful words to Moses and the Children of Israel priding himself in his great Wealth Moses taking much at his hands for Kindred sake and not willing to be incensed against him till the Ordinance for the payment of Tiths came down Then Moses made an Agreement with Caron that of a thousand Crowns of Gold he should pay one and of a thousand Drachmes one But his Soul grew the more Covetous by reason of the great quantity of Gold and Silver which he had after he had counted it and found so much He thereupon assembled the Children of Israel and began to make Speeches to them and spoke to them in these terms Moses has hitherto dealt with you as he pleased himself and now he would take away your goods You are our Lord and Master reply'd they command us to do what you think good We must said he corrupt such a one naming a woman of a lewd life and induce her to calumniate Moses so as that he may be suspected to have had some dealings with her that the Children of Israel may be put out of the good opinion they have of him and have an aversion for him and at last quite forsake him They promised that debauch'd woman a 1000. Crowne of gold others say a Basin full of gold Then the day of one of their Festivals being come Moses stood up to speak to them and after he had praised God and given thanks he spoke thus O ye Children of Israel God commands you me also that if any one among us be a Thief we should put him away from us if any one commit Fornication and be not married we should punish him with the Whip and if he be married we should stone him And if you your self have committed those crimes O Moses said Caron Yes reply'd Moses though it were my self Certainly reply'd Caron the Children of Israel believe that you have sinned with such a woman naming the debauched woman Moses having heard these words sent for the woman and charged her by him who had divided the Sea and sent the Law from Heaven to declare the truth Then God of his mercy touched the womans heart and she spoke thus By the true God those who say it speak an untruth but true it is that Caron and his people have promised me a reward if I testify'd that you had sinned with me O great Prophet who have spoken to God Then Moses fell down to the ground and worshipped God weeping and made this Prayer to him O Lord if I am thy Apostle avenge me for it is impossible for me to endure those who have not thy fear before their eyes And God revealed his will to him speaking thus Command the Earth to do what thou desirest and by my permission it shall obey thee Moses lift up his head and said to the people O ye Children of Israel God hath sent me to Caron as he sent me to Pharao let such of you as are of his party stand near him They all withdrew from Caron save onely two men who continued obstinate in their wrath their imposture and their malice Then Moses spoke thus O Earth take them Immediately the Earth swallowed them three up to the Waste Moses said again O Earth take them and the Earth took them in up to the Neck Then Caron and his two Companions began to entreat Moses to be merciful to them but Moses made no account of their Prayers for he was too much incensed On the contrary he pronounced the third time the same words O Earth take them and detain them in thy Bowels till the day of Judgment Then the Earth swallow'd them up quite and closed over their Heads Then said God to Moses O Moses thou art very inhumane my Creatures implored thy mercy several times and thou hast not had compassion on them By my greatness and by my glory had they but once called upon me they should have found me favourable and ready to hear them After that said the Author those of the Children of Israel who were not wise began to say Moses has not made imprecations against Caron but to possess himself after his death of his Tteasures and his House Moses hearing of this was angry at it and prayed to God that the House of Caron and all his goods might be swallowed into the bottom of the Earth The All-mighty and All-good God testifies it himself when he speaks thus And we have made him and his House to descend into the Bowels of the Earth he means Caron and no man can relieve him against God and he was not of those who are relieved They relate that the Commander of the Faithful Omar Gods peace be with him writ a Letter to Gamrou the son of Gasus who commanded in Egypt after he had Conquered it and had disposed of the affairs thereof and had imposed the Tribute on such as he had received by composition as well the Coptites as the other Inhabitants of it Behold the Tenure of that Letter From Gabdol Omar the son of Chettab to Gamrou the son of Gasus God give you his peace O Gamrou and his mercy and his benedictions and to all the Mussulmans generally After that I give God thanks for the favours he hath done you there is no other God but he and I pray him to bless Mahumet and his Family I know O Gamrou by by the relation which hath been made me thereof that the Province whereof you have the Government is pleasant and well Fortify'd well Cultivated and very Populous that the Pharaos and the Amalekites have Reigned there that they have display'd therein the marks of their greatness and of their pride imagining they were Eternal and taking where they had not made any accompt But now God hath established you in their Habitations and put into your power their Wealth their Servants and their Children and made you Inheritor of their Land praise and blessing and thanks be to him To him belongs honour and glory When you have received this my Letter write me the particular qualities of Egypt as well in respect of the Land as the Sea and make me know it as if I had seen it my self God preserve you Gamrou having received this Letter and seen what it contained answered Omar Gods peace be with him and writ to him in these terms From Gabdol Gamrou the son of Gasus the Son of Vail the Saâ—amian to the Successor of the Apostle of God Gods peace and mercy be with him Omar the son of Chettab Commander of the Faithful one of the Chaliphs according to the right way whose Letter I have received and read and understood his intention wherefore I will dispel from his spirit the cloud of uncertainty by the truth of my discourse