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

Latin.

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

Ludovici Patritii Romani novum Itinerarium Æthiopiæ: Ægypti: vtriosque Arabiæ: Persidis: Siriæ: ac Indiæ: intra et extra Gangem. 4°.

The dedicatory epistle bears the following inscrip- tion:—

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

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

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

x PREFACE.

amplissimi. quo tpe quibus nunq: antea bellis: Italia crudele imodu uexabat."

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

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

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

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

German.

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

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

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

This edition consists of 76 leaves not numbered.

PREFACE. xi

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

A copy is in the Grenville Library.

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

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

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

A copy is in the British Museum.

Both these editions are copiously illustrated with engravings on wood.

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

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

Panzer is of opinion that this translation may have

xii PREFACE.

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

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

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

"4. Hodeporicon Indiæ Orientalis; das ist, Warhafftige Beschreibung der ansehlich Lobwürdigen Reyss, Welche der Edel gestreng und weiterfahrne Bitter, H. Ludwig di Barthema von Bononien aus Italia bürtig, Inn die Orienta- lische und Morgenländer, Syrien, beide Arabien, Persien, und Indien, auch in Egypten und Ethyopien, zu Land und Wasser persönlich verrichtet: Neben eigentlicher Vermel- dung Vielerley Wenderbahren Sachen, so er darinnen gesehen und erfahren, Alss da seynd manigfaltige sorten

PREFACE. xii

von Thieren unci Gewächsen,Dessgleichen allerhand Volcker sitteu, Leben, Polycey, Glauben, Ceremoinen unci gebräuch, sampt anderer seltzamen denckwürdigen dingen, daselbst zu sehen: Und endlich, Was er für angst, noht und gefahr in der Heidenschafft vieler ort aussgestanden: Alles von jhme H.Barthema selber in ItalianischerSprach schrifftlich verfasst und nu aus dem Original mit sonderm fleiss verdeutscht: Mit Kupferstücken artlich geziert, und auffs new in Truck verfertiget: Durch Hieronymum Megiserum. Leipzig. 1610. 8 ."

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

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

Spanish.

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

Itinerario del venerable varon micer Luis patricio ro-

xiv PREFACE.

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

Colophon. Fue impressa la presente obra enla muy noble y leal cuidad Seuillapor Jacobo croberger aleman. Enel ano dela encarnaciom del senor de Mill y quincentos y veynte. Fol.

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

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

French.

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

PREFACE. xv

Dutch.

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

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

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

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

A copy of this edition is in the British Museum.

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

xvi PREFACE.

English.

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

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

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

J. WINTER JONES.

Dec. 10, 1863.

INTRODUCTION,

BY THE EDITOR.

WHO was Ludovico di Varthema? Unfortunately, scarcely any record of him is forthcoming except what he tells us himself. I have searched every available repository of such information, to learn something of his antecedents, and have searched in vain. Zedler finds no place for him in his Universal Lexicon; our own Biographical Collections pass him over; and all that the French have to say is this:— "Vartomanus, gentilhomme Bolonais, et patrice Ro- main, fut un voyageur célèbre clans le xvi e siècle. Il est presque inconnu dans le notre, parce que l'abbe Prévost, et ceux qui ont ecrit l'histoire des Voyages, ont négligé de parler du sien, quoiqu'il soit un des plus importants pour l'histoire de la géographie, et pour l'histoire en général."¹ I had hoped to glean some stray notices of him in the writings of his own countrymen; but they are as barren of what we wish to know as the rest. Zurla² does not even mention him in his Dissertation on the most illustrious Italian

¹ Biographie Universelle, Ancienne et Moderne, Paris, 827.

² Di Marco Polo e degli altri Viâggiatori piu illustri, Disser- tazione da P. AB. D. PLACIDO ZURLA, 2 vols. Venezia, 1818.

c

xviii INTRODUCTION.

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

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

INTRODUCTION. xix

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

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

¹ Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino, vol i. p. 277. Writing of Battista, Agnesina's mother, the same author remarks:— "She was a remarkable instance of the transmission of talent by female descent. Her great grandmother, Battista di Montefeltro [daughter c 2

xx INTRODUCTION.

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

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

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

INTRODUCTION. xxi

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

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

_______________________

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

xxii INTRODUCTION.

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

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

INTRODUCTION. xxiii

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

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

xxiv INTRODUCTION.

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

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

INTRODUCTION. xxv

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

From Egypt Varthema sailed to Syria, landed at

¹RAMUSIO, vol. i. p. 83.

xxvi INTRODUCTION.

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

INTRODUCTION. xxvii

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

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

xxviii INTRODUCTION.

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

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

INTRODUCTION. xxix

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

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

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

xxx INTRODUCTION.

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

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

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

INTRODUCTION. xxxi

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

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

¹ See D'HERBELOT, sub voce Meccah.

xxxii INTRODUCTION.

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

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

INTRODUCTION. xxxiii

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

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

d

xxxiv INTRODUCTION.

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

"A.H. 908. In the month of Sha'aban of this year [cor- responding with January A.D. 1502] there was a fierce battle between the Sherîf el-Jâsâni and his brother Barakât at Munhenna, to the eastward of Meccah, in which the Sherîf Barakât was thoroughly routed, and all the principal men of his armies killed, he himself escaping with only a few adhe- rents.

" In the month of Rajab of the same year [December A.D. 1502] the Sherîf El-Jâsâni ibn Muhammed ibn Barakât was killed near the gate of the Kaabah by a band of Turks, on account of some outrages which he had committed, and they set up in his place his brother Humeidhah. Towards the end of that same year [between March and May 1503] the Sherîf Barakât fled from Egypt [by which it would appear that he had been taken there as a prisoner] with the connivance of the Amir ed-Duweidâr,¹ and brought with him a large army, which he collected from among the Beni Lam, the Ahl esh-Shark, and the Findiyîn, and he pre- vented the people from performing the Wakûf,² until the Amir of the Hajj gave him four thousand ashrafi to clear the road between them and the [place of the] Wakûf; where- upon he was able to accompany the people to Arafât and Muzdelifah and Mina f but in the meantime the followers

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

² One of the ceremonies connected with the Pilgrimage, which is performed at Arafât. Sec p. 43.

³ See note 1 on p. 45.

INTRODUCTION. xxxv

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

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

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

d 2

xxxvi INTRODUCTION.

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

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

¹ Personal Narrative of a "Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah,

vol. ii. p. 352.

INTRODUCTION. xxxvii

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

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

xxxviii INTRODUCTION.

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

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

INTRODUCTION. xxxix

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

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

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

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

xl INTRODUCTION.

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

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

¹ GREENE'S Collection of Voyages and Travels, vol. i. pp. 51-2.

INTRODUCTION. li

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

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

During the reign of the more warlike Khalîfs, the

¹ See RAMUSIO, vol. i. pp. 136-38.

xlii INTRODUCTION.

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

INTRODUCTION. xliii

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

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

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

xliv INTRODUCTION.

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

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

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

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

INTRODUCTION. xlv

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

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