^^6 A. D. I i6o. 



pipes from a mountain in the neighbourhood *. — Damafcus is alfo fup- 

 plied with water by pipes. — New Tyre, a place of confiderable traffick, 

 with a mofi: commodious and fecure harbour, ftills keeps up its mofl 

 antient pre-eminence in manufactures of glafs-ware, and is alio famous 

 for excellent fugar f . — The ifland of Nikrokis J in the Perfian gulf is a 

 flore-houfe for Indian goods and the produce of Perlia, Sinaar, Arabia, 

 &c. the inhabitants being faftors for the variety of flrangers concerned 

 in the exteniive commerce of which it is the center. 



Some of the countries beyond Nikrokis, vifited by Benjamin, are not 

 Aery eafily to be afcertained. In the ifland of Cheverag he was informed 

 that Sin (fuppofed to be China) was at the diftance of forty days failing 

 in the Eafl ; and that beyond it there was a frozen fea, and fuch as 

 ventured upon it were killed by the cold. In Egypt he remarks the 

 abundant population, but has fcarcely a word of the trade of Alexan- 

 dria. Pafling over into Europe, he traveled as far as Ruilia, a country 

 covered with woods, and producing animals called weiwerges and zeb- 

 linatz, fuppofed to be grey foxes or grey fquirrels, and fables §. 



The city of Keflin being deftroyed by Henry the Lion duke of Sax- 

 ony, the materials of its ruins wei^e employed by Pribiflaus, the laft 

 king of the Heruli, to inclofe a neighbouring village called Roftock, 

 the foundation of which is carried up by tradition to the year 329. 

 Being thereby rendered more fecure, it foon affumed the appearance of 

 a city, and became a place of confiderable commercial importance. 



1 1 62, June 5''' — The Genoefe, having come to an agreement with 

 the emperor Frederic, received from him a dipl >ma, which, in a pomp- 

 ous preamble, fets forth his defire of cherifliing and protedling all his 

 faithful fubjeds, efpecially thofe from whom he expecfts the moft va- 

 luable fervices and devotion to the empire. And therefor, becaufe he 

 had heard that the Genoefe from the firfl foundation of their city had 

 raifed there heads above all other maritime ftates, and he fhould have 

 occafion to make ufe of their fervice, efpecially in naval war, he makes 

 known to all the fubjedls of the empire, that he grants to the confuls 

 and community of Genoa, as a fief, the power of levying military forces 

 between Monaco and Porto Venere, whenever they fhould have occafion 

 to raife any, laving, however, their fealty to the empire. He grants 



* Ebn Hauka), an author at lead a century the trade on the dcchne of Siraf, which was the 



tarh'er than Bcnjami:i, obfcrves that ' the water chief emporium in the ninth century : and it, in its 



flows through the ftreets and amidft the chief build- turn, was echpled by Ormuz. [Sec Mc-m. de I'uter- 



ings' of Antakiah, or Antioch. [5/r IViUiam alure V. xxxvii,/i/i. 476, 508.] 



Oujclcy's travjlalion, p. 44..] He alfo notices the ^ The veracity of Benjamin has been much 



fame accommodation in many otlicr towns of Afia. quellioned ; and in liiftory he certainly wanders 



f Sufjar WES, however, one of the articles ^ro«j/i/ widely from the truth: but what, he fays, he faw, 



to Pal'tflinc from Babylon by the caravan plunder- fcems to be worthy of credit. Perhaps his greateft 



cd by King Richard. fault is being a jew. He is very careful in noting 



\ This fcems the fame ifland, which is called the number ot Jews in every place vifitcd by him ; 



Kif-ben-Omira by Abulfeda, and Chifi (or Kifi) and it is obfervable, that a great proportion of 



by Marco Pulo. It fcems to have fuccecded to them were dyers of wool. 



