THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 397 



inclofed in one city, fo as to bear a fiege, feeras to me ex- 

 tremely improbable; but be it fo, all that it can mean 

 is, that Memphis, built in Lower Egypt near the Delta, had 

 war with the Shepherds of the Ifthmus of Suez, or the dif- 

 tri&s near them, as thofe of Thebes had before with the 

 Shepherds of the Thebaid. But, however much has been 

 written upon the fubject, the total expulfion of the Shep- 

 herds at any one time by any King of Egypt, or at any one 

 place, muft be fabulous, as they have remained in their an- 

 cient feats, and do remain to this day ; perhaps in not fo 

 great a number as when the India trade was carried on 

 by the Arabian Gulf, yet ftill in greater numbers than any 

 other nation of the Continent.. 



The mountains which the Agaazi inhabit, are called Habab^ 

 from which it comes, that they themfelves have got that 

 name. Habab, in their language, and in Arabic like- 

 wife, iignifies a ferpent, and this I fuppofe explains that his- 

 torical fable in the book of Axum, which fays, a ferpent 

 conquered the province of Tigre, and reigned there. 



It may be afked, Is there no other people that inhabit 

 Abyffinia, but thefe two nations, the Cufhites and the Shep- 

 herds ? Are there no other nations, whiter or fairer than 

 them, living to the fouthward of the Agaazi ? Whence did 

 thefe come ? At what time, and by what name are they cal- 

 led ? To this I anfwer, That there are various nations which 

 agree with this defcription, who have each a particular 

 name, and who are all known by that of HabeJ/j, in Latin 

 Convene, Signifying a number of diftinel: people meeting acci- 

 dentally in one place. The word has been greatly mifun- 

 derftood, and mifapplied, both by Scaliger and Ludolf, and 



3 a num.- 



