6 9 o TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



Arabian Gulf, and thence to Yambo, the port of Medina on 

 that gulf. 



The traitor Greeks, who had delivered the country to the 

 Saracens, had probably informed him of the great plenty 

 which conilantly reigned in Egypt, and which every body 

 had an opportunity of knowing by the cheapness or grain 

 at the market. 



Omar thought that a larger tribute was due to put the 

 conquerors a little more upon a footing with the conquered ; 

 for Egypt, which had once 20,000 cities, had not then the 

 tenth part of them. Having therefore a larger extent to culti- 

 vate, with the fame quantitycf water,it produced more grain, 

 and at the fame time having fewer people to eat it, nothing 

 was lefs oppreflive than that a part of the furplus of the pro- 

 duce fhould go in augmentation of the tribute. For this 

 purpofe, following the very weak lights of his own judg- 

 ment, he introduced a different meafure on the Kilometer, 

 and the confequence of that meafure, impofed by a conquer- 

 or, affected the people (not reflecting upon their decreafe in 

 population) fo much, that they prepared to fly the country; 

 from which it immediately would have followed, that all 

 Egypt would have lain de folate and uncultivated, and all 

 Arabia been ftarved. 



They were perfectly acquainted with their ancient mea- 

 fure, and it is probable that Omar made an exceflive addi- 

 tion by the new Milometers which he had erected ; fo that 

 faith being thereby broken between the government and peo- 

 ple, the Egyptians fet about watching the Nile upon the Milo- 

 meter with its new meafure, as the only way of being inform- 

 ed when poverty or famine was to overtake them. This being 

 3 told 



