1 66 CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS 



ents, wine for the use of the native kings and chiefs 

 Abu feda says, that the inhabitants m the vicnnty of 

 nfe Dead Sea coated the trunks of their vines and 

 palm-trees with bitumen, thinking its tendency bene- 

 ficial; but this was a local practice rather than a 

 general system. The ancients say that the sugar- 

 ca e was^also cultivated there, but that its fruit 

 was of inferior quality to that produced m India. 

 Is Arrian speaks only of Indian sugar, we may con- 

 dudeTat A^rabia furiished, or at least exported but 

 little The notions of these ^vriters as to this article 

 were extremely imperfect; they supposed it to be 



Crystals naturally formed ^^^^^^^ZV/uTotllt 

 the small quantity that was brought to Europe was 

 emploved in medicinal prescriptions. It is to the 

 Arabs,^however, that we owe the introduction and 

 cultivation of this valuable plant. 



Of the different countries that traded with Arabia 

 -of he rates of exchange, or the relative amount 

 of exports and imports, we are left without any 

 predse informatioii. That the balance of trade 

 must have been in favour of the Arabs, we may infer 

 from the rich dresses and gorgeous luxuries which 

 attracted the wonder and cupidity of all strangers 

 ThP vast intercourse of merchants, while it opened 

 UP a ready sale ?or the different productions of their 

 own country, enabled them to resize immense 

 mofit hTartlring the various articles for which they 

 were the principal agents. From their geographical 

 Son ?hev became the natural centre of all the 

 traffii between India, Africa, and Europe. On the 



weS:™ sho're of theRed e-,^^T)'Se"placrin 

 Arsiuoe Mvos Hormus, which D'Anville places m 

 ^7°Torth la it Beremce, Ptolemais Theron 



and Iduhs. It was in the two latter Pof thaUh^ 

 h inters of Ptolemy procured elephants for his army. 

 Silh/Arabian JJi, tl^e^-boins most f^equen^^^^ 

 were ^lana or Ezion-gaber; ^euke Kome ^n « 

 the Romans in the time of Augustus had a garrison . 



