228 Extracts from an Arabic work relating to Aden. [Dec. 



entered Yemen, and one of the most sagacious of the inhabitants counselled 

 him saying — How do you consider it lawful to take customs from mer- 

 chants? He replied, I do as the Kings of the Beni Eiyub did in following 

 an old custom. The man said they used to take it from the people by 

 force, but do thou take it in such a way that you may obtain the thanks of 

 the people. Seif El Islam replied, And how can I do that ? His adviser 

 sai 1, Send these war vessels to sea that they may protect the merchants 

 from pirates, and so have honourable employment instead of lying uselessly 

 rolling in the sun. He said, By God, you have come with good advice, and 

 he despatched the vessels to India, where they were stationed off Has 

 Manadih to protect the merchantmen from the attacks of corsairs, and they 

 remained thus until the year 613 A. H. After that there came to him 

 some of the chief men, and said, God perpetuate the reign of Our Lord the 

 Sultan, in that His Highness' treasury expends every year, on the war ves- 

 sels 50,000 or 00,000 dinars without any return; but if His Highness were 

 to take this amount from the merchants, it would be no loss to them. He 

 said, How is that ? They replied, On every 1,000 dinars of customs let 

 there be taken also 100 dinars for the war vessels which will be for His 

 Highness, and it will not burthen the merchants much. And this plan 

 was adopted in the days of the Dowla El Mesud Eusof bin Muhammad ibn 

 Ali Bekr bin Eiyub, and it remained so until the year 625 A. H. * * 



Articles thai are not taxed. 

 Articles imported from Egypt, such as wheat, flour, sugar, rice, soap, 

 el rdki, hyssop, perfumery, olive oil, oil of el jar, pickled olives, and every- 

 thing connected with its transport, nuts for sweetmeats, if in small quanti- 

 ties, and honey in small quantities, and whatever is brought from India for 

 re-exportation by sea, and pickled emllie, myrobalans, cushions, pillows, 

 bracelets, leather tablecloths, rice, JcicJiri, which is rice and pulse mixed, 

 simsim, soap, red ochre, poisons, Icaranful wood, garali cloth which is 

 manufactured in Malabar, the productions of Shehr, maJclaj, which are split 

 dates with the stones extracted, and salt fish : these, however, are charge- 

 able with duty if they have the heads on, but not otherwise, and Indian 

 sandals, on which, however, duty is charged if furnished with straps, but 

 not otherwise, sheep and goats also are not taxed, and beautiful slave girls 

 brought from Dabul and large-eyed slave boys brought from India are not 

 charged. 



Innovations at Aden. 

 When it was the month of Jemadi el Awal in the year G2 1, or more 

 correctly 625, a Dar El Wakalat was established in Aden, and on all mer- 

 chandize on which no customs were taken they imposed a tax. At the 



