526 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



of the newly-preached, but unequivocal religion of Maho- 

 met. 



An independent fovereignty, in one family of Jews, had 

 always been preferved on the mountain of Samen, and the 

 royal relidence was upon a high-pointed rock, called the 

 Jews Rock: Several other inacceflible mountains ferved as 

 natural fortrefTes for this people, now grown very confider- 

 able by frequent acceflions of ftrength from Paleftine and 

 Arabia, whence the Jews had been expelled, Gideon and Ju- 

 dith were then king and queen of the Jews, and their daugh- 

 ter Judith (whom in Amhara they call Efther, and fometimes 

 Saat> i. e.Jire *,J was a woman of great beauty, and talents for 

 intrigue ; had been married to the governor of a fmall diftrict 

 called Bugna, in the neighbourhood of Lafta, both which 

 countries were likewife much infected with Judaifm. 



Judith had made fo ftrong a party, that me refolved to 

 attempt the fubverfion of the Chriftian religion, and, with 

 it, the fucceflion in the line of Solomon. The children of 

 the royal family were at this time, in virtue of the old law, 

 confined on the almofl inacceflible mountain of Damo in 

 Tigre. The fhort reign, fudden and unexpected death of 

 the late king Aizor, and the defolation and contagion which 

 an epidemical difeafe had fpread both in court and capital, 

 the weak ftate of Del Naad who was to fucceed Aizor and 

 was an infant ; all thefe circumftances 'together,<imprefred 

 Judith with an idea that now was the time to place her fa- 

 mily upon the throne, and eilablifli her religion by the 



extirpation 



She is alfo called by Vi&or, Tredda Gahcz. 



