5° 



A Relation of the Chap. VIII. 



Son-in-law to Solyman. He had many traverfes of fortune, and was for fome time out 

 of Favour : but in fine, Solyman, who had great Affairs to manage, and was engag'd 

 in a War with Perfta, coming to a little indigency of Mony, fent for Ruftan, and be- 

 Itow'd on him the Superintendency of his Revenues. He knew him to be amah of 

 great Abilities, and capable of putting them, in a fhort time, into a good pofture i and 

 accordingly his pains and diligence in the management thereof prov'd fo fuccefsful, 

 that he prefently fflTd Solyman s Coffers, and re-eftablifh'd the Affairs of the Empire. 



The Heroic^ 

 Sentiment oj a 

 Turk. 



The principal 

 Sources of the 

 n'edth of the 

 Empire. 



The Revenues 

 of Egypt how 

 emplo/d* 



Upon which occafion I (hall here fet down a thing which is ftill frefh in the remem- 

 brance of many Tw^, who receiv'd it from their Fathers. The Turkj have fo great a 

 2eal for the welfare of the State, that one of the Grandees of the Port , an Enemy of 

 Rujlans, and one, who, upon other occafions, would gladly have ruin'd him, pro- 

 tefted to one of his Confidents, That, though it were in his power to do him an ill 

 turn, yet he would not do it then, becaufe he had, by his Induftry and Labours, up- 

 held the State, which he retriv'd from the Precipice of deftru&ion, and was in a fair 

 vvay to make a confiderable augmentation of its Revenues. This generous and heroick 

 Sentiment in the Soul of a Turk,, who at his firft rife was but a fimple Slave, would 

 meet with but few Examples amongft Cbrifiians. 



But, to reaffume our difcourfe concerning the Fourth Chamber of the Treafury. It 

 is full of Chefts of two foot in length, and a breadth and depth proportionable there- 

 to;, fortify'd with plates of Iron, and made fait, each of them, with two Chains. The 

 number of them is not always the fame, becaufe the Mony is coming in, and going 

 out of that Chamber, and the Coffers are tranfported thence according to the occur- 

 rent exigencies, for the payment of the Janizaries, and the maintenance of the Ar- 

 mies. 



All the Gold and Silver which is brought into the Treafury riles out of the Reve- 

 nues of the Empire,and out of the Sale of what Goods the Bâfras leave at their depar- 

 ture out of this World. As to what is rais'd out of the Empire,which dilates it felf fo 

 far into the three parts of our great Continent,and comprehends fo many Kingdoms,it 

 may be eafily imagin'd, that it mult fupply the Treafury with vaft Sums j but it is not 

 fo eafie to ascertain them. Its Revenues confift principally in the collection of the 

 Tributes, and in the Cuftomes : and the three Tefterdars, or Trealurers-General, give 

 an account to the Grand Vizir of the Receipts of the Provinces. That Principal Mi- 

 nifter has the cuftody of one Key of that fourth Chamber of the Treafury, and the 

 firft Tffterdar has that of another, and befides that, it is always feal'd with the Grand 

 Seignor's Seal. It is not ordinarily open'd, but upon tholè days, on which the Divan 

 fits, that is,on Council-days, either for the reception of Money into it, or for the ta- 

 king of any out, to defray the Charges of the Empire. 



What is fo receiv'd into it is for the raoft part in Silver -, and as to the Species of 

 Gold Coins that are brought into that Chamber, they come from four Sources, two 

 whereof are upon a Foreign account, and the other two upon that of the Country. 

 One of the two former confifts in the Commerce of the French, Englifh, Dutch, Ita- 

 lians, Mofcovites, and Polanders, who bring in Ducats out of thofe Provinces. The 

 other is the annual Tribute, which the Cham of the Leffer lartary, the Princes of 

 Tranfyhania, Moldavia, and Walachia, theRepublick of Ragufa, and part of Mingrelix 

 and Rufia, are to pay the Grand Seignor in Gold, which amounts to very great 

 Sums. One of the two Sources of the Country proceeds from what is found upon 

 the removal of the BaJJas, whereof the very coined Gold makes the beft part -, the 

 other, from the Revenue of Egypt, where there is an annual coinage of a certain num- 

 ber of Sequins, according to the quantity of Gold, which is brought thither, out of 

 Ethiopia, and being coin' d into Sequins, is all convey'd thence into the Treafury. 



The Revenue of Egypt may amount yearly to twelve millions of Livers, [that is, 

 about one million and two hundred thoufand Pounds Sterling ~] which muft be divi- 

 ded into three parts. Five millions of the twelve, are brought into the Grand Seig- 

 nor's Treafury. Four millions of the forefaid Sum, are employ'd in the maintenance 

 of the Officers and Soldiers of that Kingdom : And the other three are defigu'd for 



the 



