§1% WAR OF TlfE TURKS 



moft opulent countries in the world, and that there 

 are numbeis who make it their ambition to poffefa 

 large earthen vefTels (called in their language zare) full 

 of imperial dollars that when the revenue ariling from 

 the parcels of ground and taxes, was efliimated, in the 

 time of fultan Selim, throughout all iEgypt, of the 

 parcels of ground 5, 15 and 20 medini were paid for 

 each parcel, and 2 afperi for a field, according to the 

 itandard of their nature and quality and in proportion 

 to the taxes, they collected fuch a number of purfes 

 annually, that from the exacteft calculation of thofe 

 who executed this commiffion, it all together brought 

 in two millions of patafhes per annum ; that at prefent 

 every chief pays yearly in proportion to his income,- 

 500 to 600 medini ; that lince fultan Selim' s time, 

 324 new villages have been built ; that the kapudan 

 pallia collected the revenue for two years, and ordered- 

 all the landholders of the villages to bring him their 

 title-deeds, which he kept on the pretext that they 

 were illegal, and made them buy new ones of him at a 

 hundred patafhes hard money for each ; that he did 

 not fell the villages of the beys and the fugitive Arabs 

 for lefs than their full value ; that the produce of the 

 taxes rofe fo much the higher, as he caufed them tc^ 

 pay him the money two years in advance ; that he con- 

 fiscated and turned into money whatever belonged to- 

 fuch as had fled, even the furniture and utenflls of 

 their houfes, their tapeftries and carpets not excepted $» 

 that he got by the fale of their jewels 320, and of their 

 eloaths and pellices 210 purfes. Still there remains to 

 be taken into the account all the prefents that were made 

 jaim by the turkifh and chrifcian merchants, the beys 



and 



