1 • • • 
Ixvui 
APPENDIX V. 
" Moors, his enemies ; and on this consideration, he commissioned a 
bishop, of great reputed sanctity, who went in his stead, and made his 
offerings at Jerusalem. On his return, he was taken captive in the city 
of Adel, where the Soldan ordered him to his presence, and with threats 
endeavoured to make him a convert to the Mahomedan faith ; but as he re- 
mained firm and obstinate to the Christian religion, the Soldan ordered 
him to be circumcised, out of spite to the King of Abyssinia. The priest 
" returning, and relating his disaster and the disgrace done to him, the 
" King suddenly ordered his forces to be put in order, and marched out 
with them, bent on the destruction of the Sultan of Adel ; which prince 
hearing of the King of Abyssinia's intention, called to his assistance 
*^ two other Moorish chiefs (of Hurrur probably), with very numerous 
armies : but they were all routed by the sovereign of Habesh, who took 
the city of Aden (Zeyla possibly) and laid it waste, to revenge the dis- 
" grace done to his priest. (Vide Mr. Bruce's Travels, Vol. Ill p. 32) 
The people of Abyssinia live on wheats rice, flesh, and milk ; and they 
make oil of sesamum, and have abundance of every sort of provisions. 
" Elephants, lions, giraffes ; and they likewise have many goats and fowls 
of different kinds, and a number of other animals ; among w^hich may be 
" mentioned monkeys, and apes resembling men. The interior provinces 
*^ are rich in gold ; for which the merchants travel voluntarily into the 
country^ as they derive great advantage from the trade.* I shall now 
speak of Adem." Here the author proceeds to describe Aden , though 
it is certain from the context, that by Adem he had hitherto meant Adel ; 
a mistake which may have arisen probably from the inattention of the 
transcribers. 
This was written about the year 1290, and appears to me very valua^ie^ 
from its occurring at a period when we have no other European accounts 
of the state of Abyssinia ; and from its being throughout very consistent 
with the narrations extracted from their own chronicles. It is much to be 
regretted, however, that the author does not give the name of the king, as it 
might have materially assisted in clearing up the chronology of those times. 
* It is curious to observe how completely the style is formed on that of the Arabic. 
