i o The Difcovery, Settlement, and Commerce Book I, 
our Lord 968, becaufe many,, otherwife accurate Writers, 
have been led into Miftakes about it *, particularly the 
learned Bifnop Huet , who in the forty-eighth Chapter of 
his Hiftory of the Commerce of the Ancients, fays, it was 
built A. D. 795.; and in the fifty-eighth Chapter of the fame 
"Work, tells us, it was built A. D. 984. 
As foon as Moez LedinUlah was informed that this City 
was fimflied, he removed, with all his Treafure, from his old 
Capital, and made his Entry into Cairo in the Year of the 
Hegira 362, and there took the Title of Khalijf. His 
Succeffors were filled Khaliffs of Egypt , to diftinguifh them 
from the Khaliffs of Bagdat , who were efteemed the true 
Succeffors of Mohammed. This City was very conveniently 
fituated on the Nile , and became in Time no lefs confider- 
able for its Commerce, than for its being the Seat of Em- 
pire : And it was by this Means that the old Trade, by 
the Way of the Rea-Sea , was once more refcored to 
Egypt, which flourifhed exceedingly under this new Race 
of Princes, as appears by the Revenue which it produced 
to its Khaliff, and which, as Elmacinus tells us, amounted 
to no lefs than three hundred Millions of Crowns of 
Gold, 
The Khaliffs of Egypt were nine in Number, and the 
lafl of them was Adhad , who was depofed by Salad in. 
General , of Noureddin , Sultan of Damafcus , in the Year 
of the Hegira 567, A.D. 1171. Saladin entering the 
Palace of the Khaliff, who died immediately after he 
was depofed, found there prodigious Riches, and amongft 
the reft a noble Proof of the Commerce of the Indies , 
which was the fin ell Ruby in the World, perfectly fine 
and bright, and weighing very near an Ounce and a half. 
This prodigious Wealth, and the having a great Army 
absolutely at his Devotion, tempted him to fet up for him- 
felf , and having made himfelf Matter of Egypt , he foon 
after extended his Dominions over all the Countries of 
Damafcus , Palejiine , and Syria. He left, at his Deceafe, 
his Kingdom of Egypt to his fecond Son Othman , who 
died in the Year of the Hegira 595, and was fucceeded 
by his Brother, who was foon deprived by his Uncle Ma- 
lek Al Add , whofe Granclfon Malek Al Salek , fucceeded 
in the Year of the Hegira 647. He enlarged the City of 
Cairo , and fortified it with a ftrong Wall, and was vifilo- 
rious over St. Lewis of France , in the Year of the He- 
gira 648. But this Prince was however the laft of his 
Houfb •, for not long after, the Mamlouks , or Mameliics . , 
as they are generally called, who were a kind of merce- 
nary Soldiers, revolted from him, and forced him to take 
Shelter in a wooden Tower, which hung over the Nile. 
To this Tower the Mutineers fet Fire, and thereby com- 
pelled me unfortunate Monarch to jump into the Nile , 
where he was drowned. 
By this Accident Egypt once again changed its Matters ; 
for thefe Mamelucs became Sovereigns of the Country, 
and chofe their General, whofe Name was Ibek, Sultan, 
who thereupon took the Name of Almalek Al Axis. He 
was the firft Prince of the Dynafty of thefe Mamelucs , 
which were diftinguifhed by the Name of Baharites , or 
Marines j for thele People were, generally fpeaking, 
either young Lurks or Tartars, fold into Egypt by the 
Merchants, from whom again they were bought by the 
Sultan, educated at his Expence, and employed to defend 
the maritime Places in the Kingdom. The plain Reafon 
of this Inftitution was, becaufe the native Egyptians were 
found fo weak and effeminate, from a long Courfe of 
Slavery that, they were unfit for Arms •, and perhaps this 
is the Cafe of all Nations, when in the State of the Egyp- 
tians, "that is to fay, when they have no Property to fight 
for, are neither to be the better for Victory, nor can be 
worfe by any Defeat. Thefe Foundlings made excellent 
Soldiers j for, having no Relations or Friends, but amongtt 
their own Corps, they turned all their Thoughts to the 
excelling in their Profesiion , as they placed all their 
Hopes in acquiring the principal Potts in their Militia. 
This extraordinary Event fell out in the Year of the He- 
gira 648, A.D. 1250. They defiled, on the Death of 
a. Prince, another out of their own Body, and held the 
Kingdom without Interruption till the Year of the Hegira 
7.84, when they were deprived of it exafitly in the fame 
Manner in. which had they acquired it. 
3 
For, as they found it neceffary to keep up a numerous 
Handing Army, becaufe, though they made but a Part 
of the Sultan’s Troops, yet it was impoffible for them 
to truft either the Arabs or the Egyptians ; they there- 
fore had Re, courfe to the purchasing all the Chil- 
dren they could meet with, but particularly the Circa] - 
Jtans , which inhabit a Part of the Coaft of the Black-Sea 5 
and have, in all Ages, had a barbarous Cuttom of making 
Merchandife of their Children ; and for the better pro- 
curing of thefe Children, the Mamelucs entered into a 
Treaty with the Greek Emperors, for fending an annual 
Fleet into the Black-Sea. Thefe Children they trained up 
in their own Difcipline; but by an unaccountable Blunder 
in Politicks, never incorporated them into their own 
Corps, but difpofed of them in Garrifons in the Heart of 
their Country, in in a fort of Fortreffes, which they called 
Barge ; and from thence this new Corps of Mamelucs took 
the Name of Borgites ; and growing more numerous than 
the old Corps, deprived Kelaun , who was the laft Sultan 
of the firft Dynafty of the Empire, and transferred it 
to themfeives. 
It is of this fecond Dynafty of the Mamelucs , of which 
moft Authors are to be underftood when they fpeak of the 
Mamelucs as the Children of Chriftians, for fuch the Cir - 
cajjians were. Thefe Borgites remained Matters of Egypt 
to the Year of the Hegira 923. A. D. 1 517, when their 
laft Prince Thomam Bey, was defeated by Selim the firft 
Emperor of the Turks, who caufed him to be hanged 
over one of the Gates of Grand Cairo ; and to the Turkijh 
Empire, Egypt has been a Province ever fince. It was 
under thefe Mamelucs that the Eajl- India Trade was, in a 
great meafure, reftored to its old Channel ; that is to fay, 
all Sorts of Indian Commodities were conveyed by the 
Red-Sea to the Coafts of Egypt -, from thence to Grand 
Cairo , and fo by the Nile to Alexandria, where a meat 
Part of them was purchafed by the Europeans ; and it was 
by this Commerce that Egypt was fo rich in their Time 
that the Predeceffor of Thomam Bey gave, at his AcceF 
fion to the Throne, by Way of Largefs to his Soldiers, 
ten Millions of Ducats at once. Having thus, as briefly 
as poftible, run through the Hiftory of Egypt , it will be 
requifite to enter more particularly into the Commerce of 
the Arabians in the Eaft, without which, the fubfequent 
Part of the Work could not be perfefitly underftood i and 
this likewife, we ftiall do with all imaginable Brevity, in or- 
der to preferve a due Proportion between this Sefilion and 
the reft, as well as that neceffary Connefition between the 
feveral Parts of this Hiftory ; fo that the different Turns, 
which this Trade to the Indies hath taken, may the more 
evidently appear. A Talk difficult to accomplilh in fo 
narrow a Compafs, and the more fo, becaufe we travel 
through an unbeaten Road, and are obliged to change our 
Guides almoft at every Stage. 
11. One would naturally imagine, from the foregoing 
Accounts of the Arabians and Mohammedans in general* 
that they were not the People in the World belt difpofed 
for cultivating Trade, and fettling themfeives in different 
Parts of the World with a View to Commerce ; yet it 
will appear plainly in the Courfe of this Work, that they 
were afilually difperfed into the moft diftant Countries in 
the Indies , nay, and through China itfelf, without the 
Affiftance of Force, and where they could not have been I 
led by the Spirit of Ambition, for which we have feen 1 
them hitherto diftinguifhed. It is therefore neceffary that 
we Ihould give the Reader a fair Account of this Matter* [ 
and make him acquainted with the Means by which they 
fpread themfeives in fo extraordinary a Manner, became f 
foie Matters of the Indian Commerce, even in the Indies 
themfeives, and thereby drew it into fuch Countries as 
were under their Dominions ; from whence it was carried 
out into other Parts of the World, but ftill in fuch a Man- 
ner, that the beft Part of the prodigious Profits arifing 
from that Trade, centered in them. In order to this, 
and that the whole may be brought into as little Room 
as poftible, we ftiall, upon this Head obferve, that, from 
their own Hiftories it is clear, the Arabs formed their 
Settlements four feveral Ways *, by Conqueft, by Difco- 
very, by Trade, and by Million : By the firft they pof- 
feffed themfeives of all the Provinces, which made their j 
vaft ! 
