Travels in Nubia

by John Lewis Burckhardt; Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa

VOCABULARIES OF THE BORGO AND BORNOU LANGUAGES.

Obs. The words marked with A. are Arabic, or of Arabic origin.

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English.	Language of Waday, Borgo, or Dar Saley.	Bornou.
Head	Kidjy	Kela
Hair	Soufa (Souf, in Arabic, means wool)	Kondoly
Eye	Kapak	Shim
Forehead	—	Angoum
Nose	Kharsouma, A.	Kensa
Cheek	Ghambilanak	Fyly
Beard	Gamur	on the cheek, Gyga under the chin, Andjedy
Mustachios	They have no word for these, as they are closeshaved.
Lips	—	Kadjéba
Mouth	Kana	Djy
Teeth	Saateni	Tim̄y
Tongue	Dalmek	Telam̄
Ears	Kozah	Somou
Neck	Bitik	Dabbou
Breasts	Kosso	Gandjy
Teats	Angoun	—
Shoulder	Korkoro	Kabana
Arm	Galma	Bȳbe
Hand	Kara	Mousko
Fingers	Nyngar Missy	Kolnado, A?
Nails	Dodjay	Gyrgane
Belly	Tabok	Soro
Loins	Gondini	—
Heart	Goly	Kāgergy
Entrails	Konny	Kālem
Bones	Gandjig	Sila
Liver	—	Kemāren
Pudenda hom.	Gomlou	Kemkarem
— fem.	Ganyak	Kissi Kanarem
Bottom	Dober, A.	Ourarem
Leg	Djah	Sakal
Foot	Djastongoly	Pelli Shybeh
Flesh	Nȳo	Da
Skin	Dou	Katyge
Blood	Ary	Bou
Father	Tonouny	Abāk, A.
Mother	Tinyng	Yany
Son	Kalak	Tata
Daughter or girl	Kakalak	Pyro
Brother	Mirr	Kerāmy
Sister	Mokk	—
Uncle, by the father	Manmāk	Babany
Ditto by the mother	Mannak	Rabbany
Grand-father	Mongola	Kagany
First Cousin	Myrāk	Kagansytilo
Slave, sing.	Borik	Kalȳa
Slave, plur.	Bourto	—
Female Slave, sin.	Madjek	Kyr
Ditto, plur.	Mayto	—
The world	Donya, A.	Donya, A.
Heaven	Sema, A.	Pery
God	Kalak	Kamande
	likewise Allah, A.	likewise Allah, A
Prophet	Naby, A.	Naby, A.
Angels	Melāyke, A.	Melayke, A.
Devil	Sheytaan, A.	Sheytaan, A.
Demon	Djan, A.	Djen, A.
Sun	Anyk	Konkal
Moon	Aȳk	Kōmbal
Stars	Meniet	Shilluga
Day	Dealka	Kaōō
Night	Kosonga	Boune
Dawn	Fedjer, A.	Sebeh, A.
Evening	Moghreb, A.	—
Noon	Dhoher, A.	—
Shade	Andjelo	Kābya
Rain	Andjy	Dolāya
Lightning	Māltery	Tsolty
Thunder	Dortery	Gyrdjy
Fire	Wossyk	Kanou
Clouds	Abouya	Pagāou
Wind	Awlek	Kerāwa
Calm	Kebȳa	—
The Earth	Berr, A.	Tsedy
The Ground	Dordjeh	Kolgoun
Sand	Alāle	Kary
Water	Andjy (like rain)	Angy
Stone	Koduk	Ko
Mountain	Koduk	Ko
Free	Songou	Kesgā
Wood	Songou	—
Grass or plants	Lowa	Kadjem
Date tree	Sondo	—
Sea	No word for it	No word for it
River	Bettak	Kamadogo
Wady (torrent or valley)	Bettak	—
A Cow	Daȳg	Faȳeh
Cows	Daa-y	—
Bull	Mar	Ganymou
Bulls	Marsha	—
Calf	Dongolak	Kona
Camel	Torbok	Kalgamou
Camels	Tormbosy	—
Buffaloe	Shem	Gerān
Sheep	Mindago	Timy
	plural, Mundji
Goat	Djow,	Katy
	plural, Djosy
Jack-ass	Adyk	Koro
Horse	Barak Mar	By
Mare	Barak Madjek	Ferr
Mule	Baghal, A.	No mule in the country.
Dog	Nyouk	Kiry
Antelope	Lar	Ingary
Hyæna	Morfan or Dabak	Bolso
Lion	Amarak	Gorgoly
Tiger	Tomory	Zarerma
Monkey	Gorr	Dagyl
Elephant	Koukoty	Kemāgen
Hippopotamus	Seleen	Engōrodo
Rhinoceros	Omkorn, A.	—
Crocodile	Temsah, A.	Karam
Fish	Hout, A.	Bony
Serpent	Todjoun	Kady
Giraffa	Efar	Kenzar
Bird	Kosh Kashy	Ongoda
Birds	Alyl	—
Ostrich	Adak	Kergyga
Locusts	Adak	Gaby
Grain in general	Asch	—
Corn	Kamh, A.	Elgamé
Dhourra, mais	Koshmo	Kabely
— Egyptian	—	Misreky
Dokhen	Kelawa	Argym
Barley	Shayr, A.	None in the country
Rice	Ror, A.	Gargamy
Tobacco	Tāba	—
Snuff	—	Tabah
Onions	Basal, A.	Lebassar
Garlick (Hibiscus)	Toum, A.	—
Bamye, raw	Goroun	Kabalesou
— dish of it	Soo	—
Melookhye	—	Gam
Cucumbers	Saboro	—
Gourds	Anka	Komou
Water Melons	Andadjy	Faly
Cotton	Moryo	Kalokosem
Wool	Sool, A.	Kondoly
Butter	Tesra	Kendafy
Milk	Sila	Ky-am
Salt	Odja	Mareda (which is extracted from certain herbs.)
Bread	—	Tabesca

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APPENDIX. No. III.

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Translation of the Notices on Nubia contained in Makrizi’si[1] History and Description of Egypt, called El Khetat, &c. with Notes, written at Cairo, Dec. 1816, and Jan. 1817.

The following extracts are made from the first volume of this excellent work, which is already too well known in Europe, to be farther described here. They form about one hundredth part of the whole work. In my opinion the information here given is more detailed, accurate, and satisfactory, with regard to Nubia, than that of any other Arabian geographer or historian. The translation is made from a good MS. copy in my possession, which I compared with two other copies belonging to different libraries of Cairo. The book itself is become scarce in Egypt, and five copies of it only exist at present at Cairo.

In the notes I have subjoined extracts from other Arabic authors in my possession.

Description of the Cataracts, and Notices concerning the Noubas, extracted by Macrizi from Selym el Assouany.

Macrizi gives the explanation of the term Djandal (cataract), which word has given rise to the erroneous name of the cataract of Djanadel, applied to the cataract of Wady Halfa in Nubia.i[2] He then continues:

Ibn Selym el Assouany, in his book entitled “Notices on Nouba, Mokra, Aloa, El Bedja, and the Nile,” relates as follows: The first city of Nouba is called El Kaszer (Philæ), five miles distant from Assouan; the last fortified place of the Moslims is the island of Belak, one mile distant from this city of the Nouba. From Assouan to Belak are several cataracts, in passing which ships require the guidance of persons who know the passage; these are generally fishermen. The cataracts are abrupt, with rocks advancing into the river; and the fall of the water produces a deep and hoarse murmur, which is heard from a great distance. At the city of El Kaszer is a garrisoned post, which forms a gate into the country of the Nouba. From this post to the first cataracts of Nouba is a ten days journey.i[3]

The Moslims freely frequent this district. In the hither part of it they are possessed of landed property, and trade into the higher country, where some of them are domiciliated. None of them speak Arabic fluently. The district is narrow and mountainous. The Nile is confined by the rocks of the desert, and the villages are at considerable distances from one another on both banks. The trees are the date and the Mokel.i[4] The higher parts are broader than those which are lower down, and the vine is there cultivated. There is no natural irrigation of the soil, from its being too elevated. The inhabitants sow by the fedan, or two and three fedans,i[5] and cows are employed to raise the water from the river by means of water-wheels. Wheat is scarce among them; barley and selt are more abundant.i[6] As their soil is so confined, they cultivate it a second time.i[7] In the summer (after having renewed the soil with dung and earth) they then sow Dokhen, Dhourra, Djawars,i[8] Sesamum and Loubya. In this district lies Bedjrash, the town of the chief of Merys,i[9] and the castle of Ibrim, and another smaller castle, with a harbour called Addoa, which is said to have been the native place of Lokmat and Jonas.i[10]

A wonderful ruin (Birbe) is seen here. In this district resides a governor named by the great chief of the Noubas, who has the title of Lord of the Mountain, and is one of their principal governors, because he is so near the territory of the Moslims. Whenever any Moslim travels to this country, and has a stock of merchandize either for sale, or as a present to the king or governor, the latter receives it all, and returns the value in slaves; for no one, whether Moslim or not, is ever permitted to present himself in person to the king.

On the first cataract of Nouba lies the city called Takoa,i[11] on a level ground, where the boats of the Nouba ascending from the Kaszer usually stop. The boats dare not pass this village, and no Moslim, nor any other person, dare ascend the river further up, without permission from the Lord of the Mountain. From hence to the upper Maks are six days journey.i[12] Cataracts continue the whole way up. These are the worst parts of Nouba which I have seen, owing to the difficulty and narrowness of the ground, and the fatiguing road. The river is constantly interrupted by rapid falls and projecting mountains, so that it is precipitated down the rocks, and is in some places not above fifty peeks (cubits) wide from one bank to the other.

The country abounds in high mountains, narrow passes, and roads along which you cannot proceed mounted, and if weak, you will in vain attempt to walk.i[13] These mountains are the strong holds of the Noubas, and among them the inhabitants of the districts bordering on the Moslim country take refuge. A few date trees, and some poor fields are found on the islands. The principal food of the inhabitants is fish, with the fat of which they anoint their bodies. The district belongs to the territory of Merys; and is governed by the Lord of the Mountain. The garrison in the Upper Maks is so rigorously governed by an officer named by the great chief of Nouba, that when the great chief himself passes that way, the governor stands by his side, and prevents the people from applying to him, until they have recourse to his son, or his vizier, or inferior officers.i[14]

No money or dinars are here current: these are only used in traffic with the Moslims below the cataracts; above them they are unacquainted with buying or selling. Their trade is limited to mutual exchanges of cattle, slaves, camels, iron and grain. No one passes onward without the king’s permission; disobedience to this order is punished with death. On account of this system of prohibition, no intelligence is ever communicated of their movements, and the soldiers attack the Bedouins of the country and others without any previous alarm. In this part of the Nile is found the Sembad,i[15] which is used in cutting precious stones. The natives dive for it, and easily distinguish it from other stones; but in case of doubt they blow upon it, and the genuine Sembad is immediately covered with moisture.

Between this post and the city of Say, are some cataracts. Say is the last place where they are found. It is the residence of a Bishop, and it contains an ancient ruin.i[16] Then follows the district of Saklouda, which means “The Seven Governors.”i[17] The soil resembles that of the district bordering upon the Muslim country, in its alternate width and contraction: as well as in its producing dates and grapes of different sorts, and the tree Mokel. There are likewise some cotton trees, from the produce of which they make coarse shirts—and some olive trees. The governor of this district is subjected to the great chief, and has some minor chiefs under him. Here lies the castle of Astanoun, where the third cataract begins. This is the most difficult and longest of them all, because the mountain on the east projects far into the river. The water is here precipitated through three gates or passes, and when the water is low, through two. It makes a powerful noise, and the spectator is astonished at seeing it curl down from the top of the mountain. To the south of it is a bed of stones in the river, three barydi[18] in length as far as the city of Yosto,i[19] which is the last of Merys, and the beginning of the country of Mokra. From this place to the frontiers of the Moslim country, the inhabitants speak the Merysy language; and this is the best district belonging to their king.

Then follows the district of Bakou,i[20] which means “The Wonder,” and derives its name from its beauty. I have seen no where on the Nile more extended banks: the river flows from east to west; the country is nearly five days journey in breadth; there are many islands, between which flow the branches of the river through a fertile soil where are cities, touching each other, consisting of fine buildings. Here also are pigeon-houses.i[21] Plenty of cattle and flocks are found here, which form the principal stock of provisions for the towns of Nouba. Among the birds of this country are the Taghtit, the Noubyi[22] parrots, and others of equal beauty. The great chief makes this province his principal residence. “I was once,” says Selim el Assouany, “in company with this chief, and we passed along narrow canals shaded by trees growing on both banks. It is said that crocodiles never hurt people in this country, and I have seen persons swim across many of the branches of the river.”i[23]

Next follows Sefdykal,i[24] a district of narrow banks, similar to the lower end of the country. Here are fine islands, and at the distance of less than two days journey, about thirty cities, containing good buildings, with churches and monasteries. Here grow dates and vines; there are gardens and fields, with large meadows, in which live camels of a reddish colour and noble race. The great chief frequently comes here, because, on the south, this district borders upon Dóngola, their (principal) city and seat of government. From Dóngola to Assouan are fifty days journey.i[25] Ibn Selim then continues to describe Dóngola, and says, that they make the ceilings of their sitting rooms of the wood of the Sant and Sadj trees,i[26] the latter of which are brought down by the Nile in large smoothed beams, but nobody knows from whence they come. “I have myself,” says Selim, “seen traces of an Arabic origini[27] on several of them.” The distance from Dóngola to the nearest limits of Aloa, is greater than that from Dóngola to Assouan.i[28] The number of cities, and villages, and islands, and cattle, and date-trees, and Mokel trees, and fields, and vine plantations, met with in this district, is double of what is on the side towards the Moslim dominions. In these parts are large islands, several days in length, mountains inhabited by wild beasts and lions, and tracts where the traveller is liable to suffer from thirst. The Nile takes a turn for many days in the direction from sun rise to sun set, and the person who ascends travels in the same direction as the one who descends the river.i[29] It is in these quarters that the turnings of the Nile lead towards the mines called Shenka, at a place named Shenkyr,i[30] from whence issued El Aoury, who conquered these countries, till he met his ultimate fate. Many hippopotami are found here. From these parts are roads leading to Souakin, and Nadha,i[31] and Dahlak, and the islands of the sea, whither those of Beni Omeya who escaped, fled, and thence crossed over into Nubia.i[32] People of Bedja, also called Zenafedj, dwell here, who emigrated in ancient times into the country of Nouba, and settled there. They pasture alone by themselves, have their own language, and do not intermix with the Noubas, nor do they live in their villages; but they have a chief appointed by the Noubas.

Description by Selim el Assouany of the Branches of the Nile in the Country of Aloa, and of the People who live on their Banks.

It is to be noticed that the Noubas and the Mokras are two different races, with two different languages,i[33] and both living on the Nile. The Noubas are the Merys who border on the Moslemin country, and from their frontier to Assouan is a distance of five miles.i[34] It is said that Salha, the forefather of the Noubas, and Mokry, the forefather of the Mokras, were natives of Yemen; and likewise, that the Noubas and Mokry are descended from Hemyar. The greater part of the genealogists state them to be the descendants of Ham, the son of Noah. Before the Christian creed, the Noubas and Mokras were often at war with each other. The first place of Mokrai[35] is the city of Tafa,i[36] one day’s journey from Assouan, and the city of their king is Bedjrash, less than ten days journey from Assouan. It is said that Moses (may God’s mercy be with him!) made a hostile incursion into this country, before he received the call as a prophet in the time of Pharao, and destroyed Tafa. They were then Sabeans, adoring stars, to which they had erected idols. After this all the Noubas and Mokras became Christians, and the city of Dóngola is (or became) the seat of their government.

The first place of the country of Aloa is Aboale,i[37] a city on the eastern shore of the Nile. The governor who presides over this district is called Rahwah, and is dependant on the chief of Aloa.

In these parts the Nile has seven branches; one of them is a river coming from the east, the water of which is muddy, and it dries up in summer-time, so that its bed is inhabited; but at the period of the rising of the Nile, the water again rises out of it; the tanks are replenished; the rains and torrents spread over the whole country, and the Nile then reaches its utmost height.i[38] It is reported, that the upper end of this river is a very large spring coming from the mountain.

The Nubian historiani[39] then says, “Semyoun (i. e. Simon), the reigning chief of Aloa, told me that a fish is found in the bed of this river without scales, and of a species that is not seen in the Nile. They dig to the depth of three or four feet, in order to take it.i[40] On this river dwells a race of mixed origin, of Aloa and of Bedja, called Deyhyoun, and another race called Nara,i[41] from whom the species of pigeons called Nareini[42] are obtained. Further the country of Habesh begins.

A second branch of the Nile is the White Nile (Nil el Abyadh), a river coming from the western parts, of a deep white colour like milk. “I have enquired,” continues Selym, “of Moggrebyns, who have travelled in Soudan, respecting the Nile of their country, and its colour, and they stated, that it rises in mountains of sand, and that it collects in Soudan into large seas;i[43] that it is unknown where it afterwards flows to; and that its colour is not white. Both sides of the Nil el Abyadh are inhabited.

Another branch of the Nile is the Green Nile (Nil el Akhdar), a river coming from the south, somewhat towards the east.i[44] Its waters are of a deep green colour, and so clear that the fish can be seen at the bottom of it. The taste of its water is different from that of the Nile, and he who drinks of it soon becomes thirsty again. The fish in the two rivers are the same, but their taste is different. In the time of high water, the Green Nile carries down the woods Sadj, and Bekam,i[45] and Kena,i[46] and a wood, the smell of which resembles incense, and large beams of wood of which helms of ships are made. This last mentioned wood grows likewise on the banks of this river, and it is said that the aloe wood is also met with there. I have myself, says Selim el Assouany, seen signs of Arabic origin on several beams of Sadj, floated down in the time of high water. These two rivers, the White and the Green, unite at the capital of Aloa, and retain their respective colours for nearly one day’s journey, after which their waters mix, and their waves furiously combat with each other.” “I was informed,” adds Selim, “by some body who had taken (water from) the White river, and emptied it into the Green river, that it fell like milk, and that it was an hour before the waters mixed.

An island is inclosed between these two rivers, the upper end of which is unknown, as is likewise the upper extremity of these two rivers, on account of the fear which the inhabitants entertain of each other; for there are many powerful nations in the island. I was told that some chief of Aloa once travelled for the purpose of finding the extremity of the island, but after several years could not reach it; and that on its southern side dwells a people who live, together with their cattle, in the day time in houses under the earth, like cellars or caverns,i[47] on account of the sun’s heat, and who go out to pasture by night-time; and that there are likewise people going entirely naked.i[48]

The other four rivers come likewise from the southwards, somewhat towards the east, all at the same time,i[49] nor is their extremity known. They are less broad than the White and Green rivers, and have fewer side channels and islands.i[50] All the four rivers empty themselves into the Green river, as does also the first mentioned, after which they unite with the White river.i[51] They (i. e. their banks) are all inhabited and cultivated; they are navigated by ships and other vessels. One of them in its passage, comes from the country of Habesh. I made many enquiries concerning these rivers,” adds Selym, “and traced them from nation to nation; but I found no person who could say that he had reached their extremity, and the final information of those who spoke on the authority of others, shewed that there were desert countries (on the extremity of them) and that the rivers floated down, in the time of high water, wrecks of ships, and doors, and other similar things, which appears to afford a proof, that there are cultivated districts beyond these deserted countries. As to the rise of the Nile, it is agreed by all, that it is occasioned by rains; and that in all the countries forming Egypt, and the two Sayds, and Assouan, and Nouba, and Aloa, and the countries above, the rise happens at the same time. I observed, however, that the river rose at Assouan before it rose at Kous. If the rains are copious in the upper countries, and the torrents descend, it then becomes known that it will be a year of good inundation; and if, on the contrary, the rains are partial, a season of drought ensues.”i[52]

Selym adds, “persons who have travelled to the country of Zendj,i[53] informed me of the route in the Indian sea to the northern Zendj: they keep along the coast on the eastern side of the island of Egypt (i. e. of Africa), until they arrive at a place called Ras Hofra,i[54] which they hold to be the extremity of the island of Egypt;i[55] they wait there for the appearance of a constellation, by which to direct their course, and then take their course westward,i[56] after which they again turn northward,i[57] so as to have the north in their face, until they reach a tribe of Zendj, where lies the town of their chief. From thence they turn towards Djidda in their prayers. Some of these four rivers, says Selym, come from the country of Zendj, because the Zendj wood is floated down by them.

Soubai[58] is the residence of the chief of Aloa;i[59] it lies to the east of the great island, on its northern side, and between the White and the Green rivers, near their confluence. Eastwards of that city is the river which dries up, and whose bed is then inhabited. The city contains handsome edifices and extensive dwellings, and churches full of gold, and gardens, and inns,i[60] where Moslims live. The chief of Aloa is a greater person than the chief of Mokra; he has a stronger army than the latter, and his country is more extensive and more fertile. Date trees and vineyards are scarce there; the most common grain is the white Dhourra, which is like rice, and of it they make their bread and their Mozer.i[61] Flesh they have in great plenty from the quantity of cattle and the excellence of the meadows, which are of such extent, that several days journeys are required to reach the mountains.i[62] Their horses are of a noble race, and their camels are the reddish coloured species of Arabia; their religion is that of the Jacobite Christians, and their Bishops are named by the chief of Alexandria, as are those of the Noubas.i[63] Their books (i. e. their sacred books) are in the Greek tongue, which they translate into their own language. The understanding of these people is inferior to that of the Noubas.i[64] Their king reduces to slavery whomsoever he chooses of his subjects, whether they have committed a crime or not; nor do they object to this practice; on the contrary, they prostrate themselves before him, in submission, and never oppose any of the hateful orders with which they are oppressed; but exclaim “Long live the king, and may his will be done!” The king wears a crown of gold, for there is plenty of gold in his dominions.i[65] One of the curiosities of his country is, that in the great island between the two rivers, lives a nation of the name of Koroma,i[66] or Kersa, possessing a wide district which is cultivated by means of the Nile and the rains. When the time of sowing arrives, every one of these people issues into the fields with seed for sowing. He draws lines proportionate in size to the quantity of his seed, and sows a little in each of the four corners, placing the principal seed in the midst of the square, and by its side some Mozer (or Bouza), and then retires. The next morning he finds that the seed he had heaped up has been sown all over the square, and that the Mozer has been drank. At harvest time he cuts a little of the corn, and carries it to the place in which he wishes to deposit it, again placing some Mozer by its side, and goes away: he afterwards finds the whole harvest completed, and the corn heaped up in its proper place. If he wants to thrash and to winnow the corn, the same thing is done. If any one wishing to clear in like manner the field of wild herbs makes a mistake, and pulls out some of the good seed, he finds, on the following morning, the whole of the seed pulled out. In the parts where this practice prevails are large and extensive provinces, of two months travelling in length and breadth; every where the time of sowing is the same. The supply of corn for the city of Aloa, and for their chief, comes from these parts; they send their ships to load there, and sometimes war breaks out between them. Selym affirms that the above story is true, and publicly known amongst the people of Aloa and Nouba, and that the Moslim merchants who travel through this country never entertain the least doubt of it. Were it not, he adds, for the celebrity and notoriety of this fact, which it would be wrong to condescend to imitate, I should never have mentioned any thing about it, on account of its filthiness. The neighbouring people believe that it is done by demons, who appear to some of them, and serve them, by means of stones that ensure their obedience, and that the clouds and rain are at their command. The Nouba governor of Mokra told me also, that when it rains in the mountains, they gather fish on the ground; and when I asked him about their species, he answered, that they were small, with red tails.

I have seen, continues Selym, many different races of the people above mentioned, the greater part of whom acknowledge the existence of the Almighty God, but associate with him the sun, moon, and stars. Others do not know God, and adore the sun and fire, and others adore whatever they hold particularly beautiful of trees or of animals. Selym adds, that he had seen a man in the audience chamber of the chief of Mokra, and had asked him about his country; he replied, that it was three months journey from the Nile. When questioned about his religion, he said, “My God, and thy God, and the God of the universe, and of men, is all one.” When asked where God lived, he answered, “in heaven;” and again declared the unity of the Almighty. He related, that when the rains tarried, or plagues and pestilence visited them or their cattle, they ascended the mountain to pray to the Almighty, who forthwith granted their prayers, and fulfilled their demands before they descended. Selym then asked the man whether God had ever sent them a prophet, and was answered in the negative; whereupon he related to him the missions of Moses, and Jesus, and Mohammed (God’s mercy and peace be with them!) and the miracles which they were permitted to perform. The man then replied, “if they have really done this, truth is with them; and if they have done these miracles,” he afterwards said, “I believe in them.”

The author (Makrizi) having given these copious extracts from Selym el Assouany, now resumes his own narrative, and says: The sons of Kenz el Doula conquered Nouba, and took possession of it in the year ———;i[67] and in Dóngola they built a mosque, where strangers might dwell.

We shall add here, continues Makrizi, that on the borders of the Nile lies also Kanem, the king of which is a Mohammedan. It is at a very great distance from the country of Maly. The residence of the king is in the town called Heymy. The first town on the side towards Egypt is called Zela,i[68] and the last, reckoning lengthways, is called Kaka, about three months journey distant from the other. The people of this country go veiled;i[69] their king is hidden behind curtains, and sees nobody excepting on the two feast-days, in the morning, at the time of the Aszer.i[70] During the whole of the year nobody speaks to him, except behind a curtain. Their main food is rice, which grows there without being sown;i[71] they have wheat, Dhourra, figs, lemons, Badendjams, turnips, and dates. Their currency is cotton stuffs, woven in the country, and called Dandy;i[72] every piece is ten peeks in length, and they make purchases with pieces of it of one-fourth, and more.i[73] They use also as a currency shells (i. e. cowries) glass-beads, broken copper, and paper, all of which have their fixed value in the cotton stuffs. To the south of them are forests and deserts, inhabited by wild creatures, like demons, approaching to the figure of man, whom a horseman cannot overtake, and who hurt people. In the night there appears something like fire; it shines, and when any one goes towards it to take it, it retires to a distance from him, so that should he even run, he never can come up with it; but it always keeps before him, and if he throws a stone at it and hits it, sparks fly from it. The gourds grow to a large size; they make ships of them, upon which they cross the Nile.i[74] These countries lie between Africa and Barka, and extend to the south as far as the limits of the middle Gharb. It is a country of dearth, productive of little, and with a bad climate. The first who there divulged the Islam, was El Hady el Othmany, who is said to be descended from the son of Othman Ibn Affan. It became afterwards subjected to the Zeznyein, of the Beni Seyf Zy Yezen; they are of the sect of the Imam Malek Ibn Anes. Justice is upheld among them; they are very rigorous in religious matters, and show no indulgence. They built at Cairo a Medrese of the Malekites, known by the name of Medreset Ibn Rashyk, in A. H. 640, where their travellers alight. It is said that they are descended from the Berbers.

Description of El Bedja.

The beginning of Bedja is from the city (or village) of Kherbe,i[75] at the emerald mines in the desert of Kous, about three days journey from that town.i[76] Djaheth mentions that there are no other emerald mines in the world, but in this spot. They are found in far extended and dark caverns, into which they enter with lights and cords,i[77] for fear of going astray, and with these they trace their way back. They dig for the emeralds with axes, and find them in the midst of stones, surrounded by a substancei[78] of less value, and inferior in colour and brilliancy.i[79] The extremities of Bedja touch upon the confines of Habesh. The Bedja live in the midst of this island, meaning the island of Egypt, as far as the shores of the salt sea, and towards the island of Souakin, and Nadha, and Dahlak. They are Bedouins, and fetch the herbs, wherever they grow, in leathern sacks. They reckon lineage from the female side. Each clan has a chief; they have no sovereign, and acknowledge no religion. With them the son by the daughter, or the son by the sister, succeeds to the property, to the exclusion of the true son, and they allege that the birth of the daughter, or sister’s son, is more certain, because, at all events, whether it is the husband or some one else who is the father, he is always her son.i[80] They had formerly a chief, upon whom the minor chiefs depended, who lived at the village of Hedjer, on the extremity of the island of Bedja. They ride choice camels, of a reddish colour, the breed of which they rear, and the Arabian camel is likewise there met with in great numbers. Their cows are very handsome, and of various colours, with very large horns; others without any horns; their sheep are spotted, and full of milk. Their food is flesh and milk, with little cheese, though some of them eat it. Their bodies are full grown, their stomachs emaciated, their colour has a yellowish tinge. They are swift in running, by which they distinguish themselves from other people. Their camels are likewise swift and indefatigable, and patiently bear thirst; they outrun horses with them, and fight on their backs, and turn them round with ease. They perform journies which appear incredible. In battle the Bedja pursue each other with their camels; when they throw the lance, and it adheres, the camel flies after it, and its master takes it again; but if the lance falls down, the camel lowers its hinder parts to permit the master to take the lance up from the ground. They are people of good faith; if any of them has defrauded his guest, the latter holds up a shirt on the end of his lance, and exclaims, “This is the tent-coveringi[81] of such a one,” meaning the guilty; the people then abuse the culpable until he satisfies the defrauded. They are very hospitable; if a guest arrives they kill for him (a sheep); if there be more than three people, they slaughter a camel of the nearest herd, whether it belongs to them or to anyone else;i[82] and if nothing else is at hand, they kill the camel upon which the guest arrived, and afterwards give him a better in return. Their arms are the lances called Sebaye, with an iron point three peeks in length, and a wooden shaft of four peeks, for which reason they are called Sebaye.i[83] The iron head is of the breadth of a sword. They very seldom deposit these lances, but keep them always in their hands. On the extremity of the wood is something like a handle, which prevents it from slipping through the hand. These lances are made by women, at a place where they have no intercourse with men, except with those who come to buy the lances. If any of these women bears a female child by one of these visitors, they permit it to live; but if a male, they kill it, saying that all men are a plague and a misfortune. Their shields are made of cow-skins full of hair; and others of their shields, called Aksomye,i[84] are inverted in shape, and made of buffaloe skin, as are likewise the Dahlakye,i[85] or else of the skin of a sea animal.i[86] Their bow is the Arabian bow, large and thick, made of the wood of Seder and Shohat;i[87] they use with them poisoned arrows: their poison is made of the root of the tree Falfa (or Galga), which is boiled over the fire, until it dissolves into a glue. To try its efficacy, one of the people scratches his skin, and lets the blood flow, if the blood, upon being touched with the poison, is driven back, they know that the poison is strong, and they wipe the blood off, that it may not return into the body, and kill the person. If the arrow hits a man, it kills him in an instant, even though the wound be not larger than the scratch made in cupping; but it has no effect except in wounds, and in blood, and it may be drank without any harm.

This country is full of mines; the higher it is ascended the richer it is found to be in gold. There are mines of silver, copper, iron, lead, loadstone, marcasite, Hamest,i[88] emeralds, and a very brittle stone, of which if a piece is rubbed with oil, it burns like a wick; other similar productions are found in their researches after gold; but the Bedja work none of these mines except those of gold. In their valleys grow the tree Mokel, and the Ahlyledj,i[89] and the Adkher,i[90] the Shyh,i[91] Sena, Coloquintida,i[92] Ban,i[93] and others. On the farthest confines of their country dates, and vines, and odoriferous plants, and others, grow naturally. All sorts of wild animals are seen here, as lions, elephants, tigers, Fahed,i[94] monkeys, Anak el Ardh,i[95] civet cats, and a beautiful animal resembling the Gazelle, with two horns of a golden colour; it holds out but a short time when it is hunted.i[96] Their birds are the parrot, the Taghteit, the Nouby, the pigeon called Narein, the Komary,i[97] the Habesh fowl,i[98] and others. Maribus omnibus in hâc regione testiculorum dexter abstrahitur: præcisa autem fœminarum labia pudendi, intensione primâ, ut medici dicunt, contrahuntur et sibi invicem radicitùs adhærent: ante nuptias perforantur, cum rima ad mensuram inguinis virilis efficitur. Hæc autem, quæ jam rarior est, consuetudo, originem traxisse fertur ex antiquo pacis fœdere, cum tyranno quodam inito, qui, ad gentem funditùs delendam, universis imperavit, ut masculorum liberorum testiculos, alterius autem sexûs mammas abscinderent: hi vero, diversâ ratione, maribus quidem mammas, fœminis pudenda exsecabant. A race of Bedja tear out their back teeth, alleging that they do not wish to resemble asses. Another of their races living on the extremity of their country is called Baza.i[99] Among them all the women are called by the same name, and so are the men. A Moslim merchanti[100] once travelled through their country, who happening to be a handsome looking man, they called out to each other and said, “this is God descended from heaven;” and they kept looking at him from afar while he sat under a tree.i[101] The serpents of this country are large and of many different species: it is related that a serpent was once lying in a pond, with its tail above water, and that a woman who came in search of water looked at it, and died in convulsions.i[102] Here lives a serpent without a head, not large, with both extremities (or sides) alike, and of a spotted colour. If a person walks upon its track he dies; and if it is killed, and the person takes into his hand the stick that killed it, he himself is killed: one of these serpents was once killed by a stick, and the stick split in two. If any of these serpents, whether alive or dead, is looked at, the beholder will be hurt.

The Bedja country is always in commotion, and the people are prone to mischief. During the Islam, and before that time, they had oppressed the eastern banks of Upper Egypt, and had ruined many villages. The Pharao kings of Egypt made incursions against them, and at other times left them in peace, on account of their works at the gold mines; and the Greeks did the same when they took Egypt. Remarkable ruins of Greek origin are still to be seen at the mines, and their people were in possession of these mines when Egypt was conquered by the Moslims. Abderrahman Ibn Abdallah Ibn Abd el Hekham relates, that when Abdallah Ibn Sayd Ibn Aly Sarh returned from the country of Nouba, he met with the Bedjas on the banks of the Nile; he asked them about their state, and they told him that they had no king. Hearing this he scorned (going to war with) them, and left them, without concluding a peace nor any treaty with them. The first who concluded an engagement with them was Obeydullah Ibn el Hydjab, to whom they agreed to pay yearly a tribute of three hundred female camels, in order to be permitted, for the sake of trade, to repair to Egypt, where they were never to take up their residence; that they should kill neither Moslim nor any of their tributaries:i[103] that if they killed any, the treaty was to be void; that they should not give refuge to any of the slaves of the Moslims; that they should return whatever slave or cattle should have run away and come to them; that fines were to be paid on that account, and that for every sheep a Bedjawy took, he was to pay four dinars, and for every cow, ten. An agent of theirs remained in Egypt, as hostage in the hands of the Moslims. The Moslims at the mines afterwards increased in number, they mixed with the Bedjas, and intermarried with them, and many of the people called Hadharebe, who are the principal and the primates of the nation, became Moslims, but their faith was weak. These dwell from the nearest limits of their country where it borders on Upper Egypt, to the Ollaky and Aidab, from whence the sea is crossed to Djidda, and likewise beyond. With them lives another race called Zenafedj, superior to the Hadharebe in numbers, but subordinate to them; they serve as their guards, and supply them with cattle. Every chief of the Hadharebe has among his attendants people of the Zenafedj, like slaves, whom they transmit in inheritance to their successors, although, formerly, the Zenafedj were more powerful than themselves.i[104]

The mischievous doings of the Bedjas against the Moslims afterwards increased. At that time the governors of Assouan were from Irak. Representations were made to the Emir of the true Believers, El Mamoun, at whose command Abdallah Ibn Djahan set out against them; he fought many battles with them, and then left them, and a treaty passed between him and Kanoun, the chief of the Bedja, who resided at the above mentioned village of Hedjer. This is the copy of the letter: “This letter is written by Abdallah Ibn el Djahan, the officer of the Emir of the True Believers, the chief of the victorious army, the governor of the prince Aby Is-hak, son of Er-rasheid, the Emir of the True Believers; (may God, prolong his days!) In the first month of Rabya, in the year (A. H.) 216. It is addressed to Kanoun Ibn Azyz, the chief of the Bedja, and written at Assouan. “Thou hast asked me, and demandest from me, a safe conduct for theyself and the people of Bedja, binding for all the Moslims, I therefore grant it to thee, and promise thee this safe conduct, as long as thou and thy people shall observe the conditions to which thou bindest thyself in this letter; which are: That the plains and mountains of thy country, from Assouan in Egypt to the country between Dahlak and Nadhai[105] shall belong to Mamoun Abdallah Ibn Haroun Er-rasheid, the Emir of the true Believers, may the Almighty increase his honours!—and thou and all thy people shall be slaves of the Emir of the true Believers, so that he shall be called King of the country, as thou art King of the Bedjas. Thou shalt pay an annual tribute, as the Bedjas did formerly, which is to consist either in one hundred camels or three hundred Dinars, full weight, to the Beit el Mal,i[106] at the option of the Emir of the true Believers, or his governors, and thou shalt not purloin any part of this tribute. If any one of you shall mention the name of Mohammed, the Prophet of God, may his mercy be with him!—or of the book and the religion of God, in a way in which it ought not to be mentioned; or if any one kills a Moslim, free man or slave, he is no longer entitled to this pledge of faith, which is given in the name of God, and of the Prophet, and of the Emir of the true Believers,—may God increase his honours!—and of the whole body of the Moslims, and his blood becomes lawful, like the blood of the enemies of the Islam, or their descendants. If any of you give assistance to the enemies of the people of the Islam, either by aiding them with his property, or by shewing them the weak sides of the Moslims, or by actually attempting to deceive or delude the latter, the pledges of this treaty are annulled with respect to him, and his blood becomes lawful. If any of you kill a Moslim purposely, or involuntarily, whether it be a free man or a slave, or a tributary, or rob the property of a Moslim or a tributary in the country of Bedja, or the country of the Islam, or in Nouba, or any other country, by land or by water, he is to pay ten times the fine of blood; and if it be a slave, ten times his value; and if it be a tributary, ten times his fines, as these fines are enacted by the laws. If any Moslim enters Bedja as a merchant, either to remain, or to pass through, or as a pilgrim,i[107] he shall be in perfect safety, like one of yourselves, until he leaves the country. You shall not harbour any run-aways from the Moslims, and if any one of them come to you, you shall return him. In the same manner you shall send back the cattle of the Moslims, if it strays into your territory, without requiring any fee on its account. If you descend into Upper Egypt, either to pass through that province, or to trade, you shall wear no arms, nor enter any cities or villages whatsoever. You shall not prevent any of the Moslims from entering your country, and trading in it by land or by sea. You shall not endanger their passage, nor waylay any Moslims or tributaries on the road, and you shall not pilfer any goods of the Moslims or their tributaries; you shall not ruin any part of the Mesjed that the Moslims have built at Dhyher and Hedjer, or in any other part of your country, in its whole length and breadth. If you do this, no promise or pledge given to you shall be binding. Kanoun Ibn Azyz shall appoint in Upper Egypt an agent to ensure the payment of the tribute, as well as of those sums which the Bedjas may have to pay to the Moslims in fines of blood or of stolen property. None of the Bedjas shall pass into the Nouba territory from the Kaszer to the city of Koban; the limits to be reckoned from the columns.i[108] Obeyd Ibn ed-Djaham, the officer of the Emir of the true Believers, grants the peace to Kanoun Ibn Abd el Azyz, the chief of the Bedja, on condition that he shall fulfil these engagements to the Emir of the true Believers. But if he shall contravene them, and prove rebellious, all promises and pledges are annulled. Kanoun shall moreover permit the officers of the Emir of the true Believers to enter the country of Bedja to collect there the alms of those who are converted to the Moslim faith.”i[109] This letter was translated word for word by Zakerya Ibn Saleh, el Makhrouny, an inhabitant of Djidda,i[110] and Abdullah Ibn Ismayl, the Koreyshy, and some people of Assouan added their testimonies.

This treaty was for a long time observed; after which the Bedjas re-assumed their inroads into Upper Egypt, and clamorous representations were repeatedly made on that subject to the Emir of the true Believers, Djafar el Motewakel al’Allah; upon which the latter ordered Mohammed Ibn Abdallah el Komy to prepare to attack them. He begged to be permitted to take with him those only he liked, as he did not wish for great numbers, the passage through the country being difficult. He set out against them from Egypt, with a well furnished and well chosen force,i[111] and the ships departed by sea.i[112] The Bedjas collected in vast numbers, all mounted on camels, and the Moslims were frightened. But their commander drew off the attention of the Bedjas by a long letter which he wrote to them on a roll wrapped up in cloth.i[113] They assembled to read it, and at that moment the Moslims attacked them, having small bells hung to the necks of their horses. The camels of the Bedjas could not withstand the noise of the bells, and fled. They were pursued by the Moslims, who killed many of them, and among their numbers, the chief. He was succeeded by the son of his brother, who sued for reconciliation, which was acceded to, on condition that he should pay his personal obeissance to the Emir of the true Believers. He repaired to Bagdad, and presented himself before Motewakel, at the place called Sermanraa, in the year of the Hedjra 241. Peace was then granted to him, on condition of the payment of his dues, and the Bakt;i[114] and it was prescribed to him that the Bedja should not put any obstacles to the work of the Moslims at the mines. El Komy remained a long time at Assouan, and deposited in the treasury of that town all his arms and instruments of war, of which the governors of Assouan continued to take till none were left.

When the Moslims increased at the mines, and intermixed with the Bedjas, the mischievous doings of the latter diminished. The number of people who now went in search of gold-dust discovered it (in abundance), the news spread, and people of all countries repaired thither. There arrived Abou Abderrahman Ibn Abdallah Ibn Abd el Hamyd el Amry, after his campaign against the Noubas in the year 255. He had with him the Rabya, and Djeheyne, and others, by whom Bedja became more cultivated and populous, so that the caravans which brought the provisions from Assouan consisted of six thousand camels; and this was exclusive of what the ships carried by the sea of Kolzoum to Aidab. The Bedja liked the Rabyas, and intermarried with them. It is related that the priests of the Bedja, before some of that nation had become Moslims, had told them that their gods ordered them to obey the Rabya, and likewise Kanoun, which they did. When Amry was killed, and that the Rabya became masters of the island (of Bedja) and that the Bedja according to this injunction united with them; those Arabs who were inimical to them, left the country. The Rabya married the daughters of the chiefs of the Bedja, and the conduct of the latter towards the Moslims (of Egypt) became now less mischievous.

The interior Bedja live in the desert between the country of Aloa and the salt sea, and extend to the limits of the country of Habesh. Their people rear cattle and are pastors; their way of living, their ships, and army, are like those of the Hadharebe, but the latter are a more courageous and more religious people, while those of the interior all remain infidels. They adore the devil, and follow the example of their priests: every clan has its priest, who pitches a tent made of feathers, in the shape of a dome, wherein he practises his adorations; when they consult him about their affairs, he strips naked, and enters the tent stepping backwards; he afterwards issues with the appearance of a mad and delirious person, and exclaims, “the devil salutes you, and tells you to depart from this place, for that a hostile party (naming it) will fall upon you.” If you ask advice about an expedition which you may be about to undertake against any particular country, he often answers, “march on, and you will be victorious, and will take booty to such an amount, and the camels you will take at such a place must be my property, as well as the female slave you will find in such a tent, and the sheep, &c.” On the march, the priest loads his tent upon a camel destined for that sole purpose, and they believe that the camel rises up from the ground, and walks with great difficulty, and that it sweats profusely, although the tent is quite empty, and nothing is in it. Among the Hadharebe live some of those people who still retain this religion, and others who mix with it the Islam.

The Nubian historian (Selym) from whom I (Macrizi) have made these extracts, says, “I have read in the “Discourse of the Ahbas,” by the Emir of the true Believers, Aly Ibn Aly Taleb,i[115] and found therein mention made of the Bedja and the Kedja, and that they are warlike nations who do not make much booty.” The Bedja are of that description, but I know not who the Kedja are.

Abou el Hassan el Massoudy relates as follows, (continues Macrizi:i[116]) The Bedja took up their abode in the country between the sea of Kolzoum and the Egyptian Nile; they separated into branches, and chose a king. In this country are the mines of gold, that is the gold dust, and the emerald mines. Their hostile parties and partizans, mounted upon camels, penetrate as far as Nouba, which country they attack, and from thence they carry off prisoners. In former times the Nouba were stronger than the Bedja, until the Islam took firm footing among the latter. A number of Moslims came then to inhabit the gold mines, and the country of Ollaky and Aidab, and Arabs of the tribe of Rabya Ibn Nezar Ibn Mad Ibn Adnan settled in these parts. Their chiefs grew powerful and intermarried with the Bedja, whose strength increased by this connection, while they on their side supported the Rabya against the Arabs of the tribe of Kahtan and Modher, who had settled there, and other tribes who had settled in the vicinity of this territory. The possessor of the mines in our times (says Masoudy,) which is in the year 332 (A. H.) is Besheir Ibn Merwan Ibn Is-hak of the Rabya, who has under his command three thousand horsemen of the Arabs Rabya and other Arabs of Egypt and Yemen, and thirty thousand fighting men of the Bedja mounted upon camels of good race, armed with the Bedja bucklers, and these are the people called Hadharebe, who are the only Moslims among the Bedja, those of the interior being infidels and adoring an idol. By the valley of Bedja, which encloses the emerald mines, this country extends to the Ollaky, where are the gold mines. From the Ollaky to the Nile are fifteen days journey, and the nearest cultivated part of it is Assouan.i[117]

The island of Souakin is less than one mile in length and in breadth. Its inhabitants are a tribe of Bedja called Khasa; they are Moslims, and have a king. Hamadany relates, that Kenan, the son of Ham, married Arteyt,i[118] the daughter of Benawyl Ibn Ters Ibn Yafeth. She gave birth to Haka and El Asáwed, and the Nouba, and Koran,i[119] and Zendj, and Zaghawa,i[120] and all the tribes of the Negroes. It is also said that the Bedja descend from Ham, the son of Noah, or else from the son of Koush, the son of Kenan, the son of Ham. Others state, that they are a tribe of the Habesh. The Bedja live under tents of hair, their colour is darker than that of the Habesh;i[121] they have the manners of Arabs. They have no towns, no villages, no fields. Their provisions are carried to them from Egypt, and Habesh, and Nouba. They were formerly idolatrous, and then took the Islam, under the governorship of Abdallah Ibn Sad Ibn Aly Sarh. They are hospitable and charitable people; they are divided into tribes and branches, every one of which has its chief. They are pastors, and live entirely on flesh and milk.

Of the Tribute of the Nouba, called Bakt, by Ibn Selym el Assouany.

The captives received in tribute from the Nouba are called Bakt.—(Here follow some etymological remarks on the word Bakt).—It was levied at the Kaszer (Philæ) five miles from Assouan, situated between Belak and the Nouba territory. The income of the customs of the Kaszer belongs to Kous. This Bakti[122] was first instituted in the reign of Amr Ibn el Ras,i[123] who after the conquest of Egypt sent Abdallah Ibn Sad Ibn Aly Sarh, in the year 20 or 21 (A. H.) with twenty thousand soldiers against the Nouba. He tarried there a long time, until Amr el Aas wrote to him to come back. After the death of Amr, the peace that had been concluded between the Nouba and Aly Sarh was broken, and they frequently renewed their invasions of Upper Egypt, when they ruined the country and committed many excesses. Aly Sarh now attacked them a second time, while he was governor of Egypt, in the time of the Khalifat of Othman, in the year 31 (A. H.) He besieged them very closely in the city of Dóngola, and with slinging machines,i[124] unknown to the Nouba, launched stones into the town, which shattered their church. This appalled them, and their king, Koleydozo,i[125] asked for a renewal of peace. He issued from the town, and met Aly Sarh with all the signs of weakness, misery, and humbleness. Aly Sarh gave him a polite and kind reception, and concluded the peace upon the condition of an annual tribute of three hundred and sixty head of slaves. Upon the king’s complaints of the want of provisions in his country, he promised him a present of grain. A document was written out on that occasion, of which the following is a copy.

After the invocation of God:—“This is a pledge of peace given by the Emir Abdallah Ibn Sad Ibn Aly Sarh, to the chief of Nouba, and all his people, valid for the great and the small among the Nouba, from the limits of Assouan to those of Aloa. Aly Sarh establishes safe conduct and peace between them, the neighbouring Moslims of Upper Egypt, and the other Moslims, and all their tributaries. You people of Nouba shall be in complete security, the security of God and his prophet Mohammed, that we shall not attack you, or wage war upon you, or make hostile incursions against you, as long as you fulfil the conditions existing between us; which are, that you shall enter our country merely to pass through it, without remaining therein, and that we likewise shall only pass through your country, without taking up our residence there. You shall protect those Moslims, or their allies, who arrive in your country and travel through it until they have left it. You shall send back to the country of the Islam the run-away slaves of the Moslims, who have come to you, and likewise the Moslim who is at war with the Moslims, and has demanded your protection. You shall expel him, and oblige him to return to the country of the Islam; you shall not embrace his party, and prevent his being seized; and you shall not put any obstacle to the business of a Moslim (in your country); on the contrary, you shall favour him with respect to it, until he quits the country.—You shall take care of the mosque which the Moslims have built on the side of your town, and not prevent any body from praying there; you shall keep it clean, and light it, and honour it. Every year you shall pay three hundred and sixty head of slaves to the chief of the Moslims, of the middle sort of slaves of your country; none with bodily defects; males and females, but no old men and women, and no children under age; these you shall deliver into the hands of the governor of Assouan. No Moslim shall be obliged to protect or defend you against enemies that may attack you from Aloa, as far as Assouan. If you harbour the slave of a Moslim, or kill a Moslim, or an ally, or attempt to ruin the mosque built by the Moslims on the side of your town, or withhold any part of the 360 head of slaves, then this peace and pledged security shall be void, and we shall return to be enemies, until God shall judge between us, and he is the best of all judges. Upon these conditions we pledge to you, and engage to you our promise and security, in the name of God and his Prophet; and you stand pledged to us by those you hold most holy in your faith, the Messiah and the Apostles, and all those you venerate in your religion, and who are witnesses between you and ourselves.”

Omar Ibn Sharhabyl wrote (this) in the month of Ramadhan, in the year 31 ———i[126]

The Nouba had already paid this tribute to Amr Ibn el Aas, before the rupture of the peace, and had presented him moreover with a present of forty head of slaves; but this he refused to accept, and returned the present to the chief (collector) of the Bakt, called Samkous, who purchased for them wine and provisions to the same value, which he sent to them.i[127] Aly Sarh fulfilled his promise to the Nouba, and sent them corn and barley, lentils, clothes, and horses. This remained afterwards a regular custom. The Nouba received the amount of it every year, when they paid their tribute, and the number of forty slaves who had been offered to Amr Ibn el Aas were now yearly taken by the governors of Egypt. Aly Kheleyfa Homeyd Ibn Hesham el Baheyry relates, that the stipulated conditions of peace with the Nouba consisted of three hundred and sixty head of slaves to the Shade of the Moslims,i[128] (في المسلمين) and forty to the governor of Egypt, and that they should receive in return one thousand Erdeybs of wheat, and their delegates three hundred Erdeybs of it; the same quantity of barley was to be given, and further, one thousand Kanyr of wine to the king, and three hundred Kanyr of wine to the delegates, together with two mares of the best kind, fit for princes.i[129] Farther, of the different stuffs of linen cloth one hundred pieces, and of the kind called Kobaty four pieces to the king and three to the envoys, of the kind called Baktery eight pieces, and of the Malam five pieces, and moreover a fine Djebbei[130] to the king. Of the shirts called Aly Baktar, ten pieces, and of the first quality of shirts likewise ten, every one of which is equal to three of the common sort.

The Nouba regularly paid their Bakt every year, and received in return the above menmentioned articles, until the times of the Emir of the true Believers, El Motassem b’illah Aly Is-hak, the son of Er-rasheid, when Zakarya Ibn Bahnasi[131] was their king. At that period the Nouba having perhaps been tardy in paying the Bakt, and the Moslim governors of the frontier provinces having treated them harshly, and withheld from them the supply of provisions, Feyrakey the son of Zakarya refused his father to submit in obedience to foreigners, and reproached him with weakness in paying the tribute. His father then asked him what his advice was, and he replied, to revolt against the Moslims, and make war with them. Our forefathers, answered Zakarya, thought this a just measure; I am afraid that the worst of the business will devolve upon you. We shall prepare for this war against the Moslims, but I will send you to their king as an envoy: you will know the state of their affairs and your own. If you think that we are a match for them, we shall go to war, and trust to God; if not, you will ask the king for presents. Feyraky then set out for Bagdad; he passed through the towns, and the country appeared to him very fine. In coming down, he was joined by the king of the Bedja and his retinue. They met El Motasem, and they were astonished to see in the Irak, besides what they had already witnessed on the road; the quantity of soldiers, and the flourishing state of the country. El Motasem received Feyraky with politeness and kindness, and treated him with great generosity. He accepted his presents, and returned them two-fold, and told him to demand any favour he liked. Upon which he begged that the prisonersi[132] might be set free, which was granted to him. Feyraky rose high in the opinion of Motasem; who made him a present of the house at which he had alighted in the Irak, and gave orders to purchase in every town on his way a house for the accommodations of the messengers he might send, and wherein no other travellers should be permitted to lodge. At Cairo two houses were purchased for him; one at Djyze and another at Beni Wayl,i[133] and they received from the treasury of Cairo seven hundred Dinars, a mare, a saddle, a bridle, a gilt sword, a rich habit, a silk turban, a cloke, and a shirt of the finest sort, and pieces of stuff for his delegates, which were not accounted for in the returns of the tribute. They had further to receive two loads,i[134] and from the collector of the Bakt a suit of clothes, and had, in their turn, to give to the latter, and to those who accompanied him, certain articles. Whatever might be given to them (beyond these fixed things) should be considered as presents, which they would return in the same manner. Upon enquiry El Motasem found that what was given to the Noubas by the Moslims exceeded the value of the Bakt; he therefore refused to give them any more wine, or to send them (the full amount of) the corn and the stuffs above mentioned; and he re-established the Bakt to be sent at intervals of every three years; and wrote to them a letter on that subject, which remained in their hands. The king of the Noubas demanded justice from some of the inhabitants of Assouan, who had purchased landed property from his slaves.i[135] El Motasem ordered inquiry to be made into it at Assouan, where the tribunal of the judge was. But the slaves being questioned, said, “We are his subjects, not his slaves,” and thus his suit was rejected. He then demanded among other things, that the military post at the Kaszer, which was situated within his territory, should be removed to the frontier; but this request was not granted. These stipulations continued to subsist between the Noubas and Egypt, and the Bakt was paid, and the returns given as Motasem had regulated them, until the Fatimites arrived in Egypt.—Thus far goes the relation of the Nubian historian.

Abou Hassan el Masoudyi[136] relates:—The Bakt is the annual tribute of slaves which has been imposed upon the Noubas, and is received from them and carried to Egypt. It consists in three hundred and sixty five head of slaves to the public treasury, according to the tenour of the articles of peace between the Noubas and the Moslims. Besides these, the governor of Egypt receives forty head; his representative, who resides at Assouan, and collects the Bakt, twenty head; the governor of Assouan, who, together with him, is present at the collecting of the Bakt, five head, and the twelve trusty witnesses of the people of Assouan, who are to accompany the governor on this business, twelve head; the whole, according to the stipulations of the Bakt, when the Moslims and Noubas first concluded their treaty.

El Beladiry, in his work entitled El Tetouhat,i[137] says: “the amount of the renewed tribute of the Noubas is four hundred slaves, for which they take in return victuals, that is to say, grain. The Emir of the true Believers, El Mohdy Mohammed Ibn Aly Djafar el Mansour,i[138] obliged them to pay three hundred and sixty head of slaves, and a Giraffa. The mischievous and troublesome behaviour of Daoud (David) the king of the Noubas, was principally manifested in the year of the Hejira 674. After he had committed great excesses at Aidab, he came with his army nearly as far as Assouan, and there burnt many water wheels. The governor of Kous marched against Daoud, but not meeting with him, laid hold of the Lord of the Mountain, and numbers of Noubas, whom he carried before the Sultan Daher Bybars el Bondokdary, at the Castle of Cairo, where their bodies were severed in two. Shekendy,i[139] the son of the King of Nouba’s sister, then came to implore assistance against the injustice which he had experienced from his uncle Daoud. The Sultan ordered the Emir Shams-eddyn Ak Soukor el Farekany, the intendant of his household,i[140] with the Emir Djandar Emir Oz-eddyn Aybek el Afram,i[141] to march together with Shekendy against Daoud, with a large army composed of the provincial horsemen,i[142] and of the Arabs of southern Egypt, and of lancers, bowmen, and fire-men.i[143] They left Cairo on the first of the month of Sheban. Upon their arrival in Nouba the enemy met them, mounted upon camels, armed with lances, and covered with black Dekadek.i[144] Both parties fought bravely, and the Noubas fled. El Afram now fell upon Kallat Addo,i[145] where he killed and took prisoners many of them. El Farakany penetrated into the interior of Nouba by land and by the river, killing or enslaving every body. He took an innumerable quantity of cattle, and alighted at the island of Mykayl, at the top of the cataracts;i[146] from whence he obliged the Nouba ships to retreat, while the Nouba themselves fled to the islands. He then wrote a promise of safe conduct to Kamr el Doula,i[147] the lieutenant of Daoud, who swore allegiance to the Shekendy, and brought back all the people of Merys, and the fugitives; after which El Afram crossed over a shallow part of the river, to a tower built in the water, which he besieged until he took it. Two hundred men were killed there, and a brother of Daoud was taken prisoner; Daoud fled, and was closely pursued for three days by the soldiers, who killed and took prisoners a great number on the road, until the people submitted. The mother and sister of Daoud were taken, but he himself escaped. Shekendy was now confirmed in his stead, and agreed to pay an annual personal tribute of three elephants, three giraffas, five female Fahed, one hundred camels of good race, and four hundred chosen cows,i[148] and that the soil of Nouba should thenceforward be divided into two parts;i[149] one half for the Sultan, and the other to be appropriated to the fertilizing and guarding of the country; excepting the territory of the cataracts, which was to belong entirely to the Sultan, on account of its vicinity to Assouan: this alone was about one-fourth of Nouba.i[150] Farther, that the dates and the cotton of this part, as well as the ancient customary duties, should be carried off, and that as long as they should remain Christians, they should pay the Djezye, or annual Om Dinar in cash, for every grown up person.i[151] There was a form of oath written out concerning these articles, by which Shekendy bound himself, and there was another by which his subjects swore. The two commanders destroyed the churches of Nouba,i[152] and carried away whatever they found in them. They seized about twenty of the chiefs of Nouba, and liberated the Moslims of Assouan and Aidab, who were captives in the hands of the Noubas. Shekendy was crowned, and seated on the throne of his kingdom, after he had taken his oath. He was obliged to send the property of Daoud, and that of all those who were killed or taken captives, whether money or cattle, to the Sultan, together with the usual Bakt. This consisted in an annual payment of a giraffa and of four hundred slaves, of whom three hundred and sixty were for the Khalif, and forty for his lieutenant at Cairo, with the condition that he should send them in return, upon the full receipt of the Bakt, one thousand Erdeybs of wheat to the king of Nouba, and three hundred to his delegates.i[153]

Description of the Town of Assouan.i[154]

It begins with some remarks on the etymology of the word Assouan, which is said to mean a person in grief. Assouan lies on the extremity of the territories of Sayd. It is one of the harbours of this province, and divides Nouba from the country of Egypt. In former times a great plenty of wheat, grain, fruits, vegetables, and pot herbs, was found here, together with abundance of camels, cows, and sheep, whose flesh is of peculiar good flavour and fatness. The prices of provisions were always very low. Goods and articles of trade were found here, that were transported to the country of Nouba. To the east there is not any Moslim country bordering on Assouan: to the south there is a mountain, in which are the mines of emeralds, in an insulated barren country. At fifteen days journey from Assouan are the gold mines.i[155] To the westward are the Oases. From Assouan a road leads to Aidab, from whence is the passage to the Hedjaz, and Yemen, and India. Masoudy relates: Assouan is inhabited by people of the Arabs Kahtan, Nezar Ibn Rabya, Modher, and Arabs of Koreysh, most of them transplanted from the Hedjaz.i[156] The town has abundance of date trees; it is fertile and rich. The date stone is put into the ground, and the tree grows out of it, and after (a certain number of) years they eat the fruit.i[157] The people of Assouan possess many villages within the confines of Nouba, the duties on which they pay to the king of Nouba. These villages were bought from the Noubas in the time of the Islam, during the reign of Beni Omeya and Beni Abbas. When El Mamoun arrived in Egypt, the king of Nouba asked for his protection against these people of Assouan, by means of emissaries whom he dispatched to Fostat. They complained to El Mamoun, that some villages of Nouba had been sold to their neighbours of Assouan; that these villages belonged to the king of Nouba, and that those who sold them were the king’s slaves, who possessed no property, and whose only business it was to take care of the cultivation. Mamoun referred them to the governor of Assouan, to the learned men, and Shikhs of that town. The people of Assouan who had bought the villages, perceiving that they were in danger of losing them, had recourse to a stratagem against the king of Nouba. They proposed to the Noubas who had sold the villages, when they appeared before the governor, to deny that they were slaves of the king, and to say, “the same relation exists between us and our king, O Moslims, as between you and your king. We owe him only submission, and are bound only not to contravene his orders. If you, therefore, are the slaves, and the property of your king, then we are the same.” They spoke other similar things, to which they had been prompted, and thus the sale was confirmed, and so it has remained until our times. The possession of these villages, in the territory of Merys in the country of Nouba, was transmitted by inheritance, and the Noubas, the subjects of the king, now became divided into two classes; the one, as we have stated, freemen, not slaves, and the other part slaves.i[158] The latter were those who did not dwell in this territory of Merys, which is in the neighbourhood of Assouan.

Masoudy relates,i[159] that the Noubas were divided into two branches. The one dwelt on the two banks of the Nile; their territory bordered upon the territory of the Copts of Upper Egypt, and extended far up the river; they built, as the seat of their government, the large city of Dóngola. The other race of the Noubas is called Aloa, and they have built the large town of Serfeta.i[160] The country of Nouba, the territory of which borders upon the soil of Assouan, is called Merys, from which the Merysan wind takes its name.i[161]

On the east side of Upper Egypt is a large mountain of marble, from whence the ancients cut columns, and pedestals, and capitals, which the Egyptians call Assouanye, (the same name they also give to the mill-stones). The ancients wrought these things many hundred years before the appearance of Christianity, and among them are to be reckoned the columns of Alexandria.

In the month of Zol Hadj, in the year 344, the king of Nouba attacked Assouan, and killed many Moslims. In the month of Moharran 345, marched against him Mohammed Ibn Abdallah, the treasurer of the Egyptian army of El Wodjour, Ibn el Ak Shedy (king of Egypt), by land and by sea.i[162] He sent back many prisoners of the Noubas, who were beheaded at Cairo, after the king of Nouba had likewise met with his fate. He continued his march until he conquered Ibrim, and reduced its inhabitants to captivity, and he returned to Cairo with 150 prisoners, and many heads, in the middle of the month of Djomad el Awal, 345.i[163]

The Kadhy el Fadhel states, that in the year 585, the income of the port of Assouan was 25,000 Dinars.i[164] Djaafar el Edfouy relates:i[165] at Assouan are 80 officers of the tribunal of justice, and Assouan produced in one year 30,000 Erdeybs of dates. Somebody informed me that he had met with a writing that contained the names of 40 Sherifs of the purest race (of Assouan) and another in which there were 60, besides the rest. And (El Edfouy) says: “I have met with a writing, dated in the year 620, that mentioned the names of 40 authors of Assouan.”

At Assouan were settled the Beni el Kenz, a tribe of Rabya, very praiseworthy people, celebrated by many verses. El Fadhel el Sedyd Abou el Hassan Ibn Aram has written their history. When Salah eddyn Ibn Ayoubi[166] sent an army against Kenz el Doulai[167] and his party, they left this territory.i[168] The soldiers entered their houses, and found therein verses of those who had sung their praises, and among the rest a poem of Mohammed el Hassan Ibn Zebeyr, in which was this passage:

They help him whom the times have betrayed or oppressed;

People they are, who never dwell where dishonour abides;

When they grant their protection, no man under the stars fears;

When they dispense with their generosity, no want remains upon the earth’s surface.

For which the author received 1000 Dinars, and a water-wheel (with its field) was entailed upon him, worth 1000 Dinars.i[169] regular armed garrison had always been stationed at Assouan, to guard the harbour against the inroads of the Nouba, and the blacks. When the reign of the Fatimites terminated,i[170] this port was neglected. The king of Nouba, with 10,000 men, fell then again upon the island opposite Assouan,i[171] and took prisoners all its Moslim inhabitants.i[172] After this period the affairs of this harbour declined. After the year 790, the tribe of El Kenz became masters of it. They behaved vilely, and had many wars with the governors of this town, until the destructive epoch of 806.i[173] Upper Egypt was then ruined and depopulated, the Sultan drew off his hand from Assouan, and he no longer kept a governor there. It remained in a deserted state for many years. In the month of Moharram, of the year 815, the Arabs Howarai[174] proceeded to Assouan and attacked the Beni Kenz, and obliged them to fly.i[175] They killed many of them, and reduced to slavery all the women and children whom they took prisoners.i[176] They destroyed the walls of Assouan, departed with their captives, and left the city in ruins, without inhabitants. In this state the town remained, of which Selym el Assouany relates, that when Abd el Hamyd el Amry took the mines, he wrote to Assouan to demand from the merchants to supply him with provisions, upon which one man of the name of Othman Ibn Hauthale el Temymy, carried to him 1000 loads of provisions and corn. (Here follows a few other notices on Assouan of little interest.)

Belak.

Belak is the last fortified place of the Moslims. It is an island in the neighbourhood of the cataract, surrounded by the Nile, with a large town upon it, well inhabited, with a number of date trees, and a Mambar (pulpit) in a mosque.i[177] Between this and the city called Kaszer, which is the first town of Nouba, is one mile, and between Assouan and Belak four miles. Between Assouan and Belak are cataracts in the river, over which the ships cannot pass but with great caution, and guided by the fishermen of these parts, who are acquainted with the passage. At the Kaszer is a garrison post, and it is a gate towards Nouba.

On the Desert of Aidab or Aizab.

The pilgrims from Egypt and Barbary remained upwards of 200 years without taking any other road to Mekka, may God honour her, than by the desert of Aidab. They embarked on the Nile at the plain of Fostat, and ascended as far as Kous. From thence they mounted camels, and crossed this desert to Aidab, where they afterwards embarked in vessels for Djidda, on the coast of Mekka. In the same manner the merchants of India, and Yemen, and Habesh, arrived by this sea at Aidab, reached through this desert the town of Kous, and from thence Mesr. This desert continued to be peopled and frequented by caravans of merchants and of pilgrims going and coming, in so much that loads of spices and drugs, as pepper, cinnamon, and others were found on the road, while caravans were ascending and descending, and nobody touched them until their owner took them away.i[178] The pilgrims in going to Mekka and returning from thence, continued to frequent that road more than 200 years, from the year 453 and upwards, to the year 663 and upwards, at which time happened the great misfortune during the reign of the Khalif Mostanser b’illah Aly Temim Mad Ibn el Dhaher,i[179] and the pilgrim caravans were interrupted by land and by sea until the Sultan Dhaher Roken eddyn Bybars el Bondokdary clothed again the Kaba, and made a key to it. A caravan then departed by land in the year 66—.i[180] But the passage of pilgrims through this desert became less frequent, although it continued to be the road by which the merchandises were carried from Aidab to Kous, until the year 760, when it was abandoned, after which the affairs of Kous declined. This desert from Kous to Aidab is seventeen days journey across, during which no water is found for three, and once for four, successive days.i[181] Aidab is a town on the coast of the sea of Djidda. It has no walls, and most of its houses are built of mats.i[182] It was formerly one of the first harbours of the world, because the ships from India and Yemen brought here their merchandise, and set sail again in company with the ships of the pilgrims that passed to and fro. When the Indian and Yemen ships ceased to arrive at this place, then Aden, of the Yemen, became the great harbour, until after 820 and upwards, Djidda became the first harbour of the world, and likewise Hormuz, which is a fine anchoring place. Aidab is situated in a desert devoid of any vegetation; all the provisions, even the water, are imported. Its inhabitants derived immense gains from the merchants and the pilgrims; they had certain established dues from every camel’s load belonging to the pilgrims,i[183] and hired their ships to them to cross over the sea to Djidda, and from thence back to Aidab; by which they accumulated great riches. There was no inhabitant of Aidab who had not one or more ships, in proportion to the amount of his property. In the sea of Aidab, at some islands in the vicinity of it, is a pearl fishery.i[184] The divers issue from Aidab every year at a fixed period, in small boats. Arrived at the island, they remain there some time, and come back with whatever has fallen to their good fortune. They find the pearls in water of little depth.

The people of Aidab live like brutes. They resemble in their character wild beasts more than human beings. The pilgrims are exposed during their sea voyage to terrible adventures. They usually meet with strong winds in distant and desert anchoring places to the south.i[185] The Bedja people then come down to them from their mountains and hire to them their camels, with which they travel without any supply of water.i[186] Many of them die from thirst, and the Bedjas take whatever they had with them. Others lose their road, and likewise die from thirst, and he who escapes reaches Aidab as if risen out of his winding sheet, and entirely altered in features and in body. No where perish more pilgrims than in these anchoring places. To others, but the smaller number, the wind is propitious, and carries them to Aidab. In the ships that carry the pilgrims, are no nails whatsoever. They sew the planks with the Kombar, which is made of the cocoa tree,i[187] and drive into them wooden pegs made of the date tree; after which they pour butter over them, or the oil of the Kheroa,i[188] or the fat of the Kersh,i[189] which is a very large sea fish that swallows up the drowned. The sails of these ships are made of the mats of the tree Mokel.i[190] The inhabitants of Aidab use all kind of devilish practices with the pilgrims. Anxious for the fare, they load their ships with passengers one above the other, and never care about what may happen to them at sea, saying, on the contrary: “to us belongs the care of the ships, and to the pilgrims that of their own selves.”i[191] The inhabitants of Aidab are of the Bedja, and have a king of that nation, and a governor named by the Sultan of Egypt. I have seen myself their Kadhy at Cairo, a man of black colour. The Bedjas have no religion, and are people of no understanding. Their males and females go constantly naked, with some rags round their loins, but many of them have no covering whatever. The heat is very great at Aidab, on account of the burning Simoum. (V. [note b] at the end.)

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