Translation of an Arabic MS. brought by Captain Clapperton from the Interior of Africa, containing a geographical and historical Account of the Kingdom of Tak-roor, now under the Control of Sultan Mohammed Bello of Hoossa, extracted from a larger Work composed by the said Sultan.
“In the name of God, the merciful and the clement, &c. &c.
“This is an extract taken from the work entitled, “Enfak El-may-soor, fee tareekh belad Et-tak-roor,” (viz. The Dissolver of Difficulties, in the History of the Country of Tak-roor), composed by the ornament of his time, and the unequalled among his contemporaries, the Prince of the faithful, and defender of the faith, Mohammed Belo, son of the prodigy of his age, the noble Sheikh Ossman,” &c.
PART I.
THE GEOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT.
SECTION I.
“The first province of this dominion (Tak-roor), on the east side, is, as it is supposed, Foor (Darfoor); and, next to it, on the west side, are those of Wa-da-i, and Baghar-mee. Foor is an extensive country, containing woods, and rivers, and fields fit for cultivation. Its inhabitants are partly composed of itinerants who became settlers, and partly of Arabs who still wander about; and it contains a great number of herdsmen, or graziers of cattle. The food of these inhabitants is the dokhn dura (millet), and the daj’r, or peas. Mooslemanism spread itself very much in this province, and most of its inhabitants perform the pilgrimage; and, it is said, have great respect for the pilgrims, and interrupt them not on their way.
“The inhabitants of Wa-da-i and Baghar-mee are nearly of the same description. Baghar-mee, however, is now desolated. The cause of its ruin was, as they say, the misconduct of her king, who, having increased in levity and licentiousness to such a frightful degree, as even to marry his own daughter, God Almighty caused Saboon, the Prince of Wa-da-i, to march against him, and destroy him, laying waste, at the same time, all his country, and leaving the houses uninhabited, as a signal chastisement for his impiety.
“These provinces are bounded on the north by deserts and dry sands, which, in the spring only, are frequented by herdsmen; and on the south by a great many countries, inhabited by various tribes of Soodan, each of whom speak a different language, and among whom Mooslemanism is not much spread.
“Adjoining this country, Baghar-mee, on the west side, is the province of Barnoo, which contains rivers, and forests, and extensive sands. It has always been well peopled, even before the last mentioned country, and its extent and wealth are unequalled by any part of this tract of the earth. Its inhabitants are the Barbar, the Felateen, the before-mentioned Arabs, and a great many of the slaves of the Barbar. These Barbars are of the remnants of those who first inhabited the country between Zanj and Abyssinia, and who were expelled from Yemen by Hemeera[73], subsequent to their establishment in that country by Africus. The cause of their being brought to Yemen was, as it is related, as follows:—While Africus reigned over Yemen, and the Barbars in Syria, the inhabitants of the latter country, being oppressed by the iniquities and impiety of their rulers, applied to Africus to deliver them from their hands, and, at the same time, they proclaimed and acknowledged him as their legal sovereign. He marched against the Barbars, fought and destroyed them, except the children, whom he kept in Yemen as slaves and soldiers. After his death, and the elapse of a long period, they rebelled against Hemeera, who then ruled Yemen. He fought and turned them out of that country; whence they emigrated to a spot near Abyssinia (the coast of the Red Sea facing Mokha), where they took refuge. They then went to Kanoom, and settled there, as strangers, under the government of the Tawarék, who were a tribe related to them, and called Amakeetan. But they soon rebelled against them, and usurped the country. Fortune having assisted them, their government flourished for some time, and their dominion extended to the very extremity of this tract of the earth; and Wa-da-i and Baghar-mee, as well as the country of Hoosa, with those parts of the province of Bow-sher which belong to it, were in their possession. In the course of time, however, their government became weakened, and their power destroyed.
SECTION II.