In end Darius being vanquished, and Alexander King hereof, after his Death it fell to the share of Ptolomeus, the sonne of Lagi, from whom the Kings of Ægypt were [VII. 321.]for a long time called Ptolomeis: of whom Queene Cleopatra was the last, after whose selfe murther, it was annexed for many yeares to the Romane Empire, and next to the Constantinopolitan: from whose insupportable burden they revolted, and became tributaries for a small time to Haumar the third Caliph of Babylon.
Afterward being oppressed by Almericus King of Jerusalem; Noradin a Turkish King of Damascus sent Saracon a valiant Warriour to aide them, who made him The alterations of Egypt.selfe absolute King of the whole Countrey; whose ofspring succeeded (of whom Saladine was one, the glorious conquerour of the East) till Melechsala, who was slaine by his owne souldiers the Mamaluks; who were the guard of the Suldans, as the Jannizaries are to the great Turke, who lately, Anno 1622. have almost made the like mutation in the Turkish Empire, as the Mamaluks did in the Ægyptian.
They made of themselves Sultans, whereby the Mamaluke race continued from the yeare 1250. till the yeare 1517. wherein Tonembius, together with his predecessour Campson Gaurus, was overcome by Selimus the first; by whom Ægypt was made a Province of the Turkish Empire, and so continueth as yet.
The length of this Kingdome, is foure hundred and fifty English miles, and two hundred broad: the principal seat whereof is the great Caire, being distant from Jerusalem sixteene dayes journey, or Caravans journalls, amounting to 240. of our miles. Some hold that the space of earth, that lyeth betweene the two branches of Damieta, and Roseta was called the lower Ægypt; now called Delta under the figure of a Greeke letter triangular.
The head of this great Delta, where Nylus divideth it selfe was called Heptapolis, or Hoptanomia; and Delta [VII. 322.]it selfe was called by the Romanes Augustamia: Ægypt besides the aforesayd names, it had divers Epithites of divers Authors; for Appollodorus tearmed it the Religion of Melampodes, because of the fertility of it: And Plutarch gave it the name Chimia, because of the holy ceremonies of the Ægyptians in worshipping their Gods: The Etymology whereof Ortelius condignely remarked, deriving it from Cham, the sonne of Noah, so that some hold the opinion, that the Ægyptians had their originall from Misraim (for so was Ægypt called) the sonne of Chus, that proceeded from Cham Noahs sonne: The circuit of Delta or the lower Ægypt is thought to be 3000. of their stades, which maketh a hundred Spanish leagues.
The revenews of Egypt.In the time of the Ptolomeis the revenewes of this Kingdome were 12000. talents; so also in the time of the Mamaluks; but now through tyranical government, and discontinuance of trafficke through the red sea, the Turke receiveth no more than three millions yearely; one of the which is free to him selfe, the other two are distributed to support the charge of his Vicegerent Bassaw, and presidiary souldiers, being 12000. Jannizaries, besides their thousands of Timariots, which keepe Ægypt from the incursions and tyranny of Arabs: In Cayro I stayed twelve dayes, and having bid farewell to Monsieur Beauclair the Consul who courteously intertained me, the other foure French Pilgrimes and I imbarked at Boulacque in a boate: And as we went downe the River, the chiefe Townes of note we saw were these, Salmona, Pharsone, Fova, & Abdan. I remember our boate was double hooked with forked pikes of iron round about the sides, for feare of the Crocodiles, who usually leape up on boates, and will carry the passenger away headlong in the streame: And yet these beasts themselves are devoured by a water-Rat, of [VII. 323.]whom they taking great pleasure, and play, and gaping widely, the Rat running into his mouth, the other out of joy swalloweth it down, where the Rat for disdaine commeth forth at the broad side of his belly leaving the Crocodile dead. In these parts there is a stone called Aquiline, which hath the vertue to deliver a woman from her paine in child-birth. In all this way the greatest pleasure I had, was to behold the rare beauty of certaine Birds, called by the Turkes, Ellock; whose feathers being beautified with the diversity of rarest colours, yeeld a farre off to the beholder a delectable shew: having also this propriety, the nearer a man approacheth them, the more they loose the beauty of their feathers by reason of the feare they conceive when they see a man. Upon the third day we landed at Rosetta, and came over land with a company of Turkes to Alexandria, being 50. miles distant.
The Towne of Alexandria.Alexandria is the second Port in all Turky: It was of old a most renowned City, and was built by Alexander the great, but now is greatly decayed, as may appeare by the huge ruines therein: It hath two havens, the one whereof is strongly fortified with two Castles, which defend both it selfe and also Porto vecchio: The fields about the Towne are sandy, which ingender an infectious ayre, especially in the moneth of August, and is the reason why strangers fall into bloody fluxes and other heavy sicknesses. In my staying here, I was advised by a Ragusan Consul, to keepe my stomacke hot, to abstaine from eating of fruit, and to live soberly, with a temperate diet: The rule of which government, I strove diligently to observe, so did I also in all my travells prosecute the like course of a small diet, and was often too small against my will, by the meanes whereof (praised be God) I fell never sicke till my returne to France.
[VII. 324.]This Citty is mightily impoverished since the Trading of Spices that were brought through the red Sea, to Ægypt, and so over Land to Alexandria & its Sea-port: Whence the Venetian dispersed them over all Christendome; but are now brought home by the backe-side of Affricke, by the Portugals, English, and Flemings, which maketh both Venice, and Alexandria fare the worse, for want of their former Trafficke, and commerce in these Southerne parts: whence Venice grew the mother nurse to all Europe for these Commodities, but now altogether spoyled thereof, and decayed by our Westerne Adventures, in a longer course for these Indian soyles.
This Citty was a place of great Merchandize, and in the Nycen Councell was ordayned to be one of The foure Patriarchall Seas.the foure Patriarchall seas; the other three are Antiochia, Jerusalem, and Constantinople. Heere in Alexandria was that famous Library which Ptolomeus Philadelphus filled with 700000. volumes: It was he that also caused the 72. Interpreters, to translate the Bible: Over against Alexandria, is the little Ile Pharos, in the which for the commodity of Saylers the aforesaid King builded a watch-towre of white Marble; being of so marvellous a height, that it was accounted one of the seven wonders of the world: the other six, being the Pyramides, the Tombe Mausolaea, which Helicarnassus Queene of Caria caused build in honour of her Husband: the Temple of Ephesus, the Wals of Babylon, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Statue of Jupiter Olympicus at Elis in Greece, which was made by Phidias, an excellent worke-master in Gold and Ivory, being in height 60. Cubites.
Expecting fifteene dayes heere in Alexandria for passage, [VII. 325.]great was the heate the French men and I indured, in so much that in the day time, we did nought but in a low roome, besprinckle the water upon our selves, and all the night lye on the top or platforme of the house, to have the ayre; where at last bidding good-night to our Greekish Host, we imbarked in a Slavonian shippe, belonging to Ragusa; and so set our faces North for Christendome; in which ship I was kindly used, and Christian-like intertayned both for victuals and passage. The Windes somewhat at the beginning favouring us, wee weighed Anckers, and set forward to Sea: leaving the Coast of Cyrene Westward from us, which lyeth betweene Ægypt by the Sea side, and Numidia, or Kingdome of Tunnis.