They Took Possession,
Therefore, Of Zayla, Which They Made A Den Of Thieves, Established There
What They Called A Custom-
House [11], and, by means of that post and
galleys cruising in the narrow straits of Bab el Mandeb, they
Laid the
Indian trade to Adel under heavy contributions that might indemnify them
for the great desertion their violence and injustice had occasioned in
Arabia.
This step threatened the very existence both of Adel and Abyssinia; and
considering the vigorous government of the one, and the weak politics and
prejudices of the other, it is more than probable that the Turks would
have subdued both, had they not in India, their chief object, met the
Portuguese, strongly established.
Bartema, travelling in A.D. 1503, treats in his 15th chapter of "Zeila in
AEthiopia and the great fruitlessness thereof, and of certain strange
beasts seen there."
"In this city is great frequentation of merchandise, as in a most famous
mart. There is marvellous abundance of gold and iron, and an innumerable
number of black slaves sold for small prices; these are taken in War by
the Mahomedans out of AEthiopia, of the kingdom of Presbyter Johannes, or
Preciosus Johannes, which some also call the king of Jacobins or Abyssins,
being a Christian; and are carried away from thence into Persia, Arabia
Felix, Babylonia of Nilus or Alcair, and Meccah. In this city justice and
good laws are observed. [12] ... It hath an innumerable multitude of
merchants; the walls are greatly decayed, and the haven rude and
despicable.
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