And There Are About The King A Number Of Barons In Attendance Upon Him.
These Ride With Him, And Keep Always Near Him, And Have Great Authority In
The Kingdom; They Are Called The King's Trusty Lieges.
And you must know
that when the King dies, and they put him on the fire to burn him, these
Lieges cast themselves into the fire round about his body, and suffer
themselves to be burnt along with him.
For they say they have been his
comrades in this world, and that they ought also to keep him company in
the other world.[NOTE 5]
When the King dies none of his children dares to touch his treasure. For
they say, "as our father did gather together all this treasure, so we
ought to accumulate as much in our turn." And in this way it comes to pass
that there is an immensity of treasure accumulated in this kingdom.[NOTE 6]
Here are no horses bred; and thus a great part of the wealth of the
country is wasted in purchasing horses; I will tell you how. You must know
that the merchants of KIS and HORMES, DOFAR and SOER and ADEN collect
great numbers of destriers and other horses, and these they bring to the
territories of this King and of his four brothers, who are kings likewise
as I told you. For a horse will fetch among them 500 saggi of gold,
worth more than 100 marks of silver, and vast numbers are sold there every
year. Indeed this King wants to buy more than 2000 horses every year, and
so do his four brothers who are kings likewise. The reason why they want
so many horses every year is that by the end of the year there shall not
be one hundred of them remaining, for they all die off. And this arises
from mismanagement, for those people do not know in the least how to treat
a horse; and besides they have no farriers. The horse-merchants not only
never bring any farriers with them, but also prevent any farrier from
going thither, lest that should in any degree baulk the sale of horses,
which brings them in every year such vast gains. They bring these horses
by sea aboard ship.[NOTE 7]
They have in this country the custom which I am going to relate. When a
man is doomed to die for any crime, he may declare that he will put
himself to death in honour of such or such an idol; and the government
then grants him permission to do so. His kinsfolk and friends then set him
up on a cart, and provide him with twelve knives, and proceed to conduct
him all about the city, proclaiming aloud: "This valiant man is going to
slay himself for the love of (such an idol)." And when they be come to the
place of execution he takes a knife and sticks it through his arm, and
cries:
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