After A Considerable Interval, The
Emperor Ordered Him To Be Lodged In A House Appointed For The Purpose, And
To Be Supplied With Every Thing He Might Need.
The emperor then wrote to
the governor of Canfu, to inquire carefully among the Arabian merchants
respecting this man's pretensions; and receiving a full confirmation of his
extraction, received him to an audience, and made him rich presents, with
which he returned to Irak.
When, we saw him, this man was much advanced in years, but had his senses
perfectly. He told us that the emperor asked him many questions respecting
the Arabs, and particularly how they had destroyed the kingdom of the
Persians. Ebn Wahab answered, that they had done it by the assistance of
God, and because the Persians were immersed in idolatry, adoring the sun,
moon, and stars, instead of the Almighty. The emperor said, that they had
conquered the most illustrious kingdom of the earth, the best cultivated,
the most populous, the most pregnant of fine wits, and of the highest fame.
The emperor then asked Ebn Wahab what account the Arabs made of the other
kings of the earth; to which he answered that he knew them not. Then the
emperor caused the interpreter to say, we admit but five great kings. He
who is master of Irak has the kingdom of widest extent, which is surrounded
by the territories of other kings, and we find him called King of Kings.
After him is the emperor of China, who is styled King of Mankind, for no
king has more absolute authority over his subjects, and no people can be
more dutiful and submissive than his subjects.
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