St Thomas, After Preaching In Nubia, Came To Abascia, Where
He Preached For Some Time, And Then Went To Moabar Or Coromandel.
The
Abyssinians are valiant soldiers, always at war with the sultan of Aden and
the people of Nubia.
I was told, that in 1288, the great emperor of the
Abyssinians was extremely desirous to have visited Jerusalem; but being
dissuaded from the attempt, on account of the Saracen kingdoms which were
in the way, he sent a pious bishop to perform his devotions for him at the
holy sepulchre. On his return, the bishop was made prisoner by the sultan
of Aden, and circumcised by force. On this affront, the Abyssinian monarch
raised an army, with which he defeated the sultan and two other Saracen
kings, and took and destroyed the city of Aden. Abyssinia is, rich in gold.
Escier, subject to Aden, is forty miles distant to the south-east, and
produces abundance of fine white frankincense, which is procured by making
incisions in the bark of certain small trees, and is a valuable
merchandize. Some of the people on that coast, from want of corn, use fish,
which they have in great abundance, instead of bread, and also feed their
beasts on fish. They are most abundantly taken in the months of March,
April, and May.
I now return to some provinces more to the north, where many Tartars dwell,
who have a king called Caidu, of the race of Zingis, but who is entirely
independent.
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