- E. [3] Manuel Comnenes, Who Reigned From 1143 To 1180.

- E.

[4] These names are corrupt orthographies of the Greek titles in the Hebrew. Manuel being an emperor, Benjamin names all his great officers kings. - E.

[5] Psianki may, perhaps, be Poland, and Buria Bavaria. - E.

[6] The Arabs, so called from their supposed ancestor, Ismael. - E.

[7] Perhaps Blachernae. - E.

[8] The Karaites were a sect among the Jews, who confined their observances and religious belief to the precepts of Moses, while the Rabbinists followed all the wild fancies of the Talmud. An excellent account of these sects is to be found in the Lettres Juives, or Jewish Spy, by the Marquis d'Argens. - E.

[9] Perhaps only an exaggerated account of some Jewish independent tribe in Arabia, of which there were once a considerable number, as particularly mentioned in the History of Mahomet. - E.

[10] Probably the Ahwaz, as he seems to have gone from Bassora. - E.

[11] This must be an error in the author, as the Tigris does not come near that city. - E.

[12] This story is told by other Jewish writers, but with some unimportant variations; and there have been many such pretended Messiahs, who persuaded the Jews of the east into revolts, for which consult Basnage, Histoire des Juifs. - Harris.

[13] The whole secret of this miracle may be easily explained. David escaped from prison, and told all the rest of the story to the ignorant and credulous Jews of Omaria, from whom the fable has been handed down to Benjamin and other believing relaters. - E.

[14] Shiraz, about forty miles from which are the ruins of Persepolis. - E.

[15] The distance here is extremely corrupt, and perhaps four months are meant. - E.

[16] The ridiculous impressing of ancient scriptural names for the geographical features of the country, and the nations which inhabited it in his time, and his rambling itinerary, by days journeys, without pointing out the precise direction of the routs, render it next to impossible to investigate the real objects of his observations with any decent chance of success. - E.

[17] This description suits the Calmuks. - E.

[18] Once a great city in the N.W. of Irac-agemi, not far from Cashbin. See Chardin's Travels in Persia, to be found afterwards in this collection. - E.

[19] This island has much puzzled commentators, some of whom have wandered to Ormus in quest of its situation. It is probably the flat country of Assyria, between the Tigris and Euphrates, below Bagdat, which he may have mistaken for an island; or it may refer to the Delta of the Tigris and Ahwas. The extent mentioned in the text does not say whether it is to be understood as the length or circumference of the island. - E.

[20] This must be at or near Bahrein, in the Persian Gulf, famous for its pearl-fishery. - E.

[21] Nisan, the first month of the Jewish year, contains the latter half of our March and former half of April; Tisri is equivalent to half of September and half of October.

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