The estates, empires, & principallities of the world Represented by ye description of countries, maners of inhabitants, riches of prouinces, forces, gouernment, religion; and the princes that haue gouerned in euery estate. With the begin[n]ing of all militarie and religious orders. Translated out of French by Edw: Grimstone, sargeant at armes.

¶ The Forces. [ A]

[ X] THe people subiect to this Monarch are not very valiant, both for that he holds them as slaues, as also by reason they want the generositie of courage which makes men apt to armes, and hardie, and resolute in daungers; so as they seeme to haue their hands continually bound by the respect they beare vnto their prince, and the feare they haue of him: as also for that they haue no defensiue armes, but some paltrie headpeeces, and shirts of maile, wherewith the Portugals haue furnisht them. We must adde here∣unto the great want of forts, for that these people hauing neither strong places to re∣tire [ B] themselues vnto, nor armes wherewithall they should defend themselues, remaine a pray to their enemies. Their offensiue armes are arrowes without feathers, and the zagay, or launce like a pike. Moreouer, they haue a Lent of fiftie daies, which doth so extenuat and weaken them, by reason of their great abstinence during that time, as they haue not force to go nor moue for many daies after. This makes the Moores to watch their opportunitie, and to assaile them with great aduantage. And for that, as we haue said, there are no places of note found in all Presbiter Iohns countrie, in regard of their strength or otherwise, the Portugals discoursing sometimes with the Abyssins, haue told them, that it were better) to auoid the great spoiles which the Mahometans and some other Idolaters do continually make in those countries, carrying away both goods [ C] and men (that their prince should build townes and castles, and fortifie them with ditches, walles, and other things necessarie to make a place defensiue: whereunto they haue aunswered, that the power of their Neguz doth not consist in walles of stone, but in the armes of his people. Francis Aluares doth write, that this Monarch may raise a great many hundred thousands of men: yet it hath not beene seene in his greatest necessitie, that he hath drawne together such great numbers. He hath a militarie religi∣on, vnder the protection of Saint Anthonie, to the which euery father of a familie that is a gentleman must appoint one of his sonnes if he haue three, but not the el∣dest; and of these they make about the number of twelue thousand horse, the which are appointed for the kings guard. The end of this religion, is to defend the frontires [ D] of this Empire, and to make head against the enemies of the faith. Finally, Presbiter Iohn confines with three potent and mightie princes, whereof the one is the king of Bourne, the other the Turke, and the third the king of Adel. The king of Bourne doth commaund in that countrie, the which doth extend from Guangale towards the East about fiue hundred miles, betwixt the desarts of Set and Barca, the which countrie is vnequally diuided into plaines and mountaines. The king of Bourne hath a great number of subiects, the which he doth charge with no other impositions than the tenth of their fruits. Their trade is to steale, and robbe their neighbours, and to make them slaues, and then to exchange them for horses with the merchants of Barbarie. He hath vnder him many kingdomes, and doth much annoy the Abyssins, taking all that [ E] he finds in their mines, and carrying away the men captiues. These people fight alto∣gether on horsebacke à la genette, with short stirrops: they vse lances with two heads, zagays, and arrowes, and they enuade the countrie sodenly, sometimes of one side, som∣times of another; but these may rather be called theeues and muderers, than enemies.

The Turke which confines with the Abyssins vpon the East, and the king of Adel which enuirons their countrie betwixt the East and the South, infest Presbiter Iohn much, and haue restrained the bounds of his Empire, and reduced this countrie to great miserie: fo•• besides that the Turkes haue spoiled a part of Barnagas, whereas they entred in the ye••re 1558, and were repulsed, yet they haue taken from Presbiter Iohn, all that he held along the coast, and especially, the ports of Suaquem, and Ercocco, at which two pla∣ces, [ F] the mountaines which lie betwixt the Abyssins countrie, and the Red sea, open to make passage for trafficke betwixt the Abyssins & Arabians: and not long since, the king of Ba••nagas was forced to make an accord with the Turke, and to purchase a peace of him, paying a yearely tribute of a thousand ounces of gold. But he receiues no lesse

[ A] losse by the king of Adel, who confines with the realme of Fatigar, and commaunds vn∣to the Red Sea, where he hath Assam, Salir, Met, Barbora, Bidar, and Zelle. There ar∣riue at Barbora, many vessells from Aden, and Cambaia, with their merchandise to ex∣change, for the which they receiue store of flesh, and victualls, honie, and wax for Aden: much gold, juorie, and other things for Cambaia: and they also draw much victualls from Zeila, for that there is aboundance of honie, and wax, store of graine, and diuers fruits which they lade to carrie to Aden, and other places of Arabia; then cattell, especi∣ally certaine sheepe, whose tailes weigh fiue and twentie pounds or more, hauing the head and necke blacke, and all the rest white, and certaine others which are all white, ha∣uing [ B] long tailes, and crooked like vnto the stocke of a vine, with a necke hanging downe like vnto a bull. There are certaine kyne which haue hornes branched like vnto a stagge. There are some blacke, and others redd, hauing one horne in the forehead, a foot and a halfe long, bending backward. The chiefe towne of this realme is Arar, eight and thirtie leagues from Zeila, lying South-East. The king of this countrie, who is a Mahometan, by a perpetuall vow to make warre against the Christians of Presbiter Iohns countries, hath purchased himselfe the name of Holie among the Barbarians. He attends vntill the Abyssins are growne weake and consumed, by that long and strict fast of fiftie daies; and whenas they are scarce able to doe any necessarie businesse in their houses, he enters the countrie, spoyles the villages, carries away many Abyssins captiues, and commits a thou∣sand outrages. The Abyssin slaues are of great profit out of their countrie: wherefore [ C] princes doe much esteeme them, and among others, these slaues, by meanes of their indu∣strious seruice, are growne free and rich in Arabia, Cambaia, Bengala, and Sumatra: for that the Mahometan princes of the East, being all tyrans, of the realmes vsurped from idolaters, cannot trust their subjects, when they seeke to assure their Estates, but they make themselues strong by the multitude of slaues that be strangers, to whom they com∣mit the guard of their persons, and the gouernement of the realme. Among all the sorts of slaues, the Abyssins are most esteemed, by reason of their great fidelitie, and their good complection. And for that the king of Adel, by the great number of prisoners which he tooke in the countries of Presbiter Iohn, did fill Aegypt and Arabia with slaues [ D] of that nation, receiuing in exchange, armes, munition, and souldiers, from the Turke, and princes of Arabia: Claudius, king of the Abyssins, finding himselfe prest, in the yeare of our Lord God 1550, by Gradaamed king of Adel, who had much annoyed him by the space of foureteene yeares, by his continuall incursions; and seeing himselfe forced to abandon the frontiers, and to retire into the heart of his Estates, he demaunded succours of Stephen de Gama, Lieutenant to Iohn the third, king of Portugall, at the Indies, who was then in the Red Sea, with a good armie. Gama sent Christopher his brother vnto him with foure hundred Portugalls, and a good number of Harquebuzes, and other armes. With these he defeated his enemie twice, by reason of the aduauntage of his shot: but in the third battaile, the king of Adel hauing receiued a thousand Turkish Harquebuziers, [ E] from the Gouernor of Zebit, with ten pieces of ordnance, the Abyssins were put to rout, and many of the Portugals slaine vpon the place. But the king of Adel hauing sent backe his Turkes, he was sodenly set vpon neere vnto the riuer of Zeila, and to Mount Sanal by king Claudius, who had sixtie thousand foot, fiue thousand Abyssin horses, and the Portu∣gals which remayned of the last defeat, whereof one of them wounded Gradaamed verie ••ore. But in the yeare of our Redemption 1559, king Claudius comming to fight with the Moores, was slaine vpon the field, and the king of his enemies did triumph vpon an Asse. He had for successour Adamas his brother, against whom (for that he was halfe a Mahometan) a great part of the Abyssin nobilitie reuolted; so as the viceroy of Barna∣gas defeated him, in the yeare of our Lord God 1562: but the affaires of Aethiopia wa∣uering [ F] thus for a time, they were soone after restored vnder Alexander, by the helpe of the Portugals, who brought them offensiue and defensiue armes, and stirred vp the spirits and courages of the Abyssins by their example in the warre: for all they that remained of the defeat of Christopher de Gama, and many others which haue come since, are setled and married there: so as they haue brought in our order and discipline of warre, the vse of

armes, and the manner how to fortifie the countrie, and places of importance. Some [ A] Florentines haue also trauelled into this countrie, partly through curiositie, and partly for traffique.

The Emperour of the Abyssins doth vse to cherish and giue kind entertainement to the Francs (so they call all the people of Europe) and will hardly suffer them to go out of his countrie, when they are once entred. Presbiter Iohn hath many enemies, besides those of whom we haue made mention; as the king of Dancali, to whom belongs the port of Suela, vpon the Red Sea. Moreouer, the Moores, which are in the prouince of Dobe, diuided into foureteene Seigneuries, doe much annoy him: for although they remaine within the confines of Fresbiter Iohns countrie, yet they reuolt often. There [ B] is a law among them, that no man may marrie vntill he hath slaine twelue Christians. In our time, this great prince tooke the king of Mozambique in battaile. He put to rout the Queene of Bersaga, at the Cape of good Hope; defeated Termides prince of the Ne∣gros, towards the West; and vanquished the king of Manicongo, which is right against the Island of S. Thomas, vnder the Equinoctiall lyne; and afterwards, one of his Cap∣taines put Azamur, Basha to the great Turke at Suaquem, thrice to rout, and in the third, he tooke his sonne prisoner, and cut off his head, taking from him many peeces of ordnance.

He holds Aegypt in great feare, and many Arabian princes, by reason of the water which he may take from them, for the which they pay him tribute. He may famish [ C] Aegypt, as Pope Pius the second and other Authours write, taking from it the riuer of Nile: the which the Abyssins know well; but they say, they forbeare to doe it, least the Turkes should ruine the Holie Sepulchre of our Lord and Sauiour Christ. To con∣clude all in a word, there is no doubt-but if Presbiter Iohn had men out of Europe, which could fortifie his countries in diuers places, fill it with armes after our manner, and in∣struct the Abyssins, and traine them in our kind of fighting; he should not onely be able to chase the Turke out of all the countries which his predecessours held in old time, but also to giue a law to all his neighbours that assaile him; considering the great aboun∣dance of gold, and siluer, that he hath, and also the great numbers of men that liue in his kingdomes and territories. [ D]