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.

[ B] ¶ The Qualitie.

SPeaking generally of the realme of Marocco, it abounds in corne, fruit, oyle, honie, [ XVI] wax, sugar, and goats haire, whereof they make chamlets, and goat skinnes, which being dressed, they call Marroquins, of the name of the countrie where they are made. It is waterd by the riuers of Tensist, and Ommirabili, which comes from Mount Atlas; but that of Tensist ••lowes out of the territorie of Marocco, and receiues the riuers of Si∣femel and Naffi, and as for Ommirabili, she hath her spring in very high mountaines, whereas the prouince of Tedle confines with the realme of Fez.

[ C] But to speake something in particular of the qualitie of this countrie, being not all of one sort, you must vnderstand that the prouince of Hee is rough, stonie, full of moun∣taines, and hath much wood, and yet there are many vallies, and little riuers; so as it abounds with barley, millet, and honie, where with the inhabitants liue: they make no ac∣count of their wax, neither haue they any wheat. There is a kind of fruit which they call Arga, like vnto oliues, but the tree is thornie, and of this fruit they make oyle of small price, the which they vse to dresse their meates with, and to put in their lampes. There is store of venison, as stags, wild goats, and hares. In the mountaine of Demensera, which is a part of Mount Atlas, there is store of yron. Masticke and box trees grow very great, and there is aboundance in these mountaines.

[ D] In the countrie of Suz, and along that coast, they find great store of fine amber, and the soile of the towne of Tejeut is far, fertile, and abounding in barley,, wheat, and other graine. There growes store of sugar, which the inhabitants cannot boile nor refine, and therefore it is blacke. They haue gold, and some little siluer, and there they dresse their Marroquin skins, which we call Spanish leather. Neere vnto Tarudant the inhabitants haue their pasture for the feeding of their cattell. The soile of the towne of Teldsi is fer∣tile in graine, sugar, and wood. There come goodly figs, peaches, and dates out of the countrie of Suz, for that in many places there are store of palme trees, but the dates are of no great price. There are mines of gold in the mountaine of Halem, for which cause the inhabitants are continually in war.

[ E] The prouince of Marocco abounds in all sorts of graine, cattell, fruits, and good wa∣ter: but the mountaines which are very cold are also barren, so as their growes little but barley; yet there are few, and all this prouinces is in a manner a continued plaine, as Leo Affricanus doth witnesse.

Guzule yeelds great store of barley, and feeds much cattell: there are also mines of yron and brasse.

As for Ducale, some part of the countrie is good, but it is all they can do to entertain the inhabitants with that it yeelds. There is a lake neere to the greene mountaine, which doth feed the whole countrie with fish.

Hascora abounds wonderfully in oyle and goats, whose haire they imploy for the making of chamlets, and their skins for leather. The fields are very fruitfull, and there are [ F] many orchards full of all sorts of fruits: orange trees grow wonderfully, and the vines beare red grapes as big as walnuts. There is store of honie, and goodly ••igs, and there are some mines of yron.

The Champian countrie of Tedles yeelds all good things necessatie for the life of man,

and the bill•• abound in batley, and feed great heards of goats. [ A]

As f•••• the realme of Fez, the aire in some places is very temperate, and in others 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••••oublesome. For although the countrie be altogether rough, and hath in many pla∣•••••••••• cold mountaines, and some desarts: yet to consider it in generall, it is very fruit∣•••••••• ••ut in one place more than another; for it abounds so in corne, and fruit, as in that ••espect, it yeelds to few others. There are many vines, and oliue trees, and great store of ••gges, almonds, and c••tton. It feeds great numbers cattell of all sorts: likewise there are many horses, cammells, goats, and hares. But let vs examine in particular all these prouinces.

The prouince of Fez is altogether plaine, and the aire is very temperate. There are [ B] great store of horses, and such numbers of weathers, ewes, and such like, as it not only hath sufficient for her owne prouision, but doth also furnish all the mountaines of Gumera. There are few forrests, and yet there are many wild goats and hares: and there growes 〈◊〉〈◊〉 of cotton.

In the prouince of Temesne, which is in a manner all plaine, and fruitfull, there is along the riuer of Odera great and thicke forrests full of Lyons, the which are the fier∣cest in all Africke; so as they of Tefelfelt dare not go abroad but in great troupes, and trauellers which are sometimes forced to lie in the field all night, intrench themselues, and also they doe keepe a guard vpon necessitie, if they will not be deuoured by these beasts. [ C]

The prouince of Azgar is great and fertile, seated in a large plaine. They of Gumera draw their victualls out of this countrie. This prouince is very pleasing, and the aire wholesome. There grows store of cotton, and it hath like commodities to the prouince of Tez.

As for the countrie of Elhabat, it is wonderfull fertile, and yeelds all sorts of fruit: yet the soile about Tanger is not very good, but in certaine places where the find some foun∣taines, and make gardens, the rest is nothing but sand.

There are many mountaines, and among others, eight, that is to say, Rabona, Bemifen∣seca••e, Beniharos, Chebib, Benichessen, Angera, Quadrez, and Beniguedarfeth, which are exceeding fertile; and among the mountaines of this countrie there are some excec∣ding [ D] high, and of hard accesse.

The countrie of Erif, is altogether rough, and full of cold mountaines, where there are great desarts stored with thicke trees, the which are exceeding faire and straight. It yeelds no wheat, but there is aboundance of vines, figges, oliues, and almonds. There are few oxen and sheepe, but it hath great numbers of goats, asses, and apes.

The countrie of Garet is drie, sandie, and vnpleasant, and in a maner like to the desarts of Numidia, and these desarts are wholy without water. There are many wild beasts of diuers sorts, so as trauellers dare not passe that way but in great troupes. The mountaine of Sahid which is in this countrie, abounds with yron and ba••ley, and in the mountaine of Guardan there are many horses. [ E]

As for Chauz, the countrie for the most part is rough and stonie, and there are many desarts. The mountaine of Dubdu is exceeding fertile, by reason of the great number of fountains which flow from thence: but this fertilitie extends but to gardens, for that they of Dubdu are forced to fetch their other victualls out of the territorie of Tezze, whereas they find very good wines, and aboundance of all things necessarie.

In the mountaine of Magara, which is neere vnto Tezze, there are many woods, and a soi••e, which yeelds store of graine, flax, oyle, and troupes of cattell, especially goats. In the mountaine of Gauara they find great store of leopards and apes in the woods and elsewhere, and there growes aboundance of wheat and barley. Vpon Mount Baronis, there growe grapes, but the inhabitants which drinke no wine haue no care to multiplie [ F] their vines. The mountaine of Guertenage is high & difficult, but it abounds with corne, 〈…〉〈…〉, cytrons, and quinces. Vpon the mountaine of Gueblen, there lies snow conti∣ti••••••••y. That of Iefferen is full of yron mines, but there growes not any thing for the nour•••••••••••••• of man. The mountaine of Selelgo hath store of pine trees and fountaines,

[ A] and it is full of Lyons, Leopards, and Apes. Vpon Mount Beni Merasen, there are many Asses, and Horses, which is the cause they haue such numbers of Mules.

But to conclude this point, and to say all that concernes the qualitie of these two realmes, hauing considered the one and the other, it shalbe conuenient to shew in grosse, all that is necessarie for a generall knowledge of both together.

I say therefore, that all the countrie which is inuironed by Mount Atlas, is more sub∣ject to cold than heat, and that there is sufficient of fruit and graine, except wheat; but they haue little good water. Mount Atlas is cold, and alwaies couered with snow, and the valleys which lye neere vnto it, are verie fertile, but more towards the Ocean than the Mediterranean Sea. In these countries, the cold begins in October, but more by raine [ B] than frosts, and they haue no cold but in the morning.

The weather is inconstant in Februarie, and the winds are verie strong and loud in the moneth of March, yet verie necessarie for the corne and trees. But in April, all things grow; so as in middle May, they eat ripe figges, and in Iune, grapes, and betwixt Iune and Iulie, apples, peares, plums, and such like fruit, are in their season, and maturitie. In the time of October, they gather quinces, pomegranets, and certaine apples, and in No∣uember, oliues. From the end of Februarie vnto May, the weather is exceeding faire; yet if it raine not from the fiue and twentieth of Aprill vntill the fift of May, they haue no hope of any good yeare, and the inhabitants call this raine, Nasan, as one should say, Ho∣lie water. Sommer is exceeding hot, the time being alwayes cleare; but if it chaunce to [ C] raine, that water is nothing wholsome, but causeth strange feauers, whereof many dye. The diseases which ordinarily raigne in these countries, are these, paines in the head, teeth, and stomach, scurse in children, colliques, the sciatica, and gout, and they are all subject to be scabbed; and which is worse, the great pox are so ordinarie among them, as there is not any towne in Barbarie, whereas most of the inhabitants haue not beene touched therewith.