An Account of the Conversion
of the Ethiopians, out of
Abulpharagius's Ecclesiastical
History.

Alla Sacra Real Ma^tà di Maria Regina d'Inghilterra, Scotia, Francia ed Irlandia.

Sacra Reale Maestà,

NON è conforme all' usanza de' savi d'indirizzar se stessi alla Ma^tà delle Sovrane Regine, con gran preambulo di parole, ò favellare con esso loro à briglia sciolta ; adunque, ciò solo io voglio dire, che con l'innata Benignità sua, ella sia per darmi speranza, che questa Historia spiegante la Bandiera di Christo nostro Signore, non solo sia per esserle grata, ma altre sì p. iiaccettata da lei come un testimonio della mia fedelissima Servitù, sempre mai pronta in cose di maggior momento, ed anche di volersi benignamente degnare di perdonardimi ; sè io sia stato così ardito di dedicar un tal libretto a V. Ma^tà ; sapendo io molto bene, che ancor che una gran Regina non possa sopportare cosa così disdiscevole al suo decoro, come è la prolissità delle soverchie parole ; potrà pur condonare la brevità, Dun obedientissimo ed obsequentissimo Servitore di

V. Mae^tà,     

qual è il suo Vassallo

Dudleio Loftusio.

p. iiiTo the Reader.

READER,

THIS History of the Cross is here translated out of an antient Oriental Manuscript, transmitted about five years since from Aleppo, by Dr. Robert Huntingdon, now Provost of the Colledge of Dublin, unto the Bishops of Fernes and Leighlin, then Provost of the same. It is contained in a Bialogie¹ of Eastern Saints, written in a fair Estrangalar Character, wherein the Aramæans usually write matters of most precious concern. This p. ivCharacter hath been of antient rather than of common use, and after it was once discontinued for the space of an hundred years, was restored (as Gregorius the Maphrinus of the East² saith) in the year 1299. by Mar Johannes Bishop of Carthaman, who learnt it by search and comparing of Manuscripts, and taught it unto his Nephews ; one of whom, Emanuel by name, arrived at the highest perfection in the writing of that Character that ever any one attained unto, as the said Maphrinus in his Ecclesiastical History reports.

In the next place I am to tell p. vthee, that though many pious Historians, and many other primitive Ecclesiastical Authors, who have written the Lives of Saints, and published Narratives of sacred things, were careful to represent undoubted Miracles to Posterity, as the highest motives of Belief, and others have made bold, even to temerity and presumption, in swelling up their History above a due size, with the recital of questionable, if not false and incredible Miracles, seeming by the best construction that can be made of their so doing, to endeavour, under the notion of a pious Cousenage, to obtrude the belief of p. vithem on the credulity of some ignorant Ages not long since past, which are now shamefully discredited by a more discerning Generation, and seem to be exploded by the present Bishop of Rome, who (as is given forth) rates questionable Miracles as false Money, put in to fill the Bag, though it adds little or nothing to the value of the Sum ; but such is the likelihood of this Narrative, so well agreeing with the Consent and Approbation of other authentick Writers, and the Credit of the Author, so sober and grave in what he relates concerning this Subject, that I shall not need to argue for the p. viiBelief of what he delivers ; only this observe, that this Author erects the Scheme of the Cross in a situation as far distant from temerary Superstition, as from disdainful Neglect ; and though the Cross doth not bear in this History so high an Elevation, as it doth in the Romish Ritual, it can give no discontent to that Church, who can find nothing therein blameable ; nor to the Church of England, with whom the Signature of the Cross is of so celebrated a use in the Sacrament of Baptism. It is possible, that they who think the use of the Cross in Baptism superstitious, may be p. viiiapt to exclaim against me, as Popishly inclined ; but I, who have always followed the rule of the Italian Proverb [Fa bene e lascia dire] need not apologize for what I think well done.

Setting forth in what manner it was revealed, and shewed unto men.

PATRONICA, the Wife of Claudius Cæsar, whom Tiberius constituted the second of his Empire, p2having been at Rome, when Simon Cephas resided there, and observing the Miracles and Wonders which he wrought in the Name of Jesus Christ, she renounced the Heathenism of her forefathers, as also the Idols which they had worshiped, and did believe in our Lord Christ, and arose considerately, and descended from Rome to Hierusalem, and her two Sons and one Virgin Daughter accompanied her ; and Hierusalem went out to meet her, and they received her with great Honour : and James was made there a p3Bishop, and Commander in the Church which was built there. And when he heard for what cause the Empress came to Hierusalem, he repaired unto her, at the Court of Herods Palace, where she lodged. And when she saw him, she entertained him gladly with great rejoycing, as she had received Simon Cephas, and he shewed unto her Miracles and wondrous works, as Simon had done : and she said unto him, Shew unto me Golgotha, where Christ was crucified, and the Wood of the Cross whereon Christ p4was hung by the Jews, and the Sepulchre wherein he was laid. James said unto her, Those three things which thou wouldst see, are under the Custody of the Jews, and they keep them shut up from us, and they do not permit us to repair to the place where they are, to pray before the Sepulchre, or at Golgotha, neither will they give us the Wood whereon he was crucified. And moreover, they persecute us, to the end we may not teach the Name of Christ ; and many times they imprison us. p5And when the Empress heard this, she commanded, and they brought before her Honia the Son of Hanan the Priest, and Gorho the Son of Kiphas, and Judah Varibedshalam the Chief of the Jews, and she said unto them, Deliver Golgotha, and the Sepulchre, and the Wood of the Cross unto James, and those who shall accompany him ; and afterwards she went unto the Sepulchre of our Lord, and found therein three Crosses, the one of our Lord, and two of the Thieves : and at the time that she came p6unto the Sepulchre, her Sons being with her, her Virgin Daughter fell down, and died without Pain or Sickness ; and when she saw that her Daughter was dead, she immediately drew nigh, and worshiped, praying in the Sepulchre, and in her Prayer said, Our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for man, and was crucified in this place, and arose, and raised with him many from the dead ; the crucifying Jews, and Gentiles will hear, that I have renounced their Images, and their Worship, and will p7triumph over me, scoffing at me, and will say, these things happened unto her, by reason that she renounced the Gods whom she worshiped, and professed Christ. Thou, O Lord, have a regard unto thy holy Name, that it be not blasphemed in this place. And when she had thus said, her eldest Son came unto her, and said, Hear what I have to say before thy Majesty, that I am so perswaded in my thoughts, that the sudden Death of my Sister was not void of Providence, but that God might be magnified by p8a wonderful act. For behold, we entered into this Sepulchre, and found therein three Crosses, not knowing which of them was the Cross whereon our Saviour was crucified : and I am of opinion, that by the Death of my Sister we shall be able to know which of them it is. Then the Empress (though much afflicted at that time) understood that the Boy had spoken wisely, and rightly, and she took in her hand one of those Crosses, and placed it on the Corps of her Daughter, and said in Prayer, Christ, p9who shewed wonderful Works in this place, if this be thy Cross, shew thy Power, and revive my Daughter ; and let thy Name be glorified, and let thy Worshipers rejoyce, and let thy foes be put to shame. And when she had expected one hour, she took the second Cross and laid it on the Corps, and prayed again. And after she had expected one hour, she took up the third Cross, and as she would have lifted up her eyes to Heaven, and have besought her Lord, and before she spake, as the Wood p10touched her Corps, she revived, and arose immediately. And the Empress, when she saw the Miracle that was done, she magnified the Lord with praises, and commanded that a great and stately Building should be raised over Golgotha, and over the Sepulchre, and that it should be a place for Divine Administration. And the Jews, who rejoyced at first, turned their Joy into Sorrow, and the Report thereof spread it self into remote places, and wheresoever the Apostles had preached it.

p11And when the Empress returned unto Rome, she declared before Claudius the Emperor what things were done ; and he gave command that the Jews should be driven out of Rome, and from the Regions of Italy.

Furthermore also, in the days of Trajan the wicked Emperor, he commanded, that whosoever did assent unto the Doctrine of Christ should receive extreme Punishment ; and the Horn of the Jewish Nation was exalted, and they began to torment the Christians, as p12did their forefathers in the Prophet. And they gathered themselves together against Simon, who was made Bishop in Hierusalem, and they cast their hands upon him, and used him contumeliously ; forasmuch as the people who professed Christ were not yet much multiplied : and the Jews, who tormented Simon, took away the Wood of the Cross of our Saviour (and this Simon was the Son of Cleophas,) and the Jews took counsel to hide it in the earth, that the Christians might not any more worship Christ ; p13and this Simon was the second Bishop that sat in the Church of Hierusalem.

And when they took away the Cross of our Lord, he was necessitated to deliver it unto those Jews, and they digged in the earth about twenty cubits, and hid it, and it was hidden in the Earth from the time that Patronica the Empress gave it unto James the Bishop during the days of fifteen Bishops ; the first of them was this James, the Brother of our Lord, Simon, Justus, Zaccheus, Tobno, Benjamin, John, Matthew, p14Philip, Disincus, Justus, Levi, Ephraim, and the last of the fifteen was Judas, in whose days the Cross ascended the second time from the earth.

Furthermore, it is declared, how Helen the Queen, and the Mother of Constantine the Faithful Emperour, found it in the seventh year of the Reign of Constantine, in the month of the second January, the Forces of the Barbarians were mustered on the Bank of a certain River called Danubie, with design to pass over, and destroy the whole Dominion p15of the Roman Empire ; and the Forces of the Barbarians increasing, Constantine ingaged in battel, and discomfited them ; and on the day of the morning that they were to ingage in battel, at midnight, Constantine saw the Light of the Cross, as glorious as an Angel, brighter than the Sun holding the same, and it illuminated the whole earth, and there were in it Letters of Stars, whose Compaction signified unto him by this sign, Thou shalt overcome. And he awaked, and was much terrified, and reasoned in p16his mind, of which of the Gods is this Sign, and he declared the Vision which he saw unto the wise men of his Empire, and he commanded, that they should make an Ensign like thereunto, and it should be born before him to the Battel, and they did so, and there was a mighty Battel on that day, and the Barbarians turned their backs, and he gave them a great blow, and such as remained of them, he cast them into Chains, and straightway he assembled all the Prelates, and demanded of them, to which p17of the Gods doth this Ensign belong, and they answered, Lord Emperour, this Ensign doth not belong to the terrestrial Gods, whom we worship, but to the Host of God from Heaven ; and the Christians were called at this time Nazarites, and they approached unto the Emperour, and said unto him, Lord Emperour, this Ensign appertains unto Jesus Christ the Son of the living God. And when he heard those words, he sent, and called for Eusebius Bishop of Rome, and was p18instructed by him concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus into the world, and concerning his Conception, and Birth, and Original, his Crucifixion, his Resurrection, and Ascension into Heaven ; and the Emperour believed gladly with his whole heart, and with his whole mind ; and he arose, and was baptized, he, and his Mother, and all his Palace ; and then he perswaded his Mother, and sent her with Eusebius the Bishop, and a great Train of Romans, and he commanded his Mother p19diligently to inquire for the Wood of the Cross, and that she should build a Church in Golgotha : And from the Resurrection of our Saviour, until the second finding of the Cross had passed three hundred & one years, and in the month of August, on the twenty and eighth day thereof, the Empress set forth on her Journey to Hierusalem to inquire after the Wood of the Cross, and that she might leave behind her a Report that should last for ever.

And she entered into p20Hierusalem in great pomp, and she gave commandment, that all the Jews who remained about Hierusalem should be assembled together, and Hierusalem was almost waste ; and about thirty thousand men being assembled, she said unto them, I am taught from Books of the Prophets, that you are the Seed of the Righteous, and that God loved you more than all Nations, and that he was to send unto you his Son, the Splendor of his glory, and the Splendor of his Essence. Ye understood him p21not, but chose Darkness instead of Light ; and therefore choose me from amongst you men, Scribes, and expert in the Law, who may be able to return me an Answer concerning whatsoever thing I shall demand of them, and they departed from before her with great fear, and chose from amongst them about two thousand wise men and Scribes out of the City, and Villages of Judea ; and at their return they came unto the Empress, and said unto her, These are the p22learned men which we have, and are expert in the Law, then she confidently said unto them, Are ye able to inform me of whatsoever thing I shall ask you, lest ye dye a bad Death deservedly by my hand ? Return again, choose for me from amongst you such as are most expert in the Law, and they went and chose one thousand men.

And again, she said unto them, Observe those who are the wisest amongst you, and choose for me thirty men. Have ye not heard what p23Esaias said ? A Child is born unto us, and a Son is given unto us, whose Mother Man hath not known.

And again, David said, I have placed the Lord before me for ever. And moreover Esaias said concerning you, I exalted the Children of the House, and they rebelled against me ; the Ox knoweth his Master, and so forth.

And now behold, ye are preserved from my hand for two hours, observe, and inform me of whatsoever I shall ask you, let the blindness of your forefathers p24suffice ye the Children of Israel, who said of Jesus, He is not God, though the Law and the Prophets testifie of him, that he is God over all. And the Jews answered, and said, We have read the Law and the Prophets, that they might inform us concerning this very thing whereof we have been interrogated by thee, and we have answered unto thee.

And again she perswaded them, saying, Go, and choose for me the wisest amongst you, who know Wisdom ; and they went out from p25before her with fear, and said amongst themselves, What a sad thing is this which the Empress hath cast among us ! and one of them, whose name was Judas, answered and said unto his Brethren, I am of opinion, that this question, which the Empress demands of us concerning the Wood of the Cross, whereon jesus was crucified by our Ancestors, is, that she may be revenged at our hands, and if none shall make it known, she will destroy the Doctrine p26which our forefathers have delivered unto us. For Zaccheus, who was Priest to Simon my Father, informed him of this thing, and my Father also when he was dying said, I know, my Son, that when the time shall come, that the Cross, whereon Jesus was hung, shall be inquired after, thou art to reveal, and to give information thereof, lest it destroy thee : For the Kingdom of the Hebrews will fail, and afterwards the Empire of those who shall worship him who was hung p27upon the Cross shall prevail, and this shall govern the World.

And I said unto my Father, If therefore you knew that he was Christ, wherefore did our forefathers lay hands upon him, and crucifie him ? And he answered me, I knew well, my Son, that I never agreed in opinion with them, but at all times opposed them who did not believe in him. And I know, that when they crucified him, took him down, and laid him in the Sepulchre, he p28arose the third day, and shewed himself to his Disciples, and that for this cause Stephen, the Brother of my Father, believed in him, and began to teach the Jews in the Name of Jesus, and for this reason they layed snares to intrap him, and they condemned him to be stoned to death, and he stretched forth his hands unto Heaven, and said, My Lord receive my Spirit, and lay not this Sin to their charge. And these words my Father Simon commanded me to declare unto p29Zaccheus his Priest, and This Zaccheus was the Nicodemus who came to Jesus by night, and Stephen was his Companion. And behold, I submit all these things unto you ; If the Empress shall interrogate us concerning the Cross, what will ye that I say unto her ? They said unto him, These words which thou speakest, we have not heard from any but from thy self ; and if the question shall be concerning the Cross, thou knowest better than all of us, and thou also art informed of the place.

p30And when they had said thus, the Souldiers followed them, and said, Arise, come away, for the Empress inquires for you : and when they came, they stood before her, and she interrogated them concerning many things, and they said not unto her any thing that was true ; wherefore she commanded that they shou'd be cast into a fiery Furnace, and they out of fear took hold of Judas, and presented him unto her, and they said, This man was the Son of a Prophet, and he is just, p31and more skilful in the Law than we are, and he will inform thee concerning whatsoever thou shalt desire ; for in this we shall all be Witnesses against him. Then she commanded, that all should be dismissed, and that Judas only should be apprehended : and the Empress said unto him, There are placed before thee Death and Life, and choose which of them thou wilt. Judas answered, What man is there, or what person is there, who having Bread set before him, will take a p32Stone, and eat instead thereof ? And the Empress said unto him, If therefore thou wouldst live in the Earth, or Heaven, tell me where they have hidden the Cross of Christ. Judas said, as ancient Memorials declare, this thing was done about two hundred years since, more or less, and we being Children of this time, from whence should we know it ?

The Empress said unto him, Behold, thou hast confessed before me, that ye have Books of Memorials p33touching these things.

Judas said unto her, I did not speak of my self before they Majesty, and this History may be known out of Books, but we have no Histories.

And the Empress said, We have the Word of Truth in the Gospel which accurately declared where he was crucified ; but do thou only shew me the place which is called Golgotha ; and I will command, by my Power, the discovery of the particular place ; and I am confident, that I shall p34obtain the desire, by which I shall live.

Judas said, Neither do I know that place.

The Empress said unto him, I know, that unless thou wilt confess, and speak the truth unto me, I will take away thy Life by the torment of Hunger and thirst. And she commanded, that they should cast him into a dry Pit, and keep him for the space of seven days, without giving him any Meat.

Then after seven days Judas cried out with a loud p35voice, and said, Raise me out of this pit, and I will shew you the place where the Cross of Christ is.

Then the Empress commanded, and they took him out, and he went to the very place, although he was not well assured that it was there.

And Judas raised his voice in the Hebrew tongue, and said, Lord, who made Heaven and Earth at his beck, if it be thy pleasure, that Jesus the Son of Mary should reign, perform for us this Miracle, as thou didst hear p36Moses thy Servant, & didst shew unto him the Bones of Joseph ; so shew unto us this hidden Treasure, and cause to ascend from this place a perfume of rich Odour, that I also may believe in the Cross of thy Christ, and may declare that he is a King for ever.

And when Judas prayed, straightway there was thunder in that place, and much Incense of Aromaticks evaporated on every side, and great wonder took hold on Judas, and he clapped his hands together, and lifted p37up his voice, and said, Thou art truly Christ the Redeemer of the World, I beg of thee, O Christ, make me equal, and join me, and bring me to thy Servant Stephen my Brother.

And when Judas had said these words, he took up Iron, and he feared as Abraham did, and he began to digg, and then he caused those who were commanded by the Empress to draw nigh, and when they descended about twenty cubits, they found three Crosses hidden, and Judas took p38them up, and brought them to the faithful Empress.

Then she said unto him, Which of them is the Cross of our Lord ? He said, I do not know ; then she laid them in the middle of the City, and when she expected to see in them the Glory of God, and it being the ninth hour of that day, behold, there was a young man dead, whom they carried on a Bier, going to his Sepulchre, and when he saw this, he immediately rejoyced, and said unto them, Now, my Lady, thou shalt p39see the Power of the Cross, and the Glory that is hid therein. Then he made them to let down the bier, and he took up every one of the Crosses, and laid them on the Bier, and when the third Cross came to be placed on the Corps, the young man arose immediately. Then Satan, the enemy, cryed with a loud voice, and said, Who is this, which doth not permit me to take those Souls that are mine ? Wo is me by reason of thee, Jesus the Nazarene ! and for that thou hast revealed p40against me thy Cross which was hidden : Wo is me from thee, Judas ! what is this that thou hast done against me ? formerly thou madest the world to sin by the hand of Judas, and now by the hand of Judas, behold I am persecuted from hence. I know what I will do unto thee, thou great Persecutor : For behold, another Emperour shall arise, who will forsake the Cross, and will fulfil and perform my words, and I will deliver thee into his hands, and he shall bring down upon p41thee dreadful Judgments, and thou out of bitter Torment shalt renounce him that was crucified.

Then Judas was comforted by the Holy Ghost, and said, He who raised the dead will preserve me from the infernal depth of flaming Fire.

And when the Empress heard these words, she admired the Power of God, and the true Faith of Judas, and strictly gave order concerning the Wood of the Cross, and she caused to p42be made for it a Chest of Silver, and put it therein, and deposited it in that Church which was built in Golgotha : And she called for Eusebius Bishop of Rome, and he gave unto Judas the signature of Baptism, and called him by the baptismal name of Kuriacus, and laid upon him the Hand of a Bishop, and placed him in the City of Hierusalem ; and then Helen the Empress commanded, that the Jews, who did not believe in Christ, should be persecuted, ,and at that time the p43Jews were driven from the land of Hierusalem.

Moreover, Kuriacus made great inquisition concerning the Nails of the Cross, and he prayed unto God, and there appeared unto him a glorious Sign, like Lightening, on the place of the Cross, and the nails appeared in the Dust ; and he approached with reverence, and took them up, and presented them to the faithful Empress, and she resolved in her mind, to make of them an p44Ornament for the Emperours Armour, and for the Bridle of his Horse ; and she sent for a skilful Artificer, of a good report, and said unto him, Take these Nails, and make a Signiture on the Emperours Armour, and on the Bridle of his Horse, that it may be a Preservative for the Emperour ; for it behooved, that this Writing of the Prophet should be fulfilled, that there shall be at that time on the Horses Bridle holiness to the Lord Almighty.

p45Then Hellen the faithful Empress reigned in Hierusalem, and commanded, that there should be a Commemoration of the Cross on the fourteenth of September.

The History concerning the Finding of the Holy Cross is finished, according as we are able.

Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy ghost now, and for ever and ever. Amen.

p46It³ is thought fit, as well for the satisfying of the Curious, as for the filling up of blank Paper, to give the following Account of the Conversion of the Ethiopians, as it is found in Abulpharagius his Ecclesiastical History, and translated by D. L. J. utriusque Dr.

AT this time a certain orthodox Presbyter named Julianus, and a Minister of Pope Dionysius Alexandrinus,⁴ had so great a zeal of p47affection to the Ethiopick Nation of Nubida, that he endeavoured to convert them to the Faith ; and they being then Gentiles, and very troublesom to the Roman Provinces, which when he had signified unto Theodora the Faithful Empress, he affected her with very great joy, and she declared the matter to the Emperour, and besought him that he would be so solicitous with her for the sending of Julianus thither ; but the Emperour was more desirous to send the Bishop of Chalcedon on that Errand, and p48designed Nuntioes, furnished with Gifts and Pomp, to the King of the Nubidians ; which when the Empress perceived, she sent Julianus with speed, and wrote an Epistle to Docus Thebidensis of this tenor ;

I and the King have determined with our selves to send Nuntioes unto the Nubidian Nation ; and behold, I, for my part, have sent Julianus, and the Emperor he is to send others with greater solemnity of Pomp ; but have you a care that this my Nuntio may have first access, and make way for them.

p49And Docus having read the Queens Letter, did as she commanded him, and stayed the Kings Embassadors until Julianus came, who presented the Letter of the Queen, and baptized the King & his Nobles, and informed them of the Schism which the Chalcedonians had made, and of the injuries wherewith they had affected holy men ; how also they had determined a new Creed different from the Nicene : And the Emperors Embassadors being arrived, with Letters and Presents, dehorted the p50Nubidienses, that they should not adhere to banished and condemned persons ; unto whom the King and his Nobles made answer, We have received this Honour from the Emperor, and we shall return double Honour unto him : nor will we adhere to Persecutors, nor calumnious men : but forasmuch as we have already received holy Baptism by the Ministry of this excellent man, we will not admit any other : and so the whole Nation of the Chushites was instructed in the Orthodox Faith, and p51subjected themselves to the See of Alexandria.⁵ And this Julianus remained for the space of two years,⁶ preaching from the third hour to the tenth, vested in a Linnen Surplice ; he stood in subterraneal Caves abounding with water, and baptized there ; for that there were not to be found pure waters above them.

F I N I S.

NOTES

1. I.e., biology: or biography. The earliest OED citation of biology is 1813; there is no entry nor citation for the word with this meaning (nor of the "biologist" of the title page, for that matter). But here it be.

2. Bar-Hebraeus was made Maphrian or Primate of the East in 1264.

3. The catchword Who on page 45 is obviously a mistake, although it invites interesting speculation.

4. Pope (St.) Dionysius and Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria were roughly contemporaries; both died in the 260s. Theodora (if she be the famous Theodora), on the other hand, lived in the sixth century. Her Christianity took the form of Monophysitism, which remains the form of the majority of Ethiopic Christianity. The contest between Theodora and Justinian, whose Christianity was orthodox, is realistic enough. The Council of Chalcedon referred to later took place in the fifth century and dealt in large part with the questions of Nestorianism and Monophysitism, but its condemnation of Monophysitism was regarded with suspicion (or worse) in the East.

5. Which is still the case; the Ethiopian Church is subject to the (Coptic) See of Alexandria.

6. Procopius describes the embassy of one Julian quite differently, De bello Persico, here in the English translation of Holcroft (1653), Book I, chap. XVI:

During the raignes of Helisthæus [described earlier as "a devout Christian"] and Esimiphæus, Justinian sent his Ambassadour Julian, to desire their confederacie against the Persians (the Romans, and they consenting in one religion) and that the Ethiopians would make themselves masters of a rich trade, by dealing with the Indians for their silke, and selling it to the Romans, who should have this onely advantage therein, that they should carry out their mony to their enemies for it. Of this silke are made the anciently called Persian, now Serick, or silke garments. The Homerites were prayed also to make chiefetaine of the Maadepi Saracens, one Caisus, a banisht man (who having kill'd a kinsman of Esimiphæus, was fled into a wilderness, being of the race of the Phylarchi, and a very good Souldier) and that together with those Saracens, they would invade the Persians. Both dismist the Ambassador with promise to effect the Emperours desires, but neither performed it ; the Ethiopians not being able to buy the silke ; because the Persian Merchants ever come first to the havens, where the Indians unlade, being their next borderers, and buy up all. And he Homerites thought it hard, to travell through a desert, many dayes journy, to fight with a people more warlike then themselves. Afterward Abramus having setled his Kingdome, promised oft to Justinian, but onely once began the journey, and turned home againe. Thus the Romans spedd with these people.

James Eason

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