The kings of the Indies wear ear-rings of gold, set with precious stones, and they wear collars of great value, adorned with gems of various colours, chiefly green and red; yet pearls are most esteemed, and their value surpasses that of all other jewels, and these they hoard up in their treasuries, with their most precious things. The grandees of their courts, their great officers, and the military commanders, wear similar jewels in their collars. Their dress is a kind of half vest, and they carry parasols made of peacocks feathers to shade them from the sun, and are surrounded by great trains of servants.
Among the Indians, there are certain people who never eat two out of the same dish or even at the same table, on account of some religious opinion. When these come to Siraf, and are invited by our considerable merchants, were there a hundred of them more or less, they must each have a separate dish, without the least communication with the rest. Their kings and principal persons have fresh tables made for them every day, with little dishes and plates wove of the cocoa nut leaf, out of which they eat their victuals. And when their meal is over, the table dishes and plates are all thrown into the water, together with the fragments of their food; so that they must have a fresh service for every meal.
To the Indies the merchants used formerly to carry the dinars, called sindiat, or gold coins of the Sind, which passed there for three of our dinars, or even more. Thither also were carried emeralds from Egypt, which were much used for setting in rings.
CHAPTER V.
Travels of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, through Europe, Asia, and Africa, from Spain to China, between A.D. 1160 and 1173174
This Spanish Jew was the son of Rabbi Jonas, of Tudela, a small town in Navarre. According to the testimony of Rabbi Abraham Zuka, a celebrated professor of astronomy at Salamanca, it is supposed that Rabbi Benjamin travelled from 1160 to 1173. Young Barratier, a prodigy of early literary genius, asserts that Benjamin never made the journey at all, but patched up the whole work from contemporary writers. There is no doubt that his work is full of incredible tales, yet many of the anomalies it contains, may have proceeded from mistakes of copyists; exaggeration was the taste of the times, and other travellers who are believed actually to have travelled, are not behind him in the marvellous. These often relate the miracles of pretended Christian saints, while he details the wonders performed by Jewish Rabbis. He contains however, many curious pieces of information, not to be found anywhere else, and it seems necessary and proper to give a full abstract of his travels in this place.
Travelling by land to Marseilles, Benjamin embarked for Genoa, and proceeded to Rome, from whence he went through the kingdom of Naples to Otranto, where he crossed over to Corfu and Butrinto, and journeyed by land through Greece to Constantinople, having previously visited the country of Wallachia. All this takes up the four first chapters, which are omitted in Harris. In the fifth, he gives an account of the city and Court of Constantinople, as follows: Constantinople is an exceedingly great city, the capital of the Javanites175, or the nation called Greeks, and the principal seat of the emperor Emanuel176, whose commands are obeyed by twelve kings, for every one of whom there are several palaces in Constantinople, and they have fortresses and governments in other places of the empire, and to them the whole land is subject. The principal of these is the Apripus, Praepositus, or prime minister; the second, Mega Dumastukitz (Greek: Mezas Domestichos), or great chamberlain; the third Dominot, Dominos, or lord: but his peculiar office or department does not appear; the fourth Mackducus (Greek: Mezas Dochas), great duke or high Admiral; the fifth Iknomus Megli (Greek: Oichonomos mezas), or lord high steward of the household; and the rest have names like unto these177. Constantinople is eighteen miles in circuit, half of it being on the sea, and the other half towards the continent; it stands on two arms of the sea, into one of which the sea flows from Russia, and into the other from Spain; and its port is frequented by many traders, from the countries and provinces of Babylon, Senaar, Media, Persia, Egypt, Canaan, Russia, Hungary, Psianki178, Buria, Lombardy, and Spain.
The city is extremely populous, and hath none to compare with it, except Bagdat, the mighty city of the Ismaelites179. In it is the magnificent temple of St Sophia, where dwells the patriarch of the Greeks, who do not agree in doctrine with the pope of Rome. This temple contains as many altars as there are days in the year, and it has a revenue beyond all estimation great, from the offerings and riches brought continually from divers countries, islands, forts, castles, and places, so that the wealth of no other temple on earth can be compared to the riches which it contains. In the middle of this temple there are pillars of gold and silver, huge candlesticks, lanterns, lamps, and other ornaments of these precious metals, more than can be reckoned. Close to this temple there is a place set apart for the diversion of the emperor, called the Hippodrome, where great spectacles are represented yearly, on the birth-day of Jesus of Nazareth, in which men in the habits of all the various people of the earth, appear before the emperor and empress, with lions, bears, leopards, and wild asses, which are made to fight together; and in no country on earth are such princely sports to be seen.
Besides the palace left him by his ancestors, Manuel has built one for himself, called Bilbernae180, the pillars and walls of which are overlaid with beaten gold and silver, on which all the wars of his ancestors are represented. In this palace there is a throne of gold and precious stones, over which a golden crown, enriched with precious stones and pearls, is suspended on high, the value of which is beyond computation, and its lustre so great, that it shines, and may be seen in the night. There are other things in this palace of such value and profusion as are quite incredible, and immense tributes are brought yearly into it, by which the towers are filled with scarlet and purple garments and gold, so that the like example of sumptuous buildings, and enormous riches, can nowhere else be found in the world.
It is affirmed, that the revenue of the city only, from its markets, harbour, and tribute of merchants, amount to 20,000 crowns daily. The Greek inhabitants of this city and country are exceedingly rich in gold and jewels, and are sumptuously dressed in crimson garments, intermingled with gold, or splendidly embroidered, and are all carried on horses, as if they were the children of kings. The country itself is very extensive, and abounds with all sorts of fruits, and has great plenty of corn, wine, and cattle of all kinds, and a finer country is nowhere to be found. The people are learned also, and skilful in the philosophy of the Greeks: but giving themselves up entirely to luxury, they eat and drink every man under his own vine, and under his own fig-tree. They have mercenary soldiers, hired from all nations, whom they call Barbarians, to fight against the soldan, king of the children of Togorma, who are commonly called Turks; for the Grecians themselves, through sloth and luxury, have become quite effeminate and unfit for wars, and entirely devoted to pleasure.
No Jews are permitted to dwell in the city, but are obliged to reside in Pera, on the other side of the sea of Sophia, and are not even allowed to come to the city, except in boats, for the sake of commerce. In Pera there are about 2000 Jewish Rabbinists, disciples of the wise men; among whom are Abtalion the Great, Rabbi Abdias, Aaron Cuspus, Joseph Starginus, and Eliakim the governor, who have the chief authority. Besides these, there are 500 Karaites181, who are separated from the Rabbinists by a wall. Among the Jews there are some manufacturers of silken garments, and many very rich merchants. No Jew is permitted to ride on horseback, except Solomon, the Egyptian, who is physician to the Emperor, and through whose interest the Jews are comforted and eased in their captivity, which is very grievous; for they are much hated by the Grecians, who make no distinction between the good and the evil among them, and insult and beat them in the streets. They are worst used by the tanners, who pour out the filthy water in which they have dressed their skins into the streets before their doors. Yet, among the Jews there are some very rich men, as I have said before; good and merciful men, who observe the commandments, and who patiently endure the miseries of the captivity.
175
So named as descended from Javan: the Jewish writers affecting to employ scripture names for modern countries and nations. –E.
177
These names are corrupt orthographies of the Greek titles in the Hebrew. Manuel being an emperor, Benjamin names all his great officers kings. –E.
181
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.