After Various Vicissitudes Hakeddin, The Son
Of Ahmed, Obtains The Mastery In Aufat, Defeats Saif Arad Completely, And
Founds A City In Shoa Called Vahal, Which Superseded Aufat Or Ifat.
Here
the Sabreddin of Makrizi appears to be identical with Amda Zion's
governor in Bruce's story, whilst the Hakeddins belong to two different
generations of the same family.
But Makrizi does not notice the wars of
Amda Zion any more than the Abyssinian Chronicles notice the campaign
recorded by Marco Polo.
(Bruce, vol. III. and vol. IV., pp. 23-90, and Salt's Second Journey to
Abyssinia, II. 270, etc.; both these are quoted from French versions
which are alone available to me, the former by Castera, Londres, 1790,
the latter by P. Henry, Paris, 1816; Fr. Th. Rink, Al Macrisi, Hist.
Rerum Islamiticarum in Abyssinia, etc., Lugd. Bat. 1798; Rueppell,
Dissert. on Abyss. Hist. and Chronology in his work on that country;
Quat. Makr. II. 122-123; Quat. Mem. sur l'Egypte, II. 268, 276.)
NOTE 6. - The last words run in the G.T.: "Il ont singles de plosors
maineres. Il ont gat paulz (see note 2, ch. xxiii. supra), et autre
gat maimon si devisez qe pou s'en faut de tiel hi a qe ne senblent a vix
d'omes." The beautiful cocks and hens are, I suppose, Guinea fowl.
[We read in the Si Shi ki: "There is (in Western Asia) a large bird,
above 10 feet high, with feet like a camel, and of bluish-grey colour. When
it runs it flaps the wings. It eats fire, and its eggs are of the size of a
sheng" (a certain measure for grain). (Bretschneider, Med. Res., I. pp.
143-144.) Dr. Bretschneider gives a long note on the ostrich, called in
Persian shutur-murg (camel-bird), from which we gather the following
information: "The ostrich, although found only in the desert of Africa and
Western Asia, was known to the Chinese in early times, since their first
intercourse with the countries of the far west. In the History of the Han
(T'sien Han shu, ch. xcvi.) it is stated that the Emperor Wu-ti, B.C.
140-186, first sent an embassy to An-si, a country of Western Asia,
which, according to the description given of it, can only be identified
with ancient Parthia, the empire of the dynasty of the Arsacides. In this
country, the Chinese chronicler records, a large bird from 8 to 9 feet high
is found, the feet, the breast, and the neck of which make it resemble the
camel. It eats barley. The name of this bird is ta ma tsio (the bird of
the great horse). It is further stated that subsequently the ruler of An-si
sent an embassy to the Chinese emperor, and brought as a present the eggs
of this great bird. In the Hou Han shu, ch. cxviii., an embassy from
An-si is mentioned again in A.D. 101. They brought as presents a lion and a
large bird.
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