CONCERNING THE PROVINCE OF ADEN.
You must know that in the province of ADEN there is a Prince who is called
the Soldan. The people are all Saracens and adorers of Mahommet, and have
a great hatred of Christians. There are many towns and villages in the
country.
This Aden is the port to which many of the ships of India come with their
cargoes; and from this haven the merchants carry the goods a distance of
seven days further in small vessels. At the end of those seven days they
land the goods and load them on camels, and so carry them a land journey
of 30 days. This brings them to the river of ALEXANDRIA, and by it they
descend to the latter city. It is by this way through Aden that the
Saracens of Alexandria receive all their stores of pepper and other
spicery; and there is no other route equally good and convenient by which
these goods could reach that place.[NOTE 1]
And you must know that the Soldan of Aden receives a large amount in
duties from the ships that traffic between India and his country,
importing different kinds of goods; and from the exports also he gets a
revenue, for there are despatched from the port of Aden to India a very
large number of Arab chargers, and palfreys, and stout nags adapted for
all work, which are a source of great profit to those who export them.
[NOTE 2] For horses fetch very high prices in India, there being none bred
there, as I have told you before; insomuch that a charger will sell there
for 100 marks of silver and more. On these also the Soldan of Aden
receives heavy payments in port charges, so that 'tis said he is one of
the richest princes in the world.[NOTE 3]
And it is a fact that when the Soldan of Babylon went against the city of
Acre and took it, this Soldan of Aden sent to his assistance 30,000
horsemen and full 40,000 camels, to the great help of the Saracens and the
grievous injury of the Christians. He did this a great deal more for the
hate he bears the Christians than for any love he bears the Soldan of
Babylon; for these two do hate one another heartily.[NOTE 4]
Now we will have done with the Soldan of Aden, and I will tell you of a
city which is subject to Aden, called Esher.
NOTE 1. - This is from Pauthier's text, which is here superior to the G.T.
The latter has: "They put the goods in small vessels, which proceed on a
river about seven days." Ram. has, "in other smaller vessels, with
which they make a voyage on a gulf of the sea for 20 days, more or less,
as the weather may be. On reaching a certain port they load the goods on
camels, and carry them a 30 days' journey by land to the River Nile, where
they embark them in small vessels called Zerms, and in these descend the
current to Cairo, and thence by an artificial cut, called Calizene, to
Alexandria." The last looks as if it had been edited; Polo never uses
the name Cairo.
