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A16489 Relations of the most famous kingdomes and common-wealths thorowout the world discoursing of their situations, religions, languages, manners, customes, strengths, greatnesse, and policies. Translated out of the best Italian impression of Boterus. And since the last edition by R.I. now once againe inlarged according to moderne observation; with addition of new estates and countries. Wherein many of the oversights both of the author and translator, are amended. And unto which, a mappe of the whole world, with a table of the countries, are now newly added.; Relazioni universali. English Botero, Giovanni, 1540-1617.; Johnson, Robert, fl. 1586-1626. 1630 (1630) STC 3404; ESTC S106541 447,019 654

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cause why none of them rise by their owne industry to any great wealth They never combate amongst themselves but revenge injuries with words except upon objection of cowardize whereof the charged is never disburthened untill he have proved himselfe in singular combate with a Turke It hath beene an ancient custome amongst them that none should weare a feather but hee who hath killed a Turke to whom it was lawfull to shew the number of his slaine Enemies by the number of feathers in his Cap. They punish Adulterie and Fornication with death the Husband forcing his Wife the Father his Daughter and the Brother his Sister to the place of Execution The Sonnes inhabit equally after the death of their fathers occupying for the most part the possessions left them in common The Daughters have the value of the part of the Lands in money They are desirous of warres above measure they admit no unprofitable man into their Campe but such as hold servants are served with men They march in troopes both Horse and Foot lodging apart but not in that good order which is used by the Germans who distinguish both their Companies and Regiments into streets placing their baggage at their backs or flankes according to necessity They goe no round neither in their Campes nor Townes but in stead thereof one Sentinell whoopeth to another as in like case doe the Turkes The Horse-men in battell range themselves in files after the German order as doe also their foot placing all their shot on front They give a furious charge and the Enemie broken fall presently to spoile leaving to follow the execution for any small booty but being broken they fly every man home without ever turning head lying in wait by the way for their enemies whom they rob in their flight counterfeiting for the more terrour the clamour of the Tartars from whom they differ in the fashion of their Caps The Government in the times of the Kings of Hungarie which in these latter ages were still elective was administred partly by the great Officers of the Spirituality and of the Secular powers The chiefe of the Spirituality was the Archbishop of Strigonium who was ever to be the Lord Keeper or Chancellour principall Secretary of Estate and Primate of Hungaria The other Archbishop was hee of Colozza these two had fourteene Suffragan Bishops under them all now swallowed up by the Turke except Sirigonium Nitria ●aver●ne and ●●cia The chiefe Officer of the Secularitie is the Palatine of Hungaria chosen by the States and Lords of the Kingdome his authoritie is marvellous large both in the Court of the King the Courts of Justice in the ordinary Diets and especially in the vacancie of the Throne The Kingdome of Hungaria is now divided betweene three First the Turke who hath the greater part and is Master of Buda it selfe the chiefe Citie of the Kingdome Secondly Bethien Gabor who possesses most of the upper Hungarie lying betwixt Transilvania and the River Tibiscus and the third part is in possession of the Emperour whose sonne was lately chosen King of Hungaria For the due administration of Justice under the Secular the ancient Lords divided their Land into twenty Counties appointing to every County a Baron for Governour with one and twenty Doctors of Law to be his Assistants reserving ever to themselves an Appeale for the redresse of Injustice and preventing of extortion Now since the Princes of Austria got the Crowne their tyrannie so yoketh the Peasants that nothing may bee done without the Lords leave Insomuch that these people living in the true condition of slavery want nothing but the name thereof In the time of the ancient government when the Kings would alter any thing in the administration of the Common-weale undertake a forren warre or conclude a peace there assembled together at one place three degrees of Subjects Barons Bishops and Gentlemen with consent of the greater part whereof the Kings had authority to confirme abrogate or institute lawes to denounce warre to conclude peace and to charge their Land with impositions fit for their necessities This assembly is still in use but the freedome thereof is altered nothing being at this day propounded to the assembled by the new Governours but a contribution of money to which demand at a day given the Nobility give their resolutions which in the yeere 96. and 97. when the Turkish Emperour threatned to descend himselfe in person was That the Nobility would put themselves in Campania with their Forces and promised for their subjects for so they terme their Peasants that every Housholder should send a man and give two Dollars of money for entertainment of Souldiers but the Turkish Emperour not comming in person the Gentiles did not further bind themselves than that their subjects should pay every house one Dollar with which money were to be waged 20000. horse and foot the halfe of which never appeared in field there being not at any time in armes under the three Generals of Teufeubach in upper Hungarland of Palfeis upon the border of Danubius and of Zerius in nether Hungarland above nine thousand men And at the battell of Keresture in 96. where were assembled the greatest forces that could bee made by the three Confederates Germany Hungary and Transilvania the Combatants amounted not to above 51000. viz. out of Hungarland arrived six thousand horse and 10000. foot out of Transilvania six thousand horse and 12000. foot out of Germany nine thousand five hundred horse and seven thousand foot The Germans were so well appointed horse and foot as for quantity of Armes and goodnesse of horse nothing could be better devised Of the foot the third part were Pikes armed compleat the rest were shot whereof three parts were Muskets the Horsemen were allarmed many of whose Curases were Musket-proofe some of them carried five Pistols most foure all two That which was indeed a want amongst them was that three parts were Servants according to the German custome many of whom tooke pay for eight Horses The Hungarish and Transilvanian foot were all naked part of whom carried Fire-lockes of two foot and the residue Pikes of nine foot long either Armes of small or no use either in offence or defence whether in Forts Streights or Campania The Horse-men carried hollow Launces of twelve foot long which they brake by the helpe of a leather thong fastened to their saddles for the rest they were armed according to their meanes the rich with Cura●es the meane with Shirts the poore with Sleeves of Male and all with Caskes which kind of arming as it maketh them much defective in proofe so are they of lesse worth for their horses which for their manner of riding bridles and sadd●●s are more forceable to doe execution upon victory to make excursions and to discover than they be either to give or to sustaine a charge Their forces by Water or to speake more properly the Emperours were much impaired by the losse of
but Paper and a few Sols and doublesse of Brasse that made it so swell in all scarce eighteene pence sterling Hee is Oftentator a Craker who comming to such as have great horses to sell makes them beleeve he will buy some And at great Faires drawing to their shops that sell apparell cals to see a sute of an hundred pounds and when they are agreed of the price fals out with his boy for following him without his purse Such a one was the Gallant who in the middest of his discourse with many Gentlemen suddenly turned backe to his Lackie and saith Fetch me my Clocke it lies in my lodging in such or such a place neere such or such a Iewell The Lalero bethinks himselfe that it is in his pocket which hee knew well enough before presently he puls it out not so much to shew how the time passeth whereof he takes little care as the curiousnesse of worke and the beauty of the case whereof hee is not a little bragge and enamoured To speake thus particularly of all his severall humours and customes would be very prolix and not much necessary I will onely referre you to the fourth of Tullies Rhetorick where he speaketh of a bragging Rhodomonte and to the first Booke of Horace Satyres speaking of an endlesse and needlesse Prater a fastidious irksome companion Where you shall see the French naturall very lively and admirably well described I will only speake of his impatience and precipitation in deliberations of Warre or Peace and such other affaires of greatest importance and so end To this effect Bodin saith of him The French is of so sudden and busie disposition that he quickly yeelds to that a man demands being soone tired with messages to and fro and other delayes peculiar to the Spaniard And in another place The Spaniard had need of a more ready dispatch than he hath and the French of more moderation in his actions and passions And whereas Commines saith of us that we be not so craftie in our treaties and agreements as the French I thinke saving the credit of so great an Author he might better have said so head-strong and precipitate But where he saith that he that will treat and determine matters with us must have a little patience I yeeld unto him hee hath good reason so to say for his Countrey-men the French can endure no delay they must propound conclude all in one day By this haste of theirs they lost more saith Bodin by one Treatie at Cambrey Anno 1559. to the Spaniard than he had before got of the French in fortie yeares by warre Navarre TO the Title and Armes of France wee see these of Navarre annexed notwithstanding that this Kingdome lies Westward of the P●rencan mountaines touching upon Arragon on its South and Biscar on its North part two of the Spanish Provinces The old Inhabitants were the Vascones the Berones c. The present name of Navarre it hath either from the Spanish word Navas signifying a Campagnia or woodlesse champaigne Country or field naturally fenced with trees round about of which divers are in this Kingdome or else from Navarrin a towne in the mountaines and a chiefe Fort against the Moores of old time About the yeare 716. Garcia Ximenes freeing it from the Moores gained it the honour of a petty Kingdome which his Ancestors so well increased that within three hundred yeares after Sancho the great wrote himselfe King of Spaine for Leon he held by force Arragon had beene before united by marriage and himselfe obtained Castile in right of his wife out of other parts hee had driven the Moores also But this union himselfe againe disjoynted by a division of 〈◊〉 amongst his owne sonnes Navarre thus againe dissevered came about the yeare 1483. unto Katherine Countesse of ●●ix and Bigorre and Princesse of Bearne who unhappily marrying with Iohn Earle of Albret a French Coun●●●● 〈◊〉 those three of his wives also lost the Kingdome to the Spaniard The quarrell was this Lewis the twelfth of France falling at warres with the Spaniards Venetians and Germans was seconded by this Iohn of Albret and both for this opposed and excommunicated by the Pope Iulius t●e se●o●d Navarre being by a Bull exposed to the Invader Vpon this hint Ferdinand of Spaine puts in demands passage thorow Navarre for his Army pretended against the Moores which upon deniall of his request he turnes upon Navarre and before the slow succours could come out of France carries the whole Kingdome not so much as a box on the eare being given in resistance Thus the Spaniard ga● the possession though Henry of Albret sonne to Katherine and Iohn aforesaid retaines the title from whom also the French King challengeth it as being descended of this Henry and his wife Margaret of Valois Sister to King Francis of France from whom came Ioan Albret Queen of Navarre whose husband was Anthony Duke of Burbon whose son was Henry the great King of Navarre first and of France afterward whose sonne in Lewis the thirteenth the present King of France The chiefe Citie of Navarre is Pampelona the strength is made use of by the Spaniard as a Bulwarke against France there being but two passages thorow the Pyrenean mountaines out of this kingdome into Bearne in France which he easily keepes fortified Belgia Netherland NExt lyeth the seventeene Provinces called the Low-Countries the Netherlands or Germania Inferior concerning whom the world can but wonder how any Prince would neglect such a benefit and inheritance of goodnesse greatnesse and wealth which united with the love of the Inhabitants would have exceeded Spaine for Revenues multitude of people Cities shipping and all things else tending to worldly felicitie In observing the distraction whereof a discreet Reader may truly learne the inconstancie of worldly prosperitie most commonly procured by Princes themselves in following ill counsell and youthfull distemperature The Region containeth the Dukedomes of Brabant Limburk Luzzenburg and G●lderland the Earledoms of Flanders Artoys Hennalt Holland Zealand Nemours and Z●●ph●● the Marquesa●e of the Empire the Lordships of Friesland M●e●●lin Virech Over-isel and Groning East Friesland belongeth to a Prince of its owne who ever disclaimed to bee united to the residue belike to prevent all claime that either Empe●our or King might by cavill lay thereunto They invented the Art of Printing restored Musicke framed the Chario● devised the laying of colours in Oyle the working of colours in Glasse the making of Tapestrie Sayes Searges Woosteds Frisadoes and divers sorts of Linnen-cloth with innumerable other small trifles all sorts of Clocks and Dials and the Mariners Compasse In these Provinces are numbred two hundred and eight great Townes munited with wals ramparts ditches warlike ports draw-bridges and in which are continuall guards either of the Burgers of Souldiers lying there in garrison according to the proximitie of the enemie the importance of the place of necessitie of the time The Villages or Dorps are six thousand
of it East West North and South is exceedingly spoken of for Silver and Gold Mines insomuch as in a Storie written of the Mines of Saxonie called Berg-Cronicon it is affirmed that this Hill yeelded to the Dukes of Saxonie in eight yeares twenty two Millions of Florens only for the Tenths Besides these Mines the Duke hath the Mine of Mansfielt pawned to divers Merchants of Norimberg and Augusta and are thought to be worth yearely thirty thousand pounds sterling It is held that all his Mines of Saxonie besides those of Mansfielt yeeld the Duke one yeare with another seven hundred thousand Florens which is about an hundred and thirty thousand pounds sterling Other commodities of worth they have none but flax and a kinde of thicke course cloth which by reason of the exceeding falsifying and dearenesse of ours groweth every day into more and more request with them The whole Dukedome but especially Misen is very populous full of Cities walled Townes and Country Villages and all of them very well peopled It is certainly affirmed that the Duke at twenty dayes warning is able to make an Armie of fourescore thousand men very well armed and furnished The people generally are reasonable faire of complexion and flaxen haired but not well favoured either men or women in behaviour as civill as any part of Germanie whatsoever especially the women who taking themselves as they are indeed for the fairest and best spoken of all Dutchland are in their apparell and entertainment indifferently gracefull For their disposition as indeed almost all the rest of the Germans it is very honest true and not ordinarily given to any notorious vice but drinking nor willingly offering any injurie either to their owne country-men or to strangers but when they are drunke and then very quarrelsome and as it is said more valiant than when they are sober Wise in mediocritie but not of any great sharpnesse or subtiltie of wit Of body strong and big boned especially the Countrey people but of a kinde of lumpish heavie and unactive strength fitter for husbandrie and other toilesome labour than fighting In their chiefe Cities some few give themselves at their great and principall Feasts to a little use of their Peece in shooting at a marke but otherwise by reason of their long peace altogether untrained to the warres or any warlike exercises But the use of the pot serveth for all other pastimes and delights in which notwithstanding they have very small store of wine yet they are nothing inferiour to any other part of Dutchland They have great store of Artizans and Handy-crafts men of all sorts but in their severall trades nothing so neat and artificiall as the Netherlanders and English or those of Norimberg and Augusta Of Merchants they have great store especially in Liepsiege and other chiefe Cities and those for the most part very rich whereof this reason is yeelded that though they have no commodities save those before mentioned nor are neere the Sea or any great Rivers by which they may have cheape and commodious importation or exportation of wares yet Germanie is so seated in the midst and heart of all Christendome and Saxonie in the bowels of it as by continuall trafficking with England France the Low-Countries Italie Poland and all the Easterne Countries and by daily conveying all the commodities of each Countrey over-land to others that want them they grow very wealthy For such as give themselves to the warres and have no other profession of living though generally all the Germans are mercenary souldiers and so their service accordingly yet I heard of as few in this Province as in any part of Germanie whether it were that the wars of Hungarie imployed them all or that other Princes growing weary of their service their occupation began to decay Touching the Nobilitie I can say nothing in particular of their numbers names titles dispositions c. only in generall there be Earles and Barons Some are meerely subject to the Duke others are borderers which are only but homagers as the Princes of Anhalt the Counts of Mansfielt the Counts of Swarzenberge c. Of Gentils there are good store to the number as it is supposed of three or foure thousand at the least by which meanes the Duke is alwayes in his warres well furnished with Horsemen every one one with another bringing three or foure good horses with him to the field The Nobilitie and Gentilitie generally thorow all Germanie and particularly in this Dukedome have great royalties and revenues The lands goods and chiefe houses are usually equally divided amongst all the children reserving but little prerogative to the eldest brother The Honours likewise descend equally to the whole Familie all the sonnes of Dukes being Dukes and all the daughters Duchesses all the sonnes of Counts Counts and the daughters Countesses c. They are exceedingly had both Noblemen and Gentlemen in extraordinary reverence and estimation amongst the vulgar people which both in their Gate and Seats in publike places they very religiously maintaine In time of Peace they are but little used in counsell or matters of State being almost all utterly unqualified either with wisdome learning or experience only contenting themselves with shadow of honour which their ancestors have left them And if they have beene famous as by the raising of their Houses to that greatnesse it should seeme they have ●eene they imitate them in nothing but in only continuing their so long and so holily observed order of carowsing In time of warre which hath beene for many yeares till the late warres of Hungarie very small or rather no●● ●ecause of their greatnesse both in Revenues and number of Tenants their service hath beene usually imployed but now by reason of their long disuse of Martiall matters which therefore seemed to make some amends or at least some excuse of their other defects they are become if I ghesse not amisse not to fit for their greatnesse as unfit for their want of knowledge every way either in experience or contemplation And truly I cannot so much as heare almost of any of them either Noble or Gentlemen that give themselves to any Noble studies exercises or delights except now and then to the hunting of the wilde Boare by which and by accustoming their heads to the wearing of their heavie thrummed Caps in stead of a head-peece they take themselves to be greatly enabled for service For the valour and warlike disposition of the people of this Dukedome I cannot commend them above the rest of their Country-men neither shall I as I thinke need to stand much upon that point sithence their actions shall plead their sufficiencie in generall The great matters which they have undertaken and the little that they have performed will produce sufficient testimonie What they did one against another in the time of Charles the fifth is not much materiall to prove their courage since without question Bulrushes against Bulrushes
Piedmont is taken up with Montferrat but that belongs to Mantua Though in all Piedmont there be reckoned one Duchie of Aosta Marquisates fifteene Earldomes fifty besides Baronies many but these alas bee but petty ones such as have but Fiefs being but Gentlemen holding Fees or Mannors of the Dukes favour of which one writes that singly they are not very rich though all together they make a great noise Three Counties are reckoned in it and in them seven good Cities besides an hundred and fifty walled Townes Whereupon a Gentleman of that Nation boasted that his Countrie was an intire Citie of three hundred miles compasse Piedmont is said no nourish seven hundred thousand soules whereof the lesser halfe may be reckoned within this Dukes Dominions so that he may have some eight or nine hundred thousand subjects in the whole number The Dukes chiefe Citie here is Turin honoured now with an Vniversitie A strong place but made lesse than it was when the French were Masters of it that it might be the more defensible Saluzzes is a Bishops See also The first Founder of this Noble Family was Beroaldus of Saxonie brother to Otho the third Emperour who flying hither for killing that brothers wife taken in the act of Adultery was first made Generall to the Duke of Burgundie for whom he conquered Maurienne on Italy side which Lands the Duke giving to him hee became Lord of Maurienne His sonne was first made Count or Earle of Maurienne who marrying the daughter and heire of the Marquesse of Susa joyned both those Titles together His grand-childe inlarged his Dominion by the conquest of some of the neighbour Valleyes and his sonne Amadeus was for service done to the Emperour Henry the fifth made Earle of Savoy His grand-childe Humbert marrying the Count of Geneva's daughter made his father in Law to submit and acknowledge obedience unto him This Prince also upon the sailing of the heires of the Princes of Piedmont ●●ts in for himselfe conquers divers places and takes Piedmont into his title also His son gains further upon his neighbours His grand-childe Peter winnes the Citie of Turine and gets confirmations of Richard Duke of Cornwall his kirsman and then Emperour in those Valleyes conquered by himselfe and his grand-father His sonne Philip marrying the heire of Burgundie was in her right made Earle of Burgundie and Savoy His brothers sonne Amadeus the fourth gained the Countrey of Bresse by marriage also His sonne Edward was made a Prince of the Empire and his son Amadeus wanne something from the Count of Geneva To whose sonne Amadeus the sixth part of Piedmont veelded itselfe He instituted the Order of Knight-hood of the Annanciada To his sonne Amadeus the seventh did the Countrey called Nizza en Provenza freely yeeld To honour his sonne Amadeus the eighth did the Emperour Sigismund advance Savoy to the title of a Dukedome Him did the Councell of Basile choose to be Pope which he afterwards quit to compound the schisme His sonne Lewis was in his fathers life-time first called Prince of Piedmont which is ever since the title of the heire apparrant he also obtained to be called Earle of Geneva Charles the first made the Marquesse of Saluzzes to performe homage Finally this present Duke of Savoy Charles Emmanuel first got that Marquisate of Saluzzes intirely into his hands which Henry the fourth of France wrung from him and made him release the County of Bresse to have Saluzzes againe And thus by degrees and yeares came this Family to these possessions Besides all which hee makes title and claime to the Marquisate of Montferrat the Earldome of Geneva the Principalitie of Achaia in Greece and the kingdome of Cyprus His ordinary Revenues are thus collected His customes upon Salt fiftie thousand crownes from Susa foure and twenty thousand forren Merchandize eighteene thousand from Villa Franca c. five and twentie thousand Ancient Rents c. threescore and ten thousand The ordinary tax of Piedmont two hundred threescore and three thousand from confiscations condemned persons commutations of punishments and of the Iewes c. fifty thousand The totall is five hundred thousand French crownes What his extraordinaries may amount unto cannot be knowne but certaine it is that in a few yeares he raised eleven millions of crownes out of Piedmont alone So that we may well allow him one million of yearely commings in one with another out of which these summes are yearely issued upon certaine expences Diet wages c. of the Dukes owne Court threescore thousand crownes Allowed to the Duchesse twenty thousand The Duke of Nemeurs his kinsman pension fourteene thousand Standing wages to Iudges Counsellors c. on both sides the Alpes fourescore and ten thousand Vpon Embassadors Intelligences c. sixteene thousand Vpon his Guard Pages Messengers c. ten thousand Given away in Pensions and favours twelve thousand Expences of pleasure ten thousand Charges of his souldiery ten thousand and of his Gallies two and twenty thousand The totall is three hundred and eightie thousand French crownes The rest goes into the Treasury But in this former account the expences upon building and repairing of Forts is not reckoned which must needs amount to a masse of money seeing that no Prince of Europe in so little ground unlesse those of the Low-Countries perchance hath so many fortified places and few stronger in the world either by Nature of Ar● eight hundred Castles being reckoned in Piedmont alone Of Land-souldiers his muster-bookes shewes him about twenty thousand often exercised by their Captaines and Collonels and three Gallies for scowring of the Coast. And now for the State and termes he stands in with other Princes his neighbours they be these To the Papacie is his Family much beholding the Pope having made his second son Victor a Cardinall and his third son Philibert Admirall of the Gallies of the Church A great dependancie hath he on the Pope besides for whereas Cardinall Aldabrandino Nephew to Clement the eighth hath purchased Raiensa in Piedmont to the Duke after whose decease that rich Territory must fall to the Church unlesse the Pope be pleased to confirme it upon the Duke With Spaine both the Duke and his elde●● son Philip Emanuel have very neere alliance A● time there was that the Spaniard with-held his Pension from the Duke and he againe discharged his garrison of Spaniards in Tur●ne c. but all being now piec't up betweene them it concernes Spaine not to displease him because hee may stop up the passages by which the Spanish forces might march out of Italy into Germanie Venice and hee are in a common league and correspondencie Divers States and persons of the Switzers take pension of him and the Citie of Geneva is in bodily feare of him so was Genoa in these late warres and may be againe With other Princes of Italy he is in good termes except with Mantua it equally concernes them all to see that one another grow not too great and
Sonnes he tooke the City Tremissen But Sal Aries Vice-Roy of Algier being jealous of these good fortunes gathered a puissant host recovered Tremissen put the Xeriffe to flight tooke Fez and bestowed it with the Territory upon the Lord of Velez who afterward in a battell against the Xeriffe lost both life and Kingdome At last in his journey to Taradant by the subordination of the Vice-Roy of Algier he was murdered in his Tent by certaine Turkes who with their Captaine Assen comming to Taradant rifled the Kings Treasures but were all slaine except five by the Inhabitants in their journey homewards This came to passe 1557. when Muley Abdala the Xeriffes sonne was proclaimed King Let this suffice for the originall of the Xeriffe now let vs see how these risings were like the fortunes of Ismael King of Persia. Both of them in small time conquered many Provinces both grew great by the ruine of their Neighbours both suffered crosses by the armes of the Turkes and to them lost part of their Dominions Selim tooke from Ismael Caramit and divers other Cities of Mesopotamia The Vice-Roy of Algier drove the Xeriffe from Tremissen and the adjacent Territory Selim won Tauris the chiefe seat of Persia and then gave it over Sal Aries tooke Fez the head City of Mauritania and left it This Potentate is absolute Lord of the bodies and goods of his Subjects whatsoever imposition he layeth on them they repine not thereat For Tribute hee taketh the tenth and the first fruits of their fruits and cattell yet is it most true that for first fruits he taketh not above one in twenty and though it exceed that number even to one hundred yet he nevertaketh above two Of every Acre of Land he taketh a ducat and the fifth part and so much of every houshold and so of every pole male and female above fifteene yeares of age yearely If he want he taketh a greater summe To make the people more willing to pay what is imposed he alwaies demandeth more than is paid that so by paying their due they may thinke they are well dealt withall in seeming to be forgiven somewhat of his full demand The Inhabitants of the Mountaines a savage people for the difficult accesse unto them hee cannot inforce to pay tribute but those that manure the plaines hee constraineth to give the tenth of their harvest Besides these Revenues he taketh Toll and Custome of all kindes of Merchandize in Cities inward of a citizen two in the hundred of a stranger ten His rent of Mils is a great matter for upon every Asse load of Graine grinded in Fez he taketh halfe a reall in this Towne there are above foure hundred Mils The Church of Carruven was indowed with 80000. Ducats of yearely Revenue the Colleges and Monasteries of Fez with much more which now are escheated into the Kings Coffers Moreover he is heire to all the Judges whom they call Alcaids and hath the bestowing of all their Offices When they die he seizeth upon all their Horses Armour Apparell and all their other Chattels If the intestate leave Children behind him fit for the warre he bestoweth his Fathers annuitie upon them if they be Sons and young he nurseth them till they come to full yeares if Daughters he maintaineth them till they finde husbands To be fi● gring the wealth of the richer sort he hath some Office of Lieutenantship with an annuitie to sell them but commonly to prevent those sales they will not be knowne of their abilities removing their aboads farre from the Court and Kings sight which is the cause that the City of Fez is much fallen from the ancient splendour Hee hath no Castles or peeces well fortified but onely Aguer Larach lately taken and Tituan upon the Sea side His chiefest confidence is in the valour of his Souldiers especially his Horse-men like the Turke and Persian In this regard he taketh no great care to furnish himselfe with Ordnance yet hath he great store thereof in Fez Marocho Taradant and in the aforesaid haven Townes taken from the Portugals and others As he seeth occasion he causeth new to be cast for which service he can want no workmen out of Europe In Marocho he hath an Arsenall wherein he layeth up monethly at least forty six Quintals of Gun-powder Here he causeth his Harquebushes and Bowes likewise to be made In the yeare 1569. by fire which hapned among the Gun-powder houses the greatest part of the City was very much defaced His souldiery is of divers sorts the first consisteth of 2700. Horsemen and 2000. Harquebushers part lying in Garrison in Fez and part in Maroc●o where also lyeth the Court. The second consisteth as a man may say of a royall troope of 6000. horse all Gentlemen Pensioners and of great reputation These ride upon brave Horses with rich Caparisons their Armes and Furniture shining with Gold Silver Stones and all things else which for variety of colours or rich devices may delight the eye with a gallant shew or feed the humour of the curious beholder To these servitors besides their allowance of Corne Provender Butter and Flesh for themselves their Wives Children and Servants they receive yearely from seventy to one hundred ounces of Silver The third sort are a kinde of Timariots for the Xeriffe doth allot a certaine portion of Land and Tenants to his Sonnes Brethren and Men of quality amongst the people of Africke and Arabia for the maintenance of their degrees Those whom they terme Alcaids looke to the manuring of the fields gather the rents of Corne Rice Oats Oyle Butter Flesh Poultry and Mony and distribute it monthly amongst the Souldiers to every man according to his place They likewise give them Linnen Woollen and Silke for their Garments Armour and Horses for service If their horses chance to be slaine they give them new so did the Romans to those which served on the horses of the State The Commanders of these troops are very carefull to see their souldiers in heart and full of life excellent well armed and competently attired They receive betweene foure and twenty and thirty ounces of Silver yearely The fourth sort make the Arabians who commonly live in Tents divided by 120. under their severall Leaders to bee alwaies ready upon all occasions They serve on Horse-backe but more like Theeves and Out-lawes than Souldiers The fifth sort is like the presse of the Christian Common-weales These companies consist of Citizens Villagers and Mountaine-people Of these men the King maketh no reckoning neither doth he willingly arme them for feare of sedition and innovation unlesse it be to war upon the Christians wherein he cannot forbid them to serve For upon remembrance of the slaughter of the Moors by the Christians spoken of in their Mahumeticall Legend the more Christians they slay the easier they thinke shall be their passage to Heaven Hereupon you shall see herds of people running to this warre desiring there to die
to make reckonings even they supply the want with Corne and Salt For Pepper Frankincense Myrrh and Salt they give Gold and that by weight as for Silver it is in little request The greatest concourse of people is about the Kings Court which never stayeth long in one place but is ever in progresse sometime in one place sometime in another and ever in the open fields under Tents and Pavillions It is said to containe ten miles in circuit His government is tyrannicall for he intreateth his Vassals rich and poore more liker slaves than subjects which to doe with the greater safetie he carrieth himselfe amongst them with a holy and Saint-like adoration for at his bare name they bow their bodies and touch the earth with their hands They reverence his Pavillion yea though he be absent In old times they were accustomed to shew themselves to the people but once in three years but since they are growne lesse Majesticall shewing themselves thrice in one yeare to wit on Christmas-day on Easter-day and on Holy-Rood-day yea and in these times the Kings which now reigne are become more gracious When any matter is committed in the Princes name to any man hee is to attend his Commission starke naked to the middle Being called to witnesse a matter in controversie they hardly speake truth unlesse they sweare by the life of the King Hee giveth and taketh to whom and from whom he pleaseth neither dare he from whom he taketh for his life make shew of a discontented countenance He presenteth to holy Orders and disposeth at his good pleasure of the goods of the Spiritualtie as well as of the Laitie In travelling he rideth shadowed with red Curtaines high and deepe incompassing him round about He weareth on his head a Crowne the one halfe wrought with Gold and the other of Silver in his hand he beareth a Silver Crucifix He covereth his face with a peece of watchet Taftata which more or lesse he lifteth up and putteth downe according as hee is minded to grace him with whom he talketh Sometimes he sheweth his whole legge lifting it without the hangings then may no man approach but by degrees and after many courtesies and divers messages passing to and fro No man hath vassals but the King to whom once a yeare they doe homage and protest obedience as subjects to their Liege Soveraigne Hee derived his pedegree from Milech the sonne of Salomon and Saba In the reigne of Candaces they received the Christian Faith and about that time one Gasparis became famous in Aethiopia from whom after thirteene generations descended that Iohn who first tooke upon him the Surname of Sanctus and left it an hereditary Title to his house and successours This man having no issue of his body about the time of Constantine gave the Kingdome to the eldest sonne of his brother Caius and invested the younger Balthasar and Melchior the one with the Kingdome of Fatigar the other with the Kingdome of Goiam and so divided the bloud royall into three Families the Gaspars Balthasars and Melchiors To avoid sedition and innovation hee made a Law that the sonnes brethren and neerest kindred of the Emperour should be kept and shut up in the Castle of Amara and that they should neither succeed in the Empire nor enjoy any honourable estate for which cause the Emperours ever since have seldome married He manureth his Domaines with his owne slaves and Cattell who by reason they are suffered to marrie and their issues remaine in the same estate of villenage as doe their Fathers they increase to infinite multitudes Every man that hath any inheritance doth likewise pay tribute some Horses some Oxen others Gold Cotton-wooll or such like It is thought that he is Lord of infinite Treasures and to have store of houses full of Cloth Jewels and Gold In his Letters to the King of Portugal upon condition that he would wage war against the Infidels he offered him a Million of Gold and a Million of men with provision according He is reported to lay up yearely in the Castle of Amara three Millions of Gold And true it is that before the dayes of King Alexander he did hoord up great store of Gold in rude and unwrought Masses but no such quantity as is spoken because they know not how to refine it His Revenues are of three sorts the first ariseth of his Crowne-land the second of the Taxes of his people who pay every man by house somewhat besides the tenth of all that is digged out of their Mines the third he levieth of the great Lords and they give him the Revenue of any one of their Townes which he will chuse so he chuse not that wherein themselves inhabit And albeit the Prince be very rich yet the people are idle and beggarly partly because they are intreated as slaves which usage taketh from any people that courage alacritie of spirit which should be in men professing armes and undergoing dangers and partly because in respect of that base bond of servile fidelity wherewith they are over-awed to his Majesty they perceive their hands are fast bound through feare whereof they have no other weapon fit for service than a rusty head-peece a Scull or Curasse which the Portugals have brought thither So that having neither fortresse to slie unto nor weapons to repulse wrongs their Villages and substance lie alwayes open to the prey and spoile of whosoever will invade them Their offensive weapons are certaine darts and arrowes without feathers They observe a Lent of fifty dayes which by reason of their true or rather superstitious abstinence doth bring their bodies so weake and low that for many dayes after they are not able to gather strength to move themselves from one place to another At which time the Moores watching opportunity invading their Dominions carry away men women and wealth Francis Alvarez writeth that he is able to bring into the field an hundred thousand men but experience hath manifested that even in his extremities his numbers were far inferior to that reckoning He hath Knights of an order dedicated to the protecton of S. Anthony Every Gentleman Father of three sons except the eldest is bound to give one to the service of the King out of these are chosen twelve thousand Horsemen for the guard of his person Their vow and oath is to defend the bounds of the Empire and to fight against the enemies of the Christian Faith He is fronted with three puissant neighbours the King of Borno the great Turke and the King of Adel. The King of Borno is Lord of that Countrey which from Guangula Eastward stretcheth about five hundred miles betweene the desarts of Seth and Barca In situation it is very uneven sometime mountainous and sometime plaine the people indifferent civill the Countrey reasonably well inhabited and in regard of plenty of victuall somewhat resorted unto by Merchants On the Mountaines dwell Neat-herds and Sheep-herds living for the
a Cemiter They use the Launce the Bow indifferently There is scarce a better Musketteer in the whole world than the Persian generally is at this day nor a sorer fellow at the Spade or at a Mine Of both these the Portugals had sensible experience at the siege of Ormuz lately taken from them by the Persian Touching their riches the common opinion is that in the dayes of King Tamas the yearely Revenues amounted to foure or five millions of Gold who by a sudden doubling of the value of his coine raised it to eight and accordingly made payment to his Soldans and souldiers But in these dayes by the conquest of the great Turke they are much diminished and it is thought that they amount to little more than two But indeed the feodary Lands Townes and Villages Tenths Shops c. which are very many supply a great part of the pay due to the companies of those his horsemen above mentioned Towards the East bordereth the Mogor upon the North the Zagatai Towards the West the Turke possesseth a large frontier With the Mogors he is little troubled for as Spaine and France by reason of the narrow streight and difficult passages over the mountaines cannot easily convey necessaries the life of an Armie to infest one another So towards the frontiers of India and Cambaia Provinces belonging to the Mogors high Mountaines and vast Desarts keepe good peace betweene these two Princes yet infest they one another on the borders of Cahull Sablestan of which certaine Lords of the Mogors have gotten the dominion He commeth not neere the borders of the great Cham betweene whom certaine petty Princes and impassable Desarts doe oppose themselves It seemeth that toward the Zagatai he standeth content with those bounds which the River Oxus hath laid out for he never durst passe it and when Zaba King of the Zagatai had passed it hee was overthrowne with much slaughter by Ismael So was Cyrus by Tomyris who slew him and all his host The Turk is a borderer all alongst the western coast of this whole Empire even from the Caspian Sea to the gulfe Saura a tract almost of fifteene degrees He hath no enemy so dangerous nor more to be feared nor at whose hands in all conflicts for the most part he hath received greater losse Mahumet the second overthrew Vssanchan and tooke from David his Vassall and Confederate the Empire of Trapezond Selim the first did overthrow Ismael in Campania and tooke from him Caramit Orfa Merdis and all the territory which they call Alech Soliman put Tamas to flight and tooke from him Babylon and all Mesopotamia In our dayes Amurath wonne whatsoever lieth betweene Derbent and Tauris wherein is comprehended Georgia and Sirvan and by building of fortresses in Teflis Samachia and Ere 's assured the passages of Chars Tomanis and Lori He is Lord of all that lieth betweene Erzirum Orontes a River three daies journey beyond Tauris In this City he caused a Citadell to be built not minding to leave it as did Selim and Soliman but thereby as with a curbe to bridle and keepe it In this warre which lasted from the yeare 1591. to 1597. the Turks altered their forme of warfare for whereas they were wont to lay their whole hopes upon their numbers the valour of their horsemen and footmen their store of artillery and warlike furniture scorning to be cooped up in Castles and Fortresses for the most part spoyling and burning whatsoever they overcame or became Lords of and taking as little care to keepe what they had conquered supposing it no good policie to fortifie Castles or strengthen Townes by weakning of their companies in these warres to avoid the inconveniences where into Selim and Soliman were plunged they were glad to build strong places upon commodious passages and Citadels in the chiefest Townes furnishing them with good Garrisons and great store of Artillery This warre cost them very deare for by surprises by famine and extremities of weather infinite thousands perished yet alwayes to the losse of the Persian or his Confederates In the field the Persian is farre inferiour to the Turke in numbers and goodnesse of footmen in Ordnance in all sorts of warlike furniture and the chiefe stay of a State in obedience of subjects Notwithstanding if Selim Soliman or Amurath had not beene allured thither either by rebellion or intestine discords they durst not have medled with this warre Selim was called into the aid of Mara-beg the son of Ossaen a mighty Prince in Persia. Soliman came in aid of Elcaso the brother of Taemas hatefull to his Soveraigne for his ambition and aspiring humour and in the end abused the credit and good will of the people toward Elcaso to the furtherance of his owne designments Amurath never tooke weapon in hand against this people before he understood by the letters of Mustapha Bassa of Van that all Persia was in uprore about the election of a new Prince thereby certifying him that some had chosen Ismael some Ainer both sonnes of Tamas and that Periacocona slaying her owne brother Ismael and betraying Ainer had procured the Kingdome to Mahumet Codobanda After this mischiefe fell those fatall jarres betwixt Codobanda and his sonne and betwixt the Turcoman Nation a mighty family in Persia and the King A faction no lesse disasterous to the State of Persia than the warre of Turkie Against the Portugal for want of Sea-forces hee stirreth not and againe for want of Land-forces the Portugals are not able to molest his upland Countries Tamaes being counselled to make a voyage against Ormus asked what commodities the Island brought forth whether Corne Cattell Fruit or what other good thing When it was answered that the soile was utterly barren and destitute of provision but excellently well seated for traffike and navigation scoffing at the motion he replied That of this kinde of Revenue he had released unto his people above 90000. Tomana Truth is that he wanteth shipping to put the Portugals out of those Seas where these stead not he is content to reigne from India to Arabia East and West and from the Caspian to the South side of the Persian gulfe And as for these ninety thousand Tomana being in our account eighty thousand French crownes of annuall Revenue said to bee decreed in the dayes of this Tamas upon the generall customes of importation and exportation thorowout the whole Realme I can give my Reader no other satisfaction why to thinke the stomacks of great Princes can at any time be cloyed with such surfets unlesse hee be pleased to imagine that after this Prince or his Predecessor had received one or two dismall overthrowes by the Turkish forces and that not so much by their valours as by his owne deficiencie in shot ordnance and discipline he set on foot this Proclamation First to induce his owne people to manuall thrift and mutuall commerce And secondly to allure Gentlemen and forren Merchants to