Kanoom, and settled there, as strangers, under the government of the Tawarék, who were a tribe related to them, and called Amakeetan. But they soon rebelled against them, and usurped the country. Fortune having assisted them, their government flourished for some time, and their dominion extended to the very extremity of this tract of the earth ; and Wa-da-i and Baghar-mee, as well as the country of Hoosa, with those parts of the province of Bow-sher which belong to it, were in their possession. In the course of time, however, their government became weakened, and their power destroyed. SECTION II. “ Adjoining this province (Barnou), on the south side, is that of Aâheer, which is spacious, and contains extensive plains. It is inhabited by the Tawarék, and by some remnants of the Sonhajâ, and the Soodan. This province was formerly in the hands of the Soodan inhabitants of Ghoobér ; but five tribes of the Tawarék, called Amakeetan, Tamkak, Sendai, Agdâlar, and Ajdaraneen, came out of Aowjal, and took it from them ; and, after having settled themselves, they agreed to nominate a prince to rule over them, in order to render justice to the weak against the powerful. They appointed a person of the family of Ansatfén; but they , soon quarrelled among themselves, and dismissed him. They then nominated another, and. continued upon this, system, viz. whenever a prince displeased them, they-dethroned him, and appointed a different one. These Tawaréks were of the remnants of the Barbar, who spread themselves over Africa at the time of its .conquest. “ The Barbars are a nation, descendants of Abraham ;—though it is stated that they descended from Yafet . (Japhet) ; and others say, from Gog and Magog, whom “ the two homed” Alexander, (the great) immured * ; but * The Eastern, and all Mohammedan people, considering Alexander the Great as the only monarch who conquered the globe from east to west, give him the title of “ the two horned,” in allusion to his said conquests. They likewise believe that Gog and Magog were, two great nations, but that, in consequence of their wicked and mischievous disposition, Alexander gathered, and immured them within two immensely high mountains, in the darkest and northernmost parts of Europe, by a most surprising and insuperable wall, made of iron and copper, of great thickness and height j and that, to the present time, they are confined there : that, notwithstanding they are a dwarfish race—viz. from two to three feet in height only—they will one day come out and desolate the world !—A. S. that, at the time, a tribe of them, happening to be at Ghair-oon, remained there, and intermarried with the Turks and Tattars. “ It is likewise stated that they (the Barbars) originated from the children of the Jan, or Jinn (Demon), u n d e r the following circumstances :—A company of them having gone to Jerusalem, and slept during the night in a plain there, their women became pregnant by the Jinn of that spot. They are, therefore, naturally inclined to blood-shedding, plundering, and fighting. I t is also said, that they were the people who slew the prophets: Zachariah and Eliah ; and that, after leaving Palestine, they proceeded westwards till they arrived at Wa-leeba and Morak^ba,—two towns in the interior, west of Egypt, where the Nile does not reach, but the inhabitants drink the rain water *, where they fixed their residence for some time. They then divided themselves into different tribes, and proceeded westwards in Africa. The tribes of Zedata and Magh-yala first entered the Gharb, and inhabited the mountains. These were followed by that of IAwata, who inhabited the country of Enttablos (Tripoli), which is Barka. They afterwards spread themselves over the interior of the Gharb, till they reached the country of Soossa, where the tribe of Hawazna took possession of the city of Lebda, and the tribe of Nafoosa entered the city of Ssabra, and expelled the Room (Greeks or Romans) who then ruled there. “ I t is again stated that they descended from Farek, son of Yonssar,. son of H am ; and that, when Yonssar conquered Africa, they spread themselves over the Gharb, and first inhabited Tunis. Thence they proceeded in tribes towards the southern parts of the Gharb, which communicates with the country of Soodan, where they settled at Aowjal, Fazaran, Ghadamess, and Ghata. is Thus they came in five tribes from Aowjal., as before mentioned, and conquered this province (A&heer), as before stated. SECTION III. “ Next to the above-mentioned province, on the right hand .side, and west of Barnoo, the country of Howssa lies. I t ,consists of seven provinces, to each of w h i c h a prince is appointed to superintend its affairs, and the inhabitants of * Perhaps in the Oases.—A; S. y
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