that is not known. Mahomet Ahou Kalec had this govern*
ment, and with him about rooo black horfe, armed with
coats o f mail, with whom : he maintained himfelfi at this
time independent o f the king. It is a frontier neareft to
Dar-Fowr, a black ftate ftill more barbarous, i f poflibie,
than Sennaar, and by them it often has been taken frafn
Seunaar, and again retaken.' . ill id
T he third government is Fazuclo, bounded by the river
El-aice on the weft, and the. Nile on the paft; and the mountains
o f Fazuclo, where are the great câtaraâs; on. the foulh.
Thefe are part o f the la rg e ch a in o fm o u n ia in s a f Dy ne and;
Tegla, which reach.fo far weftward into the continent, from,
whence comes the chie f fupply both o f gold and flaves
which conftitnte the richés'of thiis country:; fo r thegrèateft
part o f the revenue o f Fazudo: is gold ; and the perfdii that
commands it is not a Funge, but the famenativë prince from
whom the army o f Sennaar conquered it. This feems 'to be.
a very remarkable piece o f policy in this barbarous, nation,
which muil have fucceeded, as they (conftantly adhere to.it,‘
o f making the prince o f the ftate they have conquered their
lieutenant in the government o f his own counfry afterwards.
Such was the cafe with Dongola, whofe Mek they;
continue ; alfo with Wed Ageeb, prince o f the Arabs, whom:
they fubdued ; and fuch was the cafe with Fazuclo, Wed.
Aboud, Jibbel Moia, and other petty ftates, all. o f which
they conquered, but did not change their prince.
T he forces at Sennaar, immediately around the capital,
confift o f about 14,000 Nuba, who fight naked, having no
other armour but a Ihort javelin and a round fbield, very
bad troops, as I fuppofe ; about 1800 horie, all black, mounti
V-' ■ mm w
ed by black flaves, armed with coats o f mail, and without
any other weapon but a broad Sclavonian fword. Thefe I
fuppofe, by the weight and power o f man and horfe, .would
bear down; or break through double the number o f any
other troops in the w or ld : nobody, that has not feen this
cavalry, can have any idea to what perfection the horfe rifes
here. The Mek has not one mufket in his whole army;
Befides thefe horfe, there is a great, hut uncertain number o f
Arabs, who pay their tribute immediately to the Mek and
to the great men. in government, and live under their protection
clofe by the town, and thereby have the advantage
o f trading with it, o f fupplying it with provifions, and, no
doubt, muft contribute in part to its ftrength and defence
in time o f need.
After what I have faid o f the latitude o f Sennaar, it w ill
fcarcely be necefTary to repeat that the heats are exceffive.
The thermometer rifes in the Ihade to 119“, but as I have
obferved o f the heats o f Arabia, fo now I do in refpeCt to
thofe o f Sennaar. The degree o f the thermometer does not
convey any idea o f the efleet the fun has upon the fenfa-
tions o f the body or the Colour o f the fkin. Nations- o f blacks
live within lat. 130 and 14°, when lo’ fo u th o f them, nearly
under the Line, all the people are white, as we had an opportunity
o f feeing daily in the Galla, whom we have de-
fcribed. Sennaar, which is in lat 13°, is hotter, by the thermometer,
30 degrees, when the fun is moft diftant from it,
than Gondar is, though a degree farther fouth, when the
fun is vertical.
Cold and hot are terms merely relative, not determined by
the latitude, but elevation o f the place ; when, therefore, we
V ol. IV. • - 3 P fay