RASHI′DU-D DI′N, FROM AL BI′RU′NI′.
battles they ended with dividing the territory between them. The consequence is that their enemies obtained a footing, and are always making their incursions from different parts of Hind, and carrying off goods and viands, sugar, wine, cotton cloths, captives, and great booty.[1] But through the great wealth of that country, no serious injury is done.
M’abar,[2] from Kúlam to the country of Siláwar,[3] extends 300 parasangs along the shore. Its length is the same. It possesses many cities and villages, of which little is known. The king is called Dewar which means in the M’abar language, the “lord of wealth.” Large ships, called in the language of China, “Junks,” bring various sorts of choice merchandize and clothes from Chín and Máchín, and the countries of Hind and Sind. The merchants export from M’abar silken stuffs, aromatic roots; large pearls are brought up from the sea. The productions of this country are carried to ’Irák, Khurásán, Syria, Rum, and Europe. The country produces rubies, and aromatic grasses, and in the sea are plenty of pearls. M’abar is, as it were, the key of Hind. Within the few last years Sundar Bandi was Dewar, who, with his three brothers, obtained power in different directions, and Malik Takíu-d din bin ’Abdu-r rahmán bin Muhammadu-t Tibí, brother of Shaikh Jamálu-d dín, was his minister and adviser, to whom he assigned the government of Fatan, Máli Patan, and Báwal;[4] and because there are no horses in M’abar, or rather those which are there are weak, it was agreed that every year Jamálu-d dín Ibráhím should send to the Dewar 1400 strong Arab horses obtained from the island of Kís, and 10,000 horses from all the islands of Fárs, such as Katíf, Lahsa, Bahrein, Hurmúz, Kilahát, etc. Each horse is reckoned worth 220 dinars of red gold current.
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- ↑ It is difficult to say what countries are here meant, but it is probable that allusion is made to the Lackadives and Maldives, the names being derived from numerals, and in both instances bearing a relation to these islands.
- ↑ [The coast of Coromandel. See Ibn Batouta, Index.]
- ↑ [B. has
, and Binákítí 
.]
- ↑ [So printed in the first edition from the Indian MS. A. says
. B. has 
. C. 
. Binákítí reads 
.]
