 Chapter 7 of A Book of Discovery. A Book of Discovery by M. B. Singh. Chapter 7 Julius Caesar as Explorer. Our next explorer is Julius Caesar. As Alexander the Great had combined the conqueror with the explorer, so now history repeats itself, and we find the Roman Caesar not only conquering but exploring. It was Caesar who first dispelled the mess that lay over the country about the French sign, the German rhyme, the English Thames. Caesar, who gives us the first traffic account of crossing the English Channel from France to England. PTS had hinted at the fog-bound lands of the North. Caesar brought them into the light of the day. Since the days of Alexander, the center of empire had shifted from Greece to Rome, and Rome was now conquering and annexing land, as Persia had done in the olden days. Hence it was that Julius Caesar was in the year 58 BC, appointed governor of a new province recently brought under Romans way, stretching from the Alps to the Garon and northward to the lake of Geneva, which at this time marked the frontier of the Roman Empire. Caesar made no secret of his intentions to subdue the tribes to the north of his province and bring all goal under the dominion of Rome. His appointment carried with it the command of four legions, including some 20,000 soldiers. His chance soon came, and we find Caesar with all the ability of a great commander pushing forward with his army into the very heart of France, 150 miles beyond the Roman frontier. On the banks of the river Soun, he defeated the large body of Celtic people who were migrating from Switzerland to make their homes in the warmer and roomier plains at the foot of the Pyrenees. While the defeated Celts returned to their chilly homes among the mountains, victorious Caesar resolved to push on at the head of his army towards the Rhine, where some German tribes under a ferocious and strong savage threatened to overrun the country. After marching through utterly unknown country for three days, he heard that fresh swarms of invaders had crossed the Rhine, intending to occupy the more fertile tracts on the French side. They were making for the town being all Colben Sasson, then as now strongly fortified and nearly surrounded by the river Dupes. By a forced marches night and day, Caesar hastened to the town and took it before the arrival of the invaders. Accounts of the German tribes, even now approaching, were brought in by native traders and goalish chiefs until the Roman soldiers were seized with alarm. Yes, said the traders, these Germans were men of huge stature, incredible valor and practiced skill in wars. Many a times they had themselves come across them and had not been able to look them in the face or meet the glare of their piercing eyes. The Romans felt they were in an unknown land about to fight against an unknown foe. Violent panic seized them, completely paralyzing everyone's judgment and nerve. Some could not restrain their tears, others shut themselves up in their tents and bemoaned their fate. All over the camp men were making their wills until Caesar spoke and the panic seized. Seven days march brought them to the plain of Alsace, some 50 miles from the Rhine. A battle was fought with the German tribes and the enemy all turned tail and did not seize their flight until they reached the Rhine. Some swam across, some found boats, many were killed by the Romans in hot pursuit. For the first time Romans beheld the German Rhine, said great river that was to form a barrier for so long between them and the tribes beyond. But Caesar's exploration was not to end here. The following year found him advancing against the Belgi, tribes living between the Rhine and the Sain. In one brilliant campaign he subdued the whole of northeastern Gaul from the Sain to the Rhine. Leaving Roman soldiers in the newly conquered country, he returned to his province and was some 800 miles away when he heard that the general rebellion was breaking out in that part we now know as Brittany. He had once ordered ships to be built on the lore which flows into the ocean. Ours meant to be trained, seamen and pilots assembled. The spring of 56 BC found Caesar at the seat of war. His ships were ready on the lore, but the navy of the Venetians was strong. They were a sea-going folk who knew their own low rocky coast intersected by shallow inlets of the sea. They knew their tides and their winds. Their flat-bottomed boats were suitable to shallows and ebbing tides. Bows and sterns stood high out of the water to resist heavy seas and severe gales. The hulls were built of oak. Leather was used for sails to withstand the violent ocean storms. The long Roman galleys were no match for these and things would have gone badly had not Caesar devised a plan of cutting the enemy's rigging with hooks, sharpened at the end and fixed along poles. With these, the Romans cut the rigging of the enemy's ships, forming the fleet of Brittany. The sails fell and their ships were rendered useless. One after another they were easily captured and at sunset the victory lay with the Romans. The hull of Gaul from Therion to the Pyrenees seemed now subdued. Caesar had conquered as he explored and the skill of his well-disciplined army triumphed everywhere over the untrained courage of the barbarian tribes. Still the German tribes were giving trouble about the country of the Rhine and in the words of the famous commentaries, Caesar was determined to cross the Rhine, but he hardly sought it safe to cross in boats. Therefore, although the construction of a bridge presented great difficulties on account of the breath, swiftness and depth of the stream, he nevertheless sought it best to make the attempt or else not cross at all. Indeed he wanted to impress the wild German people on the other side with the sense of the vast power of the Roman Empire. The barbarian tribes beyond must, indeed, have been impressed with the skill of the Roman soldier. For in ten days the bridge was completed. Timber had been honed from the forest, brought to the banks of the Rhine, worked into shape, piles driven into the bed of the river, beams laid across, and Caesar led his army in triumph to the other side. They stood for the first time in the land of the Germans near the modern town of Koblenz, and after eighteen days on the farther side they returned to Gaul, destroying the bridge behind them. Caesar had now a fresh adventure in view. He was going to make his way to Britain. The summer of 55 B.C. was passing, and in these parts the whole of Gaul having a northerly trend, winter sets in early, wrote Caesar afterwards. There would be no time to conquer, but he could visit the island, find out for himself what the people were like, learn about harbours and landing places. For of all this the Greeks knew practically nothing. No one indeed readily undertakes the voyage to Britain, except traders, and even they know nothing of it except the coast. Caesar summoned all the traders he could collect, and inquired the sides of the island, what tribes dwelt there, their names, their customs, and the shortest sea passage. Then he went for the ships, which had vanguished the fleet of Brittany the previous year. He also assembled some 80 merchant ships on the northern coast of Gaul, probably not very far from Calais. It was near the end of August, when soon after midnight the wind served, and he set sail. A vision of the great Roman, determined, resolute, rises before us as, standing on the deck of the galley, he looks out on the dark waters of the unknown sea, bound for the coast of England. After a slow passage the little fleet arrived under the steep white cliffs of the southern coast, about nine o'clock next morning. Armoured forces of barbarians stood on the heights above Davor, and, finding it impossible to land, Caesar gave orders to sail some seven miles further along the coast, where they ran the ships aground, not far from Dile. But the visit of the Romans to Britain on this occasion lasted but three days, for a violent storm scattered the ships with the horses on board. The same night, says Caesar, it happened to be full moon, which generally causes very high tides in the ocean, a fact of which our men were not aware. Indeed we may well believe that a night of full moon, and an unusually high tide, would be a mystery to those children of the Mediterranean. Their ships had been beached and were lying high and dry, when the rapidly rising tide overwhelmed them. Cables were broken, anchors lost, panic ensued. But Caesar's glory lay in overcoming obstacles, and it is well known how he got his troops and ships safely back, across the channel, and how preparations were hurried on in goal, for a second invasion of Britain. This is not the place for the story of his campaign. He was the first to raise the curtain on the mysterious islands discovered by Pityas. For to the west, in the ocean wide, beyond the realm of goal, a land there lies. Seagirt it lies, where giants dwelt of old. Caesar remarks on this newfound land are interesting for us today. He tells us of a river called the Thames, about eight miles from the sea. The interior of Britain, he says, is inhabited by a people who, according to tradition, are aboriginal. The population is immense, homesteads closely resembling those of the goals are met with at every turn, and cattle are very numerous. Gold coins are in use, or iron bars of fixed weight. Here's fowls and geese that think it wrong to taste, but they keep them for pastime or amusement. The climate is more equable than in goal, the cold being less severe. The island is triangular in shape, one side being opposite goal. One corner of this side, by Kent, the landing place for almost all ships from goal, cousin easterly, and the lower one, a westerly aspect. The extent of this side is about 500 miles, the second trends off towards Spain. Off the coast here is Ireland, which is considered only half as large as Britain. Halfway across is an island called Man, and several smaller islands also are believed to be situated opposite the coast, in which there is continuous night for 30 days. The length of this side is 800 miles. Thus the whole island is 2000 miles in circumference. The people of the interior do not, for the most part, coat weight grain, but live on milk and flesh meat, and close themselves with skins. All Britons, without exception, stain themselves with wood, which produces a bluish tint, they wear their hair long. Scissor crossed the Thames. The river can only be forwarded at one spot, he tells us, and there with difficulty. Farther he did not go, and so this is all that was known of Britain for many a long year to come. Chapter 8. Strabo's Geography Strabo wrote his famous geography near the beginning of the Christian era, but he knew nothing of the north of England, Scotland, or Wales. He insisted on placing Ireland to the north, and scoffed at Petia's account of tool. And yet he boasted a wider range than any other writer on geography, for that those who had penetrated further towards the west had not gone so far to the east, and those on the contrary who had seen more of the east had seen less of the west. Like Herodotus Strabo had travelled himself from Armenia and western Italy from the Black Sea to Egypt and up the Nile to Philae. But the 17 volumes, vastly important to his contemporaries, read like a romance to us today, and the glance at the map laid down according to his descriptions is like a vague and distorted caricature of the real thing. And yet, according to the men of his times, he surpasses all the geographical writings of antiquity, both in grandeur of plan and in abundance and variety of its materials. Strabo has summed for up for us the knowledge of the ancient world as it was in the days of the Emperor Caesar Augustus, of the great Roman Empire, as it was when in far off Syria the Christ was born, and the greater part of the known earth was under the sway of Rome. A wall-map had already been designed by order of Augustus to hang in a public place in Rome, the heart of the Empire, so that the young Romans might realize the size of their inheritance, while a list of the chief places on the roads, which, radiating from Rome, formed a network over the Empire, was inscribed on the golden milestone in the Forum. We may well imagine with what keen interest the schoolmen of Alexandria would watch the extension of the Roman Empire. Here Strabo had studied, here or at Rome, he probably wrote his great work toward the close of a long life. He has read his Homer and his lines to take every word he says as true. Herodotus he will have none of. Herodotus and other writers trifle very much, he asserts, when they introduce into their histories the marvelous like an interlude of some melody. In like manner he disbelieves poor Piteas and his accounts of the land of Ultima Tule and his marvelous walks through Britain while he clings to the writings of Herodotus Tines. But in common with them all, Strabo believes the world to be one vast island surrounded on all sides by ocean into which the rivers flow and the Caspian Sea in Persian Gulf are but inlets. So in also the Mediterranean, or our sea as he prefers to call it, this earth island reaches north to south from Ireland barely habitable on account of the cold to the cinnamon country Somaliland the most southerly point of the habitable earth. From west to east it stretches from the pillars of Hercules right through the middle of our sea to the shores of Asia Minor then across Asia by an imaginary chain of mountains to an imaginary spot where the gangs lately discovered emptied its waters in the world surrounding ocean stream. The breadth of the habitable earth is 3,000 miles the length about 7,000 a little world indeed with the greater world lying all around it still undreamed of by the old student of geography and the traveler after truth. He begins his book with a detailed account of southern Spain he tells of her 200 towns those best known are situated on the rivers as Turies and Seas but the two which have acquired the greatest name and importance are Cordova and Cadiz after these Seville is the most noted a vast number of people dwell along the Cuadal Quivir and you may sail up it almost 120 miles from the sea to Cordova and the place is a little higher up the banks and little inlets of this river are cultivated with the greatest diligence the eye is also delighted with groves and gardens which in this district are met with in the highest perfection for 50 miles the river is navigable for ships of considerable size but for the cities higher up smaller vessels are employed and then to Cordova river boats these are now constructed of planks joined together but they were formerly made out of a single trunk a chain of mountains rich in metal runs parallel to the Cuadal Quivir approaching the river sometimes more sometimes less toward the north he grows enthusiastic over the richness of this part of southern Spain famous from ancient days and at the name of Tartesus for its wealth large quantities of corn and wine are exported besides much oil which is of the first quality also wax, honey and pitch the country furnishes the timber for their shipbuilding they have likewise mineral salt and not a few salt streams a considerable quantity of salted fish is exported not only from hens but also from the remainder of the coast beyond the pillars formerly they exported large quantities of garments but they now send the unmanufactured wool remarkable for its beauty the staffs manufactured are of incomparable texture there is a separate abundance of cattle and a great variety of game while on the other hand there are certain little hairs which burrow in the ground, rabbits these creatures destroy both seeds and trees by gnaving their roots they are met with throughout almost the whole of Spain it is said that formerly the inhabitants of Mallorca and Minorca set a deputation to the Romans requesting that a new land might be given them as they were quite driven out of their country by these animals being no longer able to stand against their vast multitudes the seacoast on the Atlantic side abounds in fish, says Jabal the congers are quite monstrous, far surpassing the size of those of our sea shoals of rich fat, turny fish are driven hither from the seacoast beyond they feed on the fruit of stunted oak which grows at the bottom of the sea and produces very large acorns so great is the quantity of fruit that at the season when they arrive the whole coast on either side of the pillars is covered with acorns round up by the tides the turny fish became gradually thinner owing to the failure of their food as they approached the pillars from the outer sea he describes too the metals of this wondrous land gold, silver, copper and iron it is astonishing to think that in the days of Strabo the silver mines employed 40,000 workmen and reduced something like 900 pounds a day in our modern money but we cannot follow Strabo over the world in all his detail he tells us of a people living north of the Tagus who slept on the ground, fed on acorn bread and wore black cloaks by day and night he does not think Britain is worth conquering Ireland lies to the north, not west, of Britain it is a barren land full of cannibals and wrapped in eternal snows the Pyrenees run parallel to the Rhine the Danube rises near the Alps even Italy herself runs east and west instead of north and south his remarks on India are interesting the reader he says must receive the accounts of this country with intelligence few persons of our nation have seen it the greater part of what they relate is from report very few of the merchants who now sail from Egypt by the Nile and the Arabian Gulf to India have proceeded as far as the Ganges he is determined not to be led astray by the fables of the great size of India some had told him it was a third of the whole habitable world some that it took four months to walk through the plain only Salem is said to be an island lying out at sea seven days sail from the most southerly parts of India its length is about 800 miles it produces elephants Strabo died about the year 21 AD and half a century passed before Pliny wrote an account of countries, nations, seas, towns, heavens mountains, rivers, distances and peoples who now exist or formerly existed strange to say he never refers in the most distant way to his famous predecessor Strabo he has but little to add to the Earth's knowledge of Strabo but he gives as a fuller account of Great Britain based on the fresh discoveries of Roman generals End of Chapter 8 Chapter 9 of A Book of Discovery This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org A Book of Discovery by M. B. Singh Chapter 9 The Roman Empire and Pliny In the year 48 AD the Emperor Claudius resolved to send an expedition to the British coast lying amidst the mists and folk of the Northern Ocean A gigantic army landed near the spot where Caesar had landed just a hundred years before The discovery and conquest of Britain now began in real earnest The Isle of Wight was overrun by Romans The south coast was explored Roman soldiers lost their lives in the bogs and swamps of Gloucestershire The eastern counties after fierce opposition submitted at the last The spirit of Caractacus and Bodicaea spread from tribe to tribe and the Romans were constantly assailed but gradually they swept the island They reached the banks of the river Tyne They crossed the Tweed and explored as far as the first of Clyde and Forth From the coast of Galloway the Romans beheld for the first time the dim outline of the Irish coast In the year 88 AD Agricola, a new Roman commander made his way beyond the first of Forth Now is the time to penetrate into the heart of Caledonia and to discover the utmost limits of Britain cried the Romans as they began their advance to the highlands of Scotland While a Roman fleet surveyed the coasts and harbours Agricola led his men up the valley of the Tay to the edge of the highlands but he could not follow the savage Caledonians into the rugged and inaccessible mountains To the north of Scotland they never penetrated and no part of Ireland ever came under Romans way In that air the Roman eagle never fluttered The Roman account of Britain at this time is interesting Britain says Tacitus the largest of all the islands which have come with the knowledge of the Romans stretches on the east towards Germany on the west towards Spain and on the south it is even within sight of France The Roman fleet at this period for sailing around this remotest coast gave certain proof that Britain was an island and at the same time discovered and subdued the Orkney islands till then unknown Tool was also distinctly seen which winter and eternal snow had hitherto concealed The sky in this country is deformed by clouds and frequent rains but the cold is never extremely rigorous The earth yields gold and silver and other metals the ocean produces pearls The account of Ireland is only from Horsay This island continues Tacitus is less than Britain but larger than those of our sea situated between Britain and Spain and lying commodiously to the Bay of Biscay it would have formed a very beneficial connection between the most powerful parts of the empire its soil, climate and the manners and dispositions of its inhabitants are little different from those of Britain its ports and harbours are better known in the course of merchants for purposes of commerce Not only the British Isles but a good deal of the wild North Sea and the low-lying coast on the opposite side were explored by Roman ships and Roman soldiers Caesar had crossed the Rhine he had heard of a great forest which took a man four months to cross and in 16 AD a Roman general, Drusus penetrated into the interior of Germany Drusus crossed the Rhine near the coast made his way across the river Wesser and reached the banks of the Elbe but the fame of Drusus rests mainly on his navigation of the German Ocean or North Sea in the Roman fleet Near the mouth of the Rhine a thousand ships were quickly built by expert Romans some were short with narrow stern and prow and rowed in the middle the easier to endure the shock of the waves some had flat bottoms that without damage they might run aground many were fitted for carrying horses and provisions convenient for sails and swift with oars The Roman troops were in high spirits as they launched their splendid fleet on the northern ocean and sailed prosperously to the mouth of the Elbe startling the Frisians into submission but no friendliness greeted them on the farther side of the river the Germans were ready to defend their land and further advance was impossible Returning along the northern coast the Romans got a taste of the storms of this northern ocean of which they were in such complete ignorance The sea at first calm says Tacitus resounded with the oars of a thousand ships but presently a shore of hail poured down from a black mass of clouds at the same time storms raging on all sides in every variety the billows rolling now here, now there obstructed the view and made it impossible to manage the ships The whole expanse of air and sea was swept by a southwest wind which, deriving strength from the mountainous region of Germany its deep rivers and boundless tract of clouded atmosphere and rendered still harsher by the rigor of the neighboring north tore away the ships, scattered and drove them into the open ocean or upon islands dangerous from precipitous rocks or hidden sandbanks Having got a little clear of these but with great difficulty the tide turning and flowing in the same direction as that in which the wind blew they were unable to ride at anchor or bail out the water that broke in upon them Horses, beasts of birthing, baggage even arms were thrown overboard to lessen the hulls of the ships which took in water at their sides and from the waves too running over them A round were either shores inhabited by enemies or a sea so vast and unfathomable as to be supposed the limit of the world and bounded by lands Part of the fleet was swallowed up Many were driven upon remote islands where the men perished through famine The gully of Drusso's ore as he was hereafter called Germanicus alone reached the mouth of the weather Both day and night amid the rocks and prominences of the shore he reproached himself as the author of such overwhelming destruction and was hardly restrained by his friends from destroying himself in the same sea At last, with the returning tide and a favoring gale the shuttered ships returned almost all destitute or with garments spread for sales The wreck of the Roman fleet in the North Sea made a deep impression in the Roman capital and many a garbled story of the extreme parts of the world was circulated throughout the empire Here was new land outside the boundaries of the empire country great with possibilities Pliny, writer of the natural history now arises an endeavor to clear the mind of his countrymen by some account of these northern regions Strabo had been dead some 50 years and the empire had grown since his days But Pliny has news of land beyond the Elbe He can tell us of Scandinavia an island of unknown extent of Norway, another island the inhabitants of which sailed as far as Tool of the seamen of Swedes who lived in the northern half of the world It is madness to harass the mind with attempts to measure the world he asserts But he proceeds to tell us the size of the world as accepted by him Our part of the earth floating as it were in the ocean which rounds it Stretching out to the greatest extent from India to the pillars at Cadiz is 8,568 miles The breadth from south to north is commonly supposed to be half its length But how little was known of the north of Europe at this time is shown by a startling statement that certain Indians sailing from India for the purposes of commerce had been driven by tempests into Germany Thus it appears, concludes Pliny that the seas flow completely around the globe and divide it into two parts How Baal was discovered and claimed for the empire some of the African desert is related by Pliny He tells us too how another room in general left the west coast of Africa marched for ten days reached Mount Atlas and in a desert of dark colored sand met a river which he supposed to be the nigger The home of the Ethiopians in Africa likewise interested Pliny There can be no doubt that the Ethiopians are scorched by their vicinity to the sun's heat and that they are born like persons who have been burned with beard and hair frizzled while in the opposite and throzen parts of the earth there are nations with white skins and long light hair Pliny's geography was the basis of much medieval writing and his knowledge of the course of the nigger remained unchallenged till Mungo Park were discovered in many centuries after End of Chapter 9 Chapter 10 of A Book of Discovery This is a Librivox recording All Librivox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit Librivox.org A Book of Discovery by M. B. Singh Chapter 10 Ptolemy's Maps And so we reach the days of Ptolemy the last geographer of the pagan world This famous Greek was born in Egypt and the Great Roman Empire was already showing signs of decay while Ptolemy was searching the great Alexandrian library for materials for his book Alexandria was now the first commercial city of the world second only to Rome She supplied the great population in the heart of the empire with Egyptian corn ships sailed from Alexandria to every part of the known world It was therefore a suitable place for Ptolemy to listen to the yarns of the merchants to read the works of Homer Herodotus Erastocinis Strabo Pliny and others to study and observe and finally to write He begins his great geography with the northwest extremities of the world the British Isles Iverna and Albion as he calls Ireland and England But he places Ireland much too far north and the shape of Scotland has little resemblance to the original He realized that there were lands to the south of Africa to the east of Africa and to the north of Europe all stretching far away beyond his skin He agrees with Pliny about the four islands in the neighborhood of Scandinavia and draws the Volga correctly He realizes too that the Caspian is an inland sea and unconnected with the surrounding ocean Perhaps the most remarkable part of Ptolemy's geography is that which tells us of the lands beyond the Ganges He knows something of the Golden Chersonese or Malai Peninsula something of China where far away towards the north and bordering on the eastern ocean there is a land containing a great city from which silk is exported both raw and spun and woven into textures The wonder is that Ptolemy did not know more of China for that land had one of the oldest civilizations in the world as wondrous as those of Asteria and Egypt But China had had little or no direct intercourse with the west till after the death of Ptolemy Merchants had passed between China and India for long centuries and the Indians had made journeys in the golden deserts in troops of one or two thousand and it is said that they do not return from those journeys till the third or fourth year This was the desert of Gobi called Golden because it opened the way to wealth But perhaps the most interesting part of this great geography which was to inform the world for centuries yet to come was the construction of a series of 26 maps and the general map of the known world This was one of the most important maps ever constructed forms our prontispiece from medieval copies of the original The twelve heads blowing soundly winds onto the world's surface are characteristic of the age The 26 maps are in sections They are the first maps to be drawn with lines of latitude and longitude The measurements are very vague The lines are never ruled They are drawn uncertainly in red So the spaces between the lines indicate degrees of 50 miles The maps are crowded with towns each carefully walled in by little red squares and drawn by hand The water is all coloured as somber greeny blue and the land is washed in a rich yellow brown A copy can be seen at the British Museum It is only by looking back that we can realize the progress made in Earth's knowledge Ptolemy wrote just a thousand years after Homer when the little world round the Mediterranean had become a great empire stretching from the British Isles to China Already the barbaric hordes which hunted the frontiers of the Roman Empire were breaking across the ill-defended boundaries desolating streams were bursting over the civilized world until at last the storm broke The unity of the empire was ended commerce broken up and the darkness of ignorance spread over the Earth During this time little in the way of progress was made and for the next few centuries our only interest lies in filling up some of the shadowy places of the Earth without extending its known bounds End of Chapter 10 Chapter 11 of A Book of Discovery This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org A Book of Discovery by M. B. Singh Chapter 11. Pilgrim Travelers Meanwhile a new inspiration had been given to the world which affected traveling to no small extent In far off Roman province of Syria the Christ had lived the Christ had died and His words were ringing through the land Go ye and make disciples of all the nations preach the gospel to every creature Here at once was a new incentive to travel a definite reason for men to venture forth into the unknown to brave dangers to endure hardship They must carry their master's words and to the ends of the world The Roman Empire had brought men under one rule They must now be brought to serve one God So men passed out of Syria They landed on the islands in the Mediterranean They made their way to Asia Minor and across to Greece Until in the year 60 AD we get the graphic account of Paul the Traveler one of the first and most famous of the missionaries of the first century Jerusalem now became indeed the world center a very stream of pilgrim travelers dreamt to the holy city from far away lands to see for themselves the land where the Christ had lived and died The pilgrim age begins with the journey of a woman the beautiful and learned daughter of the King of Britain Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine She was a student of divinity and a devoted Christian In the year 326 she undertook the difficult journey to Jerusalem where she is reported to have discovered the true cross which had been buried with palates and scripture in Hebrew and Greek and Latin When the news of her discovery was noticed abroad a very rush of pilgrims took place from every part of the world Indeed, one pilgrim, his name is unknown thought it worthwhile to write a guidebook for the benefit of his fellow travelers His itinerary from Bordeaux to Jerusalem is very interesting being the first Christian guidebook and one of the earliest travel documents ever written for the use of travelers This ancient broad show has been translated into English and throws light on 4th century traveling Enthusiastic indeed must these early pilgrims have been to undertake his long and tall some journey The guidebook takes them save for crossing the Bosphorus entirely by land It leads them from the city of Bordeaux where is the River Garon in which the ocean ebbs and flows for 100 leagues more or less to Arles with 30 changes and 11 halts in 372 miles There were milestones along the Roman roads to guide them and houses at regular intervals where horses were kept for posting From Arles the pilgrim goes north to Avignon crosses the Alps and helps at the Italian frontier Skirting the north of Italy by Turin, Milan and Padua he reaches the Danube at Belgrade passes through Serbia and Bulgaria and so reaches Constantinople the great new city of Constantin Grand total from Bordeaux to Constantinople 2221 miles with 230 changes and 112 halts From Constantinople continues the guidebook You cross the street and walk on through Asia Minor passing the spot where lies King Hannibal once king of the Africans Thus onward through the long dreary miles to Tarsus where was born the Apostle Paul till Syria is reached at last Then the bird show becomes a badica Long and detailed accounts are given of the country through which the pilgrim has to pass From Caesarea he is led to Jezreel by the spot where David slew Goliath by Job's country horse to see him where Joseph is laid and then to Jerusalem Full accounts follow of the Holy City and Mount Sion the little hill of Golgotha where the Lord was crucified the Mount of Olives Jericho, Jordan, Bethlehem and Hebron Here is a monument of square form built of stone and wondrous beauty in which lie Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca and Leah From Constantinople to Jerusalem is 1,159 miles with 69 changes and 58 holds Here the guidebook ends abruptly with a brief summary of distances The earth and flocks of pilgrims some by land and some by sea men and women from all parts of the world Even the Britain, separated from our world leaves the setting sun and seeks a place known to him only by fame and the narrative of the scriptures One of the earliest was Paula of Rome a weak fragile woman accustomed to a life of luxury and ease but, fired with the enthusiasm of her religion she resolved to brave the dangers and hardships of a journey to the east Her travels were written by Saint Jerome When the winter was spent and the sea was open, he writes She longed and prayed to sail She went down to the harbor accompanied by her brother her relatives, her connections and more than these by her children who strode to surpass the affection of the kindest of mothers Soon the sails were swelling in the breeze and the ship guided by the oars gained to open sea Little Lexotinus bituously stretched forth his hands from the shore Rufina, a grown-up girl by her tears silently besought her mother to stay until she was married Yet she herself, without a tear turned her eyes heavenward overcoming her love for her children by her love for God Meanwhile the ship was ploughing the sea the winds were sluggish and all speeds low But the ship passed between Scilla and Carriptis and reached Antioch in safety From this spot she followed the guidebook directions until she arrived at Jerusalem How Paula and one of her younger daughters walked over the rough ground endured the hardships of desert life and finally lived 20 years at Bethlehem would take too long to tell and she was but one of many Sylvia of Aquitaine traveling at the same time brought a strangely interesting account of her travels The early part of her manuscript was lost and we find her first in Arabia all was new and strange Meanwhile as we walked we arrived at a certain place where the mountains between which we were passing opened themselves out and formed a great volley very flat and extremely beautiful and beyond the volley appeared Sinai the Holy Mount of God This is the same great and flat volley in which the children of Israel waited during the days when Holy Moses went up into the Mount of God It was late on the Sabbath when we came to the mountain and arriving at a certain monastery the kindly monks who lived there entertained us showing us all kindliness Sylvia had to ascend the mountain on foot because the ascent could not be made in a chair but the view over Egypt and Palestine and the Red Sea and the Mediterranean which leads to Alexandria also the boundless territory of the Saracens we saw below us hard though it is to believe all of which thinks these holy men pointed out to us But we must not follow her to Jerusalem on to Mesopotamia where she saw the Great River Euphrates rushing down in a torrent like the Rhine but greater She reached Constantinople on her route having spent four years in travel and walked 2,000 miles to the very limit of the Roman Empire Her boundless energy is not exhausted yet Ladies, my beloved ones she writes Whilst I prepare this account for your pure zeal it is already my purpose to go to Asia But we must turn away for a moment from the stream of pilgrim travelers wending their weary way to Britain, France, Spain and the East Jerusalem to follow the travels of Saint Patrick through the wilds of Ireland End of Chapter 11 Chapter 12 of A Book of Discovery This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org A Book of Discovery by M. B. Sing Chapter 12 Irish Explorers Patrick had been a pilgrim to Rome from the banks of the Clyde where he lived and having seen the Pope he had returned to Ireland by sea landing on the Wicklow coast in the year 482 Hungry and tired after the long voyage he tried to get some fish but they replied by throwing stones at him and he put out to sea again and headed north passed Braehad passed the bay of Malahide he sailed but he could get neither fresh nor food till he reached a spot between the Liffey and the Boine where he built his first Christian church Now in the 5th century when light first breaks over Ireland it breaks over a land torn by perpetual tribal strife a land in the cause of wild heathendon it was reserved for St. Patrick to save her from increasing gloom Patrick and his companions now sailed on past Luz by the low-lying shore with long stretches of sandy flats on under the shadow of great peaks frowning over the sea he landed near Don Patrick founded another church and spent the winter in these parts for the autumn was far advanced Spring found him sailing back to the Boine and attacking the fierce heathen king at Tara the capital of Ireland From Tara five great roads led to different parts of the island St. Patrick now made his way through Meath to the very heart of the country building churches as he went Then he crossed the Shannon entered the Gorge Then he crossed the Shannon entered the great plain of Roscommon passed by Mayo and at length reached the western sea He had now been eight years in Ireland eight laborious years climbing hills, wading through waters camping out by night building, organizing, preaching He loved the land on the western sea little known as yet I would choose to remain here on a little land after fearing around churches and waters since I am weary I wish not to go further St. Patrick climbed the great peak afterwards called Crochpatrick and on the summit exposed to wind and rain he spent the forty days of land From here he could look down onto the one of the most beautiful bays in Ireland down onto the hundred little islands in the glancing waters below while away to the north and south stretched the rugged coastline and he tells us how the great white birds came and sang to him there It would take too long to tell how he returned to Tara and started again with a train of 13 chariots by the great north western road to the spot afterwards known as Don Patrick Heade He passed along the broken coast to extreme north where the great ocean surf breaks on the rugged shore returning again to the Irish capital He traveled over a great part of Ireland founded 350 churches converted heathen tribes to Christianity and civilization and finally died at Armach in 493 His work was carried on by St. Colomba a native of Ireland who deciding to go abroad for Christ sailed away with 12 disciples to a low rocky island of the west coast of Scotland where he founded the famous monastery of Yorna about 563 Then he journeyed away to the highlands making his way through rugged and mountainous country that had stayed the warlike Romans long years before He even sailed across the stormy northern sea to the Orkney Islands Let us picture the Scotland of the 6th century in order to realize those long lonely tramps of St. Colomba and his disciples across the rough mountains through the dense forests across bleak moors and wet bogs till after dreary wanderings they reach the coast and in frail ships boldly faced the wild seas that rage round the northern islands We can see Colomba and his disciples journeying on food as poor and as barely provided as were Christ and his disciples with neither silver nor gold nor brass in their purses and over a wilder country and among a wilder people These pilgrims tramped to enthrow clad in simple tunics over a monkish dress of undialled wool bound round the waist by a strong cord all their worldly goods on their backs and their stuff in their hands The hermit instinct was growing and men were sailing away to lonely islands where God might be better served apart from the hounds of men Perhaps it was this instinct that inspired Saint Brandon to sail away across the trackless ocean in search of the island of saints reported in the western seas His voyage suggests the old expedition of Uluses A good deal of it is mythical Sam is added at a later date but it is interesting as being an attempt to cross the wide Atlantic ocean across which no man had yet sailed For seven years Saint Brandon sailed on the unknown sea discovering unknown islands until he reached the island of saints the goal of his desires And the fact remains that for ten centuries after this an island known as Brandon's Isle was marked on maps somewhere to the west of Ireland Though to the end it remained as mysterious as the island of tool Here is the old story Brandon Abbot of a large Irish monastery containing 1,000 monks sailed off their boat covered with ten hides and carefully greased provisioned for seven years After forty days at sea they reached an island with steep sides where they took in fresh supplies Then the winds carried the ship to another island where they found sheep Every sheep was as great as an ox This is the island of sheep and here it is every summer they were informed by an old islander This may have been Madeira They found other islands in the neighborhood one of which was full of singing birds and the passing years found them still tossing to and fro on the unknown sea until at last the end came And Saint Brandon sailed forty days south in full great tempest and another forty days brought the ship right into a bank of fog But when the fog lifted they saw the fairest country eastward that any man might see It was so clear and bright that it was a heavenly sight to behold and all the trees were charged with ripe fruit And they walked about the island for forty days and could not find the end And there was no night there and the climate was neither hot nor cold Be ye joyful now, said a voice For this is the land ye have sought and our Lord wills that you laden your ships with the fruit of this land and hear ye hence for ye may no longer abide here but thou shalt sail again into Zion own country So the monks took all the fruit they could carry and weeping that they might stay no longer in this happy land they sailed back to Ireland Hesley indeed was the geography of the Atlantic in the sixth century Nor can we leave St. Brandon's story without quoting a modern poet who believed that the voyage was to the Arctic regions and not in the Atlantic St. Brandon sails in northern Maine The brotherhood of saints are glad He greets them once he sails again So late, such storms the saint is mad He heard across the howling seas chime convent bells on wintery nights He saw on spray-swept hebrides twinkle the monastery lights But north, still north St. Brandon steered and now no bells, no convents more the hurtling polar lights are reached the sea without a human shore End of Chapter 12 Chapter 13 of A Book of Discovery This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org A Book of Discovery by M. B. Singh Chapter 13 After Mohammed So once more we turn back to the East Jerusalem is still the center of the earth But a change has passed over the world which influenced not a little the progress of geography Mohammed in the 7th century lived and died in Arabia There is but one God and Mohammed is his prophet proclaims his followers the Arabs or Therosines as they were called And just as men had traveled abroad to preach Christianity to those who knew it not So now the Mohammedans set forth to teach the face But where Christianity was taught by peaceful means Mohammedanism was carried by the sword The Roman provinces of Syria and Egypt had been conquered by the Arabs and the famous cities of Jerusalem and Alexandria were filled with teachers of the new face The Mohammedans had conquered Spain and were pressing by Persia towards India What deep roots their preaching took in these parts is still evident Still the very fight between the two religions continues The first traveler of note through this distracted Europe was a Frenchman named Arkel a Christian bishop When he had visited the holy land on Egypt his ship was caught in a violent storm and driven onto the west coast of Scotland After many adventures Arkel found himself at the famous convent of Yona made welcome by an Irish monk Ademnon who was deeply interested in Arkel's account of his wanderings and wrote them down at his dictation first on wax tablets copied later on to parchment How tenderly the two monks dwell on all the glories of Jerusalem But in that beautiful place where once the temple had been the serocenes now frequent a four-sided house of prayer which they have built rudely constructing it by raising boards and great beams and some remains of ruins which house can hold 3000 men at once and Arkel draws on the wax tablets a picture of some church or tomb to make his narrative clearer to his friend Ademnon Perhaps the most interesting part of all the travels is the account of the lofty column that Arkel describes as Jerusalem This column, he says as it stands in the center of the heaven shining straight down from above proves that the city of Jerusalem is situated in the middle of the earth Arkel's journey roused great interest among the newly converted Christians of the north and Willibald, a high-born Englishman started off in 721 to explore farther but the road through Europe was now full of danger The followers of Mohammed were strong and it required true courage to face the perils of the long journey Willibald was undoubted and with his father and two brothers he sailed from South Hampton crossed to France sailed up the sign to Rowan and reached Italy Here the old father died Willibald and his brothers traveled on through the vast lands of Italy through the depths of the valleys over the steep routes of the mountains over the levels of the plains climbing on foot the difficult passes of the Alps over the icebound and snow-capped summits till they arrived at Rome Then they made their way to Syria where they were at once thrown in prison by Mohammedan conquerors They were brought before the ruler of the Mohammedan world or Caliph whose seat was at Damascus He asked when they came These men come from the western shore where the sun sets and we know not of any land beyond them but water only was the answer Such was Britain to the Mohammedans They never got a footing in that country their empire lay to the east and their capital was even now shifting to Baghdad But before turning to their geographical discoveries we must see how Kosmas the Egyptian merchant monk set the clock back by his quaint theories of the world in the 6th century Kosmas hailed from Alexander's great city His calling carried him into seas and countries remote from home He knew the Mediterranean sea the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea He had narrowly escaped shipwreck in the Indian Ocean which in those days was regarded with terror on account of violent currents and dense fogs As the ship carrying the merchant approached this dread region a storm gathered overhead and flocks of albatross like birds of hill omen hovered about the masts We were all in alarm relates Kosmas for all the men of experience on board whether passengers or sailors began to say that we were near the ocean and called out to the pilot Steer the ship to the port and make for the Gulf or we shall be swept along by the currents and carried into the ocean and lost For the ocean rushing into the Gulf was swelling with billows of portentous size while the currents from the Gulf were driving the ship into the ocean and the outlook was also altogether so dismal that we were kept in a state of great alarm that he eventually reached India is clear for he relates strange things concerning Salem There is a large oceanic island lying in the Indian sea he tells us It has a length of 900 miles and it is of the like extent in breath There are two kings in the island and they are at food that one was the other The island being as it is in a central position is much frequented by ships from all parts of India and from Persia and Ethiopia and from the remotest countries it receives silk, alloys, gloves and other products Farther away is the Gulf country then Sinistra China which produces silk Beyond this there is no other country for the ocean surrounds it on the east Kosmos was the first to realize that China was bounded on the east by the ocean He tells us a good story about the lord of India who always went to war with 1000 elephants Once upon a time this king would lay siege to an island city of the Indians which was on every side protected by water A long while he sat down before it until what was his elephants, his horses and his soldiers all the water had been drunk up He then crossed over to the city dry-shot and took it But strange as are the travels and information of Kosmos the stranger is his Christian topography His commercial traveling done he retired became a devout Christian monk and devoted his leisure time in trying to reconcile all the progress of geographical knowledge with old biblical ideas He assures us that the world is flat and not round and that it is surrounded by an immense wall supporting the firmament Indeed if we compare the maps of Kosmos the 16th century with those of the Babylonians thousands of years before there is mighty little difference With amazing courage he refutes all the old theories and draws the most astounding maps which nevertheless are the oldest Christian maps which survive End of Chapter 13 Chapter 14 of A Book of Discovery This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org A Book of Discovery by M. B. Singh Chapter 14 The Viking Sail the Northern Seas A more interesting force than the pilgrim travelers now claims our attention and we turn to the frozen north to the wild region at the back of the north wind for new activity and discovery Out of this land of fable and myth, legend and poetry the fierce inhabitants of Scandinavia begin to take shape That's it or speaks of them as mighty in fame Ptolemy as savage and closed in the skins of wild beasts From time to time we have glimpses of those folk sailing about in the Baltic Sea They were known to the Finns of the north as sea rovers The sea is their school of war and the storms their friend They are sea wolves that live on the pillage of the world sank an old Roman long years ago The daring spirit of their race had already attracted the attention of Britons across the seas The careless gleam with which they seized either sword or oar and waged war with the stormy sea The careless gleam with which and waged war with the stormy seas for scantily livelihood raiding all the neighboring coasts had earned them the name of Vikings or Creekmen Their black sail ships stood high out of the water prow and stern ending in the head and tail of some strange animal while their long beards their loose shirts and battle-axe made them conspicuous From the fury of the northmen was Lord Parade those who had come in contact with those Vikings In the 9th century they sprang into fame as explorers by the discovery of Iceland It was in this vise The chief of a band of pirates one Nedund During a voyage to the faro islands was driven by a storm upon the eastern coast of an unknown land Not a soul was to be seen High mountain covered with snow and took a look round But though he could see far and wide not a human being could he detect So he named it Snowland and sailed home to relive his adventures A few years later another Viking Gardar bound for the west coast of Scotland was likewise blown by a storm onto the coast of Snowland He sailed right round an island Considering that it was unsafe to navigate the icy northern seas in winter he built himself a hut on the island lived there till the spring and returned home His account of the island fired the enthusiasm of an old Viking called Floki who sailed away meaning to take possession of the newly discovered country At the faro islands he let fly three ravens The first returned The second came back to the ship The third guided the navigator to the island which he sought He met a quantity of drift ice about the northern part of the island and called it Iceland the name it has borne ever since But amidst the arctic ice he spent a desolate winter The island seemed full of lofty mountains covered with eternal snow His companions however were delighted with the climate and the soil Milk drops from every plant and butter from every twig as they said This was the land where men might live free from the tyranny of kings Free indeed, for the island was totally uninhabited Iceland soon became a refugee for pirates and other lawless characters Among these was a young Viking called Erik the Red He was too lawless for Iceland and being banished for three years he sailed away in 985 in search of new lands At the end of his three years he returned and reported that he had discovered land with rich meadows, fine woods and good fishing which he had named Greenland So glowing was his description that soon a party of men and women with household goods and cattle started force in 25 ships to colonize the new land Still the passion for discovery continued and Erik's son Leith fitted out a vessel to carry 35 men in quest of land already sighted to the west It was in the year 1000 that they reached the coast of North America It was a barren and rocky shore to which Leith gave the name of Rockland Selling farther they found the coast, wooded to its edge to which they gave the simple name of Woodyland Two days later an island appeared and on the mainland they discovered a river up which they sailed On low bushes by the banks of the river they found sweet berries or wild grapes from which a sort of wine was made So Leith called the land Vinland It is now supposed that Vinland and Woodyland are really the land and Labrador on the shores of North America After this shipload followed shipload from Iceland to colonize Vinland but without success So the Viking discoveries in these cold and unhospitable regions were about transitory The clouds lifted but for a moment to settle down again our America till it was rediscovered some 500 years later Before leaving these northern explorers let us remind ourselves of the old saga so graphic in its description of their ocean lives Down the fjord sweep wind and rain our sails and tackle sway and strain wet to the skin with sound within our sea-steeds through the foam-ghost prancing while shields and spears and helms are glancing From fjord to sea our ships ride free a swelling sail with scud before the gathering gale Now while these fierce old Vikings were navigating unknown seas Alfred the Great was reigning over England Among his many and varied interests he was deeply thrilled in the geography of the world He was always ready to listen to those who had been on voyages of discovery and in his account of the geography of Europe he told us of a famous old sea-captain called Osirre who had navigated the unknown seas to the north of Europe Osirre told his lord King Alfred that he dwelt northmost of all northermen on the land by the western sea He said that the land is very long than to the north but it is all waste save that in a few places here and there fins reside and he wished to find out how far the land lay right north or whether any man dwelt to the north of the waste Then he went right north near the land and he left all the ways the waste land on the right and the wide sea on the left for three days There was he as far north as the whale hunters ever go He then went yet right north as far as he could sail in the next three days After sailing for another nine days he came to a great river They turned up into the river but the dirt not sailed beyond it on account of hostility for the land was all inhabited on the other side He had not before met with any inhabited land since he came from his own home for the land was uninhabited all the way on his right saved by fishermen hunters and fowlers and there were all fins there was always a wide sea on his left and as a trophy of distant lands and a proof of his having reached far the snores a theater presented the king with the snow white walrus tooth but king Alfred wanted his subjects to know more of the world around them and even in the midst of his busy life he managed to write a book in anglo-saxon which sums up for us the world's knowledge for years after Ptolemy 900 barren years as far as much geographical progress was concerned Alfred does not even allude to Iceland, Greenland and Vinland The news of these discoveries had evidently not reached him He repeats the old legend of Tule to the north west of Ireland which is known to few on account of its very great distance So ends the brief but thrilling discoveries of the Norsemen who knew not fear and we turn again to Lansman and the east End of chapter 14 Chapter 15 of A Book of Discovery This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org A Book of Discovery by M. B. Sing Chapter 15 Arab Wayfarers And now we leave the fierce energy of the Norsemen westwards and turn to another energy which was leading men towards the east to the lands beyond the oil fraties to India across Central Asia even into Far Kathi These early travelers to the east were for the most part Arabs Mohammed had bid on his followers to spread his teaching far and wide This teaching had always appealed more to the eastern than to the western mind So farther and further to the east traveled the Arabs converting the uncivilized tribes that Christianity had not reached What a contrast are these Arabs to the explorers of the vigorous Norse? They always traveled by land and not by the sea which was life to the Viking folk To the Arabs the encircling ocean was a very sea of darkness indeed the unknown ocean beyond China was called the sea of pitchy darkness Their creed taught that the ocean was boundless so that ships dared not venture out of sight of land for there was no inhabited country beyond and mariners would assuredly be lost in mists and fogs So while the Vikings tossed fearlessly about the wild northern seas the Arab wife-hours rode eastward by well-known caravan tracks trading and teaching the ways of Mohammed Arabic enterprise had pushed on far beyond the Ptolemaic world the Arab central lay in the city of Baghdad the headquarters of the ruler or Caliph of the Mohammedan world They had already opened up a considerable trade with the rapidly rising Mongol empire which no European had yet reached But as this country was to play a large part in the travels of the near future it will be interesting to hear the account given by two Mohammedan friends who journeyed Caesar in the year 881 just 400 years before Marco Polo's famous account The early part of their story is missing and we raise the curtain when they have arrived in the land of China itself then a very small empire compared with what it is now The emperor of China reckons himself next after the kings of the Arabs who they all allow to be the first and beyond all dispute the most powerful of kings because he is the head of a great religion In this great kingdom of China they tell us there are over 200 cities each city has four gates at each of which are five trumpets which the Chinese sound at certain hours of the day and of the night There are also within each city 10 drums which they beat at the same time as a public token of their obedience to the emperor as also to signify the hour of the day and of the night to which end they also have dials with ways China is a pleasant and truthful country the air is much better than the Indian provinces much rain falls in both these countries In India are many desert tracts but China is inhabited and people throughout its whole extent The Chinese are handsomers than the Indians and came nearer to the Arabs not only in continents but in dress in their way of riding in their manners and in their ceremonies They wear long garments and girdles in form of belts The Chinese are dressed in silk both in winter and summer and this kind of dress is common to the prince and the peasant Their food is rice which they often eat with a broth which they pour upon the rice They have several sorts of fruits apples, lemons quinces, figs grapes, cucumbers walnuts, almonds, plums apricots and coconuts Here too we get the first mention of tea which was not introduced into Europe for another 700 years but which formed a Chinese drink in the 9th century This Chinese drink is a herb or shrub more bushy than the pomegranate tea and of a more pleasant scent but somewhat bitter to this taste The Chinese boil water and pour it in scouting hot upon the sleeve and this infusion keeps them from all these tempers Here too we get the first mention of Chinaware They have an excellent kind of earth where we as they make aware of equal fineness with glass unequally transparent There is no time here to tell of all the curious manners and customs related by these two medicines One thing strikes them as indeed it must strike us today The Chinese, poor and rich great and small learn to read and write There are schools in every town for teaching the poor children and the masters are maintained at public charge The Chinese have a stone 10 cubits high erected in the public squares of their cities and on this stone are engraved of all the medicines with the exact price of each and when the poor stand in need of physics they go to the treasury where they receive the price each medicine is rated at It was out of such troubles as these that the famous romance of Sinpad the Sailor took shape A true story of Arab adventures of the 9th and 10th centuries in a romantic setting As in the case of Ulusis the adventures of many voyages are ascribed to one man and related in a collection of tales which bears the title of the Arabian Knights Of course Sinpad was a native of Baghdad the Arab center of everything at this time and of course he journeyed eastwards as did most Mohamedans It occurred to my mind says Sinpad to travel to the countries of other people then I rose and collected what I had of effects and apparel and sold them after which I sold my buildings and all that my hand possessed and amassed 3,000 pieces of silver so I embarked on a ship and as a company of merchants we traversed the sea for many days and nights we had passed by island after island and from sea to sea and land to land and in every place we sold and bought and exchanged merchandise we continued our voyage until we arrived at an island like one of the gardens of paradise here they anchored and lit fires when suddenly the masters of the ship cried aloud in great distress oh ye passengers come up quickly into the ship leave your merchandise and flee for your lives for this apparent island upon which ye are is not really an island but it is a great fish that has become stationary in the midst of the sea and the sand has accumulated upon it and trees have grown upon it and when ye lighted a fire it felt the heat and now it will descend with you into the sea and you will be all drowned as he spoke the island moved and descended to the bottom of the sea with oars that were upon it and the roaring sea agitated with waves closed over it let's think about continue his own story I sank in the sea with the rest but God delivered me and saved me from drowning and supplied me with a great wooden bow and I lay it hold upon it and get into it on my feet as with oars while the waves ported with me I remained so a day and a night until a bowl came to a stoppage under a high island where upon were trees overhanging the sea so I laid hold upon the branch of a lofty tree and clung to it until I landed on the island then I threw myself upon the island like one dead after wondering about he found servants of the king of Borneo and all sailed together to an island beyond the Malai Peninsula and the king of Borneo sent for Sindbad and heaped him with honors he gave him costly dress and made him superintendent of the seaport and advisor of affairs of state and Sindbad saw many wonders in this far distant sea at last one day I stood upon the shore of the sea with a staff at my hand as was my custom and lo a great vessel approached where in were many merchants they unloaded their wares telling Sindbad that the owner of their goods a man from Baghdad had been drowned and they were selling his things what was the name of the owner of the goods asked Sindbad his name was Sindbad of the sea then Sindbad cried oh master know that I am the owner of the goods and I am Sindbad of the sea then there was great rejoicing and Sindbad took leave of this king of Borneo and set sail for Baghdad the abode of peace but the spirit of unrest was upon him and soon he was off again indeed he made seven voyages in all but there is only room here to note a few of the most important points in each this time he sailed to the coast of Zanzibar East Africa and anchoring on the beautiful island of Matakaskar amid sweet smelling flowers pure rivers and whirling birds Sindbad fell asleep he awoke to find the ship had sailed away leaving him without food or drink the only reason being was to be seen on the island then I climbed up into a lofty tree and began to look from it to the right and left but saw nothing save sky and water and trees and birds and islands and sands at last he found an enormous bird and winding his turban he twisted it into a rope and tying one end round his wrist tied the other to one of the bird's great feet up flew the giant bird high into the sky and Sindbad with it descending somewhere in India in the volley of diamonds the bird was afterwards identified as an enormous eagle and I arose and walked in that volley says Sindbad and I beheld its ground to be composed of diamonds with which they perforated minerals and jewels, porcelain and the onyx and it is a stone so hard that neither iron nor rock have any effect upon it all that volley was likewise occupied by serpents and venomous snakes here Sindbad found the comfort trees under each of these trees a hundred men might shade themselves from these trees flowed liquid comfort in this island too is a kind of wild beast rhinoceros it's a huge beast with a single horn sick in the middle of its head and it lived as a great elephant upon its horn thus after collecting heaps of diamonds Sindbad returned to Bagdod a rich man again his soul yearns for travel this time he starts for China but his ship is driven out of its course and cast on the island of apes probably Sumatra these apes the most hideous of beasts covered with hair like black felt surrounded the ship they climbed up the capels and severeed them with their teeth to Sindbad's great alarm he escaped to the neighboring islands known as the Khloi Islands and again reached Bagdod safely again and yet again on the island of apes on the island of apes now his ship is being pursued by a giant roe whose young have been killed and eaten by Sindbad Sindbad as usually escapes upon a plank and sails to an island where he meets the old man of the sea probably a huge ape from Barneo on he passed to the island of apes where every night people who reside in it go forth from the doors of the city that open upon the sea in their fear of the apes lest they should come down upon them in the night from the mountains after this we find Sindbad trading in pepper on the Koromandel coast of modern India and discovering a wealth of pearls by the seashore of Salem but at last he grew tired of seafaring which was never congenial to Arabs hateful was the dark blue sky vaulted over the dark blue sea sore task to heart born out by many wars an eyes-grown dim was gazing on the pilot stars so he leaves private adventuring alone and is appointed by the Caliph of Baghdad to convey a letter and present to the Indian prince of Salem an expedition that lasts him 27 years the presents were magnificent they included a horse worth 10,000 pieces of gold with its saddle adorned with gold set with jewels a book a splendid dress and some beautiful white Egyptian cloth Greek carpets and a crystal cup having duly delivered these gifts he took his leave meaning to return to his own country but the usual adventures befell him this time his ship was surrounded by a number of boats on board of which were men like little devils with swords and daggers these attacked the ship captured Sinbad and sold him to a rich man as a slave he set him to shoot elephants from a tree with bows and arrows at last after many other adventures and having made seven long voyages poor Sinbad reached his home the romance of Sinbad the sailor is really a true story of Arab adventures at sea during the 9th and 10th centuries put into a romantic setting and ascribed to one man in the above map which is a portion of the map of the world made by the famous Arab geographer Idrissi in 1154 AD many of the places to which Sinbad's story relates have been identified their modern names are as follows Kotroba is probably Sokotra Colomeli is Colon near Cape Comorin Hind is India Serendib is Salem Mufili or Monsil the volley of diamonds is Mazulipatam Roibachat the Clough Islands are the Maldives Islands Rami the island of apes is Sumatra Maid Zaba the island with the volcano is Banka Senf is Ciampa Saos comes in China Mudza or Merici is Borneo Cameroon is Java made the Camphor Island is Formosa Idrissi's names are those which are used in the Arabian Nights End of Chapter 15 Chapter 16 of A Book of Discovery This is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org A Book of Discovery M.B. Singh Chapter 16 Travelers to the East But if the Sindipat Saga is based on the stories of Mohammedan travelers and sum up Arab adventures by sea in the 10th century we must turn to another Arab Masoudi by name for land travel of the same period Masoudi left his home at Baghdad very young and seems to have penetrated into a very Mohammedan country from Spain to farther India in his famous Medovs of Gold with its 132 chapters dedicated to the most illustrious kings he describes the various lands through which he has travelled giving us at the same time a good deal of incorrect information about lands he has never seen I have gone so far towards the setting sun that I have lost all remembrance of the east and my course has taken me so far towards the rising sun that I have forgotten the very name of west one cannot but look with admiration on the energetic Arab traveler when one remembers the labour of travel even in the 10th century there were the long hot rides through central Asia under a burning sun the ascent of unknown mountains crossing of unbridged rivers from his lengthy work we will only extract a few details though he had gone so far towards the setting sun his knowledge of the west was very limited and while Vikings tossed on the Atlantic westwards Masoudi tells us that it is impossible to navigate beyond the pillars of Hercules for no vessel sails on that sea it's without cultivation and its end, like its depths is unknown such was the green sea of darkness as it was called by the Arabs Masoudi is more at home when he journeys towards the rising sun to the east but his descriptions of China the flowery land the celestial country were to be excelled by others we must pass over Edrici who in 1153 wrote on the going abroad of a curious man to explore all the wonders of the world which wonders he explored very imperfectly though he has left as a map of the world which may be seen today at the Bodlein library at Oxford but we cannot pass over Benjamin of Tudela in so few words our Benjamin, he is called by Pinkerton who in the 18th century made a wonderful collection of voyages and travels of all ages our Benjamin was a Jew hailing from Tudela in Spain and he started force on his travels with a view to ascertaining the condition in numbers of Jews living in the midst of the great Mohammedan empire Benjamin made his way in the year 1160 to the exceeding great city of Constantinople which has none to compare with it except Baghdad the city of the Arabs with the great temple of Saint Sophia and its pillars of gold and silver he was immensely struck in rapid admiration he gazed at the emperor's palace with its walls of beaten gold its hanging crown suspended over the imperial throne blazing with precious stones so splendid that the whole needed no other light no less striking were the crimson embroidered garments worn by the Greeks corrode to and from the city like princes on horseback Benjamin turned sadly to the Jewish quarter no Jew might ride on horseback here all were treated as objects of contempt they were herded together often beaten in the streets from the wealth and luxury of Constantinople Benjamin makes his way to Syria at Jerusalem he finds some 200 Jews commanding the dying trade and here we must remind ourselves that the second crusade was over and the third had not yet taken place that Jerusalem the city of peace had been in the hands of the Mohammedans or Saracens till 1099 when it fell into the hands of the crusaders from Jerusalem by way of Damascus Benjamin entered Persia and he gives us an interesting account of Baghdad and its caliphs the caliph was the head of the Mohammedans in the same way as the pope was the head of the Christians he was says our Benjamin a very dignified personage friendly towards the Jews a kindhearted man but never to be seen pilgrims from distant lands pathing through Baghdad on their way to Mecca prayed to be allowed to see the brightness of his face but they were only allowed to kiss one end of his garment now, although Benjamin describes the journey from Baghdad to China it's very doubtful if he ever got to China himself so we will leave him delighting in the glorious of Baghdad with its palm trees, its gardens and orchards rejoicing in the statistics of Jews and turn to the adventures of one Carpini, courierly did reach Tartary this Carpini or Friar John was a Franciscan who was chosen by the pope to go to the great con of the Mongol Empire which was threatening to overrun Christendom on 16th April 1245 Friar John left the cloister for the unknown tract of country by which he had to pass into China by way of Bohemia he passed into Russia having a next brother Benedict in Poland and brother Stefan in Bohemia together with a guide Carpini made his way eastwards it was mid-winter so travelers had to ride on Tartar horses for they alone could find grass under the snow or live as animals must in Tartary without hay or straw sometimes Friar John fell so ill that he had to be placed in a cart and carried through the deep snow it was Easter 1246 just a year after their start that Friar John and his companions began the last section of their journey beyond the Volga and most tearfully we set out not knowing whether it was for life or for death so thin had they all become that not one of them could ride still they toiled on till one July day they entered Mongolia and found the headquarters of the Great Khan about half a day's journey from Karakorum they arrived in time to witness the enthronement of the new Khan in August here were crowds of ambassadors from Russia and Persia as well as from outlying parts of the growing Mongol Empire these were laden with gifts indeed there were no less than 500 crates full of silk satins, brocades or gold embroidery Friar John and his companions had no gifts to offer save the latter from the both impressive indeed in the eyes of the once cloistered Friar must have been this first site of eastern splendor high on a neighbouring hill stood the Khan's tent resting on pillars plated with gold top and sides covered with silk brocades while the great ceremony took place but the men of the west were not welcomed by the new emperor of the east it was supposed that he intended shortly to unfurl his standard against the whole of the western world and in November Friar John and his companions found themselves formally dismissed from the Great Khan to the Pope signed and sealed by the Khan himself the return journey was even more trying winter was coming out and for nearly seven months the Pope's faithful envoys struggled on across the endless open plains of Asia towards Russia resting their eyes on vast expenses of snow at last they reached home and Friar John wrote his book of the Tartars in which he informs us that Mongolia is in the east part of the world and that Kassi is a country in the east of Asia to the southwest of Mongolia he heard of a vast desert where lived certain wild men unable to speak and with no joints in their legs these occupy themselves making felt out of camel's hair for garments to protect them from the weather a guncarpini tells us about that mythical character figuring in the travel books of this time Friar John the Mongol army he says watched against the Christians dwelling in the greater India and the king of that country known by the name of Pristar John came forth with his army to meet them this Pristar John caused a number of hollow copper figures to be made resembling men which were stuffed with combustiles and set upon horses each having a man behind on the horse with a pair of bellows to stir up the fire at the first onset of the battle these mounted figures were sent forward to the charge the men who rode behind them set fire to the combustiles and then strongly blew with the bellows immediately the Mongol horses and men were burned with wild fire and the air was darkened with smoke we shall hear of Pristar John again for within a few years of the return of Friar John another Franciscan Friar William de Rupruques was sent forth this time by the French king Louis to carry letters to the great Khan begging him to embrace Christianity and acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope William and his chosen companions had a painful and difficult journey of some month before they reached the camps on the Volga of one of the great Mongol lords indeed if it had not been for the grace of God and the biscuit which he brought with us we had surely perished remarked the pious Friar in the history of his adventures never once did they enjoy the shelter of the house or tent but past the nights in the open air in a cart at last they were ordered to appear at the court of the great ruler with all their books and vestments we were commanded to array ourselves in our sacred vestments to appear before the prince putting on therefore our most precious ornaments I took a cushion in my arms together with the Bible I had from the king of France and the beautiful psalter which the queen bestowed upon me my companion at the same time carried the missile and the crucifix and the clerk closed in his surplus bore a censor in his hand in this order we presented ourselves singing the Salve Regina it is a strange picture this the European Friars in all the vestments of their religion standing before the eastern prince of this far-off country Thay would feign have carried home news of his conversion but they were told in angry tones that the prince was not a Christian but a Mongol they were dismissed with orders to visit the great Khan at Caracorum resuming their journey early in August the messengers did not arrive at the court of the great Khan till the day after Christmas they were miserably housed in a tiny hut which scarcely room for their beds and baggage the cold was intense the bare feet of the Friars caused great astonishment to the crowds of unlookers who stared at the strange figures as though they had been monsters however they could not keep their feet bare long for very soon Rubrukis found that his toes were frozen chanting in Latin the hymn of the nativity the visitors were at last admitted to the imperial tent hung about with clothes of gold where they found the Khan he was seated in a couch a little man of moderate height aged about 45 and dressed in a skin spotted and glossy like a seal the Mongol emperor asked numerous questions about the kingdom of France and the possibility of conquering it to the righteous indignation of the Friars they stayed in the country till the end of May when they were dismissed having failed in their mission but having gained a good deal of information about the great Mongol empire and its somewhat mysterious ruler but while the kingdoms in Europe trembled before the growing expansion of the Mongol empire and the dangers of tartar hordes the merchants of Venice rejoiced in the new markets which were opening for them in the east End of chapter 16