'Some years travels into divers parts of Africa, and Asia the great. Describing more particularly the empires of Persia and Industan: interwoven with such remarkable occurrences as hapned in those parts during these later times. As also, many other rich and famous kingdoms in the oriental India, with the isles adjacent. Severally relating their religion, language, customs and habit: as also proper observations concerning them.' [‎220] (241/448)

io The greateft C
and by Ptolomy placed in Or in the name Arhaolay fo called from Arhaces the
Mede who in the year from the Creation 3,14^* foundation or rather nevv-im-
pofed the name foon after the deftrudion of Nineveh, to whofe overthrow he moft contri
buted : Or in Coama, which is aname l find recorded in Ptolomy and Diodore and being
then of that eminency as gave the adjacent part of that province the name Coama, &
Re?ioComivf<ena, as I find in [Strabo lib. 11. andalfoin Ptolomy. Notwithftanding, fo me
there be and that of approved authority, who take this City rather than 5^?^^ ^
- that which by reafonoflts hundred gates the Grecians termed Hecatompulos) and may be
granted feeing the latitude is the fame which Ptolomy gives it.
Nor was this place lefs confiderable for magnitude than antiquity : for m? Ifau by
Arabian Geographers it is one of the four beft Cities that Empire had ^ and the Inha
bitants have a tradition. That for bulk it was once comparable unto Babylon. Friar
odoricm de Friuli alfo reports it to have been full fifty miles in circumference, and that
for greatnefs it gave not place to any other City in Afa. Howbeit, the circuit it then
had cannot by any marks now extant be difcovered: but that it was a lar§e Town is di-
fcernable both by the rubbifh appearing in feveral places, the foundation of Temples,
and other publick Strudures- Now feeing fome Travellers have vouchfafed this City
fo immenfe a body, it gives me the invitation to take a retrofped of other great and
famous Cities*, which if it be a vanity, I have no better excufe than by remembring
that S. Aftguftin made it one of his three wiflies. To have feen Rome in its glory.
The greateft Cities that ever were, without all peradventure were Babylon and Rome,
(with which I might rank Nineveh: ) Emperial during fuch times as thofe Monarchs
fwayed their Scepters over the Univerf^. That hyperbole mentioned at which
derifively term Cairo and Villages, I willingly pretermit*, for fmce their fall,
new Babylon and new Rome, that is to fay El-Cairo and Confiaminople, are by molt ranked
amongft the greateft Cities of the World. Concerning being now fo near the
place, lihall here onely note her circuit: (who gives the largelt meafure) re
ports it to be four hundred and eighty furlongs, which according to our admeafurement
is about threefcore English miles. And Rome (in Nero\ time at full growth) had fifty:
of which laft, the extent maybeft be imagined by the number of thofe free Denizons
enrolled into Cenfe that were able to bear Arms, which as Lip/tits and others relate
were 463000. and could not exceed one third of the whole. Women, Children and
Servants comprehended. And if we fhould allow old Rome in its flourilhing ftate to have
been fifty Italian or Englijh miles about, which is a vaft circuit j yet cannot we grant that
it was fo thick built, nor with Houfes lb large for habitation or fo high as are now in
Paris and London, theirs feldom exceeding 2 ftories, I mean the common fort of Build
ings j but granting that the Houfes in old Rome might exceed for number, yet were they
not fb fill'd with inhabitants. Roftnm in his Antiquit. Roma divides old Rome into 13
Provinces, each Province contained a hundred Houfes, called Regions by at the
foundation: But the greatnefs Rome was principally increaft by the many publick Stru-
(ftures and Temples it had. Quod magnitudinem Roma adanxit fuerant Tempi a & multifma
facromm locorum^ubi figna & flatua deomm, hominum & animalium, ponuntur. Thus enumera
ted: Hippodromos, EquiriayCircos^Theatra, Amphitheatra htdoram & Naamachiomm fora-jCft-
naciila, Curia, Bafilicas, Regias, Obelifcos, Comitia, ( Septa, Cafira, & alia publica eAEdifi-
cia, Nymphaa, Therma, Lavacra, Maufolea, Sepulchra, 1055 Eacus, feptem Campos,
Hortos amplos & quamplurimosy iflos prafertim Domitii & Get a Imper. (as Strabo lib. ^.) Pon
tes, Vineta, plurima vacua jpacia, & qmdem late patentia, in quibus nulla <y£des conjpi-
ciebantur: which put together, muft needs take up a great part of the City. But that
it was fifty miles about is to be queftioned : Quamvis ex f^opifci verbis depravatls putant
ambit urn Roma fmjfe quinquaginta milliaria, tamen ex Rufo & Viftore qui poft ConftantinuM
Imper at. vixerant, circuit urn Rom a non fuijfe ampliorem quam nunc antiqua moenia compleBdn-
iwr : Bourn de flat h Italia fol. 284. Now whereas I named Cairo and Conflantinople as
the greateft Cities of recent times, it was partly for their being adopted into the names
or thofe two former •, and fome Travellers as yet continue that repute concerning them,
although I am of another opinion : For, Cairo is well known to be a long and narrow
Mattering piece, or rather pieces of Towns patcht together, and falls much fhort of that
grandeur lome report it ; AjfeBus fnm admiratione (faith Ludovicus Rom. Patricius, being
at airoj reperta efi ifla Civitas fama longe inferior. Tant a enim non efi invent a, quanta erat
rumor. Neque Vrbe Roma ambitu major efi, licet multo frequentior ; longe plures habens indi-
genas, vicis etiam quamplurimis dijpergitur: albeit Vtllamont report it otherwife, and Al-
mm Stemmate ChriftianorumPrincipum, who have it by report onely, the other being an
-ye-witnels. And concerning ConflantinopUy it is a great and populous City v yet has
not