'Travels in Assyria, Media, and Persia, including a journey from Bagdad by Mount Zagros, to Hamadan, the ancient Ecbatana, researches in Ispahan and the ruins of Persepolis, and journey from thence by Shiraz and Shapoor to the sea-shore. Description of Bussorah, Bushire, Bahrein, Ormuz, and Muscat, narrative of an expedition against the pirates of the Persian Gulf, with illustrations of the voyage of Nearchus, and passage by the Arabian Sea to Bombay.' [‎503] (534/582)

CAPE MUSSUNNDOM.-RAS^MOBARACK. 593
names to mean the Black Mountains of the South, from a sup
posed affinity between Asaba and the Arabic word Asswad, black,
as suggested by Sir Harford Jones. Dr. Vincent's interpretation
of Sabo, as sometimes signifying the south, is more happy; but
even then, it would be only to the very northernmost Arabs that
this relative term would be a just one ; for, to all the Arabs of the
coast of Yemen, Hadramaut, &c. who, as navigators, were likely
to have fixed the name, these mountains would be in fact north
ern ones.
The proper name of the Cape, as pronounced by all the Arabs
of these parts, is Ras-el-Mussunndom ; so that the other conjecture
of Sir Harford J ones, as supposing this name to be a corruption of
Ma-Salaum, or Cape Safety, is not more happy than his former
one. The ceremony which he describes, as performed by the
Lascars A term used by the British officials to describe non-European sailors employed on East India Company ships. or country sailors of vessels coming into the Gulf, I have
never witnessed; nor could I, after all my enquiries, learn that
such a custom existed; so that the conjecture as to the name, and
the reason adduced in support of it, seem to rest on equally frail
grounds. #
The distance from Cape Mussunndom to the opposite point of
Ras Mobarack, or the 4 Blessed Cape,' on the Persian shore, is about
ten leagues ; so that the entrance of the Gulf is sufficiently broad
for all the purposes of navigation ; and the land, being high, is dis
tinctly visible on both sides at once, from any part of the channel.
This Ras Mobarack, or Bombarrack, as it is called, though placed
in its right position by M'Cluer, is thrown down near Cape Jaskes
by Arrowsmith, without any statement of authorities for the
alteration.
The wind drew round from the south-west again to south, and,
blowing thus right into the Gulf, obliged us to tack, and try to
beat in mid-channel, in which we were slightly favoured by a cur
rent still setting outward, as the effect of the last north-west gale.
At sun-set we had the visible extremes of the Arabian land
bearing from west-north-west to south-west by south ; the island
* See Vincent's Dissertation, vol. i. p. 321.