'Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society, from January 1847 to May 1849. Edited by the Secretary. Volume VIII.' [‎183] (292/496)

reefs. Zeyla, no doubt, originally was intended to serve as a sea port for
Hurrur, for, of itself, it appears to be worth little. There are no remains
of antiquity to be found either in the town or neighbourhood, and I
should not assign an earlier date to the settlement than A. D. 1500, or
shortly after the occupation of Yemen by the Turks.
When the Turks were compelled to retire from Yemen, the town of
Zeyla was subject to the Chief of Sana, who gave it in perpetuity to
the family of a Sanani merchant, Syed-el-Bhor, in the hands of whose
descendants it yet remains; but the kingdom of the Imam, like most other
native principalities, having fallen into decay, the town is now under the
authority of the Shereef of Mokha, who has the power of displacing the
Governor, should he think fit, but who yet receives no part of the reve
nue. This is farmed out, and the present Chief, Hadj Shermarkhi
Ali Saleh, pays annually to Syed Mahommed-el-Bhor, at Mokha, the
sum of 750 German crowns, and reserves all that he can collect above
that sum for himself.
The Governor has to provide fifty matchlockmen from the Arab coast
to defend the town and well. They are paid on an average two and
three quarter dollars per month in kind, and must find their own gun
powder. Occasional bribes are necessary to keep up the good feeling of
the Shereef of Mokha and the men about him, and altogether the office
of Governor at Zeyla must be as expensive as it is troublesome.
Zeyla levies a tax of one dollar upon each slave exported from Ta-
joura, or imported from Hurrur, and afterwards sold at Berbera. For
merly Zeyla obtained but three quarters of a dollar per head, the Sultan
of Tajoura receiving the remainder, but this has of late fallen into disuse.
With reference to the slave trade, the position of Zeyla is important.
It is the sea port of Hurrur, and it commands Tajoura and Berbera, the
only available places of export; and when the time arrives for the final
suppression of the slave trade on the north -eastern coast of Africa, the
numerous advantages held out by Zeyla will be duly appreciated. As I
have shown, Hurrur depends for its foreign supplies solely on Berbera
and Zeyla, and were these two ports cut off from the merchants, so far as
regards the sale of slaves, it must prove a death blow to the slave com
merce through that province from Abyssinia and Gurague. Berbera
once forbidden, Tajoura is the only remaining outlet, and that outlet,
thanks to the marauding habits of the Esa Somal and others, is much
more frequently closed than open.