Page 69 - Journal of Asian History_Neat

7G SALIH OZnARAN

[letter] which he sent to mo -(my letter] making no agreement about
anything, but written with fine words (for the Pasha]. And with regard
to what he writes to me and with regard to Basra [itself], I shall
always stand with a drawn sword in my hand; and the more words he
writes to me, the more diligent I shall bo and thereby the more alert
in relation t-o them. This Domingos Barbudo is a man of good repute
at Hormuz, a man of much knowledge, sociable, and who is well known
in Basra amongst the Arabs and amongst the merchants, and ho has
•s
great experience of that land. Despite the opinion of these people who
V
think that he should remain in Basra, I am sending him there for no
more than three months, because "within this time he will see all the
affairs of Basra and will learn also the news from the merchants
coming from Alexandria and all other regions. Ho will be able to be in
Hormuz again at the beginning of November, so that which may seem
advisable to Your Lordship in connection with the affairs of Basra and
advantageous for the service of S. A.15 may be done.
According to what the old people say in this land, there come, in
most years, from Basra, six to eight hundred horses, on which [the
merchants] pay at Goa the customs duty that Your Lordship knows.
The spices which came this year from India were so scant that it was
a pity to see them, for I did not hear of any merchant who bought even ...
a handful of spices; but when these merchants of Basra came they ^
bought a good quantity of spices. There is indeed no other outlet for i
the spices save through Basra, because all [the subjects] of xeqxce,
Ismael16 did not buy [even] ten candis of spice.
Hajji Fayat requested me to write to Your Lordship about three
nephews of his, who are [now] at Goa. One of them is called Jaber
equirami, the second xaacoar equirami and the third one abaz royal;
and these [three] "went there from here, Hormuz, on a ship of Cambay
(Cambaya). It seems to me that [it was] the ship which Antonio Moiz
captured. Furthermore, this Hajji Fayat shows himself well disposed
for the service of the King and of Your Lordship deserves all the favor
that Your Lordship might order to be shown to him; because if he,
indeed, wants to do so he can learn all the news about the [Great]
Turk and his intentions.
The guazil of Kalhat (callayate) and sheikh Rabia (xeqrae rabia)

S.A.-i.e., Sua AUeza (His Highness), referring to the King of Portugal.
u i.e., Shah Ismail of Persia. At this time-in 1647-it was Shah Tahmasp
(1524—1676) who reigned in Persia.
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