The Indians and Chinese agree that there are four great or principal kings in the world, all of them allowing that the king of the Arabs is the first and most powerful of kings, the most wealthy, and the most excellent every way, because he is the prince and head of a great religion, and because no other surpasses him.  The Emperor of China reckons himself next after the king of the Arabs, after him the king of the Greeks, and lastly the Balhara[10], or king of the Moharmi al Adon, or people who have their ears bored.  The Balhara is the most illustrious sovereign in all the Indies, and though all the other kings in India are masters and independent each in their own dominions, they thus so far acknowledge his preeminence, that when he sends ambassadors to the other princes, they are received with extraordinary honours.  This king makes magnificent presents after the manner of the Arabs, and has vast numbers of horses and elephants, and great treasures in money.  His silver coin is what we call Thartarian drams, being equal to one and a half of the Arabian dram.  They are coined with the die of the prince, and bear the year of his reign, counting from the last year of the reign of his predecessor.  They compute not their years from the era of Mahomed, like the Arabs, but only by the years of their successive kings.  Most of these princes live a long time, many of them having reigned above fifty years; and those of the country believe that the length of their lives and reigns is granted in recompence of their kindness to the Arabs; for there are no princes more heartily affectionate to the Arabs, and their subjects profess the same kindness for us.  Balhara is not a proper name, but an appellative, common to all those kings, like Cosroes and some others.  The country under the dominion of the prince begins on the coast of the province called Kamcam, and reaches by land to the confines of China.  He is surrounded by the dominions of many kings, who are at war with him, yet he never marches against them.

One of these is the king of Harez, who has very numerous forces, and is stronger in cavalry than all the other princes of the Indies.  He is an enemy to the Arabs, neither is there any prince in India who has a greater aversion to the Mahomedans; though he confesses their king to be the greatest of princes.  His dominions are on a promontory, where are much riches, many camels, and abundance of other cattle.  The inhabitants traffic for silver, and they say there are mines of that metal on the continent.  There are no robbers in this country, nor in the rest of the Indies.  On one side of this country is that of Tafek, which is not of very great extent.  This king has the finest white women in all the Indies; but he is awed by the kings about him, as his army is very small.  He has a great affection for the Arabs as well as the Balhara.  These kingdoms border upon the lands of a king called Rami, who is at war with the king of Harez, and with the Balhara likewise.