The kings of Abyssinia pretend to descend from King Solomon by the queen of Sheba or Saba; who being delivered by the way, named her son Melech, and sent him to his father, to be by him declared king of Ethiopia.  Whereupon Solomon anointed him, and gave him the name of David, after his grandfather.  Solomon likewise appointed him a household, giving him officers of his own, and sent with him as high priest, Azaria the son of Zadoc, who stole the tables of the law from the temple of Jerusalem, and carried them along with his new prince.  It is affirmed that the descendants of these original officers still possess the same employments.  The Abyssinians had some knowledge of the law of Christ from Queen Candace, in whom they glory as being of their country:  But their true apostles were St Philip and St Mathew.  In memory of his descent, the king or emperor of Abyssinia begins the enumeration of his many titles in this manner:  “David, beloved of God, pillar of the Faith, descendant of Judah, grandson of David, son of Solomon, son of the pillar of Sion, son of the progeny of David, son of the hand of Mary, &c.  Emperor of the higher Ethiopia,” &c.  He dwells for the most part in a camp, resembling a populous city, and is frequently removing from one part of the country to another.  In his messages, he uses a style similar to that of the kings of Portugal and Spain, beginning “I the king.”  The people are very religious, having many churches and great numbers of monasteries which belong only to two religious orders, that of St Anthony, and the Canons regular.  Those religious persons who live in convents wear long cotton garments; but all the others, and their priests and nuns, are dressed in skins, hardly covering so much as modesty requires.  They have no considerable towns, have little learning, no skill in mechanics, and are very rude in their diet and clothing.  In such houses as assume any degree of grandeur, all the furniture is brought from other countries.  There are as expert thieves in this country as our gypsies are in Europe.  This is the substance of what could be gathered by the first discoverers of Abyssinia.

On the news of the arrival of the Portuguese fleet at Massua, and of the return of Mathew the ambassador, the Baharnagash[152] or governor of the province in which Arkiko is situated came there attended by 200 horse and 2000 foot.  After some difference about a proper place of meeting between him and Sequeira, they at length agreed to meet on the sea-shore, and were seated on chairs on the sand, under the burning heat of the sun.  At this meeting, Sequeira delivered Mathew the Abyssinian ambassador to the Baharnagash, and recommended to his protection Don Rodrigo de Lima who was sent ambassador from King Manuel to the emperor of Abyssinia.  They treated likewise about building a fort as a protection against the Moors, either at Kamaran or Massua, and both swore to the sincerity