Italians, found occupation in Egypt, as may be seen in the ‘Viaggio di Josaphat Barbaro’, among other travellers.  “Next to Leonardo (so I learn from Prof.  Jac.  Burckhardt of Bale) Kait Bey’s most helpful engineer was a German who in about 1487, superintended the construction of the Mole at Alexandria.  Felix Fabri knew him and mentions him in his Historia Suevorum, written in 1488.”

3. Il nuovo accidente accaduto, or as Leonardo first wrote and then erased, e accaduto un nuovo accidente.  From the sequel this must refer to an earthquake, and indeed these were frequent at that period, particularly in Asia Minor, where they caused immense mischief.  See No. 1101 note.]

shall be related to you in due order, showing first the effect and then the cause. [Footnote 4:  The text here breaks off.  The following lines are a fresh beginning of a letter, evidently addressed to the same person, but, as it would seem, written at a later date than the previous text.  The numerous corrections and amendments amply prove that it is not a copy from any account of a journey by some unknown person; but, on the contrary, that Leonardo was particularly anxious to choose such words and phrases as might best express his own ideas.]

Finding myself in this part of Armenia [Footnote 5:  Parti d’Erminia.  See No. 945, note.  The extent of Armenia in Leonardo’s time is only approximately known.  In the XVth century the Persians governed the Eastern, and the Arabs the Southern portions.  Arabic authors—­as, for instance Abulfeda—­include Cilicia and a part of Cappadocia in Armenia, and Greater Armenia was the tract of that country known later as Turcomania, while Armenia Minor was the territory between Cappadocia and the Euphrates.  It was not till 1522, or even 1574 that the whole country came under the dominion of the Ottoman Turks, in the reign of Selim I.

The Mamelook Sultans of Egypt seem to have taken a particular interest in this, the most Northern province of their empire, which was even then in danger of being conquered by the Turks.  In the autumn of 1477 Sultan Kait Bey made a journey of inspection, visiting Antioch and the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates with a numerous and brilliant escort.  This tour is briefly alluded to by Moodshireddin p. 561; and by WEIL, Geschichte der Abbasiden V, p. 358.  An anonymous member of the suite wrote a diary of the expedition in Arabic, which has been published by R. V. LONZONE (’Viaggio in Palestina e Soria di Kaid Ba XVIII sultano della II dinastia mamelucca, fatto nel 1477.  Testo arabo.  Torino 1878’, without notes or commentary).  Compare the critique on this edition, by J. GILDEMEISTER in Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palaestina Vereins (Vol.  Ill p. 246—­249).  Lanzone’s edition seems to be no more than an abridged copy of the original.  I owe to Professor Sche’fer, Membre de l’Institut, the information that he is in possession of a manuscript in which the text