164 The king is the wealthy overlord of a large and heavily-populated country. Every day, gentiles become Mouros in order to gain his and his governors’ favour. Heading out of the city of Bengal, one comes to many other places with large Mouros and gentile populations, both inland and along the coast. They obey this king who has his governors and tax collectors there, to collect his taxes and duties. All these places lie along the coast of this bay, and then the coast starts to turn South again. The Kingdom of Burma Heading further South along the coast past the kingdom of Bengal, one comes to another gentile kingdom called Burma, whose king is also gentile. There are no Mouros here, since it does not have a seaport that they can use for their trade. Its inhabitants are black men, who are naked from the waist up and covered in cotton cloths from the waist down; they have their own indulgences and temples. They are often at war with the King of Pegu. We do not have any more information about this kingdom because one cannot sail there. We only know that it has a border with Bengal and the opposite border is with Pegu. The Kingdom of Arracan Heading inland from the kingdom of Burma, one comes to another gentile kingdom, which does not have a seaport. On one side it borders Bengal, and Ava on the other and is called Arracan. Its king is a gentile and an overlord. It is said that he has many towns and large cities; he has many horses and elephants, which come from the kingdom of Pegu. They are brown men, who are naked from the waist up and cover themselves below the waist in cotton cloths, and they wear many jewels of gold and precious stones. They worship idols and have large temples.
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