_ 144 _ towns and their revenues we will relate to further on in detail. The beginnings of this kingdom of Ormuz according to the chronicles of its kings which were translated for us from the Persian, were as follows: In the year 680 from birth of Mohammed, and 1273 from that of Jesus Christ our Saviour, Abacohom reined in Persia. It was he who fought against the great Tartar Barahom in a celebrated battle, and who was the first prince of those parts to become a Moor. At that time there was a prince who was commonly called King of Qais because his name was Malik Qais. He was the master of the Straits of the Persian Gulf and had his seat in the island of Qais inside these Straits, five leagues from the land of Persia near Cape Naband. This king ruled from the island of Gerum to that of Bahrain, he had as neighbor a king called Gordun Shah whose state was in Persia opposite the island of Gerum in a district called Moghistan which means palm grove in common Persian, and Ormuz in old Persian where there was a city of this name. In olden times this city was so famous that Tolemy situated it in his geographical chart in the sixth part of Asia and called it Armuza, Armuza has been destroyed and in its ruins, there is a fortress called Kushtak. Others say this is none other than the city called
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