. The people were very much astonished.' The
amanuensis, Ibn Djozay, here interpolates the following remark: 'I have
seen, in a town in the valley of Almansura, in Spain,--which may God
defend!--a tower which shakes without the name of a caliph, or anybody
else, being mentioned.'

At the city of Idhedj, in Irak, then the capital of one of the many
Mongol sultans who at that time reigned in southern Persia, Ibn Batuta
gives another proof of his boldness. Calling upon the Sultan Afrasiab,
who was notorious for his drunken and dissolute habits, the traveler
found him seated upon a divan, with two covered vases--one of gold and
one of silver--before him. A green carpet was brought and placed near
him, upon which the traveler was invited to take his seat, after which
the sultan asked him many questions concerning his travels. 'It seemed
to me, however,' says Ibn Batuta, 'that he was quite intoxicated, for I
had been previously apprized of his habit of giving himself up to drink.
Finally, he said to me in Arabic, which he spoke with elegance. "Speak!"
I said to him, "If thou wouldst listen to me, I would say to thee--Thou
art one of the children of Sultan Ahmed, celebrated for his piety and
devotion; there is no cause of reproach to thee, in thy manner of life,
except _that_!" and I pointed with my finger to the two vases. These
words covered him with shame, and he was silent. I wished to withdraw,
but he ordered me to keep my seat, and said, "It is a mark of the Divine
mercy to meet with such as thou!" Afterwards, seeing that he swayed from
side to side, and desired to sleep, I left him. I had placed my sandals
at the door, and could not find them again. The Fakir Fadhill sought for
them in the hall, and at last brought them to me. His kindness
embarrassed me, and I made apologies. Thereupon he kissed my sandals,
placed them upon his head, in token of respect, and said to me, "May God
bless thee! What thou hast said to our sultan, nobody else would have
dared to say. I hope it will make an impression on him!"'

Continuing his journey to Ispahan and Shiraz, he gives us, as usual,
conscientious accounts of the mosques, priests, and holy men, but no
hint whatever as to his manner of travel, or the character of the
country through which he passed. This portion of his work, however,
contains many interesting historical fragments, relating to the reigns
of the Mongol sultans of Persia, and the dissensions between the two
Moslem s