us, road,
through the sandy deserts of Nubia; ascended the Nile, embarked on the
Red Sea, and safely landed at the African port of Adulis. From Adulis to
the royal city of Axume is no more than fifty leagues, in a direct line;
but the winding passes of the mountains detained the ambassador fifteen
days; and as he traversed the forests, he saw, and vaguely computed,
about five thousand wild elephants. The capital, according to his
report, was large and populous; and the village of Axume is still
conspicuous by the regal coronations, by the ruins of a Christian
temple, and by sixteen or seventeen obelisks inscribed with Grecian
characters. [99] But the Negus [9911] gave audience in the open field,
seated on a lofty chariot, which was drawn by four elephants, superbly
caparisoned, and surrounded by his nobles and musicians. He was clad in
a linen garment and cap, holding in his hand two javelins and a
light shield; and, although his nakedness was imperfectly covered, he
displayed the Barbaric pomp of gold chains, collars, and bracelets,
richly adorned with pearls and precious stones. The ambassador of
Justinian knelt; the Negus raised him from the ground, embraced
Nonnosus, kissed the seal, perused the letter, accepted the Roman
alliance, and, brandishing his weapons, denounced implacable war against
the worshipers of fire. But the proposal of the silk trade was eluded;
and notwithstanding the assurances, and perhaps the wishes, of the
Abyssinians, these hostile menaces evaporated without effect. The
Homerites were unwilling to abandon their aromatic groves, to explore a
sandy desert, and to encounter, after all their fatigues, a formidable
nation from whom they had never received any personal injuries. Instead
of enlarging his conquests, the king of Aethiopia was incapable of
defending his possessions. Abrahah, [9912] the slave of a Roman merchant
of Adulis, assumed the sceptre of the Homerites,; the troops of Africa
were seduced by the luxury of the climate; and Justinian solicited
the friendship of the usurper, who honored with a slight tribute the
supremacy of his prince. After a long series of prosperity, the power of
Abrahah was overthrown before the gates of Mecca; and his children were
despoiled by the Persian conqueror; and the Aethiopians were finally
expelled from the continent of Asia. This narrative of obscure and
remote events is not foreign to the decline and fall of the Roman
empire. If a Christian power had