ABSTRACT
In their annals, the Abyssinians ascribe extremely ancient and magnificent origins to their empire and princes, so much so that they can and do enumerate the princes who have governed them up to the present time, beginning with Adam and continuing up to Faciladas, 1
who is now reigning, and continuing this genealogical series from father to son, all of royal blood, without interruption2 - a thing which, if true, cannot be said for any other empire in the world. And as for the belief we should place in the historical truth of their ancient genealogy, it is that which is deserved by the human histories authenticated in books and undoubted tradition in those regions, in which books and tradition the history and origins which I shall report are as thoroughly verified and as little doubted by the Ethiopians as the Roman histories are by us; and the history of this empire deserves equal credence, since it is scrupulously and dearly reported in their annals. And we can with equal reason doubt that the power of Rome began with Romulus and his brother as doubt that the power and princes of this empire had their
originsinCam,sonofNohe. 1Thisistheempirecommonlycalled theempireofPresterJohnoftheIndies,erroneouslyso,however,since thetruthisthattheancientandtruePresterJohnandhisdomainhave beenlosttohumanmemory.Andwiththepersistenceofrumoursof PresterJohnintheeasternpartsandthesignsofhisbeingaChristian prince,thePortuguesewhoverymuchwantedtodiscoverthesaid Empireandwereunabletogainknowledgeofit,findingtheEthiopian princeswithsomanysignsofChristianity,andalsocomparingthem with[whattheyhadheardof]theancientPresterJohnfromthetime oftheschismsoftheRomanChurchandCatholicfaithinwhichthey lived,theycametobelievethatthiswastheancientPresterJohnof theIndies;andthissamereport,broughtandcommunicatedbythe Portuguese,wasthenpublishedthroughouttheworld.2·TheEmperor's correctnameisEmperoroftheAbyssinianEmpireorAbyssinia,for heisbetterknownbythisname.
