Page:A voyage to Abyssinia (Salt).djvu/363

Rh of which terms, makes it apparent that there existed, at that time, no traces of their being descended from the same progenitors. The Axomites are likewise correctly distinguished from the Homerites, in Philostorgius, one of the earliest of the Byzantine writers, by the appellation of "Æthiopes," and in like manner Procopius, Cedrenus, Cosmas, and John Malala, though all apply the word Indi to both people, confine the epithet Æthiopes to the Axomites. The term of Ethiopians too, or Itiopjawan, is, as I have before noticed, the favourite appellation by which the Abyssinians designate themselves. It is true, that in the intercourse carried on with the opposite coast, vast numbers of Arabians have in process of time become mingled with them: but still it appears to me, that both in feature, colour, habit, and manners, they form a perfectly distinct race.

The "Tareek Negushti" or "Chronicle of the Kings of Abyssinia," begins with a list of the emperors from "Arwê," or "the serpent," to Menilek, some of whom, like the sovereigns of old, are said to have reigned several hundred years. From Menilek, the list appears to wear a somewhat more probable shape, though no great dependence can be placed upon it, as will appear by the following enumeration.