CHAPTER XVII ADMINISTRATION OF THE MELLESTINE I HAVE lingered, perhaps, too long over the personal experiences of Ibn Batuta in Melle, but they serve to illustrate, as a drier chronicle of historic events might fail to] do, the actual life of the town and the degree of civilisation which had been reached.

Politically, as we have seen, the Empire of Melle was divided into Melle proper and the Protectorate, which extended into the desert until it met the boundaries of the civilised states of the north and west. The empire would appear to have been further divided into provinces, each ruled by a '' Ferba " or viceroy of the sovereign, while each town had its *'Mochrif" or inspector, who was responsible to the viceroy for the maintenance of order, the suppression of crime, and, presumably, for the collection of the taxes.

The ** Ferba" is spoken of by Ibn Batuta as the viceroy of the Sultan, but there existed another dignitary, known as the " Ko!," who was apparently a native and subject king, not dispossessed, but holding his possessions as tributary to Melle. In some instances, he would seem to have been confirmed by Melle in the occupation of an old position ; in others, he was apparently appointed by the Sultan. In speaking of the Timbuctoo Koi, a little later, at the beginning of the fifteenth century, the author of the Tarikh-es- Soudan says that it was customary for the Koi to receive one-third of the total taxes, and that in Timbuctoo he had all administrative and financial powers in his hands. It is evident that if the KoTs were petty native kings, who, on submission to the Sultan of Melle, were by 142