CHAPTER I.

THE MERCHANT.

"In the name of God, the Compassionate, the

Merciful,

Origin and Family. I am Zubeir, son of

Rahmat, son of Mansur, son of Ali, son of Moham-

med, son of Suliman, son of Na-am, son of

Suliman, son of Bakr, son of Shahin, son of Gnmia

son of Gamua, son of Ghanim el Abbassi. My

ancestors, the Abbassides, fled from Baghdad in

the year 1278 A. D. after the attack on them of

the Tartars. They came to Egypt where they

found the Fatimites in possession and, as they could

not tolerate their rule, they departed for the Sudan

where some settled on the White Nile, while others made their way to Dar Fur and Wadai. Among the many families that were scattered along the Nile

was that from which is descended the well known

tribe of Gumiab, who trace their origin to an ances-

tor Gumiab, These people established themselves

on the main Nile between Jebel Gerri and Jebel el

Sheikh el Tayib, and became famous throughout

the Sudan for their bravery and their devotion to

hearth and home. When Ismail Pasha, in 1820,

conquered the Sudan, our chiefs gave him a hearty