CHAPTER XXI.

ON THE COMMERCE OF MEROE.

Requisites for a State enjoying extensive Commerce. — Advantageous Position of Meroe. — Probable Extent of her Commerce. — The Facility afforded to its Extension by Means of the Camel. — Commerce of Arabia and India. — Abundance of Gold. — Iron and Gum. — Ethiopian Tribute to Egypt. — Description of a splendid Ethiopian Procession at Thebes. — Commerce of the Interior. — Causes of the Decline of Meroe. — Diminution of her agricultural Resources. — Exhaustion of Mines. — Rivalry of Egypt. — Wars with Egypt. — Arab Conquest. — Present Commerce 321