The second region of Ethiopia proper, called according to the Arabic books Cens (Italian version) or Çenç (Latin version) (=Zanj), extends from the Nile and the Moon Mountains to the Barbaric Gulf of Ptolemy (1), along an arm of the Nile which flows into the Indian Ocean. The inhabitants and their king are Saracens (2), and the country abounds in gold. The third region consists of Barbarica Ethiopia (3) and Troglodyte (4) which extend from the Barbaric Gulf (1) to the entrance of the Red Sea. Its inhabitants have brown skin. They are Mahometans from Arabia who regularly raid in Abyssinia. Their king is called "son of Saebdin", a native of Aden, (sultan of Ifat Sabr ad-Din, of the Walashma dynasty).

(1) Barbaric Gulf of Ptolemy: Sea between Somalia and Yemen.

(2) Saracens: were primarily Arab Muslims, but also Turks, Persians or other Muslims as referred to by Christian writers in Europe during the Middle Ages.

(3) Barbarica Ethiopia: Horn of Africa.

(4) Troglodyte: A cave dweller. According to Aristotle a dwarfish race of Troglodytes dwelt on the upper course of the Nile, who possessed horses and were in his opinion the Pygmies of fable.