They went
throughout those provinces, carrying also ilks, and chinaware--products
of the resources and skill of the Chinese. The cloves, by means
of the Persians and Arabs, came to the Greeks and Romans. Several
Roman emperors tried to conquer the east, in order to find the spice
regions, so much did they desire the spice. Believing that they all
came from China, they gave them Chinese names. The Spaniards formerly
brought the spices with other merchandise from the Bermejo [_i.e._,
Red] or Erithrean Sea. The kings of Egypt once gained possession of
the spices, and they reached Europe by way of the Asiatics. When the
Romans made Egypt one of their provinces, they continued the trade. The
Genoese, much later, transferring the commerce to Theodosia (now Cafa)
distributed the spices, and there Venecia and other trading nations
established their agents and factories. They sailed later by way of
the Caspian Sea and Trapisonda; but the trade fell with the empire,
and the Turks carried this merchandise in caravans of camels
and dromedaries to Barcito, Lepo, and Damasco, and to various
Mediterranean ports.
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