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Martaban. The island of Iabadius, or Sabadius—the reading of the name is doubtful—has generally been taken to represent Java, though there appears to be slight reason for the assumption, Java lying at a considerable distance from the sea-route to China, and being to a much later time visited with comparative infrequency by travellers from the west. On the other hand, Sumatra lay close to the track of ships plying between India and the Far East; was a regular port of call from the period to which belongs the first authentic records of the China voyages; and could not fail to be sighted by ships running up the Straits of Malacca. It will be seen from the above that it is only by starting from southern China, that is by recognising Cattigara as a port of the Celestial Empire, possibly the Zayton of the medieval wanderers, or a town which preceded Zayton, as Zayton itself preceded Canton, that Ptolemy's descriptive outline can be applied to the true geographical facts of the region dealt with. No straining of probabilities becomes necessary; no statements have to be elaborately explained away; and it may be stated without fear of refutation that this ceases to be the case if any other point be taken as the site of Cattigara.

To the account of the distances said to have been supplied to Marinus by the sailor Alexander, no real importance can be attached. It was the rough estimate of a man who was probably very ignorant, and it was given to a geographer who was not averse to making a bold guess if thereby the reported facts could be forced to fit in with ideas previously conceived. The same qualifying