Baruti

Sources from old books

1638. The merchants mappe of commerce wherein by Lewes Roberts.

Of BARUTI, and the trade thereof.

BARVTI formerly called Iulia Felix, is a famous Mart Towne, yet much inferiour in trade to what it hath formerly beene; neere this towne is that noted Valley where it is said Saint George by killing of a Dragon delivered the Kings daughter, in memoriall •…ereof there was a Castle and Oratory here built and conse∣•…ed to him, and whose name it bore, whose ruines doe yet ap∣•…re, if the Inhabitants may be beleeved; it is now the common •…age for all those Caravans that travell from Aleppo, Damasco 〈◊〉 Ierusalem to Cairo and Mecca, and thereby made a place of •…t concourse of Merchants. It is subject to the grand Signior, 〈◊〉 therefore his coynes in silver and gold are the currant coynes •…reof, partaking of those that are currant in the neighbouring •…untries, as all bordering Townes are found to be. The English •…ve no scale or residence here, but the Venetians who prie with •…re industrie into these parts, finde here a profitable traffique, therefore in the waights and measures thereof wee must sayle by •…eir observations.

The cantar containing 100 Rotolos of Baruti makes s•…tle Venetia waight 750 li. and of grosse 475. li. and of English 502 li. The Roto∣lo makes Venetia s•…le 7½ li. grosse 4 li. 9 ounces, English 5 li. the cantar or 100 Rotolos of Baruti is in Aleppo 96 Rotolos, the common waight and 90½ Rotolos of silke waight.

Measures of Baruti is the pico, 100 whereof makes in Venetia 86 Braces, and the 100 Braces of Venetia of woolen cloth makes in Baruti 112 or 113 pico's, which is in England() yards.

The Towne of Amano lieth also in this Syrophoenicia, and is found to be a Towne of great trade and confluence of Merchants of Arabia, Persia, and Turkie; but because I finde the waights and measures thereof to accord with the same that are found in use in Aleppo, and their coynes the common currant coynes of Turkie, I shall referre the Reader to Aleppo, and the trade thereof.

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Beryte, or Barut, upon the Mediterranean Sea, a City of Asia in Phoenicia, which in times past had an Archbishoprick under the Patriarch of Antioch: It is ancient, and mentioned by Strabo, Pliny, and Ptolomy. Baldwin I. King of Jerusalem, the Earl Tancrede, and other Princes, with the help of the Genoa Fleet, took this City in April 1110. They established particular Lords in it; and sometime after, Gautier exchanged it with the King of Jerusalem for Blanchegarde. Barut was then an important City; but being taken by the Infidels, after the loss of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, it was almost ruined, and hath now but a small Commerce. It lies between Tripoli and Saide, not far from Damascus and Mount Lebanon. There was a Council here in 448. to examin the Accusations of the Priests of Edessa, against Ibas their Prelate, Daniel of Carres in Mesopotamia, and John of Batenes. They imputed to the first, That he said, He could be made such as Jesus Christ made God: which he denied. They produced, besides the fragment of a Letter, written by him to Maris. It is the same which since occasioned a great contestation in the Church. They said that, in this Letter, Ibas called St. Cyrill a Heretick; but as it had been written before the reconciliation of this Prelate with John of Antioch, these things were not considered, and Ibas was declared Orthodox. This Town is five miles N. from Sidon.