Now you must know that the sultan can lead out of Egypt more than 20,000 men of arms; and out of Syria, and Turkey, and other countries that he holds, he may raise more than 50,000. And all these are at his wages; and they are always ready, besides the people of his country, who are without number. And each of them has six score florins by the year; but he is expected to keep three horses and a camel. And in the cities and towns are admirals, that have the government of the people. One has four to govern, another five, another more, and another a much greater number. And the admiral, himself alone, receives as much as all the other soldiers under him. And therefore, when the sultan will advance any worthy knight, he makes him an admiral. When there is dearth, the knights are very poor, and then they sell both their horses and their harness. The sultan has four wives, one Christian, and three Saracens; of whom one dwells at Jerusalem, another at Damascus, and another at Ascalon. And when they please they remove to other cities; and when the sultan will he may go and visit them. And he has as many paramours as he pleases; for he causes to be brought before him the fairest and noblest damsels of his country, who are kept and served full honourably, and when he will have one to lie with him, he makes them all come before him, and looks at them all to see which is most to his liking, and to her anon he sends or throws a ring from his finger; and then anon she shall be bathed and richly attired, and anointed with delicate things of sweet smell, and then led to the sultan's chamber. And thus he acts as often as he likes, when he will have any of them. No stranger comes before the sultan without being clothed in cloth of gold, or of Tartary, or of Camaka, in the Saracens' guise, and according to the usage of the Saracens. And when men see the sultan for the first time, be it at the window, or in any other place, they must kneel to him and kiss the earth, for that is the manner for those who speak with the sultan to do reverence to him. When messengers of foreign countries come before him, the sultan's people, when the strangers speak to him, stand round the sultan with drawn swords and gysarmes and axes, their arms raised up on high with their weapons, to smite them, if they say any word that is displeasing to the sultan. Neither does any stranger come before him without receiving a promise and grant of what he asks reasonably, if it be not against his law; and so do other princes beyond. For they say that no man should come before a prince without being the better, and departing from his presence in greater gladness than when he came before him.