[Footnote 1: _Memoirs of the Life of Job, the son of Solomon, the High
Priest of Bimda, in Africa_. By Thomas Bluet. London, 1734; 8vo.,
dedicated to the Duke of Montague.]

The name of this extraordinary man was Ayoub Ibn Soliman Ibrahim, that
is, Job the son of Solomon the son of Abraham. His nation was that of
the Jalofs; his tribe, or cast, the Pholey, or Foulah; and his native
place Bunda, a city of Galumbo, in the kingdom of Futa, in Central
Africa, opposite Tombuto.[1]

[Footnote 1: The affix to his name is sometimes spelt JALLA, JALOF,
and DGIALLA. These indicate the name of the tribe, or nation, to which
he belonged; which was that of the JALOFS, on the river Sanaga, and
along the Gambia.]

Ibrahim, the grandfather of Job, was the founder of the city of Bunda,
during the reign of Abubeker, then king of Futa; who gave him the
proprietorship and government of it, with the title of Alfa or High
Priest. After his death, the dignity, which was hereditary in the
family, passed to the father of Job. On the decease of Abubeker, his
brother, the Prince of Jelazi, succeeded to the royalty; he, being
already the father of a son, entrusted him to the care of Soliman,
the father of Job, to have him taught the Arabic language, and the
Alcoran. Job became, in this way, the fellow student and companion of
this young prince. Jelazi lived but a short time, and was succeeded by
his son.

When Job had attained the age of fifteen, he assisted his father in
the capacity of Iman, or inferior priest, and soon after married the
daughter of the Alfa of Tombuto: By her he had three sons, Abdallah,