Note 079 Theophilus had been given in his infancy as hostage by his countrymen of the isle of Diva, and was educated by the Romans in learning and piety. The Maldives, of which Male, or Diva, may be the capital, are a cluster of 1900 or 2000 minute islands in the Indian Ocean. The ancients were imperfectly acquainted with the Maldives, but they are described in the two Mahometan travellers of the ninth century, published by Renaudot. Geograph. Nubiensis, p. 30, 31. D'Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 704. Hist. Generale des Voyages, tom. viii.

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Note to Chapter 20 of DECLINE & FALL by Gibbon