The Richest Man in Babylon (book) - The Camel Trader of Babylon

The Camel Trader of Babylon

A new character named Tarkad is introduced as a man who has had nothing to eat for two days (except for two figs that he stole before being chased away). He encounters Dabasir, a camel trader, a man that Tarkad owes money to. Dabasir invites Tarkad into the eating house where he orders food for himself and water for Tarkad. Dabasir relates that he was once a slave in Syria. As a young married man, Dabasir had worked for his father, making saddles, but had lived an extravagant lifestyle, beyond his means. Eventually, due to the constant hounding of creditors, his wife left him and he ran away from Babylon, falling in with some caravan robbers. Eventually he was captured and taken to Damascus, Syria, where he was sold as a slave. At first Dabasir thought it was all a great adventure until his new master offered Dabasir as a eunuch to his master's wives.