The court of appeal is held in a domed pavilion around which stand ten horses with gold embroidered trappings. Behind the king s
tand ten pages holding shields and swords decorated with gold, and on his right are the sons of the subordinate kings of his country, all wearing splendid garments and with their hair mixed with gold. The governor of the city sits on the ground before the king and around him are ministers seated likewise. At the door of the pavilion are dogs...[wearing] collars of gold and silver, studded with a number of balls of the same metals." By Al-Brakri in 1067, reprinted by Leon E. Clark, editor, Through African Eyes, Praeger Press Inc., 1970 (adapted) What is the King doing in the passage written by Al-Bakri?
