1Abbott says (Persian Azerbaijan, MS.) that the tomb of Houlakou, or its reputed site, is pointed out near the town of Meragha.—Ed.
1Abbott says (Persian Azerbaijan, MS.) that the tomb of Houlakou, or its reputed site, is pointed out near the town of Meragha.—Ed.
(6.)“Gelat.”—Khelat was taken in 1229 by the sultan, Jalaluddin, after a three days’ siege. Aboulfeda quotes Abou Said, who says that it rivalled Damascus. Bakui (Not. et Extr., ii, 513) extols Khelat for its good water, fruit, and the fish taken from the lake, especially the tamrin, possibly the dorakine found in the Kour, as related by Ystachry (Mordtmann edition, 1845). The numerous ruins in the neighbourhood are of the time when Akhlat was the residence of the Shahy Armen—kings of Armenia; they include those of a superb palace, of gorgeous tombs, artificial grottoes, and of a fortress on the shore of Lake Van. Khelat is now a miserable hamlet occupied by Kurds.—Bruun.(6A.) Khelat, Ghelath, Ashlath, was long the residence of a suffragan bishop of the Armenian Church.—Ed.
(6.)“Gelat.”—Khelat was taken in 1229 by the sultan, Jalaluddin, after a three days’ siege. Aboulfeda quotes Abou Said, who says that it rivalled Damascus. Bakui (Not. et Extr., ii, 513) extols Khelat for its good water, fruit, and the fish taken from the lake, especially the tamrin, possibly the dorakine found in the Kour, as related by Ystachry (Mordtmann edition, 1845). The numerous ruins in the neighbourhood are of the time when Akhlat was the residence of the Shahy Armen—kings of Armenia; they include those of a superb palace, of gorgeous tombs, artificial grottoes, and of a fortress on the shore of Lake Van. Khelat is now a miserable hamlet occupied by Kurds.—Bruun.
(6A.) Khelat, Ghelath, Ashlath, was long the residence of a suffragan bishop of the Armenian Church.—Ed.
(7.)“Kirna.”—On the Gharny-tchaï, a tributary of the Zenga, east of Erivan, is Gharny or Bash Gharny, now an insignificant village, but at one time a place of considerable importance. Accordingto the old Armenian chroniclers, Kharny was founded 2000B.C.by a prince Keghamè, who named it after himself; but the name was afterwards changed by Kharnig, the grandson of Keghamè, to Kharny. It was here that Tiridates, 286–314, constructed for his favourite sister a superb residence, to which Moses Chorensis (Whiston edition, 1736), the Armenian chronicler of the 5th century, thus refers: “Per id tempus Tiridates castelli Garnii ædificationem absolvit, quod quadratis et cæsis lapidibus, ferro et plumbo coagmentatis construxit, atque ibi umbraculum statuit et monumentum mirifica arte cælatum, pro sorore sua Chosroiduchta, in eoque memoriam sui græcis literis inscripsit.” This remarkable edifice is alluded to by Kiracos of Gantzac, also an Armenian chronicler, of the 13th century, as “the marvellous throne of Tiridates”, in front of the cemetery of Kharny (Hist. d’Arménietrans. by M. Brosset, St. Petersburg, 1870). It is now a heap of ruins, known to the natives as Takht Dertad—Throne of Tiridates.At a short distance above Gharny, also on the Gharny-tchaï in the Goktcha valley, is the venerable monastery of Aïrits vank, Ghergarr or Keghart, noted for its memorial inscriptions of the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries (The Crimea and Transc., i, 211, 221).—Ed.
(7.)“Kirna.”—On the Gharny-tchaï, a tributary of the Zenga, east of Erivan, is Gharny or Bash Gharny, now an insignificant village, but at one time a place of considerable importance. Accordingto the old Armenian chroniclers, Kharny was founded 2000B.C.by a prince Keghamè, who named it after himself; but the name was afterwards changed by Kharnig, the grandson of Keghamè, to Kharny. It was here that Tiridates, 286–314, constructed for his favourite sister a superb residence, to which Moses Chorensis (Whiston edition, 1736), the Armenian chronicler of the 5th century, thus refers: “Per id tempus Tiridates castelli Garnii ædificationem absolvit, quod quadratis et cæsis lapidibus, ferro et plumbo coagmentatis construxit, atque ibi umbraculum statuit et monumentum mirifica arte cælatum, pro sorore sua Chosroiduchta, in eoque memoriam sui græcis literis inscripsit.” This remarkable edifice is alluded to by Kiracos of Gantzac, also an Armenian chronicler, of the 13th century, as “the marvellous throne of Tiridates”, in front of the cemetery of Kharny (Hist. d’Arménietrans. by M. Brosset, St. Petersburg, 1870). It is now a heap of ruins, known to the natives as Takht Dertad—Throne of Tiridates.
At a short distance above Gharny, also on the Gharny-tchaï in the Goktcha valley, is the venerable monastery of Aïrits vank, Ghergarr or Keghart, noted for its memorial inscriptions of the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries (The Crimea and Transc., i, 211, 221).—Ed.
(8.)“the priests are of the Order of Preachers, and sing in the Armenian tongue.”—What Schiltberger says with regard to “Meya”—Magou—is confirmed by Clavijo (Hakluyt Soc. Publ., 83). “On Sunday, the first of June, at the hour of vespers, they came to a castle called Maca, belonging to a Catholic Christian called Noradin, and the people who lived in it were Catholic Christians, though they were by birth and language Armenians, and they also knew the Tartar and Persian tongues. In this place there was a monastery of Dominican friars. The castle was in a valley, at the foot of a very high rock, and there was a village on a hill above, and on the top of the hill there was a wall of stone and mortar, with towers, and against the wall there were houses. There was also another wall with towers, and the entrance to it was by a great tower, built to guard it, along steps cut in the rocks. Near the second wall there were houses cut in the rock, and in the centrewere some towers and houses, where the lord lived, and here all the people in the village kept their provisions. The rock was very high, and rose above the walls and houses; and from the rocks an overhanging part stretched out, which covers the castle, walls, and houses, like the heaven that is above them.”—Bruun.(8A.) Tradition asserts that Makou, Makouyeh, in the Armenian province of Artazo-Tasht, to the east of Ararat and south of the Araxes, is built over the place where St. Thaddeus suffered martyrdom. The fortress is situated in a gorge above the village (J. Saint Martin,Mém. sur l’Arménie, i, 135).—Ed.
(8.)“the priests are of the Order of Preachers, and sing in the Armenian tongue.”—What Schiltberger says with regard to “Meya”—Magou—is confirmed by Clavijo (Hakluyt Soc. Publ., 83). “On Sunday, the first of June, at the hour of vespers, they came to a castle called Maca, belonging to a Catholic Christian called Noradin, and the people who lived in it were Catholic Christians, though they were by birth and language Armenians, and they also knew the Tartar and Persian tongues. In this place there was a monastery of Dominican friars. The castle was in a valley, at the foot of a very high rock, and there was a village on a hill above, and on the top of the hill there was a wall of stone and mortar, with towers, and against the wall there were houses. There was also another wall with towers, and the entrance to it was by a great tower, built to guard it, along steps cut in the rocks. Near the second wall there were houses cut in the rock, and in the centrewere some towers and houses, where the lord lived, and here all the people in the village kept their provisions. The rock was very high, and rose above the walls and houses; and from the rocks an overhanging part stretched out, which covers the castle, walls, and houses, like the heaven that is above them.”—Bruun.
(8A.) Tradition asserts that Makou, Makouyeh, in the Armenian province of Artazo-Tasht, to the east of Ararat and south of the Araxes, is built over the place where St. Thaddeus suffered martyrdom. The fortress is situated in a gorge above the village (J. Saint Martin,Mém. sur l’Arménie, i, 135).—Ed.
(9.)“Ress.”—Resht, the chief town of Ghilan, a place of great commercial importance in Schiltberger’s time, is distant six miles from the Caspian Sea. The Genoese and Venetians secured the rich produce of this province, especially the silken stuffs made there or imported from Yezd and Kashan. Marco Polo (Yule, i, 54) speaks of silk called Ghellè, after the name of the country on the Sea of Ghel or Ghelan—the Caspian.—Bruun.
(9.)“Ress.”—Resht, the chief town of Ghilan, a place of great commercial importance in Schiltberger’s time, is distant six miles from the Caspian Sea. The Genoese and Venetians secured the rich produce of this province, especially the silken stuffs made there or imported from Yezd and Kashan. Marco Polo (Yule, i, 54) speaks of silk called Ghellè, after the name of the country on the Sea of Ghel or Ghelan—the Caspian.—Bruun.
(10.)“Strawba.”—Schiltberger changes Astrabad to “Strawba”, just as his Italian contemporaries have called the place Strava, Strevi, and Istarba. Its commerce was not considerable, but Astrabad was of some importance as being the depôt for merchandise in transit across the Caspian, from India and Bokhara.—Bruun.
(10.)“Strawba.”—Schiltberger changes Astrabad to “Strawba”, just as his Italian contemporaries have called the place Strava, Strevi, and Istarba. Its commerce was not considerable, but Astrabad was of some importance as being the depôt for merchandise in transit across the Caspian, from India and Bokhara.—Bruun.
(11.)“Antioch.”—Several cities of Asia were in ancient times called Antiochia. Stephen of Byzantium knew of eight, two of which, Edessa and Nisibis, were in Migdonia; and as each, in its turn, had become the foremost bulwark of Christianity, their possession was frequently disputed by the Infidels. Allusion is made in the text to Nisibis, with its ramparts of brick, rather than to Edessa, which was encircled by whitewashed walls.—Bruun.
(11.)“Antioch.”—Several cities of Asia were in ancient times called Antiochia. Stephen of Byzantium knew of eight, two of which, Edessa and Nisibis, were in Migdonia; and as each, in its turn, had become the foremost bulwark of Christianity, their possession was frequently disputed by the Infidels. Allusion is made in the text to Nisibis, with its ramparts of brick, rather than to Edessa, which was encircled by whitewashed walls.—Bruun.
(12.)“Aluitza.”—If the author here alludes to the same fortress (Alindsha ?) as is mentioned in chapter 16, of which there can scarcely be a doubt, that is to say, the fortress in which Ahmed ben Oweis kept his treasure; then the story of its siege byTimour for the space of sixteen years, was a gross exaggeration on the part of his informants, because we know from contemporary authors that the siege of Alindsha lasted eight years only.—Bruun.
(12.)“Aluitza.”—If the author here alludes to the same fortress (Alindsha ?) as is mentioned in chapter 16, of which there can scarcely be a doubt, that is to say, the fortress in which Ahmed ben Oweis kept his treasure; then the story of its siege byTimour for the space of sixteen years, was a gross exaggeration on the part of his informants, because we know from contemporary authors that the siege of Alindsha lasted eight years only.—Bruun.
(13.)“There is a city called Scheckhy; it is in a fertile country near the White Sea.”—It will be generally admitted that this White Sea is no other than the Caspian. Hammer (note, p. 45) says it was so called to distinguish it from the Black Sea; but Wahl (Allg. Beschr. d. persischen Reichs, ii, 679) attributes the distinctive name to the petrified shells, white and gray sand, with which the bed of the sea is overspread. It is pretty certain that White Sea is not a name invented by the author, but that he supplies us with the literal translation of the Georgian words—Tetrysea and Sywa, which have a similar signification, and are even now employed to designate the Caspian Sea. Hammer is mistaken in saying that Schiltberger called the eastern shore of the Caspian by the name of Scherky, as the word appears in Penzel, and which is simply a corruption of “Scheckhy”, now known as Sheky, on the left bank of the river Kour, between Georgia, the districts of Gandja, Shirwan and Daghestan. It is said that this part of the country was occupied as early as the 10th century by the Shekis or Shekines, a Christian people given to commerce and industrial pursuits (D’Ohsson,Des Peup. du Cauc.18, and note xiv).—Bruun.
(13.)“There is a city called Scheckhy; it is in a fertile country near the White Sea.”—It will be generally admitted that this White Sea is no other than the Caspian. Hammer (note, p. 45) says it was so called to distinguish it from the Black Sea; but Wahl (Allg. Beschr. d. persischen Reichs, ii, 679) attributes the distinctive name to the petrified shells, white and gray sand, with which the bed of the sea is overspread. It is pretty certain that White Sea is not a name invented by the author, but that he supplies us with the literal translation of the Georgian words—Tetrysea and Sywa, which have a similar signification, and are even now employed to designate the Caspian Sea. Hammer is mistaken in saying that Schiltberger called the eastern shore of the Caspian by the name of Scherky, as the word appears in Penzel, and which is simply a corruption of “Scheckhy”, now known as Sheky, on the left bank of the river Kour, between Georgia, the districts of Gandja, Shirwan and Daghestan. It is said that this part of the country was occupied as early as the 10th century by the Shekis or Shekines, a Christian people given to commerce and industrial pursuits (D’Ohsson,Des Peup. du Cauc.18, and note xiv).—Bruun.
(14.)“the kingdom Horoson, and its capital is called Hore.”—As stated by Neumann, these places are intended for Khorasan and Herat. According to Masoudi (Ritter,Die Erdkundeetc., x. 65), there existed at the time of the conquest of Hira near the Euphrates,circaA.D.637, the negotiator Abd-el-Mesy, a man greatly revered by the Arabs in consequence of his wisdom and great age. He had attained his 350th year, and enjoyed the distinction of being considered, if not a saint, at least a servant of God, that is to say, an Ibadite or Jacobite Christian.Ibn Haukal states that the city of Hira, which was still in existence in the time of Edrisi (Recueil des Voy. et des Mém.,iii, 366), was distant one farsang from Koufa, which with Basra was called Basraten—dualis of Basra—or the two Basras, the metropolis of the Nestorians at Basra being known as Euphrates Pherat Mesene or Perat Meissan, a name it had borne sinceA.D.310. We are informed by Eastern writers, that at Konfa was the tomb of the saint, Adam (Ritter,Die Erdkundeetc., x, 179–184), a name that reminds us of “Phiradamschyech”, whose age coincided with that of Abd-el-Mesy.Schiltberger may perhaps have applied to Herat, which he visited, the legend of Hira, a Shyite place of pilgrimage.—Bruun.
(14.)“the kingdom Horoson, and its capital is called Hore.”—As stated by Neumann, these places are intended for Khorasan and Herat. According to Masoudi (Ritter,Die Erdkundeetc., x. 65), there existed at the time of the conquest of Hira near the Euphrates,circaA.D.637, the negotiator Abd-el-Mesy, a man greatly revered by the Arabs in consequence of his wisdom and great age. He had attained his 350th year, and enjoyed the distinction of being considered, if not a saint, at least a servant of God, that is to say, an Ibadite or Jacobite Christian.
Ibn Haukal states that the city of Hira, which was still in existence in the time of Edrisi (Recueil des Voy. et des Mém.,iii, 366), was distant one farsang from Koufa, which with Basra was called Basraten—dualis of Basra—or the two Basras, the metropolis of the Nestorians at Basra being known as Euphrates Pherat Mesene or Perat Meissan, a name it had borne sinceA.D.310. We are informed by Eastern writers, that at Konfa was the tomb of the saint, Adam (Ritter,Die Erdkundeetc., x, 179–184), a name that reminds us of “Phiradamschyech”, whose age coincided with that of Abd-el-Mesy.
Schiltberger may perhaps have applied to Herat, which he visited, the legend of Hira, a Shyite place of pilgrimage.—Bruun.
(15.)“Phiradamschyech.”—This is one of the few names in Schiltberger’s narrative that appears somewhat difficult to determine. Pir, in Persian, signifies an old, a venerable man; also, a chief. Sheykh has a similar meaning in Arabic. Adam is the Persian, Turkish, and Arabic for man; so that “Phiradamschyech” consists of three substantives, and being interpreted, reads thus: A chief—a man—a chief.A very similar story is related by Ibn Batouta, Schiltberger’s predecessor by about fifty years. After passing the Hindu Kush, he got to a mountain called Bashai where he saw in a cell an old man named Ata Evlia—Father of the Saints—said to be 350 years old, but who appeared to be about fifty. Every hundred years he had a new growth of teeth and hair. There is no doubt whatever of Ibn Batouta’s own incredulity as to the reputed history of this man, to whom he put several questions, which, being unsatisfactorily answered, caused him to apprehend that there was no truth in the wonderful statements made about him.—Ed.
(15.)“Phiradamschyech.”—This is one of the few names in Schiltberger’s narrative that appears somewhat difficult to determine. Pir, in Persian, signifies an old, a venerable man; also, a chief. Sheykh has a similar meaning in Arabic. Adam is the Persian, Turkish, and Arabic for man; so that “Phiradamschyech” consists of three substantives, and being interpreted, reads thus: A chief—a man—a chief.
A very similar story is related by Ibn Batouta, Schiltberger’s predecessor by about fifty years. After passing the Hindu Kush, he got to a mountain called Bashai where he saw in a cell an old man named Ata Evlia—Father of the Saints—said to be 350 years old, but who appeared to be about fifty. Every hundred years he had a new growth of teeth and hair. There is no doubt whatever of Ibn Batouta’s own incredulity as to the reputed history of this man, to whom he put several questions, which, being unsatisfactorily answered, caused him to apprehend that there was no truth in the wonderful statements made about him.—Ed.
(16.)“Schiras.”—“Kerman.”—Sheeraz, the birth place of Saadi and Hafiz, two of the most celebrated and popular poets of Persia, was so called, says a rare Persian manuscript, after a word in the old Persick language signifying—Lion’s paunch—because all the wealth of every town in the same region was transported thither not to return elsewhere (Ouseley,Travels, etc.,ii, 23). Edrisi’s definition (Jaubert edition, 392) is somewhat clearer, for he says that the name was given because the place consumed without producing anything. This city is said to have been founded in the earliest years of Islam; the walls, which measured 12,500 paces in circumference, being constructed in the 10th century. Kazvini (quoted by Ouseley) observed nine gates, and in 1811 Ouseley saw six only. Ibn Haukal (Ouseley edition, 101) wrote of Sheeraz as being a modern city.In 1627, Sir Thomas Herbert (Travels into Divers Parts, etc., 127) found some of the old walls of “the pleasantest of Asiatick cities” still standing, but in Chardin’s time (Langlès edition, viii, 414) they had disappeared. The present fortifications, erected by Kerim Khan in the middle of the 18th century, were ruined by Aga Mohammed Shah after the struggle between the Zund and Kujjar families. They are of the extent of about three and a half miles, and were originally of such massive construction, that it was said three horsemen might have ridden abreast on them. The population in 1850 was estimated at 35,000 to 40,000; but the general want of employment begat amongst the people that disposition for mischief, brawls and insurrections, for which the place was remarkable beyond any other town in Persia (Abbott,Southern Cities of Persia, MS.).Kirman, also visited by Abbott, is encircled by walls of two and a half miles to three miles in circumference, and had a population (1850) not exceeding 25,000. The appearance of this town and the scenery around, are extremely unpromising and dreary, from the scarcity of trees, the little cultivation, and the few villages about. A vastly different condition to the “good country” noted by Schiltberger, and the statement of Marco Polo (Yule, i, 92), that on quitting the city of Kerman “you ride on for seven days, always finding towns, villages, and handsome dwelling-houses, so that it is very pleasant travelling”.Abbott says further, that Kirman was not of much commercial importance, being so far removed from the direct lines of communication between other chief places, and being adjacent to vast and unproductive regions.It is by no means clear that Schiltberger was ever at Kirman;but if his account of that town and of the islands in the Persian Gulf is given from personal observation, which is very doubtful, it is possible that he followed the same route as traced by Colonel Yule in Marco Polo’sItineraries, No. ii.—Ed.
(16.)“Schiras.”—“Kerman.”—Sheeraz, the birth place of Saadi and Hafiz, two of the most celebrated and popular poets of Persia, was so called, says a rare Persian manuscript, after a word in the old Persick language signifying—Lion’s paunch—because all the wealth of every town in the same region was transported thither not to return elsewhere (Ouseley,Travels, etc.,ii, 23). Edrisi’s definition (Jaubert edition, 392) is somewhat clearer, for he says that the name was given because the place consumed without producing anything. This city is said to have been founded in the earliest years of Islam; the walls, which measured 12,500 paces in circumference, being constructed in the 10th century. Kazvini (quoted by Ouseley) observed nine gates, and in 1811 Ouseley saw six only. Ibn Haukal (Ouseley edition, 101) wrote of Sheeraz as being a modern city.
In 1627, Sir Thomas Herbert (Travels into Divers Parts, etc., 127) found some of the old walls of “the pleasantest of Asiatick cities” still standing, but in Chardin’s time (Langlès edition, viii, 414) they had disappeared. The present fortifications, erected by Kerim Khan in the middle of the 18th century, were ruined by Aga Mohammed Shah after the struggle between the Zund and Kujjar families. They are of the extent of about three and a half miles, and were originally of such massive construction, that it was said three horsemen might have ridden abreast on them. The population in 1850 was estimated at 35,000 to 40,000; but the general want of employment begat amongst the people that disposition for mischief, brawls and insurrections, for which the place was remarkable beyond any other town in Persia (Abbott,Southern Cities of Persia, MS.).
Kirman, also visited by Abbott, is encircled by walls of two and a half miles to three miles in circumference, and had a population (1850) not exceeding 25,000. The appearance of this town and the scenery around, are extremely unpromising and dreary, from the scarcity of trees, the little cultivation, and the few villages about. A vastly different condition to the “good country” noted by Schiltberger, and the statement of Marco Polo (Yule, i, 92), that on quitting the city of Kerman “you ride on for seven days, always finding towns, villages, and handsome dwelling-houses, so that it is very pleasant travelling”.
Abbott says further, that Kirman was not of much commercial importance, being so far removed from the direct lines of communication between other chief places, and being adjacent to vast and unproductive regions.
It is by no means clear that Schiltberger was ever at Kirman;but if his account of that town and of the islands in the Persian Gulf is given from personal observation, which is very doubtful, it is possible that he followed the same route as traced by Colonel Yule in Marco Polo’sItineraries, No. ii.—Ed.
(17.)“Keschon”, “Hognus”, “Kaff”.—Kishm, Hormuz, and Kais, are three islands in the Persian Gulf, which, however, Schiltberger does not particularise as such. Kishm, the largest of the three, is called by the Persians, Draz Jazyra—Long Island—the more familiar name being Harkh. An excellent harbour is formed on the south side by the island of Angar. Kishm was occupied in 1622 by an English force, which destroyed a fort the Portuguese had erected the previous year, one of the few Englishmen killed upon the occasion being William Baffin who in 1616 sailed round Baffin’s Bay.Colonel Yule (Marco Polo, i, 113) has clearly established the site of ancient Hormuz on the main land, a city that was abandoned for the island of Zarun, afterwards Hormuz, in 1315 (Ouseley,Travels, etc., i, 157), as a protection, says Aboulfeda, from the repeated incursions of the Tatars. Already, in the days of Ibn Batouta, who mentions both Old and New Hormuz (Lee edition, 63), was Harauna, the new city and residence of the king, a large and beautiful place; and Friar Oderic, his contemporary, remarks on the efficient fortifications of Ormes, and its great store of merchandise and treasure; so that its reputation as a great commercial depôt was well established in Schiltberger’s time. Of the many travellers who have described the island, Varthema, 1503–1508 (Hakluyt Soc. Publ., 94), reported, that as many as three hundred vessels belonging to different countries were sometimes assembled at the noble city of Ormus, which was extremely beautiful; and some years later, 1563, Cesare Federici (HakluytVoyages, ii, 342) noticed a great trade there in all sorts of spice, drugs, silk, cloth of silk, brocardo, and other merchandise. Hormuz, like Kishm, was also recovered from the Portuguese by the English for Shah Abbas in 1623, until which period it was a stately and rich place, of which the inhabitants made the boast that “if the world were a ring, Ormus must be considered as the diamond”.The city has now completely disappeared, and over the space of about one square mile of its site may be seen, here and there, the foundations of houses, those near the sea being the most visible. In the neighbourhood are several hundred reservoirs, and many Mussulman tombs, some of which are enclosed within domed buildings that had some pretensions to architecture (Persian Gulf Pilot, 1870, 148).Kais is mentioned by many authors as being a place of considerable importance. It was the ancient Καταία (Nearchi Paraplus ex Arriano, 31;Hudson edition, i), is called Keis by the Arabs, is named Ken by Kinnear (Memoirs of the Persian Empire, 17), and appears in the Admiralty chart as Kais or Gais, inhabited by pearl fishers. Yagout (Barbier de Meynard,Dict. Géog., etc., 499) in the 13th century says of Kisch, that it was the residence of the sovereigns of Oman, whose authority extended over all the sea, on which they were very powerful; it was the place of call for vessels trading between Fars and India, and a celebrated pearl fishery. Kazvini (Kosmographie, 235) speaks of Kis as the resort of merchants who went there to trade; and Benjamin of Tudela, a century earlier, describes it as being a port of transit.The ancient town of Harira is now represented by tottering masses of masonry; a portion of a minaret of well cut stone, and many fallen pillars of the mosque to which the minaret belonged, being the only architectural remains. Great quantities of broken pottery, some of fine quality, lie scattered among thedébris. At a distance of a quarter of a mile are large reservoirs for water, all faced with masonry, but in a sad state of decay; some measure 120 ft. in length, by 24 ft., and are 24 ft. in depth.Admitting the authority of a Persian manuscript, says Ouseley (l. c., i, 170), the name of the island may be assigned to the 10th century, when one Keis, the son of a poor widow in Siraf, embarked for India with his sole property, a cat. There he arrived at a fortunate time, for the king’s palace was infested with mice. Keis produced his cat, the noxious animals disappeared, and the adventurer of Siraf was magnificently rewarded. He returned to his home, but afterwards settled with his mother and brothers on the island, which was named Keis, or, according to the Persians,Keish. Modern attempts to rationalise Whittington may surely be given up, observes Colonel Yule with reference to this story related by Wassaf.—Ed.
(17.)“Keschon”, “Hognus”, “Kaff”.—Kishm, Hormuz, and Kais, are three islands in the Persian Gulf, which, however, Schiltberger does not particularise as such. Kishm, the largest of the three, is called by the Persians, Draz Jazyra—Long Island—the more familiar name being Harkh. An excellent harbour is formed on the south side by the island of Angar. Kishm was occupied in 1622 by an English force, which destroyed a fort the Portuguese had erected the previous year, one of the few Englishmen killed upon the occasion being William Baffin who in 1616 sailed round Baffin’s Bay.
Colonel Yule (Marco Polo, i, 113) has clearly established the site of ancient Hormuz on the main land, a city that was abandoned for the island of Zarun, afterwards Hormuz, in 1315 (Ouseley,Travels, etc., i, 157), as a protection, says Aboulfeda, from the repeated incursions of the Tatars. Already, in the days of Ibn Batouta, who mentions both Old and New Hormuz (Lee edition, 63), was Harauna, the new city and residence of the king, a large and beautiful place; and Friar Oderic, his contemporary, remarks on the efficient fortifications of Ormes, and its great store of merchandise and treasure; so that its reputation as a great commercial depôt was well established in Schiltberger’s time. Of the many travellers who have described the island, Varthema, 1503–1508 (Hakluyt Soc. Publ., 94), reported, that as many as three hundred vessels belonging to different countries were sometimes assembled at the noble city of Ormus, which was extremely beautiful; and some years later, 1563, Cesare Federici (HakluytVoyages, ii, 342) noticed a great trade there in all sorts of spice, drugs, silk, cloth of silk, brocardo, and other merchandise. Hormuz, like Kishm, was also recovered from the Portuguese by the English for Shah Abbas in 1623, until which period it was a stately and rich place, of which the inhabitants made the boast that “if the world were a ring, Ormus must be considered as the diamond”.
The city has now completely disappeared, and over the space of about one square mile of its site may be seen, here and there, the foundations of houses, those near the sea being the most visible. In the neighbourhood are several hundred reservoirs, and many Mussulman tombs, some of which are enclosed within domed buildings that had some pretensions to architecture (Persian Gulf Pilot, 1870, 148).
Kais is mentioned by many authors as being a place of considerable importance. It was the ancient Καταία (Nearchi Paraplus ex Arriano, 31;Hudson edition, i), is called Keis by the Arabs, is named Ken by Kinnear (Memoirs of the Persian Empire, 17), and appears in the Admiralty chart as Kais or Gais, inhabited by pearl fishers. Yagout (Barbier de Meynard,Dict. Géog., etc., 499) in the 13th century says of Kisch, that it was the residence of the sovereigns of Oman, whose authority extended over all the sea, on which they were very powerful; it was the place of call for vessels trading between Fars and India, and a celebrated pearl fishery. Kazvini (Kosmographie, 235) speaks of Kis as the resort of merchants who went there to trade; and Benjamin of Tudela, a century earlier, describes it as being a port of transit.
The ancient town of Harira is now represented by tottering masses of masonry; a portion of a minaret of well cut stone, and many fallen pillars of the mosque to which the minaret belonged, being the only architectural remains. Great quantities of broken pottery, some of fine quality, lie scattered among thedébris. At a distance of a quarter of a mile are large reservoirs for water, all faced with masonry, but in a sad state of decay; some measure 120 ft. in length, by 24 ft., and are 24 ft. in depth.
Admitting the authority of a Persian manuscript, says Ouseley (l. c., i, 170), the name of the island may be assigned to the 10th century, when one Keis, the son of a poor widow in Siraf, embarked for India with his sole property, a cat. There he arrived at a fortunate time, for the king’s palace was infested with mice. Keis produced his cat, the noxious animals disappeared, and the adventurer of Siraf was magnificently rewarded. He returned to his home, but afterwards settled with his mother and brothers on the island, which was named Keis, or, according to the Persians,Keish. Modern attempts to rationalise Whittington may surely be given up, observes Colonel Yule with reference to this story related by Wassaf.—Ed.
(18.)“Walaschoen.”—This name, employed also by Orientals, is now Badakshan, called Badashan by Marco Polo, who says that rubies were found in the province. Ibn Haukal was also aware that Badakshan yielded rubies and lapis-lazuli, and Ibn Batouta asserts that the rubies (balas rubies) from the mountains of Badakshan were commonly called Ak Balaksh. A river flowed from these mountains, the water of which was as white as that of the sea. He adds that Jengiz, king of the Tatars, ruined the country, so that it never flourished afterwards. Judging, however, from Schiltberger’s account, it is probable that its condition had improved.The unicorns may have been horses of a good breed, as alluded to by Marco Polo (Yule, i, 166), who states that, “not long ago they possessed in that province a breed of horses from the strain of Alexander’s horse, Bucephalus, all of which had from their birth a particular mark on the forehead”. If we consider that in the time of Timour, the nationality of the inhabitants, the military administration, and the breed of horses in this country, were the same as in the days of Kublai, the ruler had, no doubt, ever been a “None”, Nono, which Marco Polo (idem, i, 183) gives as the equivalent for Count. Whatever the origin and primitive significations of this term, I may, perhaps, not be far out in asserting, that in the present instance it designated a noyon or myriarch, such as was Jebe, the vanquisher of the Russians at the battle of the Kalka in 1223 (Berezin,Nashestvye Mongolov, 226), and Noë, Duke of Sousdal, who, at about the same period, gave to Julian the missionary, letters of recommendation to Bela IV., King of Hungary (Kunik,Outch. Zap., etc., iii, 739), and Tolak Timour the cruel governor of Soudak (Zap. Odess. Obstschest., v, 507).—Bruun.(18A.) When Captain Wood was in Badakshan, he was told that the valley of Meshid was extremely populous in former times, and a legend was current to the effect that it used to begreatly infested with scorpions (Journey to the Source of the River Oxus, 1872). Colonel Yule thinks, that if the existence of unicorns was not a mere fable, the animal referred to was probably the rhinoceros, at that time common in the country near Peshawur—not very far from Badakshan.—Ed.
(18.)“Walaschoen.”—This name, employed also by Orientals, is now Badakshan, called Badashan by Marco Polo, who says that rubies were found in the province. Ibn Haukal was also aware that Badakshan yielded rubies and lapis-lazuli, and Ibn Batouta asserts that the rubies (balas rubies) from the mountains of Badakshan were commonly called Ak Balaksh. A river flowed from these mountains, the water of which was as white as that of the sea. He adds that Jengiz, king of the Tatars, ruined the country, so that it never flourished afterwards. Judging, however, from Schiltberger’s account, it is probable that its condition had improved.
The unicorns may have been horses of a good breed, as alluded to by Marco Polo (Yule, i, 166), who states that, “not long ago they possessed in that province a breed of horses from the strain of Alexander’s horse, Bucephalus, all of which had from their birth a particular mark on the forehead”. If we consider that in the time of Timour, the nationality of the inhabitants, the military administration, and the breed of horses in this country, were the same as in the days of Kublai, the ruler had, no doubt, ever been a “None”, Nono, which Marco Polo (idem, i, 183) gives as the equivalent for Count. Whatever the origin and primitive significations of this term, I may, perhaps, not be far out in asserting, that in the present instance it designated a noyon or myriarch, such as was Jebe, the vanquisher of the Russians at the battle of the Kalka in 1223 (Berezin,Nashestvye Mongolov, 226), and Noë, Duke of Sousdal, who, at about the same period, gave to Julian the missionary, letters of recommendation to Bela IV., King of Hungary (Kunik,Outch. Zap., etc., iii, 739), and Tolak Timour the cruel governor of Soudak (Zap. Odess. Obstschest., v, 507).—Bruun.
(18A.) When Captain Wood was in Badakshan, he was told that the valley of Meshid was extremely populous in former times, and a legend was current to the effect that it used to begreatly infested with scorpions (Journey to the Source of the River Oxus, 1872). Colonel Yule thinks, that if the existence of unicorns was not a mere fable, the animal referred to was probably the rhinoceros, at that time common in the country near Peshawur—not very far from Badakshan.—Ed.
(1.)“Marburtirudt.”—These measurements agree so exactly with the dimensions to be found in Herodotus, who gives the height of the walls of Babylon at 200 cubits and their thickness at 50 cubits, that the extent of the city, 480 stadia, was probably obtained from the same source. But four stadia do not make one Italian mile. The Italian mile is equal to eight stadia, 480 stadia are, therefore, 60 Italian, or 55-1/5 English miles, no great difference from the 75 miles or 25 leagues noted in the text as being the extent of the wall of Babylon.The Tower of Babel, represented as being 54 stadia from the city, must have been distant 6.75 Italian, or 6.21 English miles, precisely the position of Birs Nimroud—Prison of Nimrod—called “Marburtirudt”, for Marbout Nimroud. It was to these ruins that Benjamin of Tudela (Ritter,Die Erdkundeetc., x, 263) referred when describing the tower constructed before the dispersion of the people, situated on the right bank of the Euphrates, and one and a half hour’s journey from Hillah; it measured 240 yards in diameter, and was about 100 canna in height; a gallery conducted to the summit, whence the view around extended over the plain to a distance of eight leagues. Schiltberger expresses himself to the same effect when he says, “in several places it is x leagues in length and in breadth”. In adding that the tower stood on the Chaldæan side of the Arabian desert, he has no intention of directing us to Arabia proper, but to Irak Araby, the country of the ancient Chaldæans.—Bruun.
(1.)“Marburtirudt.”—These measurements agree so exactly with the dimensions to be found in Herodotus, who gives the height of the walls of Babylon at 200 cubits and their thickness at 50 cubits, that the extent of the city, 480 stadia, was probably obtained from the same source. But four stadia do not make one Italian mile. The Italian mile is equal to eight stadia, 480 stadia are, therefore, 60 Italian, or 55-1/5 English miles, no great difference from the 75 miles or 25 leagues noted in the text as being the extent of the wall of Babylon.
The Tower of Babel, represented as being 54 stadia from the city, must have been distant 6.75 Italian, or 6.21 English miles, precisely the position of Birs Nimroud—Prison of Nimrod—called “Marburtirudt”, for Marbout Nimroud. It was to these ruins that Benjamin of Tudela (Ritter,Die Erdkundeetc., x, 263) referred when describing the tower constructed before the dispersion of the people, situated on the right bank of the Euphrates, and one and a half hour’s journey from Hillah; it measured 240 yards in diameter, and was about 100 canna in height; a gallery conducted to the summit, whence the view around extended over the plain to a distance of eight leagues. Schiltberger expresses himself to the same effect when he says, “in several places it is x leagues in length and in breadth”. In adding that the tower stood on the Chaldæan side of the Arabian desert, he has no intention of directing us to Arabia proper, but to Irak Araby, the country of the ancient Chaldæans.—Bruun.
(2.)“And one inch is the first member of the thumb.”—Schiltberger fails to distinguish the Italian from the Lombard mile; weare therefore at liberty to conclude that he here alludes to the ancient Roman mile, .75 of a degree, which consists of 59,800 untz or zoll, the zoll being equal to the English inch. In saying that the Italian or Lombard mile consists of 45,000 inches only, Schiltberger gives us to understand that the “schuch” was one-fourth shorter than the foot; in other words, he refers to the palma, an Italian measure of his day. It follows, therefore, that the pace of five palmas must have measured 3 ft. 9 in.—Bruun.
(2.)“And one inch is the first member of the thumb.”—Schiltberger fails to distinguish the Italian from the Lombard mile; weare therefore at liberty to conclude that he here alludes to the ancient Roman mile, .75 of a degree, which consists of 59,800 untz or zoll, the zoll being equal to the English inch. In saying that the Italian or Lombard mile consists of 45,000 inches only, Schiltberger gives us to understand that the “schuch” was one-fourth shorter than the foot; in other words, he refers to the palma, an Italian measure of his day. It follows, therefore, that the pace of five palmas must have measured 3 ft. 9 in.—Bruun.
(3.)“Schatt.”—The Tigris is still known as the Schat (Ritter,Die Erdkundeetc., xi, 4), not only from its junction with the Euphrates, but also along the whole of its upper course (Rachid-Eddin by Quatremère, xxix), which justified Barbaro in having said that Hassanchiph was near the Set.—Bruun.(3A.) This is confirmed by Colonel Chesney (Exped. to the Euphr. and Tigris, i, 60), who writes that Shatt, or more correctly Shatt-el-Arab, is the name given to the rivers Euphrates and Tigris after their junction at the walled town of Kournah; but that the designation belongs properly to the Tigris. This river is clearly called Schot by Olearius.—Ed.
(3.)“Schatt.”—The Tigris is still known as the Schat (Ritter,Die Erdkundeetc., xi, 4), not only from its junction with the Euphrates, but also along the whole of its upper course (Rachid-Eddin by Quatremère, xxix), which justified Barbaro in having said that Hassanchiph was near the Set.—Bruun.
(3A.) This is confirmed by Colonel Chesney (Exped. to the Euphr. and Tigris, i, 60), who writes that Shatt, or more correctly Shatt-el-Arab, is the name given to the rivers Euphrates and Tigris after their junction at the walled town of Kournah; but that the designation belongs properly to the Tigris. This river is clearly called Schot by Olearius.—Ed.
(4.)“Kinna.”—This fruit, called “kurnia” in Penzel’s edition, is probably the khourmà, date-plum—Diospyros lotus—an ebanaceous tree growing plentifully in Persia and Transcaucasia, and perhaps the kheilan of Ibn Batouta. The berry is largely imported into Russia, and a favourite spirit distilled from it. It is totally distinct from the date-palm—Phœnix dactylifera—called in the East, taltal. Marco Polo (Yule, i, 110) speaks of a very good wine made from dates, mixed with spices.—Ed.
(4.)“Kinna.”—This fruit, called “kurnia” in Penzel’s edition, is probably the khourmà, date-plum—Diospyros lotus—an ebanaceous tree growing plentifully in Persia and Transcaucasia, and perhaps the kheilan of Ibn Batouta. The berry is largely imported into Russia, and a favourite spirit distilled from it. It is totally distinct from the date-palm—Phœnix dactylifera—called in the East, taltal. Marco Polo (Yule, i, 110) speaks of a very good wine made from dates, mixed with spices.—Ed.
(5.)“In this kingdom the people are not warlike.”—It is not surprising that Schiltberger should have been struck by the pacific disposition of the people of Baghdad, a city that owed its opulence to industry and commerce. Baghdad was reconstructed by Ahmen ben Oweis after its destruction by Timour (Weil,Gesch. der Chal., v, 98). The inhabitants were Arabs and Persians, as they are now. That a large park and menagerie should have existed is in the highest degree probable, for we readin Zosimus (Hist. Rom., iii, 23), that the troops of the emperor Julian discovered a royal garden in Mesopotamia, in which wild beasts were kept: εἰς περίβολον ὃν Βασιλέως θήραν ἐκάλον. The Greeks of Heraclius’s expedition,A.D.627, found a large park close to the residence of Chosroes (Ritter,Die Erdkundeetc., ix, 503), in which were many ostriches, wild boar, peacocks, pheasants, lions, tigers, etc. Another instance was the residence, near Baghdad, of the caliph El-Harim, which stood within grounds wherein were wild beasts of every description (ibid., x, 258).—Bruun.
(5.)“In this kingdom the people are not warlike.”—It is not surprising that Schiltberger should have been struck by the pacific disposition of the people of Baghdad, a city that owed its opulence to industry and commerce. Baghdad was reconstructed by Ahmen ben Oweis after its destruction by Timour (Weil,Gesch. der Chal., v, 98). The inhabitants were Arabs and Persians, as they are now. That a large park and menagerie should have existed is in the highest degree probable, for we readin Zosimus (Hist. Rom., iii, 23), that the troops of the emperor Julian discovered a royal garden in Mesopotamia, in which wild beasts were kept: εἰς περίβολον ὃν Βασιλέως θήραν ἐκάλον. The Greeks of Heraclius’s expedition,A.D.627, found a large park close to the residence of Chosroes (Ritter,Die Erdkundeetc., ix, 503), in which were many ostriches, wild boar, peacocks, pheasants, lions, tigers, etc. Another instance was the residence, near Baghdad, of the caliph El-Harim, which stood within grounds wherein were wild beasts of every description (ibid., x, 258).—Bruun.
(6.)“It has long fore-legs, and the hinder are short.”—Soon after the battle of Angora, the sultan Faradj sent two ambassadors with rich presents to Timour, one being a giraffe (Weil,Gesch. der Chal., v, 97), which Clavijo, who met the Egyptian envoys at Khoi, designated a gornufa. Schiltberger must have originally written surnofa, rather than “surnasa”. The giraffe he saw in Timour’s possession was probably one of the finest of its species, so that allowance should be made for his ascribing to its neck a length of four fathoms; indeed, we learn from Clavijo that this very animal was able to extend its neck so as to reach herbage at a height of 30 feet to 36 feet.Schiltberger was under the impression, as was his contemporary De Lannoy (Voy. et Ambass., 88), that the Nile traversed India before entering Egypt,1which accounts for his supposition that the giraffe was indigenous to the former country.—Bruun.1That Ethiopia was called India, and thus confounded with real India, is fully set forth by Colonel Yule in a note to Marco Polo, ii, 426.—Ed.(6A.) Zerypha—yellow-coloured—is the Persian for giraffe, from zerd—yellow—and fam—colour; a name corrupted by the Turks and Arabs to zerafè, whence “surnasa”. The giraffe at the British Museum could have reached food at a height of at least twenty feet, as Dr. Günther, Keeper of Zoology, has been good enough to inform me. The finest specimen at the Museum d’Histoire Naturelle, at Paris, is even inferior in size, according to themeasurements kindly supplied by Professor Milne-Edward of that institution. Schiltberger must have greatly miscalculated the proportions of the animal he saw, allowing even for probable degeneration; large giraffes having now become very scarce.—Ed.
(6.)“It has long fore-legs, and the hinder are short.”—Soon after the battle of Angora, the sultan Faradj sent two ambassadors with rich presents to Timour, one being a giraffe (Weil,Gesch. der Chal., v, 97), which Clavijo, who met the Egyptian envoys at Khoi, designated a gornufa. Schiltberger must have originally written surnofa, rather than “surnasa”. The giraffe he saw in Timour’s possession was probably one of the finest of its species, so that allowance should be made for his ascribing to its neck a length of four fathoms; indeed, we learn from Clavijo that this very animal was able to extend its neck so as to reach herbage at a height of 30 feet to 36 feet.
Schiltberger was under the impression, as was his contemporary De Lannoy (Voy. et Ambass., 88), that the Nile traversed India before entering Egypt,1which accounts for his supposition that the giraffe was indigenous to the former country.—Bruun.
1That Ethiopia was called India, and thus confounded with real India, is fully set forth by Colonel Yule in a note to Marco Polo, ii, 426.—Ed.
1That Ethiopia was called India, and thus confounded with real India, is fully set forth by Colonel Yule in a note to Marco Polo, ii, 426.—Ed.
(6A.) Zerypha—yellow-coloured—is the Persian for giraffe, from zerd—yellow—and fam—colour; a name corrupted by the Turks and Arabs to zerafè, whence “surnasa”. The giraffe at the British Museum could have reached food at a height of at least twenty feet, as Dr. Günther, Keeper of Zoology, has been good enough to inform me. The finest specimen at the Museum d’Histoire Naturelle, at Paris, is even inferior in size, according to themeasurements kindly supplied by Professor Milne-Edward of that institution. Schiltberger must have greatly miscalculated the proportions of the animal he saw, allowing even for probable degeneration; large giraffes having now become very scarce.—Ed.
(7.)“Zekatay.”—Jagatai owes its name to the second son of Jengiz Khan, who received in appanage the countries to the east and south-east of the Oulons of Jujy, that is to say, from the limits of Khorasan (until taken from the Jujy by Timour) on both sides of the Amu-Darya, to Turkestan. All those territories were included under the name of Jagatai, as were also the dialects of the inhabitants. The last princes of the house, and in whose name Timour ruled, were Suurgatmysh and Mahmoud; their coinage was struck at Bokhara, Samarkand, Termed, Kesh, Badakshan, and Otrar; but their residence was at Besh balyk—Five Cities—until transferred by Timour to Samarkand, which the despot sought to place at the head of all cities in Asia, by means of the vigorous measures to which Clavijo bears witness.—Bruun.
(7.)“Zekatay.”—Jagatai owes its name to the second son of Jengiz Khan, who received in appanage the countries to the east and south-east of the Oulons of Jujy, that is to say, from the limits of Khorasan (until taken from the Jujy by Timour) on both sides of the Amu-Darya, to Turkestan. All those territories were included under the name of Jagatai, as were also the dialects of the inhabitants. The last princes of the house, and in whose name Timour ruled, were Suurgatmysh and Mahmoud; their coinage was struck at Bokhara, Samarkand, Termed, Kesh, Badakshan, and Otrar; but their residence was at Besh balyk—Five Cities—until transferred by Timour to Samarkand, which the despot sought to place at the head of all cities in Asia, by means of the vigorous measures to which Clavijo bears witness.—Bruun.
(1.)“Great Tartaria.”—The details entered into by Schiltberger in this chapter, demonstrate that he includes in Great Tatary the possessions of the three branches of the Jujy. First, the Ordou Itchen or the White Horde, who were the successors of the eldest son of Jujy. Secondly, those of the Golden Horde, the successors of Batou, the second son; and, Thirdly, those of Shaïban, the fifth son, who, in recompense for his brilliant services during Batou’s campaign in Russia, received from the Ordou Itchen some territories near the Ural for his summer encampment; and for his winter use, those near the Syr Darya, that is to say, the actual steppe of the Kirghis, so that the domains of the Shaïbani separated the Golden Horde from the White Horde. Their dominions afterwards extended northwards, when they nominated khans to Siberia.—Bruun.(1A.) “Tartaria” and “Tartaren”, as the names are spelled throughout the text, are substituted in these Notes by Tatary and Tatars, it is hoped on fair grounds. Professor Nève asserts (Exposé des Guerres de Tamerlan, etc.:d’après la Chronique Arménienne inédite deThomas de Medzoph, 24) that Tatar is the term employed by Armenian chroniclers, and he names no exceptions; and is not her ancient literature one of the several excellencies of which Armenia may be justly proud? A note by Dr. Smith in Gibbon (Rise and Fall, etc., iii, 294) shows how the Tatars became accidentally named Tartars, through an exclamation of St. Louis of France, although it must be admitted that according to other authors, the use of the word Tartar, in Western Europe, is of earlier date; and Genebrard states (Lib. Heb. Chro. Bib., i, 158) that Tatar, which in the Hebrew and Syriac signifies abandoned, deserted, should more correctly be written without an r. The Russians, whose pronunciation of these words is, for obvious reasons, entitled to every consideration, speak of Tatáry’ya-Tatary—and Tatáry—Tatars—unquestionably the sound uttered by the various people themselves, claiming the distinctive appellation, whether on the banks of the Volga, in South Russia, the Crimea, or in the steppes and lowlands of Transcaucasia, as the writer of this note is prepared to testify. The Russian word Tatarui, or Tatars, says Ralston (Early Russian History, 198, wherein is cited F. Porter Smith’sVocab., etc., 52), modified in Western Europe by a reference to Tartarus into Tartars, is now generally applied by Russian writers to what used to be the Turkish subjects of the Mongol Empire. It is said to be a corruption of Tah-tan, the name under which the Mongols were anciently known to the Chinese. Morrison writes Tătă as Chinese for Tartars.Colonel Yule (Marco Polo, i, 12) calls attention to an article in theJournal Asiatique, ser. v, tom. xi, 203, to show that the name Tartar is of Armenian rather than of European origin, whilst admitting that Tatar was used by Oriental writers of Polo’s age, exactly as Tartar was then, and is still, used in Western Europe as a generic title for the Turanian hosts who followed Chingis and his successors; but he believes that the name in this sense was not known in Western Europe before the time of Chingis.In Howorth’sHistory of the Mongols, 1877 (the one volume as yet published), a ponderous book of 743 pages, replete with the most erudite information, but unhappily unprovided with any guide to its contents, will be found at page 700, a long note, in which admission is made that the word Tartar has given rise to much discussion; and whilst the Russian and Byzantine authors, the Bohemian chronicler Dalemil, Ivo of Narbonne, and Thomas of Spalatro, are cited in favour of the use of Tatar, other authorities are quoted to establish a respectable pedigree for Tartar.—Ed.
(1.)“Great Tartaria.”—The details entered into by Schiltberger in this chapter, demonstrate that he includes in Great Tatary the possessions of the three branches of the Jujy. First, the Ordou Itchen or the White Horde, who were the successors of the eldest son of Jujy. Secondly, those of the Golden Horde, the successors of Batou, the second son; and, Thirdly, those of Shaïban, the fifth son, who, in recompense for his brilliant services during Batou’s campaign in Russia, received from the Ordou Itchen some territories near the Ural for his summer encampment; and for his winter use, those near the Syr Darya, that is to say, the actual steppe of the Kirghis, so that the domains of the Shaïbani separated the Golden Horde from the White Horde. Their dominions afterwards extended northwards, when they nominated khans to Siberia.—Bruun.
(1A.) “Tartaria” and “Tartaren”, as the names are spelled throughout the text, are substituted in these Notes by Tatary and Tatars, it is hoped on fair grounds. Professor Nève asserts (Exposé des Guerres de Tamerlan, etc.:d’après la Chronique Arménienne inédite deThomas de Medzoph, 24) that Tatar is the term employed by Armenian chroniclers, and he names no exceptions; and is not her ancient literature one of the several excellencies of which Armenia may be justly proud? A note by Dr. Smith in Gibbon (Rise and Fall, etc., iii, 294) shows how the Tatars became accidentally named Tartars, through an exclamation of St. Louis of France, although it must be admitted that according to other authors, the use of the word Tartar, in Western Europe, is of earlier date; and Genebrard states (Lib. Heb. Chro. Bib., i, 158) that Tatar, which in the Hebrew and Syriac signifies abandoned, deserted, should more correctly be written without an r. The Russians, whose pronunciation of these words is, for obvious reasons, entitled to every consideration, speak of Tatáry’ya-Tatary—and Tatáry—Tatars—unquestionably the sound uttered by the various people themselves, claiming the distinctive appellation, whether on the banks of the Volga, in South Russia, the Crimea, or in the steppes and lowlands of Transcaucasia, as the writer of this note is prepared to testify. The Russian word Tatarui, or Tatars, says Ralston (Early Russian History, 198, wherein is cited F. Porter Smith’sVocab., etc., 52), modified in Western Europe by a reference to Tartarus into Tartars, is now generally applied by Russian writers to what used to be the Turkish subjects of the Mongol Empire. It is said to be a corruption of Tah-tan, the name under which the Mongols were anciently known to the Chinese. Morrison writes Tătă as Chinese for Tartars.
Colonel Yule (Marco Polo, i, 12) calls attention to an article in theJournal Asiatique, ser. v, tom. xi, 203, to show that the name Tartar is of Armenian rather than of European origin, whilst admitting that Tatar was used by Oriental writers of Polo’s age, exactly as Tartar was then, and is still, used in Western Europe as a generic title for the Turanian hosts who followed Chingis and his successors; but he believes that the name in this sense was not known in Western Europe before the time of Chingis.
In Howorth’sHistory of the Mongols, 1877 (the one volume as yet published), a ponderous book of 743 pages, replete with the most erudite information, but unhappily unprovided with any guide to its contents, will be found at page 700, a long note, in which admission is made that the word Tartar has given rise to much discussion; and whilst the Russian and Byzantine authors, the Bohemian chronicler Dalemil, Ivo of Narbonne, and Thomas of Spalatro, are cited in favour of the use of Tatar, other authorities are quoted to establish a respectable pedigree for Tartar.—Ed.
(2.)“Seat him on white felt, and raise him in it three times.”—The raising to the White Felt is similarly described by Giovanni dal Piano di Carpine (Recueil de Voy. et de Mém., etc.). Vambery (Trav. in Central Asia, 356) says that the being raised to the White Felt is still the exclusive privilege of the gray-beards of the tribe of Jagatai, and that the custom is kept up at the investiture of the khans of Khokand.—Ed.
(2.)“Seat him on white felt, and raise him in it three times.”—The raising to the White Felt is similarly described by Giovanni dal Piano di Carpine (Recueil de Voy. et de Mém., etc.). Vambery (Trav. in Central Asia, 356) says that the being raised to the White Felt is still the exclusive privilege of the gray-beards of the tribe of Jagatai, and that the custom is kept up at the investiture of the khans of Khokand.—Ed.
(1.)“Edil, which is a great river.”—The large river here called “Edil”, the Turkish for river, could have been no other than the Oxus or Amu-Darya. Orden cannot in any manner be identified with “Origens”, mentioned in chapter 25, where the author stayed when on his journey from Derbent to Joulad. That city of “Origens”, however, was also at an “Edil”, so that Schiltberger may possibly have confounded its name of Ornas, Arnatch, or Andjaz, with Ourjenj, equally situated on an “Edil” (in this instance not the Terek but the Oxus); the possessions of his iron lord extending from the neighbourhood of one river to that of the other.—Bruun.
(1.)“Edil, which is a great river.”—The large river here called “Edil”, the Turkish for river, could have been no other than the Oxus or Amu-Darya. Orden cannot in any manner be identified with “Origens”, mentioned in chapter 25, where the author stayed when on his journey from Derbent to Joulad. That city of “Origens”, however, was also at an “Edil”, so that Schiltberger may possibly have confounded its name of Ornas, Arnatch, or Andjaz, with Ourjenj, equally situated on an “Edil” (in this instance not the Terek but the Oxus); the possessions of his iron lord extending from the neighbourhood of one river to that of the other.—Bruun.
(2.)“A city called Haitzicherchen, which is a large city.”—Hadjy-tarkhan was situated on the right bank of the Volga, a few miles above the modern Astrahan, and near Itil, capitalof the kingdom of the Khozars, an ancient city that had already disappeared in the time of Rubruquis, 1253, when Hadjy-tarkhan itself, it would appear, had scarcely begun to exist. Ibn Batouta (1331) notes having sojourned at the last-named place upon the occasion of his journey from Soudagh to Saraï; and Pegolotti says that travellers tarried there when on their way to China. The name appears as Azitarcan in the Catalan atlas, 1375, in which work, and in the splendid map of the brothers Pizzigani, we also find “Civitat de ssara”, or “Civitas Regio d’Sara”, the city of New Sarai, destroyed by Timour, and mentioned by Schiltberger. Its ruins are still to be seen near the town of Tzaref on the Akhtouba, an arm of the Volga. There was, however, the other Saraï, spoken of by Aboulfeda, Ibn Batouta, and Pegolotti, the remains of which are visible, also on the Akhtouba, but at a distance of two hundred miles to the south of Tzaref, and near Seliterny-gorodok, where numerous coins of the khan Uzbek have lately been found by a professor of the University of Kazan. No such coins have ever been picked up at Tzaref, which is not surprising, seeing that it was Janibek, the son of Uzbek, who transferred his residence from Saraï to the new city of that name, as Colonel Yule has already shown in one of his notes to Marco Polo (i, 6), and as I have since sought to prove in an article that was published at Kieff in 1876 (Troudy 3go. Archeo. Syezda).Although old Saraï was depopulated by the plague in 1347–48, and new Saraï was destroyed by Timour, both cities recovered from those calamities, and in the later map of the world, by Fra Mauro, they appear near a tributary on the left bank of the Volga, but at a considerable distance from each other. The northernmost is known to the Russians as Great Saraï.Previously to selecting old Saraï for his residence, the khan Barka was at Bolgar, the ancient capital of the kingdom of the Bolgars on the Volga, which had been subdued in 1236 by his brother and predecessor Batou, the “terrible Batou” of the Russians, surnamed by the Tatars, Saïn—The Good. An indigent Russian village stands on the site of the city, in the midst of ruins which impress the traveller by their extent; an impression I received when engaged in the Fourth Archæological Congress(1877), the members of which started upon their excursion from Kazan, and descending the river to Spassky-zaton, visited the locality distant seven miles in a direct line from the river. Considering the importance of these ruins, the large extent of ground they cover, the prodigious quantity of ancient oriental coins and other antiquities that are being continually recovered; considering, also, the testimony of Arabian authors and travellers on the commercial relations of the ancient Bolgars of the Volga, the question has frequently arisen—Why should that people have preferred to establish themselves at so great a distance from the river, after the manner of the inhabitants of the “city of the blind”, instead of selecting a more advantageous site? The enigma has been solved by Professor Golovkinsky (Sur la formation permienne du bassin Kama-Volgien, etc., in theMém. de la Soc. Minér. de St. Pétersbourg, tom. i; andAnciens débris de l’homme au Gouvt.de Cazan, in theTravaux de la réunion des Natur. de Russie, St. Pétersbourg, 1868), formerly of the University of Kazan, now Rector of that at Odessa. The distinguished geologist shows, that the Volga and the Kama have been subjected to great changes in their course above their junction; that to a comparatively recent period, the eastern bank of the bed where the two rivers united, was close to the height upon which is the village of Bolgar, and that this ancient bed is to be traced to an arm of the Kazanka called the Boulak, and to the lake Kaban, both of which flow through the city of Kazan, and through a partly dried up marsh near the said village.—Bruun.
(2.)“A city called Haitzicherchen, which is a large city.”—Hadjy-tarkhan was situated on the right bank of the Volga, a few miles above the modern Astrahan, and near Itil, capitalof the kingdom of the Khozars, an ancient city that had already disappeared in the time of Rubruquis, 1253, when Hadjy-tarkhan itself, it would appear, had scarcely begun to exist. Ibn Batouta (1331) notes having sojourned at the last-named place upon the occasion of his journey from Soudagh to Saraï; and Pegolotti says that travellers tarried there when on their way to China. The name appears as Azitarcan in the Catalan atlas, 1375, in which work, and in the splendid map of the brothers Pizzigani, we also find “Civitat de ssara”, or “Civitas Regio d’Sara”, the city of New Sarai, destroyed by Timour, and mentioned by Schiltberger. Its ruins are still to be seen near the town of Tzaref on the Akhtouba, an arm of the Volga. There was, however, the other Saraï, spoken of by Aboulfeda, Ibn Batouta, and Pegolotti, the remains of which are visible, also on the Akhtouba, but at a distance of two hundred miles to the south of Tzaref, and near Seliterny-gorodok, where numerous coins of the khan Uzbek have lately been found by a professor of the University of Kazan. No such coins have ever been picked up at Tzaref, which is not surprising, seeing that it was Janibek, the son of Uzbek, who transferred his residence from Saraï to the new city of that name, as Colonel Yule has already shown in one of his notes to Marco Polo (i, 6), and as I have since sought to prove in an article that was published at Kieff in 1876 (Troudy 3go. Archeo. Syezda).
Although old Saraï was depopulated by the plague in 1347–48, and new Saraï was destroyed by Timour, both cities recovered from those calamities, and in the later map of the world, by Fra Mauro, they appear near a tributary on the left bank of the Volga, but at a considerable distance from each other. The northernmost is known to the Russians as Great Saraï.
Previously to selecting old Saraï for his residence, the khan Barka was at Bolgar, the ancient capital of the kingdom of the Bolgars on the Volga, which had been subdued in 1236 by his brother and predecessor Batou, the “terrible Batou” of the Russians, surnamed by the Tatars, Saïn—The Good. An indigent Russian village stands on the site of the city, in the midst of ruins which impress the traveller by their extent; an impression I received when engaged in the Fourth Archæological Congress(1877), the members of which started upon their excursion from Kazan, and descending the river to Spassky-zaton, visited the locality distant seven miles in a direct line from the river. Considering the importance of these ruins, the large extent of ground they cover, the prodigious quantity of ancient oriental coins and other antiquities that are being continually recovered; considering, also, the testimony of Arabian authors and travellers on the commercial relations of the ancient Bolgars of the Volga, the question has frequently arisen—Why should that people have preferred to establish themselves at so great a distance from the river, after the manner of the inhabitants of the “city of the blind”, instead of selecting a more advantageous site? The enigma has been solved by Professor Golovkinsky (Sur la formation permienne du bassin Kama-Volgien, etc., in theMém. de la Soc. Minér. de St. Pétersbourg, tom. i; andAnciens débris de l’homme au Gouvt.de Cazan, in theTravaux de la réunion des Natur. de Russie, St. Pétersbourg, 1868), formerly of the University of Kazan, now Rector of that at Odessa. The distinguished geologist shows, that the Volga and the Kama have been subjected to great changes in their course above their junction; that to a comparatively recent period, the eastern bank of the bed where the two rivers united, was close to the height upon which is the village of Bolgar, and that this ancient bed is to be traced to an arm of the Kazanka called the Boulak, and to the lake Kaban, both of which flow through the city of Kazan, and through a partly dried up marsh near the said village.—Bruun.
(3.)“a city called Bolar, in which are different kinds of beasts.”—These were probably furred animals, furs having been from all time the staple of commerce at Bolgar (whose locality is now established), at Saraï and Astrahan. Schiltberger leads us to the supposition that those cities had recovered from the state of desolation in which they were left by Timour.—Bruun.
(3.)“a city called Bolar, in which are different kinds of beasts.”—These were probably furred animals, furs having been from all time the staple of commerce at Bolgar (whose locality is now established), at Saraï and Astrahan. Schiltberger leads us to the supposition that those cities had recovered from the state of desolation in which they were left by Timour.—Bruun.
(4.)“Ibissibur.”—In chapter 25, Schiltberger describes a country called “Ibissibur”. That there was a city of the name is clearly established by the Catalan atlas and Pizzigani map, inwhich we find Sebur, near a chain of mountains called “los montes de Sebur”, evidently the South Ural, styled Sibirsky kamian in a Russian work on ancient hydrography (Knyga bolshem. Tchertejou, 151, St. P., 1838).The Sibir of the Russians, known also as Isker, was situated on the Irtysh, ten miles from Tobolsk; it was the residence of the Shaïbani khans, and was taken in 1581 by a handful of Cossacks under their ataman Yermak, who, in his turn, was besieged by the Tatars, and lost his life in the river during a sortie (1584). His countrymen have erected a monument at Tobolsk in honour of this Russian Cortez.—Bruun.
(4.)“Ibissibur.”—In chapter 25, Schiltberger describes a country called “Ibissibur”. That there was a city of the name is clearly established by the Catalan atlas and Pizzigani map, inwhich we find Sebur, near a chain of mountains called “los montes de Sebur”, evidently the South Ural, styled Sibirsky kamian in a Russian work on ancient hydrography (Knyga bolshem. Tchertejou, 151, St. P., 1838).
The Sibir of the Russians, known also as Isker, was situated on the Irtysh, ten miles from Tobolsk; it was the residence of the Shaïbani khans, and was taken in 1581 by a handful of Cossacks under their ataman Yermak, who, in his turn, was besieged by the Tatars, and lost his life in the river during a sortie (1584). His countrymen have erected a monument at Tobolsk in honour of this Russian Cortez.—Bruun.
(5.)“Alathena.”—Alla Tana for Tana, which stood where is now Azoff, was a place of great importance in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was completely destroyed by Timour in 1395, but the Venetians returned soon afterwards, as would appear by the statement of Clavijo, that “six Venetian galleys arrived at the great city of Constantinople to meet the ships which were coming from Tana”. They maintained commercial intercourse with Tana even after its destruction by the Tatars in 1410, by the Turks in 1415, and later again by the Tatars; and there is the evidence of De Lannoy (Voy. et Ambass., 43) that in 1421, four Venetian vessels arrived at Caffa from that port. Schiltberger, who visited Tana at this period or shortly afterwards, proves that it had recovered its commercial prosperity, at all events so far as regards the fisheries, a fact supported by Barbaro.—Bruun.
(5.)“Alathena.”—Alla Tana for Tana, which stood where is now Azoff, was a place of great importance in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was completely destroyed by Timour in 1395, but the Venetians returned soon afterwards, as would appear by the statement of Clavijo, that “six Venetian galleys arrived at the great city of Constantinople to meet the ships which were coming from Tana”. They maintained commercial intercourse with Tana even after its destruction by the Tatars in 1410, by the Turks in 1415, and later again by the Tatars; and there is the evidence of De Lannoy (Voy. et Ambass., 43) that in 1421, four Venetian vessels arrived at Caffa from that port. Schiltberger, who visited Tana at this period or shortly afterwards, proves that it had recovered its commercial prosperity, at all events so far as regards the fisheries, a fact supported by Barbaro.—Bruun.
(6.)“Vulchat.”—In saying that “Vulchat”, intended for Solkhat, was the capital of “Ephepstzach” or Kiptchak, Schiltberger may not have been aware that this latter name included the whole of South Russia and the Crimea, of which, Solkhat, afterwards Esky Crim, actually became the chief town. Neumann believes the author to have made a mistake, which may have arisen from the fact that in his time there were many princes, as has already been shown, who disputed the sovereignty; and a large portion of Kiptchak may have recognised the authority of one or the other of those princes who had taken up his residenceat Solkhat, as for instance, the “viel empereur” to whom De Lannoy (Voy. et Ambass., 42) was accredited as the ambassador of Vithold in 1421, and who died at an unfortunate moment, because the knight leaves us in ignorance of his name. I believe that ruler to have been Ydegou, in the absence of any proof of Hammer’s statement (Gesch. d. G. H., 352), that Vithold’s old ally was the chief of an independent state on the shores of the Black Sea so late as the year 1423.—Bruun.
(6.)“Vulchat.”—In saying that “Vulchat”, intended for Solkhat, was the capital of “Ephepstzach” or Kiptchak, Schiltberger may not have been aware that this latter name included the whole of South Russia and the Crimea, of which, Solkhat, afterwards Esky Crim, actually became the chief town. Neumann believes the author to have made a mistake, which may have arisen from the fact that in his time there were many princes, as has already been shown, who disputed the sovereignty; and a large portion of Kiptchak may have recognised the authority of one or the other of those princes who had taken up his residenceat Solkhat, as for instance, the “viel empereur” to whom De Lannoy (Voy. et Ambass., 42) was accredited as the ambassador of Vithold in 1421, and who died at an unfortunate moment, because the knight leaves us in ignorance of his name. I believe that ruler to have been Ydegou, in the absence of any proof of Hammer’s statement (Gesch. d. G. H., 352), that Vithold’s old ally was the chief of an independent state on the shores of the Black Sea so late as the year 1423.—Bruun.
(7.)“Four thousand houses are in the suburbs.”—The importance attached to Caffa and the description of that city, is confirmed from other sources, except with regard to the estimated number of houses within the walls, and in the suburbs. That there were “two kinds of Jews” (the Talmudists and the Karaïms) is a well-authenticated fact. The four towns at the sea-side, dependant on Caffa, must have been Lusce, Gorzuni, Partenice, and Ialita, now known as Aloushta, Gourzouff, Partenite, and Yalta, all on the south coast of the peninsula, and the only places, besides Caffa, at which Genoese consuls were stationed.—Bruun.
(7.)“Four thousand houses are in the suburbs.”—The importance attached to Caffa and the description of that city, is confirmed from other sources, except with regard to the estimated number of houses within the walls, and in the suburbs. That there were “two kinds of Jews” (the Talmudists and the Karaïms) is a well-authenticated fact. The four towns at the sea-side, dependant on Caffa, must have been Lusce, Gorzuni, Partenice, and Ialita, now known as Aloushta, Gourzouff, Partenite, and Yalta, all on the south coast of the peninsula, and the only places, besides Caffa, at which Genoese consuls were stationed.—Bruun.
(8.)“Karckeri.”—Kyrkyer, now Tchyfout Kaleh—Jew’s Fortress—at one time the residence of the Crimean khans, is at present occupied by three or four Karaïm families only. It is situated in the hilly part of the Crimea, which was called Gothia in the 15th century, a name carelessly transcribed in the text as “Sudi”, where the people were derisively called by the Tatars “That” or “Tatt”, a Turkish designation for a conquered race.—Bruun.
(8.)“Karckeri.”—Kyrkyer, now Tchyfout Kaleh—Jew’s Fortress—at one time the residence of the Crimean khans, is at present occupied by three or four Karaïm families only. It is situated in the hilly part of the Crimea, which was called Gothia in the 15th century, a name carelessly transcribed in the text as “Sudi”, where the people were derisively called by the Tatars “That” or “Tatt”, a Turkish designation for a conquered race.—Bruun.