OF THE EIGHT KINGDOMS OF PERSIA, AND HOW THEY
ARE NAMED.
Now you must know that Persia is a very great country, and contains
eight kingdoms. I will tell you the names of them all.
The first kingdom is that at the beginning of Persia, and it is called
CASVIN; the second is further to the south, and is called CURDISTAN;
the third is LOR; the fourth [SUOLSTAN]; the fifth ISTANIT; the sixth
SERAZY; the seventh SONCARA; the eighth TUNOCAIN, which is at the
further extremity of Persia. All these kingdoms lie in a southerly
direction except one, to wit, Tunocain; that lies towards the east, and
borders on the (country of the) Arbre Sol.{1}
In this country of Persia there is a great supply of fine horses;
and people take them to India for sale, for they are horses of great
price, a single one being worth as much of their money as is equal to
200 livres Tournois; some will be more, some less, according to the
quality.{2} Here also are the finest asses in the world, one of them
being worth full 30 marks of silver, for they are very large and fast,
and acquire a capital amble. Dealers carry their horses to Kisi and
Curmosa, two cities on the shores of the Sea of India, and there they
meet with merchants who take the horses on to India for sale.
In this country there are many cruel and murderous people, so that no
day passes but there is some homicide among them. Were it not for the
Government, which is that of the Tartars of the Levant, they would do
great mischief to merchants; and indeed, maugre the Government, they
often succeed in doing such mischief. Unless merchants be well armed
they run the risk of being murdered, or at least robbed of everything;
and it sometimes happens that a whole party perishes in this way when
not on their guard. The people are all Saracens, _i.e._ followers of
the Law of Mahommet.{3}
In the cities there are traders and artizans who live by their labour
and crafts, weaving cloths of gold, and silk stuffs of sundry kinds.
They have plenty of cotton produced in the country; and abundance of
wheat, barley, millet, panick, and wine, with fruits of all kinds.
[Some one may say, “But the Saracens don’t drink wine, which is
prohibited by their law.” The answer is that they gloss their text in
this way, that if the wine be boiled, so that a part is dissipated
and the rest becomes sweet, they may drink without breach of the
commandment; for it is then no longer called wine, the name being
changed with the change of flavour.{4}]
NOTE 1.—The following appear to be Polo’s Eight Kingdoms:—
I. KAZVÍN; then a flourishing city, though I know not why he calls
it a kingdom. Persian ’Irák, or the northern portion thereof, seems
intended. Previous to Hulaku’s invasion Kazvín seems to have been
in the hands of the Ismailites or Assassins.
II. KURDISTAN. I do not understand the difficulties of Marsden,
followed by Lazari and Pauthier, which lead them to put forth that
Kurdistan is not Kurdistan but something else. The boundaries of
Kurdistan according to Hamd Allah were Arabian ’Irák, Khuzistán,
Persian ’Irák, Azerbaijan and Diarbekr. (_Dict. de la P._ 480.)
[Cf. Curzon, _Persia pass._—H. C.] Persian Kurdistan, in modern
as in mediæval times, extends south beyond Kermanshah to the
immediate border of Polo’s next kingdom, viz.:
III. LÚR or Lúristán. [On Lúristán, see Curzon, _Persia_, II.
pp. 273–303, with the pedigree of the Ruling Family of the Feili
Lurs (Pusht-i-Kuh), p. 278.—H. C.] This was divided into two
principalities, Great Lúr and Little Lúr, distinctions still
existing. The former was ruled by a Dynasty called the _Faslúyah_
Atabegs, which endured from about 1155 to 1424, [when it was
destroyed by the Timurids; it was a Kurd Dynasty, founded by Emad
ed-din Abu Thaher (1160–1228), and the last prince of which was
Ghiyas ed-din (1424). In 1258 the general Kitubuka (Hulagu’s _Exp.
to Persia_, Bretschneider, _Med. Res._ I. p. 121) is reported
to have reduced the country of Lúr or Lúristán and its Atabeg
Teghele.—H. C.]. Their territory lay in the mountainous district
immediately west of Ispahan, and extended to the River of Dizfúl,
which parted it from Little Lúr. The stronghold of the Atabegs was
the extraordinary hill fort of Mungasht, and they had a residence
also at Aidhej or Mal-Amir in the mountains south of Shushan, where
Ibn Batuta visited the reigning Prince in 1327. Sir H. Rawlinson
has described Mungasht, and Mr. Layard and Baron de Bode have
visited other parts, but the country is still very imperfectly
known. Little Lúristán lay west of the R. Dizfúl, extending nearly
to the Plain of Babylonia. Its Dynasty, called Kurshid, [was
founded in 1184 by the Kurd Shodja ed-din Khurshid, and existed
till Shah-Werdy lost his throne in 1593.—H. C.].
The Lúrs are akin to the Kurds, and speak a Kurd dialect, as do all
those Ilyáts, or nomads of Persia, who are not of Turkish race.
They were noted in the Middle Ages for their agility and their
dexterity in thieving. The tribes of Little Lúr “do not affect the
slightest veneration for Mahomed or the Koran; their only general
object of worship is their great Saint Baba Buzurg,” and particular
disciples regard with reverence little short of adoration holy men
looked on as living representatives of the Divinity. (_Ilchan._ I.
70 _seqq._; _Rawlinson_ in _J. R. G. S._ IX.; _Layard_ in _Do._
XVI. 75, 94; _Ld. Strangford_ in _J. R. A. S._ XX. 64; _N. et E._
XIII. i. 330, _I. B._ II. 31; _D’Ohsson_, IV. 171–172.)
IV. SHÚLISTÁN, best represented by Ramusio’s _Suolstan_, whilst
the old French texts have _Cielstan_ (_i.e._ Shelstán); the name
applied to the country of the _Shúls_, or _Shauls_, a people who
long occupied a part of Lúristán, but were expelled by the Lúrs
in the 12th century, and settled in the country between Shíráz
and Khuzistán (now that of the Mamaseni, whom Colonel Pelly’s
information identifies with the Shúls), their central points being
Naobanján and the fortress called Kala’ Safed or “White Castle.”
Ibn Batuta, going from Shiraz to Kazerun, encamped the first
day in the country of the Shúls, “a Persian desert tribe which
includes some pious persons.” (_Q. R._ p. 385; _N. et E._ XIII. i.
332–333; _Ilch._ I. 71; _J. R. G. S._ XIII. Map; _I. B._ II. 88.)
[“Adjoining the Kuhgelus on the East are the tents of the Mamasenni
(qy. Mohammed Huseini) Lúrs, occupying the country still known as
Shúlistán, and extending as far east and south-east as Fars and the
Plain of Kazerun. This tribe prides itself on its origin, claiming
to have come from Seistán, and to be directly descended from
Rustam, whose name is still borne by one of the Mamasenni clans.”
(Curzon, _Persia_, II. p. 318.)—H. C.]
V. ISPAHAN? The name is in Ramusio _Spaan_, showing at least that
he or some one before him had made this identification. The unusual
combination _ff_, _i.e._ sf, in manuscript would be so like the
frequent one _ft_, _i.e._ st, that the change from Isfan to Istan
would be easy. But why Istan_it_?
VI. SHÍRÁZ [(_Shir_ = milk, or _Shir_ = lion)—H. C.] representing
the province of Fars or Persia Proper, of which it has been for
ages the chief city. [It was founded after the Arab conquest in
694 A.D., by Mohammed, son of Yusuf Kekfi. (Curzon, _Persia_, II.
pp. 93–110.)—H. C.] The last Dynasty that had reigned in Fars
was that of the Salghur Atabegs, founded about the middle of the
12th century. Under Abubakr (1226–1260) this kingdom attained
considerable power, embracing Fars, Kermán, the islands of the
Gulf and its Arabian shores; and Shíráz then flourished in arts
and literature; Abubakr was the patron of Saadi. From about 1262,
though a Salghurian princess, married to a son of Hulaku, had the
nominal title of Atabeg, the province of Fars was under Mongol
administration. (_Ilch. passim_.)
VII. SHAWÁNKÁRA or Shabánkára. The G. T. has _Soucara_, but the
Crusca gives the true reading _Soncara_. It is the country of the
Shawánkárs, a people coupled with the Shúls and Lúrs in mediæval
Persian history, and like them of Kurd affinities. Their princes,
of a family Faslúyah, are spoken of as influential before the
Mahomedan conquest, but the name of the people comes prominently
forward only during the Mongol era of Persian history. [Shabánkára
was taken in 1056 from the Buyid Dynasty, who ruled from the
10th century over a great part of Persia, by Fazl ibn Hassan
(Fazluïeh-Hasunïeh). Under the last sovereign, Ardeshir, Shabánkára
was taken in 1355 by the Modhafferians, who reigned in ’Irák, Fars,
and Kermán, one of the Dynasties established at the expense of
the Mongol Ilkhans after the death of Abu Saïd (1335), and were
themselves subjugated by Timur in 1392.—H. C.] Their country lay
to the south of the great salt lake east of Shíráz, and included
Niriz and Darábjird, Fassa, Forg, and Tárum. Their capital was
I′g or I′j, called also Irej, about 20 miles north-west of Daráb,
with a great mountain fortress; it was taken by Hulaku in 1259.
The son of the prince was continued in nominal authority, with
Mongol administrators. In consequence of a rebellion in 1311 the
Dynasty seems to have been extinguished. A descendant attempted
to revive their authority about the middle of the same century.
The latest historical mention of the name that I have found is in
Abdurrazzák’s _History of Shah Rukh_, under the year H. 807 (1404).
(See _Jour. As._ 3d. s. vol. ii. 355.) But a note by Colonel Pelly
informs me that the name Shabánkára is still applied (1) to the
district round the towns of Runiz and Gauristan near Bandar Abbas;
(2) to a village near Maiman, in the old country of the tribe; (3)
to a _tribe_ and district of Dashtistan, 38 farsakhs west of Shíráz.
With reference to the form in the text, _Soncara_, I may notice
that in two passages of the _Masálak-ul-Absár_, translated by
Quatremère, the name occurs as _Shankárah_. (_Q. R._ pp. 380, 440
_seqq._; _N. et E._ XIII.; _Ilch._ I. 71 and _passim; Ouseley’s
Travels_, II. 158 _seqq._)
VIII. TÚN-O-KÁIN, the eastern Kuhistán or Hill country of Persia,
of which Tún and Káin are chief cities. The practice of indicating
a locality by combining two names in this way is common in the
East. Elsewhere in this book we find _Ariora-Keshemur_ and
_Kes-macoran_ (Kij-Makrán). Upper Sind is often called in India by
the Sepoys _Rori-Bakkar_, from two adjoining places on the Indus;
whilst in former days, Lower Sind was often called _Diul-Sind.
Karra-Mánikpúr, Uch-Multán, Kunduz-Baghlán_ are other examples.
The exact expression _Tún-o-Káin_ for the province here in
question is used by Baber, and evidently also by some of Hammer’s
authorities. (_Baber_, pp. 201, 204; see _Ilch._ II. 190; I. 95,
104, and _Hist. de l’Ordre des Assassins_, p. 245.)
[We learn from (Sir) C. Macgregor’s (1875) _Journey through
Khorasan_ (I. p. 127) that the same territory including Gháín
or Kaïn is now called by the analogous name of Tabas-o-Tún. Tún
and Kaïn (Gháín) are both described in their modern state, by
Macgregor. (_Ibid._ pp. 147 and 161.)—H. C.]
Note that the identification of _Suolstan_ is due to Quatremère
(see _N. et E._ XIII. i. _circa_ p. 332); that of _Soncara_ to
Defréméry (_J. As._ sér. IV. tom. xi. p. 441); and that of
_Tunocain_ to Malte-Brun. (_N. Ann. des V._ xviii. p. 261.) I may
add that the _Lúrs_, the _Shúls_, and the _Shabánkáras_ are the
subjects of three successive sections in the _Masálak-al-Absár_
of _Shihábuddin Dimishki_, a work which reflects much of Polo’s
geography. (See _N. et E._ XIII. i. 330–333; Curzon, _Persia_, II.
pp. 248 and 251.)
NOTE 2.—The horses exported to India, of which we shall hear more
hereafter, were probably the same class of “Gulf Arabs” that are
now carried thither. But the Turkman horses of Persia are also
very valuable, especially for endurance. Kinneir speaks of one
accomplishing 900 miles in eleven days, and Ferrier states a still
more extraordinary feat from his own knowledge. In that case one of
those horses went from Tehran to Tabriz, returned, and went again
to Tabriz, within twelve days, including two days’ rest. The total
distance is about 1100 miles.
The _livre tournois_ at this period was equivalent to a little over
18 francs of modern French silver. But in bringing the value to our
modern gold standard we must add one-third, as the ratio of silver
to gold was then 1:12 instead of 1:16. Hence the equivalent in gold
of the livre tournois is very little less than 1_l._ sterling, and
the price of the horse would be about 193_l._[1]
Mr. Wright quotes an ordinance of Philip III. of France (1270–1285)
fixing the maximum price that might be given for a palfrey at
60 _livres tournois_, and for a squire’s _roncin_ at 20 livres.
Joinville, however, speaks of a couple of horses presented to St.
Lewis in 1254 by the Abbot of Cluny, which he says would at the
time of his writing (1309) have been worth 500 livres (the pair, it
would seem). Hence it may be concluded in a general way that the
_ordinary_ price of imported horses in India approached that of the
highest class of horses in Europe. (_Hist. of Dom. Manners_, p.
317; _Joinville_, p. 205.)
About 1850 a very fair Arab could be purchased in Bombay for
60_l._, or even less; but prices are much higher now.
With regard to the donkeys, according to Tavernier, the fine ones
used by merchants in Persia were imported from Arabia. The mark
of silver was equivalent to about 44_s._ of our silver money, and
allowing as before for the lower relative value of gold, 30 marks
would be equivalent to 88_l._ sterling.
_Kisi_ or Kish we have already heard of. _Curmosa_ is Hormuz, of
which we shall hear more. With a Pisan, as Rusticiano was, the
sound of _c_ is purely and strongly aspirate. Giovanni d’Empoli, in
the beginning of the 16th century, another Tuscan, also calls it
_Cormus_. (See _Archiv. Stor. Ital._ Append. III. 81.)
NOTE 3.—The character of the nomad and semi-nomad tribes of Persia
in those days—Kurds, Lúrs, Shúls, Karaunahs, etc.—probably deserved
all that Polo says, and it is not changed now. Take as an example
Rawlinson’s account of the Bakhtyáris of Luristán: “I believe them
to be individually brave, but of a cruel and savage character; they
pursue their blood feuds with the most inveterate and exterminating
spirit.... It is proverbial in Persia that the Bakhtiyaris have
been compelled to forego altogether the reading of the _Fatihah_
or prayer for the dead, for otherwise they would have no other
occupation. They are also most dextrous and notorious thieves.”
(_J. R. G. S._ IX. 105.)
NOTE 4.—The Persians have always been lax in regard to the
abstinence from wine.
According to Athenaeus, Aristotle, in his _Treatise on Drinking_
(a work lost, I imagine, to posterity), says, “If the wine be
moderately boiled it is less apt to intoxicate.” In the preparation
of some of the sweet wines of the Levant, such as that of Cyprus,
the must is boiled, but I believe this is not the case _generally_
in the East. Baber notices it as a peculiarity among the Kafirs
of the Hindu Kush. Tavernier, however, says that at Shíráz,
besides the wine for which that city was so celebrated, a good
deal of _boiled wine_ was manufactured, and used among the poor
and by travellers. No doubt what is meant is the sweet liquor or
syrup called _Dúsháb_, which Della Valle says is just the Italian
_Mostocotto_, but better, clearer, and not so mawkish (I. 689).
(_Yonge’s Athen._ X. 34; _Baber_, p. 145; _Tavernier_, Bk. V. ch.
xxi.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] The _Encyc. Britann._, article “Money,” gives the livre tournois of
this period as 18.17 francs. A French paper in _Notes and Queries_
(4th S. IV. 485) gives it under St. Lewis and Philip III. as
equivalent to 18.24 fr., and under Philip IV. to 17.95. And lastly,
experiment at the British Museum, made by the kind intervention of
my friend, Mr. E. Thomas, F.R.S., gave the weights of the _sols_ of
St. Lewis (1226–1270) and Philip IV. (1285–1314) respectively as 63
grains and 61½ grains of remarkably pure silver. These trials would
give the _livres_ (20 sols) as equivalent to 18.14 fr. and 17.70 fr.
respectively.