* * * * *
GENERAL PLAN OF KERR'S COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS--Taken from Volume 18.
PART I.
Voyages and Travels of Discovery in the middle ages; from the era of Alfred
King of England, in the ninth century, to that of Don Henry of Portugal, at
the commencement of the fifteenth century.
PART II.
General Voyages and Travels, chiefly of Discovery; from the era of Don
Henry in 1412, to that of George III. in 1760.
PART III.
General Voyages and Travels of Discovery during the era of George III.,
which were conducted upon scientific principles, and by which the Geography
of the globe has been nearly perfected.
PART IV.
Historical Deduction of the Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and
Commerce, by sea and land, from the earliest times to the present period.
TABULAR VIEW OF THE CONTENTS OF THE SEVENTEEN VOLUMES.
* * * * *
VOLUME I.
Discovery of Iceland by the Norwegians.
Voyages of Ohthere to the White Sea and the Baltic.
Remarks on the situation of Sciringe-heal and Haethum, by J.R. Forster.
Voyage of Wulfstein in the Baltic.
---- of Sighelm to India.
Travels of John Erigena to Athens.
Geography of the known world as described by King Alfred.
Travels of Andrew Leucander.
Voyage of Swanus to Jerusalem.
---- of three ambassadors from England to Constantinople.
Pilgrimage of Alured to Jerusalem.
---- of Ingulphus.
Original discovery of Greenland by the Icelanders in the ninth century.
Early discovery of America by ditto, in 1001.
Travels of two Mahometans into India and China, in the ninth century.
---- of Rabbi Benjamin from Spain to China, in the twelfth century.
---- of an Englishman in Tartary, in 1243.
Sketch of the Revolutions in Tartary.
Travels of Carpina to the Moguls, &c. in 1246.
---- of Rubruquis into Tartary about 1253.
---- of Haitho, in 1254.
---- of Marco Polo into China, &c. from 1260 to 1295.
---- of Oderic, in 1318.
---- of Sir John Mandeville, in 1322.
Itinerary of Pegoletti between Asofand China, in 1355.
Voyages, of Nicolo and Antonio Zeno, in 1380.
Travels of Schiltberger into Tartary, in 1394.
---- of the Ambassadors of Shah Rokh, in China, in 1419.
Voyage and Shipwreck of Quirini, in 1431.
Travels of Josaphat Barbaro from Venice to Tanna (now Asof), in 1436.
VOLUME II.
Various early pilgrimages from England to the Holy Land, between 1097 and
1107.
Discovery of Madeira.
Discovery and conquest of the Canary Islands.
Discoveries along the coast of Africa; and conquests in India, from 1412 to
1505.
Discoveries of the world, from their commencement to 1555,
by Antonio Galvano.
Journey of Contarini into Persia, in 1473-6.
Voyages of discovery by the Portuguese along the western coast of Africa,
during the life of Don Henry.
Original journals of the Voyages of Cada Mosto, and Pedro de Cintra, to the
coast of Africa, from 1455.
Voyages of discovery by the Portuguese along the coast of Africa, from the
death of Don Henry, in 1463, to the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope in
1486.
History of the discovery and conquest of India by the Portuguese, between
1497 and 1505, by Herman Lopes de Castanecla.
Letters from Lisbon in the beginning of the 16th century, respecting the
discovery of the route by sea to India, &c.
VOLUME III.
History of the discovery of America, and of some of the early conquests in
the New World.
Discovery of America, by Columbus, written by his son Don Ferdinand
Columbus.
---- written by Antonio de Herrera.
An account of the Voyages of Americus Vespucius to the New World, written
by himself.
Discoveries and settlements of the Spaniards in the West Indies, from the
death of Columbus, to the expedition of Hernando Cortes against Mexico.
History of the discovery and conquest of Mexico, written in 1568, by
Captain Bernal Diaz del Castillo, one of the conquerors.
VOLUME IV.
History of the discovery and conquest of Peru, written by Augustus Zarate.
VOLUME V.
Continuation of the history of Peru, extracted from the Commentaries of
Garcilosso de la Vega.
History of the discovery and conquest of Chili, taken from various sources.
Discovery of Florida, and ineffectual attempts to conquer that country by
the Spaniards,--from the General History of America, by Herrera.
VOLUME VI.
Early English Voyages of discovery to America.
Voyages of Jacques Cartier, from St. Maloes to Newfoundland and Canada, in
1534-5.
Continuation of the discoveries and conquests of the Portuguese in the
East; with some account of the early Voyages of other European nations to
India.
Discoveries, &c. &c. from 1505 to 1539.
A particular relation of the expedition of Solyman Pacha, from Suez to
India, against the Portuguese; written by a Venetian officer in the Turkish
service on that occasion.
Account of the Voyage of Don Stefano de Gama, from Goa to Suez, in 1540;
written by Don Juan de Castro.
Continuation of the account of the Portuguese transactions in India, from
1541 to the middle of the 17th century; from De Faria's Asia.
VOLUME VII.
Voyages and Travels in Egypt, Syria, Arabia, Persia, and India, by Ludovico
Verthema, in 1503-8.
---- in India, &c. by Cesar Frederic, in 1563-81.
Second Voyage to Barbary, in 1552, by Captain Thomas Windham.
Voyages to Guinea and Benin, in 1553, by Captain Windham and Antonio Anes
Pinteado.
---- in 1554, by Captain John Lok.
---- in 1555, by William Towerson, merchant, of London.
Second Voyage to Guinea, in 1556, by William Towerson, merchant, of London.
Third, in 1558.
Instructions for an intended Voyage to Guinea, in 1561.
Voyage to Guinea, in 1562; written by William Rutter.
Supplementary account of the foregoing Voyage.
Voyage to Guinea, in 1563, by Robert Baker.
---- in 1564, by Captain David Carlet.
---- and to the Cape de Verd Islands, in 1566, by George Fenner.
Account of the embassy of Mr. Edmund Hogan to Morocco, in 1577; by himself.
Account of the embassy of Mr. Henry Roberts from Queen Elizabeth to
Morocco, in 1585; by himself.
Voyage to Benin, beyond Guinea, in 1588, by James Welsh.
Supplement to the foregoing.
Second Voyage of ditto in 1590.
Voyage of Richard Rainolds and Thomas Dassel to the Senegal and Gambia, in
1591.
Some miscellaneous early Voyages of the English.
Voyage to Goa, in 1579, in the Portuguese fleet, by Thomas Stevens.
Journey over-land to India, by Ralph Fitch.
Supplement to ditto.
VOLUME VIII.
Voyage of Mr. John Eldred to Tripoli, and thence by land and river to
Bagdat and Basorah, in 1583.
Account of the Monsoons in India, by William Barret.
First Voyage of the English to India in 1591, by Captain Geo. Raymond and
James Lancaster.
Supplement to ditto, by John May.
Voyage of Captain Benj. Wood towards the East Indies, in 1596.
---- of Captain John Davis to the East Indies, in 1598.
---- of William Adams to Japan, in 1598.
---- of Sir Edward Michelburne to India, in 1604.
First Voyage of the English East India Company in 1601, under Captain James
Lancaster.
Account of Java and of the English at Bantam, from 1603 to 1605.
Second Voyage of the Company, in 1604, under Captain Henry Middleton.
Third Voyage of the Company, in 1607, under Captain William Keeling.
Narrative by William Hawkins during his residence in the dominions of the
Great Mogul.
Observations of William Finch, who accompanied Hawkins.
Voyage of Captain David Middleton, in 1607, to Bantam and the Moluccas.
Fourth Voyage of the Company, in 1608, under Captain Alexander Sharpey.
Voyage of Captain Richard Rowles.
Fifth Voyage of the Company, in 1609, under Captain David Middleton.
Sixth Voyage of the Company, in 1610, under Sir Henry Middleton.
Journal of the same, by Nicholas Downton.
Seventh Voyage of the Company, in 1611, under Captain Anthony Hippou.
Notices of the same, by Peter Floris.
Eighth Voyage of the Company, in 1611, under Captain John Saris.
VOLUME IX.
Ninth Voyage of the Company, in 1612, under Captain Edward Marlow.
Tenth Voyage of the Company, in 1612, by Mr. Thomas Best.
Observations made on the foregoing by different persons.
Eleventh Voyage of the Company, in 1612, in the Salomon.
Twelfth Voyage of the Company, in 1613, under Captain Christopher Newport.
Voyage of Captain Downton to India, in 1614.
Supplement to ditto.
Journey of Richard Steel and John Crowther, from Agimere to Ispahan, in
1615-16.
Voyage of Captain Peyton to India, in 1615.
Proceedings of the factory at Cranganore, by Roger Hawes.
Journal of Sir Thomas Roe, ambassador from James I. to the Emperor of
Hindoostan.
Voyage to India, in 1616, by Mr. Edward Terry.
Journey of Thomas Coryat from Jerusalem to the Court of the Great Mogul.
Wrongs done the English at Banda by the Dutch, in 1617-18.
Fifth Voyage of the Joint-Stock by the Company, in 1617, under Captain
Pring.
Voyage of the Ann-Royal from Surat to Mokha, in 1618.
Voyage to Surat and Jasques, in 1620.
War of Ormus, and capture of that place by the English and Persians, in
1622.
Massacre of the English at Amboyna, in 1623.
Observations during a residence in the island of Chusan, in 1701, by Dr.
James Cunningham.
VOLUME X.
Historical account of early circumnavigations;
of Magellan, in 1519-22.
of Sir Francis Drake, in 1577-80.
of Sir Thomas Cnmlish, in 1586-8.
of Van Noort, in 1598-1601.
of George Spilbergen, in 1614-17.
of Schouten and Le Maire, by Cape Horn, in 1615-17.
of the Nassau fleet under Jacques Le Hermit, in 1623-6.
of Captain John Cooke, accompanied by Captains Cowley and Dampier, in
1683-91.
in 1703-6, by William Funnell.
in 1708-11, by Captain Woods Rogers and Stephen Courtney.
in 1719-22, by Captain John Clipperton.
in 1719-22, by Captain George Shelvocke.
VOLUME XI.
Voyage round the world, in 1721-3, by Commodore Roggewein.
---- in 1740-4, by Lord Anson.
VOLUME XII.
Commodore Byron's Voyage, in 1764-6.
Captain Wallis's Voyage, in 1766-8.
Captain Carteret's Voyage, in 1766-9.
Captain Cook's first Voyage, in 1768-70.
VOLUME XIII.
Captain Cook's first Voyage continued and concluded..
Abstract of Bougainville's Voyage, in 1766-9.
VOLUME XIV.
Captain Cook's second Voyage towards the S. Pole, in 1772-5.
VOLUME XV.
Captain Cook's second Voyage concluded.
Captain Cook's third Voyage, in 1776-80.
VOLUME XVI.
Captain Cook's third Voyage continued.
VOLUME XVII.
Captain Cook's third Voyage concluded.
Commodore Byron's narrative of his shipwreck, &c.; written by himself.
Bulkeley's narrative of the same.
* * * * *
GENERAL HISTORY AND COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS,
ARRANGED IN SYSTEMATIC ORDER:
FORMING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF NAVIGATION,
DISCOVERY, AND COMMERCE, BY SEA AND LAND, FROM THE EARLIEST AGES TO THE
PRESENT TIME.
BY
ROBERT KERR, F.R.S. & F.A.S. EDIN.
ILLUSTRATED BY MAPS AND CHARTS.
VOL. I.
TO
HIS EXCELLENCY, THE HONOURABLE
SIR ALEXANDER COCHRANE, K.B.
VICE-ADMIRAL OF THE WHITE,
LATE COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF HIS MAJESTY'S NAVAL FORCES ON THE LEEWARD
ISLAND STATION,
NOW
GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF THE ISLAND OF GUADALOUPE, &C. &C. &C.
Dear Sir,
Unused to the adulatory language of dedications, I am well aware that
any such mode of address would offend your delicacy. While, therefore, I
gratify my own feelings by inscribing this work with your valued name, I
only use the freedom to assure your Excellency, that I have the honour
to be, with the warmest sentiments of respectful esteem and sincere
regard,
Dear Sir,
Your affectionate friend,
and gratefully devoted servant,
ROBERT KERR.
Edinburgh, 1st March 1811.
PREFACE.
In this enlightened age, when every department of science and literature is
making rapid progress, and knowledge of every kind excites uncommon
interest, and is widely diffused, this attempt to call the attention of the
public to a Systematic Arrangement of Voyages and Travels, from the
earliest period of authentic history to the present time, ought scarcely to
require any apology. Yet, on appearing before the tribunal of public
opinion, every author who has not cherished an unreasonable estimate of his
own qualifications, must necessarily be impressed with considerable anxiety
respecting the probable reception of his work; and may be expected to offer
some account of the plan and motives of what he proposes to lay before the
public.
The present work is the first of the kind that has ever been attempted in
Scotland: and though, as already avowed in the Prospectus, the Editor has
no wish to detract from the merits of similar publications, it might appear
an overstrained instance of false delicacy to decline a statement of the
circumstances which, he presumes to hope, will give some prospect of the
work being received with attention and indulgence, perhaps with favour. It
certainly is the _only_ General History and Collection of Voyages and
Travels that has been hitherto attempted in the English language, upon any
arrangement that merits the appellation of a _systematic plan_. And
hence, should the plan adopted be found only comparatively good, in so far
the system of arrangement must be pronounced the best that has been as yet
devised. If this be conceded, and the fact is too obvious to require
extended proof or minute elucidation, the Editor shall not feel mortified
even if his arrangement may be considerably improved hereafter.
The only work on the subject that has the smallest pretensions to system,
and that is fanciful, involved, irregular, abrupt, and obscure, is PURCHAS
HIS PILGRIMS. Even admitting the plan of that work to be in itself
excellent; although it may be a _General History_, so far as it
extends, it certainly is in no respect a _Complete Collection_ of
Voyages and Travels. In a very large proportion of that curious work, it is
the _author_ who speaks to the reader, and not the _traveller_.
In the present work, wherever that could possibly be accomplished, it has
uniformly been the anxious desire of the Editor that the voyagers and
travellers should tell their own story: In that department of his labour,
his only object has been to assume the character of _interpreter_
between them and the readers, by translating foreign or antiquated language
into modern English. Sometimes, indeed, where no record remains of
particular voyages and travels, as written by the persons who performed
them, the Editor has necessarily had recourse to their historians. But, on
every such occasion, the most ancient and most authentic accessible sources
have been anxiously sought after and employed. In every extensive work, it
is of the utmost consequence that its various parts should be arranged upon
a comprehensive and perspicuously systematic plan. This has been
accordingly aimed at with the utmost solicitude in the present undertaking;
and the order of its arrangement was adopted after much deliberation, and
from a very attentive consideration of every general work of the same
nature that could be procured. If, therefore, the systematic order on which
it is conducted shall appear well adapted to the subject, after an
attentive perusal and candid investigation, the Editor confidently hopes
that his labours may bear a fair comparison with any similar publication
that has yet been brought forward.
In the short Prospectus of this work, formerly submitted to the public, a
very general enunciation only, of the heads of the intended plan, was
attempted; as that was then deemed sufficient to convey a distinct idea of
the nature, arrangement, and distribution of the proposed work. Unavoidable
circumstances still necessarily preclude the possibility, or the propriety
rather, of attempting to give a more full and complete developement of the
divisions and subdivisions of the systematic arrangement which is to be
pursued, and which circumstances may require some elucidation.
An extensive and minutely arranged plan was carefully devised and extended
by the Editor, before one word of the work was written or compiled, after
an attentive examination of every accessible former collection; That plan
has been since anxiously reconsidered, corrected, altered, and extended, in
the progress of the work, as additional materials occurred: yet the Editor
considers that the final and public adoption of his plan, in a positively
fixed and pledged systematic form, any farther than has been already
conveyed in the Prospectus, would have the effect to preclude the availment
of those new views of the subject which are continually afforded by
additional materials, in every progressive step of preparation for the
press. The number of books of voyages and travels, as well general as
particular, is extremely great; and, even if the whole were at once before
the Editor, it would too much distract his attention from the division or
department in which he is engaged for the time, to attempt studying and
abstracting every subdivision at once. The grand divisions, however, which
have been already indicated in the Prospectus, and the general principles
of the plan, which are there explained, are intended to be adhered to; as
no reasons have been discovered, after the most attentive consideration,
for any deviation from that carefully adopted arrangement, the heads of
which are here repeated.
GENERAL PLAN OF THE WORK.
PART I.
_Voyages and Travels of Discovery in the middle ages; from the era of
Alfred, King of England, in the ninth century to that of Don Henry of
Portugal at the commencement of the fourteenth century_.
PART II.
_General Voyages and Travels chiefly of Discovery; from the era of Don
Henry, in_ 1412, _to that of George III. in_ 1760.
PART III.
_Particular Voyages and Travels arranged in systematic order,
Geographical and Chronological.
Note.--This part will be divided into five books, comprehending, I.
Europe.--II. Asia.--III. Africa.--IV. America.--V. Australia and
Polynesia; or the prodigious multitude of islands in the, great: Pacific
Ocean. And all these will be further subdivided into particular chapters or
sections correspondent to the geographical arrangements of these several
portions of the globe_.
PART IV.
_General Voyages and Travels of Discovery during the era of George III.
which were conducted upon scientific principles, and by which the Geography
of the globe has been nearly perfected_. .
PART V.
_Historical Deduction of the Progress of Navigation Discovery and
Commerce by sea and land, from the earliest times to the present
period_.
In the deliberate construction of this systematic plan, it has been a
leading object of anxious consideration, to reduce the extensive and
interesting materials of which the work is composed under a clear,
intelligible, and comprehensive arrangement, so combined in a geographical
and chronological series, that each successive division and subdivision,
throughout the whole work, may prepare the mind of the reader for that
which is to follow, and may assist the memory in the recollection of what
has gone before. By these means, an attentive perusal of this work must
necessarily be of material usefulness, in fixing distinct and just ideas of
geography, history, and chronology in the minds of its readers; besides the
important information and rational amusement which it will afford, by the
frequent description of manners, customs, laws, governments, and many other
circumstances, of all the countries and nations of the world.
In determining upon an era for the commencement of this work, the Editor
was naturally led, from a consideration of the accidental discovery of
Iceland by the Norwegians in the _ninth_ century, as coincident with
the reign of the great ALFRED, who ascended the throne of England in 872,
to adopt that period as the beginning of the series, both because the
commencement of modern maritime discovery took place during the reign of a
British sovereign, and because we derive the earliest written accounts of
any of these discoveries from the pen of that excellent prince. It is true
that the first accidental discovery of Iceland appears to have been made in
861, eleven years before the accession of Alfred to the throne; yet, as the
actual colonization of that island did not take place till the year 878,
the seventh of his glorious reign, we have been induced to distinguish the
actual commencement of maritime discovery by the modern European nations as
coinciding with his era.
From that time, till the year 1412, when Don Henry, Prince of Portugal,
first began to prosecute a consecutive series of maritime discoveries along
the western coast of Africa, during which a long inactive period of 551
years had elapsed, the only maritime incident connected with our subject,
was the accidental re-discovery of the Canary or Fortunate Islands, by a
nameless Frenchman, about the year 1330, though they were not attempted to
be taken possession of till 1400. This long interval, between the eras of
King Alfred and Don Henry, constitutes the _first_ Part, or grand
division of our work, in the course of which, a considerable number of
adventurous travellers penetrated into the almost unknown regions of
Tartary and the East, and considerable notices of the empire of China, and
even of Japan, and of the coast and islands of India and north-eastern
Africa, were communicated to the Europeans by the Polos and others.
In separating Part IV. from Part II. the General Voyages and Travels of
Discovery which have been undertaken during the long and busy reign of our
present venerable Sovereign, from those of a similar nature which succeeded
the discovery of the new world, and of the route by sea to India, the
Editor only pays a just tribute to the enlightened spirit of the age, under
the munificent and enlightened patronage of the beloved Monarch of a free
and happy people. Those former voyages of Part II. were mostly undertaken
from mere interested views of direct or expected commercial benefit; while
these of the era of George III. originated in the grand principles of
endeavouring to extend the bounds of science and human happiness.
Perhaps it may occur to some readers, that PART V. the last in order of the
general heads of our plan, ought to have formed PART I. as partaking of the
nature of an introduction to the subject, and forming a summary of the
whole work. Upon even a very slight consideration, however, it must be
obvious, that it is impossible to compose that proposed deduction in any
adequate manner, until the whole mass of selected materials is possessed by
the Editor, and definitively arranged. It may likewise be known to many,
that introductions and prefaces, though usually placed at the beginning of
books, are uniformly and necessarily last composed, and usually last
printed, except in new editions.
A great variety of Collections of Voyages and Travels have been published
at different periods, many of which are inaccessible from their scarcity,
or from being in foreign languages: And such great numbers of Voyages and
Travels to particular regions and countries have been printed, as to be
Altogether unattainable by the generality of readers. Every thing, however,
which could contribute to the perfection of this work has been collected,
or will be carefully procured during its progress; and no pains or expense
shall be withheld which, can contribute to render it as complete and
comprehensive as possible. In the employment of the vast variety and extent
of excellent materials, great care shall be taken to insert every useful
and curious information, reduced, where necessary, to modern language; and
nothing shall be omitted which is conducive to valuable information and
rational amusement.
In our approach towards the present times, the multitude of particular
Voyages and Travels increases prodigiously; and, in employing these, it
becomes peculiarly necessary to make a selection of the best in every
period, and especially of those best adapted for conveying just ideas of
each geographical division and subdivision of the world; while those of
less merit, but which contain useful notices of the regions and countries
of which they treat, shall be carefully epitomized in illustration of the
different subjects. Without the employment of discriminate selection and
occasional abridgement, this work must have extended to an inconvenient and
consequently expensive size, or must have been left unfinished and abrupt
in some of its parts: _But abridgement shall be very seldom employed and
never without acknowledgment_. Indeed, the grand object of the present
work is to bring together a more complete and entire collection of Voyages
and Travels, than has hitherto appeared in any language.
From the nature of the plan, it is utterly impossible to ascertain, with
any precision, the exact length to which it may extend; but, so far as can
be judged of at present, it is not expected to exceed eighteen or twenty
volumes. Throughout the whole work, a series of Maps and Charts will be
inserted in their proper places, carefully selected and constructed for the
purpose of illustrating the various Voyages and Travels. At the close of
the whole, a complete Index will be given to the entire series of volumes,
so arranged as to form a regular _Gazetteer_ of the whole world. In
every article which has been adopted into this work, the original and
accessory sources of all the materials shall be distinctly indicated.
Notes of explanation will be given, wherever necessary; and, as many of
these are drawn from various sources, the names of the authors from whom
they are adopted shall always be acknowledged: Such notes as are marked by
the letter E. are by the Editor of the work.
Owing to the indispensable nature of this work, it makes no positive claim
to the character of an original composition, in the strict acceptation of
that term; and he, therefore, who has undertaken the care of its
collection and arrangement, assumes no higher title than that of
_Editor_. In the discharge of that duty, however, the labour which he
has necessarily bestowed, though always pleasing, has often been
considerable, and sometimes arduous; and he trusts that the plan of the
work, which is altogether original, will be found appropriately adapted to
the end in view, and that the execution may appear not inadequate to the
high importance of the subject. Without imputation of arrogance, he may be
permitted to assert, that he has exerted the most unremitting attention and
industry, in the collection, selection, and preparation of the several
portions of the whole work, and in the arrangement and distribution of its
parts. He has the satisfaction to add, that all his efforts have been
seconded with the utmost readiness and liberality by the _Proprietor_
of the work, who has spared no trouble, and withheld no expense, in
procuring and supplying the necessary materials.
It is with much grateful satisfaction, that the Editor has to acknowledge
his high obligations to the Curators and Librarians of the Edinburgh public
libraries, belonging to the Faculty of Advocates, the University, and the
Writers to his Majesty's Signet, for the communication of many valuable and
scarce materials. Nor ought he to withhold his tribute of gratitude, on
this occasion, from the liberal spirit of a private individual, the
Reverend Henry White of Lichfield, who has most obligingly offered the use
of his valuable Collection of Voyages and Travels, and other curious and
scarce works connected with the subject, for assisting towards the
perfection of this publication.
Having thus briefly announced the nature, plan, and object of the present
work, of which this _first_ Volume is now before the public, it only
remains to say, that the Editor and Proprietor, each in his particular
department, are resolved to exert their utmost endeavours, that nothing may
be omitted which can contribute to render the work deserving of public
approbation and extensive patronage.
CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
PART I.
Voyages and Travels of Discovery, from the Era of Alfred, King of England,
in the Ninth Century, to the Era of Don Henry, Prince of Portugal, at the
commencement of the Fifteenth Century.
CHAP.
I. Discoveries in the time of Alfred, King of England, in the Ninth
Century of the Christian Era.
SECT.
I. Discovery of Iceland by the Norwegians, in the Ninth Century
II. Voyages of Ohthere to the White Sea and the Baltic, in the Ninth
Century
III. Remarks on the situation of Sciringes-heal and Haethum, by J. R.
Forster
IV. Voyage of Wulfstein in the Baltic, as related to King Alfred
IV[1]. Voyage of Sighelm to India, in the reign of Alfred, King of
V. Travels of John Erigena to Athens, in the Ninth-Century
VI. Geography of the known World, in the Ninth Century, as described by
King Alfred
VII. Travels of Andrew Leucander, in the Eleventh Century
VIII. Voyage of Swanus to Jerusalem, in 1052
IX. Voyage of three Ambassadors from England to Constantinople, about
1056
X. Pilgrimage of Alured to Jerusalem, in 1058
XI. Pilgrimage of Ingulphus to Jerusalem, in 1064
II. Original Discovery of Greenland by the Icelanders, in the Ninth Century
III. Early Discovery of Winland, or America, by the Icelanders, about the
year 1001
IV. Travels of two Mahometans into India and China, in the Ninth Century
V. Travels of Rabbi Benjamin from Spain to China, in the Twelfth Century
VI. Travels of an Englishman in Tartary, in 1243
VII. Sketch of the Revolutions in Tartary
VIII. Travels of John de Piano Carpini, in 1246
IX. Travels of W. de Rubruquis, about 1253
X. Travels of Haitho, Prince of Armenia, in 1254
XI. Travels of Marco Polo into China and the East; from A.D. 1260 to 1295
XII. Travels of Oderic of Portenau, in 1318
XIII. Travels of Sir John Mandeville, in 1322
XIV. Itinerary of Pegoletti, between Asof and China, in 1355
XV. Voyages of Nicolo and Antonio Zeno, in 1380
XVI. Travels of Schildtberger, in 1394
XVII. Travels of the Ambassadors of Shah Rokh, in 1419
XVIII. Voyage and Shipwreck of Quirini, in 1431
XIX. Travels of Josaphat Barbaro, in 1436
[1] By error of the press, Sect, IV. has been numerically repeated.
* * * * *
[Transcriber's note: The following errata have been applied to the text.]
ERRATA.
Page 8, line 26, _for_ insulated _read_ inhabited
51, 21, _for_ phenomena _read_ phenomenon
62, 41, _after_ each _insert_ of the
118 33, _after_ thirteenth _insert_ century
165, note 7, _for_ Keander _read_ Theander.
A GENERAL HISTORY AND COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
PART I.
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS OF DISCOVERY, FROM THE ERA OF ALFRED, KING OF ENGLAND,
IN THE NINTH CENTURY; TO THE ERA OF DON HENRY, PRINCE OF PORTUGAL, AT THE
COMMENCEMENT OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
A GENERAL HISTORY AND COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
PART I.
_Voyages and Travels of Discovery, from the era of Alfred, King of
England, in the ninth century; to the era of Don Henry, Prince of Portugal,
at the commencement of the fifteenth century._
CHAP. I.
_Discoveries in the time of Alfred King of England, in the ninth century
of the Christian era._
INTRODUCTION.
In the midst of the profound ignorance and barbarism which overspread the
nations of Western Europe, after the dissolution of the Roman empire in the
West, a transient ray of knowledge and good government was elicited by the
singular genius of the great Alfred, a hero, legislator, and philosopher,
among a people nearly barbarous. Not satisfied with having delivered his
oppressed and nearly ruined kingdom from the ravages of the almost savage
Danes and Nordmen, and the little less injurious state of anarchy and
disorganization into which the weakness of the vaunted Anglo-Saxon system
of government had plunged England, he for a time restored the wholesome
dominion of the laws, and even endeavoured to illuminate his ignorant
people by the introduction of useful learning. In the prosecution of these
patriotic views, and for his own amusement and instruction, besides other
literary performances, he made a translation of the historical work of
Orosius into his native Anglo-Saxon dialect; into which he interwove the
relations of Ohthere and Wulfstan, of which hereafter, and such other
information as he could collect respecting the three grand divisions of the
world then known; insomuch, that his account of Europe especially differs
very materially from that of Orosius, of which he only professed to make a
translation.
Although Alfred only mounted the throne of England in 872, it has been
deemed proper to commence the series of this work with the discovery of
Iceland by the Nordmen or Norwegians, about the year 861, as intimately
connected with the era which has been deliberately chosen as the best
landmark of our proposed systematic History and Collection of Voyages and
Travels. That entirely accidental incident is the earliest geographical
discovery made by the modern nations, of which any authentic record now
remains, and was almost the only instance of the kind which occurred, from
the commencement of the decline of the Roman power, soon after the
Christian era, for nearly fourteen centuries. And as the colonization of
Iceland did not begin till A.D. 878, the insertion of this circumstance in
the present place, can hardly be considered as at all deviating from the
most rigid principles of our plan.
SECTION I
_Discovery of Iceland by the Norwegians in the Ninth Century_[1].
It were foreign to our present object to attempt any delineation of the
piratical, and even frequently conquering expeditions of the various
nations of Scandinavia, who, under the names of Angles, Saxons, Jutes,
Danes, and Normans, so long harassed the fragments of the Roman empire.
About the year 861, one Naddod, a Nordman or Norwegian vikingr, or chief of
a band of freebooters, who, during a voyage to the Faro islands, was thrown
by a storm upon the eastern coast of an unknown country, considerably
beyond the ordinary course of navigation, to which he gave the significant
name of Snio-land, or Snow-land, from the immense quantities of snow which
every where covered its numerous lofty mountains, even in the height of
summer, and filled its many valleys during a long and dreary winter. As
Naddod gave a rather favourable account of his discovery on his return to
Norway, one Gardar Suafarson, of Swedish origin, who was settled in Norway,
determined upon making an expedition to Snow-land in 864; and having
circumnavigated the whole extent of this new discovery, he named it from
himself, Gardars-holm, or Gardars-island.
Gardar employed so long a time in this expedition, that, not deeming it
safe to navigate the northern ocean during the storms of winter, he
remained on the island until the ensuing spring, when he sailed for Norway.
He there reported, that though the island was entirely covered with wood,
it was, in other respects, a fine country. From the favourable nature of
this report, one Flocke, the son of Vigvardar, who had acquired great
reputation among the Nordmen or Normans, as an experienced and intrepid
vikingr or pirate, resolved to visit the newly-discovered island. Flocke
likewise wintered in the northern part of the island, where he met with
immense quantities of drift ice, from which circumstance he chose to give
it the name of Iceland, which it still bears. He was by no means pleased
with the country, influenced, no doubt, by the unfavourable impression he
had imbibed by spending a long protracted winter on the dreary northern
shore, amid almost ever-during arctic ice, and surrounded by the most
unpromising sterility; and though some of his companions represented the
land as pleasing and fertile, the desire of visiting Iceland seems, for
some time, to have lain dormant among the adventurous Norwegian navigators;
probably because neither fame nor riches could be acquired, either by
traffic or depredation, in a country which was utterly destitute of
inhabitants.
At length, in 874, two friends, Ingolf and Lief, repaired to Iceland, and
were so much satisfied with its appearance, that they formed a resolution
of attempting to make a settlement in the country; induced, doubtless, by a
desire to withdraw from the continual wars and revolutions which then
harassed the north of Europe, and to escape from the thraldom which the
incipient monarchies of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, were then imposing
upon the independent chiefs or vikingr of the Normans. In pursuance of this
determination, Ingolf transported some people to Iceland, about the year
878, with several cattle, and all kinds of implements, to enable him to
commence a colony. At this period his friend Lief was absent in the English
wars; but went soon afterwards into Iceland, to which he carried the booty
which he had acquired in England.
The first discoverers of Iceland are said to have found some Irish books,
bells, and croziers on the coast; whence it has been imagined, that some
people from Ireland had resided there previous to its discovery and
settlement by the Normans. But it seems a more probable supposition, to
account for these articles having been seen, that a party of Norman pirates
or vikingr, who had previously landed in Ireland, or perhaps on Icolmkil,
and had carried away the plunder of some abbey or monastery, had been
driven to Iceland by a storm, and wrecked upon the coast, where these
articles might have been washed on shore: Or they may have attributed the
storm, by which they were driven so far beyond their knowledge, to the
anger of the God of the Christians, for their sacrilegious robbery of a
holy institution, and may have left these articles behind, in hopes of
propitiating a more favourable termination to their voyage. The first
settlers found extensive forests in the valleys of Iceland; and we know,
from authentic documents, that corn was formerly cultivated with decent
success in that northern region; whereas, in the present day, not a tree is
to be found in the whole island, except some stunted birches, and very low
bushes or underwood, in the most sheltered situations, and no corn will now
ripen, even in the most favourable years. But the roots and stumps of large
firs are still to be seen in various parts; and the injurious alteration of
its climate is known to have been occasioned by the straits between
_old_ Greenland and Iceland having been many years choked up with ice,
which the short summers of that high latitude are not sufficiently powerful
to dissolve.
About the present period, Harold Harfagr, or the fair-haired, one of the
petty sovereigns or vikingr of Norway, began to subjugate the other
chieftains of the country under his paramount authority, and was so
successful as to establish the Norwegian monarchy in 875. Gorm, likewise,
about the same time, united the petty states of Jutland and the Danish
islands into one kingdom, as Ingiald Illrode had done long before in
Sweden. Such independent spirits as found themselves dissatisfied with this
new order of affairs, found a sure asylum in Iceland; and the emigrations
to this new country became so numerous, that Harold at length deemed it
expedient to impose a tax of half a mark of silver, equal to five pounds of
our modern money, on every one of his subjects who were desirous of going
to settle in that island.
[1] Fragm. Vet. Islandic. ap. Langebeck, II. 31.--Forster, Hist. of Voy.
and Disc. in the North, p. 50.
SECTION II.
_Voyages of Ohthere to the White Sea and the Baltic, in the Ninth
Century._[1]
Some of the Norwegian chieftains, who were dissatisfied with the usurpation
of supreme authority by Harold, took refuge in England, where Alfred had
recently settled many of the vanquished Danes and Nordmen in the northern
part of his dominions, which had been almost entirely depopulated and laid
waste, by their long-continued and destructive ravages. Among these was one
Ohthere, who had made himself famous by his voyages to unknown parts of the
north, and who was invited to court by Alfred, to give an account of the
discoveries and observations he had made during his unusual expeditions.
This person had been a chief of some note in his own country, and dwelt at
a place which he called Halgoland, supposed by some to have been in
Numadalen, while others say in Nordland, the most northerly p province of
Norway proper. In the succeeding paragraph, he is said to have dwelt
opposite to the _West Sea,_ and as Alfred only uses the word sea to
denote a confined expanse or narrow channel, while he calls the ocean
Garsecg, it seems highly probable, that, by the West Sea, the _west
ford_ was intended,--a channel or strait which divides the Luffoden
islands from the coast of Nordland, which would clearly place the residence
of Ohthere in this northern province. The account which he gave of his
voyages to his royal patron, is as follows.
Ohthere told his lord King Alfred, that lie lived to the north of all the
Nordmen or Norwegians; and that he dwelt in that land to the northward,
opposite to the west sea; and that all the land to the north of that sea is
waste and uninhabited except in a few places, to which the Finans[2] or
Fins repair in winter for hunting and fowling, and for fishing in the
summer. Being desirous to ascertain how far this country extended towards
the north, and whether there were any inhabitants beyond these wastes, he
proceeded by sea due north from his own habitation, leaving the desert land
all the way on the starboard or right-hand, and the wide sea on the
larboard or left-hand of his course. After three days sail, he was as far
north as the whale-hunters ever go[3]; and then proceeded in his course due
north for other three days, when he found the land, instead of stretching
due north, as hitherto[4], to trend from thence towards the east. Whether
the sea there lies within the land, he knew not[5], as he only waited for a
west wind, and then sailed near that land eastwards, as far as he could, in
four days; as he found the direction of the coast then to change to due
south, he waited for a north wind, and then sailed due south as far as be
could in five days.
In this land he found a large river, at the mouth of which he lay to, as he
could not proceed much farther, on account of the inhabitants being
hostile. All the land on one side of this river was inhabited, and
tolerably well cultivated, but he had not met with any inhabitants till
now, since he left his own country; the whole land on his right being a
desert, and without inhabitants, except the fishers, fowlers, and hunters,
before-mentioned, who were all Fins; and the open sea lay on his left hand
during his whole voyage. The Beormas [6], indeed, had well peopled their
country, for which reason he did not venture to enter upon it; and the land
of the Terfenna [7], which he had passed hitherto, was all a desert, with
the exception of the hunters and fishers already mentioned.
The Beormas told him many particulars about their land, and of the
neighbouring countries; but he could not rely on their accounts, as he had
no opportunity of seeing with his own eyes, but it seemed to him that the
Beormas and Fins spoke the same language [8]. Ohthere stated, that his
motive for this expedition, besides some little curiosity to explore these
countries, which were unknown to his countrymen, was principally in pursuit
of horse-whales [9], which are valuable, because their tusks are excellent
ivory, some of which he brought to the king, and because their hides serve
for making into ropes for ships. This species of the whale is much smaller
than the other kind, being seldom more than seven ells in length; while the
other species is often forty-eight ells long, and sometimes even fifty. In
this country was the best whale-fishing that Ohthere had ever seen, the
whales being so numerous, that he was one of six who killed threescore in
three days[10].
Ohthere was a very rich man in those things which are considered as
valuable in his country, and possessed, at the time when he came to the
king, six hundred tame deer, none of which he had bought; besides which, he
had six decoy deer, which are much in request among the Fins, as by means
of them, they are enabled to catch wild deer. Yet, though one of the
richest men in these parts, he had only twenty head of cattle, twenty
sheep, and twenty swine; and what little land he had in tillage was
ploughed by horses. The principal wealth of the Norman chiefs in that
country consisted in tribute exacted from the Fins; being paid in skins of
wild beasts, feathers, whalebone, cables and ropes for ships, made from the
hides of whales or seals. Every one pays in proportion to his substance:
the wealthiest paying the skins of fifteen martins, five rein-deer skins,
and one bear-skin, a coat or cloak made of bear-skin or otters skins, and
two cables or ship ropes of sixty ells long each, one of which is made of
whale hide, and the other from the skins of seals.
According to the description given to the king by Ohthere, Northmanna-land,
or Norway, is very long and narrow, all the land which is fit for pasture
or tillage being on the seacoast, which is very rocky in some places. To
the east of this, and parallel to the cultivated land, there are wild and
huge mountains and moors, which are inhabited by the Fins. The cultivated
land is broadest in the south[11], where it is sixty miles broad, and in
some places more; about the middle of the country, it is perhaps thirty
miles broad, or somewhat more; and where it is narrowest in the north, it
is hardly more than three miles from the sea to the moors. In some places,
the moors are so extensive that a man can hardly travel across them in a
fortnight, and in other places perhaps in six days.
Opposite to the south part of this country is Sueoland[12], or Sweden, on
the other side of the moors, and opposite to its northern part is Cwenland.
The Cwens sometimes pass the moors and mountains to invade and plunder the
country of the Normans; who likewise sometimes retaliate, by crossing over
to spoil their land. In these moors, there are some very large _meres_
or lakes of fresh water, and the Cwenas[13] sometimes carry their small
light ships over land into these lakes, and employ them to facilitate their
depredations on the Nordmen. Ohthere says, that the shire or district which
he inhabited is called Halgoland, and that there were no inhabitants beyond
him to the north. There is likewise a port in the southern land, which is
called Sciringes-heal[14], which no one could reach in a month's sailing,
even with a fair wind, at least if he lay to at night. During this voyage,
the navigator must sail near the land, or make a coasting voyage along the
coast of Norway towards the south, having _Iraland_[15], and the islands
which are between that country and Norway, on his right hand; for this
country continues all the way on the left hand of the navigator, from
Halgoland to Sciringes-heal. As he proceeds again to the northward, a great
sea to the south of Sciringes-heal runs up into this land, and that sea is
so wide, that a person cannot see across it. Gotland[16] is opposite on the
other side, or right-hand; and afterwards the sea of Sillende[17] lies many
miles up in that country.
Ohthere farther says, that he sailed in five days from Sciringes-heal to
that port which is called Haethum [18], which lies between Winedum, Seaxun,
and Anglen, and makes part of Dene. When he sailed to this place from
Sciringes-heal, Dene, or Denmark, was on his left, and on his right was a
wide sea for three days; as were also on his right, two days before he came
to Haethum, Gotland, Sillende, and many other islands, which were inhabited
by the Angles before they came to Britain; and during these two days, the
islands belonging to Denmark were on his left hand.
[1] Anglo-Saxon Version of Orosius, by Alfred the Great, translated by
Daines Barrington, p. 9.--Langebeck, Script. Dan. II. 106-118.--
Forster, Voy. and Disc. in the North, p. 53.
[2] Ohthere here calls the inhabitants of the desert Fins, and it would
appear that the Laplanders are actually Fins, or Finlanders; the name
of Laps or Laplanders being of modern origin, and the Danes and
Norwegians still call this country Finmark.--Forst
[3] In former translations of Alfred, this passage is rendered as follows:
"He was within three days sail of being as far north as the
whale-hunters ever go." This expression is vague and ambiguous, and
rather means that the residence from whence he set out was within
three days sail, &c.; whereas the next member of the same sentence
distinctly indicates a preceding three days sail, as in the adopted
translation.--E.
[4] This is not quite accurate, as the coast of Norway, in the course of
Ohthere, stretches N.N.E. He was now arrived at the North Cape, whence
the coast towards the White Sea trends E. and by N.--E.
[5] This doubt, of whether the sea lies within the land or not, probably
refers to the numerous inlets or fiords along the whole coast of
Norway and Finmark, and may mean, that he did not examine whether the
land might not be parcelled out into innumerable islands.--E.
[6] The Beormas are the Biarmians or Permians of the northern writers; and
Perm or Permia is still mentioned among the numerous titles of the
emperors of Russia.--Forat.
[7] The Terfennas are mentioned as different from the Scrite-fennas. These
were distinguished by Guido, the geographer of Ravenna, in the seventh
century, into Rerefinni and Scritifinni. The latter lived entirely
by hunting, and wore snow-shoes in winter, called Schrit. The former
subsisted on their herds of rein-deer, and perhaps ought to have been
therefore called Rene-finni. The name in the text ought perhaps to
have been Rhane-fenna, as he tells us they had rein-deer, and employed
decoy deer to catch the wild. Perhaps Fer-fenna, from their
travelling in sledges; from farra, to travel in a carriage.--Forst.
[8] It is highly probable, from this remark, in which Ohthere could not be
mistaken, as it will appear in the sequel that he must have been
perfectly well acquainted with the Fins, that the Biarmians were a
branch of the great Finnish stock. The principal difference seems to
have been, that the Fins continued to be wandering hunters and
herdsmen, while the Beormas or Biarmians had advanced to the state of
fixed cultivators of the soil. They had likewise an idol called
Jomala, which is still the name of one of the deities of the
Finlanders.--Forst.
[9] The morse is here named horse-whale by king Alfred, with infinitely
greater propriety than the appellation of sea-horse, which long
prevailed in our language. The tusks of this animal are still
considered as excellent ivory, and are peculiarly valuable for the
construction of false teeth; and leather made from the hide is still
used in Russia for coach-harness, but stretches more when wet than any
other leather.--Forst.
[10] It would appear, from the vast number killed, that this successful
fishing must refer to the morse or horse-whale, not to the ordinary
large whale.--E.
[11] In the original, the broad and comparatively fertile part of Norway
is said to be in the _east_: the correction adopted in the text
is obvious and necessary.--E.
[12] In former translations, this passage is: "opposite to this land,
_to_ the south, is Sueoland." The alteration in the text removes
the ambiguity--E.
[13] Cwenland and the Cwenas appear to refer to Lapmark, and its
inhabitants, the Finlanders.--Forst.
[14] See Sect. iii. p. 12, in which this place is supposed by Mr J. R.
Forster to have been where Stockholm now is.
[15] Iraland obviously here means Scotland, with the Faro, Shetland, and
Orkney islands.--E.
[16] This is plainly the isle of Gothland.--E.
[17] Apparently the Baltic proper is here called the sea of Sillende, and
may have been named from the isle of Zeeland. Yet in this passage it
seems to refer to the gulf of Bothnia, as running far up into the
country.--E.
[18] See Sect. iii. p. 14, in which Forster endeavours to fix this place at
Aarhuus in Jutland.
SECTION III.
_Remarks by J. M. Forster, respecting the situation of Sciringes-heal and
Haethum_[1].
The name of this place, Sciringes-heal, has given a great deal of trouble
to former commentators on Alfred; viz. Sir John Spelman, Bussaeus, Somner,
John Philip Murray, and Langebeck, who have all chosen spots totally
different, in which to place Sciringes-heal. Spelman, and others, look for
this place near Dantzic, where, in their opinion, the Scyres formerly
resided. But, first, the spot where the Scyres lived, is by no means
satisfactorily determined; and, next, it is evident that Ohthere went
continually along the coast from Halgoland to Sciringes-heal, and that this
coast was on his left-hand during the whole course of his navigation. The
late Mr Murray placed Sciringes-heal at Skanor, in the southern extremity
of Sweden; but I cannot think that this place could be five days sail from
Haethum in Jutland, as it is expressly declared to have been by Ohthere.
Langebeck is for carrying Sciringes-heal to Konga-hella, on the Guatelf,
near Marstrand; and insists, that the name, in Alfred's account of the
voyage, ought to have been written Cyninges-heal instead of Sciringes-heal.
If the word had only once occurred, I might have allowed Langebeck to be
right; but we meet with it five times in the space of a few lines, and
always without the slightest variation in orthography. 2dly, The voyage
from Halgoland to Konga-hella is not of sufficient extent to have employed
a month in the passage. 3dly, Konga-hella is too near Jutland to have
required five days for the voyage between it and Haethum.
Having demonstrated the insufficiency of these conjectures, we shall now
endeavour to point out where Sciringes-heal was really situated. Paul
Warenfried, in his Historia Longobardorum, Lib. i, cap. 7. and 10. makes
mention of a district, named Scorunga, in which the Winili, or Lombards
resided, for some time before they removed to Mairinga and from thence,
farther on to Gotland, Anthabet, Bethaib, and Purgendaid. This Scorunga was
not far from Gotland, and consequently in Sweden; and seems to have been
the district in which Sciringes-heal was situated. Add to this, that
Ohthere, after having described Sueoland, or Sweden, as being to the
southwards of his habitation, immediately says, "there is a port in this
southern land which is called Sciringes-heal." By this, he seems plainly to
indicate, that this place certainly was in Sweden; and all this will
appear, still more evidently, if we carefully follow the course of the
voyage which he describes. First of all, he has Scotland, called Iraland,
evidently by mistake, and the Orkney and Shetland islands, which lie
between Scotland and Halgoland, on his right hand; and the continent is
continually on his left hand, all the way, until he arrive at Sciringes-
heal. But farther, a large bay stretches to the northward, deep into the
country, along the coast of which he had been continually sailing; and this
bay commences quite to the southward of Sciringes-heal, and is so broad
that a man cannot see across, and Gotland is directly opposite to this
bay[2]. But the sea, which extended from Zeeland to this spot, goes many
hundred miles up into the country to the eastwards.
From Sciringes-heal, Ohthere could sail in five days to Haethum, which lies
between the Wends Saxons and Angles. Now, by this voyage, we are enabled to
determine, with still greater exactness, the situation of this place which
we are searching for. In order to get to Haethum, he left Gotland on the
right[3], and soon afterwards Zeeland likewise, together with the other
islands which had been the habitation of the Angles before they went to
England, while those which belonged to Denmark were on his left for two
days. Sciringes-heal, therefore, is consequently in Sweden, at the entrance
of the Gulf of Bothnia, which runs up into the land northwards, just on
that spot where the Baltic, after having passed Zeeland, spreads into a
wide gulf, extending several hundred miles into the land. Just in this
place I find the Svia-Sciaeren, or Swedish Scares, a cluster of little
islands, surrounded by rocks. Heal, in the northern languages, signifies a
port, as in such places a ship might be kept in safety. Sciringes-heal,
therefore, was "the harbour of the Scares," and was probably at the
entrance of the gulf of Bothnia, and consequently where Stockholm now is;
and the tract of land where these Scares lay, towards the sea, was the
Scarunga of Paul Warenfried.
The port of Hasthum has occasioned much difficulty to the commentators, as
well as that of Sciringes-heal; but all have agreed that it must be
Sleswic, as this latter is called Haitha by Ethelwerd the Anglo-Saxon. A
Norwegian poet gives it the name of Heythabae, others call it Heydaboe, and
Adam of Bremen Heidaba; and this, in their opinion, is precisely the same
with Haethum. It appears to me, however, that the difference between the
words Haethaby and Hasthum, are by no means so inconsiderable. And I think
the situation of Sleswic does not at all accord with the descriptions which
are given of Haethum by Ohthere and Wulfstan. Indeed, if Sleswic be
Haethum, I must confess, that I cannot in the least comprehend the course
of the voyages of these ancient navigators. Ohthere tells us, that in
sailing from Sciringes-heal to Haethum, he had Denmark to the left, and the
open sea, for the space of three days, to the right; but that, for two days
before he reached Haethum, he had Gotland and Zeeland to the right, and the
islands which belong to Denmark to the left. If he had gone to Sleswic, he
must have found all the Danish islands on his right hand, and not one
besides Femeren on his left. This being considered, I ask how it is
possible, consistent with his own description of the voyage, that the
situation of Sleswic can be made to correspond with Haethum? As, in the
district of Aarhuus in Jutland, there is an extensive track of land called
Alheide, which is in fact a heath, I shall take the liberty to suppose,
that the town, in the ninth century, lay higher up towards Al-heide, or
All-heath; for the town of Aar-huus is new, and its name signifies in
English Oar-house. The old town, therefore, may have been called
Al-haethum, or Haethum; so, that if Ohthere set out from Stockholm for this
place, Gotland was on his right hand[4], and so was Zealand. And as he
sailed between Zealand and Funen, or Fyen, all the Danish islands were on
his left hand, and he had the wide sea, that is, the Schager-rack, and
Cattegat to the right. Farther, when Wulfsten went from Haethum, or Aarhuus
to Truso, he had Weonothland, that is Funen, Fionia, or Fyen to his right;
and to the left were, Langeland, Laeland, Falster, and Sconeg; together
with Bornholm, Bleking, Moehre, Oeland, and Gotland. But Wendenland
remained on his right, all the way to the mouth of the Vistula.
[1] Forst. Voy. and Disc. 67.
[2] It appears to me, that the description given by Ohthere, implies,
that Gotland was directly opposite to Sciringes-heal, or to the east.
--E.
[3] Not surely on going southwards, but after he had again turned to the
northwards, after doubling the southern point of Sweden.--E.
[4] This is certainly true during the latter part of his voyage, after
turning round the south end of Sweden, and standing again to the
northward, between Zealand and Fyen; but in coasting down the shore of
Sweden to the south, he must have left Gotland to the left,--E.
SECTION IV.
_Voyage of Wulfstan in the Baltic as related to Alfred_[1].
Wulfstan said that he sailed from Haethum to Truso[2] in seven days and
nights, the ship being under sail all the time. Weonothland[3] was on his
right; but Langaland, Laeland, Falster, and Sconeg, were on the left, all
of which belong to Dene-mearkan[4]. Burgendaland[5] also, which has a king
of its own, was on the left. After leaving Burgendaland, the islands of
Becinga-eg, Meore, Eowland, and Gotland, were on the left, all of which
belong to Sueon[6], and Weonodland[7] was all the way on the right to the
mouth of the Wisle[8]. This is a very large river, and near it Witland[9],
and Weonodland are situated; the former of which belongs to Estum, and the
Wisle does not run through Weonodland, but through Estmere[10], which lake
is fifteen miles broad. Then runs the Ilfing[11] from the eastwards into
Est-mere, on the banks of which is Truso. The Ilfing flows from Est-land
into the Est-mere from the east, and the Wisle through Weonodland from the
south. The Ilfing, having joined the Wisle, takes its name, and runs to the
west of Estmere, and northward into the sea, where it is called
Wisle-mouth[12].
Est-land is a large track of country, having many towns, in each of which
there is a king. It produces a great quantity of honey, and has abundance
of fish. The kings, and other rich men, drink mares milk, while the poor
people and slaves use only mead[13]. They have many contests among
themselves; and the people of Estum brew no ale, as they have mead in
profusion[14]. There is also a particular custom observed by this nation;
that, when any one dies, the body remains unburnt, with the relations and
friends, for a month or two; and the bodies of kings and nobles remain
longer, according to their respective wealth, sometimes for half a year,
during all which time it is kept in the house, and drinking and sports
continue until the body is consumed[15]. When the body is carried to the
funeral pile, the substance of the deceased, which yet remains, after the
sports and drinking bouts, is divided into five or six heaps, or more,
according to its value. These heaps are placed at the distance of a mile
from each other; the largest heap at the greatest distance from the town,
and the lesser heaps gradually diminishing, so that the smallest heap is
nearest to the town where the dead body lies. Then all are summoned who
have fleet horses, within the distance of five or six miles around, and
they all strive for the substance of the dead person. He who has the
swiftest horse, gains the most distant and largest heap, and the others, in
just proportion, till the whole is won; then every one takes away his
share, as his own property: and owing to this custom, swift horses are in
great request, and extremely dear. When the wealth of the deceased has been
thus exhausted, the body is taken from the house and burnt, together with
the dead man's weapons and clothes; and generally, they expend the whole
wealth of the deceased, by keeping the body so long in the house before it
is burnt, and by these heaps which are carried off by strangers. It is the
custom with the Estum to burn the bodies of all the inhabitants; and if any
one can find a single bone unconsumed, it is a cause of great offence.
These people, also, have the means of producing a very severe cold; by
which, the dead body continues so long above ground without putrefying; and
by means of which, if any one sets a vessel of ale or water in the place,
they contrive that the liquor shall be frozen either in winter or
summer[16].
[1] Alfred's Orosius, by Barrington, p. 16. Langebeck, Scrip. Dan. II. 118-
123. Wulfstan appears to have been a Dane, who had probably become
acquainted with Ohthere, during his maritime expeditions, and had gone
with him to reside in England.--Forst.
[2] There is a lake still called Truso or Drausen, between Elbing and
Prussian Holland, from which, probably, the town here mentioned, which
stood on the Frisch-haf, took its name.--Forst.
[3] It is necessary to distinguish accurately between Weonothland, which is
probably Fuehnen, Funen, or Fionio, now called Fyen; and Weonodland or
Winodland, afterwards Wendenland.--Forst.
[4] Denmark obviously, called simply Dene, in the voyages of Ohthere.--E.
[5] Probably Bornholm.--E.
[6] Called Sueoland in the voyages of Ohthere, is assuredly Sweden, to
which all these islands belong. Becinga-eg, is certainly Bleking; the
_l_ being omitted in transcription, called an island by mistake.
Meore is indisputably the upper and lower Moehre in Smoland; Eowland
is Oeland; and Gotland is doubtless the modern isle of that name.
--Forst.
[7] Weonodland, or Winodland, extends to the mouth of the Vistula; and is
obviously a peculiar and independent country, totally different from
Weonothland, belonging to Denmark.--Forst.
[8] Wisle, or Wisla, is the Sclavonian orthography for the Vistula, called
Weichsel by the Germans, and Weissel by the Prussians.--Forst.
[9] Witland is a district of Samland in Prussia. It had this name of
Witland at the time of the crusades of the Germans against Prussia.
The word Wit-land, is a translation of the native term Baltikka, or
the white land, now applied to the Baltic Sea.--Forst.
[10] Est-mere, a lake of fresh water, into which the Elbing and Vistula
empty themselves; now called Frisch-haf, or the fresh water sea.
--Forst.
[11] This is undoubtedly the Elbing which flows from lake Drausen, or
Truso, and joins, by one of its branches, that arm of the Vistula
which is called Neugat or Nogat.--Forst.
[12] The Ilfing, or Elbing, comes out of Esthonia, yet not from the east,
as here said by Alfred, but from the south; except, indeed, he mean
that arm of the Elbing which runs into the Nogat, or eastern arm of
the Vistula. But the Vistula comes out of Wendenland, called
Weonodland in the text, from the south; and the two rivers discharge
themselves into the Frisch-haf, which stretches from west to north, or
in a north-east direction; and at Pilau, goes northwards into the sea.
It is certainly possible that this entrance may have been formerly
called Wisle-mund, or the mouth of the Vistula, as well as the western
mouth of that river.--Forst.
This concession is not necessary to the truth of Wulfstan and Alfred.
There is a cross branch from Elbing, which joins the Nogat and Vistula
proper; and which is probably meant in the text, where the Ilfing and
Wisle, united, are said to run to the west of Est-mere, or the haf,
and then north, into the sea at Wisle-mund.--E.
[13] This circumstance is singular; yet may be explained from the custom of
the Tartars. The mares milk, drank by the kings and rich men, was
certainly prepared into cosmos, or kumyss, the favourite beverage of
the great; while mead, a much inferior liquor in their estimation, was
left to the lower orders.--E.
[14] Mead was called Medo in Anglo-Saxon, in Lithuanian Middus, in Polish
Miod, in Russian Méd, in German Meth, in old English Metheglin:
perhaps all these are from the Greek verb [Greek: methuo], to
intoxicate. Alfred naturally observes, that these drinking-bouts
produced many frays; and notices the reason of the Estum or Esthonians
brewing no ale, because they had abundance of mead.--Forst.
[15] In a treaty between the Teutonic knights, and the newly converted
Prussians, the latter engaged never to burn their dead, nor to bury
them with their horses, arms, clothes, and valuables.--Forst.
[16] This power of producing cold in summer, so much admired by Wulfstan
and Alfred, was probably the effect of a good ice-cellar, which every
Prussian of condition had in, or near his house.--Forst.
SECTION IV.
_Voyage of Sighelm and Athelstan to India, in the reign of Alfred King of
England, in 883_[1].
Though containing no important information, it were unpardonable in an
English collection of voyages and travels, to omit the scanty notice which
remains on record, respecting a voyage by two Englishmen to India, at so
early a period. All that is said of this singular incident in the Saxon
Chronicle, is[2], "In the year 883, Alfred sent Sighelm and Athelstan to
Rome, and likewise _to the shrine_ of Saints Thomas and Bartholomew,
in India, with the alms which he had vowed." [Bartholomew was the messenger
of Christ in India, the extremity of the whole earth.]--The words printed
in _Italics_ are added in translating, by the present editor, to
complete the obvious sense. Those within brackets, are contained in one MS.
Codex of the Saxon Chronicle, in addition to what was considered the most
authentic text by Bishop Gibson, and are obviously a note or commentary,
afterwards adopted into the text in transcription.
This short, yet clear declaration, of the actual voyage, has been extended
by succeeding writers, who attribute the whole merit to Sighelm, omitting
all mention of Athelstan, his co-adjutor in the holy mission. The first
member of the subsequent paraphrase of the Saxon Chronicle, by Harris,
though unauthorized, is yet necessarily true, as Alfred could not have sent
messengers to a shrine, of which he did not know the existence. For the
success of the voyage, the safe return, the promotion of Sighelm, and his
bequest, the original record gives no authority, although that is the
obvious foundation of the story, to which Aserus has no allusion in his
life of Alfred.
"In the year 883, Alfred, King of England, hearing that there existed a
Christian church in the Indies, dedicated to the memory of St Thomas and St
Bartholomew, dispatched one Sighelm, or Sithelm, a favourite ecclesiastic
of his court, to carry his royal alms to that distant shrine. Sighelm
successfully executed the honourable commission with which he had been
entrusted, and returned in safety into England. After his return, he was
promoted to the bishoprick of Sherburn, or Shireburn, in Dorsetshire; and
it is recorded, that he left at his decease, in the treasury of that
church, sundry spices and jewels, which he had brought with him from the
Indies."
Of this voyage, William of Malmsbury makes twice mention; once in the
fourth chapter of his second book, De Gestis Regum Anglorum; and secondly,
in the second book of his work; entitled, De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum;
and in the chapter devoted to the Bishops of Shireburn, Salisbury, and
Winchester, both of which are here added, although the only authority for
the story is contained in what has been already given from the Saxon
Chronicle[3].
"King Alfred being addicted to giving of alms, confirmed the privileges
which his father had granted to the churches, and sent many gifts beyond
seas, to Rome, and to St Thomas in India. His messenger in this business
was Sighelm, bishop of Sherburn, who, with great prosperity, which is much
to be wondered at in this age, penetrated into India; whence he brought on
his return, splendid exotic gems, and aromatic liquors, of which the soil
of that region is prolific."
"Sighelm having gone beyond seas, charged with alms from the king, even
penetrated, with wonderful prosperity, to Saint Thomas in India, a thing
much to be admired in this age; and brought thence, on his return, certain
foreign kinds of precious stones which abound in that region; some of which
are yet to be seen in the monuments of his church."
In the foregoing accounts of the voyage of Sighelm, from the first notice
in the Saxon Chronicle, through the additions of Malmsbury, and the
amplified paraphrase by Harris, we have an instance of the manner in which
ingenious men permit themselves to blend their own imaginations with
original record, superadding utterly groundless circumstances, and fancied
conceptions, to the plain historical facts. Thus a motely rhetorical tissue
of real incident and downright fable is imposed upon the world, which each
successive author continually improves into deeper falsehood. We have here
likewise an instance of the way in which ancient manuscripts, first
illustrated by commentaries, became interpolated, by successive
transcribers adopting those illustrations into the text; and how many
fabricators of story, first misled by these additaments, and afterwards
misleading the public through a vain desire of producing a morsel of
eloquence, although continually quoting original and contemporary
authorities, have acquired the undeserved fame of excellent historians,
while a multitude of the incidents, which they relate, have no foundations
whatever in the truth of record. He only, who has diligently and faithfully
laboured through original records, and contemporary writers, honestly
endeavouring to compose the authentic history of an interesting period, and
has carefully compared, in his progress, the flippant worse than
inaccuracies of writers he has been taught to consider as masterly
historians, can form an adequate estimate of the enormity and frequency of
this tendency to romance. The immediate subject of these observations is
slight and trivial; but the evil itself is wide-spread and important, and
deserves severe reprehension, as many portions of our national history have
been strangely disfigured by such indefensible practices.
[1] Harris, I. 873. Hakluyt, V. II. 38.
[2] Chron. Sax. Ed. Gibson, p. 86.
[3] Hakluyt, II. 88.
SECTION V.
_Travels of John Erigena to Athens, in the Ninth Century_[1].
John Erigena, of the British Nation, descended from noble progenitors, and
born in the town of St. Davids in Wales; while the English were oppressed
by the cruel wars and ravages of the Danes, and the whole land was in
confusion, undertook a long journey to Athens, and there spent many years
in the study of the Grecian, Chaldean, and Arabian literature. He there
frequented all the places and schools of the philosophers, and even visited
the oracle of the sun, which Esculapius had constructed for himself. Having
accomplished the object of his travels, he returned through Italy and
France; where, for his extraordinary learning, he was much favoured by
Charles the Bald, and afterwards by Lewis the Stammerer. He translated into
Latin, in 858, the books of Dionysius the Areopagite, concerning the
Heavenly Hierarchy, then sent from Constantinople. Going afterwards into
Britain, he became preceptor to Alfred, King of England, and his children;
and, at the request of that prince, he employed his leisure in translating
the Morals of Aristotle, and his book called the Secret of Secrets, or of
the Right Government of Princes, into Chaldaic, Arabic, and Latin;
certainly a most exquisite undertaking. At last, being in the abbey of
Malmsbury, where he had gone for his recreation, in the year 884, and
reading to certain evil-disposed disciples, they put him to death.
[1] Hakluyt, II. 38.
SECTION VI.
_Geography of the Known World, in the Ninth Century as described by King
Alfred_[1].
INTRODUCTION.
Though not strictly conformable to our plan, as being neither a journey or
voyage, it yet seemed incumbent to present our readers with this curious
British production of the great Alfred King of England, which gives a
singular record of the geographical knowledge of the world in the ninth
century. It was originally written by Orosius, a Spanish Christian, who
flourished in the end of the fourth and beginning of the fifth century, and
who published a kind of History of the World, down to A. D. 416, which
remained in good repute among the learned till about an hundred years ago,
but is now much neglected. Near a thousand years ago, the work of Orosius
was translated into Anglo-Saxon, by Alfred King of England, but, with great
freedom and much licence, often using his author merely as a foundation for
a paraphrase; omitting most of the introductory chapters to each book,
sometimes leaving out considerable passages, and often inserting new
matter. This is peculiarly the case with the first chapter of the first
book, containing the whole of the geography, and which is all that has any
reference to the nature of our work.
The Honourable Daines Barrington, who published the Anglo-Saxon version,
with an English translation, informs us that the original MS. is in the
Cotton Library, _Tiberius_ I., and is supposed to have been written in
the ninth or tenth century; but that, in making his translation, he used a
transcript, made by Mr Elstob, occasionally collated with the Cotton MS.
and with some other transcripts. But, before publishing a work of such
curiosity and interest, he ought to have made sure of possessing a perfect
copy, by the most scrupulous comparison of his transcript with the original
MS.
In the following republication of the geographical chapter, much care has
been taken to correct errors, chiefly in regard to direction, as east,
west, north, and south, are often used interchangeably in the translation
by Mr Barrington. Most of the notes are from that edition, or from J.R.
Forster, who reprinted so much of this chapter as referred to northern
geography, and who appears to have studied that part of the subject with
great care.
As a specimen of the Anglo-Saxon, or the language of England near a
thousand years ago, we have given the first sentence of this geographical
chapter in the ordinary Roman letters, with a literal translation.
_Anglo-Saxon_.
Ure yldran calne thysne ymbhwyrft
thyses middangeardes, cwaeth
Orosius, swa swa Oceanus ymbligeth
utan, wone man garsecg hatath, on
threo todaeldon.
_Literal Translation_
Our elders have divided all of
this middle-earth, quoth Orosius,
which Oceanus surrounds, which
men calleth _garsecg_ into three
deals.
_Geography of Alfred_.
§ 1. According to Orosius, our ancestors divided the whole world which is
surrounded by the ocean, which we call _garsecg_[2], into three parts,
and they named these divisions Asia, Europe, and Africa; though some
authors only admit of two parts, Asia and Europe. Asia is bounded to the
southward, northward, and eastward by the ocean, and thus divides all our
part of this earth from that which is to the east. On the north, Europe and
Asia are separated by the Tanais or Don; and in the south, after passing
the Mediterranean[3] sea, Asia and Africa join to the westward of
Alexandria[4].
§ 2. Europe begins, as I have said before, at the Tanais, which has its
source in the northern parts of the Riphean mountains[5], which are near
the Sarmatic[6] ocean; and this river then runs directly south, on the west
side of Alexander's temples, to the nation of the Russians[7], where it
runs into the fen called Maeotis, and thence it issues eastwards with a
great stream, near the town called Theodosia, into the Euxine. Then
becoming narrow for a considerable track, it passes by Constantinople, and
thence into the Wendel sea, or Mediterranean. The south-west end of Europe
is in Ispania or Spain, where it is bounded by the ocean; but the
Mediterranean almost closes at the _islands_ called Gades, where stand
the pillars of Hercules. To the westward of this same Mediterranean is
_Scotland_[8].
§ 3. Asia and Africa are divided by Alexandria, a city of Egypt; and that
country is bounded on the west by the river Nile, and then by Ethiopia to
the south, which reaches quite to the southern ocean. The northern boundary
of Africa is the Mediterranean sea all the way westwards, to where it is
divided from the ocean by the pillars of Hercules; and the true western
boundaries of Africa are the mountains called Atlas and the Fortunate
Islands. Having thus shortly mentioned the three divisions of this earth, I
shall now state how those are bounded by land and water.
§ 4. Opposite to the middle of the eastern part of Asia, the river Ganges
empties itself into the sea, whilst the Indian ocean is to the southwards,
in which is the port of Caligardamana. To the south-east of that port is
the island of Deprobane[9]. To the north of the mouths of the Ganges, where
mount Caucasus ends, is the port of Samera; and to the north of this port
are the mouths of the river called Corogorre, in the ocean called Sericus.
Now, these are the boundaries of India: Mount Caucasus is to the north, the
river Indus to the west, the Red Sea[10] to the south, and the ocean to the
east. In this land of India there are forty-four nations, besides the
island of Taprobana or Ceylon, in which there are ten _boroughs_; and
also many others which are situated on the banks of the Indus, and lie all
to the westward of India. Betwixt this river Indus, and another to the west
called Tigris, both of which empty themselves into the Red Sea[11], are the
countries of Orocassia, Parthia, Asilia, Pasitha, and Media, though some
writers call the whole of this land Media or Assyria[12]. The fields are
much parched by the sun[13], and the roads are very hard and stony. The
northern boundary of this land is Mount Caucasus, and the southern is the
Red Sea. In this land there are two great rivers, the Hystaspes and Arbis,
and twenty-two nations, though the whole has the general name of Parthia.
To the westwards, Babilonia, Chaldea, and Mesopotamia are between the
rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Within this country there are twenty-eight
nations, the northern boundary being Mount Caucasus, and the Red Sea to the
south. Along the Red Sea, and at its northern angle, are Arabia, Sabaea,
and Eudomane, or Idumea. Beyond the river Euphrates, quite westward to the
Mediterranean, and northward to Mount Taurus, even into Armenia, and
southward to near Egypt, are many countries, namely Comagene, Phenicia,
Damascena, Coelle, Moab, Ammon, Idumea, Judea, Palestine, and Sarracene,
all of which are comprehended under the general name of Syria. To the north
of Syria are the hills called Taurus, and to the north of these are
Capadocia and Armenia, the former being to the westward of the latter; and
to the westward of Capadocia is the country called the lesser Asia. To the
north of Capadocia is the plain called Temisere, and betwixt Capadocia and
lesser Asia are Cilicia and Isauria. Lesser Asia is entirely surrounded by
salt water, except to the eastward; having the Euxine on the north, the
Propontis and Hellespont on the west, and the Mediterranean on the south.
In it is the high mountain of Olympus.
§ 5. To the northward of _hither_ Egypt is Palestine, to the eastwards
the land of the Sarracens, to the west is Libia, and to the south the
mountain called Climax. The head of the Nile is near the _cliffs_ of
the Red Sea, though some say it is in the western part of Africa, near
Mount Atlas, whence it flows over a large track of land, till it sinks;
after which, it proceeds in its course, till it becomes a great sea, or
wide river[14]. The spot where the river takes its rise is called by some
Nuchal, and by others Dara. Hence, for some distance from the wider part,
_before_[l5] it rises from the sand, it runs westward to Ethiopia,
where it is called Jon, till it reaches the eastern part, where it becomes
a wide river[16], and then it sinks again into the earth; after which it
appears again opposite to the cliffs of the Red Sea, as I mentioned before,
and from this place it is called the Nile. Then running from thence
westwards, it divides its stream round an island called Meroe[17]; then
running to the northward, it empties itself into the Mediterranean. There,
in the winter season, the current at its mouth is opposed by the north
winds, so that the river is spread all over the land of Egypt;[l8] and by
the rich earth which it deposits, it fertilizes the whole country. The
_farther_ Egypt lies along the southern part of the Red Sea, and to
the east is the ocean. To the west is the _hither_ Egypt, and in the
two Egypts there are twenty-four nations.
§ 6. Having before given an account of the north part of Asia, I shall now
speak of its southern parts. I have before mentioned that Mount Caucasus is
to the north of India, beginning eastwards on the ocean, and running due
west, till it join the Armenian mountains, which the inhabitants call
Parcoatrae, from which the Euphrates takes its rise; and from the
Parcoatrian mountains mount Taurus runs due west, quite to Cilicia. To the
north of these mountains, quite to the ocean which environs the north east
end of the earth, where the river Bore empties itself into the ocean, and
from thence westwards to the Caspian sea, which extends to Mount Caucasus,
all the land is called Old Scythia, or Hircania. In this country there are
forty-three nations, all situate at great distances from each other, on
account of the barrenness of the soil[19]. Then to the westward of the
Caspian unto the Tanais or Don, and the Palus Maeotis, thence south to
Mount Taurus[20], and north to the ocean, is all Scythia, and is divided
among thirty-two nations. The country on the east side of the Tanais is
inhabited by a nation called the Alboari in the Latin tongue, which we now
call Liobene. Thus have I shortly stated the boundaries of Asia, and shall
now state those of Europe, as far as we are informed concerning them.
§ 7. From the Tanais westwards to the Rhine, which takes its rise in the
Alps, and runs northward, till it falls into that branch of the ocean which
surrounds Bryttannia, and southward from the Tanais to the Donua or Danube,
whose source is near that of the Rhine, and which runs to the northward of
Greece, till it empties itself into the Euxine[21], and north even to that
part of the ocean which is called the _Cwen_ sea[22], there are many
nations; and the whole of this extensive country is called Germany. Hence
to the north of the source of the Danube, and to the east of the Rhine are
the people called eastern Franks[23]. To the south of them are the
_Swaepas_[24]. On the opposite banks of the Danube, and to the south
and east, are the people called _Baegth-ware_[25], in that part which
is called _Regnes-burh_[26]. Due east from them are the Beme[27]. To
the north-east the Thyringas[28]. To the north of these are the Old
Seaxan[29]. To the north-west of these are the Frysan[30]; and to the west
of _Old_ Saxony is the mouth of the _Aelfe_ or Elbe, as also
_Frysan_ or Friesland. Prom hence to the north-west is that land which
is called _Angle_, with _Sellinde_, and some other parts of
Dene[31]. To the north is _Apdrede_[32], and to the north-east the
_Wolds_[33], which are called AEfeldan[34]. From hence eastwards is
Wineda-land[35], otherwise called Sysyle[36]. To the south-west, at some
distance, is the Macroaro[37], and these have to the west the Thyringas and
Behemas, as also part of the Baegthware, all of whom have been already
mentioned. And to the south, on the other side of the Donua or Danube, is
the country called Carendrae[38].
§ 8. Southwards, towards and along the mountains which are called the Alps,
are the boundaries of the Baegthware and of the Swaefas already mentioned;
and then to the eastwards of the Carendrae country, and beyond the
Waste[39], is Pulgara-land or Bulgaria[40]. To the east is Greca-land[41]
or Greece; and to the east of the Moroaro or Moravians, is Wisle-land[42];
and to the east of that is Datia, though it formerly belonged to the
Gottan[43] or Goths. To the north-east of the Moroara or Moravians, are the
Delamensen[44]. East of the Delamensen are the Horithi[45]; and north of
the Delamensen are the Surpe[46]; to the west also are the Syssele[47]. To
the north of the Horithi is Maegtha-land[48], and north of Maegtha-land is
Sermende[49], quite to the Riffin[50], or the Riphean mountains.
§ 9. To the south-west of Dene or Denmark, formerly mentioned, is that arm
of the ocean which surrounds Brittania, and to the north is that arm which
is called the _Ostsea_[51] or East sea; to the east and north are the
north Dene[52], or North Danes, both on the continent and on the islands.
To the east are the Afdrede[53]. To the south is the mouth of the AElfe or
Elbe, and some part of _Old Seaxna_[54] or Old Saxony. The North Dene
have to the north that arm of the sea which is called the East sea, and to
the east is the nation of the Osti[55], and the Afdrede, or Obotrites, to
the south. The Osti have to the north of them that same arm of the sea, or
the Baltic, and so have the Winedas and the Burgendas[56]. Still more to
the south is Haefeldan[57]. The Burgendas have this same arm of the sea to
the west, and the Sweon[58] to the north. To the east are the Sermende, to
the south the Surfe[59]. The Sweons have to the south the arm of the sea
called _Ost_, and to the north, over the wastes, is Cwenland[60], to
the north-west are the Scride-finnas[61], and the North-men[62] are to the
west[63].
§ 10. We shall now speak of Greca-land or Greece, which lies south of the
Danube. The Proponditis, or sea called Propontis, is _eastward_ of
Constantinople; to the north of that city, an arm of the sea issues from
the Euxine, and flows _westwards_; to the _north-west_ the mouths
of the Danube empty themselves into the south-east part of the Euxine[64].
To the south and west of these mouths are the Maesi, a Greek nation; to the
west are the Traci or Thracians, and to the east the Macedonians. To the
south, on the southern arm of the Egean sea, are Athens and Corinth, and to
the south-west of Corinth is Achaia, near the Mediterranean. All these
countries are inhabited by the Greeks. To the west of Achaia is Dalmatia,
along the Mediterranean; and on the north side of that sea, to the north of
Dalmatia, is Bulgaria and Istria. To the south of Istria is the Adriatic,
to the west the Alps, and to the north, that desert which is between
Carendan[65] and Bulgaria.
§ 11. Italy is of a great length from the north-west to the south-east and
is surrounded by the Mediterranean on every side, except the north-west. At
that end of it are the Alps, which begin from the Mediterranean, in the
Narbonese country, and end in Dalmatia, to the east of the Adriatic sea.
Opposite to the Alps, _on the north_, is Gallia-belgica, near which is
the river Rhine, which discharges itself into the Britanisca sea, and to
the north, on the other side of this sea, is Brittannia[66]. The land to
the west of _Ligore_, Liguria, is AEquitania; to the south of which is
some part of Narbonense, to the south-west is Spain. To the south of
Narbonense is the Mediterranean, where the Rhone empties itself into that
sea, to the north of the Profent[67] sea. Opposite to the wastes is the
_nearer_[68] part of Spain, to the northwest Aquitania, and the
Wascan[69] to the north. The Profent[67] sea hath to the north the Alps, to
the south the Mediterranean, to the north-east the Burgundians, and to the
West the Wascans or Gascons.
$ 12. Spain is triangular, being surrounded by the sea on three sides. The
boundary to the south-west is opposite to the island of Gades, Cadiz; that
to the east is opposite to the Narbonense, and the third, to the north-
west, is opposite to Brigantia, a town of Gallia, as also to Scotland[70],
over an arm of the sea, and opposite to the mouth of the Scene or Seine. As
for that division of Spain which is _farthest_[71] from us, it has to
the west the ocean, and the Mediterranean to the north, the south, and the
east. This division of Spain has to the north Aquitania, to the north-east
Narbonense, and to the south the Mediterranean.
§ 13. The island of Brittannia extends 800 miles in length to the
north-east, and is 200 miles broad. To the south of it, on the other side
of an arm of the sea, is Gallia-belgica. To the west of it, on the other
side of another arm of the sea, is Ibernia or Ireland, and to the north
Orcadus[72]. Igbernia, Ibernia, Hibernia, or Ireland, _which we call
Scotland_, is surrounded on every side by the ocean; and because it is
nearer the setting sun, the weather is milder than it is in Britain. To the
north-west of Igbernia is the utmost land called _Thila_[73], which is
known to few, on account of its very great distance.
§ 14. Having mentioned the boundaries of Europe, I now proceed to state
those of Africa. Our ancestors considered this as a third part of the
world; not indeed that it contains so much land as the others, because the
Mediterranean cuts it, as it were, in two, breaking in more upon the south
part than on the north[74]. And because the heat is more intense in the
south, than the cold in the north, and because every _wight_ thrives
better in cold than in heat, therefore is Africa inferior to Europe, both
in the number of its people, and in the extent of its land[75]. The eastern
part of Africa, as I said before, begins in the west of Egypt, at the river
Nile, and the most eastern country of this continent is Lybia.
Ciramacia[76] is to the west of lower Egypt, having the Mediterranean on
the north, Libia Ethiopica to the south, and Syrtes Major to the west. To
the east of Libia Ethiopica is the farther Egypt, and the sea called
Ethiopicum[77]. To the west of Rogathitus[78] is the nation called
Tribulitania[79], and the nation called Syrtes Minores, to the north of
whom is that part of the Mediterranean called the Hadriatic. To the west
again of Bizantium, quite to the salt _mere_ of the Arzuges[80]; this
nation has to the east the Syrtes Majores, with the land of Rogathite; and
to the south the Natabres, Geothulas, and Garamantes[81], quite to the sea
of Bizantium. The sea ports of these nations are Adrumetis and Zuges, and
their largest town is Catharina. The country of Numidia has to the east the
Syrtes Minores and the salt _mere_ formerly mentioned, to the north
the Mediterranean, to the west Mauritania, and to the south the hills of
Uzera, and the mountains which extend to Ethiopia, one way, and the
Mauritanian sea on the other side. To the east is Numidia, to the north the
Mediterranean, to the west the river Malvarius, to the south Astryx, near
the mountains which divide the fruitful country from the wild and barren
sands which lie southwards towards the Mauritanian sea, by others called
the Tingitanean. To the east is the river Malon[82], to the north the hills
of Abbenas and Calpri. Another mountain also closes the end of the
Mediterranean sea, between the two hills to the west, where stand the
pillars of Ercoles or Hercules. To the west again is Mount Atlas, quite to
the sea; to the south the hills called AEsperos, and to the south again the
nation called Ausolum[83], which inhabits quite to the sea.
$ 15. Having thus stated the boundaries of Africa, we shall now speak of
the islands in the Mediterranean: Cyprus lies opposite to Cilicia, and
Isauria on that arm of the sea called Mesicos, being 170 miles long, and
122 miles broad. The island of Crete is opposite to the sea called
Artatium, northwest is the sea of Crete, and west is the Sicilian or
Adriatic sea. It is 100 miles long, and 150 miles broad. There are
fifty-three of the islands called the Cyclades. To the east of them is the
Risca Sea, to the south the Cretisca or Cretan, to the north the Egisca or
Egean, and to the west the Adriatic. The island of Sicily is triangular,
and at each end there are towns. The northern is Petores[84], near which is
the town of Messina; the south angle is Lilitem[85], near which is a town
of the same name. The island is 157 miles long from east to west, and 70
broad to the eastward. To the north-east is that part of the Mediterranean
called the Adriatic, to the south the Apiscan sea, to the west the Tyrrhene
sea, and to the north the [86] sea, all of which are narrow and liable to
storms. Opposite to Italy, a small arm of the sea divides Sardinia from
Corsica, which strait is twenty-two miles broad. To the east of it is that
part of the Mediterranean called the Tyrrhenian sea, into which the river
Tiber empties itself. To the south is the sea which lies opposite to
Numidia. To the west the Balearic islands, and to the north Corsica. The
island of Corsica lies directly west from the city of Rome. To the south of
Corsica is Sardinia, and Tuscany is to the north. It is sixteen miles long,
and nine broad[87]. Africa is to the south of the Balearic islands, Gades
to the west, and Spain to the north. Thus I have shortly described the
situation of the islands in the Mediterranean.
[1] Anglo-Saxon version from Orosius, by AElfred the Great, with an English
translation, by Daines Barrington, 8vo. London, 1773. Discoveries in
the North, 54.
[2] This word is always employed by Alfred to denote the ocean, while
smaller portions are uniformly called _sae_ in the singular,
_saes_ in the plural.--Barr
[3] Called Wenadel sea in the Anglo-Saxon original; probably because it
had been crossed by the Vandals or Wends, in going from Spain to the
conquest of Africa.--E.
[4] In the translation by Barrington, this sentence is quite
unintelligible. "All to the northward is Asia, and to the southward
Europe and Asia are separated by the Tanais; then south of this same
river (along the Mediterranean, and west of Alexandria) Europe and
Asia join."--E.
[5] Riffing, in the Anglo-Saxon.--E.
[6] Sermondisc in the Anglo-Saxon, Sarmaticus in Orosius.--E.
[7] Rochouasco in Anglo-Saxon, Roxolani in Orosius.--E.
[8] Certainly here put for Ireland.--E.
[9] Taprobana, Serendib, or Ceylon.--E.
[10] By the Red Sea must be here meant that which extends between the
peninsula of India and Africa, called the Erithrean Sea in the
Periplus of Nearchus.--E.
[11] The Persian gulf is here assumed as a part of the Red Sea.--E.
[12] He is here obviously enumerating the divisions of the latter Persian
empire. Orocassia is certainly the Arachosia of the ancients; Asilia
and Pasitha may be Assyria and proper Persia.--E.
[13] The Saxon word is _beorhta_ or bright, which I have ventured to
translate _parched by the sun_, as this signification agrees well
with the context.--Barr.
[14] The true Niger, running from the westwards till it loses itself in the
sands of Wangara, seems here alluded to; and the Bahr el Abiad, or
Western Nile, is supposed to be its continuation, rising again out of
the sand.--E.
[15] This ought certainly to be _after_, and seems to allude to the
Bahr el Abiad.--E.
[16] Literally _a great sea_.--Barr.
[17] This is a mistake, as it only takes a wide turn to the west in
Dongola, around what has been falsely called the Isle of Meroe. The
cliffs of the Red Sea seem to imply the mountains of Nubia, and the
wide sea may be the lake of Dembea.--E.
[18] A strange attempt to account for the regular overflow of the Nile.--E.
[19] This account of the boundaries of Old Scythia is extremely vague. It
seems to imply an eastern boundary by an imaginary river Bore, that
the Caspian is the western, the northern ocean on the north, and Mount
Caucasus on the south.--E.
[20] In the translation by Barrington, this portion of Scythia is strangely
said to extend south to the Mediterranean; the interpolation surely of
some ignorant transcriber, who perhaps changed the Euxine or Caspian
sea into the Mediterranean.--E.
[21] Called by mistake, or erroneous transcription, Wendel sea, or
Mediterranean in the text and translation.--E.
[22] The Cwen sea is the White sea, or sea of Archangel. The Kwen or Cwen
nation, was that now called Finlanders, from whom that sea received
this ancient appellation.--Forst.
[23] East Francan in the original. The eastern Franks dwelt in that part of
Germany between the Rhine and the Sala, in the north reaching to the
Ruhre and Cassel, and in the south, almost to the Necker; according to
Eginhard, inhabiting from Saxony to the Danube. They were called east
Franks to distinguish them from that other part of the nation which
inhabited ancient Gaul, and Franconia continues to preserve their
name.--Forst.
[24] Swaepas, or Suevae, who formed part of the Allemanic confederacy, and
afterwards gave their name of Swabes to an extensive nation, in whose
bounds modern Swabia is still situated.--Forst.
[25] The Bavarians, who were the remnant of the Boii or Baeghten, who
escaped from the exterminating sword of the Suevi.--Forst.
[26] This may have been the province in which Regens-bergh or Ratisbon is
still situated.--Forst.
[27] These were undoubtedly the Bohemians, called afterwards Behemas by our
royal geographer. They had their appellation from Boier-heim, or the
dwelling place of the Boii, who were exterminated by the Suevi.
--Forst.
[28] The Thuringians, at one time so powerful, that their king was able to
engage in war against the king of the Franks. Thuringia is still a
well known district in Germany.--Forst.
[29] The Old Saxons inhabited the country still called Old Sassen, or Old
Saxony, Halsatia in Latin, which has degenerated into Holstein.
--Forst.
[30] These Frysae were afterwards confined by Charlemain to the country
between the Weser and Elbe, to which they gave the name of Friesland.
--Forst.
[31] That is to the north-east of Old Saxony, where the Angles,
confederates of the Saxon conquerors of Britain, and who gave their
name to the English nation, and England or Angle-land, formerly
resided. But they likewise appear to have occupied some of the islands
in the Baltic. Sillend is certainly the Danish island of Zeeland. Dene
is Denmark in its most limited sense.--Forst.
[32] These are the Obotrites, a Venedic nation, settled in Mecklenburgh,
who are called, a little farther on, the _Afdrede_. They were
not, however, to the north-east of Old Saxony, but rather to the
eastwards. Perhaps the copyist inserted north instead of east, or
rather we ought to read thus: "To the north-east is Apdrede, and to
the north the Wolds."--Forst.
[33] The word here translated _Wolds_ on the authority of Daines
Barrington, is in the original, _Wylte_; but whether it refers to
the _wild_ or barren state of the country, or the name of a
people, it is difficult to say. There were a people named Wilzi in
those parts, but J. R. Forster is disposed to believe, that Alfred
refers here to the Wends or Vandals, who lived on the Havel, and were
called Hevelli. But if they are meant, we must correct the text from
north-east to south-east, for such is the situation of Havel-land,
with respect to Old Saxony.--Forst.
[34] AEfeldan are, as King Alfred calls them, Wolds or Wilds; as there
still are in the middle of Jutland, large high moors, covered only
with heath.--Forst.
[35] Wineda-land, the land of the Wends, Vandals, or Wendian Scalvi in
Mecklenburg and Pomerania; so called from _Wanda_ or _Woda_,
signifying the sea or water. They were likewise called Pomeranians for
the same reason, from _po moriu_, or the people by the sea side.
--Forst.
[36] In this Alfred seems to have committed a mistake, or to have made too
great a leap. There is a Syssel, however, in the country of the Wends,
on the Baltic, which connects them with the Moravians, or rather with
the Delamensan, of whom mention is made afterwards.--Forst.
[57] The Moravians, so called from the river Morava, at that time a
powerful kingdom, governed by Swatopluk, and of much greater extent
than modern Moravia.--Forst.
[38] Carendre must be Carinthia, or the country of the Carenders or
Centani, which then included Austria and Styria.--Forst.
[39] Barrington has erroneously translated this, "to the eastward of
Carendre country, and beyond the _west_ part is Bulgaria." But in
the original Anglo-Saxon, it is _beyond the wastes_, or desert,
which had been occasioned by the devastations of Charlemain in the
country of the Avari.--Forst.
[40] This is the extensive kingdom of Bulgaria of these times, comprising
modern Bulgaria and Wallachia, with part of Moldavia and Bessarabia.
The Bulgarians were probably a Turkish tribe, dwelling beyond the
Wolga, in the country now called Casan, deriving their name from
Bolgar, their capital.--Forst.
Forster ought to have added, that the latter country was long called
_greater_ Bulgaria, and the former, or the Pulgara-land of the text,
_lesser_ Bulgaria.--E.
[41] The Greek empire of Constantinople.--E.
[42] The country on the Wisle or Vistula, being great and little Poland.
--Forst.
[43] These for some time inhabited Dacia, and, being famous in history,
Alfred was willing at least to mention one of their residences.
--Forst.
[44] The Delamensen, or Daleminzen of the middle age writers, sometimes
called Dalmatians by mistake, or to shew their erudition, were
situated near Lommatsch, or around Meissen or Misnia, on both sides of
the Elbe.--Forst.
[45] These must have been a Scalvonian people or tribe, now unknown, and
perhaps inhabited near Gorlitz, or near Quarlitz, not far from great
Glogau--Forst.
[46] The Sorbi, Sirbi, and Serbii, of old writers, are the Sorbian
Sclavons; and the modern Wends or Vandals of Lusatia, still call
themselves Sserbs or Ssorbs.--Forst.
[47] These must have been another tribe of Sclavons about Seuselig, to the
westward of the Sorbs of lower Lusatia.--Forst.
[48] Perhaps the duchy of Mazovia, called Magaw or Mazaw-land in ancient
writers. Or perhaps it is wrong spelt for _Wastaland_ or the
Waste.--Forst.
[49] Sermende is the mutilated and disguised name of Sarmatia, which did
not exist under that name in the time of Alfred, but which he inserted
on the authority of his original author Orosius.--Forst.
[50] A mere corruption of the montes Riphaei or Riphean mountains of
Orosius; and Alfred seems here to have got beyond his knowledge,
copying merely from Orosius.--Forst.
[51] The Ost sea of Alfred comprehends what are now called the Scaggerrack,
Catte-gatt, the Sound, the two Belts, and the Baltic, which our
mariners still call the East Sea.--Forst.
[52] That is, both inhabiting North Jutland and the islands of Funen,
Zeeland, Langland, Laland, and Falster.--Forst.
[53] Formerly called Apdrede, and explained to be the Obotrites.--E.
[54] Alluding, doubtless, to the country from whence the Saxons who
inhabited England had come of old.--E.
[55] This is the same nation called Estum in the voyage of Wulfstan, who
lived east of the mouth of the Wisle or Vistula, along the Baltic, and
who are mentioned by Tacitus under the name of Estii. When the
Hanseatic league existed, they were called Osterlings or Easterlings,
or Ost-men, and their country Est-land, Ostland, or Eastland, which
still adheres to the northernmost part of Livonia, now called
Est-land.--Forst.
[56] The Burgendas certainly inhabited the island of Born-holm, called from
them Borgenda-holm, or island of the Borgendas, gradually corrupted to
Borgend-holm, Bergen-holm, Born-holm. In the voyage of Wulfstan they
are plainly described as occupying this situation.--Forst.
[57] Called formerly AEfelden, a nation who lived on the Havel, and were,
therefore, named Hevelli or Haeveldi, and were a Wendick or Vandal
tribe.--Forst.
[58] These are the Sviones of Tacitus. Jornandes calls them Swethans, and
they are certainly the ancestors of the Swedes.--Forst.
[59] This short passage in the original Anglo-Saxon is entirely omitted by
Barrington. Though Forster has inserted these Surfe in his map,
somewhere about the duchy of Magdeburg, he gives no explanation or
illustration of them in his numerous and learned notes on our royal
geographer.--E.
[60] Already explained to be Finland on the White sea.--E.
[61] This is the same nation with the Finnas or Laplanders, mentioned in
the voyage of Ohthere, so named because using _scriden_,
schreiten, or snowshoes. The Finnas or Laplanders were distinguished
by the geographer of Ravenna into Scerde-fenos, and Rede-fenos, the
Scride-finnas, and Ter-finnas of Alfred. So late as 1556, Richard
Johnson, Hakluyt, ed. 1809. I. 316. mentions the Scrick-finnes as a
wild people near Wardhus.--E.
[62] The North-men or Normans, are the Norwegians or inhabitants of
Nor-land, Nord-land, or North-mana-land.--E.
[63] At this place Alfred introduces the voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan,
already given separately, in Sect. ii. and iii, of this chapter.--E.
[64] Either the original or the translation is here erroneous; it ought to
run thus: "The Propontis is _westward_ of Constantinople; to the
north-east of that city, the arm of the sea issues from the Euxine,
and flows _south-west_; to the _north_ the mouths of the
Danube empty themselves into the _north-west_ parts of the
Euxine."--E.
[65] Carinthia. The desert has been formerly mentioned as occasioned by the
almost utter extirpation of the Avari by Charlemain, and was
afterwards occupied by the Madschiari or Magiars, the ancestors of the
present Hungarians.--Forst.
[66] Very considerable freedoms have been taken with this sentence; as in
Barrington's translation it is quite unintelligible.--E.
[67] Profent and Profent sea, from the Provincia Gallica, now Provence.
--Forst.
[68] Probably in relation to Rome, the residence of Orosius.--E.
[69] Gascony, called Wascan in the Teutonic or Saxon orthography and
pronunciation. Thus the Saxons changed Gauls to Wales, and the Gauls
changed War-men into Guer-men, hence our modern English, Germans.
--Forst.
[70] Scotland is here assuredly used to denote Ireland.--E.
[71] Probably in relation to Rome, the residence of Orosius.--E.
[72] Alfred includes the whole island, now called Great Britain, under one
denomination of Brittannia, taking no notice whatever of any of its
divisions. Orcadus is unquestionably Orcades, or the islands of Orkney
and Shetland.--E.
[73] The Thila or Thule of Alfred, from its direction in respect of
Ireland, and its great distance, is obviously Iceland.--E.
[74] This seems to have some obscure reference to an idea, that the sea had
disjoined Europe and Africa. But the sense is extremely perplexed and
even unintelligible.--E.
[75] It must be noticed, that Alfred was unacquainted with any more of
Africa than its northern coast, along the Mediterranean, which
explains this erroneous idea of its size being inferior to Europe.--E.
[76] Syrenaica.--E.
[77] The Red Sea, or Ethiopic Gulf. In this part of the geography of
Alfred, his translator has left the sense often obscure or
contradictory, especially in the directions, which, in this version,
have been attempted to be corrected. This may have been owing to
errors in the Anglo-Saxon MS. which Barrington professes to have
translated literally, and he disclaims any responsibility for the
errors of his author.--E.
[78] Probably some corruption of Syrtes Majores, or of Syrenaica.--E.
[79] Tripolitana, now Tripoli.--E.
[80] I can make nothing of this salt lake of the Arzuges, unless it be the
lake of Lawdeah, between Tunis and Tripoli. The Getulians and
Garamantes are well known ancient inhabitants of the interior of
northern Africa; the Natabres are unknown.--E.
[81] The Garamantes are a well known people of the interior of Africa, in
ancient geography; of the Natabres I can make nothing; the Geothulas
are evidently the Getulians.--E.
[82] Probably the same called just before the Malvarius, and now the Malul.
But the geographical description of Africa by Alfred, is so desultory
and unarranged as to defy criticism.--E.
[83] Alfred may possibly have heard of the Monselmines who inhabit the
north-western extremity of the Sahara, or great African desert, and
extend to the Atlantic.--E
[84] Faro.
[85] Lillibeum.
[86] The name of this sea is omitted in the MS.--Barr.
[87] These measures are incorrigibly erroneous, or must have been
transposed from some other place, having no possible reference to
Corsica.--E.
* * * * *
Note.--The subsequent sections of this chapter, although not of much
importance in themselves, and some of them possessing rather doubtful
authenticity, are inserted in this place on the authority of Hakluyt. In an
English general collection of voyages and travels, it would have been
improper to have omitted these early specimens, some of which are
considerably interesting and curious. In some measure these sections do not
strictly belong to the present chapter, as limited to the reign of Alfred,
and the ninth century; but as they contain isolated circumstances, which do
not otherwise properly arrange themselves into the order of our plan, they
may be considered as forming a kind of appendix to the era of Alfred. The
number of these might have been considerably increased from different
sources, chiefly from Hakluyt, who collected them from the ancient
historians; but as they contain hardly any information, except historical,
which does not enter into our plan, the selection here given has been
deemed quite sufficient for this work.
SECTION VII
_The Travels of Andrew Leucander, or Whiteman, in the Eleventh Century_[1].
Andrew Leucander, or Whiteman, as his Latinized name is explained by Leland
the antiquary, was an English monk, and third abbot of the monastery of
Ramsay, who was much addicted to the study of the liberal sciences,
devoting incredible exertions, both by day and night, to their cultivation,
in which he profited exceedingly. Having a most ardent desire to visit
those places where Christ our Saviour had perfected all the mysteries of
our redemption, of which he only knew the names in the course of studying
the Scriptures, he went from England to the holy city of Jerusalem, where
he visited all the places which had been illustrated by the miracles,
preaching, and passion of Christ; and on his return to the monastery he was
elected abbot. He flourished in the year of our redemption, 1020, under
Canute the Dane.
[1] Hakluyt, II. 39.
SECTION VIII.
_The Voyage of Swanus to Jerusalem in 1052_[1].
Swanus or Sweno, one of the sons of Earl Godwin, being of a perverse
disposition, and faithless to the king, often quarrelled with his father
and his brother Harold; and, becoming a pirate, he disgraced the virtues of
his ancestors, by his robberies on the seas. At length, being guilty of the
murder of his kinsman Bruno, and, as some report, of his own brother, he
made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; and on his return towards England, he was
intercepted by the Saracens, by whom he was slain.
SECTION IX.
_A Voyage of three Ambassadors from England to Constantinople and the
East, about the year 1056_[2].
Upon the holy festival of Easter, King Edward the Confessor, wearing his
royal crown, sat at dinner in his palace of Westminster, surrounded by many
of his nobles. While others, after the long abstinence of the lent season,
refreshed themselves with dainty viands, on which they fed with much
earnestness, he, raising his mind above earthly enjoyments, and meditating
on divine things, broke out into excessive laughter, to the great
astonishment of his guests. But no one presuming to inquire into the cause
of his mirth, all kept silence till dinner was ended. After dinner, when
the king had retired to his bed-chamber, to divest himself of his robes,
three of his nobles, Earl Harold, an abbot, and a bishop, who were more
familiar with him than any of the other courtiers, followed him into the
chamber, and boldly asked the reason of his mirth, as it had appeared
strange to the whole court that his majesty should break out into unseemly
laughter on so solemn a day, while all others were silent. "I saw," said
he, "most wonderful things, and therefore did I not laugh without cause."
And they, as is customary with all men, became therefore the more anxious
to learn the occasion of his mirth, and humbly beseeched him to impart the
reason to them. After musing for some time, he at length informed them,
that seven sleepers had rested during two hundred years on Mount Ceelius,
lying always hitherto on their right sides; but that, in the very moment of
his laughter, they had turned themselves over to their left sides, in which
posture they should continue asleep for other seventy-four years, being a
dire omen of future misery to mankind. For all those things which our
Saviour had foretold to his disciples, that were to be fulfilled about the
end of the world, should come to pass within those seventy-four years. That
nation should rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and
there would be in many places earthquakes, pestilence, and famine, and
terrible apparitions in the heavens, and great signs, with great
alterations of dominion; wars of the infidels against the Christians, and
victories gained by the Christians over the unbelievers. And, as they
wondered at these things, the king explained to them the passion of the
seven sleepers, with the shape and proportion of each of their bodies,
which wonderful things no man had hitherto committed to writing; and all
this in so plain and distinct a manner, as if he had always dwelt along
with them.
In consequence of this discourse, the earl sent a knight, the bishop a
clerk, and the abbot a monk, as ambassadors to Maniches the emperor of
Constantinople, carrying letters and presents from the king. The emperor
received them very graciously; and after a friendly entertainment, sent
them to the bishop of Ephesus with letters, which they name sacred,
commanding him to admit the English ambassadors to see the seven sleepers.
And it came to pass, that the prophetic vision of King Edward was approved
by all the Greeks, who protested that they were assured by their fathers,
that the seven sleepers had always before that time reposed on their right
sides; but, upon the entry of the Englishmen into the cave where they lay,
their bodies confirmed the truth of the foreign vision and prophecy to
their countrymen. Neither were the calamities long delayed, which had been
foretold by the king. For the Agareni, Arabians, and Turks, enemies of the
people of Christ, invading the country of the Christians, spoiled and
destroyed many cities of Syria, Lycia, and the lesser and greater Asias,
and, among the rest, depopulated Ephesus, and even the holy city of
Jerusalem.
[1] Hakluyt, II. 39. Malmsb. Lib. II. ch. xiii.
[2] Hakluyt, II, 40. Malmsb II. xiii.
SECTION X.
_Pilgrimage of Alured, Bishop of Worcester, to Jerusalem, in_ 1058[1].
In the year of our Lord 1058, Alured, bishop of Worcester, dedicated, with
much solemnity, to the honour of St Peter, the prince of the apostles, a
church which he had built and endowed in the city of Gloucester; and
afterwards having received the royal licence, he ordained Wolstan, a monk
of Worcester, to be abbot of this new church. He then left the bishoprick
which had been committed to his government, resigning the same to Herman,
and, crossing the seas, travelled in pilgrimage through Hungary and other
countries, to Jerusalem.
[1] Hakluyt, II. 41. R. Hoveden, fo, 255. line l5.
SECTION XI.
_Pilgrimage of Ingulphus Abbot of Croyland, to Jerusalem, in 1064_[1].
I, Ingulphus, an humble minister of St Guthlae, in his monastery of
Croyland, born of English parents, in the most beautiful city of London,
was, in, my early youth, placed for my education first at Westminster, and
afterwards prosecuted my studies at Oxford. Having excelled many of my
fellow students in learning Aristotle, I entered upon the study of the
first and second rhetoric of Tully. As I grew up towards manhood, I
disdained the low estate of my parents, and quitting the dwelling of my
father, I much affected to visit the courts of kings, delighting in fine
garments and costly attire, And behold William, now our renewed sovereign,
then only Earl of Normandy, came, with a splendid retinue to London, to
confer with King Edward his kinsman. Intruding myself into his company, I
proffered my services for the performance of any speedy or important
affairs; and accordingly having executed many commissions with good
success, I became known to and much beloved by the illustrious earl, and
sailed with him to Normandy. Being there appointed his secretary, I
governed his court at my pleasure, though envied by several, abasing whom I
thought fit, and preferring others at my will. But, prompted by youthful
pride, I began even to be wearied of this place, in which I was advanced so
far beyond my birth; and, with an inconstant and over-ambitious mind, I
vehemently aspired, on all occasions, to climb to higher elevation.
About this time there spread a report through Normandy, that several
archbishops of the empire, and some even of the secular princes, were
desirous, for the salvation of their souls, to go in pilgrimage to
Jerusalem, there to pay their devotions at the Holy Sepulchre. Upon this,
several of us, who were of the household of our lord, the earl, both
gentlemen and clerks, of whom I was the principal person, having received
permission from the earl, addressed ourselves for the voyage; and, being
together thirty horsemen or more, in company, we went into Germany, and
joined ourselves to the Archbishop of Mentz. The whole being assembled, the
company of this archbishop amounted to seven thousand persons, all properly
provided for the expedition; and we travelled prosperously through many
provinces, arriving at length at the city of Constantinople. We there did
reverence to the Emperor Alexius, visited the church, of Sancta Sophia, and
devoutly kissed many sacred relics.
Departing from Constantinople, we travelled through Lycia, where we fell
into the hands of Arabian thieves; and after we had been robbed of infinite
sums of money, and had lost many of our people, we escaped with extreme
peril of our lives, and at length entered joyfully into the most anxiously
wished-for city of Jerusalem. We were there received by the most reverend,
aged, and holy patriarch Sophronius, with a great melody of cymbals by
torch-light, and were conveyed in solemn procession, by a great company of
Syrians and Latins, to the church of the Most Holy Sepulchre of our blessed
Saviour. Here, how many prayers we uttered, what abundance of tears we
shed, what deep sighs we breathed forth, is only known to our Lord Jesus
Christ. From the most glorious sepulchre of Christ, we were conducted to
visit the other sacred monuments of the holy city; and saw, with weeping
eyes, a great number of holy churches and oratories, which Achius the
Soldan of Egypt had lately destroyed. And, having deeply bewailed all the
ruins of that most holy city, both within and without its walls, and having
bestowed money for the re-edifying of some of these, we expressed the most
ardent desire to go forth into the country, that we might wash ourselves in
the sacred river Jordan, and that we might visit and kiss all the holy
footsteps of the blessed Redeemer. But the Arabian robbers, who lurked in
every part of the country, would not suffer us to travel far from the city,
on account of their numbers and savage manners.
About the spring of the year, there arrived a fleet of ships from, Genoa,
at the port of Joppa; and when the Christian merchants had exchanged all
their commodities in the towns upon the coast, and had likewise visited the
holy places, we all embarked. After being tossed about upon the seas by
many storms and tempests, we landed at Brundusium; whence, with a
prosperous journey, we travelled through Apulia to Rome, where we visited
the habitations of the holy apostles St Peter and St Paul, and performed
our devotions at various monuments of the holy, martyrs in different parts
of the city. From thence, the archbishops and other princes of the empire
Journeyed towards the right hand for Germany, while we declined to the left
hand into France, taking our leaves of each other with indescribable
courtesey and kindly greeting. And at length, of thirty horsemen of us who
went from Normandy fat and lusty, scarce twenty poor pilgrims returned, all
on foot, and reduced almost to skeletons with fatigue and hardships.
[1] Hakluyt, II. 41. Ingulph. Ab. Croyl. apud finem.
CHAP. II.
_Original Discovery of Greenland by the Icelanders_.[1]
Although the discoveries contained in this and the next subsequent chapter
were certainty preceded, in point of time, by the voyages of the two
Mahomedans, in Chap. IV. and the insertion of these two chapters, II. and
III. in this place may therefore be considered as a deviation from the
chronological order of our plan; it seemed proper and even necessary, that
they should be both introduced here, as presenting an unbroken series of
the discoveries of the Norwegians, and as fully authorized by the
geographical principles of our arrangement.
Among the many petty sovereigns, vikingr or chieftans of Norway, who had
been reduced to subjection by Harold Harfagr, or the fair-haired, was one
named Thorer. Thorwald, the relative of this person, had lived at the court
of Earl Hayne, whence he had been obliged to fly, on account of having
committed a murder, and went to Iceland, where he settled a considerable
track of country with a new colony. Eric-raude, or red-head, the son of
Thorwald, was long persecuted by a powerful neighbour named Eyolf Saur,
because Eric had killed some of Eyolf's servants; and at length Eric killed
Eyolf likewise. For this and other crimes he was condemned to go into
banishment for three years; and knowing that a man named Gunbiorn had
previously discovered certain banks to the west of Iceland, named from him
Gunbiorn's Schieran, or Gunbar banks, and likewise a country of
considerable extent still farther to the westwards, he determined on making
a voyage of discovery to that country. Setting sail therefore from Iceland,
he soon fell in with a point of land called Hirjalfs-ness; and continuing
his voyage to the south-west he entered a large inlet, to which he gave the
name of Erics-sound, and passed the winter on a pleasant island in that
neighbourhood. In the following year he explored the continent; and
returning to Iceland in the third year, he represented his new discovery in
the fairest light, bestowing lavish praises on the rich meadows, fine
woods, and plentiful fisheries of the country, which he called Greenland,
that he might induce a considerable number of people to join with him in
colonizing this new country. Accordingly, there set out for this place
twenty-five vessels, carrying people of both sexes, household furniture,
implements of all kinds, and cattle for breeding, of which only fourteen
vessels arrived in safety. These first colonists were soon followed by many
more, both from Iceland and Norway; and in a few years their number is said
to have increased so much, as to occupy both the eastern and western coasts
of Greenland.
This is the ordinary and best authenticated account of the discovery and
settlement of _Old_ Greenland, which rests on the credit of the great
northern historian, Snorro Sturleson, judge of Iceland, who wrote in the
year 1215. Yet others assert that Greenland had been known long before, and
ground their assertion on letters-patent from the Emperor Lewis the Pious
in 834, and a bull of Gregory IV. in 835, in which permission is given to
Archbishop Ansgar to convert the Sueones, Danes, Sclavonians; and it is
added, the Norwaehers, Farriers, Greenlanders, Halsingalanders, Icelanders,
and Scridevinds. Even allowing both charter and bull to be genuine, it is
probable that the copy which has come down to our time is interpolated, and
that for Gronlandon and Islandon, we ought to read Quenlandon and
Hitlandon, meaning the Finlanders and Hitlanders: Quenland being the old
name of Finland, and Hitland or Hialtaland the Norwegian name of the
Shetland islands. It is even not improbable that all the names in these
ancient deeds after the Sueones, Danes, and Sclavonians, had been
interpolated in a later period; as St Rembert, the immediate successor of
Ansgar, and who wrote his life, only mentions the Sueones, Danes, and
Sclavonians, together with other nations in the north; and even Adam of
Bremen only mentions these three, and other neighbouring and surrounding
nations[2]. Hence the authority of St Rembert and Snorro Sturleson remains
firm and unshaken, in spite of these falsified copies of the papal bull and
imperial patent; and we may rest assured that Iceland was not discovered
before 861, nor inhabited before 874; and that Greenland could hardly have
been discovered previous to 982, or 983, and was not inhabited before 985
or 986.--_Forst_.
[1] Forster, Voy. and Disc. 79.
[2] Vit. S. Anscharii, ap. Langeb. Script. Dan. I. 451. Ad.
Brem. Hist. Eccles. Lib. I. cap. 17.
CHAP. III.
_Early Discovery of Winland by the Icelanders, about A.D. 1001_.[1]
The passion which the Nordmen or Normans had always manifested for maritime
expeditions, still prevailed among them in the cold and inhospitable
regions of Iceland and Greenland. An Icelander, named Herjolf, was
accustomed to make a trading voyage every year to different countries, in
which latterly he was accompanied by his son, Biorn. About the year 1001,
their ships were separated by a storm, and Biorn learned on his arrival in
Norway that his father had sailed for Greenland, to which place he resolved
to follow his father; but another storm drove him a great way to the
south-west of his intended course, and he fell in with an extensive flat
country covered all over with thick woods; and just as he set out on his
return, he discovered an island on the coast. He made no stay at either of
these places; but the wind being now fallen, he made all the haste he could
to return by a north-east course to Greenland, where he reported the
discovery which he had made.
Lief, the son of Eric-raude, who inherited from his father an inordinate
desire of distinguishing himself by making discoveries and planting
colonies, immediately fitted out a vessel carrying thirty-five men; and
taking Biorn along with him, set sail in quest of this newly discovered
country. The first land discovered in this voyage was barren and rocky, on
which account Lief gave it the name of Helleland, or Rockland. Proceeding
farther, they came to a low coast having a sandy soil, which was overgrown
with wood, for which reason it was called Mark-land, or the Woody-land. Two
days after this they again saw land, having an island lying opposite to its
northern coast; and on the mainland they discovered the mouth of a river,
up which they sailed. The bushes on the banks of this river bore sweet
berries; the temperature of the air was mild, the soil fertile[2], and the
river abounded in fish, particularly in excellent salmon. Continuing to
sail up the river, they came to a lake, out of which the river took its
rise; and here they passed the winter. In the shortest day of winter, the
sun remained eight hours above the horizon; and consequently the longest
day, exclusive of the dawn and twilight, must have been sixteen hours. From
this circumstance it follows, that the place in which they were was in
about 49° of north latitude; and as they arrived by a south-westerly course
from Old Greenland, after having cleared Cape Farewell, it must either have
been the river Gander or the Bay of Exploits, in the island now called
Newfoundland. It could not be on the northern coast of the Gulf of St
Lawrence; as in that case, they must have navigated through the straits of
Belleisle, which could not have escaped their notice. In this place they
erected several huts for their accommodation during winter; and they one
day found in the thickets a German named Tyrker, one of their own people,
who had wandered among the woods and been missing for some time. While
absent, he had subsisted upon wild grapes, from which he told them that in
his country they used to make wine; and from this circumstance Lief called
the country _Winland det gode_, or Wine-land the good[3].
In the following spring they returned to Greenland; and Thorwald, Lief's
maternal grandfather, made a trip with the same crew that had attended his
grandson, in order to make farther advances in this new discovery; and it
is not at all to be wondered at, if people of every rank were eager to
discover a better habitation than the miserable coast of Greenland, and the
little less dreary island of Iceland. In this voyage the coast of the newly
discovered land was examined towards the west, or rather the north-west.
Next summer Lief sailed again to Winland, and explored the coast to the
east or south-east. The coast was so much covered with wood and beset with
islands, that they could not perceive a human creature, or animals of any
kind. In the third summer they examined the islands on the coast of
Winland, and so damaged their ship that they found it necessary to build a
new one, laying up their old vessel on a promontory, to which they gave the
name of Kiaeler-ness. In their new vessel they proceeded to examine the
eastern or south-eastern shore of Winland, and in their progress they fell
in with three boats covered with hides, having three men in each. These
they seized, but one man found means to escape from them, and they wantonly
butchered all the rest. Soon after this they were attacked by a great
number of the natives, armed with bows and arrows, from which they screened
themselves in their ship with a fence of planks; and they defended
themselves with so much spirit that their enemies were forced to retire,
after giving them battle for an hour. Thorwald received a severe wound from
an arrow in this skirmish, of which he died; and over his grave, on a cape
or promontory, two crosses were erected at his request; from which the cape
was called Krossa-ness, or Cross Point.
To the natives of Winland, the Icelanders gave the name of Skraellinger,
signifying cuttings or dwarfs, on account of their being of very low
stature. These were probably the ancestors of the present Eskimaux, who are
the same people with the Greenlanders, and are called Eskimantsik in the
language of the Abenaki, on account of their eating raw fish; in the same
manner as the Russians, in their official state papers, call the Samojeds
Sirojed'zi, because they also eat raw and frozen fish and flesh.
In the same year Thorstein, the third son of Eric-raude, set sail for
Winland, taking with him his wife, Gudridthe daughter of Thorbern, with his
children and servants, amounting in all to twenty-five persons; but they
were forced by a storm on the western coast of Greenland, where they were
obliged to spend the winter, and where Thorstein died, with a large
proportion of his retinue, probably of the scurvy. Next spring Gudrid took
the dead body of her husband home; and Thorfin, surnamed Kallsefner, an
Icelander of some consequence, descended from King Regner-Lodbrok, married
the widow of Thorstein, from which he considered himself entitled to the
possession of the newly discovered country. He accordingly sailed for
Winland with a vast quantity of household furniture, implements of all
kinds, and several cattle, and accompanied by sixty-five men and five
women, with whom he began to establish a regular colony. He was immediately
visited by the Skraellingers, who bartered with him, giving the most
valuable furs for such wares as the Icelanders had to give in exchange. The
natives would willingly have purchased the weapons of the Icelanders, but
this was expressly and judiciously forbidden by Thorfin. Yet one of them
found means to steal a battle-ax, of which he immediately made a trial on
one of his countrymen, whom he killed with one blow; on which a third
person seized the mischievous weapon and threw it into the sea. During a
stay of three years, Thorfin acquired a large stock of rich furs and other
merchandize, with which he returned to Greenland; and at length removing to
Iceland, he purchased an estate in the northern part of Syssel, and built a
very elegant house which he called Glaumba. After his death, his widow
Gudrid made a pilgrimage to Rome, whence she returned, and ended her days
in a nunnery in Iceland, which was built for her by her son Snorro, who was
born in Winland.
Sometime afterwards, Finbog and Helgo, two Icelanders, fitted out two
ships, carrying thirty men, with which they made a voyage to Winland. In
this expedition they were accompanied by Freidis, the daughter of
Eric-raude; but by the turbulence of her disposition, she occasioned many
divisions and quarrels in the infant colony, in one of which Finbog and
Helgo were both killed, together with thirty of their followers. Upon this
Freidis returned to Greenland, where she lived for some time universally
detested and despised, and died in the utmost misery. The remaining
colonists were dispersed, and nothing farther that can be depended on
remains on record concerning them. Even the Icelandic colony in Greenland
has disappeared, and the eastern coast, on which especially it was settled,
has become long inaccessible, in consequence of the immense accumulation of
ice in the straits between it and Iceland. To this it may be added, that,
in the beginning of the fifteenth century, a prodigious number of people
were carried off in Norway and Iceland by a disease or pestilence called
the _Black Death_; probably the scurvy in its worst state, occasioned by a
succession of inclement seasons and extreme scarcity, impelling the
famished people to satisfy the craving of hunger upon unwholesome food.
Deprived of all assistance from Iceland and Norway, the colonists of
Greenland and Winland were in all probability extirpated by the continual
hostilities of the Skraellingers, or Eskimaux; and the fabulous idea of any
remnant of those in Winland having still an existence in the interior of
Newfoundland, is entirely unworthy of any consideration.
[1] Forster, Hist. of Disc. in the North, 82.
[2] Every quality must be judged of by comparison; and, contrasted
with the inhospitable regions of Iceland and Greenland, in lat. 65°,
this country, which was as far south as even beyond the south of
England, must have appeared admirable.--E.
[3] It is true that grapes grow wild in Canada which are very good
to eat, yet no one has ever been able to make good wine from their
juice. Whether these wild grapes are found in Newfoundland I know not.
The species of vines which grow in North America, are named by
Linnaeus, Vitis labrusca, vulpina, and arborea.--Forst.
The propriety of the names imposed by the Norwegians on their new
discoveries is admirable. Iceland, Greenland, Helleland, Markland,
Winland, and many others; which are perfectly philosophical,
excellently systematic, and infinitely preferable to the modern clumsy
appellations, New Britain, New France, New England, New Holland,
Sandwich Islands, Society islands, and a multitude of much worse
names.--E.
CHAP. IV.
_Travels of two Mahomedans in India and China, in the Ninth Century._[1]
INTRODUCTION.
This curious remnant of antiquity was translated from the Arabic, and
published in 1718, by Eusebius Renaudot, a learned Member of the French
Academy, and of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres. It is not
known by whom the travels were actually performed, neither can their exact
date be ascertained, as the commencement of the MS. which was translated by
Renaudot was imperfect; but it appears to have been written in the 237th
year of the Hegira, or in the year 851 of the Christian era. Though
entitled the travels of _two_ Mahomedans, the travels seem to have been
mostly performed by one person only; the latter portion being chiefly a
commentary upon the former, and appears to have been the work of one Abu
Zeid al Hasan of Siraf, and to have been written about the 803d year of the
Hegira, or A.D. 915. In this commentary, indeed, some report is given of
the travels of another Mahomedan into China. The MS. employed by Renaudot
belonged to the library of the Count de Seignelay, and appears to have been
written in the year 619 of the Hegira, or A.D. 1173. The great value of
this work is, that it contains the very earliest account of China, penned
above four hundred years earlier than the travels of Marco Polo, who was
esteemed the first author on the subject before this publication appeared.
There are many curious and remarkable passages in these travels, which
convey information respecting customs and events that are nowhere else to
be found; and though some of these carry a fabulous appearance, the
greatest part of them have been confirmed and justified by the best writers
in succeeding ages. The first portion, or the actual narrative, begins
abruptly, on account of some portion of the original manuscript being lost,
which would probably have given the name and country of the author, and the
date and occasion of his voyage.
In the accompanying commentary by Abu Zeid, we are informed that the date
of the narrative was of the Hegira 237, A.D. 851, which circumstance was
probably contained in the missing part of the manuscript; but though
written then, it is probable that the first journey of the author was
undertaken at least twenty years before that date, or in 831, as he
observes, that he made a second journey into the same countries sixteen
years afterwards, and we may allow four years for the time spent in the two
journies, and the intervening space, besides the delay of composition after
his last return. Though not mentioned, it is probable his travels were
undertaken for the purpose of trade, as we can hardly suppose him to have
twice visited those distant countries merely for the satisfaction of
curiosity.
With regard to the second treatise or commentary, it seems probable, that
when the affairs of China became better known, some prince or person of
distinction had desired Abu Zeid to examine the former relation, and to
inform him how far the facts of the original work were confirmed by
succeeding accounts. The date of the commentary is not certainly
ascertainable; yet it appears, that Eben Wahab travelled into China A.H.
285. A.D. 898, and that Abu Zeid had conversed with this man after his
return, and had received from him the facts which are inserted in his
discourse, which therefore is probably only sixty or seventy years
posterior to the actual treatise of the nameless traveller.
[1] Translation from Renaudot, 8vo. Lond. 1733. See likewise Harris, I.
522.
SECTION I.
_Original Account of India and China, by a Mahomedan Traveller of the Ninth
Century_.
The _third_ of the seas we have to mention is that of Herkend[1]. Between
this sea and that of Delarowi there are many islands, said to be in number
1900, which divide those two seas from each other[2], and are governed by a
queen[3]. Among these islands they find ambergris in lumps of extraordinary
bigness, and also in smaller pieces, which resemble plants torn up. This
amber is produced at the bottom of the sea, in the same manner as plants
are produced upon the earth; and when the sea is tempestuous, it is torn up
from the bottom by the violence of the waves, and washed to the shore in
the form of a mushroom or truffle. These islands are full of that species
of palm tree which bears the cocoa nuts, and they are from one to four
leagues distant from each other, all inhabited. The wealth of the
inhabitants consists in shells, of which even the royal treasury is full.
The workmen in these islands are exceedingly expert, and make shirts and
vests, or tunics, all of one piece, of the fibres of the cocoa nut. Of the
same tree they build ships and houses, and they are skilful in all other
workmanships. Their shells they have from the sea at certain times, when
they rise up to the surface, and the inhabitants throw branches of the
cocoa nut tree into the water, to which the shells stick. These shells they
call Kaptaje.
Beyond these islands, and in the sea of Herkend, is Serendib[4] or Ceylon,
the chief of all these islands, which are called Dobijat. It is entirely
surrounded by the sea, and on its coast they fish for pearls. In this
country there is a mountain called Rahun, to the top of which Adam is said
to have ascended, where he left the print of his foot, seventy cubits long,
on a rock, and they say his other foot stood in the sea at the same time.
About this mountain there are mines of rubies, opals, and amethysts. This
island is of great extent, and has two kings; and it produces aloes wood,
gold, precious stones, and pearls, which last are fished for on the coast;
and there are also found a kind of large shells, which are used for
trumpets, and much esteemed. In the same sea, towards Serendib, there are
other islands, not so many in number as those formerly mentioned, but of
vast extent, and unknown. One of these is called Ramni, which is divided
among a number of princes, and in it is found plenty of gold. The
inhabitants have cocoa nut trees, which supply them with food, and with
which also they paint their bodies, and oil themselves. The custom of the
country is, that no man can marry till he has killed an enemy, and brought
off his head. If he has killed two he claims two wives, and if he has slain
fifty he may have fifty wives. This custom proceeds from the number of
enemies with which they are surrounded, so that he who kills the greatest
number is the most considered. These islands of Ramni abound with
elephants, red-wood, and trees called Chairzan, and the inhabitants eat
human flesh.
These islands separate the sea of Herkend from the sea of Shelabet, and
beyond them are others called Najabalus, which are pretty well peopled,
both men and women going naked, except that the women wear aprons made of
leaves. When shipping goes among these islands, the inhabitants come off in
boats, bringing with them ambergris and cocoa nuts, which they barter for
iron; for, being free from the inconveniencies either of extreme heat or
cold they want no clothing. Beyond these two islands is the sea of Andaman.
The people on this coast eat human flesh quite raw; their complexion is
black, with frizzled hair, their countenance and eyes frightful, their feet
very large, almost a cubit in length, and they go quite naked. They have no
sort of barks or other vessels, or they would seize and devour all the
passengers they could lay their hands upon. When ships have been kept back
by contrary winds, and are obliged to anchor on this barbarous coast, for
procuring water, they commonly lose some of their men.
Beyond this there is an inhabited mountainous island, which is said to
contain mines of silver; but as it does not lie in the usual track of
shipping, many have searched for it in vain, though remarkable for a very
lofty mountain called Kashenai. A ship, sailing in its latitude, once got
sight of this mountain, and steered for the coast, where some people were
sent on shore to cut wood: The men kindled a fire, from which there ran out
some melted silver, on which they concluded that there must have been a
silver mine in the place, and they shipped a considerable quantity of the
earth or ore; but they encountered a terrible storm on their voyage back,
and were forced to throw all their ore overboard to lighten the vessel.
Since that time the mountain has been several times carefully sought for,
but no one has ever been able to find it again. There are many such islands
in those seas, more in number than can be reckoned; some inaccessible by
seamen, and some unknown to them.
It often happens in these seas that a whitish cloud suddenly appears
over-head, which lets down a long thin tongue or spout, quite to the
surface of the water, which is then turned swiftly round as if by a
whirlwind, and if a vessel happens to be in the way, she is immediately
swallowed up in the vortex. At length this cloud mounts up again and
discharges itself in prodigious rain; but it is not known whether this
water is sucked up by the cloud, or how this phenomenon comes to pass. All
these seas are subject to prodigious storms, which make them boil up like
water over a fire; at which times the waves dash the ships against the
islands with unspeakable violence, to their utter destruction; and even
fish; of all sizes are thrown dead on shore, against the rocks, by the
extreme agitation of the sea. The wind which commonly blows upon the sea of
Herkend is from a different quarter, or from the N.W.; but this sea is
likewise subject to as violent agitations as those just mentioned, and
there ambergris is torn up from the bottom, particularly where it is very
deep; and the deeper the sea so much the more valuable is the ambergris
which it produces. It is likewise observed, that when this sea is tossed by
tempestuous winds it sparkles like fire; and it is infested with a certain
kind of fish called Lockham, which frequently preys upon men[5].
* * * * *
Among other circumstances, the fires which frequently happen at Canfu are
not the least remarkable. Canfu is the port of all the ships of the Arabs
who trade to China, and fires are there very frequent, because all the
houses are of wood or of split canes; besides, ships are often lost in
going and coming, or they are plundered, or obliged to make too long a stay
in harbours, or to sell their goods out of the country subject to the
Arabs, and there to make up their cargoes. In short, ships are under a
necessity of wasting much time in refitting, and many other causes of
delay. Soliman[6] the merchant, writes, that at Canfu, which is a principal
staple of merchants, there is a Mahomedan judge appointed by the emperor of
China, who is authorized to judge in every cause which arises among the
Mahomedans who resort to these parts. Upon festival days he performs the
public services of religion to the Mahomedans, and pronounces the usual
sermon or _Kotbat_, which he concludes with the usual form of prayers for
the sultan of the Moslems. The merchants of Irak or Persia, who trade to
Canfu, are no way dissatisfied with the conduct of this judge in the
administration of his office, because his decisions are just and equitable,
and conformable to the Koran.
Respecting the places whence ships depart and those they touch at, many
persons affirm that the navigation is performed in the following order:
Most of the Chinese ships take in their cargoes at Siraff[7], where also
they ship their goods which come from Basra, Oman, and other ports; and
this is done because there are frequent storms and many shallows in those
seas. From Basra to Siraff is an hundred and twenty leagues; and when ships
have loaded at this latter place they take in water there also. From thence
they sail to a place called Mascat, in the extremity of the province of
Oman, which is about two hundred leagues from Siraff. On the east coast of
this sea, between Siraff and Mascat, is a place called Nasir Bani al
Sasack, and an island called Ebn Kahowan, and in this sea there are rocks
called Oman, and a narrow strait called Dordur between two rocks, through
which ships often venture to pass, but the Chinese snips dare not. There
are also two rocks called Kossir and Howare, which scarce appear above the
water's edge. After they are clear of these rocks, they steer to a place
called Shitu Oman, and take in water at Muscat, which is drawn up from
wells, and are here also supplied with cattle from the province of Oman.
From Mascat the ships take their departure for India, and first touch at
Kaucammali, which is a month's sail from Mascat with a fair wind. This is a
frontier place, and the chief arsenal in the province of that name; and
here the Chinese ships put in and are in safety, and procure fresh water.
The Chinese ships pay here a thousand drams for duties, whereas others pay
only from one dinar to ten. From thence they begin to enter the sea of
Herkend, and having sailed through it, they touch at a place called
Lajabalus, where the inhabitants do not understand Arabic, or any other
language in use among merchants. They wear no clothes, are white, and weak
in their feet. It is said their women are not to be seen, and that the men
leave the island in canoes, hollowed out of one piece, to go in quest of
them, and carry them cocoa nuts, mousa, and palm wine. This last liquor is
white, and when drank fresh is sweet like honey, and has the taste of cocoa
nut milk; if kept some time, it becomes as strong as wine, but after some
days changes to vinegar. These people give this wine, and the small
quantities of amber which is thrown up on their coasts, for bits of iron,
the bargains being made by signs; but they are extremely alert, and are
very apt to carry off iron from the merchants without making any return.
From Lajabalus the ships steer for Calabar, the name of a kingdom on the
right hand beyond the Indies, which depends on the kingdom of Zabage, _bar_
signifying a coast in the language of the country. The inhabitants are
dressed in those sorts of striped garments which the Arabs call Fauta, and
they commonly wear only one at a time, which fashion is common to people of
all ranks. At this place they take in water, which is drawn from wells that
are fed by springs, and which is preferred to that which is procured from
cisterns or tanks. Calabar is about a month's voyage from a place called
Kaukam, which is almost upon the skirts of the sea of Herkend. In ten days
after this, ships reach Betuma, from whence, in ten days more, they come to
Kadrange. In all the islands and peninsulas of the Indies, water is to be
found by digging. In this last mentioned place there is a very lofty
mountain, which is entirely inhabited by slaves and fugitives. From thence,
in ten days, they arrive at Senef, where is fresh water, and from whence
comes the aromatic wood which we call Hud al Senefi. Here is a king; the
inhabitants are black, and they wear two striped garments. Having watered
at this place, it is ten days passage to Sanderfulat, an island which has
fresh water. They then steer through the sea of Sanji, and so to the gates
of China; for so they call certain rocks and shallows which form a narrow
strait in that sea, through which the ships are obliged to pass. It
requires a month to sail from Sanderfulat to China, and it takes eight
whole days to steer through among the rocks and shoals.
When a ship has got through the before mentioned gates, she goes with the
flood tide into a fresh water gulf, and drops anchor in the chief port of
China, which is called Canfu[8], where they have fresh water, both from
springs and rivers, as also in most of the other cities of China. The city
is adorned with large squares, and is supplied with every thing necessary
for defence against an enemy, and in most of the other provinces of the
empire there are cities of strength similarly fortified. In this port the
tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours; but, whereas from Basra to
the island of Bani Kahouan it flows when the moon is at full, and ebbs when
she rises and when she sets; from near Bani Kahouan quite to the coast of
China it is flood tide when the moon rises, and ebb when she is at her
height; and so on the contrary, when she sets, it is flowing water, and
when she is quite hidden under the horizon, the tide falls.
They say, that in the island of Muljan, between Serendib and Cala, on the
eastern shore of the Indies, there are negroes who go quite naked; and when
they meet a stranger they hang him up by the heels and slice him into
pieces, which they eat quite raw. These negroes, who have no king, feed
chiefly on fish, mousa, cocoa nuts, and sugar canes. It is reported, that
in some parts of this sea, there is a small kind of fish which flies above
the water, and is called the sea locust; that in another part, there is a
fish which, leaving the sea, gets up into the cocoa nut trees, and having
drained them of their juices, returns to the sea; and it is added, that
there is a fish like a lobster or crab, which petrifies as soon as it is
taken out of its element, and that when pulverized it is a good remedy for
several diseases of the eyes. They say also, that near Zabage there is a
volcanic mountain which cannot be approached, which sends forth a thick
smoke by day, and throws out flames at night; at the foot of which are two
springs of fresh water, one hot and the other cold.
The Chinese are dressed in silk garments, both in summer and winter, and
this dress is common both to the prince and peasant. In winter, they wear
drawers of a particular make, which reach to their feet, and of these, they
put on two, three, four, five, or more, one over the other, if they can
afford it; and are very careful to be covered quite down to their feet,
because of the damps, which are very great, and of which they are extremely
apprehensive. In summer they only wear a single garment of silk, or some
such light dress, but they have no turbans. Their common food is rice,
which they eat frequently with a broth made of meat or fish, like that used
by the Arabs, and which they pour upon the rice. Their kings eat wheaten
bread, and the flesh of all kinds of animals, not excepting swine, and some
others not used by us. They have several sorts of fruits, as apples,
lemons, quinces, moulats, sugar canes, citruls, figs, grapes, cucumbers of
two sorts, trees, which produce a substance like meal, walnuts, almonds,
filberts, pistachios, plumbs, apricots, services, and cocoa nuts, but no
store of palms, of which they have only a few about private houses. Their
drink is a kind of wine made of rice, having no other wine in the country,
neither is any other imported by them. They do not even know what wine is,
nor will they drink of it. They have vinegar also, and a kind of comfit,
like that called _Natef_ by the Arabs and some others.
The Chinese are by no means nice in point of cleanliness, not washing with
water when they ease nature but only wiping with paper. They do not scruple
to eat of animals which have died, and they practise many other things like
the Magians[9]; and in truth, the two religions are much similar. Their
women appear uncovered, and adorn their heads with many small ivory combs,
of which they wear sometimes a score at one time. The heads of the men are
covered by a cap, of a particular make. Thieves are put to death as soon as
caught.
The Indians and Chinese agree that there are four great or principal kings
in the world, all of them allowing that the king of the Arabs is the first
and most powerful of kings, the most wealthy, and the most excellent every
way, because he is the prince and head of a great religion, and because no
other surpasses him. The Emperor of China reckons himself next after the
king of the Arabs, after him the king of the Greeks, and lastly the
Balhara[10], or king of the Moharmi al Adon, or people who have their ears
bored. The Balhara is the most illustrious sovereign in all the Indies, and
though all the other kings in India are masters and independent each in
their own dominions, they thus so far acknowledge his preeminence, that
when he sends ambassadors to the other princes, they are received with
extraordinary honours. This king makes magnificent presents after the
manner of the Arabs, and has vast numbers of horses and elephants, and
great treasures in money. His silver coin is what we call Thartarian drams,
being equal to one and a half of the Arabian dram. They are coined with the
die of the prince, and bear the year of his reign, counting from the last
year of the reign of his predecessor. They compute not their years from the
era of Mahomed, like the Arabs, but only by the years of their successive
kings. Most of these princes live a long time, many of them having reigned
above fifty years; and those of the country believe that the length of
their lives and reigns is granted in recompence of their kindness to the
Arabs; for there are no princes more heartily affectionate to the Arabs,
and their subjects profess the same kindness for us. Balhara is not a
proper name, but an appellative, common to all those kings, like Cosroes
and some others. The country under the dominion of the prince begins on the
coast of the province called Kamcam, and reaches by land to the confines of
China. He is surrounded by the dominions of many kings, who are at war with
him, yet he never marches against them.
One of these is the king of Harez, who has very numerous forces, and is
stronger in cavalry than all the other princes of the Indies. He is an
enemy to the Arabs, neither is there any prince in India who has a greater
aversion to the Mahomedans; though he confesses their king to be the
greatest of princes. His dominions are on a promontory, where are much
riches, many camels, and abundance of other cattle. The inhabitants traffic
for silver, and they say there are mines of that metal on the continent.
There are no robbers in this country, nor in the rest of the Indies. On one
side of this country is that of Tafek, which is not of very great extent.
This king has the finest white women in all the Indies; but he is awed by
the kings about him, as his army is very small. He has a great affection
for the Arabs as well as the Balhara. These kingdoms border upon the lands
of a king called Rami, who is at war with the king of Harez, and with the
Balhara likewise. This prince is not much considered, either for the
dignity of his birth or the antiquity of his kingdom; but his forces are
more numerous than those of the Balhara, and even than those of the kings
of Harez and Tafek. It is said that he appears in the field at the head of
fifty thousand elephants, and commonly marches in the rainy season, because
his elephants cannot move at any other time, as they are unable to bear
thirst. His army is said commonly to contain from ten to fifteen thousand
tents. In this country they make cotton garments of such extraordinary
fineness and perfection, as is to be seen nowhere else. These garments are
mostly round, and are wove so extremely fine, that they may be drawn
through a moderately sized ring. Shells are current in this country as
small money; and they have abundance of gold and silver, aloes wood, and
sable skins, of which they make their horse-furniture.
In this country is the famous Karkandan, that is the rhinoceros, or
unicorn, which has but one horn on his forehead, on which there is a round
spot with the representation of a man; the whole horn being black, except
the spot in the middle which is white. The rhinoceros is much smaller than
the elephant, and resembles the buffalo from the neck downwards, and excels
all other creatures in extraordinary strength. His leg is all one
thickness, from the shoulder to the foot, and the hoof is not cloven. The
elephant flies from the rhinoceros, whose lowing is like that of an ox,
with something of the cry of the camel. His flesh is not forbidden, and we
have eaten of it; There are great numbers of this creature in the fens of
this country, as also in all the other provinces of India; but the horns of
these are most esteemed, having generally upon them the figures of men,
peacocks, fishes and other resemblances. The Chinese adorn their girdles
with these sorts of figures, so that some of their girdles are worth two or
three thousand pieces of gold in China, and sometimes more, the price
augmenting with the beauty of the figures. All these things are to be
purchased in the kingdom of Rahmi, for shells, which are the current money
of the country.
After this country, there is an inland state distant from the coast, and
called Kaschbin, of which the inhabitants are white, and bore their ears.
They have camels, and their country is for the most part desert, and full
of mountains. Farther on the coast, there is a small kingdom called
Hitrange, which is very poor; but in its bay, the sea throws up great
quantities of ambergris, and they have elephants teeth and pepper; but the
inhabitants eat this last green, because of the small quantity they gather.
Beyond these, there are other kingdoms, but their numbers and names are
unknown. Among these is one named Mujet, the inhabitants of which are white
and dress after the Chinese manner; their country is full of mountains,
having white tops, and of very great extent, in which there are great
quantities of musk; esteemed the most exquisite of any in the world. They
have continual war with all the surrounding kingdoms; The kingdom of Mabet
is beyond that of Mujet, wherein are many cities, and the inhabitants have
even a greater resemblance to the Chinese than those of Mujet; for they
have officers or eunuchs like those who govern the cities among the
Chinese. The country of Mabet borders upon China, and is at peace with the
emperor, but not subject to him. The king of Mabet sends ambassadors every
year with presents to the emperor of China, who in return sends ambassadors
and presents to Mabet. But when the ambassadors of Mabet enter China, they
are very carefully watched, lest they should survey the country, and form
designs of conquest; which would be no difficult matter, as their country
is very extensive, and extremely populous, and as they are only divided
from China by rocks and mountains.
It is said that, in the country of China, there are above two hundred
cities having jurisdiction over others, each of which has a governor and an
eunuch or lieutenant. Canfu is one of these cities, being the port for all
shipping, and has jurisdiction over twenty towns. A town is raised, to the
dignity of a city, by the grant of certain large trumpets. These are three
or four cubits in length, and as large about as can be grasped by both
hands, growing smaller towards the end which is fitted to the mouth. On the
outside, they are adorned with Chinese ink, and may be heard at the
distance of a mile. Each city has four gates, at each of which five of
these trumpets are stationed, which are sounded at certain hours of the day
and night. There are also ten drums in each city, which are beaten at the
same times; and this is done as a public token of obedience to the emperor,
and to point out the hours of the day and night to the inhabitants; and for
ascertaining the time; they have sun dials, and clocks with weights[11].
In China they use a great quantity of copper money, like that named falus
by the Arabians, which is the only sort of small money, and is current all
over the country, and is indeed the only current coin. Yet their emperor
has treasures like other kings, containing abundance of gold and silver,
with jewels, pearls, silk, and vast quantities of rich stuffs of all kinds,
which are only considered as moveables or merchandize; and from foreign
commerce they derive ivory, frankincense, copper in bars, tortoise shell,
and unicorns horns, with which they adorn their girdles. Of animals they
have abundance, particularly of beasts of burden; such as oxen, horses,
asses, and camels; but they have no Arabian horses. They have an excellent
kind of earth, of which they make a species of ware equal in fineness to
glass, and almost equally transparent. When merchants arrive at Canfu, the
Chinese seize their cargoes, which they convey to warehouses, where the
goods are detained six months, until the last merchant ship of the season
has arrived; they then detain three parts in ten of every species of
commodity, or thirty per cent as duty, and return the rest to the
merchants. Besides which, if the emperor has a mind for any particular
article, his officers have a right of taking it in preference to any other
person, paying for it, however, to the utmost value; and they dispatch this
business with great expedition, and without the least injustice. They
commonly take the whole importation of camphor, on the account of the
emperor, and pay for it at the rate of fifty _fakuges_ per _man_, each
fakuge being worth a thousand _falus_, or pieces of copper coin. When it
happens that the emperor does not take the camphor, it sells for half as
much again.
The Chinese do not bury their dead till the day twelve months after their
decease; but keep them all this time in coffins in some part of their
houses, having previously dried them by means of quicklime. The bodies of
their kings are embalmed with aloes and camphor. They mourn during three
whole years, and whoever transgresses this law is punished with the bamboo,
a chastisement to which both men and women are subjected, and are at the
same time reproached for not shewing concern for the death of their
parents. They bury their dead in deep pits, much like those in use among
the Arabs. During all the time that the dead body is preserved in the
house, meat and drink are regularly set before it every evening; and if
they find these gone in the morning, they imagine that the dead have
consumed all; and all this time they cease not from bewailing their loss,
insomuch, that their expences upon these occasions, in paying the last
duties to their deceased relations, are exorbitant, and often consume their
wealth and estates, to the utter ruin of the living. In former times, they
buried very rich apparel, and those expensive girdles already mentioned,
with the bodies of their kings, and others of the blood royal; but this
custom is now discontinued, because it has happened that the bodies have
been dug up from their graves by thieves, for the sake of what was buried
with them. The whole nation, great and small, rich and poor, are taught to
read and write. The titles of their viceroys or governors, are varied
according to the dignity and rank of the cities under their government.
Those of the smaller cities are called _Tusing_, which signifies the
governor of a town. Those of the greater cities, such as Canfu, are stiled
_Difu_, and the eunuch or lieutenant is stiled _Tukam_. These lieutenants
are selected from among the inhabitants of the cities. There is also a
supreme judge called _Lakshima-makvan_, and they have other names for other
officers, which we do not know how properly to express.
A person is never raised to the dignity of a prince, or governor of a city,
until he has attained to his fortieth year; for then they say he has
acquired experience. When one of these princes or viceroys holds his court,
in the city of his residence, he is seated on a tribunal, in great state,
and receives the petitions or complaints of the people; having an officer
called _Lieu_, who stands behind the tribunal, and indorses an answer upon
the petition, according to the order of the viceroy; for they null no
applications but what are in writing, and give all their decisions in the
same manner. Before parties can present their petitions to the viceroy,
they must be submitted to the proper officer for examination, who sends
them back if he discovers any error; and no person may draw up any of those
writings which are to be presented to the viceroy, except a clerk versant
in business, who must mark at the bottom that it is written by such a man,
the son of such a man: And if the clerk is guilty of any error or mistake,
he is punished with the bamboo. The viceroy never seats himself on his
tribunal until he has eaten and drank, lest he should be mistaken in some
things; and he receives his subsistence from the public treasury of the
city over which he presides. The emperor, who is above all these princes or
petty kings, never appears in public but once in ten months, under the idea
that the people would lose their veneration for him if he shewed himself
oftener; for they hold it as a maxim, that government can only subsist by
means of force, as the people are ignorant of the principles of justice,
and that constraint and violence are necessary to maintain among them the
majesty of empire.
There are no taxes imposed upon the lands, but all the men of the country
are subject to a poll-tax in proportion to their substance. When any
failure of crops makes necessaries dear, the king opens his store-houses to
the people, and soils all sorts of necessaries at much cheaper rates than
they can be had in the markets; by which means famine is prevented, and no
dearth is of any long continuance. The sums that are gathered by this
capitation tax are laid up in the public treasury, and I believe, that from
this tax, fifty thousand dinars are paid every day into the null of Canfu
alone, although that city is not one of the largest. The emperor reserves
to himself the revenues which arise from the salt mines, and those which
are derived from impositions upon a certain herb called _Tcha_, which they
drink with hot water, and of which vast quantities are sold in all the
cities in China. This is produced from a shrub more bushy than the
pomegranate tree, and of a more pleasant smell, but having a kind of a
bitterish taste. The way of using this herb is to pour boiling water upon
the leaves, and the infusion cures all diseases. Whatever sums come into
the public treasury arise from the capitation tax, the duties upon salt,
and the tax upon this leaf.
In every city there is a small bell hung to the wall, immediately over the
head of the viceroy or governor, which may be rung by a string which
reaches about three miles, and crosses the high way, on purpose that all
the people may have access to it; und whenever the string is pulled, and
the bell strikes, the person who thus demands justice is immediately
commanded to be brought into the presence, where he sets forth his case in
person. If any person inclines to travel from one part of the country to
another, he must have two passes along with him, one from the governor, and
the other from the lieutenant. The governor's pass permits him to set out
on his journey, and specifies the name of the traveller, and of all that
are in his company, with their names and ages; for every person in China,
whether native, Arab, or other foreigner, is obliged to make a full
declaration of every thing he knows about himself. The lieutenant's pass
specifies the exact quantities of goods and money which the traveller and
his company take along with them, and this is done for the information of
the frontier places, where both passes are regularly examined; for whenever
a person arrives at any of these places, it is entered in the register that
such a one, the son of such a one, of such a family, passed through the
place, in such a month, day, and year, and in such company. By this means
they prevent any one from carrying off the money or effects of others, or
the loss of their own goods in case of accident; so that if any thing has
been taken away unjustly, or if the traveller should die on the road, it
may be immediately known where the things are to be found, that they may be
restored to the claimants, or to the heirs of the deceased.
The Chinese administer justice with great strictness, in all their
tribunals. When any person commences a suit against another, he sets down
his claim in writing, and the defendant writes down his defence, which he
signs, and holds between his fingers. These two writings are delivered in
at the same time; and being examined, sentence is pronounced in writing,
each of the parties having his papers returned to him, the defendant having
his delivered first. When one party denies what the other affirms, he is
ordered to return his writing; and if the defendant thinks he may do it
safely, and delivers in his papers a second time, those of the plaintiff
are likewise called for; and he who denies the affirmation of the other, is
warned, that if he does not make out what he denies, he shall undergo
twenty strokes of the bamboo on his buttocks, and shall pay a fine of
twenty _fakuges_, which amount to about two hundred dinars. And the
punishment of the bamboo is so severe, that the criminal can hardly
survive, and no person in all China is permitted to inflict it upon another
by his own authority, on pain of death, and confiscation of his goods; so
that no one is ever so hardy as to expose himself to such certain danger,
by which means justice is well administered to all. No witnesses are
required, neither do they put the parties upon oath.
When any person becomes bankrupt, he is immediately committed to prison in
the governor's palace, and is called upon for a declaration of his effects.
After he has remained a month in prison, he is liberated by the governor's
order, and a proclamation is made, that such a person, the son of such a
one, has consumed the goods of such a one, and that if any person possesses
any effects, whatever belonging to the bankrupt, a full discovery must be
made within one month. If any discovery is made of effects belonging to the
bankrupt, which he had omitted to declare, he suffers the punishment of the
bamboo, and is upbraided with having remained a month in prison, eating and
drinking, although he has wherewithal to satisfy his creditors. He is
reproached for having fraudulently procured and embezzled the property of
others, and is chastised for stripping other people of their substance. But
if, after every inquiry, the debtor does not appear to have been guilty of
any fraud, and if it is proved to the satisfaction of the magistrate, that
he has nothing in the world, the creditors are called in, and receive a
part of their claims from the treasury of the Bagbun. This is the ordinary
title of the emperor of China, and signifies the Son of Heaven, which we
ordinarily pronounce Magbun. After this, it is publickly forbidden to buy
of or sell to the bankrupt, that he may not again have an opportunity of
defrauding his creditors, by concealing their money or effects. If it be
discovered that the bankrupt has any money or effects in the hands of
another, and that person makes no disclosure within the time limited, the
person guilty of this concealment is bambooed to death, and the value
discovered is divided among the creditors; but the debtor or bankrupt must
never more concern himself with trade.
Upon a stone ten cubits high, erected in the public squares of all the
cities, the names of all sorts of medicines, with the exact prices of each,
are engraven; and when the poor stand in need of relief from physic, they
receive, at the treasury, the price that each medicine is rated at. In
China there is no tax upon land, but every male subject pays a rateable
capitation in proportion to his wealth and possessions. When a male child
is born, his name is immediately entered in a public register, and when he
has attained his eighteenth year he begins to pay the poll-tax; but when
once a man has reached his eightieth year, he not only ceases to
contribute, but even receives a pension from the treasury, as a provision
for old age, and in acknowledgment of what he paid during his youth. There
are schools, maintained at the public charge, in every town, where the
children of the poor are taught to read and write. The women wear nothing
on their heads besides their hair, but the men are covered. In China there
is a certain town called _Tayu_, having a castle, advantageously situated
on a hill, and all the fortresses in the kingdom are called by the same
name. The Chinese are generally handsome, of comely stature, and of fair
complexions, and by no means addicted to excess in wine. Their hair is
blacker than that of any other nation in the world, and the Chinese women
wear it curled.
In the Indies, when one man accuses another of a capital crime, it is usual
to ask the accused if he is willing to undergo the trial by fire, and if he
consents, the ceremony is conducted in the following manner: A piece of
iron is heated red hot, and the accused is desired to stretch out his hand,
on which they put seven leaves of a certain tree, and above these the red
hot iron is placed. In this condition he walks backwards and forwards for
some time, and then throws off the iron. Immediately after this his hand is
covered with a leathern bag, which is sealed with the prince's signet; and
if at the end of three days he appears and declares that he has suffered no
hurt, they order him to take out his hand, and if no sign of fire is
visible, he is declared innocent of the crime laid to his charge, and the
accuser is condemned to pay a fine of a _man_ of gold to the prince.
Sometimes they boil water in a caldron, till it is so hot that no one can
touch it; they then throw in an iron ring, and the accused is commanded to
thrust down his hand to bring up the ring. I saw one who did this and
received no manner of harm. In this case, likewise, if the accused remain
unhurt, the accuser pays a fine of a _man_ of gold.
When a king dies in the island of Serendib, which is the last of the
islands of the Indies, his body is laid in an open chariot, in such a
posture, that his head hangs backward, almost touching the ground, with his
hair trailing on the earth; and the chariot is followed by a woman, who
sweeps the dust on the face of the deceased, while she proclaims with a
loud voice: "O man! behold your king! He was yesterday your master, but now
the dominion which he exercised over you is at an end. He is reduced to the
state you now see, having left the world; and the arbiter of life and death
hath withdrawn his soul. Count not, therefore, O man! upon the uncertain
hopes of this life." This or a similar proclamation is continued for three
days; after which the body is embalmed with sandal wood, camphor, and
saffron, and is then burned, and the ashes are scattered to the winds. When
they burn the body of a king, it is usual for his wives to jump into the
fire and burn along with him; but this they are not constrained to do. The
same custom of burning the bodies of the dead prevails over all the Indies.
In the Indies there are men who devote themselves to live in the woods and
mountains, professing to despise what other men most value, abstaining from
every thing but such wild herbs and fruits as are to be found in the woods,
and they affix an iron buckle to their genitals in such a manner as to
interdict all commerce with woman. Some of these go quite naked, or have
only the skin of a leopard thrown over them, and keep perpetually standing
with their faces to the sun. I formerly saw one in that posture; and on my
return to the Indies, sixteen years afterwards, I found him in the very
same attitude, it being astonishing that he had not lost his sight by the
heat and glare of the sun. In all these kingdoms the sovereign power
resides in the royal family, without ever departing from it, and the heirs
of the family follow each other in regular succession. In like manner,
there are families of learned men, of physicians, and of all the artificers
concerned in the various arts; and none of these are ever mixed with the
family of a different profession. The several states of the Indies are not
subject to one king, but each province has its own; though the Balhara is
considered in the Indies as king of kings. The Chinese are fond of gaming
and all manner of diversions; but the Indians condemn them, and have no
pleasure in such employments. They drink no wine, neither do they use
vinegar, because it is made from wine; although this abstinence does not
proceed from any religious duty: but they allege that a king given to wine
is not worthy of being a king; for how should a drunkard be able to manage
the affairs of a kingdom, especially as wars are so frequent between the
neighbouring states? Their wars are not usually undertaken to possess
themselves of the dominions of others, and I never heard of any except the
people bordering on the pepper country that seized the dominions of their
neighbours after victory. When a prince masters the dominions of a
neighbour, he confers the sovereignty upon some person of the royal family
of the conquered country, and thus retains it in dependence upon himself,
under the conviction that the natives would never submit to be otherwise
governed.
When any one of the princes or governors of cities in China is guilty of a
crime, he is put to death and eaten; and in general, it may be said that
the Chinese eat all those who are put to death. When the Indians and
Chinese are about to marry and the parties are agreed, presents are
interchanged, and the marriage ceremony is solemnized amidst the noise of
drums and various sorts of instruments. The presents consist in money, and
all the relatives and friends contribute as much as they can afford. If any
man in the Indies runs away with a woman and abuses her, both are put to
death; unless it is proved that force has been used against the woman, in
which case the man only is punished. Theft is always punished capitally,
both in India and China, whether the theft be considerable or trifling; but
more particularly so in the Indies, where, if a thief have stolen even the
value of a small piece of money, he is impaled alive. The Chinese are much
addicted to the abominable vice of pederasty, which they even number among
the strange acts they perform in honour of their idols. The Chinese
buildings are of wood, with stone and plaster, or bricks and mortar. The
Chinese and Indians are not satisfied with one wife, but both nations marry
as many as they please, or can maintain. Rice is the common food of the
Indians, who eat no wheat; but the Chinese use both indifferently.
Circumcision is not practised either by the Chinese or Indians. The Chinese
worship idols, before whom, they fall down and make prayers, and they have
books which explain the articles of their religion. The Indians suffer
their beards to grow, but have no whiskers, and I have seen one with a
beard three cubits long; but the Chinese, for the most part, wear no
beards. Upon the death of a relation, the Indians shave both head and face.
When any man in the Indies is thrown into prison, he is allowed neither
victuals nor drink for seven days together; and this with them answers the
end of other tortures for extorting from the criminal a confession of his
guilt. The Chinese and Indians have judges besides the governors, who
decide in causes between the subjects. Both in India and China there are
leopards and wolves, but no lions. Highway robbers are punished with death.
Both the Indians and Chinese imagine that the idols which they worship
speak to them, and give them answers. Neither of them kill their meat by
cutting the throat, as is done by the Mahomedans, but by beating them on
the head till they die. They wash not with well water, and the Chinese wipe
themselves with paper, whereas the Indians wash every day before eating.
The Indians wash not only the mouth, but the whole body before they eat,
but this is not done by the Chinese. The Indies is larger in extent by a
half than China, and has a great many more kingdoms, but China is more
populous. It is not usual to see palm trees either in the Indies or in
China, but they have many other sorts of trees and fruits which we have
not. The Indians have no grapes, and the Chinese have not many, but both
abound in other fruits, though the pomegranate thrives better in India than
in China.
The Chinese have no sciences, and their religion and most of their laws are
derived from the Indians. They even believe that the Indians taught them
their worship of idols. Both nations believe the Metempsycosis, though they
differ in many of the precepts and ceremonies of their religion. Physic and
philosophy are cultivated among the Indians, and the Chinese have some
skill in medicine; but that almost entirely consists in the art of applying
hot irons or cauteries. They have some smattering of astronomy; but in this
likewise the Indians surpass the Chinese. I know not that even so much as
one man of either nation has embraced Mahomedism, or has learned to speak
the Arabic language. The Indians have few horses, and there are more in
China; but the Chinese have no elephants, and cannot endure to have them in
their country. The Indian dominions furnish a great number of soldiers, who
are not paid by their kings, but, when called out to war, have to take the
field and serve entirely at their own expense; but the Chinese allow their
soldiers much the same pay as is done by the Arabs.
China is a pleasant and fruitful country, having numerous extensive and
well fortified cities, with a more wholesome climate and less fenny country
than India, in which most of the provinces have no cities. The air in China
likewise is much better than in India, and there are scarcely any blind
persons, or who are subject to diseases of the eyes; and similar advantages
are enjoyed by several of the provinces of India. The rivers of both
countries are large, and surpass our greatest rivers, and much rain falls
in both countries. In the ladies there are many desert tracks, but China is
inhabited and cultivated through its whole extent. The Chinese are
handsomer than the Indians, and come nearer to the Arabs in countenance and
dress, in their manners, in the way of riding, and in their ceremonies,
wearing long garments and girdles in the manner of belts; while the Indians
wear two short vests, and both men and women wear golden bracelets, adorned
with precious stones.
Beyond the kingdom of China, there is a country called _Tagazgaz_, taking
its name from a nation of Turks by which it is inhabited, and also the
country of Kakhan which borders on the Turks. The islands of Sila are
inhabited by white people, who send presents to the Emperor of China, and
who are persuaded that if they were to neglect this the rain of heaven
would not fall upon their country. In that country there are white falcons;
but none of our people have been there to give us any particular
information concerning them.
[1] This is probably the sea about the Maldives, which, according to the
eastern geographers, divides that part of the Indian Ocean from the
sea of Delarowi, or the Magnus Sinus of the ancients. The eastern
writers often speak of the Seven Seas, which seems rather a proverbial
phrase, than a geographical definition. These are the seas of China,
India, Persia, Kolzoum, or the Red Sea, of Rum or Greece, which is the
Mediterranean, Alehozar or the Caspian, Pont or the Euxine. The sea of
India is often called the Green Sea, and the Persian Gulf the sea of
Bassora. The Ocean is called Bahr Mahit.--Harris
[2] Male-dive signifies, in the Malabar language, a thousand isles.--E.
[3] The subsequent accounts of these islands do not justify this particular
sentence, if the author meant that they were always governed by a
queen. It might be so in this time by accident, and one queen might
have succeeded another, as Queen Elizabeth did Queen Mary.--Harris.
[4] This is the Taprobana of the ancients, and has received many names. In
Cosmas Indicopleustes, it is called Sielendiba, which is merely a
Grecian corruption of Sielea-dive, or Sielen island; whence the modern
name of Ceylon.--E.
[5] This is probably the shark, which is common on all the coasts of India.
There was a portion of the MS. wanting at this place; wherein the
author treated of the trade to China as it was carried on in his time,
and of the causes which had brought it into a declining condition.
--Renaud.
[6] Perhaps some account of this Soliman might be contained in the lost
pages: But the circumstance of a Mahomedan judge or consul at Canfu is
a circumstance worthy of notice, and shews that the Mahomedans had
carried on a regular and settled trade with China for a considerable
time, and were in high estimation in that country.--Renaud.
[7] It is difficult at this distance of time to ascertain the rout laid
down by this author, on account of the changes of names. This mart of
Siraff is not to be met with in any of our maps; but it is said by the
Arabian geographers to have been in the gulf of Persia, about sixty
leagues from Shiraz; and that on its decay, the trade was transferred
to Ormuz.--Renaud.
[8] It is probable, or rather certain, that Canton is here meant.--E.
[9] Meaning the Parsees or Guebres, the fire-worshippers of Persia.--E.
[10] It is probable that this Balhara, or king of the people with bored
ears, which plainly means the Indians, was the Zamorin or Emperor of
Calicut; who, according to the reports of the most ancient Portuguese
writers concerning India, was acknowledged as a kind of emperor in the
Indies, six hundred years before they discovered the route to India by
the Cape of Good Hope.--Harris.
The original editor of this voyage in English, Harris, is certainly
mistaken in this point. The Balhara was the sovereign of Southern
Seindetic India; of which dominion Guzerat was the principal
province.--E.
[11] This is a very early notice of the construction and use of clocks, or
machinery to indicate divisions of time, by means of weights.--E.
SECTION II.
_Commentary upon the foregoing Account, by Abu Zeid al Hasan of Siraff_.
Having very carefully examined the book I was desired to peruse, that I
might confirm what the author relates so far as he agrees with what I have
learnt concerning the affairs of navigation, the kingdoms on the coast, and
the state of the countries of which he treats, and that I might add what I
have elsewhere collected concerning these matters: I find that this book
was composed in the year of the Hegira 237, and that the accounts given by
the author are conformable with what I have heard from merchants who have
sailed from _Irak_ or Persia, through these seas. I find also all that the
author has written to be agreeable to truth, except some few passages, in
which he has been misinformed. Speaking of the custom, of the Chinese in
setting meat before their dead, and believing that the dead had eaten, we
had been told the same thing, and once believed it; but have since learnt,
from a person of undoubted credit, that this notion is entirely groundless,
as well as that the idolaters believe their idols speak to them. From that
creditable person we have likewise been informed, that the affairs of China
wear quite a different aspect since those days: and since much has been
related to explain why our voyages to China have been interrupted, and how
the country has been ruined, many customs abolished, and the empire
divided, I shall here declare what I know of that revolution.
The great troubles which have embroiled the affairs of this empire, putting
a stop to the justice and righteousness there formerly practised, and
interrupting the ordinary navigation from Siraff to China, was occasioned
by the revolt of an officer named Baichu, in high employment, though not of
the royal family. He began by gathering together a number of vagabonds, and
disorderly people, whom he won to his party by his liberalities, and formed
into a considerable body of troops. With these he committed hostilities in
many parts of the country, to the great loss of the inhabitants; and having
greatly increased his army, and put himself into a condition to attempt
greater things, he began to entertain a design of subduing the whole
empire, and marched direct for Canfu, one of the most noted cities in
China, and at that time the great port for our Arabian commerce. This city
stands upon a great river, some days sail from the sea, so that the water
there is fresh. The citizens shut their gates against him, and he was
obliged to besiege it a great while; but at length he became master of the
city, and put all the inhabitants to the sword. There are persons fully
acquainted with the affairs of China, who assure us, that besides the
Chinese who were massacred upon this occasion, there perished one hundred
and twenty thousand Mahomedans, Jews, Christians, and Parsees, who were
there on account of traffic; and as the Chinese are exceedingly nice in the
registers they keep of foreigners dwelling among them, this number may be
considered as authentic. This took place in the year of the hegira 264, or
of Christ 877. He also cut down the mulberry trees, which are carefully
cultivated by the Chinese for their leaves, on which the silk worms are
fed; and owing to this, the trade of silk has tailed, and that manufacture,
which used to be much prosecuted in all the countries under the Arabian
government, is quite at a stand.
Having sacked and destroyed Canfu, he possessed himself of many other
cities, which he demolished, having first slain most of the inhabitants, in
the hope that he might involve all the members of the royal family in this
general massacre, that no one might remain to dispute with him for the
empire. He then advanced to Cumdan[1], the capital city, whence the emperor
was obliged to make a precipitate retreat to the city of Hamdu, on the
frontiers towards Thibet. Puffed up with these great successes, Baichu made
himself master of almost the whole country, there being no one able to
dispute his authority. At length the emperor wrote to the king of the
Tagazgaz in Turkestan, with whom he was in some degree allied by marriage,
imploring his assistance to subdue the rebellion. The king of the Tagazgaz
dispatched his son, at the head of a very numerous army, into China, and
after a long and arduous contest, and many battles, Baichu was utterly
defeated, and it was never known afterwards what became of him; some
believing that he fell in the last battle, while others supposed that he
ended his days in a different manner. The emperor of China now returned to
his capital, much weakened and dispirited in consequence of the
embezzlement of his treasures, and the loss of the best of his officers and
troops, and the horrible devastations, calamities, and losses which his
empire had sustained; yet he made himself master of all the provinces which
had revolted from his authority. He would not, however, lay his hands upon
the goods of his subjects, notwithstanding the exhausted state of his
finances, but satisfied himself with what was still left in his coffers,
and the small remains of the public money that was to be found, requiring
nothing from his subjects, but what they were willing to give, and only
demanding obedience to the laws and to his authority, considering that they
had been already severely oppressed in consequence of the rebellion. Thus,
China became like the empire of Alexander, after the defeat and death of
Darius, when he divided the provinces among his chiefs, who became so many
kings. For now, each of the Chinese princes, or viceroys, joined
themselves into petty alliances, making wars among themselves without the
authority of the emperor; and when the stronger had subdued the weaker, and
acquired possession of his province, the subjects of the vanquished prince
were unmercifully wasted and plundered, and even barbarously devoured: a
cruel practice allowed by the laws of their religion, which even permit
human flesh to be exposed to public sale in the markets. There arose from
all these confusions many unjust dealings with the merchants; and there was
no grievance so intolerable, or treatment so bad, but what was exercised
upon the Arab merchants, and captains of ships, extorting from them what
was altogether uncustomary, seizing upon their effects, and behaving
towards them quite contrary to all the ancient usages; so that our
merchants were forced to return in crowds to Siraff and Oman[2].
The punishment of married persons, convicted of adultery, as well as for
the crimes of homicide and theft, is as follows: The hands are bound fast
together, and forced backwards over the head, till they rest on the neck.
The right foot is then fastened to the right hand, and the left foot to the
left hand, and all drawn tight together behind the back, so that the
criminal is incapable to stir; and by this torture the neck is dislocated,
the joints of the arms start from their sockets, and the thigh bones are
disjointed;--in short, the tortured wretch would soon expire without any
farther process; yet, in that state, he is beaten by bamboos till at the
last gasp, and is then abandoned to the people, who devour the body.
There are women in China who refuse to marry, and prefer to live a
dissolute life of perpetual debauchery. A woman who has made this election,
presents herself in full audience before the commanding officer of a city,
declares her aversion to marriage, and desires to be enrolled among the
public women. Her name is then inserted in the register, with the name of
her family, the place of her abode, the number and description of her
jewels, and the particulars of her dress. She has then a string put round
her neck, to which is appended a copper ring, marked with the king's
signet, and she receives a writing, certifying that she is received into
the list of prostitutes, and by which she is entitled to a pension from the
public treasury of so many _falus_ yearly, and in which the punishment of
death is denounced against any man who should take her to wife. Every year,
regulations are published respecting these women, and such as have grown
old in the service are struck off the list. In the evening, these women
walk abroad in dresses of different colours, unveiled, and prostitute
themselves to all strangers who love debauchery; but the Chinese themselves
send for them to their houses, whence they do not depart till next morning.
The Chinese coin no money, except the small pieces of copper like those we
_falus_, nor will they allow gold and silver to be coined into specie, like
our dinars and drams; for they allege that a thief may carry off ten
thousand pieces of gold from the house of an Arab, and almost as many of
silver, without being much burthened, and so ruin the man who suffers the
loss; but in the house of a Chinese, he can only carry off ten thousand
_falus_ at the most, which do not make above ten meticals or gold dinars in
value. These pieces of copper are alloyed with some other metal, and are
about the size of a dram, or the piece of silver called _bagli_, having a
large hole in the middle to string them by. A thousand of them are worth a
metical or gold dinar; and they string them by thousands, with a knot
distinguishing the hundreds. All their payments, whether for land,
furniture, merchandize, or any thing else, are made in this money, of which
there are some pieces at Siraff, inscribed with Chinese characters. The
city of Canfu is built of wood and canes interwoven, just like our
lattice-work of split canes, the whole washed over with a kind of varnish
made of hempseed, which becomes as white as milk, having a wonderfully fine
gloss. There are no stairs in their houses, which are all of one storey,
and all their valuables are placed in chests upon wheels, which in case of
fire can easily be drawn from place to place, without any hinderance from
stairs.
The inferior officers of the cities, and those commonly who have the
direction of the customs and of the treasury, are almost all eunuchs, some
of whom have been captured on the frontiers and made so, while others are
so treated by their fathers, and sent as presents to the emperors. These
officers are at the head of the principal affairs of state, and have the
management of the emperor's private affairs, and of the treasury; and
those, particularly, who are sent to Canfu, are selected from this class.
It is customary for them, and for the viceroys or governors of the cities,
to appear abroad from time to time in solemn procession. On these
occasions, they are preceded by men who carry great pieces of wood, like
those used in the Levant instead of bells by the Christians, on which they
make a noise which is heard at a great distance, upon which every person
gets out of the way of the prince or eunuch. Even if a man is at his door,
he goes in, and keeps his door shut till the great personage has gone by.
Thus, not a soul is in the way, and this is enjoined that they may strike a
dread into the people, and be held in veneration; and the people are not
allowed to see them often, lest they should grow so familiar as to speak to
them.. All these officers wear very magnificent dresses of silk, so fine
that none such is brought into the country of the Arabs, as the Chinese
hold it at a very high price. One of our chief merchants, a man of perfect
credibility, waited upon an eunuch who had been sent to Canfu, to purchase
some goods from the country of the Arabs. The eunuch had upon his breast a
short and beautiful silk vest, which was under another silk vest, and
seemed to have two other vests over that again; and perceiving that the
Arab eyed him very steadfastly, he asked him the cause; and being told that
he admired the beauty of the little vest under his other garments, the
eunuch laughed, and holding out his sleeve to him, desired him to count how
many vests he had above that which he so much admired. He did so, and found
five, one over the other, and the little rich vest undermost. These
garments are all wove of raw silk, which has never been washed or fulled;
and those worn by the princes or governors are still richer, and more
exquisitely, wrought.
The Chinese surpass all nations in all arts, and particularly in painting,
and they perform such perfect work, as others can but faintly imitate. When
an artificer has finished a piece, he carries it to the prince's palace to
demand the reward which he thinks he deserves, for the beauty of his
performance; and the custom is for the prince to order the work to be left
at the gate of the palace for a whole year, and if in that time no person
finds a just fault in the piece, the artificer is rewarded, and admitted
into the body of artists; but if any fault is discovered, the piece is
rejected, and the workman sent off without reward. It happened once, that
one of these artists painted an ear of corn, with a bird perched upon it,
and his performance was very much admired. This piece, stood exposed to
public view as usual, and one day a crooked fellow going past, found fault
with the picture, and was immediately conducted to the prince or governor,
who sent for the painter that he might hear his piece criticized. Being
asked what fault he had to find, he answered, that every one knew that a
bird never settles on an ear of corn, but it must bend under the weight;
whereas this painter had represented the ear of corn bolt upright, though
loaded with a bird. The objection was held just, and the painter was
dismissed without reward. By such means, they excite their workmen to aim
at perfection, and to be exceedingly nice and circumspect in what they
undertake, and to apply their whole genius to any thing that has to go
through their hands.
There dwelt at Basra one Ebn Wahab, of the tribe of Koreish, descended from
Hebar, the son of Al Asud, who quitted Basra when it was sacked, and came
to Siraff, where he saw a ship preparing to sail for China[3]. The humour
took him to embark in this ship for China, and he had the curiosity to
visit the emperor's court. Leaving Canfu, he went to Cumdan, after a
journey of two months, and remained a long while at the court, where he
presented several petitions to the emperor, setting forth, that he was of
the family of the prophet of the Arabs. After a considerable interval, the
emperor ordered him to be lodged in a house appointed for the purpose, and
to be supplied with every thing he might need. The emperor then wrote to
the governor of Canfu, to inquire carefully among the Arabian merchants
respecting this man's pretensions; and receiving a full confirmation of his
extraction, received him to an audience, and made him rich presents, with
which he returned to Irak.
When, we saw him, this man was much advanced in years, but had his senses
perfectly. He told us that the emperor asked him many questions respecting
the Arabs, and particularly how they had destroyed the kingdom of the
Persians. Ebn Wahab answered, that they had done it by the assistance of
God, and because the Persians were immersed in idolatry, adoring the sun,
moon, and stars, instead of the Almighty. The emperor said, that they had
conquered the most illustrious kingdom of the earth, the best cultivated,
the most populous, the most pregnant of fine wits, and of the highest fame.
The emperor then asked Ebn Wahab what account the Arabs made of the other
kings of the earth; to which he answered that he knew them not. Then the
emperor caused the interpreter to say, we admit but five great kings. He
who is master of Irak has the kingdom of widest extent, which is surrounded
by the territories of other kings, and we find him called King of Kings.
After him is the emperor of China, who is styled King of Mankind, for no
king has more absolute authority over his subjects, and no people can be
more dutiful and submissive than his subjects. Next is the king of the
Turks, whose kingdom borders on China, and who is styled the King of Lions.
Next is the king of the Elephants, who is king of the Indies, whom we call
King of Wisdom. Last of all is the King of Greece, whom we call King of
Men, as there are no men of better manners, or comlier appearance, on the
face of the earth, than his subjects.
Ebn Wahab was then asked if he knew his lord and master the prophet
Mohammed, and if he had seen him? How could that be, said Wahab, seeing
that he is with God? Being then asked what manner of person he was; he
answered that he was very handsome. Then a great box was brought, out of
which another box was taken, and the interpreter was desired to shew him
his lord and master. Ebn Wahab, upon looking in, saw the images of the
prophets and the emperor observing him to move his lips, desired him to be
asked the reason; on which he said he was praying inwardly in honour of the
prophets. Being asked how he knew them, he said by the representation of
their histories; as for instance, one was Noah and his ark, who were saved
from the flood with those who were with them. The emperor laughed, and said
he was right in regard to Noah, but denied the universal deluge; which,
though it had covered part of the earth, did not reach China or the Indies.
On Wahab observing that the next was Moses, with his rod, and the children
of Israel; the emperor agreed that their country was of small extent, and
that Moses had extirpated the ancient inhabitants. Wahab then pointed out
Jesus upon the ass, accompanied by his apostles. To this the emperor said,
that he had been a short time upon earth, all his transactions having very
little exceeded the space of thirty months. On seeing the image of Mohammed
riding on a camel, and his companions about him, with Arabian shoes and
leathern girdles, Wahab wept; and being asked the reason, he answered, it
was on seeing his prophet and lord, who was his cousin also. The emperor
then asked concerning the age of the world; and Wahab answered, that
opinions varied on the subject, as some reckoned it to be six thousand
years old, while some would not allow so many, and others extended it to a
greater antiquity. Being asked why he had deserted his own king, to whom he
was so near in blood; he gave information of the revolutions which had
happened at Basra, which had forced him to fly to Siraff; where, hearing of
the glory of the emperor of China, and the abundance of every thing in his
empire, he had been impelled by curiosity to visit it; but that he intended
soon to return to the kingdom of his cousin, where he should make a
faithful report of the magnificence of China, the vast extent of its
provinces, and of the kind usage he had met with. This seemed to please the
emperor, who made him rich presents, and ordered him to be conducted to
Canfu on post horses[4]. He wrote also to the governor of that city,
commanding him to be treated with honour; and to the governors of the
provinces through which he had to pass, to shew him every civility. He was
treated handsomely during the remainder of his stay in China, plentifully
supplied with all necessaries, and honoured with many presents[5].
From the information of Ebn Wahab, we learn that Cumdan, where the emperor
of China keeps his court, is a very large and extremely populous city,
divided into two parts by a very long and broad street. That the emperor,
his chief ministers, the supreme judge, the eunuchs, the soldiery, and all
belonging to the imperial household, dwelt in that part of the city which
is on the right hand eastward; and that the people were not admitted into
that part of the city, which is watered by canals from different rivers,
the borders of which are, planted with trees, and adorned by magnificent
palaces. That portion of the city on the left hand, westwards from the
great street, is inhabited by the ordinary kind of people, and the
merchants, where also are great squares and markets for all the necessaries
of life. At day-break every morning, the officers of the royal household,
with the inferior servants, purveyors, and the domestics of the grandees of
the court, come into that division of the city, some on horseback, and
others on foot, to the public markets, and the shops of those who deal in
all sorts of goods, where they buy whatever they want, and do not return
again till their occasions call them back next morning. The city is very
pleasantly situate in the midst of a most fertile soil, watered by several
rivers, and hardly deficient in any thing except palm trees, which grow not
there.
In our time a discovery has been made, of a circumstance quite new and
unknown to our ancestors. No one ever imagined that the great sea which
extends from the Indies to China had any communication with the sea of
Syria. Yet we have heard, that in the sea of Rum, or the Mediterranean,
there was found the wreck of an Arabian ship, which had been shattered by a
tempest, in which all her men had perished. Her remains were driven by the
wind and weather into the sea of the Chozars, and thence by the canal of
the Mediterranean sea, and were at last thrown upon the coast of Syria.
Hence it is evident, that the sea surrounds all the country of China and
Sila or Cila, the uttermost parts of Turkestan, and the country of the
Chozars, and that it communicates by the strait with that which washes the
coast of Syria. This is proved by the structure of the wreck; of which the
planks were not nailed or bolted, like all those built in the
Mediterranean, or on the coast of Syria, but joined together in an
extraordinary manner, as if sewed, and none but the ships of Siraff are so
fastened. We have also heard it reported, that ambergris has been found on
the coast of Syria, which seems hard to believe, and was unknown to former
times. If this be true, it is impossible that amber should have been thrown
up on the sea of Syria, but by the sea of Aden and Kolsum, which has
communication with the seas where amber is found. And as God has put a
separation between these seas, it must have necessarily been, that this
amber was driven from the Indian Seas into the others, in the same
direction with the vessel of Siraff[6].
The province of Zapage is opposite to China, and distant from thence a
month's sail or less, if the wind be fair. The king of this country is
styled Mehrage, and his dominions are said to be 900 leagues in
circumference, besides which, he commands over many islands which lie
around; so that, altogether, this kingdom is above 1000 leagues in extent.
One of these islands is called _Serbeza_, which is said to be 400 leagues
in compass; another is called _Rhami_, which is 800 leagues round, and
produces red-wood, camphor, and many other commodities. In the same kingdom
is the island of _Cala_, which is the mid passage between China and the
country of the Arabs. This island is 80 leagues in circumference, and to it
they bring all sorts of merchandize, as aloes wood of several kinds,
camphor, sandal wood, ivory, the wood called _cabahi_, ebony, red-wood, all
sorts of spice, and many others; and at present the trade is carried on
between this island and that of Oman. The Mehrage is sovereign over all
these islands; and that of Zapage, in which he resides, is extremely
fertile, and so populous, that the towns almost touch each other, no part
of the land being uncultivated. The palace of the king or Mehrage, stands
on a river as broad as the Tigris at Bagdat or Bassora; but the sea
intercepts its course, and drives its waters back with the tide; yet during
the ebb the fresh water flows out a good way into the sea. The river water
is let into a small pond, close to the king's palace, and every morning the
master of the household brings an ingot of gold, wrought in a particular
manner, and throws it into the pond, in presence of the king. When the king
dies, his successor causes all these ingots, which have been accumulating
during the reign of his predecessor, to be taken out; and the sums arising
from this great quantity of gold are distributed among the royal household,
in certain proportions, according to their respective ranks, and the
surplus is given to the poor.
Komar is the country whence the aloes wood, which we call Hud al Komari, is
brought; and it is a very populous kingdom, of which the inhabitants are
very courageous. In this country, the boundless commerce with women is
forbidden, and indeed it has no wine. The kingdoms of Zapage and Komar are
about ten or twenty days easy sail from each other, and the kingdoms were
in peace with other when the following event is said, in their ancient
histories, to have occurred. The young and high-spirited king of Komar was
one day in his palace, which looks upon a river much like the Euphrates, at
the entrance, and is only a day's journey from the sea. One day, in a
discourse with his prime minister, the conversation turned upon the glory
and population of the kingdom of the Mehrage, and the multitude of its
dependent islands, when the king of Komar expressed a wish to see the head
of the Mehrage of Zapage on a dish before him. The minister endeavoured to
dissuade him from so unjust and rash an attempt; but the king afterwards
proposed the same exploit to the other officers of his court. Intelligence
of this project was conveyed to the Mehrage, who was a wise and active
prince, of consummate experience, and in the flower of his age; and who
immediately ordered a thousand small ships to be fitted out, with all
necessary arms and provisions, and manned with as many of his best troops
as they were able to transport; carefully concealing the purpose of this
armament, but giving out that he meant to visit the different islands under
his authority, and even caused letters to be written to the tributary kings
of these islands to prepare for his reception. When every thing was in
readiness, he sailed over to the kingdom of Komar, the king of which, and
all his courtiers, were a set of effeminate creatures, who did nothing all
day long but view their faces in mirrors, and pick their teeth. The Mehrage
landed his troops without delay, and immediately invested the palace, in
which the king was made prisoner, all his attendants having fled without
fighting. Then the Mehrage caused proclamation to be made, granting entire
security of life and property to all the inhabitants of the country; and
seating himself on the throne, caused the captive king and the prime
minister to be brought into his presence. Addressing himself to the fallen
monarch, he demanded his reasons for entertaining a project so unjust, and
beyond his power to execute, and what were his ultimate intentions if he
had succeeded. To this the king of Komar made no answer; and the Mehrage
ordered his head to be struck off. To the minister, the Mehrage made many
compliments, for the good advice he had given his master, and ordered him
to place the person who best deserved to succeed upon the vacant throne;
and then departed to his own dominions, without doing the smallest violence
or injury to the kingdom of Komar. The news of this action being reported
to the kings of China and the Indies, added greatly to their respect for
the Mehrage; and from that time, it has been the custom for the kings of
Komar to prostrate themselves every morning towards the country of Zapage,
in honour of the Mehrage[7].
All the kings of China and the Indies believe in the metempsychosis, or
transmigration of souls, as an article of their religion, of which the
following story, related by a person of credibility, is a singular
instance. One of these princes having viewed himself in a mirror, after
recovering from the small-pox, and noticing how dreadfully his face was
disfigured, observed, that no person had ever remained in his body after
such a change, and as the soul passes instantly into another body, he was
determined to separate Ha soul from its present frightful body, that he
might pass into another. Wherefore he commanded his nephew to mount the
throne, and calling for a sharp and keen scymitar, ordered his own head to
be cut off, that his soul might be set free, to inhabit a new body. His
orders were complied with, and his body was burnt, according to the custom
of the country.
Until the late revolution had reduced them to their present state of
anarchy, the Chinese were wonderfully regular and exact in every thing
relative to government; of which the following incident affords a striking
example. A merchant of Chorassan, who had dealt largely in Irak, and who
embarked from thence for China, with a quantity of goods, had a dispute
at Canfu with an eunuch, who was sent to purchase some ivory, and other
goods for the emperor, and at length the dispute ran so high, that the
merchant refused to sell him his goods. This eunuch was keeper of the
imperial treasury, and presumed so much on the favour and confidence which
he enjoyed with his master, that he took his choice of all the goods he
wanted from the merchant by force, regardless of every thing that the
merchant could say. The merchant went privately from Canfu to Cumdan, the
residence of the emperor, which is two months journey; and immediately went
to the string of the bell, mentioned in the former section, which he
pulled. According to the custom of the country, he was conveyed to a place
at the distance of ten days journey, where he was committed to prison for
two months; after which he was brought before the viceroy of the province,
who represented to him, that he had involved himself in a situation which
would tend to his utter ruin, and even the loss of his life, if he did not
speak out the real truth: Because there were ministers and governors
appointed to distribute justice to all strangers, who were ready to see him
righted; and if the nature of the wrongs, which he had to represent, did
not appear such as to entitle him to this application to the emperor, he
would assuredly be put to death, as a warning to others not to follow his
example. The viceroy, therefore, advised him to withdraw his appeal, and to
return immediately to Canfu. The rule on such occasions was, that, if the
party should endeavour to recede after this exhortation, he would have
received fifty blows of a bamboo, and have been immediately sent out of the
country: but if he persisted in his appeal, he was immediately admitted to
an audience of the emperor. The merchant strenuously persisted in his
demand for justice, and was at length admitted to the presence of the
emperor, to whom he related the injustice of the eunuch, in taking away his
goods by force. Upon this, the merchant was thrown, into prison, and the
emperor ordered his prime minister to write to the governor of Canfu, to
make strict inquiry into the complaints which he had exhibited against the
eunuch, and to make a faithful report of all the circumstances; and he, at
the same time, gave similar orders to three other principal officers, to
make the same inquiry, all separate and unknown to each other.
These officers, who are called of the right, of the left, and of the
centre, according to their ranks, have the command of the imperial forces,
under the prime minister; they are entrusted with the guard of the emperors
person: and when, he takes the field, on any military enterprise, or on any
other account, these officers are stationed near him, each according to his
rank. All of these made accordingly the strictest inquiries into the
allegations of the merchant, and all separately gave in their reports,
assuring the emperor that these complaints were just and well-founded: and
these were followed and confirmed by many other informations. The eunuch
was in consequence deprived of his office of treasurer, find all his
effects were confiscated; on which occasion the emperor addressed him as
follows; "Death ought to have been your doom, for giving occasion of
complaint against me to this man, who hath come from Chorassan, which is on
the borders of my empire. He hath been in the country of the, Arabs, whence
he came into the kingdoms of the Indies, and thence into my empire, seeking
his advantage by trade; and you would have occasioned him to return across
all these regions, saying to all the people in his way, that he had been
abused and stripped of his substance in China. In consideration of your
former services, and the rank you have held in my household, I grant your
life; but as you have not discharged your duty in regard to the living, I
will confer upon you the charge of the dead." The eunuch was accordingly
sent to take the custody of the imperial tombs, and to remain there for the
remainder of his life.
Before the late commotions, the good order observed in the administration
of justice, and the majesty of their tribunals, were very admirable. To
fill these, the Chinese chose men who were perfectly versant in the laws;
men of sincerity, and zealous in the cause of justice, who were not to be
biassed by the interference of the great, and who always administered the
laws with impartiality, neither oppressing the poor, nor accepting bribes
from the rich. When any one was to be promoted to the office of principal
judge, he was previously sent to all the chief cities of the empire, to
remain a month or two in each, inquiring minutely into the various customs
and affairs of the people, and informing himself of all such persons as
were worthy of being credited in their testimony, that his judgment might
be regulated in the future discharge of his high office by this preliminary
knowledge. After going through all the cities in this manner, and making
some stay in those which are most considerable, he repaired to the imperial
court, and was invested with the dignity of supreme judge. To him the
nomination of all the other judges was confided, after acquainting the
emperor with the names of all who, in his estimation, were most worthy of
exercising jurisdiction in the various cities and provinces. Every day, the
supreme judge causes proclamation to be made, that of any man has been
wronged by the viceroy or governor, or by any of his relations or officers,
or any other person, he shall receive ample justice. A viceroy or governor
is never degraded, except by letters issued from the council, or divan of
kings, and this is done only for some flagrant malversation, or for the
refusal or delay of justice. The posts of judicature being conferred upon
none but men of probity and justice, good order is efectually maintained.
The province of Chorassan is almost on the borders of China. From China to
Sogd is about two months journey, through impracticable deserts of sand,
where there is no water; for which reason the Chorassanians can make no
irruptions into China. The most westerly province of China is _Medu_, which
borders on Thibet, and the two nations are often at war. A person who had
been in China, informed us, that he had seen a man at Canfu, who had
traveled from _Samare_, all the way on foot, through all the cities in
China, with a vessel of musk on his back for sale; which he might easily
do, as the part of Thibet, which produces musk, is contiguous to China. The
Chinese carry off as many of the animals which produce musk as they can
procure; but the musk of Thibet is far better than that of China, because
the animal feeds on aromatic plants in the mountains of Thibet, while in
China it has to subsist upon the ordinary pastures; and because the
inhabitants of Thibet preserve their cods of musk in its natural state of
purity, while the Chinese adulterate all that gets into their hands; for
which reason the musk of Thibet is in great request among the Arabs. The
most exquisite of all the sorts of musk, is that which the musk animals
leave behind them, in rubbing themselves on the rocks of their native
mountains. The humour whence the musk is generated, falls down towards
the navel of the animal, where it gathers into tumors like grumous blood;
and when this tumor is ripe, it produces a painful itching, on which the
animal rubs himself against rocks or stones till he bursts the tumor, and
the contents run out and coagulate on the stone; after which, the wound
heals, and the humour gathers again as before. There are men in Thibet who
make it their business to collect this species of musk, which they preserve
in bladders, and which, having ripened, naturally surpasses all others in
goodness, just as ripe fruit exceeds in flavour that which is pulled green.
There is another way of procuring musk, either by ensnaring the animals, or
shooting them with arrows; but the hunters often cut out the bags before
the musk is ripe or fully elaborated, in which case, the musk at first has
a bad scent, till the humour thickens, after which it turns to good musk,
though this sometimes takes a long while. The musk animal is like our
roebuck, his skin and colour the same, with slender legs, and smooth
slightly bent horns; having on each side two small white teeth, about half
a finger-length, which rise about his muzzle, not much unlike the form of
the teeth of the elephant, and by which he is distinguished from other
roebucks.
The letters from the emperor of China, to the viceroys, governors, eunuchs,
and lieutenants, are conveyed on post-horses, which are distinguished by
cut tails, and these are disposed at regular stations, all over the empire,
almost like the posts among the Arabs. In China, every man, from the
emperor to the meanest of the people, makes water standing [8]; and for
this purpose, persons of dignity have gilded hollow canes, a cubit long, to
convey their water to a distance. They are of opinion, that pains in the
kidneys, strangury, and even the stone, are occasioned by urining in a
sitting posture, as the reins cannot free themselves absolutely from evil
humours, except by evacuating in an erect position. They do not mould the
heads of new born infants into a round form as we do, as they allege that
this practice injures the brain, and impairs the senses. They suffer their
hair to grow, which is carefully combed. The nation is divided into tribes,
like those of the Arabs and some others, and no man ever marries in his own
tribe: just as the children of Thummim among the Arabs never take a wife
from that tribe. Or, for example, a man of the tribe of Robayat marries a
daughter of the tribe Modzar, and a Modzar marries a Robayat; and they are
of opinion, that such alliances add to the dignity and power of their
children.
In the kingdom of the Balhara, and all the other kingdoms of the Indies,
there are men who burn themselves in consequence of their belief in the
doctrine of transmigration. When a man has come to this resolution, he asks
leave of the king, which being obtained, he goes in procession round all
the public squares of the city, and proceeds to the place appointed, where
a pile of dry wood is ready for the purpose, having many persons all round
to feed the fire, which blazes prodigiously. At last the person comes
forward, preceded by a number of instruments, and moves round the pile in
the midst of his friends and relations. During this ceremony, some person
places on his head a garland of straw, or dry herbs, filled with burning
coals, on which they pour _sandrach_, which takes fire as strongly as
naphtha; notwithstanding of which, he continues his progress without
betraying any sense of pain, or change of countenance, though the crown of
his head be all on fire, and the stench of his burning flesh is felt all
round. At length, he comes up to the pile, and throws himself in, where he
is soon reduced to ashes. A credible person says, he once saw an Indian
burn himself; and when he came near the pile, he drew out a cangiar, or
sharp knife, with which he ripped himself open, and pulling out the lap of
his liver with his left hand, cut off a piece of it with his cangiar, and
gave it to one of his brothers, talking all the time with the most
invincible contempt of death and torture, and at length leaped into the
fire, in his passage to hell.
At the accession of some kings of the Indies, the following ceremony is
observed: A large quantity of rice is dressed and spread out upon leaves of
mousa, in presence of the king. Then three or four hundred persons come, of
their own accord, without any constraint whatever; and after the king has
eaten of the rice, he gives some of it to all that come forwards in
succession, which they eat in his presence; and by this ceremony, they
engage to burn themselves on the day when this king dies or is slain, and
they punctually fulfil their promise.
In the mountainous parts of India, there are tribes who differ little from
those we call _Kanisians_ and _Jelidians_ and who are addicted to all
manner of superstition and vice; between whom, and the inhabitants of the
people on the coast, there subsists great emulation, each daring the others
to imitate them in the performance of strange superstitious tortures. There
once came a man from the mountains on this errand, who gathered a multitude
of the inhabitants of the coast to the following strange exhibition, daring
them to imitate him, or otherwise to acknowledge themselves overcome. He
sat down in a place planted with canes, and caused a strong one to be
forcibly bent down, to which he strongly fastened the hairs of his head.
"Now," said he, "I am going to cut off my own head with this cangiar; and
as soon as it is severed from my body, let go the cane, and when my head
flies up into the air, I will laugh, and you shall hear me." But the people
of the coast had not courage to imitate him[9]. The person who related
this, did it without emotion or wonder; and in our times, these facts are
generally known, as this part of the Indies is in the neighbourhood of the
country of the Arabs, and we hear from thence every day.
In the Indies, they burn their dead; and it is customary for men and women
to desire their families to throw them into the fire or to drown them, when
they are grown old, or perceive themselves to sink under the pressure of
disease, firmly believing that they are to return into other bodies. It has
often happened, in the isle of Serendib, where there is a mine of precious
stones in a mountain, a pearl-fishery, and other extraordinary things, that
an Indian would come into the bazar or market-place, armed with a _kris_,
and seize upon the most wealthy merchant there present, leading him out of
the market, through a throng of people, holding the kris to his throat,
while no one dared to attempt his rescue, as the Indian was sure, in such a
case, to kill the merchant, and make away with himself; and when he had got
the merchant out of the city, the Indian obliged him to redeem his life
with a sum of money. To put an end to such outrages, an order was issued to
seize such trespassers; but on attempting to execute this order, several
merchants were killed, both Arabs and Indians, and the order was obliged to
be repealed. In the mountains of Serendib, precious stones are found of
various colours, red, green, and yellow[10], most of which are washed from
caverns or crevices, by rains and torrents. In these places, the king has
officers to watch over the people who gather the precious stones. In some
places, these are dug out of mines, like the ores of metals, and the rock
has often to be broken to come at the precious stones which it contains.
The king of Serendib makes laws concerning the religion and government of
the country; and there are assemblies held of doctors and learned men, like
those of _Hadithis_ among the Arabs, to which the Indians repair, and write
down what they hear of the lives of their prophets, and the expositions of
their laws. In this island, there are temples in which great sums of money
are expended on incense; and in one of these temples, there is a great idol
all of pure gold, but concerning the weight of which travellers are not
agreed. In the same island, there are great numbers of Jews, and persons of
many other sects, even _Tanouis_, and Manichees, the kings permitting the
free exercise of every religion. At the end of the island are vallies of
great extent, extending quite to the sea, called _Gab Serendib_, of extreme
beauty, and chequered with groves and plains, water and meads, and blessed
with a wholesome air. A sheep may be there bought for half a dram, and for
the same as much of their drink, made of palm-honey, boiled and prepared
with _tari_, or toddi, as will suffice for many persons. The inhabitants
are much addicted to gaming, particularly draughts. Their other principal
diversion is cock-fighting, their cocks being very large, and better
provided with spurs than ordinary; and besides this, the Indians arm them
with blades of iron, in the form of cangiars or daggers. On these combats,
they bet gold and silver, lands or farms; and they game with such fury,
that debauchees, and desperate people, often stake the ends of their
fingers, when their other property is exhausted. While at play for this
extraordinary stake, they have a fire by them, on which a small pot of
walnut oil, or oil of sesamum, is kept boiling; and when one has won a
game, he chops off the end of the loser's finger, who immediately dips the
stump into the boiling oil, to stem the blood; and some will persist so
obstinately, as to have all their fingers thus mutilated. Some even will
take a burning wick, and apply it to some member, till the scent of the
burnt flesh is felt all around, while the stoic continues to play, without
betraying the least sense of pain. Both men and women are so exceedingly
addicted to debauchery, that a foreign merchant has been known to send even
for a king's daughter, to attend him at the fishing grounds, in quality of
mistress; wherefore the Mahomedan doctors at Siraff, strictly warn young
people not to go there.
In the Indies there are heavy rains, called _jasara_, which last
incessantly day and night, for three months every year. The Indians prepare
against these to the best of their power, as they shut themselves up in
their houses during the whole time, all work being then performed within
doors; and during this time, they are subject to ulcers in the soles of
their feet, occasioned by the damps. Yet, these rains are of indispensable
necessity; as, when they fail, the Indians are reduced to the utmost want,
as their rice fields are watered only by the rains. It never rains during
summer. The Indians have doctors, or devout men, named Bramins. They have
poets also, who compose poems filled with the grossest flattery to their
kings and great men. They have also astrologers, philosophers, soothsayers,
men who observe the flight of birds, and others who pretend to the
calculation of nativities, particularly at Kaduge, a great city in the
kingdom of Gozar[11]. There are certain men called _Bicar_, who go all
their lives naked, and suffer their hair to grow till it hides their hinder
parts. They also allow their nails to grow, till they become pointed and
sharp like swords. Each has a string round his neck, to which hangs an
earthen dish, and when hungry, they go to any house, whence the inhabitants
cheerfully supply them with boiled rice. They have many laws and religious
precepts, by which they imagine that they please God. Part of their
devotion consists in building _kans_, or inns, on the highways, for the
accommodation of travellers; where also certain pedlars, or small dealers,
are established, from whom the passengers may purchase what they stand in
need of. There are also public women, who expose themselves to travellers.
Some of these are called _women of the idol_, the origin of which
institution is this: When a woman has laid herself under a vow, that she
may have children, if she happens to produce a handsome daughter, she
carries her child to the _bod_[12], so the idol is called. When this girl
has attained the proper age, she takes an apartment in the temple, and
waits the arrival of strangers, to whom she prostitutes herself for a
certain hire, and delivers her gains to the priest for the support of the
temple. All these things they reckon among their meritorious deeds. Praised
be God who hath freed us from the sins which defile the people involved in
unbelief!
Not very far from Almansur there is a famous idol called Multan, to which
the Indians resort in pilgrimage, from the remotest parts. Some of the
pilgrims bring the odoriferous wood called Hud ul Camruni, so called from
Camrun, where there is excellent aloes-wood. Some of this is worth 200
_dinars_ the mawn, and is commonly marked with a seal, to distinguish it
from another kind of less value. This the devotees give to the priests,
that it may be burnt before the idol, but merchants often buy it from these
priests. There are some Indians, making profession of piety, who go in
search of unknown islands, or those newly discovered, on purpose to plant
cocoa nut trees, and to sink wells for the use of ships. There are people
at Oman who cross to these islands that produce the cocoa nut trees, of
planks made from which they build ships, sewing the planks with yarns made
from the bark of the tree. The mast is made of the same wood, the sails are
formed from the leaves, and the bark is worked up into cordage: and having
thus completed their vessel, they load her with cocoa nuts, which they
bring to Oman for sale.
The country of the Zinges, or Negroes, is of vast extent[13]. These people
commonly sow millet, which is the chief food of the negroes. They have also
sugar-canes and other trees, but their sugar is very black. The negroes are
divided among a great number of kings, who are eternally at war with each
other. Their kings are attended by certain men called Moharamin, each of
whom has a ring in his nose, and a chain round his neck. When about to join
battle with the enemy, each of the Moharamin takes the end of his
neighbour's chain and passes it through the ring in his own nose, by which
the whole are chained together, so that no one can possibly run away.
Deputies are then sent to endeavour to make peace, and if that is done, the
chains are unfastened, and they retire without fighting. But otherwise,
when once the sword is unsheathed, every one of these men must conquer or
die on the spot[14].
These people have a profound veneration for the Arabs; and when they meet
any one, they fall down before him, saying, "This man comes from the land
of dates," of which they are very fond. They have preachers among them, who
harangue with wonderful ability and perseverance. Some of these profess a
religious life, and are covered with the skins of leopards or apes. One of
these men will gather a multitude of people, to whom he will preach all day
long concerning God, or about the actions of their ancestors. From this
country they bring the leopards skins, called Zingiet, which are very large
and broad, and ornamented with red and black spots.
In this sea is the island of Socotra, whence come the best aloes. This
island is near the land of the Zinges, or Negroes, and is likewise near
Arabia; and most of its inhabitants are Christians, which is thus accounted
for: When Alexander had subdued the empire of Persia, his preceptor,
Aristotle, desired him to search out the island of Socotra, which afforded
aloes, and without which the famous medicine Hiera[15] could not be
compounded; desiring him likewise to remove the natives and to plant there
a colony of Greeks, who might supply Syria, Greece, and Egypt with aloes.
This was done accordingly; and when God sent Jesus Christ into the world,
the Greeks of this isle embraced the Christian faith, like the rest of
their nation, and have persevered in it to this day, like all the other
inhabitants of the islands[16].
In the first book, no mention is made of the sea which stretches away to
the right, as ships depart from Oman and the coast of Arabia, to launch out
into the great sea: and the author describes only the sea on the left hand,
in which are comprehended the seas of India and China. In this sea, to the
right as you leave Oman, is the country of Sihar or Shihr, where
frankincense grows, and other countries possessed by the nations of Ad,
Hamyar, Jorham, and Thabatcha, who have the Sonna, in Arabic of very
ancient date, but differing in many things from what is in the hands of the
Arabs, and containing many traditions unknown to us. They have no villages,
and live a very hard and miserably wandering life; but their country
extends almost as far as Aden and Judda on the coast of Yaman, or Arabia
the happy. From Judda, it stretches up into the continent, as far as the
coast of Syria, and ends at Kolzum. The sea at this place is divided by a
slip of land, which God hath fixed as a line of separation between the two
seas[17]. From Kolzum the sea stretches along the coast of the Barbarians,
to the west coast, which is opposite to Yaman, and then along the coast of
Ethiopia, from whence we have the leopard skins of Barbary[18], which are
the best of all, and the most skilfully dressed; and lastly, along the
coast of Zeilah, whence come excellent amber and tortoiseshell.
When the Siraff ships arrive in the Red Sea, they go no farther than Judda,
whence their cargo is transported to Cairo, or _Kahira_ by ships of Kolsum,
the pilots of which are acquainted with the navigation of the upper end of
this sea, which is full of rocks up to the water's edge; because, also,
along the coast there are no kings[19], and scarcely any inhabitants; and
because, every night ships are obliged to put into some place for safety,
for fear of striking on the rocks, or must ride all night at anchor,
sailing only in the day-time. This sea is likewise subject to very thick
fogs, and to violent gales of wind, and is therefore of very dangerous
navigation, and devoid of any safe or pleasant anchorage. It is not, like
the seas of India and China, whose bottom is rich with pearls and
ambergris; whose mountains are stored with gold, precious stones, and
ivory; whose coasts produce ebony, redwood, aloes, camphor, nutmegs,
cloves, sandal, and all other spices and aromatics; where parrots and
peacocks are birds of the forest, and in which musk and civet are collected
in abundance: so productive, in short, are these shores of articles of
infinite variety, and inestimable value, that it were vain to endeavour to
make any enumeration.
Ambergris is thrown upon this coast by the flux of the sea, but its origin
is unknown. It is found on the coast of the Indies, but the best, which is
of a bluish white, and in round lumps, is got upon the Barbarian coast: or
on the confines of the land of the Negroes, towards Sihar and that
neighbourhood. The inhabitants of that country have camels trained for the
purpose, on which they ride along the shore in moonshine nights, and when
the camels perceive a piece of amber, he bends his knees, on which the
rider dismounts, and secures his prize. There is another kind which swims
on the surface of the sea in great lumps, sometimes as big as the body of
an ox, or somewhat less. When a certain fish, named _Tal_, of the whale
tribe, sees these floating lumps, he swallows them, and is thereby killed;
and when the people, who are accustomed to this fishery, see a whale
floating on the surface, they know that this whale has swallowed ambergris,
and going out in their boats, they dart their harpoons into its body, and
tow it on shore, and split the animal down the back, to get out the
ambergris. What is found about the belly of the whale is commonly spoiled
by the wet, and has an unpleasant scent; but the ambergris which is not
contaminated by the ordure in the belly of the whale, is perfectly
good[20].
It is not unusual to employ the vertebrae of this species of whale as
stools; and it is said, there are many houses in the village of Tain, ten
leagues from Siraff, in which the lintels of the doors are made of whale
ribs. An eye-witness told me that he went to see a whale which had been
cast ashore, near Siraff, and found the people mounting on its back by
means of ladders; that they dug pits in different parts of his body, and
when the sun had melted the grease into oil, they collected this, and sold
it to the masters of ships, who mixed it up with some other matter, used by
seamen for the purpose of serving the bottoms of their vessels, and
securing the seams of the planks, to prevent or to stop leaks. This
whale-oil sells for a great deal of money; and the bones of the whale are
sold by the druggists of Bagdat and Bassora.
The pearl oyster is at first a small thin tender substance, resembling the
leaves of the plant called _Anjedana_, and swims on the surface of the sea,
where it sticks to the sides of ships under water. It there hardens, grows
larger, and becomes covered by a shell; after which, it becomes heavy, and
falls to the bottom of the sea, where it subsists, and grows in a way of
which we are ignorant. The included animal resembles a piece of red flesh,
or like the tongue of an animal towards the root, having no bones, veins,
or sinews. One opinion of the production of pearls in this shell-fish is,
that the oyster rises to the surface when it rains, and, by gaping, catches
the drops of rain, which harden into pearls. The more likely opinion is,
that the pearls are generated within the body of the oyster, for most of
them are fixed, and not moveable. Such as are loose are called _seed_
pearls.
An Arab came once to Bassora with a pearl of great value, which he shewed
to a merchant, and was astonished when he got so large a sum for it as an
hundred drams of silver; with which he purchased corn to carry back to his
own country. But the merchant carried his acquisition to Bagdad, where he
sold it for a large sum of money, by which he was afterwards enabled to
extend his dealings to a great amount. The Arab gave the following account
of the way in which he had found this large pearl: Going one day along the
shore, near Saman, in the district of Bahrein[21], he saw a fox lying dead,
with something hanging at his muzzle, which held him fast, which he
discovered to be a white lucid shell, in which he found this pearl. He
concluded that the oyster had been thrown ashore by a tempest, and lay with
its shell open on the beach, when the fox, attracted by the smell, had
thrust in his muzzle to get at the meat, on which the oyster closed its
shell, and held him fast till he died: for it is a property of the oyster
never to let go its hold, except forcibly opened, by thrusting in an iron
instrument between the shells, carefully guarding its included pearl, as a
mother preserves her child.
The kings of the Indies wear ear-rings of gold, set with precious stones,
and they wear collars of great value, adorned with gems of various colours,
chiefly green and red; yet pearls are most esteemed, and their value
surpasses that of all other jewels, and these they hoard up in their
treasuries, with their most precious things. The grandees of their courts,
their great officers, and the military commanders, wear similar jewels in
their collars. Their dress is a kind of half vest, and they carry parasols
made of peacocks feathers to shade them from the sun, and are surrounded by
great trains of servants.
Among the Indians, there are certain people who never eat two out of the
same dish or even at the same table, on account of some religious opinion.
When these come to Siraf, and are invited by our considerable merchants,
were there a hundred of them more or less, they must each have a separate
dish, without the least communication with the rest. Their kings and
principal persons have fresh tables made for them every day, with little
dishes and plates wove of the cocoa nut leaf, out of which they eat their
victuals. And when their meal is over, the table dishes and plates are all
thrown into the water, together with the fragments of their food; so that
they must have a fresh service for every meal.
To the Indies the merchants used formerly to carry the dinars, called
sindiat, or gold coins of the _Sind_, which passed there for three of our
dinars, or even more. Thither also were carried emeralds from Egypt, which
were much used for setting in rings.
[1] From the description of this place afterwards, in the travels of Ebn
Wahab, in this article, it appears to have been Nankin.--E.
[2] The chronology of the Chinese history is attended with extreme
difficulty. According to Du Halde: In the reign of the emperor _Hi
Tseng_, the 18th of the _Tsong_ dynasty, the empire fell into great
confusion, in consequence of heavy taxations, and a great famine
occasioned by the inundation of the rivers, and the ravages of
locusts. These things caused many insurrections, and a rebel, named
_Hoan Tsia_ put himself at the head of the malcontents, and drove the
emperor from the imperial city. But he was afterwards defeated, and
the emperor restored. It must be owned that there are about twenty
years difference between the time of the rebellion mentioned in the
text, and the date of the great revolt, as assigned by Du Halde; but
whether the mistake lies in the Arabian manuscript, or in the
difficulties of Chinese chronology, I cannot take upon me to
determine; yet both stories probably relate to the same event.
--Harris.
[3] According to Abulpharagius, one Abu Said revolted against the Khaliff
Al Mohated, in the year of the hegira, 285, A.D. 893, and laid waste
Bassora. This date agrees with the story of Ebn Wahab in the text.
--Harris.
[4] From this circumstance, it appears probable that the great canal of
China was not then constructed.--E.
[5] Some circumstances in this very interesting detail have been a little
curtailed. If Abu Zaid had been a man of talents, he might surely have
acquired and transmitted more useful information from this traveller;
who indeed seems to have been a poor drivelling zelot.--E.
[6] There is a vast deal of error in this long paragraph. It certainly was
impossible to ascertain the route or voyage of the wreck, which was
_said_ to have been cast away on the coast of Syria. If it could have
been ascertained to have come from the sea of the Chozars, or the
Euxine, by the canal of Constantinople, and the Egean, into the gulf
of Syria, and actually was utterly different from the build of the
Mediterranean, it may or must have been Russian. If it certainly was
built at Siraff, some adventurous Arabian crew must have doubled the
south of Africa from the east, and perished when they had well nigh
immortalized their fame, by opening up the passage by sea from Europe
to India: And as the Arabian Moslems very soon navigated to Zanguebar,
Hinzuan, and Madagascar, where their colonies still remain, this list
is not impossible, though very unlikely. The ambergris may have
proceeded from a sick cachalot that had wandered into the
Mediterranean.
The north-east passage around the north of Asia and Europe, which is
adduced by the commentator, in Harris's Collection, is now thoroughly
known to be impracticable.--E.
[7] It is difficult to say anything certain of the countries to which this
story relates; which may have been some of the islands now called
Philipines, or perhaps some of the islands in the straits of Sunda.
--Harris.
Such is the opinion of the editor of Harris's Collection. But I am
disposed, especially from the rivers mentioned, to consider Zapage as
Pegu; and that Malacca, Sumatra, and Java, were the dependent islands;
and particularly, that Malacca, as the great mart of early trade,
though actually no island, was the Cala of Abu Zeid. Siam, or Cambodia
may have been the kingdom of Komar.--E.
[8] This alludes to the custom of the Arabs, and other orientals, to squat
upon this occasion.--E.
[9] It is presumable, that this was a mere bravado, in the full confidence
that no one would be found sufficiently foolhardy to engage to follow
the example. It is needless to say, that the promise of laughing aloud
could not have been performed; so that any one might have safely
accepted the challenge, conditioning for the full performance of the
vaunt.--E.
[10] Rubies, emeralds, and topazes.--E.
[11] Obviously Canoge, in Bengal.--E.
[12] Buddah, the principal god of an extensive sect, now chiefly confined
to Ceylon, and India beyond the Ganges.--E.
[13] The author makes here an abrupt transition to the eastern coast of
Africa, and calls it the country of the Zinges; congeneric with the
country of Zanguebar, and including Azania, Ajen, and Adel, on the
north; and Inhambane, Sabia, Sofala, Mocaranga, Mozambique, and
Querimba, to the south; all known to, and frequented by the Arabs.--E.
[14] This incredible story may have originated from an ill-told account of
the war bulls of the Caffres, exaggerated into fable, after the usual
manner of the Arabs, always fond of the marvellous.--E.
[15] It is somewhat singular to find this ancient Arabian author mentioning
the first word of the famous _Hiera Picra_, or Holy Powder; a compound
stomachic purge of aloes and spices, probably combined by the ancients
with many other ingredients, as it is by the moderns with rhubarb,
though now only given in tincture or solution with wine or spirits.
The story of Alexander rests only on its own Arabian basis.--E.
[16] Meaning, doubtless, the isles of the Mediterranean.--E.
[17] Referring, obviously, to the Isthmus of Suez.--E.
[18] This does not refer to the coast of Barbary in the Mediterranean, but
must mean the coast of the barbarian Arabs or Bedouins.--E.
[19] This singular expression probably signifies that the inhabitants are
without law or regular government.--E.
[20] This curious account of the origin of ambergris, was revived again
about twenty-five years ago, and published in the Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society of London, as a new discovery. The
only difference in the modern account of the matter is, that the
ambergris originates within the alimentary canal of the whale, in
consequence, probably, of some disease; and that the lumps which are
found afloat, or cast on shore, had been extruded by these
animals.--E.
[21] Bahrein is an island in the Persian gulf, on the Arabian shore, still
celebrated for its pearl fishery.--E.
CHAP. V.
_Travels of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, through Europe, Asia, and Africa,
from Spain to China, between A.D. 1160 and 1173_[1].
This Spanish Jew was the son of Rabbi Jonas, of Tudela, a small town in
Navarre. According to the testimony of Rabbi Abraham Zuka, a celebrated
professor of astronomy at Salamanca, it is supposed that Rabbi Benjamin
travelled from 1160 to 1173. Young Barratier, a prodigy of early literary
genius, asserts that Benjamin never made the journey at all, but patched up
the whole work from contemporary writers. There is no doubt that his work
is full of incredible tales, yet many of the anomalies it contains, may
have proceeded from mistakes of copyists; exaggeration was the taste of the
times, and other travellers who are believed actually to have travelled,
are not behind him in the marvellous. These often relate the miracles of
pretended Christian saints, while he details the wonders performed by
Jewish Rabbis. He contains however, many curious pieces of information, not
to be found anywhere else, and it seems necessary and proper to give a full
abstract of his travels in this place.
Travelling by land to Marseilles, Benjamin embarked for Genoa, and
proceeded to Rome, from whence he went through the kingdom of Naples to
Otranto, where he crossed over to Corfu and Butrinto, and journeyed by land
through Greece to Constantinople, having previously visited the country of
Wallachia. All this takes up the four first chapters, which are omitted in
Harris. In the fifth, he gives an account of the city and Court of
Constantinople, as follows: Constantinople is an exceedingly great city,
the capital of the Javanites[2], or the nation called Greeks, and the
principal seat of the emperor Emanuel[3], whose commands are obeyed by
twelve kings, for every one of whom there are several palaces in
Constantinople, and they have fortresses and governments in other places of
the empire, and to them the whole land is subject. The principal of these
is the Apripus, _Praepositus_, or prime minister; the second, Mega
Dumastukitz, [Greek: Mezas Domestichos], or great chamberlain; the third
Dominot, _Dominos_, or lord: but his peculiar office or department does not
appear; the fourth Mackducus, [Greek: Mezas Dochas], great duke or high
Admiral; the fifth Iknomus Megli, [Greek: Oichonomos mezas], or lord high
steward of the household; and the rest have names like unto these[4].
Constantinople is eighteen miles in circuit, half of it being on the sea,
and the other half towards the continent; it stands on two arms of the sea,
into one of which the sea flows from Russia, and into the other from Spain;
and its port is frequented by many traders, from the countries and
provinces of Babylon, Senaar, Media, Persia, Egypt, Canaan, Russia,
Hungary, _Psianki[5], Buria_, Lombardy, and Spain.
The city is extremely populous, and hath none to compare with it, except
Bagdat, the mighty city of the Ismaelites[6]. In it is the magnificent
temple of St Sophia, where dwells the patriarch of the Greeks, who do not
agree in doctrine with the pope of Rome. This temple contains as many
altars as there are days in the year, and it has a revenue beyond all
estimation great, from the offerings and riches brought continually from
divers countries, islands, forts, castles, and places, so that the wealth
of no other temple on earth can be compared to the riches which it
contains. In the middle of this temple there are pillars of gold and
silver, huge candlesticks, lanterns, lamps, and other ornaments of these
precious metals, more than can be reckoned. Close to this temple there is a
place set apart for the diversion of the emperor, called the Hippodrome,
where great spectacles are represented yearly, on the birth-day of Jesus of
Nazareth, in which men in the habits of all the various people of the
earth, appear before the emperor and empress, with lions, bears, leopards,
and wild asses, which are made to fight together; and in no country on
earth are such princely sports to be seen.
Besides the palace left him by his ancestors, Manuel has built one for
himself, called Bilbernae[7], the pillars and walls of which are overlaid
with beaten gold and silver, on which all the wars of his ancestors are
represented. In this palace there is a throne of gold and precious stones,
over which a golden crown, enriched with precious stones and pearls, is
suspended on high, the value of which is beyond computation, and its lustre
so great, that it shines, and may be seen in the night. There are other
things in this palace of such value and profusion as are quite incredible,
and immense tributes are brought yearly into it, by which the towers are
filled with scarlet and purple garments and gold, so that the like example
of sumptuous buildings, and enormous riches, can nowhere else be found in
the world.
It is affirmed, that the revenue of the city only, from its markets,
harbour, and tribute of merchants, amount to 20,000 crowns daily. The Greek
inhabitants of this city and country are exceedingly rich in gold and
jewels, and are sumptuously dressed in crimson garments, intermingled with
gold, or splendidly embroidered, and are all carried on horses, as if they
were the children of kings. The country itself is very extensive, and
abounds with all sorts of fruits, and has great plenty of corn, wine, and
cattle of all kinds, and a finer country is nowhere to be found. The people
are learned also, and skilful in the philosophy of the Greeks: but giving
themselves up entirely to luxury, they eat and drink every man under his
own vine, and under his own fig-tree. They have mercenary soldiers, hired
from all nations, whom they call Barbarians, to fight against the soldan,
king of the children of Togorma, who are commonly called Turks; for the
Grecians themselves, through sloth and luxury, have become quite effeminate
and unfit for wars, and entirely devoted to pleasure.
No Jews are permitted to dwell in the city, but are obliged to reside in
Pera, on the other side of the sea of Sophia, and are not even allowed to
come to the city, except in boats, for the sake of commerce. In Pera there
are about 2000 Jewish Rabbinists, disciples of the wise men; among whom are
Abtalion the Great, Rabbi Abdias, Aaron Cuspus, Joseph Starginus, and
Eliakim the governor, who have the chief authority. Besides these, there
are 500 Karaites[8], who are separated from the Rabbinists by a wall. Among
the Jews there are some manufacturers of silken garments, and many very
rich merchants. No Jew is permitted to ride on horseback, except Solomon,
the Egyptian, who is physician to the Emperor, and through whose interest
the Jews are comforted and eased in their captivity, which is very
grievous; for they are much hated by the Grecians, who make no distinction
between the good and the evil among them, and insult and beat them in the
streets. They are worst used by the tanners, who pour out the filthy water
in which they have dressed their skins into the streets before their doors.
Yet, among the Jews there are some very rich men, as I have said before;
good and merciful men, who observe the commandments, and who patiently
endure the miseries of the captivity.
From Constantinople, Benjamin continued his journey to Tyre, Jerusalem, and
the Holy Land, and thence to Damascus, Balbeck, and Palmyra, which he calls
Tadmor, and in which, he says, there then were 2000 Jews. He next gives an
account of Bagdat, the court of the caliph, and the condition of the Jews
there. He afterwards gives an account of a country which he calls Thema,
where he places a whole nation of Jews, which some have deemed an entire
forgery[9]. He next proceeds to Botzra, Balsora or Bassora, on the Tigris,
and thence to Persia, of which he gives the following account.
The river Samoura[10] is esteemed the limits of the kingdom of Persia, and
near it stands the city of the same name, in which there are 1500 Jews.
Here is the sepulchre of Esdras, the scribe and priest, who died in this
place on his return from Jerusalem to the court of Artaxerxes. Our people
have built a great synagogue beside his tomb, and the Ismaelites, Arabians,
or Mahometans, have built a mosque close by, as they have a great respect
for Esdras and the Jews. It is four miles from hence to Chuzestan, which
is the same with the ancient city of Elam, now almost ruined and
uninhabited. At one end, surrounded by ruins, is the castle of Susa,
formerly the palace of Ahasuerus, of which there are still some remains.
In this place there are 7000 Jews and fourteen synagogues, before one of
which stands the tomb of Daniel. The river Tigris[11] runs through this
city, over which there is a bridge. All the Jews on one side of the river
are very rich, having well filled shops, and carry on great trade, while
those on the other side are very poor, having neither market, shops,
gardens, or orchards. This caused them once to make an insurrection, from
a notion that the glory and riches of those on the other side of the river
was occasioned by their having the sepulchre of the prophet Daniel on their
side. The insurgents, therefore, demanded to have his tomb transferred to
their side, which was vehemently opposed by the others, and war ensued
between them: But both parties growing weary of the war, it was agreed that
the coffin of Daniel should remain one year on one side of the river, and
next year on the other. This treaty was observed for some time, but was
cancelled in the sequel by Sanigar-Shah, son to the great shah of Persia,
who rules over forty-five princes. This great king is called in Arabic
Sultan Phars Al-Chabir. His empire extends from the river Samoura to
Samarcand, the river Gozan, the province of Gisbor, including the cities of
the Medes, the mountains of Haphton, and to the province of Thibet, in the
forests of which country are found the animals which produce musk; and the
empire is four months and four days journey in length.
Sangiar being at Elam, saw the elders of the people transporting the coffin
of Daniel from one side of the river to the other, attended by an immense
crowd of Jews and Ismaelites; and, being informed of the cause, gave orders
that the coffin should be suspended in a glass case, by chains of iron,
from the middle of the bridge, and that a spacious synagogue should be
erected in the same place, open to all, whether Jews or Gentiles, who might
incline to pray there; and he commanded, from reverence for Daniel, that no
fish should be taken in the river for a mile above or below the bridge.
From Elam to Robat-bar are three days journey, where dwell 20,000
Israelites, among whom are many disciples of the wise men, some of them
being very rich; but they live under the authority of a strange prince. In
two days journey more is the river Vanth, near which dwell 4000 Jews. Four
days journey farther is the country of Molhat, full of strong mountains,
the inhabitants of which obey an elder who resides in the country of
Alchesisin, and they do not believe the doctrine of Mahomet. Among this
people there are four colleges of Jews, who go forth to war with the
inhabitants, invading the neighbouring countries, and drive away great
spoil; for they are not under the dominion of the king of Persia. The Jews
in this country are disciples of the wise men, and obey the head of the
captivity of Babylon. In five days journey you reach Omaria, where are
25,000 Israelites, and here begin the synagogues of the mountains of
Haphton, which exceed one hundred in number, and in this place the country
of Media begins. These Jews are of the first captivity, carried away by
Salmanazar; but they speak the Chaldean language, and among them are the
disciples of the wise men. The chief city is Omaria, and all this country
is under the dominion of Persia, to which the inhabitants pay tribute. The
tribute for males above fifteen years old, in all the country of the
Ismaelites, is one gold _amir_, or half-a-crown of our money.
About twelve years ago there arose, in the city of Omaria, a man named
David Elroi, who was the disciple of Chafdai, the head of the captivity,
and of Jacob the chief of the Levites at Bagdat. David was very learned in
the law of Moses, and in the books of doctrine, and in all wisdom, even in
the languages of the Ismaelites, and in the books of the Magi and the
enchanters; and he took it into his head to gather together the Jews who
dwelt in the mountains of Haphton, and to make war against the king of
Persia, and to go to Jerusalem and win it by assault. For this purpose he
endeavoured to draw the Jews to his party by many deceitful signs,
affirming that he was sent from God to free them from the yoke of the
nations, and to restore them to the holy city; and he succeeded in
persuading many that he was the Messiah[12].
Hearing of this insurrection, the king of Persia sent for David, who went
to him without fear, and even avowed himself to be king of the Jews, on
which he was thrown into prison in the city of Dabrestan, near the great
river Gozan. After this the king held a great council of his princes and
ministers, to consult how to put an end to this insurrection of the Jews,
and David made his appearance there, unseen of any but the king. The king
asked, "Who hath delivered thee from prison and brought thee here?" To whom
David answered, "Mine own wisdom, for I fear not thee or any of thy
servants." Then the king commanded his servants to seize him; but they said
the voice was heard by all, but they saw not David. Then David cried out
with a loud voice, "Lo! I go my way." And he walked out, and the king
followed him, and all his servants followed the king, but they saw no one.
Coming to the bank of the river, David spread his handkerchief on the
waters, and he passed over dry, and then he was seen of all who were
present; and they endeavoured to pursue him in boats, but all in vain; and
every one marvelled, and said that no enchanter could be compared to this
man.
David during that day travelled a ten days journey, and, coming to Omaria,
related all that had befallen him; and when the people were amazed, he
attributed all that had befallen him to his knowledge of the ineffable name
of Jehovah[13]. The king sent messengers to inform the caliph of Bagdat of
what had happened, requesting that he would get David restrained from his
seditious practices, by order from the head of the captivity, and the chief
rulers of the assembly of the Jews; otherwise threatening total destruction
to all the Jews in his dominions. All the synagogues in Persia, being in
great fear, wrote to the head of the captivity, and the assembly of elders
at Bagdat, to the same purpose; and they wrote to David, commanding him to
desist from his enterprize, under pain of being excommunicated and cut off
from among the people of Israel. But all was in vain, for David persisted
in his wicked course; till at length Zinaldin, a king of the Togarmim, or
Turks, in subjection to the king of Persia, persuaded the father-in-law of
David, by a bribe of ten thousand pieces of gold, to kill him privately,
and he thrust David through with a sword in his bed, while asleep. Yet was
not the anger of the king of Persia pacified towards the Jews of the
mountains, until the head of the captivity went and appeased him with mild
and wise speeches, and by the gift of an hundred talents of gold; since
which time there has been peace and quiet in the land.
From these mountains it is twelve days journey to Hamadan, the chief city
of Media, in which there are 50,000 Jews, and near one of their synagogues
are the sepulchres of Mordecai and Esther. Dabrestan, near the river Gozan,
is four days journey from Hamadan, and 4000 Jews dwell there. From thence
it is seven days journey to Ispahan, which is a very great city and the
capital of the whole country, being twelve miles in circumference. In this
city there are about 12,000 Jews, over whom, and all the rest of our nation
who dwell in the kingdom of Persia, Shallum is appointed to rule by the
head of the captivity. Four days journey from Ispahan is Siaphaz[14], the
most ancient city of this country, formerly Persidis, whence the whole
province is named, in which there are almost 10,000 Jews. From Siaphaz you
come, in seven days journey, to the city of Ginah, near the river Gozan,
where there are about 8000 Jews, and to this place merchants resort of all
nations and languages. Five days journey from Ginah is the famous
Samarcand, the farthest city of this kingdom, where there are 50,000
Israelites, many of whom are wise and rich men, and over whom Obedias is
ruler. Four days journey from thence is the city of Thibet[15], the capital
of the province of that name, in the forests of which the animals are found
that produce musk.
The mountains of Nisbor, which are situated near the river Gozan, are about
twenty-eight days journey from Thibet; and some of the Jews in Persia
affirm, that the four tribes of Israel, carried away in the first captivity
by Salmanazar, still inhabit the cities of Nisbor. Their country extends
twenty days journey in length, all full of mountains, and having the river
Gozan running on one side, with many inhabited cities, towns, and castles;
and the inhabitants are entirely free, being governed by Joseph Amrael, a
Levite, and among them are many disciples of the wise men. They sow and
reap, and are at war with the children of Chus, who dwell in the
deserts[16]. These Jews are in league with the Copheral Turks, a people who
dwell in the deserts, and eat no bread, neither do they drink any wine, but
feed on the raw or dried flesh of beasts, clean or unclean, devouring them
newly killed, while yet trembling with the warm life-blood, and uncooked;
yea, even feed on the limbs torn from beasts yet alive. This last people
seem to want noses, having only as it were two holes in their faces through
which they breathe[17].
These Copheral Turks invaded Persia about fifteen years ago, about 1145,
with a great army, and destroyed the metropolitan city of Rei[18], and
carried off vast spoil into the desert. Enraged at this insult, the king of
Persia endeavoured to pursue them with a powerful army, that he might
extirpate these destroyers from the earth, and procured a guide who
undertook to conduct him to their dwellings, and recommended to him to take
bread and water for fifteen days along with the army, as it would occupy
that time to pass the deserts. After marching these fifteen days, the army
was without subsistence for man and beast, and no signs could be perceived
of any habitation of mankind. On being interrogated, the guide pretended to
have lost his way, and was put to death as a traitor. After marching for
thirteen days more, in prodigious distress, during which they had to eat up
all the beasts that carried their baggage, they arrived at the mountains of
Nisbor, inhabited by the Jews, and incamped among gardens and orchards,
watered by canals drawn from the river Gozan; and being then the season of
ripe fruits, they eat what they pleased, no one appearing to oppose them.
At a distance among the mountains, they observed some hamlets and forts,
and two scouts were sent to discover what manner of people inhabited the
mountains. After proceeding a short way, they found a well built bridge,
with a strong barrier, and a very large city at the farther end of the
bridge. They here learned, by an interpreter, that the city belonged to an
independent nation of Jews, who had a prince of their own, and were in
alliance with the Copheral Turks.
The scouts returned to the camp with this intelligence, and the Jews,
having collected their forces, offered battle on the day following to the
Persians, The king declined this, declaring that his only object was
against the Copheral Turks, and that if the Jews attacked him he would
revenge himself by putting all their brethren in Persia to the sword; but
he demanded free passage for his army, and to be supplied with provisions
for ready money. Out of regard for their brethren in Persia, the Jews
agreed to this proposal, and the Persian army remained fifteen days in the
country of the Jews, where they were honourably entertained. In the mean
time the Jews sent intelligence of the situation of the Persians to their
confederates, and the Turks, gathering their forces, assailed the Persians
at certain passes in the mountains, and gave them a terrible overthrow; so
that the king escaped with great difficulty into Persia, with a small
remnant of his host. On this occasion, one of the Persian horsemen seduced
a Jew, named Moses, to accompany him into Persia, and then made him a
slave. On a public exhibition of archery in the king's presence, this man
appeared to be the most expert archer in all Persia, and being called
before the king, declared how he had been trepanned and made a slave. The
king restored him to liberty; clothed him in purple and silken garments,
and enriched him with liberal gifts; offering him great riches, and the
government of the royal household, if he would embrace the religion of the
country; and when he courteously declined this, he was placed by the king
with Rabbi Shallum, the prince of the synagogue at Ispahan, whose daughter
he afterwards married; and this Moses related to me the whole story I have
here related.
Departing from these countries, I returned to Khosistan, through which the
Tigris runs into _Hodu_, the Indian sea, or Persian Gulf, and in its
passage encompasses the island of Nekrokis[19] near its mouth, which is six
days journey in extent. There is only one canal of fresh water in this
island, and they have no other water to drink but what is gathered during
rain, and preserved, in cisterns, for which reason the land is not
cultivated. Yet it is famous for commerce with India, and the islands of
the Indian sea; and merchants from Sennar, Arabia, and Persia, bring
thither all sorts of silk and purple manufactures, hemp, cotton, flax, and
Indian cloth, with plenty of wheat, barley, millet, and rice. The Indian
merchants bring also great quantities of spices, and the natives act as
factors and interpreters, by which they make great gains; but in that place
there are not above 500 Jews. Sailing thence with a favourable wind, I
arrived, in ten days, at Kathipha[20], where are 5000 Jews. In these places
pearls are found, made by a wonderful artifice of nature; for on the 24th
of the month Nisan[21] a certain dew falls into the waters, which, being
sucked in by the oysters, they sink immediately to the bottom of the sea,
and afterwards, about the middle of the month Tisri, men dive to the
bottom, and bring up great quantities of the oysters by means of cords,
from which they take out the pearls.
In seven days journey from thence I came to Oulam[22], which is the
entrance of the kingdom of these people, who worship the sun, and are prone
to astrology, being of the children of Chus. They are men of a dark
complexion, sincere and faithful in all their dealings. When any strangers
arrive in their haven, their names are all set down by three secretaries,
who carry their lists to the king; afterwards they introduce the merchants
to him, and he receives all their goods under his protection, causing them
to be landed at a place where they may remain in safety, even without a
watch. There is a particular magistrate to whom all things that happen to
be lost, or casually removed, are brought, and who returns them to the
owners, on giving the marks or description of their property; and this
strict fidelity and honest dealing is universal over all this kingdom. In
this country, from the passover to the beginning of the succeeding year,
the sun shines with such insufferable heat, that the people remain shut up
in their houses from the third hour of the day until evening; and then
lamps are lighted up in all the streets and markets, and the people labour
at their respective callings all night. In this country pepper grows on
trees, planted in the fields belonging to every city, all the inhabitants
having their proper gardens particularly assigned and known. The shrub is
small, and produces a white seed or berry, which, after being gathered, is
first steeped in hot water, and then dried in the sun, when it becomes
black. Cinnamon and ginger are likewise found here, and many other kinds of
spices.
In this country the bodies of the dead are embalmed with divers drugs and
spices, and set up in niches in regular order, covered over with nets; they
there dry up completely without corruption, and every one knows his
ancestors for many generations back. They worship the sun, said have many
large altars erected along the coast, about half a mile without the city,
to pay their devotions. On these altars there are consecrated spheres, made
by magic art, resembling the circle of the sun; and when the sun rises,
these orbs seem to be inflamed, and whirl round with a great noise[23]. In
their orisons, every person carries a censer, in which he burns incense in
honour of the sun. But among these people there are about a thousand
families of Jews, as black as the rest of the natives, yet good honest men,
and strict observers of the law of Moses, and not entirely ignorant of the
doctrines of the Talmud.
From this country I sailed, in twenty-two days, to the islands of Cinrog,
the inhabitants of which are called Dogbiim, and are worshippers of fire,
among whom 23,000 Jews are settled. The Dogbiim have many priests to
officiate in their temples, who are the most skilful sorcerers and
enchanters in the world. Before every temple there is a large pit, in which
a great fire is kindled every day, called Alhuta, through which their
children are made to pass as a purification; into it likewise they cast the
bodies of their dead, and even some of their nobles occasionally are so
superstitious as to devote themselves to be consumed alive in honour of the
deity, in which they are encouraged by their relations, as ensuring their
eternal welfare. On the day appointed for the performance of this vow, the
devoted person first gives an entertainment, and is then carried to the
appointed spot; if rich, on horseback, but on foot if poor, accompanied by
a multitude of his friends and others, and immediately leaps into the midst
of the burning pit, all his friends and kindred celebrating the festival
with music and dancing, until he is entirely consumed. Three days
afterwards two of the priests go to the house of the devoted person, and
command his family to prepare for a visit from the deceased on the same
day. The priests then take certain persons along with them, as witness of
the transaction, and carry with them, to the house, a figure resembling the
deceased, which they affirm to be himself. The widow and children, as
instructed by the priests, then demand how it fares with him in the other
world: to which he answers, "I came to my companions, who will not receive
me until I have discharged my duty to my friends and kindred." He then
makes a distribution of his effects among his children, orders all his
debts to be paid, and whatever is owing to him to be demanded. The
witnesses set down all this in writing, and then he vanishes. By these arts
of juggling and collusion, the priests govern every thing as they please.
In the space of forty days, one may travel to the frontiers of Tzin, which
is the very extremity of the east. Some hold that this country is washed by
the Nikpha, or coagulated sea, which is liable to prodigious storms; by
which, when mariners are surprised, they are reduced to such extremity,
that, not being able to get out, they are miserably starved to death, after
expending all their provisions[24].
From Cinrog, it is three days journey to Gingala, where there are above a
thousand Jews. From thence, in seven days, one may sail to Coulan, where
there are none of our nation. It is twelve days journey to Zabid, where
there are some Jews; and in eight days more, you get to the opposite coast,
where there are very high mountains, inhabited by multitudes of Israelites,
who are not under the yoke of the Gentiles, but have great cities and
strong fortresses of their own.
They descend from thence in parties into the flat countries of Abyssinia,
whence they return with their plunder into the mountains, where they are
secure against pursuit. Many of these Jews travel for the purposes of trade
into Persia and Egypt[25].
From thence, it is twenty days journey to Asvan[26], through the deserts of
Saba, on the Phison, which river comes from the country of Chus, in the
dominions of Shah-Abasch, or the king of Abyssinia. Part of the inhabitants
of this country live like beasts, going entirely naked, and feeding only on
the grass and herbs that grow by the river side, and propagate with their
sisters and nearest relations, without shame or scruple. When the people of
Asvan make expeditions into these parts for the sake of plunder, they
constantly take with them bread, rice, raisins, and figs, which they throw
among the half-famished negroes, and while they scramble for the
provisions, like a parcel of dogs, the Asvanians seize them, and carry them
as prisoners into Egypt, where they are sold as slaves. It is twelve days
journey from Asvan to Chelvan, in which there are about three hundred Jews.
From Chelvan they go, in fifty days journey, through the desert Al Tsachra,
or Zara, to Zuila or Havilah, in the land of Gana[27]. In these deserts,
there are vast mountains of sand, which, being sometimes carried by the
force of violent winds, overwhelm whole caravans. The merchants who escape
this perilous journey, bring with them from that country, iron, copper,
salt, and all sorts of fruits and pulse, and likewise gold and precious
stones. This country is part of the land of Chus, and is to the west of
Abyssinia.
It is thirteen days journey from Chelvan to the city of Kous, which is the
first in the land of Egypt, and where 30,000 Jews are settled. At the
distance of five days journey is Phium, anciently Pithom, in the
neighbourhood of which city the ruins of the structures built by our
ancestors, during their captivity in Egypt, are still to be seen[28].
Four days journey from thence is the great city of Misraim[29], on the
banks of the Nile, in which above 2000 Jews are settled. These have two
fair synagogues, one of which belongs to the Jews of Palestine and Syria,
and the other to those of Babylon; the only difference between which sects
is in the way of dividing the law into portions. The Babylonians, every
week, read one _Parascha_, after the manner usual in Spain, so as to go
through the whole law once in every year; but the others divide each
parascha into three _sedarim_, or smaller sections, so that they read over
the whole law only once in three years. Yet both of these join in their
solemn prayers twice every year. Over the whole Nathaniel presides, being
head of the Sanhedrim, and ruler of all the synagogues in Egypt, to which
he appoints masters and elders. He is likewise minister of the great king,
who resides in the palace of Zoan, a city in Egypt, where Ali, the son of
Abitaleb, was once commander of the faithful, and whose subjects are
considered as rebels by the other Arabs, because they refuse obedience to
the Abassidian khaliff of Bagdat.
The royal city is surrounded with walls, but Misraim is entirely open,
having the river Nile on one side. This is a very large city, having many
large markets and public buildings, and contains many rich Jews. The
country is never troubled with rain, ice, or snow, but is often afflicted
with insufferable heat. It is watered by the Nile, which begins to swell
every year in the month Elul, and continues swelling during that month and
Tisri[30], making the earth fruitful. The old Egyptians erected a fine
marble pillar of excellent workmanship in an island at this place, rising
twelve cubits above the ordinary surface of the river; and when the water
overflows that column, the inhabitants are satisfied that their whole
country is overspread for fifteen days journey. If the water rise only half
the height of the pillar, they then conclude that only half the country is
overflowed. A person is stationed by the pillar, who proclaims the height
of the water every day at noon. When the water rises to a sufficient
height, it indicates a year of fertility and plenty in Egypt; but when it
does not overflow, nothing is sown, and sterility and famine are the
consequences. The people of the country have trenches dug in their grounds,
in which great numbers of fish are caught when the river recedes, which
they either use in their families, or salt them for sale. These fish are
very fat, and supply oil for lamps. It is an old question, on which there
is great diversity of opinion, as to the cause of the overflow of the Nile;
but the Egyptians suppose, that it proceeds from the falling of heavy rains
in the land of Habash, which we call Havilah or Abyssinia. The fields are
usually sowed in the month of September, as the Nile has then retired into
its channel. Barley is reaped in February, and wheat in March; and in that
month, grapes, cherries, and almonds are ripe; and encumbers, gourds,
pease, beans, and lentils; and various pot-herbs, as purslain, asparagus,
lettuce, corianders, succory, coleworts, &c. The gardens and orchards are
watered by means of trenches filled from the Nile.
After passing Cairo, this great river divides into four branches, one of
which runs by Damietta, sometimes called Caphtor. The second runs near the
city of Rosir or Rosetta, not far from Alexandria. The third passes by
Asmon, a very large city on the eastern borders of Egypt. Near these great
branches, there are many cities, castles, and towns, to which people travel
partly by land, and partly by water. No country in the world can be
compared to this for the multitude of inhabitants; and the whole land is
plain, fruitful, and stored with good things. Old Misraim is two league
distant from New Misraim, or Cairo; but the old city is now desolate,
having many ruins of walls and houses, and not a few remains of the
granaries and storehouses, built by Joseph, are still to be seen. In the
same place, there is an artificial pillar, built by art of magic, the like
of which is not in all the land. On the outside of the city, there are the
remains of an ancient synagogue, which bears the name of our teacher Moses,
and to preserve its ruins, an old minister of the disciples of the wise men
[31], is maintained at this place, who is styled Schech Albounetzar, or
father of the watch. The ruins of Old Misraim extend about four miles.
The land of Goshen is eight leagues from Old Misraim, and in it is Bolsir-
salbis, a great city, in which there are 3000 Jews. From hence you travel,
in half a day's journey, to Iskaal-Lein-Al-sames, anciently called Rameses,
now in ruins; where are to be seen many works of our fathers, and among
these certain huge edifices like towers, bulk of bricks. From thence, in
one day's journey, you come to Al-Bugg, where are 200 Jews; and in another
half days journey, to Manziptha, where there are 200 Jews; Ramira is four
leagues distant, having 700 Jews; and thence, in five days journey, you
come to Lamkhala, where there are 500 Jews. In two days journey more, you
arrive at Alexandria, which was sumptuously built, and strongly
fortified, at the command of Alexander the Macedonian. On the outside of
the city, there is still to be seen a great and beautiful edifice, which is
said to have been the college of Aristotle, the tutor of Alexander, wherein
were twenty schools, frequented in former times by the learned men of the
whole world, who assembled to learn the philosophy of Aristotle, and this
academy was adorned with stately marble porticos. The city itself is
excellently built, and well paved, having many vaults and arches
underneath, some of which are a whole mile in length, leading from the gate
of Rosetta to the gate leading to the sea. The haven extends a whole mile
in length, and at this place, a very high tower was built, called Hemegarah
by the inhabitants, and Magar-Iscander by the Arabs, which signifies the
Pharos of Alexander. It is reported that Alexander fixed a curious mirror
on the top of this tower, by means of which, all warlike ships sailing from
Greece, or out of the west into Egypt, might be seen at the distance of
five hundred leagues. But a Greek captain, who had great knowledge of the
sciences, came thither with his ship, and ingratiated himself in the favour
of the king, by presents of gold and silver and rich silks. He likewise
took great pains to acquire the friendship of the officer who had charge of
the mirror and watch-tower, by frequently entertaining him in his ship, and
at length was permitted to go into, and stay in the tower, as often, and as
long as he pleased. One day, he gave a magnificent entertainment to the
keeper of the tower and his men, and dosed them so plentifully with wine,
that they all fell fast asleep; on which he broke the mirror to pieces, and
then sailed away in the night. Since then, the Christians have infested the
coasts of Egypt with their ships of war, and have taken the two large
islands of Crete and Cyprus, which remain at this day under the power of
the Greeks. The Pharos is still used as a beacon for the service of ships
bound to Alexandria, and can be discerned by day or night, from the
distance of an hundred miles, as a vast fire is kept burning there all
night for the purpose.
Egypt enjoys a large share of trade, and is frequented by almost all
nations; and the port of Alexandria swarms with vessels from every part of
Christendom, as from Valencia, Tuscany, Lombardy, Apulia, Malfi, and
Sicily. Others come from the most northern parts of Europe, and even from
inland places; as from Cracow, Cordova, Spain, Russia, Germany, Sweden,
Denmark, England, Flanders, Artois, Normandy, France, Poitou, Angiers,
Gascony, Arragon, and Navarre. There come many also from the western
empire of the Ishmaelites or Arabs, as from Andalusia, Algarve, Africa, and
even Arabia, besides what come by the Indian ocean from Havilah or
Abyssinia, and the rest of Ethiopia, not omitting the Greeks and Turks. To
this, country likewise are brought the richest merchandizes of the Indies,
and all sorts of perfumes and spices, which are bought by the Christian
merchants. The city is extremely populous, on account of its extensive
commerce; and for the greater conveniency in the carrying on of their
dealings, every nation has its separate factory. There is, near the sea
side, a marble tomb, on which are engraven the figures of all sorts of
birds and beasts, with an inscription in such old characters, that no one
can now read them; whence it is believed that it had belonged to some king
who governed that country before the deluge. The length of this sepulchre
is fifteen spans, and it is six spans broad[32]. To conclude, there are
about 3000 Jews in Alexandria.
Leaving Egypt, Benjamin made an expedition from Damietta to Mount Sinai,
and returned to Damietta, whence he sailed to Messina in Sicily, and
travelled to Palermo. Crossing into Italy, he went by land to Rome and
Lucca. He afterwards crossed the Alps, and passed through a great part of
Germany, mentioning, in his remarks, the great multitudes of Jews who were
settled in the numerous cities of that extensive empire, insisting at large
on their wealth, and generosity, and hospitality to their distressed
brethren, and gives a particular detail of the manner in which they were
received. He informs us, that at the entertainments of the Jews they
encourage each other to persist in hoping for the coming of their Messiah,
when the tribes of Israel shall be gathered under his command, and
conducted back into their own country. Until this long expected event shall
arrive, they hold it their duty to persevere in their obedience to the law
of Moses, to lament with tears the destruction of Jerusalem and Zion, and
to beseech the Almighty to pity them in their affliction, and restore them
at his appointed time. He asserts that his countrymen are not only settled
in all the provinces and cities of the German empire, but through all the
countries of the north, to the very extremities of Russia; and describes
that country as so cold in winter that the inhabitants could not stir out
of doors. He tells us that France, which the Rabbins call Tzorphat, is full
of the disciples of the wise men, who study the law day and night, and are
extremely charitable to their distressed brethren; and concludes with an
earnest prayer to God, to remember his promise to the children of Israel,
to return unto them, and to reassemble them from among all the nations,
through which, in his wrath, he has dispersed them.
Towards the end of his travels[33], Benjamin mentions that Prague in
Bohemia is the beginning of Sclavonia. In speaking of the Russian empire,
he says it extends from the gates of Prague to the gates of [Hebrew]
_Phin,_ a large town at the beginning of the kingdom. In that country the
animals called [Hebrew] _Wairegres_, and [Hebrew] _Neblinatz_ are found.
Interpreters disagree about the meaning of these words. But it clearly
appears that _Phin_ is no other than _Kiow_, then the capital of the
Russian empire; and we should therefore read [Hebrew:] _Chiw_: and indeed
the interpreters might easily have supposed that the word was wrong
written, from its wanting the final _nun_. Russia has always been famous
for its gray foxes or gray squirrels, which, in the Russian language, are
called [Hebrew] in the Hebrew text, therefore, of Benjamin, we should read
[Hebrew] _Waiwerges_, which as nearly resembles the Russian word, as a
Spanish Jew could possibly write it. The name of the other animal should be
written [Hebrew] _Zeblinatz_, by which are meant Sables. Jordanis had
before this called these skins _Sapphilinias pelles_.--_Forst_.
[1] Harris, I. 545. Forster, 91.
[2] So named as descended from Javan: the Jewish writers affecting to
employ scripture names for modern countries and nations.--E.
[3] Manuel Comnenes, who reigned from 1143 to 1180.--E.
[4] These names are corrupt orthographies of the Greek titles in the
Hebrew. Manuel being an emperor, Benjamin names all his great officers
kings.--E.
[5] Psianki may, perhaps, be Poland, and Buria Bavaria.--E.
[6] The Arabs, so called from their supposed ancestor, Ismael.--E.
[7] Perhaps Blachernae.--E.
[8] The Karaites were a sect among the Jews, who confined their observances
and religious belief to the precepts of Moses, while the Rabbinists
followed all the wild fancies of the Talmud. An excellent account of
these sects is to be found in the Lettres Juives, or Jewish Spy, by
the Marquis d'Argens.--E.
[9] Perhaps only an exaggerated account of some Jewish independent tribe in
Arabia, of which there were once a considerable number, as
particularly mentioned in the History of Mahomet.--E.
[10] Probably the Ahwaz, as he seems to have gone from Bassora.--E.
[11] This must be an error in the author, as the Tigris does not come near
that city.--E.
[12] This story is told by other Jewish writers, but with some unimportant
variations; and there have been many such pretended Messiahs, who
persuaded the Jews of the east into revolts, for which consult
Basnage, Histoire des Juifs.--Harris.
[13] The whole secret of this miracle may be easily explained. David
escaped from prison, and told all the rest of the story to the
ignorant and credulous Jews of Omaria, from whom the fable has been
handed down to Benjamin and other believing relaters.--E.
[14] Shiraz, about forty miles from which are the ruins of Persepolis.--E.
[15] The distance here is extremely corrupt, and perhaps four months are
meant.--E.
[16] The ridiculous impressing of ancient scriptural names for the
geographical features of the country, and the nations which inhabited
it in his time, and his rambling itinerary, by days journeys, without
pointing out the precise direction of the routs, render it next to
impossible to investigate the real objects of his observations with
any decent chance of success.--E.
[17] This description suits the Calmuks.--E.
[18] Once a great city in the N.W. of Irac-agemi, not far from Cashbin. See
Chardin's Travels in Persia, to be found afterwards in this
collection.--E.
[19] This island has much puzzled commentators, some of whom have wandered
to Ormus in quest of its situation. It is probably the flat country of
Assyria, between the Tigris and Euphrates, below Bagdat, which he may
have mistaken for an island; or it may refer to the Delta of the
Tigris and Ahwas. The extent mentioned in the text does not say
whether it is to be understood as the length or circumference of the
island.--E.
[20] This must be at or near Bahrein, in the Persian Gulf, famous for its
pearl-fishery.--E.
[21] Nisan, the first month of the Jewish year, contains the latter half of
our March and former half of April; Tisri is equivalent to half of
September and half of October.--E.
[22] From the circumstance of pepper being plenty in this place it is
probable that some part of Malabar is meant, where he may have found a
colony of Parsees. Astronomy is often called astrology by old
writers.--E.
[23] This must have been some secret mechanical contrivance, all wonders
unknown to the ignorant being attributed by them to magic art.--E.
[24] Tzin is obviously China. By the Nikpha, or coagulated sea, the sea of
Tartar may be intended; concerning which, some ill-told stories may
have reached Benjamin, of mariners having been frozen up. The
situation of Cinrog it is impossible to ascertain; but it must have
been some part of India, where voluntarily burning alive is still
practised, but only by the widows of the higher casts.--E.
[25] Benjamin here obviously speaks of the Jews in the mountains of
Abyssinia, still known there under the name of Falassa. It would
appear, that the previously indicated courses led across the peninsula
of Arabia and the Red Sea; but his names of places are
unintelligible.--E.
[26] Perhaps Asowan in upper Egypt, which is rendered probable by the
journey through the desert.--E.
[27] Harris considered Gana to mean Guinea; but it is probably Nigritia,
or the inland country of Africa, on the Niger or Joliba.--E.
[28] Perhaps Memphis, as he evidently alludes to the pyramids.--E.
[29] Kahira, or Cairo, called also Messir.--E.
[30] Elul contains from the middle of August to the middle of September and
Tisri from that to the middle of October. But the Nile begins to rise
in the middle of June, and returns to its usual level in October.--E.
[31] Of the Rabbinists or Talmudists.--E.
[32] This may possibly have been the Sarcophagus brought lately from
Alexandria, and deposited in the British museum, under the strange
idea of having been the tomb of Alexander. Benjamin seems to have
known nothing about the hieroglyphics, with which his tomb was
obviously covered.--E.
[33] This short commentary upon three words in that part of the travels of
Benjamin, which has been omitted in Harris, is extracted from Forster,
Hist of Voy. and Disc. in the North, p. 92, and shews the extreme
difficulty of any attempt to give an accurate edition of the whole
work, if that should be thought of, as it would require critical skill
not only in Hebrew, but in the languages of the different countries to
which the travels refer.--E.
CHAP. VI.
_Travels of an Englishman into Tartary, and thence into Poland, Hungary,
and Germany, in 1243_.[1]
This earliest remaining direct account of the Tartars, or Mongols receiving
that name, which is extremely short and inconclusive, is recorded by
Matthew Paris, in a letter from Yvo de Narbonne to the archbishop of
Bourdeaux, and is here given as a literary curiosity.
* * * * *
Provoked by the sins of the Christians, the Lord hath become as it were a
destroying enemy, and a dreadful avenger; having sent among us a
prodigiously numerous, most barbarous, and inhuman people, whose law is
lawless, and whose wrath is furious, even as the rod of God's anger,
overrunning and utterly ruining infinite countries, and cruelly destroying
every thing where they come with fire and sword. This present summer, that
nation which is called Tartars, leaving Hungary, which they had surprised
by treason, laid siege, with many thousand soldiers, to the town of
Newstadt, in which I then dwelt, in which there were not above fifty men at
arms, and twenty cross-bow-men, left in garrison. All these observing from
certain high places the vast army of the enemy, and abhorring the beastly
cruelty of the accomplices of Antichrist, signified to the governor the
hideous lamentations of his Christian subjects, who, in all the adjoining
provinces, were surprised and cruelly destroyed, without any respect of
rank, fortune, age, or sex. The Tartarian chieftains, and their brutishly
savage followers, glutted themselves with the carcasses of the inhabitants,
leaving nothing for the vultures but the bare bones; and strange to tell,
the greedy and ravenous vultures disclaimed to prey on the remains left by
the Tartars. Old and deformed women they gave for daily sustenance to their
cannibals: The young and beautiful they devoured hot, but smothered them
shrieking and lamenting under their forced and unnatural ravishments; and
cutting off the breasts of tender virgins to present as dainties to their
leaders, they fed themselves upon their bodies.
Their spies having descried from the top of a high mountain the Duke of
Austria, the King of Bohemia, the Patriarch of Aquileia, the Duke of
Carindiia, and as some say, the Earl of Baden, approaching with a mighty
power towards them, the accursed crew immediately retired into the
distressed and vanquished land of Hungary, departing as suddenly as they
had invaded, and astonishing all men by the celerity of their motions. The
prince of Dalmatia took eight of the fugitives, one of whom was recognized,
by the Duke of Austria as an Englishman, who had been perpetually banished
from England for certain crimes. This man had been sent twice as a
messenger and interpreter from the most tyrannical king of the Tartars to
the king of Hungary, menacing and fortelling those mischiefs which
afterwards happened, unless he would submit himself and his kingdom to the
yoke of the Tartars. Being urged by our princes to confess, the truth, this
man made such oaths and protestations, as I think might have served to make
even the devil be trusted.
He reported of himself, that presently after his banishment, being then
about thirty years of age, and having lost all he possessed at dice in the
city of Acon[2] he set off from thence, in the middle of winter, wearing
nothing but a shirt of sacking, a pair of shoes, and a hairy cap; and,
being shaven like a fool, he uttered an uncouth noise, as if he had been
dumb, and wandered about through many countries in search of food. At
length, through fatigue, and change of air and diet, he fell grievously
sick in Chaldea, insomuch that he was weary of his life. Being compelled to
remain there a long time to recover his strength, and having some learning,
he began to write down the words he heard spoken, and in a short time made
himself so much master of the language, as to be reputed a native; and in
this manner he attained expertness in many languages. The Tartars got
notice of this man by means of their spies, and drew him by force among
them; and, having been admonished by an oracle or vision to extend their
dominion over the whole earth, they allured him by many offers of reward,
to serve them as an interpreter. He gave the following account of the
manners and superstitions of the Tartars, of the disposition and stature of
their bodies, and of their country and manner of fighting.
The Tartars are covetous, irascible, deceitful, and merciless, beyond all
men; yet, through the rigour of discipline which is exercised by their
superiors, they are restrained from brawls and mutual strife. They esteem
the ancient founders and fathers of their tribes as Gods, in whose honour
they celebrate solemn feasts at certain fixed times; and these deities are
very numerous, though only four are considered as general gods of the
nation. They consider all things as created for their sole use, and do not
therefore think themselves cruel or unjust in wasting and destroying the
surrounding nations, whom they esteem rebels against their legitimate
authority. Their bodies, though lean, are hardy and strong, with broad
chests, and square high shoulders, strong, well knit joints and firm
sinews, thick and large thighs, with short legs, so that, being equal to us
in stature, what they want in their legs is supplied in the upper part of
their bodies. Their faces are pale, with short flat noses, their eyes black
and inconstant, having large eyebrows, extending down to the nose; long
sharp chins, their upper jaws low and declining, their teeth long and thin,
their countenances distorted, fierce and terrible.
In ancient times their country, which is situated far beyond Chaldea, was
utterly waste and barren, from whence they have expelled the lions, bears,
and other wild beasts. Of the tanned hides of beasts they make for
themselves light but impenetrable armour, and their backs are only slightly
armed, that they may not flee in battle. They use small but strong horses,
which are maintained with little provender. In fight they use javelins,
maces, battle-axes, and swords, but are particularly expert in the use of
bows and arrows. When engaged in battle they never retire till they see the
chief standard of their general give back. When vanquished they ask no
quarter, and in victory they shew no compassion; and though many millions
in number, they all persist as one man, in resolving to subdue the whole
world under their dominion. They have 60,000 couriers who are sent before
upon light horses to prepare a place for the army to encamp, and these will
gallop in one night as far as our troops can march in three days. When they
invade a country, they suddenly diffuse themselves over the whole land,
surprising the people unarmed, unprovided, and dispersed, and make such
horrible slaughter and devastation, that the king or prince of the invaded
land cannot collect a sufficient force to give them battle.
Sometimes they say, they intend to go to Cologne to bring home the three
wise kings into their own country; sometimes they propose to punish the
avarice and pride of the Romans, who formerly oppressed them; sometimes to
conquer the barbarous nations of the north; sometimes to moderate the fury
of the Germans with their own mildness; sometimes in derision they say that
they intend going in pilgrimage to the shrine of St James in Galicia. By
means of these pretences, some indiscreet governors of provinces have
entered into league with them, and have, granted them free passage through
their territories; but which leagues they have ever violated, to the
certain ruin and destruction of these princes and their unhappy countries.
[1] Hakluyt, I, 22.
[2] Acre, in Palestine--E.
CHAP. VII.
_Sketch of the Revolutions in Tartary_.
Our limits do not admit of any detailed account of the history of those
numerous and warlike pastoral nations, which in all ages have occupied the
vast bounds of that region, which has been usually denominated Scythia by
the ancients, and Tartary by the moderns: yet it seems necessary to give in
this place, a comprehensive sketch of the revolutions which have so
strikingly characterized that storehouse of devastating conquerors, to
elucidate the various travels into Tartary which are contained in this
first book of our work; and in this division of our plan, we have been
chiefly guided by the masterly delineations on the same subject, of the
eloquent historian of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire[1].
In their navigation of the Euxine, and by planting colonies on its coasts,
the Greeks became acquainted with Western Scythia, extending from the
Danube, along the northern frontiers of Thrace, to mount Caucasus. The
great extent of the ancient Persian Empire, which reached at one period
from the Danube to the Indus, exposed its whole northern frontier to the
Scythian nations, as far to the east as the mountains of Imaus or Caf, now
called the Belur-tag. The still more eastern parts of Scythia or Tartary
were known of old to the Chinese, and stretch to the utmost north-eastern
bounds of Asia. Thus from the Danube and Carpathian mountains, in long.
26°. E, to the promontory of Tschuts-koi-nos, or the East Cape of Asia, in
long. 190°. E. this vast region extends in length 160 degrees of longitude,
or not less than 8000 miles. Its southern boundaries are more difficultly
ascertainable: but, except where they are pressed northwards by the
anciently civilized empire of China, these may be assumed at a medium on
the thirty-fifth degree of north latitude; from, whence Scythia or Tartary
extends in breadth to the extremity of the frozen north.
Next to the nomadic nations of Western Scythia, who encountered and baffled
the arms of Darius, King of Persia, under the general name of Scythians,
who were perhaps congeneric, or the same with those afterwards known by the
name of Goths, the dreaded name of the Huns became known to the declining
Roman Empire. But our object does not require us to attempt to trace the
history of these nations, under their various appellations of Huns, Topa,
Geougen, Turks, Chozars, and others, till the establishment of the vast
empire of Zingis connected the history and devastating conquests of the
Tartars with the affairs of modern Europe[2].
In the beginning of the thirteenth century, Temugin, the son of a Mogul
chief, laid the foundations of a vast empire in the north east of Tartary
or Mongolia. His father had reigned over thirteen hordes or tribes of the
Moguls, Moals, or Monguls: and as it was not customary for these warlike
tribes to submit to be ruled over by a boy, Temugen, who at the death of
his father was only thirteen years of age, had to contend with his
revolted, subjects, and had to obey a conqueror of his own nation. In a new
attempt to recover the command over the subjects of his, father, he was
more successful: and under the new appellation of _Zingis_, which signifies
_most great_, he became the conqueror of an empire of prodigious extent. In
person, or by means of his lieutenants, he successfully reduced the
nations, tribes, or hordes of Tartary or Scythia, from China to the Volga,
and established his undisputed authority over the whole pastoral world. He
afterwards subjugated the five northern provinces of China, which were long
imperfectly known under the name of Kathay; and successively reduced
Carisme or Transoxiana, now great Bucharia, Chorassan, and Persia: and he
died in 1227, after having exhorted and instructed his sons to persevere in
the career of conquest, and more particularly to complete the conquest of
China.
The vast empire established by Zingis, was apportioned among his four
principal sons, Toushi, Zagatai, Octai, and Tuli, who had been respectively
his great huntsman, chief judge, prime minister, and grand general. Firmly
united among themselves, and faithful to their own and the public interest,
three of these brothers, and their families and descendants, were satisfied
with subordinate command; and Octai, by general consent of the maols, or
nobles, was proclaimed _Khan_, or emperor of the Moguls and Tartars. Octai
was succeeded by his son Gayuk; after whose death, the empire devolved
successively on his cousins Mangou or Mangu, and Cublai, the sons of Tuli,
and the grandsons of Zingis. During the sixty-eight years of the reigns of
these four successors of Zingis, the Moguls subdued almost all Asia, and a
considerable portion of Europe. The great Khan at first established his
royal court at Kara-kum in the desert, and followed the Tarter custom of
moving about with the golden horde, attended by numerous flocks and herds,
according to the changes of the season: but Mangu-Khan, and Cublai-Khan,
established their principal seat of empire in the new city of Pe-king, or
Khan-balu, and perfected the conquest of China, reducing Corea, Tonkin,
Cochin-china, Pegu, Bengal, and Thibet, to different degrees of subjection,
or tribute, under the direct influence of the great Khan, and his peculiar
lieutenants.
The conquest of Persia was completed by Holagu, the son of Tuli and
grandson of Zingis, who of course was' brother to the two successive
emperors, Mangu and Cublai. From Persia, the Moguls spread their ravages
and conquests over Syria, Armenia, and Anatolia, or what is now called
Turkey in Asia; but Arabia was protected by its burning deserts, and Egypt
was successfully defended by the arms of the Mamalukes, who even repelled
the Moguls from Syria.
Batu, another son of Tuli, conquered Turkestan and Kipzak[3], Astracan and
Cazan, and reduced Georgia and Circassia to dependence. Advancing from the
Black Sea to Livonia on the Baltic, Moscow and Kiow were reduced to ashes,
and Russia submitted to pay tribute. Their victorious arms penetrated into
Poland, in which they destroyed the cities of Lublin and Cracow; and they
even defeated the confederate army of the dukes of Silesia, the Polish
palatines, and the great master of the Teutonic knights, at Lignitz, the,
most western extremity of their destructive march. From Lignitz they turned
aside into Hungary, and reduced the whole of that country to the north of
the Danube. During the winter, they crossed the Danube on the ice. Gran,
the capital of Hungary, was taken by storm, and Bela, the unfortunate king
of Hungary, had to take shelter in one of the islands at the head of the
Adriatic. So terrible was the alarm in Europe, that the inhabitants of
Sweden and the north of Germany neglected, in 1238, to send their ships, as
usual, to the herring-fishery on the coast of England; and, as observed by
Gibbon, it is whimsical enough to learn, that the price of herrings in the
English market was lowered in consequence of the orders of a barbarous
Mogul khan, who resided on the borders of China[4]. The tide of ruin was
stemmed at Newstadt in Austria, by the bravery of fifty knights and twenty
cross-bow-men; and the Tartars, awed by the fame of the valour and arms of
the Franks, or inhabitants of western Europe, raised the siege on the
approach of a German army, commanded by the emperor Frederic the Second.
After laying waste the kingdoms of Servia, Bosnia, and Bulgaria, the
adventurous Batu slowly retreated from the Danube to the Volga, and
established his seat of command in the city and palace of Serai, both of
which he had caused to be built upon the eastern arm of that noble river.
Another of the sons of Tuli, Shaibani-khan, led a horde of 15,000 Tartar
families into the wilds of Siberia; and his descendants reigned above three
centuries at Tobolsk, in that secluded region, and even reduced the
miserable Samoyedes in the neighbourhood of the polar circle.
Such was the establishment and extent of the first Tartar or Mogul empire.
The descendants of Cublai gave themselves up to luxury in the palace of
Peking, amidst a mischievous crowd of eunuchs, concubines, and astrologers,
and their Mogul army, dissolved and dispersed in a vast and populous
country, forgot the discipline and bravery of their ancestors. The
secondary Mogul sovereigns of the west, assumed entire independence; and
the great khan was satisfied with the empire of China and eastern Mongalia,
In 1367, one hundred and forty years after the death of Zingis, roused to
rebellion by a dreadful famine, in which thirteen millions of the
inhabitants of China perished, the native Chinese expelled their degenerate
Mogul oppressors, and the great khan became a wanderer in the desert. The
vast empire established by Zingis and his immediate successors was now
broken down into four vast fragments, each a powerful empire, Mongalia,
Kipzak, Zagtai or Transoxiana, and Persia; and these four khans often
contended with each other. On their ruins in lesser Asia, arose the
formidable, more permanent, and still subsisting empire of the Ottoman
Turks, whose youthful energies threatened the subversion of the last
remains of the Greek empire, which they at last effected, and might perhaps
have conquered the whole of Western Europe, if their progress had not been
arrested by the power of a new Mogul dynasty.
In the distribution of the vast empire of Zingis, we have already seen that
Zagathai, one of his sons, received the subordinate rule of Transoxiana, or
the rich country on the rivers Jihon or Amu, and the Sir or Sihon, the Oxus
and Jaxartes of the ancients. This extensive and fertile country, now
called Western Turkestan, Great Bucharia, Kharism, Chorassan, and Balk,
with some other smaller territories, is bounded on the west by the Caspian,
on the east by the Belur-tag or Imaus, on the north by the deserts of
western Tartary, and on the south by the mountains of the Hindoo-koh, and
the desert of Margiana. The descendants of Zagatai were long considered as
the khans or sovereigns of this fair empire, which fell into civil war and
anarchy, through the divisions and subdivisions of the hordes, the
uncertain laws of succession, and the ambition of the ministers of state,
who reduced their degenerate masters to mere state puppets, and elevated or
deposed successive khans at their pleasure; and the divided and distracted
country was subjected or oppressed by the invasions of the khans of
Kashgar, who ruled over the Calmucks or Getes in eastern Turkestan, or
little Bucharia, on the cast of Imaus or the Belur-tag.
In this state of misery and depression, a new hero arose, in 1361, to
vindicate and re-establish the fame and empire of the Moguls[5]. Timour,
usually called Tamerlane, was the son of the hereditary chief of Cash, a
small but fruitful territory about forty miles to the south of Samarcand.
He was the fifth in descent from Carashar-Nevian, who had been vizir or
prime minister to Zagathai, of which sovereign Timour was descended in the
female line. After various fortunes, he in 1370, rendered himself absolute
sovereign of Transoxiana, then called Zagatai, after its first Mogul ruler;
but for some time, he affected to govern as prime minister, or general, to
a nominal khan of the house of Zingis, who served as a private officer at
the head of his family horde in the army of his servant. After establishing
his authority in Zagatai, and conquering Kharism, and Candahar, he turned
his arms against Persia or Iran, which had fallen into disorganization by
the extinction of the descendants of the great Holacou, and which country
he reduced under subjection. He successively reduced Cashgar, or eastern
Turkestan, and Kipzak or western Tartary, and invaded Syria and Anatolia.
In this invasion, in 1402, was fought the great battle of Angora, in which
Bajazet, the great sultan of the Turks, was defeated and taken prisoner.
By this great victory, the progress of the Turkish arms was checked for a
time, and perhaps Europe was saved on that day from being subjected to the
law of Mahomet. Yet the vast empire which Timour established, fell into
fragments after his death, in 1405, and his descendants have sunk into
oblivion; while the race of Othman and Bajazet still rule over a large
empire in Europe and Asia, nearly commensurate with the eastern Roman
empire, still called Rumi in the east.
Having thus traced an outline of the revolutions of empire in Tartary, down
to what may be considered as modern history, it is only necessary farther
to mention, that all eastern Tartary and Mongalia is now subject to China,
and Kipzac and all the northern to Russia. Hardly any part of it now
remains independent, except Zagatai; or Transoxiana, Kharism, Candabar, and
the deserts of Western Tartary: the former of which is subject to the
Usbeks, and the latter to the Kirguses.
[1] Gibbon, Dec. and Fall, IV. 355.
[2] Decl. and Fall, XI. 402.
[3] Dashte Kipzak, or the plain of Kipzak, extended on both
sides of the Volga, towards the Jaik or Ural, and the Borysthenes or
Dnieper, and is supposed to have given name to the Cosacs.--Gibb.
[4] As reported by Gibbon, from Matthew Paris, p. 396, forty or
fifty herrings were sold for a shilling. This must be an error,
perhaps for 40 or 50 thousand; as a shilling of these days was worth
at least from fifteen to twenty modern shillings in effective value;
and within memory herrings have often sold, in a very plentiful
fishery, for a shilling the cart-load, when salt could not be had in
sufficient quantity.--E.
[5] Decl. and Fall. XII. I.
CHAP. VIII.
_The Travels of John de Plano Carpini and other Friars, sent about the year
1246, as ambassadors from Pope Innocent IV, to the great Khan of the Moguls
or Tartars_.[1]
INTRODUCTION.
In the collection of early Voyages, Travels, and Discoveries, by Hakluyt,
published originally in 1599, and reprinted at London in 1809 with
additions, there are two separate relations of these travels. The _first_,
in p. 24, is the journal of John de Plano Carpini, an Italian minorite,
who, accompanied by friar Benedict, a Polander, went in 1246 by the north
of the Caspian sea, to the residence of Batu-khan, and thence to Kajuk-
khan, whom he calls Cuyne, the chief or Emperor of all the Mongols. The
_second_ in p. 42, is a relation taken from the Speculum Historiale of
Vincentius Beluacensis, lib. xxxii. ch. 2. of the mission of certain
friars, predicants and minorites in the same year, 1246, to the same
country; and in p. 59. of the same collection, there is a translation by
Hakluyt into antiquated English of this second account. From this second
narrative it appears, that Vincentius had received an account of the
journey of the second mission from Simon de St Quintin, a minorite friar
belonging to the party; and that he had worked up along with this, the
whole of the narrative which had been separately published by Carpini of
his journey; which indeed forms by far the larger and more interesting
portion of the work published by Vincentius. This latter edition, therefore
has been considered as sufficient for the present collection, because to
have given both would have been an unnecessary repetition; and it is here
translated from the Latin of Hakluyt, I. 42.
The object of this mission or embassy seems to have been as follows: A
prodigious alarm was excited in Europe, by the victorious and destructive
progress of the Mongals or Tartars; who, under the command of Tuschi-khan,
and of Batu-khan, the son of Tuschi, advancing through Kipzhak, Russia,
Poland, and Hungary, all of which they had most horribly ravaged and laid
waste, had penetrated even into Silesia; while by the eastern side or the
Caspian, penetrating through Transoxiana and Persia, under the command of
Zagatai-khan, likewise a son of Zingus, and Holagu-khan, a nephew of
Zagatai, they had made their appearance on the banks of the Euphrates and
Tigris. In this alarming conjuncture, it was thought advisable by Pope
Innocent IV. in a convocation of the clergy at Lyons, in 1245, to send
ambassadors to these formidable conquerors, to endeavour to pacify them,
and induce them to turn the destructive tide of their conquests in some
other direction, and perhaps partly in the hope of endeavouring, if
possible, to convert them to the Christian faith, and inducing them to
direct their arms against the Turks and Saracens, who oppressed the Holy
Land. For this purpose, six monks were selected from the new and severe
orders of predicants and minorites. John de Plano Carpini and Benedict,
travelled through Bohemia and Poland to Kiow in Russia, and thence by the
mouth of the Dnieper to the camp of Korrensa, or Corrensa, a general of the
Mongals; whence, crossing the Don and Wolga or Volga, they came to the
encampment of Bata-khan, called also Baty and Baatu, who sent them to
Kajuk-khan, the emperor of the Mongals, whom they call Cuyne. The other
ambassadors were Asceline, with Friars Alexander, Albert, and Simon de St
Quintin: who went by the south of the Caspian, through Syria, Persia, and
Chorassan, to the court of Baiju-Nojan, or as they call him Bajothnoy: but
of the particulars of this journey very little has been preserved by
Vincentius, so that in fact, the travels here published belong almost
exclusively to Carpini.
The full title given by Hakluyt to this relation is worth preserving as a
literary curiosity, and is as follows:
"The long and wonderful voyage of Friar John de Plano Carpini, sent
ambassador, by Pope Innocent IV. A.D. 1246, to the great Can of Tartacia;
wherein he passed through Bohemia, Polonia, Russia, and so to the city of
Kiow upon Boristhenes, and from thence rode continually post for the space
of sixe moneths through Comania, over the mighty and famous rivers, Tanais,
Volga, and Jaie, and through the countries of the people called Kangittae,
Bisermini, Karakitay, Naimani, and so to the native country of the Mongols
or Tartars, situate in the extreme north-eastern partes of all Asia; and
thence back again the same Way to Russia, and Polonia, and so to Rome;
spending in the whole voyage among the sayd Tartars, one whole year, and
above four moneths: Taken out of the 32 booke of Vincentius Beluacensis his
Speculum Historiale."
[1] Hakluyt. I. 24. and 42. for the Latin of the two relations; and p. 59.
for the old English translation of the second.
SECTION I.
_Introductory Epistle by John de Plano Carpini_.
To all the faithful in Christ, to whom this writing may come, I friar John
de Plano Carpini, of the order of minorites, legate and messenger from the
Apostolic see to the Tartars and other nations of the east, wish the Grace
of God in this life, and glory in the next, and perpetual triumph over all
the enemies of the Lord. Having learnt the will of our lord the Pope, and
the venerable Cardinals, and received the commands of the holy see, that we
should go to the Tartars and other nations of the east, we determined to go
in the first place to the Tartars; because we dreaded that the most
imminent and nearest danger to the Church of God arose from them. And
although we personally dreaded from these Tartars and other nations, that
we might be skin or reduced to perpetual slavery, or should suffer hunger
and thirst, the extremes of heat and cold, reproach, and excessive fatigue
beyond our strength, all of which; except death and captivity, we have
endured, even beyond our first fears, yet did we not spare ourselves, that
we might obey the will of God, according to the orders of our lord the
Pope, that we might be useful in any thing to the Christians, or at least,
that the will and intention of these people might be assuredly known, and
made manifest to Christendom, lest suddenly invading us, they might find us
unprepared, and might make incredible slaughter of the Christian people.
Hence, what we now write is for your advantage, that you may be on your
guard, and more secure; being what we saw with our own eyes, while we
sojourned with and among these people, during more than a year and four
months, or which we have learnt from Christian captives residing among
them, and whom we believe to, be worthy of credit. We were likewise
enjoined by the supreme pontiff, that we should examine and inquire into
every thing very diligently; all of which, both myself and friar Benedict
of the same order, my companion in affliction and interpreter, have
carefully performed.
SECTION II.
_Of the first Mission of Friars Predicants and Minorites to the Tartars_.
At the same period, Pope Innocent IV. sent Friar Asceline of the order of
friars predicants, with three other friars from different convents, with
apostolical letters to the army of the Tartars, exhorting them to desist
from slaughtering mankind, and to adopt the true Christian faith; and from
one of these lately returned, Friar Simon de St Quintin, of the minorite
order, I have received the relations concerning the transactions of the
Tartars, which are here set down. At the same period, Friar, John de Plano
Carpini of the order of minorites, with some others, was sent to the
Tartars, and remained travelling among them for sixteen months. This Friar
John hath written a little history, which is come to our hands, of what he
saw among the Tartars, or learnt from divers persons living in captivity.
From which I have inserted such things, in the following relation, as were
wanting in the accounts given me by Friar Simon.
SECTION III.
_Of the Situation and Quality of the Land of the Tartars, from Carpini_.
The land of Mongolia or Tartary is in the east part of the world, where the
east and north are believed to unite[1]; haying the country of Kathay, and
the people called Solangi on the east; on the south the country of the
Saracens; the land of the Huini on the south-east; on the west the province
of Naimani, and the ocean on the north. In some parts it is full of
mountains, in other parts quite plain; but everywhere interspersed with
sandy barrens, not an hundredth part of the whole being fertile, as it
cannot be cultivated except where it is watered with rivers, which are very
rare. Hence there are no towns or cities, except one named Cracurim[2],
which is said to be tolerably good. We did not see that place, although
within half a day's journey, when we were at the horde of Syra, the court
of their great emperor. Although otherwise infertile, this land is well
adapted for the pasture of cattle. In some places there are woods of small
extent, but the land is mostly destitute of trees; insomuch, that even the
emperor and princes, and all others, warm themselves and cook their
victuals with fires of horse and cow dung. The climate is very intemperate,
as in the middle of summer there are terrible storms of thunder and
lightning, by which many people are killed, and even then there are great
falls of snow, and there blow such tempests of cold winds, that sometimes
people can hardly sit on horseback. In one of these, when near the Syra
Horde, by which name they signify the station of the emperor, or of any of
their princes, we had to throw ourselves prostrate on the ground, and could
not see by reason of the prodigious dust. It never rains in winter, but
frequently in summer, yet so gently as scarcely to lay the dust, or to
moisten the roots of the grass. But there are often prodigious showers of
hail; insomuch, that by the sudden melting of one of these, at the time
when the emperor elect was about to be placed on his throne, at which time
we were at the imperial court, above an hundred and sixty persons were
drowned, and many habitations and much valuable things were swept away. In
summer there are often sudden and intolerable heats, quickly followed by
extreme cold.
[1] This strange personification of the East and North, as if they were
stationary geographical terms, not merely, relative, only means that
Mongalia lay in the most north-easterly part of the then known world.
--E.
[2] Called likewise Karakum, or Caracorum, and said to signify the _Black
Sand_.--E
SECTION IV.
_Of the Appearance, Dress, and Manner of Living of the Tartars_.
The appearance of the Mongols or Tartars is quite different from all other
nations, being much wider between the eyes and cheeks, and their cheeks are
very prominent, with small flat noses, and small eyes, having the upper
lids opened up to the eyebrows, and their crowns are shaven like priests on
each side, leaving some long hair in the middle, the remainder being
allowed to grow long like women, which they twist into two tails or locks,
and bind behind their ears. The garments of the men and women are alike,
using neither cloaks, hats, nor caps, but they wear strange tunics made of
bucram, purple, or baldequin. Their gowns are made of skins, dressed in the
hair, and open behind. They never wash their clothes, neither do they allow
others to wash, especially in time of thunder, till that be over. Their
houses are round, and artificially made like tents, of rods and twigs
interwoven, having a round hole in the middle of the roof for the admission
of light and the passage of smoke, the whole being covered with felt, of
which likewise the doors are made. Some of these are easily taken to pieces
or put together, and are carried on sumpter-cattle; while others are not
capable of being taken to pieces, and are carried on carts. Wherever they
go, whether to war, or only travelling to fresh pastures, these are carried
with them. They have vast numbers of camels, oxen, sheep, and goats, and
such prodigious multitudes of horses and mares, as are not to be found in
all the rest of the world; but they have no swine. Their emperor, dukes,
and other nobles, are extremely rich in gold and silver, silks, and gems.
They eat of every thing that is eatable, and we have even seen them eat
vermin. They drink milk in great quantity, and particularly prefer that of
mares. But as in winter, none but the rich can have mares milk, they make a
drink of millet boiled in water; every one drinking one or two cups in the
morning, and sometimes having no other food all day; but in the evening,
every one has a small quantity of flesh, and they drink the broth in which
it was boiled. In summer, when they have abundance of mares milk, they eat
little flesh, unless it is given them, or when they catch venison or birds.
SECTION V.
_Of their Good and Bad Customs_.
[Illustration: Map of the Western part of Tartary & Adjacent Countries]
Some of their customs are commendable, and others execrable. They are more
obedient to their lords than any other people, giving them vast reverence,
and never deceiving them in word or action. They seldom quarrel; and
brawls, wounds, or manslaughter hardly ever occur. Thieves and robbers are
nowhere found, so that their houses and carts, in which all their treasure
is kept, are never locked or barred. If any animal go astray, the finder
either leaves it, or drives it to those who are appointed to seek for
strays, and the owner gets it back without difficulty. They are very
courteous, and though victuals are scarce among them, they communicate
freely to each other. They are very patient under privations, and though
they may have fasted for a day or two, will sing and make merry as if they
were well satisfied. In journeying, they bear cold, or heat with great
fortitude. They never fall out, and though often drunk, never quarrel in
their cups. No one despises another, but every one assists his neighbour to
the utmost. Their women are chaste, yet their conversation is frequently
immodest. Towards other people they are exceedingly proud and overbearing,
looking upon all other men with contempt, however noble. For we saw, in the
emperor's court, the great duke of Russia, the son of the king of Georgia,
and many sultans and other great men, who received no honour or respect; so
that even the Tartars appointed to attend them, however low their
condition, always went before them, and took the upper places, and even
often obliged them to sit behind their backs. They are irritable and
disdainful to other men, and beyond belief deceitful; speaking always fair
at first, but afterwards stinging like scorpions. They are crafty and
fraudulent, and cheat all men if they can. Whatever mischief they intend
they carefully conceal, that no one may provide or find a remedy for their
wickedness. They are filthy in their meat and drink, and in all their
actions. Drunkenness is honourable among them; so that, when one has drank
to excess and throws up, he begins again to drink. They are most
importunate beggars, and covetous possessors, and most niggardly givers;
and they consider the slaughter of other people as nothing.
SECTION VI.
_Of the Laws and Customs of the Tartars_.
Men and women guilty of adultery, or even of fornication, are punished with
death. Those detected in robbery or theft are likewise slain. If any one
divulges their councils, especially with regard to an intended war, he
receives an hundred blows on his buttocks with a great cudgel, as hard as a
strong man can lay on. When any of the meaner sort commit offences, they
are severely punished by their superiors. In marriage, they pay no
attention to nearness of kindred, except their mothers, daughters, or
sisters by the same mother; for they will even marry their sisters from
other mothers, and their fathers wives after his death. The younger brother
also, or some other of the kindred, is bound to marry the wives of a
deceased brother.
While I remained in the country, a Russian duke, named Andrew[1], being
accused before duke Baatu, of conveying Tartar horses out of the country
and selling them to other nations, was put to death, although the fact was
not proved against him. After this, the widow and younger brother of Andrew
came to Baatu, supplicating that they might not be deprived of the dukedom,
upon which Baatu commanded them to be married according to the Tartar
custom; and though both refused, as contrary to the religion and laws of
Russia, they were compelled to this incestuous union. After the death of
their husbands, the Tartar widows seldom marry, unless when a man chooses
to wed his brother's wife or his stepmother. They make no difference
between the son of a wife or of a concubine, of which the following is a
memorable example. The late king of Georgia left two sons, Melich and
David, of whom the former was lawful, and the other born in adultery; but
he left part of his dominions to his bastard. Melich appealed to the Tartar
emperor for justice, and David went likewise to the court, carrying large
gifts; and the emperor confirmed the will of their father, even appointing
David to have the superior authority, because eldest born. When a Tartar
has more than one wife, each has her own house and establishment, and the
husband eats, drinks, and sleeps, sometimes with one and sometimes with
another. One is considered as principal wife, and with her he resides
oftener than with the others; and though they are sometimes numerous, they
very seldom quarrel among themselves.
[1] In the previous account of the travels of Carpini, Hakl. I. 27. this
Andrew is said to have been duke of Sarvogle, or Seirvogle, perhaps
meaning Yeroslave.--E.
SECTION VII.
_Of their Superstitious Traditions_.
In consequence of certain traditions, they consider many indifferent
actions as criminal. One is, to thrust a knife into the fire, or any way to
touch a fire with a knife, to take meat from the pot with a knife, or even
to hew any thing with an axe near a fire; as they consider all these things
as taking away the force of the fire. Another is, to lean upon a whip, for
they use no spurs, or to touch arrows with their whip, to strike their
horse with their bridle, to take or kill young birds, or to break one bone
upon another. Likewise, to spill milk, or any drink, or food, on the
ground, or to make water in a house; for the last offence, if intentional,
a man is slain, or he must pay a heavy fine to the soothsayers to be
purified; in which case, the house, and all that it contains, has to pass
between two fires, before which ceremony no person must enter the house,
nor must any thing be removed from it. If any one takes a bit of meat that
he cannot swallow and spits it out, a hole is made in the floor of the
house, through which he is dragged and put to death. If any one treads on
the threshold of a house belonging to one of their dukes, he is put to
death. Many such things they account high offences.
But to slay men, to invade the territories of others, to take away the
goods of other people, and to act contrary to the commands of God, is no
crime among them; and they know nothing of the life to come, or of eternal
damnation. But they believe in a future life, in which they shall tend
flocks, eat and drink, and do those very things which they do in this life.
At new moon, or when the moon is full, they begin any new enterprise; they
call the moon the great emperor, and they worship that luminary on their
knees. All who dwell in their houses must undergo purification by fire,
which is performed in this manner. Having kindled two fires at a convenient
distance, they fix two spears in the earth, one near each fire, stretching
a cord between the tops of these spears, and about the cord they hang some
rags of buckram, under which cord, and between, which fires, all the men,
and beasts, and houses must pass; and all the while, a woman stands on each
side, sprinkling water on the passengers, and reciting certain verses. If
any one is killed by lightning, all that dwell in the same house with the
dead person must be thus purified; otherwise, the house, beds, carts,
felts, garments, and every thing else would be abandoned as unclean. When
any messengers, princes, or other persons arrive, they and their gifts must
pass between two fires for purification, lest they should bring witchcraft,
poison, or any other mischief.
SECTION VIII.
_Of the Beginning of their Empire_.
The land of Mongolia was formerly divided among four different tribes or
nations. One of these was the Yeka-Mongal, or the great Mongols. The second
Su-Mongal, or the Water Mongols, who called themselves Tartars, from a
river of that name in their territories. The third was named Merkat, and
the fourth Metrit. All these tribes resembled each other in form, and
complexion, and spoke the same language, though they were divided into
distinct provinces, under separate princes. In the land of the Yeka-Mongal,
lived one named Zingis, a great hunter, who used to rob and take much prey,
going into the neighbouring districts, where he seized all that came in his
way, and associated many under his command, till at length the people of
his nation attached themselves to him, and followed him as their leader to
do evil. After some time, Zingis went to war with the Su-Mongal or Tartars,
slew their duke, and subjugated the nation; and he successively reduced the
Merkats and Metrites to his growing dominion. The Naymani, to whom all the
surrounding tribes then paid tribute, were much indignant at the elevation
of Zingis; but their great emperor had lately died, leaving the authority
divided among his sons, who were young and foolish, and knew not how to
rule the people; yet they invaded the territories of the Mongals, slaying
the inhabitants and carrying off much prey. On this Zingis collected the
whole strength of his subjects, and the Naymani, united with the
Cara-Cathayans, gathered a mighty army in a certain narrow valley to oppose
him, in which a great battle was fought, and the Mongals obtained the
victory, the confederates being mostly slain, and those who escaped were
reduced to subjection. Zingis established his son Occoday, Ug dai, or
Octai-Khan, in the land of the Kara-Kitayans, where he built a town called
Omyl or Chamyl[1]; near which, and to the south, there is a vast desert, in
which there are said to be certain wild men, who do not speak, and have no
joints in their legs, yet have sufficient art to make felt of camels wool
for garments, to protect them from the weather.
[1] Called Chamil or Hami in the maps, in lat. 43° N. and long.
92° E It stands in a province of the same name, on the north side of
the great desert of Cobi, and to the N.E. of the land of the Kalmuks,
or little Bucharia.--E.
SECTION IX.
_Of the Mutual Victories of the Mongals and Cathayans_.
After their return from conquering the Naymani and Cara-Cathayans, the
Mongals prepared to go to war with the Kythaos, or Cathayans[1]; but the
Mongals were defeated in a great battle, and all their nobles were slain
except seven. Zingis and the rest who had escaped from this defeat, soon
afterwards attacked and conquered the people called Huyri[2], who were
Nestorian Christians, from whom they learned the art of writing. After this
they conquered the land of Sarugur, and the country of the Karanites, and
the land of Hudirat, and returning into their own country, took a short
respite from war. Again assembling a great army, they invaded Cathay, and
after a long struggle, they conquered the greater part of that country, and
besieged the emperor in his greatest city. The siege lasted so long, that
the army of the Mongals came to be in want of provisions, and Zingis is
said to have commanded that every tenth man of his own army should be slain
as food for the rest. At length, by great exertions, the Mongals dug a mine
underneath the walls of the city, through which a party entered and opened
the gates for the rest of the army, so that the city was carried, and the
emperor and many of the citizens put to the sword. Having appointed
deputies to rule over his conquests, Zingis returned into Mongalia with
immense quantities of gold and silver and other precious spoil. But the
southern parts of this empire, as it lies within the sea, has not been
conquered by the Mongals to this day[3].
The people of Cathay are Pagans, having a peculiar kind of writing of their
own, in which they are reported to possess the scriptures of the Old and
New Testament. They have also lives of the fathers, and houses in which
they pray at stated times, built like churches; they are even said to have
saints, to worship one God, to venerate the Lord Jesus Christ, and to
believe eternal life; but they are not baptised[4]. They have no beards,
and they partly resemble the Mongals in their features. Their country is
exceeding fruitful in corn, and abounds in gold and silver, wine and silk,
and all manner of rich commodities, and the whole world has not more expert
artificers in all kinds of works and manufactures.
[1] The inhabitants of Northern China, then a separate kingdom from Mangi,
or Southern China.--E.
[2] The Huirs or Uigurs.--E.
[3] This probably alludes to the difficulty experienced by the Mongals in
forcing a passage across the great rivers Hoang-ho and Kian-ku--E.
[4] These absurd notions must have been picked up by the credulous papal
messengers, from ignorant or designing Nestorians in Mongolia.--E.
SECTION X.
_Of the Wars of the Mongals against the Greater and Lesser India._
When Zingis and his people had rested some time after their conquest of
Cathay, he divided his army, and sent one of his sons, named Thosut-
khan[1], against the Comaniam, whom he vanquished in many battles, and then
returned into his own country. Another of his sons was sent with an army
against the Indians, who subdued the lesser India. These Indians are the
Black Saracens, who are also named Ethiopians. From thence the Mongal army
marched to fight against the Christians dwelling in the greater India, and
the king of that country, known by the name of Prester John, came forth
with his army against them. This prince caused a number of hollow copper
figures to be made, resembling men, which were stuffed with combustibles,
and set upon horses, each having a man behind on the horse, with a pair of
bellows to stir up the fire. When approaching to give battle, these mounted
images were first sent forwards against the enemy, and the men who rode
behind set fire by some means to the combustibles, and blew strongly with
their bellows; and the Mongal men and horses were burnt with wildfire, and
the air was darkened with smoke. Then the Indians charged the Mongals, many
of whom were wounded and slain, and they were expelled from the country in
great confusion, and we have not heard that they ever ventured to
return[2].
[1] Probably Tuschi-Khan.--E.
[2] It is needless to remark upon the confused and ignorant geography, and
the idle tale of a Christian empire in India in this section. The
strangely ill-told story of the copper images, by which the Mongals
were scorched with wild-fire, may refer to the actual employment
either of cannon or rockets against the Mongals in this invasion.--E.
SECTION XI.
_Of Monstrous Men like Dogs, and of the Conquest of Burithabeth._
In returning through the desert, we were told by some Russian priests at
the emperor's court, that the Mongals found certain women, who, being asked
where their men were, said that all the women of that country had human
shapes, but that the males had the shape of great dogs. After some time,
they met the dogs on the other side of a river. It being in winter, the
dogs plunged into the water, and then rolled themselves in the dust on the
land, till the dust and water was frozen on their backs; and having done
this repeatedly till the ice was thick and strong, they attacked the
Mongals with great fury; but when the Mongals threw their darts, or shot
their arrows at them, they rebounded as if they had fallen on stones,
neither could their weapons in any way hurt them. But the dogs killed some
of the Tartars, and wounded many with their teeth, and finally drove them
out of the country[1].
On their return home, the Mongals came into the country of Burithabeth, of
which the inhabitants are pagans, and conquered the people in battle. These
people have a strange custom of eating their kindred when they die. They
have no beard, for we saw some of them going about with certain iron
instruments in their hands, with which they pluck out any hairs they find
on their faces[2].
[1] It is surely unnecessary to remark on this ridiculous story of the
canine men, which no commentary could reduce to sense.--E.
[2] These people may possibly have been the Burats. The same practice of
eradicating the beard is still followed by the native tribes of
America.--E.
SECTION XII.
_How the Mongals were repulsed at the Caspian Mountains, by Men dwelling in
Caves._
When Zingis sent the before-mentioned armies into the east, he marched
personally into the land of the Kergis[1], which, however, he did not now
conquer. In this expedition the Mongals are said to have penetrated to the
Caspian mountains, which being of adamant, attracted their arrows and other
weapons of iron[2].
[1] The Kirguses, inhabiting Western Turkestan, between Lake Balkash and
the Caspian.--E.
[2] The remainder of this short section is so ridiculously fabulous as not
to merit translation, and is therefore omitted.--E.
SECTION XIII.
_Of the death of Zingis, and concerning his Sons, and the Tartar Dukes or
Princes._
Zingis is said to have been killed by lightning. He had four sons, the
first was called Occoday, or Oktai, the second Thosut, Tuzi, or Tuschi, the
third Thiaday, or Zagathai, and the name of the fourth I could not learn.
From these four all the dukes of the Mongals are descended[1]. Cuyne, or
Kajuk, the eldest son of Occoday, or Oktai, is now emperor; and he has two
brothers Cocten, and Chyrinen. Bathy, or Baatu, Ordu, Siba, and Boru are
the sons of Thosut-khan. Baatu is richer and mightier than all the rest,
being next in power to the emperor; but Ordu is the superior of all the
dukes. The sons of Thiaday are Hurin and Cadan. The sons of the son of
Zingis whose name I could not learn, are Mengu, Bithat, and several others.
The mother of Mengu was Seroctan, the greatest lady among the Tartars, and
the most honoured except the emperor's mother, and more powerful than any
subject except Bathy. The following is a list of their dukes: Ordu, Bathy,
Huryn, Cadan, Syban, and Ouygat, who were all in Hungary; Cyrpodan, who
remains beyond the sea[2], making war against certain soldans of the
Saracens, and other transmarine nations. Mengu, Chyrinen, Hubilai, Sinocur,
Cara, Gay, Sybedey, Bora, Berca, and Corensa, all remain in Tartary. But
there are many other dukes whose names I could not learn.
[1] Other authors give a different account of the family of Zingis.
According to Harris, I. 556, Zuzi, or Tuschi, was his eldest son, who
died six months before his father, and his son Baatu got a great part
of Tartary for his share. Zagathai, a son of Zingis, got Transoxiana,
or the country of the Kirguses. Tuli, another son, had Chorassan,
Persia, and western India. Octai had Mongalia and Cathay, or Northern
China. Carpini, or rather Vincentius, has sadly confounded all
authentic history, by his rambling colloquial collections from
ignorant relators, and has miserably corrupted the orthography of
names of nations, places, and persons.--E.
[2] Probably meaning in Persia, beyond the Caspian Sea.--E
SECTION XIV.
_Of the Power of the Emperors, and of his Dukes._.
The Tartar emperor enjoys incontrollable power over all his subjects,
insomuch, that no man dare abide in any other place than he has assigned;
and he even appoints the residences of all the dukes. The dukes appoint the
residence of the millenaries, or commanders of a thousand men; the
millenaries do the same with the centurions, or captains of hundreds; and
the centurions direct in what place the decurions or commanders of tens are
to dwell. Whatsoever order any of these officers receive from their
immediate superiors must be instantly and implicitly obeyed. If the emperor
demands the virgin daughter or sister of any one, she is instantly
delivered up; nay, he often collects the virgins from all the Tartar
dominions, and retains such as he pleases for himself, giving away others
among his followers. All his messengers must be everywhere provided with
horses and necessaries without delay: and all messengers coming to him with
tribute or otherwise, must be provided on their way with horses, carriages,
and all necessaries; yet messengers from strange countries, suffer great
distresses and much want of provisions and clothing, especially when sent
to any of the princes, and when they have to make any stay; as they often
allot for ten men, what would hardly suffice for two, and if they suffer
any injury it is even dangerous to complain. Many gifts are demanded of
them, both by the princes and others, and if these are refused they are
contemned. Owing to this, we were constrained to expend in presents, a
large portion of what had been bestowed upon us by well disposed persons to
defray our expences. In fine, every thing whatever belongs to the emperor,
so that no one dare to say that any thing is his own; and the dukes and
princes exercise an equally incontrollable dominion upon all below them.
SECTION XV.
_Of the Election of the Emperor Occoday, and of the Expedition of Duke
Bathy._
On the death of Zingis-chan, the dukes assembled and elected his son
Occoday, Ugadai, or Oktai-khan, emperor in his place; who immediately, in a
council of the nobles, divided the army, and sent Bathy, or Baatu-khan, who
was next in authority, against the land of Altissodan and the country of
the Bissermini[1], who were Saracens, though they spoke the language of the
Comanians. Bathy defeated these people in battle; but the city of Barchin,
which was surrounded with strong walls, resisted for a long while, until
the Tartars filled up the ditches and won the place, which they destroyed.
Sargat surrendered without resistance, for which the city was not
destroyed, but many of the citizens were slain and made captives, and much
spoil was taken, and the city was filled with new inhabitants. The Tartars
marched next against the rich and populous city of Orna, in which were many
Christian Gassarians, Russians, and Alanians, and many Saracens, the lord
of the city being of that nation. This town stands on a large river, and is
a kind of port, exercising great trade. Being unable to reduce this place
by force, the Tartars dammed up the river, and drowned the whole city, with
the inhabitants and their goods. Hence they invaded Russia, and besieged
Kiow a long while, which they at length took, and massacred the
inhabitants. This was a large and populous city, but is now reduced to
nothing, and scarcely has two hundred houses: and when we passed through
Russia, we found immense numbers of human skulls and bones scattered about.
From Russia and Comania they proceeded against the Hungarians and
Polonians, where many of them were slain: and had the Hungarians withstood
them manfully, the Tartars had been utterly defeated. In their return from
thence, they invaded and defeated the pagan Morduans: whence they marched
against the Byleri of greater Bulgaria, which they almost entirely
destroyed. Thence they proceeded to the north against the Bastarci of
greater Hungary, whom they conquered; and going farther north, they came to
the Parossitae, and thence to the Samogetae, reaching even to the ocean;
and from thence returned into Comania.
[1] The Busurmen, Musurmen, or Mahometan inhabitants of Turkestan.--E.
SECTION XVI.
_Of the Expedition of Duke Cyrpodan._
At the same time Occoday-khan sent duke Cyrpodan with an army to the south,
against the pagan Kergis, who have no beards, whom he subdued. After which
he marched against the Armenians, whom he conquered, and likewise subdued a
part of Georgia. The other part of that country is likewise under
subjection, and pays an yearly tribute of 20,000 yperperas. He thence
marched into the dominions of the great and powerful soldan of the Deuri,
whom he defeated; and proceeded to the country of the soldan of Aleppo,
which he subdued; and afterwards reduced the caliph of Baldach or Bagdat to
subjection, who is forced to pay a daily tribute of 400 byzants, besides
baldekins[1] and other gifts. Every year the Tartar emperor sends
messengers to require the presence of the caliph; who sends back great
gifts besides the regular tribute, to prevail on the emperor to excuse his
absence.
Duke Cyrpodan and his army still propose to invade more distant countries,
and have not yet returned into Tartary.
[1] This is probably a manufacture of Bagdat or Baldach, from whence its
name; and may have been flowered silk or cloth of gold.--E.
SECTION XVII.
_Of the Military conduct of the Tartars._
Zingis-khan divided the Tartars into companies or divisions of ten, of, an
hundred, and of a thousand each, every one of which had its appropriate
officer. Over every ten millenaries he placed one general; and over an army
of several bodies of ten thousand men, two or three dukes, one of whom had
the superior command. When they join battle against their enemies, unless
the whole army retreat by common consent, all who fly are put to death. If
one, two, or more of a decury proceed bravely to battle, and the rest do
not follow, the cowards are slain. If one, two, or more of the decury are
made prisoners and the rest do not rescue them, they are put to death.
Every man must have two bows, or at least one good bow, three quivers full
of arrows, an axe, and certain ropes to draw the military machines. The
rich or officers have sharp-pointed swords, somewhat curved and sharp on
one edge. They wear helmets, coats of mail, and cuisses, and their horses
even are armed. Some have their own armour and that of their horses made of
leather, ingeniously doubled and even tripled. The upper parts of their
helmets are of iron or steel, but the hood which protects their neck and
throat is of leather. Some have all their defensive armour composed of many
small plates of iron, a hand-breadth long and an inch broad, perforated
with eight small holes, by which they are tied with small leather thongs to
strong thongs of leather underneath, so that the plates overlap each other
in regular series, and are firmly knit together. The armour both of men and
horses is often made in this fashion, and is kept finely burnished. Some
carry lances having hooks, to pull their enemies from horseback. Their
arrow-heads are exceedingly sharp on both edges, and every man carries a
file to sharpen them. Their targets are made of wicker, but they are hardly
ever carried, except by the night guards, especially those in attendance
upon the emperor and the princes.
The Tartars are exceedingly crafty in war, in which they have been
continually engaged for the last forty-two years against all the
surrounding nations. When they have to pass rivers, the principal people
secure their garments in bags of thin leather, drawn together like purses,
and closely tied. They fix these to their saddles, along with their other
baggage, and tie the whole to their horse's tail, sitting upon the whole
bundle as a kind of boat or float; and the man who guides the horse is made
to swim in a similar manner, sometimes having two oars to assist in rowing,
as it were, across the river. The horse is then forced into the river, and
all the other horses follow, and in this manner they pass across deep and
rapid rivers[1]. The poorer people have each a purse or bag of leather well
sewed, into which they pack up all their things, well tied up at the mouth,
which they hang to the tails of their horses, and thus swim across.
[1] This mode of passing over rivers, though carefully translated, is by no
means obviously described. I am apt to suppose that the leathern bags,
besides holding the apparel and other valuables, were large enough to
be blown up with air so as to serve as floats, like those used by the
ancient Macedonians; a practice which they may have learnt from the
Scythians. The Latin of Vincentius Beluacensis appears to have been
translated from the French original of Carpini, from the following
circumstance: What is here translated their _other baggage_ is, in the
Latin, _alias res duriores_; almost with certainty mistakenly rendered
from the French _leurs autres hardes_.--E.
SECTION XVIII.
_How the Tartars ought to be resisted._
No single kingdom or province can resist the Tartars, as they gather men
for war from every land that is subjected to their dominion; and if any
neighbouring province refuses to join them, they invade and lay it waste,
slaughtering the inhabitants or carrying them into captivity, and then
proceed against another nation. They place their captives in the front of
battle, and if they do not fight courageously they are put to the sword.
Wherefore, if the princes and rulers of Christendom mean to resist their
progress, it is requisite that they should make common cause, and oppose
them with united councils. They ought likewise to have many soldiers armed
with strong bows and plenty of cross-bows[1], of which the Tartars are much
afraid. Besides these, there ought to be men armed with good iron maces, or
with axes having long handles. The steel arrow-heads should be tempered in
the Tartar manner, by being plunged, while hot, into water mixed with salt,
that they may the better be able to penetrate the armour of the Tartars.
Our men ought likewise to have good swords, and lances with hooks to drag
them from their saddles, which is an easy matter; and ought to have good
helmets and armour of proof for themselves and horses: And those who are
not so armed ought to keep in the rear of those who are, to discharge their
arrows and quarrels over the heads of their companions.
Our armies ought to be marshalled after the order of the Tartars, already
described, and under the same rigorous laws of war. Whoever betakes himself
to plunder before victory is perfectly ascertained, should suffer death.
The field of battle ought to be chosen, if possible, in a plain, where
every thing may be seen around. The army should by no means be drawn up in
one body, but in many divisions, not too distant. One band ought to be
dispatched against those who first advance, while another remains prepared
to assist in time of need. Scouts ought to be sent out on every side, to
give notice of the approach of the enemy; that band may always be sent to
meet band as they come on, as the Tartars are always anxious to surround
their enemies. Each band ought however to be cautious not to pursue too far
when their enemies fly, lest they fall into a snare or ambush, as the
Tartars fight more by stratagem than by main force; and this the rather,
that our people may not fatigue their horses, in which we do not abound,
while the Tartars always have such numbers that they seldom remount one
horse, till after three or four days rest. Should even the Tartars retire
towards their own country, our army ought by no means to retreat or
separate; as they often practise this stratagem to delude their enemies and
induce them to divide, and then return suddenly to destroy the country at
their pleasure. Our generals ought to keep their troops day and night on
the alert, and always armed, ready for battle; as the Tartars are always
vigilant like the devils, and are ever devising how to commit mischief.
Finally, when a Tartar falls from his horse in battle, he ought immediately
to be taken or slain; as when on foot even they are excellent archers, and
destructive to men and horses[2].
[1] The word here used in the Latin, _balistais_, is probably
corrupted in transcription for _balistariis_; and may either mean
cross-bow-men, or men for working balistae, the ancient artillery, if
the expression be allowable. Arcubalistarii is the appropriate middle
age Latin for men armed with cross-bows.--E.
[2] Our good minorite seems in this chapter to have studied the
old proverb, _fas est ab hoste doceri_; but except in the leading
political advice of the section, he might have been better employed in
following the adage of _ne sutor ultra crepidam_.--E.
SECTION XIX.
_Of the Journey of Friar John de Plano Carpini, to the First Guard of the
Tartars_[1].
Setting out, by command from the apostolic See, upon our journey to the
Tartars, lest there might arise danger from their proximity to the church
of God, we came first to the king of Bohemia, with whom we were acquainted,
and who advised us to travel through Poland and Russia, because he had
kinsmen in Poland, through whose assistance we might be enabled to travel
in Russia; and he supplied us with recommendatory letters and passports,
giving us free passage as his charges through his dominions, whence we
proceeded to the court of Boleslaus, duke of Silesia, his nephew, who was
likewise known and friendly to us. He treated us in the same hospitable
manner, and transmitted us free of expense to Conrad, duke of Lautiscia, or
Masovia, where, by God's grace, Wasilico[2], duke of Russia, then was, from
whom we fully learned the arts of the Tartars, as he had sent messengers to
them who were already returned. Learning that it was necessary for us to
make presents, we caused some skins of beavers and other animals to be
purchased with part of the money which had been given us in charity to
defray our expences; and we received more of the same skins from duke
Conrad, from Grimislava, duchess of Cracow, from the bishop, and from
certain nobles of that place. And at the request of the duke, bishop, and
nobles of Cracow, Wasilico conducted us into his country, and entertained
us there for some days at his expense. Likewise he convened his bishops at
our request, to whom we read the Pope's letters, admonishing them to return
into the unity of the church, adding our own exhortation to the same
purpose. But because duke Daniel, the brother of Wasilico was absent at the
court of Baatu, they could not then give a satisfactory answer.
After this Wasilico sent us forward to Kiow, the chief city of Russia,
under the conduct of one of his servants; in which journey we were in great
danger of our lives from the Lithuanians, who often invaded the borders of
Russia in the very places through which we had to pass; but by means of
this servant we were secured against any injury from the Russians, of whom
indeed the greater part had been slain, or carried into captivity by the
Tartars. In this journey we had almost perished of cold at Danilou[3],
through the prodigious depth of the snow, although we travelled in a
wagon. On our arrival at Kiow, and consulting with the millenary[4], and
other nobles, respecting our farther journey, we were advised not to carry
the horses we then had into Tartary, as they would all certainly die by the
way, as they were not used to dig under the snow in search of grass like
the Tartar horses, and no food could be procured for them, as the Tartars
make no provision of hay or straw, or any other provender, against winter.
We determined therefore to leave them behind, under the care of two
servants, till our return, and by means of presents, we prevailed on the
millenary to allow us post-horses and a guide. We began our journey on the
second day after the Purification[5], and arrived at Canow, which was under
the immediate dominion of the Tartars. The governor allowed us horses, and
a guide to another town, of which one Micheas, a most malicious person, was
governor; who, gained by our presents, conducted us to the first station of
the Tartars.
[1] The journal of Carpini begins here, that of Asceline never appears.--E.
[2] At this period Jeroslaw, or Jeroslaus, was grand duke of Wolodimir or
Wladimire, then considered as the sovereigns of Russia, who was
succeeded by Alexander.--_Playf. Syst. of Chronol_. Wasilico,
therefore, or Wasile, must have been a subordinate duke, or a junior
member of the reigning family.--E.
[3] There is a town named Danilovska, near the S. E. frontiers of European
Russia.--E.
[4] From this circumstance, it may be presumed that Kiow was then occupied
by a guard of Tartars, under a commander of a thousand men.--E.
[5] This was the 4th February, probably of 1247.--E.
SECTION XX.
_Of his first Reception by the Tartars._
On the first Saturday after Ash-Wednesday, while we were taking up our
quarters for the night, near sunset, a number of armed Tartars came
suddenly upon us, in a threatening manner, demanding who we were. Having
told them that we were messengers from the Pope, and giving them some
victuals, they immediately went away. When we proceeded on our journey
next morning, the chiefs of this guard met us, and demanded to know the
purpose of our journey. We answered "That we were messengers from our Lord
the Pope, the father and lord of the Christians, going to their emperor and
princes, and the whole Tartar nation, to desire peace and friendship
between the Tartars and the Christians: And as the Pope wished the Tartars
to become great, and to acquire the favour of God, he admonished them by
us, and by his letters, to embrace the faith of Christ, without which they
could not be saved: That the Pope was astonished to hear of their monstrous
slaughter of mankind, more especially of the Hungarians, Mountaineers, and
Polanders, who were his subjects, and who had neither injured, or attempted
to injure the Tartars; and as God is sore offended by such proceedings, the
Pope admonished them to refrain in future, and to repent of what they had
done, and requested an answer as to their future intentions." On which they
promised us horses and a guide to Corrensa, but for which favour they
demanded presents. Some of them rode swiftly on before, to inform Corrensa
of our message, and we followed. This Corrensa is general or duke of all
the Tartars who are placed as a guard against the people of the West, lest
some enemy might suddenly invade them; and is said to have 60,000 men under
his command.
SECTION XXI.
_His Reception at the Court of Corrensa._
On our arrival at the residence of Corrensa, our tent was ordered to be
pitched at a considerable distance, and his agents came to demand what
gifts we would offer in paying our obeisance to him. We answered that our
lord the Pope had sent no gifts, as he was uncertain if we should ever
arrive at their country, considering the dangerous places we had to pass
through; but that we should honour him with part of those things which had
been given us to defray the charges of our journey. Having received our
gifts, we were conducted to the orda or tent of the duke Corrensa, and
instructed to bow our left knee thrice before his door, taking great care
not to set our feet on the threshold; and when entered, we were to repeat
on our knees the words which we had said before. This done, we presented
the letters of the Pope; but the interpreter whom we had hired at Kiow, was
not able to explain them sufficiently, nor could any one be found equal to
the task.
From this place post-horses were appointed to conduct us with all speed to
duke Baatu, under the guidance of three Tartars. This Baatu is the most
powerful prince among them, next to their emperor. We began our journey to
his court on the first Tuesday in Lent, and riding as fast as we could
trot, though we changed our horses twice or thrice every day, and often
travelled in the night, it was Maunday Thursday before we accomplished our
journey. The whole of this journey was through the land of Comania, which
is all an uniform plain, watered by four large rivers. The first of these
is the Dnieper or Boristhenes; on the Russian side of which the dukes
Corrensa and Montij march up and down, the latter, who marches on the other
side of the plains, being the more powerful of the two[1]. The second
river is the Don, or Tanais of the ancients, on the banks of which a
certain prince, named Tirbon, sojourns, who is married to the daughter of
Baatu. The third and largest is the Volga or Rha, on which Baatu resides.
The fourth is the Jaik or Rhymnus, on each bank of which a millenary
commands. All these descend southwards in winter to the sea, and travel in
summer up these rivers, towards the northern mountains. All these rivers,
especially the Volga, abound in fish, and run into the great sea, from
which the arm of St George extends past Constantinople[2]. While on the
Dnieper, we travelled many days upon the ice; and on the shore of the sea
we found the ice three leagues broad. Before our arrival at the residence
of Baatu, two of our Tartars rode on before, to give him an account of what
we had said to Corrensa.
[1] It is difficult to understand the ambiguity here used, unless we
suppose that the station of Montij was on the right bank of the
Dnieper; while certainly that of Corrensa was on the left or
north-east bank.--E.
[2] The Euxine and Caspian are here confounded as one sea. It is scarcely
necessary to observe, that the Dnieper and Don run into the Euxine,
while the Volga and Jaik, or Ural, are discharged into the Caspian.
--E.
SECTION XXII
_The Reception of Carpini at the Court of Baatu_.
When we arrived at the residence of Baatu, in the land of Comania, we were
ordered to pitch our tent a full league from his station, and when we were
to be introduced at his court, we were informed that it was previously
necessary for us to pass between two fires. We refused this at first, but
were told there was no danger, and that it was only precautionary, in case
we intended any mischief to their lord, or should have brought poison along
with us, as the fire would remove all evil. On which we complied, that we
might remove all suspicion of any such sinister intentions. After this,
when we came to the orda, we were questioned by Eldegay, the agent of the
prince, respecting the gifts we meant to offer; and making the same reply
we had given at the court of Corrensa, our gifts were offered and accepted;
and having declared the object of our journey, we were introduced into the
presence, making our obeisances, and were admonished respecting the
threshold, as formerly mentioned. We then rehearsed our former oration on
our knees, and produced our letters, and requested the aid of interpreters
to translate them. These were sent us on Good Friday, and, with their
assistance, our letters were carefully translated into the Russian,
Tartarian, and Saracen languages, and presented to Baatu, who read them
with attention. We were then conducted back to our lodging, but no food was
given us, except a little millet in a dish, on the first evening of our
arrival.
Baatu carries himself with great magnificence, having porters, and all
other officers, after the manner of the emperor, and sits in an elevated
place, like a throne, along with one of his wives. Some of his brothers,
and sons, and nobles, sit below him, on benches, and all others on the
ground, behind the rest, the men being on his right, and the women on his
left. He uses some beautiful and large linen tents, which formerly belonged
to the king of Hungary; and no person, however great, presumes to enter his
tent without leave, except his own family. At this interview we were seated
on his left hand, but on our return from the emperor, we were placed on the
right. A table stands near the door of the tent or house, on which there is
abundance of drink, in golden and silver vessels. Neither Baatu, nor any of
the Tartar princes, drink in public, without having singers and harpers
playing before them. When he rides, there is a small tent, canopy, or
umbrella, carried over his head, on the point of a spear; and the same is
done to all the Tartar princes and their wives. Baatu is extremely
courteous to his people, yet is held in great awe; he is exceedingly
sagacious, crafty in war, and inexorably cruel in battle, and has been long
experienced in the conduct of warlike enterprises.
SECTION XXIII.
_The Journey through the Land of Comania, and of the Kangittae._
On Easter eve we were again called to the court, and Eldegay, whom we have
mentioned before as the agent of Baatu, came out to us from the tent,
saying that we must go forwards to the court of their emperor: but they
detained a part of our company, under pretence of sending them back to the
Pope. We accordingly gave letters to these persons, reciting all that had
hitherto occurred; but they got no farther than the residence of duke
Montij, where we joined them on our return homewards. Next day, being
Easter, after prayers and a slight breakfast, we departed from the court of
Baatu in much dejection of spirits, accompanied by two guides. We were so
feeble that we could hardly support the fatigue of riding, our only food
during Lent having been millet boiled with water, and our only drink melted
snow. Passing eastwards through Comania, we travelled continually with
great expedition, changing our horses five times a day, and sometimes
oftener; except when we had to pass through deserts, on which occasions we
had stronger horses allowed, that were able to undergo the whole labour. In
this manner we travelled, almost without ceasing, from the beginning of
Lent, until eight days after Easter, including our journey to the court of
Baatu.
On the north of Comania, immediately beyond Russia, lie the people called
Morduyni-Byleri[1] in great Bulgaria, and the Bastarci in great Hungary;
beyond the Bastarci are the Parositae and Samogetae; and beyond these, on
the desert shores of the ocean, a people who are said to have dogs faces.
On the south, Comania has the Alani, Circassians, Gazarians, Greece, and
Constantinople, the land of the Iberians, the Cattes, the Brutaches, who
are said to be Jews, who shave the whole of their heads, and the lands of
the Scythians, Georgians, Armenians, and Turks. On the west are Hungary and
Russia. Comania is a country of great length and breadth, the inhabitants
of which were mostly extirpated by the Tartars, though many of them were
reduced to bondage and some fled, but the fugitives have in general
returned, and now serve the Tartars. We next entered the land of the
Kangittae, which has few inhabitants, owing to a great scarcity of water.
From this circumstance, several of the servants of Jeroslaus, duke of
Russia, perished in the desert, when travelling to join him in the land of
the Tartars. Both here and in Comania, we found many human bones and skulls
in large heaps[2]. The Comanians and Kangittae, were pagans who dwelt in
tents, and lived entirely on the produce of their flocks and herds, without
practising any tillage whatever. On their conquest, a great part of the
Kangittae were rooted out by the Tartars, and the remnant reduced to
bondage.
[1] The Morduyni, Morduas, or Merdas, were probably the same
people with those now called Tscheremisses, who call themselves
Mari-murt, or the people of Mari.--E.
[2] Probably Tartar trophies of victory. Even Timour, the great
Mongol conqueror after Zingis, so much vaunted by many writers for his
virtues and humanity, used to order the erection of immense pyramids
of recent human heads, in memory of victory.--E.
SECTION XXIV.
_The arrival of Carpini at the first Station of the new Emperor._
From the land of the Kangittae we entered the country of the Bisermini, who
speak the Comanian language and observe the law of Mahomet. In this country
we saw innumerable ruined cities and castles, and many towns left desolate.
The former sovereign of this country, which is full of high mountains, was
called Alti Soldan, who, with all his lineage, was destroyed by the
Tartars. On the south side lie Jerusalem and Baldach, or Bagdat; and on its
nearest borders dwell two Tartar dukes, Burin and Cadan, sons of Thiaday
the son of Zingis-chan. To the north is the land of the black Kitayans and
the ocean[1]. Syban, the brother of Baatu, dwells in the land of the
Bisermini. We travelled in this country from Ascension-day until eight days
before the feast of St John the Baptist, 16th June, when we entered the
land of the black Kitayans, in which the emperor has built a house, where
we were invited to drink, and the resident there for the emperor, caused
the principal people of the city, and even his own two sons, to dance
before us[2]. Going from thence we came to a certain sea, having a small
mountain on its banks, in which there is said to be a hole, whence such
vehement tempests of wind issue in winter, that travellers can hardly pass
without imminent danger. In summer the noise of the wind is heard
proceeding from this hole, but it is then quite gentle. We travelled along
the shore of this sea for several days, leaving it upon our left; and
though this sea is not of very large dimensions, it contains a considerable
number of islands[3]. Ordu, whom we have already mentioned as the senior of
all the Tartar dukes, dwells in this country, in the orda or court of his
father, where one of his wives bears rule. For, according to the Tartar
customs, the courts of princes and nobles are never dissolved at their
deaths, but are kept up under the government of one of his wives, to whom
the gifts are continued which used to be given to their lords. In this
place, therefore, we arrived at the first court under the immediate
jurisdiction of the emperor, in which one of his wives dwelt; but as we had
not yet been presented to the emperor, we were not invited, or even
permitted to enter the station, but were exceedingly well entertained in
our tent, after the Tartar fashion, and were allowed to remain there one
day for rest and refreshment.
[1] The confused geographical notices of this traveller are so
uninstructive, as not to merit any commentary. A good account of the
present state of these immense regions will be found in Pinkerton's
Modern Geography, articles Independent Tartary, Chinese Tartary, and
Asiatic Russia. The ancient and perpetually changing distribution of
nations in Scythia or Tartary, in its most extended sense, almost
elude research, and would require lengthened dissertations instead of
illustrative notes.--E.
[2] From the subsequent travels of Rubruquis, it will appear, that this
ceremony was in honour of the Tartar messengers going from Baatu to
the emperor, not from respect to the papal envoys.--E.
[3] This sea is obviously the lake Balkash, or Palkati-nor, at the south
end of which our maps represent a group of islands.--E.
SECTION XXV.
_The Arrival of Carpini at the Court of the Emperor elect._
Leaving this place on the eve of St Peter and Paul, 28th June, we entered
the country of the pagan Naymani[1], and next day was excessively cold,
attended by a great fall of snow. Indeed this country is very mountainous
and excessively cold, and has very little plain ground, wherefore these
nations had no tillage, but dwelt in tents, which were destroyed by the
Tartars. We travelled through this country for many days, and at length
entered the land of the Mongals, whom we call Tartars. Through this latter
country we continued our journey for about three weeks, continually riding
with great expedition, and at length arrived at the residence of the
emperor elect, on the feast of Mary Magdalen, 22d July. In the whole of
this journey we used extraordinary exertion, as our Tartar guides were
ordered to bring us with all expedition to attend the solemn court which
had been long appointed for the election of the emperor: on which account
we always travelled from early morning till night, without stopping to take
food; and we often came to our quarters so late, as not to get any food
that night, but were forced to eat in the morning what we ought to have had
for supper. We changed horses frequently every day, and travelled
constantly as hard as our horses could trot.
[1] The Soongaria of modern Geography.--E.
SECTION XXVI.
_Of the Reception of the papal Nuncios at the court of Kujak, or
Cuyne-Khan._
On our arrival at the court of Cuyne, he ordered us to be provided with a
tent, and all necessary expences, after the Tartar customs, and his people
treated us with more attention and respect than they shewed to any other
messengers. We were not admitted into his presence, as he had not been
formally elected and invested in the empire; but the translation of the
Pope's letters, and of our speech, had been transmitted to him by Baatu.
After remaining in this place for five or six days, we were sent to his
mother, who kept a solemn court. In this place we beheld an immense tent,
so vast, in our opinion, that it could have contained two thousand men;
around which there was an enclosure of planks, painted with various
figures. All the Tartar dukes were assembled in this neighbourhood, with
their attendants, and amused themselves in riding about the hills and
vallies. The first day these were all clothed in white robes. The second
day, on which Cuyne came to the great tent, they were dressed in scarlet.
The third day they were dressed in blue, and on the fourth in rich robes of
Baldakin[1]. In the wall of boards, encircling the great tent, there were
two gates, through one of which the emperor alone was allowed to enter; and
though it stood continually open, there were no guards, as no one dared to
enter or come out by that way. All who were admitted entered by the other
gate, at which there were guards, armed with bows, arrows, and swords. If
any one presumed to approach the tent beyond the assigned limits, he was
severely beaten, if caught; or if he attempted to run away, he was shot at
with arrows. Many of the people whom we saw here, had upon their saddles,
bridles, and other trappings of their horses, to the value of twenty marks
in pure gold, according to our estimation.[2]
The dukes assembled in the great tent, and consulted together, as we
thought, about the election of the emperor. The rest of the people were
collected all round the wooden walls, and at a considerable distance; and
in this manner they continued till almost noon. Then they began to drink
mares milk, or cosmos, and continued to drink amazing quantities till
evening. We were invited among them, and they treated us with ale, as we
did not drink cosmos. They intended this as a great honour, but they made
us drink so much, in comparison with our ordinary diet, as we were not able
to endure; but on making them understand that it was hurtful to us, they
desisted from insisting on our compliance. On the outside of the door stood
Jeroslaus, duke of Susdal in Russia, a great many dukes of the Kithayans
and Solangi, the two sons of the king of Georgia, the envoy of the caliph
of Bagdat, himself a sultan, and more than ten other Saracen sultans. We
were informed by the agents, that there were above four thousand messengers
present, partly from those who paid tribute or sent presents, and from
other sultans and dukes who came to make their submission, or who had been
sent for, and from the various governors of countries and places under
their authority. All these were placed on the outside of the wooden wall of
the great tent, and were supplied with drink; and they almost all gave to
us and the duke Jeroslaus the place of honour, when in their company.
[1] This term probably signifies the manufacture of Baldach or Bagdat, and
may refer to silken stuffs damasced, or woven with gold flowers.--E.
[2] Taking the mark of gold at 84 oz. and valuing the ounce at 4£ 17s, 6d,
the sum of 20 marks amounts to L. 780 Sterling.--E.
SECTION XXVII.
_Of the Exaltation of Cuyne as Emperor._
We remained in this place, called Syra Orda, about four weeks. In our
opinion the election was made here, though it was not published, because
always when Cuyne came out of the tent he was greeted with a noise of
music, and was saluted with beautiful rods tipt with scarlet wool, which
was not done to any of the other dukes. Leaving this place, we all rode
three or four miles to a fine plain, near a river among the mountains,
where we found another tent erected, called the Golden Orda, in which Cuyne
was to have been installed in the imperial seat on the festival of the
Assumption, 15th August; but on account of a vast fall of hail, formerly
mentioned, the ceremony was deferred. This tent was erected upon pillars,
covered over with plates of gold, and other beams were fixed to the pillars
by gold nails. The whole was superbly covered over with Baldakin, having
other cloth on the outside. We remained here till the feast of St
Bartholomew, 24th August; on which day an immense multitude convened,
standing with their faces to the south. Certain persons, at about a stone's
throw distance from the rest, were continually employed in making prayers
and genuflexions, always proceeding slowly to the south. We did not know
whether they were making incantations, or whether they bowed their knees to
God or otherwise, and we therefore made no genuflexions. When this ceremony
had continued a long while, the whole company returned to the tent, and
Cuyne was placed upon the imperial throne. On which all the dukes knelt
before him, and the same was done by all the people, except by us, who were
not his subjects.
SECTION XXVIII.
_Of the Age and Demeanour of Cuyne, and of his Seal._
When exalted to the imperial dignity, Cuyne seemed to be about forty or
forty-five years old. He was of middle stature, exceedingly prudent,
politic, serious, and grave in his demeanour, and was hardly ever seen to
laugh or to behave lightly in any respect, as was reported to us by certain
Christians who were continually about him. These Christians of his family
assured us likewise, that he would certainly become a Christian, because he
always kept some Christian priests about his person, and had at all times a
chapel of Christians established near his great tent, in which the clergy
sang their devotions publickly and openly, and struck the regular hours on
bells, according to the custom of the Greek church, whatever number of
Tartars or others might be in the presence; while no other of the Tartar
dukes did any thing like this.
It is the custom of this emperor never to converse himself with any
stranger, however high his rank, but always to hear, as it were, and to
answer through an intermediate person: Whoever proposes any matter to his
consideration, or listens to his reply, however great his quality, must
remain on his knees the whole time; and no one must presume to speak on any
subject after the determination of the emperor is expressed. For the
dispatch of affairs, both public and private, he has agents, secretaries,
scribes, and officers of all kinds, excepting pleaders; as every thing is
concluded according to his will and pleasure, without strife or judicial
noise: and the other princes of the Tartars act exactly in the same manner.
While we remained at his court, the emperor and all his princes erected a
standard of defiance against the church of God, the Roman empire, and all
the Christian kingdoms and nations of the west, unless they should become
obedient to his commands. Their avowed intention is to subdue the whole
earth under their authority, as they were commanded by Zingis-khan, and
they have only abstained from this intention of late, on account of the
death of Occaday-khan, the emperor's father, who was poisoned. Of all the
nations under heaven, they are in some fear of the Christians only, and on
this account they are now preparing to make war on us. In all his letters
their emperor styles himself the Power of God and the Emperor of Mankind;
and the seal of the present emperor is thus inscribed:
GOD IN HEAVEN; AND CUYNE-KHAN ON EARTH, THE POWER OF GOD: THE SEAL OF THE
EMPEROR OF ALL MEN.
SECTION XXIX.
_Of the Admission of the Papal and other Envoys to the Emperor._
We were called into the presence of the emperor, in the same place where he
had been inaugurated; and Chingay, his chief secretary, having written down
our names, and the names of those who sent us, and the name of the duke of
Solangi and others, he read over all these names in a loud voice to the
emperor and the assembled dukes. Then everyone of us bowed the knee four
times before him, and having warned us to beware of touching the threshold,
we were carefully searched lest we might have any concealed weapons; after
which, we entered within the precinct of the imperial tent at the east
gate; not even the Tartar dukes dare presume to enter at the west gate,
which is reserved for the emperor alone; yet the lower people do not pay
much regard to this ceremonious injunction. At this time, likewise, all the
other envoys now at the imperial residence were presented, but very few of
them were admitted within the tent. On this occasion, infinite quantities
of rich gifts of all kinds were presented to the emperor, by the various
envoys and messengers, in samites, purple robes, baldakins, silken girdles
wrought with gold, rich furs, and other things innumerable. Among these
there was a splendid umbrella, or small canopy, to be carried over the head
of the emperor, all covered over with gems. The governor of one of the
provinces brought a great number of camels, having housings of baldakin,
and carrying richly ornamented saddles, on which were placed certain
machines, within each of which a man might sit. Many horses and mules
likewise were presented to him, richly caparisoned and armed, some with
leather, and some with iron. We were likewise questioned as to what gifts
we had to offer, but we were unable to present any thing, as almost our
whole substance was already consumed. At a considerable distance from the
court, there stood in sight on a hill, above five hundred carts all filled
with gold and silver and silken garments. All these things were divided
between the emperor and his dukes, and the dukes divided their portions
among their followers, each according to his pleasure.
SECTION XXX.
_Of the Separation between the Emperor and his Mother, and of the Death of
Jeroslaus Duke of Russia._
Leaving this place we came to another, where a wonderfully grand tent, all
of red cloth, was pitched, the gift of the Cathayans. At this place
likewise, we were introduced into the presence; and always on these
occasions we were offered beer and wine to drink, and boiled flesh to eat
when we were inclined. In this tent there was a lofty gallery made of
boards, on which the imperial throne was placed, most exquisitely carved in
ivory, and richly decorated with gold and precious stones; and, if we
rightly remember, there were several steps by which to ascend the throne.
This throne was round above. There were benches all around, where the
ladies sat on the left hand, upon stools, and no one sat aloft on the right
hand, but the dukes sat below on benches, in the middle of the tent. Others
sat behind them, and every day there came great numbers of ladies to the
court. These three tents which we have mentioned, were of wonderful
magnitude; and the wives of the emperor had other tents, sufficiently large
and beautiful, made of white felt. At this place, the emperor took leave of
his mother, who went to one part of the land, and he to another, to
distribute justice. About this time, a concubine belonging to the emperor
was detected, who had poisoned his father, at the time when the Tartar army
was in Hungary, and owing to which incident, they had been ordered to
return. She, and a considerable number of her accomplices, were tried and
put to death. Soon afterwards, Jeroslaus, the great duke of Soldal[1] in
Russia, being invited, as if to do him honour, by the emperor's mother, to
receive meat and drink from her hand, grew sick immediately after returning
to his lodging, and died in seven days illness, his whole body becoming
strangely of a blue colour; and it was currently reported that he had been
poisoned, that the Tartars might freely and totally possess his land.
[1] Called Susdal in a former passage.--E.
SECTION XXXI.
_How the Friars, in the presence of the Emperor, interchanged Letters_
Soon afterwards, the emperor sent us to his mother, as he intended to set
up a flag of defiance against all the nations of the west, as has been
mentioned before; and he was desirous to keep this circumstance from our
knowledge. Having remained some days with his mother, we returned to his
court, where we continued a whole month, in such extreme distress for
victuals and drink, that we could hardly keep ourselves alive; for the
provisions allowed us for four days, were scarcely sufficient to serve us
for one day, neither could we go to purchase at the public market, as it
was too far from us. But God sent to our aid a Russian goldsmith, named
Cosmas, who was considerably favoured by the emperor, and who procured us
some food. This man shewed us the imperial throne and seal, both of which
he had been employed to make.
After some time, the emperor sent for us, and intimated, by Chingay, his
secretary, that we should write down our messages and affairs, and deliver
them to him, which we did accordingly. Many days afterwards, we were again
called to the presence, and were asked if there were any persons about the
Pope who understood the Russian, Arabic, or Tartarian languages. To this we
answered that we were ignorant of these languages, and though there were
Saracens in our land, they inhabited at a great distance from our lord the
Pope; and we proposed, that when they had written in the Tartar language,
they might explain the meaning to us, which we would carefully write down
in our language, and would then deliver both the originals and the
translation to his holiness. On this they went from us to the emperor. We
were again called upon at Martinmas, when Kadac, the chief minister of the
empire, with Chingay and Bala, and several scribes, came to us and
explained the emperor's letter, word for word; and when we had written it
in Latin, they made us interpret every sentence to them, to see if we had
any way erred. And when both letters were written, they made us read them
over twice more, lest any thing were mistaken: Saying, "Take heed that
every thing be well understood, as great inconvenience might arise from
wrong conception." They gave us likewise a copy of the emperor's letters in
Arabic, in case any one might be found who could explain them in our
country.
SECTION XXXII.
_The Papal Envoys receive a Licence to depart._
These Tartar ministers informed us, that the emperor proposed to send
envoys along with us; and it seemed to us, that they wished we should ask
this from the emperor, and one of the principal among them advised us to
make that request. But this did not appear at all convenient, and we
answered, that it did not become us to make any such petition; but if it
were the pleasure of the emperor to send envoys, we should use our utmost
endeavour, with God's assistance, to conduct them in safety. We were averse
from this measure, for the following reasons: Lest, seeing the wars and
dissensions which subsisted among the Christians, they should be the more
encouraged to make war upon us: We were afraid that the messengers were
meant to act as spies, to examine the approaches to our land: We dreaded
that they might be slain by the way: for when the servants which attended
us, by desire of the cardinal legate of Germany, were on their return to
him, they were well nigh stoned to death by the Germans, and forced to put
off that hateful dress: And it is the custom of the Tartars, never to make
peace with those who have slain their messengers, till they have taken a
severe revenge. Fourthly, we feared their messengers might be taken from us
by main force. And lastly, because no good could arise from them, as they
were to have no other commission or authority, except merely to deliver the
letter of the emperor to the pope and princes of Christendom, which letter
we already had.
The third day after this, being the feast of St Brice, 13th November, we
received our passport, and a letter sealed with the emperor's own seal; and
going to the emperor's mother, she gave each of us a gown made of
fox-skins, having the hair outwards, and a linen robe; from every one of
which our Tartar attendants stole a yard, and from those that were given to
our servants, they stole a full half. We were perfectly aware of this
knavery, but did not think it convenient to take any notice.
SECTION XXXIII.
_The return of the Papal Envoys to Europe_.
At length we took our departure, and travelled the whole winter through the
desert, often sleeping all night on the snow, unless when we cleared a
piece of ground with our feet, and frequently in the morning we found
ourselves entirely covered by the snow, which had drifted over us during
the night. On Ascension day, we arrived at the court of Baatu, of whom we
inquired what message we should deliver in his name to the Pope? To this he
answered, that he had no message to give us in charge, but only that we
should carefully deliver what we had received from the emperor. Having
received additional passports from him, we continued our journey, and
arrived at the station of Montij on the Sabbath after the Whitson week,
where our companions and servants, who had been kept so long from us, were
returned at our desire. From thence we travelled to the station of
Corrensa, who again required presents from us, but we now had none to give.
He however appointed two Comanians, of the lowest order of the Tartar
subjects, to accompany us to Kiow in Russia; but our Tartar guide did not
quit us till we were beyond the Tartar bounds; after which the Comanians,
who had been ordered by Corrensa to attend us, brought us in six days from
the last guard of the Tartars, to the city of Kiow, where we arrived
fifteen days before the festival of John the Baptist, 9th June 1248. On
receiving notice of our approach, the whole inhabitants of Kiow came out
joyfully to receive us, congratulating us as men returned from death to
life; and we were received in a similar manner in our whole progress
through Russia, Poland, and Bohemia. Daniel, and his brother Wasilico,
feasted us splendidly, and detained us, contrary to our desire, for eight
days. In the meantime, they and their bishops and nobles, having consulted
on those matters, which we had propounded to them, when on our journey
towards the Tartars, made an unanimous declaration, that they would
henceforwards hold the Pope as their special lord and holy father, and
would adhere to the Roman church as their lady and mistress, confirming all
things which they had previously sent on this subject, by their own abbot,
to the Pope before our return; and in ratification of all this, they sent
envoys and letters along with us to the Pope[1].
[1] In Section XIX. of this journey, Wasilico, or Wasiley, is mentioned as
duke of Russia; but who must only have been duke of some subordinate
province. This submission of Russia, or of his particular dukedom,
produced no fruit to the Romish see, as the Russian empire still
remains what are called Greek schismatics.--E
CHAP. IX.
_Travels of William de Rubruquis into Tartary, about the year_
1253_.[1]
INTRODUCTION.
These travels were undertaken by order of Louis IX. of France, usually
called St Louis. In the original, or at least in the printed copies which
have come down to our times, Rubruquis is said to have commenced his
journey in the year 1253; but this date is attended with some difficulties,
as we are certain that king Louis was a prisoner from 1249 to 1254. It is
possible, indeed, that he may have dispatched this mission while a
prisoner; yet it is more probable, that the date may have been vitiated in
transcription. The real name of this early traveller, who was a friar of
the minorite order, is said to have been Van Ruysbroek[2], from a village
of that name near Brussels, Latinized, or Frenchified rather, into De
Rubruquis. By Hakluyt he is named Rubruk. The version here offered to the
public, is a translation from the Latin copy in Hakluyt, as addressed by
the adventurous traveller to his royal master, after his return from
traversing the whole extent of Tartary; the English translation, by that
early and meritorious collector, being far too antiquated for modern
readers.
[1] Hakluyt, I. 80. for the Latin, and I.101. for the English. See likewise
Harris, I. 556.
[2] Pinkerton, Mod. Geogr. II. xvi.
_Dedication by the Author_
To the Most Excellent and Most Christian Lord Louis, by the Grace of GOD
the illustrious King of the French; Friar William de Rubruquís, the meanest
of the Minorite Order, wisheth health and continual triumph in CHRIST
JESUS.
It is written in the book of Ecclesiasticus, "That the truly wise man shall
travel through strange countries; for he hath tried the good and evil among
men." All this, Sire, I have performed; and I wish I may have done so as a
wise man, and not as a fool. For many do foolishly those things which have
been done by wise men, and I fear I may be reckoned among that number. But
as you were pleased to command me at my departure, that I should write down
every thing I saw among the Tartars, and should not fear to write long
letters, I now therefore obey your orders, yet with awe and reverence, as
wanting fit language in which to address so great a king.
SECTION I.
_Commencement of the Journey._
Be it known, therefore, to your sacred majesty, that in the year 1253, on
the 7th of May, we entered into the sea of Pontus, which the Bulgarians
call the Great Sea[1]; which I was informed, by certain merchants, is 1008
miles in length, and is in a manner divided, about its middle, into two
parts, by means of two provinces which project into it, one on the north,
and the other on the south. That which is on the south is called Synope,
and contains the castle and port of the Sultan of the Turks. The northern
province is called Gasaria by the Latins[2], and Cassaria by the Greek
inhabitants of its coast, which is the same with Caesaria; and from thence
certain headlands extend southwards into the sea, towards Synope, from the
nearest part of which they are 300 miles distant; so that the distance from
these points to Constantinople is 700 miles in length and breadth, and 700
miles to Hiberia in the east, which is a province of Georgia.
We arrived in the province of Gasaria, or Casaria, which is of a triangular
form, having a city named Kersova on its western extremity, in which St
Clement suffered martyrdom. While sailing past that city, we saw an island
containing a church, which is said to have been built by the angels. In the
middle of this province, and on a cape to the south, stands the city of
Soldaia, directly facing Synope. And here all merchants land who come from
Turkey, in their way to the north, and embark here again on their return
from Russia and the north for Turkey; these latter bring ermines and
martins, and other valuable furs, and the former carry cloths made of
cotton, or bombasins, and silk webs, and aromatic spices. On the east of
this province is the city of Matriga[3], where the Tanais flows into the
Pontus, by a mouth of twelve miles wide[4]. Before this river enters the
Euxine, it forms itself into a sea towards the north, of seven hundred
miles in length and breadth, but in no place above six paces deep, so that
it is not navigable for large vessels: For which reason, the merchants of
Constantinople, when they arrive at the city of Matriga, send their barks
to the Tanais, where they purchase dried fish, sturgeons, thosas, barbels,
and many other sorts of fish.
This province of Casaria has the sea on three sides; on the west, where
stands Kersova, or the city of St Clement; on the south, where is the city
of Soldaia, at which we landed; and on the east, where Matriga is situated
at the mouth of the Tanais. To the east of that mouth is the city of Zikia,
and the countries of the Suevi and Hiberi still further east, all of which
are not under the dominion of the Tartars. To the south is Trebisond, which
has its own prince, named Guido, who, although of the imperial race of
Constantinople, is under the Tartar dominion; and next to it is Synope,
which belongs to the sultan of the Turks, who is likewise subjected to the
Tartars. Beyond this is the country of Vastacius, whose son is named Astar,
after his maternal grandfather, and this country is not under the dominion
of the Tartars. From the mouth of the Tanais to the Danube, and even beyond
the Danube towards Constantinople, including Walachia, which is the country
of Assanus, and the lesser Bulgaria as far as Solonia, pay tribute to the
Tartars, who of late years have exacted an axe from each family, and all
the corn which they find in heaps, in addition to the regular tribute.
We landed at Soldaia[5] on the 21st of May, where certain merchants of
Constantinople had previously arrived, who reported that ambassadors from
the Holy Land were coming thither, on their way to Sartach; although I had
publickly declared on palm Sunday, in the church of St Sophia, that I was
no ambassador from you or any one, and only travelled to these infidels, in
conformity with the rule of our order. On our arrival, these merchants
advised me to be cautious of what I said; for, as they had already reported
that I was an ambassador, if I should now say the contrary, I should be
refused a free passage. Upon this, I addressed myself to the lieutenants of
the city, because the captains had gone with the tribute to Baatu, and were
not yet returned: saying, "We have heard in the Holy Land, that your lord
Sartach[6] had become a Christian, which hath greatly rejoiced all the
Christians, and especially the most Christian King of the French, who is
there in pilgrimage, fighting against the Saracens, that he may redeem the
Holy Land out of their hands: Wherefore, I desire to go to Sartach, that I
may carry him letters from the king my master, in which he gives him
intelligence of importance to all Christendom." They received us
graciously, and entertained us hospitably in the cathedral church; The
bishop had been at the court of Sartach, and told me many good things
concerning him, which I did not find afterwards to be true. They then gave
us our choice, either to have carts drawn by oxen, for carrying our
baggage, or sumpter horses; and the Constantinopolitan merchants advised me
to purchase covered carts, like those in which the Russians carry their
peltry, in which I should put every thing which was wanted for daily use;
because, if I were to take packhorses, I should be constrained to pack and
unpack at every baiting place, and that besides, I should ride more easily
in the carts than on horseback. By following their evil advice, I was two
months in travelling to Sartach, which I might have accomplished in one on
horseback. I had brought with me from Constantinople fruits of various
kinds, muscadel wine, and delicate biscuits, to present to the captains,
that I might obtain free passage, having been advised by the merchants,
that these persons gave a very cold reception to such as applied to them
empty handed. The governors or captains being absent, I caused all these
things to be packed up in one of the carts, being informed that they would
be acceptable presents to Sartach.
We began our journey about the beginning of June, having four covered carts
of our own, and two others which they furnished to us, in which we carried
our bedding, and we were allowed five riding horses for ourselves, our
company consisting of five persons; viz. myself and my companion, Friar
Bartholomew of Cremona, Goset, the bearer of these letters, the man of God
Turgeman[7], and a servant or slave, named Nicholas, whom I had purchased
at Constantinople, out of the alms we had received. The people of Soldaia
likewise allowed us two men to drive our carts, and to take care of our
horses and oxen.
There are several lofty promontories on the shore of Casaria, between
Kersova[8] and the mouth of the Tanais; and there are forty castles between
Kersova and Soldaia, at almost each of which a distinct language is spoken;
and among these are many Goths who speak the Teutonic language[9]. Beyond
these mountains, towards the north, extends a most beautiful wood, in a
plain, which is full of springs and rivulets; and beyond this wood is an
extensive plain, continuing for five days journey to the northern extremity
of this province, where it contracts into a narrow space, having the sea on
the east and west, and a great ditch is drawn between these two seas. In
this plain the Comani dwelt before the coming of the Tartars, and compelled
the before-mentioned cities and castles to pay tribute; and upon the coming
of the Tartars, so vast a multitude of the Comani took refuge in this
province, flying to the sea shore, that the living were forced to feed upon
the dying, as I was assured by a merchant, an eye-witness, who declared,
that the survivors tore in pieces with their teeth, and devoured the raw
flesh of the dead as dogs do carrion. Towards the extremity of this
province, there are many large lakes, having salt springs on their banks,
and when the water of these springs reaches the lake, it coagulates into
hard salt like ice. From these salt springs, Sartach and Baatu draw large
revenues; as people come from all parts of Russia to procure salt, and for
each cart-load, they pay two webs of cotton cloth, equal in value to half
an yperpera. Many vessels come likewise by sea for salt, all of which pay
tribute, in proportion to the quantities which they carry away. On the
third day after leaving Soldaia, we fell in with the Tartars, on joining
whom, I thought myself entered into a new world; wherefore, I shall use my
best endeavours to describe their manners and way of life,
[1] The Euxine or Black Sea. Though not expressed in the text, he probably
took his departure from Constantinople.--E
[2] By the Latins are here obviously meant the inhabitants of western
Europe. The province here mentioned is the Crimea; the Taurica
Chersonesus of the ancients, or the modern Taurida.--E.
[3] At the mouth of one of the branches of the Kuban is the town of
Temruck, formerly called Tmutrakhan by the Russians, and Tamatarcha by
the Greeks; this has been corrupted to Tamaterca, Materca, and
Matriga.--Forst.
[4] This obviously refers to the canal of communication between the sea of
Azoph and the Euxine.--E.
[5] Called likewise Soldeya, Soldadia and Sogdat, now Sudak.--E.
[6] Sartach was the son of Baatu-khan.--E.
[7] This name is probably meant to imply the Trucheman, Dragoman, or
interpreter; and from the strange appellative, _Man of God_, he may
have been a monk from Constantinople, with a Greek name, having that
signification: perhaps Theander--E.
[8] Cherson or Kersona, called likewise Scherson, Schursi, and Gurzi.--E.
[9] These castles of the Goths, first mentioned by Rubruquis, were
afterwards noticed by Josaphat Barbaro, a Venetian, in 1436; and
Busbeck conversed with some of these Goths from the Crimea at
Constantinople in 1562, and gives a vocabulary of their language. From
the authority of Rubruquis misunderstood, some ancient map makers have
inserted the Castella Judeorum instead of Gothorum in the Crimea, and
even Danville placed them in his maps under the name of Chateaux des
Juifs, castles of the Jews.--Forst.