Volume II Part 155 (2/2)

See Appendix A. A Short Narrative of the Origin of the Kingdom of Harmusz, and of its Kings, down to its Conquest by the Portuguese; extracted from its History, written by Torunxa, King of the Same, pp. 153-195. App. D.

Relation of the Chronicle of the Kings of Ormuz, taken from a Chronicle composed by a King of the same Kingdom, named Pachaturunza, written in Arabic, and summarily translated into the Portuguese language by a friar of the order of Saint Dominick, who founded in the island of Ormuz a house of his order, pp. 256-267.

See Yule, _Hobson-Jobson_, s.v. _Ormus_.

Mr. Donald Ferguson, in a note, p. 155, says: ”No dates are given in connection with the first eleven rulers of Hormuz; but a.s.suming as correct the date (1278) given for the death of the twelfth, and allowing to each of his predecessors an average reign of thirteen years, the foundation of the kingdom of Hormuz would fall in A.D. 1100. Yule places the founding somewhat earlier; and Valentyn, on what authority I know not, gives A.D.

700 as the date of the founder Muhammad.”

XIX., I., p. 116; II., p. 444.

DIET OF THE GULF PEOPLE.

Prof. E.H. Parker says that the T'ang History, in treating of the Arab conquests of Fuh-lin [or Frank] territory, alludes to the ”date and dry fish diet of the Gulf people.” The exact Chinese words are: ”They feed their horses on dried fish, and themselves subsist on the _hu-mang_, or Persian date, as Bretschneider has explained.” (_Asiatic Quart. Rev._, Jan., 1904, p. 134.)

Bretschneider, in _Med. Researches_, II., p. 134, n. 873, with regard to the dates writes: ”_Wan nien tsao_, 'ten thousand years' jujubes'; called also _Po-sze tao_, or 'Persian jujubes.' These names and others were applied since the time of the T'ang dynasty to the dates brought from Persia. The author of the _Pen ts'ao kang mu_ (end of the sixteenth century) states that this fruit is called _k'u-lu-ma_ in Persia. The Persian name of the date is _khurma_.”

Cf. CHAU JU-KWA, p. 210.

XXII., p. 128 n.

TUN-O-KAIN.

Major Sykes had adopted Sir Henry Yule's theory of the route from Kuh-benan to Tun. He has since altered his opinion in the _Geographical Journal_, October, 1905, p. 465: ”I was under the impression that a route ran direct from Kubunan to Tabas, but when visiting this latter town a few months ago I made careful inquiries on the subject, which elicited the fact that this was not the case, and that the route invariably followed by Kubunan-Tabas caravans joined the Kerman-Ravar-Naiband route at Chah-Kuru, 12 miles south of Darbana. It follows this track as far as Naiband, whence the route to Tabas branches off; but the main caravan route runs via Zenagan and Duhuk to Tun. This new information, I would urge, makes it almost certain that Ser Marco travelled to Tun, as Tabas falls to the west of the main route. Another point is that the district of Tabas only grows four months' supplies, and is, in consequence, generally avoided by caravans owing to its dearness.

”In 1893 I travelled from Tun to the south across the Lut as far as Chah Kuru by this very route, and can testify to the general accuracy of Ser Marco's description,[1] although there are now villages at various points on the way. Finally, as our traveller especially mentions Tonocain, or Tun va Kain, one is inclined to accept this as evidence of first-rate importance, especially as it is now corroborated by the information I gained at Tabas. The whole question, once again, furnishes an example of how very difficult it is to make satisfactory inquiries, except on the spot.”

It was also the opinion (1882) of Colonel C.E. Stewart, who says: ”I was much interested in hearing of Kuh Banan, as it is one of the places mentioned by Marco Polo as on his route. Kuh Banan is described as a group of villages about 26 miles from the town of Rawar, in the Karman district.

I cannot help thinking the road travelled by Marco Polo from Karman to Kain is the one by Naiband. Marco Polo speaks of Tun-o-Cain, which, Colonel Yule has pointed out, undoubtedly means Tun and Kain. At present Tun does not belong to the Kain district, but to the Tabbas district, and is always spoken of as Tun-o-Tabbas; and if it belonged, as I believe it formerly did, to the Kain district, it would be spoken of as Tun-o-Kain, exactly as Marco Polo does. Through Naiband is the shortest and best road to either Tun or Kain.” (_Proc. Royal Geog. Soc._, VIII., 1886, p. 144.)

Support to Yule's theory has been brought by Sven Hedin, who devotes a chapter to Marco Polo in his _Overland to India_, II., 1910, Chap. XL., and discusses our traveller's route between Kuh-benan and Tabbas, pp. 71 seq.:

”As even Sykes, who travelled during several years through Persia in all directions, cannot decide with full certainty whether Marco Polo travelled by the western route through Tebbes or the eastern through Naibend, it is easy to see how difficult it is to choose between the two roads. I cannot cite the reasons Sir Henry Yule brings forward in favour of the western route--it would take us too far. I will, instead, set forth the grounds of my own conviction that Marco Polo used the direct caravan road between Kuh-benan and Tebbes.

”The circ.u.mstance that the main road runs through Naibend is no proof, for we find that Marco Polo, not only in Persia but also in Central Asia, exhibited a sovereign contempt for all routes that might be called convenient and secure.

”The distance between Kerman and Kuh-benan in a direct line amounts to 103 miles. Marco Polo travelled over this stretch in seven days, or barely 15 miles a day. From Kuh-benan to Tebbes the distance is 150 miles, or fully 18 miles a day for eight days. From Kuh-benan via Naibend to Tun, the distance is, on the other hand, 205 miles, or more than 25 miles a day. In either case we can perceive from the forced marches that after leaving Kuh-benan he came out into a country where the distances between the wells became much greater.

”If he travelled by the eastern route he must have made much longer day's journeys than on the western. On the eastern route the distances between the wells were greater. Major Sykes has himself travelled this way, and from his detailed description we get the impression that it presented particular difficulties. With a horse it is no great feat to ride 25 miles a day for eight days, but it cannot be done with camels. That I rode 42-1/2 miles a day between Hauz-i-Haji-Ramazan and Sadfe was because of the danger from rain in the Kevir, and to continue such a forced march for more than two days is scarcely conceivable. Undoubtedly Marco Polo used camels on his long journeys in Eastern Persia, and even if he had been able to cover 205 miles in eight days, he would not be obliged to do so, for on the main road through Naibend and Duhuk to Tun there are abundant opportunities of procuring water. Had he travelled through Naibend, he would in any case have had no need to hurry on so fast. He would probably keep to the same pace as on the way from Kerman to Kuh-benan, and this length he accomplished in seven days. Why should he have made the journey from Kuh-benan to Tun, which is exactly double as far, in only eight days instead of fourteen, when there was no necessity? And that he actually travelled between Kuh-benan and Tunocain in eight days is evident, because he mentions this number twice.

”He also says explicitly that during these eight days neither fruits nor trees are to be seen, and that you have to carry both food and water. This description is not true of the Naibend route, for in Naibend there are excellent water, fine dates, and other fruits. Then there is Duhuk, which, according to Sykes, is a very important village with an old fort and about 200 houses. After leaving Duhuk for the south, Sykes says: 'We continued our journey, and were delighted to hear that at the next stage, too, there was a village, proving that this section of the Lut is really quite thickly populated.' [_Ten Thousand Miles in Persia_, p. 35.] This does not agree at all with Marco Polo's description.

”I therefore consider it more probable that Marco Polo, as Sir Henry Yule supposes, travelled either direct to Tebbes, or perhaps made a trifling detour to the west, through the moderate-sized village Bahabad, for from this village a direct caravan road runs to Tebbes, entirely through desert. Marco Polo would then travel 150 miles in eight days compared with 103 miles in seven days between Kerman and Kuh-benan. He therefore increased his speed by only 4 miles a day, and that is all necessary on the route in question.

”Bahabad lies at a distance of 36 miles from Kubenan--all in a straight line. And not till beyond Bahabad does the real desert begin.

”To show that a caravan road actually connects Tebbes with Bahabad, I have inserted in the first and second columns of the following table the data I obtained in Tebbes and Fahanunch, and in the third the names marked on the 'Map of Persia (in six sheets) compiled in the Simla Drawing Office of the Survey of India, 1897.'

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