Volume I Part 41 (1/2)
Having made a conquest of _Bissibur_, they marched into. _Walor_[11], which they also conquered, and then returned into Kiptschak.
At this period, there was a high officer of state among the Tartars, called Obmann, who had usurped the power of nominating and deposing the khan, and to whom all the lords or chiefs were subservient. This anomalous dignity was now held by Ideku; who, as has been already mentioned, had invited Zegra to accept the dignity of khan. This Ideku, with the khan, all the n.o.bility, and the whole people, wandered continually up and down the country, with their wives and children, their cattle, and whole property, to the number of about 100,000 people, having no fixed abodes, but dwelling in moveable huts, at all seasons of the year. At this time there was a king in Tartary, named _Schudicho chey_ or _Kom_, or Schadibeck-knan, the son of Timur-Utluck, grandson of Timur-melik-aglen, and great-grandson of Urus- Khan, This Schadibeck reigned from 1401 to 1406. Immediately on hearing that Ideku was approaching, he took to flight; but was pursued, and killed in a skirmish. Ideku appointed _Polat_ or Pulad-khan, the son[12] of Schadibeck, to be his successor, who reigned a year and a half, between 1406 and 1408. After him _Segel-Aladie_, or Zedy-khan, the son of _Tokatmysch_ or Toktemysch-khan, got possession of the throne; but he was soon expelled by Timur-Khan, the son of Timur-Uduck, and brother of Pulad- Khan, who reified fourteen months. Thebak, the brother of Pulad-khan, took the field against Timur-khan, and killed him, but was unable to attain the sovereignty, as his brother Kerunhardin ascended the throne, which he only held for five months. Thebak again endeavoured to dispossess his brother Kerunhardin, but was unable to effectuate his purpose; for at this juncture, Ideku interposed, and conferred the sovereignty on Zegra, in the room of both. Zegra, however, continued khan only for nine months, when Mohammed-khan, son of the before-mentioned Timur-khan, and grandson of Timur Utluck, gained a pitched battle against Ideku and Zegra, in which Ideku was made prisoner, and Zegra fled into a country called Descht-Kiptscha. Mohammed was in his turn driven from the throne by Waroch; from whom Mohammed soon after retook his dominions. He was again driven out by Doblaberd, who only kept possession for three days, when he was in his turn dethroned by Waroch. He again was soon afterwards slain by Mohammed, who a third time attained the sovereign power. After these repeated revolutions, Zegra made ah unsuccessful attempt to recover the throne, in which enterprize he lost his life.
On the death of Zegra, Schildtberger, and the other four Christians who had been in his service, attached themselves to Ma.n.u.stzusch, who had been counsellor to that prince. This person went upon a journey to Kaffa in the Crimea, where six different religions are professed among the mixed inhabitants of that peninsula, a part of whom are Christians; After a residence there of five months, Ma.n.u.stzusch crossed the straits of Zabake in the country called _Zeckchas_ or Zikchia, where he sojourned for six months. But the sultan of Turkey sent a message to the sovereign of that country, requesting that Ma.n.u.stzusch might not be allowed to remain there any longer; and upon this he removed into the land of _Magrill_[13].
Schildtberger and his Christian companions, reflecting that they were now only three days journey from the Black Sea, formed a resolution to endeavour to return into their own country. With this view, having taken leave of Ma.n.u.stzusch, they went, to the capital of the country of _Bathan_[14] whence they requested to be conveyed across into Christendom, but were refused. Upon this they rode four days journey along the coast, when at length they espied a s.h.i.+p at about eight Italian miles from the sh.o.r.e. They made signals to the people on board by means of fire, and a boat was sent to inquire their purpose; and having convinced the boats crew that they, were Christians, by rehearsing the Lords prayer, Ave Maria, and creed, and these people having reported an account of them to the captain, of the s.h.i.+p, boats were sent back to bring them, on board. Having escaped many dangers, they landed at Constantinople, where they were well received by John Palaeologus, the Grecian emperor, who: sent them by sea to the castle of Kilia, at the mouth of the Danube. Schildtberger here parted from his companions, and went with some merchants to Akkerman[15] in Wallachia.
From thence he went to _Sedhof_ Sutschawa the capital of Moldavia, or the lesser Walachia. Hence to _Lubick_ called otherwise Lwow or Lemberg, the capital of White Russia, where he was detained by illness for three months.
From that place he went to Cracow, the capital of Poland; and by Breslau in Silesia, Misnia, Eger, Ratisbon, and Freysingen, back to Munich, having been absent for more than thirty-two years.
[1] Forster, Voy. and Disc. in the North, p. 158.
[2] About this period, many abuses subsisted among the Golden Tribe on the Wolga. Mamay and Ideku, or Yedeghey-khan, called Edigi by Schildtberger, had not the t.i.tle of great khan of the Golden Tribe in Kiptschak, but held in fact the supreme power in their hands, and set up khans from among the royal family, or deposed them at their pleasure.--Forst
[3] The names are much disfigured, and the commencement of the journey is not mentioned; but, from the course afterwards, this may be some corruption for Armenia, or one of its districts.--E.
[4] Perhaps a corruption for Daghistan.--E.
[5] Perhaps Kahira, or Cairo.--E.
[6] Schildtberger, or his transcriber, calls this the town of Bursa, by mistake for the mountain of Al-Burs.--Forst.
[7] Probably Agrachan; as both Astracan and Saray had been demolished by Timur. As to his saying that it stood in the middle of the Edil, Etilia, or Wolga, that may be a mistake; but at any rate, Edil signifies any river whatever.--Forst.
[8] Bissibur or Issibur, is the ancient Russian town of Isborsk.--Forst. It would appear that the present expedition was into Siber, or Siberia --E.
[9] This appears to refer to the Uralian chain, and the frozen regions of the north of Russia.--E.
[10] A mistake, by confounding close-made dresses of fur with the notion of naked men, covered all over with s.h.a.ggy hair.--E.
[11] Probably Wolgar, Bulgar, or Bulgaria, is here meant.--E
[12] From the sequel he appears rather to have been his brother.--E.
[13] This is probably a corruption for Mangrill, or Mingrelia.--E.
[14] Forster explains this by subst.i.tuting the names of Bebian and Bedias as synonymous. No such name occurs in our best maps; but there is a place near the country of Mingrelia in Guria on the Black-Sea, named Batum, which may be here indicated--E.
[15] This place is called in the text Weisseburgh, signifying the White Town, otherwise named Akkerman or Akkiermann, Asprecastro, Tschetatalba, and Belgorod.--Forst.
From the concluding sentence, Schildtberger, who began his travels, or rather captivity in 1394, must have returned to Munich about 1426 or 1427--E.
CHAP. XVII.
_Travels of the Amba.s.sadors of Mirza Shah Rokh, King of Persia, from Herat to Khanbalek in Katkay, in 1419_[1].
INTRODUCTION.
This curious emba.s.sy, sent by Mirza Shah Rokh one of the sons of Timur, or Timour the Great, better known in Europe by the name of Tamerlane, travelled from Herat, in Persia, the residence of their sovereign, to Khanbalek, Cambalu, or Peking, the imperial city of Kathay, Khatay, Kitay, or Northern China, where Yong-lo, or Ching-tsu, the third emperor of the race of Ming then kept his court. Yong-lo began to reign, in 1404, and died in 1425, the year in which the amba.s.sadors returned to Persia, the race of Ming, a Chinese dynasty, was founded in 1368, fifty-one years before the present emba.s.sy, by Hoang-vu, who had expelled the Mongol khans, the degenerate and enervated descendants of Gingis or Zengis. This journey was described by the famous Persian historian, Emir-Khond, or Emir-Khovand, usually known by the name of Mirchond, in his performance, ent.i.tled, ”Of the Wonders of the World.” Nicolas Witsen[2], a learned burgomaster of Amsterdam, has inserted this curious journey, in his curious work, ”Of North and East Tartary,” Having translated it for that purpose from the Persian into Dutch. The singularly excellent work of Witsen is extremely rare, and very seldom to be met with, as the author suppressed the work, from motives which are now unknown. The library of the university of Goettingen; formerly possessed a copy, which had belonged to the library of the Empress of Russia, and which was purchased at the sale of the effects of the late Mr Thunnman for eighty-six dollars. These travels are contained in the fourth volume of the French collection by Thevenot; who says that it was written in Persian, in twelve pages, without notes or explanation. He makes no mention of the translator, but probably borrowed the article from Witsen, without acknowledgment. The present edition is taken from Astleys collection, and is enriched by several notes and elucidations, by Mr John Reinhold Forster; who, while he regrets the scarcity of Witsens valuable work in Dutch, forgets to inform us of the existence of this tract in Thevenot, or in the collection of Astley. This journey throws some light on the interior part of Tartary, or Central Asia; and is therefore an important addition to our scanty knowledge of that little known and interesting country, the real storehouse of nations, and the scourge, during many centuries, of all the surrounding countries, from the sea of j.a.pan to the Baltic, and from the Frozen Ocean, to the seas of China, India, Persia, Arabia, and Roum, or the Mediterranean.