History of the World/History of the World (Bureau Development, Inc.)(1992).BIN/dp/0447/04474.txt

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Part II}
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Title:       Travels Of Marco Polo
Book:        Book First: Here The Book Begins; And First It Speaks Of The Lesser Armenia
Author:      Polo, Marco

Part II

Chapter XIV

What Befell When The Three Kings Returned To Their Own Country

     And when they had ridden many days they said they would see what the
Child had given them.  So they opened the little box, and inside it they found
a stone.  On seeing this they began to wonder what this might be that the
Child had given them, and what was the import thereof.  Now the signification
was this: when they presented their offerings, the Child had accepted all
three, and when they saw that they had said within themselves that he was the
true God, and the true king, and the true physician.  And what the gift of the
stone implied was that this faith which had begun in them should abide firm as
a rock.  For he well knew what was in their thoughts.  However, they had no
understanding at all of this signification of the gift of the stone; so they
cast it into a well.  Then straightway a fire from Heaven descended into that
well wherein the stone had been cast.

     And when the three kings beheld this marvel they were sore amazed, and it
greatly repented them that they had cast away the stone; for well they then
perceived that it had a great and holy meaning.  So they took of that fire,
and carried it into their own country, and placed it in a rich and beautiful
church.  And there the people keep it continually burning, and worship it as a
god, and all the sacrifices they offer are kindled with that fire.  And if
ever the fire becomes extinct they go to other cities round about where the
same faith is held, and obtain of that fire from them, and carry it to the
church.  And this is the reason why the people of this country worship fire.
They will often go ten days' journey to get of that fire.

     Such then was the story told by the people of that castle to Messer Marco
Polo; they declared to him for a truth that such was their history, and that
one of the three kings was of the city called Saba, and the second of Ava, and
the third of that very castle where they still worship fire, with the people
of all the country round about.

     Having related this story, I will now tell you of the different provinces
of Persia, and their peculiarities.

Chapter XV

/4
Of The Eight Kingdoms Of Persia, And How They Are Named

     Now you must know that Persia is a very great country, and contains eight
kingdoms.  I will tell you the names of them all.

     The first kingdom is that at the beginning of Persia, and it is called
Kasvin; the second is further to the south, and is called Kurdistan; the third
is Luristan; the fourth Shulistan; the fifth Ispahan; the sixth Shiraz; the
seventh Shawankara; the eighth Tunokain, which is at the further extremity of
Persia.  All these kingdoms lie in a southerly direction except one, to wit,
Tunokain; that lies towards the east, and borders on the country of the Arbre
Sol.

     In this country of Persia there is a great supply of fine horses; and
people take them to India for sale, for they are horses of great price, a
single one being worth as much of their money as is equal to two hundred
livres Tournois; some will be more, some less, according to the quality. Here
also are the finest asses in the world, one of them being worth full thirty
marks of silver, for they are very large and fast, and acquire a capital
amble.  Dealers carry their horses to Kish and Ormuz, two cities on the shores
of the sea of India, and there they meet with merchants who take the horses on
to India for sale.

     In this country there are many cruel and murderous people, so that no day
passes but there is some homicide among them.  Were it not for the government,
which is that of the Tartars of the Levant, they would do great mischief to
merchants; and indeed, mauger the government, they often succeed in doing such
mischief.  Unless merchants be well armed they run the risk of being murdered,
or at least robbed of everything; and it sometimes happens that a whole party
perishes in this way when not on their guard.  The people are all Saracens,
i.e., followers of the law of Mahommet.

     In the cities there are traders and artisans who live by their labor and
crafts, weaving cloths of gold, and silk stuffs of sundry kinds.  They have
plenty of cotton produced in the country; and abundance of wheat, barley,
millet, panick, and wine, with fruits of all kinds.

     Some one may say, "But the Saracens don't drink wine, which is prohibited
by their law." The answer is that they gloss their text in this way, that if
the wine be boiled, so that a part is dissipated and the rest becomes sweet,
they may drink without breach of the commandment; for it is then no longer
called wine, the name being changed with the change of flavor.

Chapter XVI

Concerning The Great City Of Yezd

     Yezd also is properly in Persia; it is a good and noble city, and has a
great amount of trade.  They weave there quantities of a certain silk tissue
known as Yesdi, which merchants carry into many quarters to dispose of.  The
people are worshipers of Mahommet.

     When you leave this city to travel further, you ride for seven days over
great plains, finding harbor to receive you at three places only.  There are
many fine woods producing dates upon the way, such as one can easily ride
through; and in them there is great sport to be had in hunting and hawking,
there being partridges and quails and abundance of other game, so that the
merchants who pass that way have plenty of diversion.  There are also wild
asses, handsome creatures.  At the end of those seven marches over the plain
you come to a fine kingdom which is called Kirman.

Chapter XVII

Concerning The Kingdom Of Kirman

     Kirman is a kingdom which is also properly in Persia, and formerly it had
a hereditary prince.  Since the Tartars conquered the country the rule is no
longer hereditary, but the Tartar sends to administer whatever lord he
pleases.  In this kingdom are produced the stone called turquoises in great
abundance; they are found in the mountains, where they are extracted from the
rocks.  There are also plenty of veins of steel and Ondanique.  The people are
very skilful in making harness of war; their saddles, bridles, spurs, swords,
bows, quivers, and arms of every kind, are very well made indeed according to
the fashion of those parts.  The ladies of the country and their daughters
also produce exquisite needlework in the embroidery of silk stuffs in
different colors, with figures of beasts and birds, trees and flowers, and a
variety of other patterns.  They work hangings for the use of noblemen so
deftly that they are marvels to see, as well as cushions, pillows, quilts, and
all sorts of things.

     In the mountains of Kirman are found the best falcons in the world. They
are inferior in size to the Peregrine, red on the breast, under the neck, and
between the thighs; their flight so swift that no bird can escape them.

     On quitting the city you ride on for seven days, always finding towns,
villages, and handsome dwelling houses, so that it is very pleasant traveling;
and there is excellent sport also to be had by the way in hunting and hawking.
When you have ridden those seven days over a plain country, you come to a
great mountain; and when you have got to the top of the pass you find a great
descent which occupies some two days to go down.  All along you find a variety
and abundance of fruits; and in former days there were plenty of inhabited
places on the road, but now there are none; and you meet with only few people
looking after their cattle at pasture.  From the city of Kirman to this
descent the cold in winter is so great that you can scarcely abide it, even
with a great quantity of clothing.

Chapter XVIII

Of The City Of Kamadin And Its Ruins; Also Touching The Karaunah Robbers

     After you have ridden down hill those two days, you find yourself in a
vast plain, and at the beginning thereof there is a city called Kamadin, which
formerly was a great and noble place, but now is of little consequence, for
the Tartars in their incursions have several times ravaged it.  The plain
whereof I speak is a very hot region; and the province that we now enter is
called Reobarles.

     The fruits of the country are dates, pistachios, and apples of paradise,
with others of the like not found in our cold climate.  There are vast numbers
of turtledoves, attracted by the abundance of fruits, but the Saracens never
take them, for they hold them in abomination.  And on this plain there is a
kind of bird called francolin, but different from the francolin of other
countries, for their color is a mixture of black and white, and the feet and
beak are vermilion color.

     The beasts also are peculiar; and first I will tell you of their oxen.
These are very large, and all over white as snow; the hair is very short and
smooth, which is owing to the heat of the country.  The horns are short and
thick, not sharp in the point; and between the shoulders they have a round
hump some two palms high.  There are no handsomer creatures in the world. And
when they have to be loaded, they kneel like the camel; once the load is
adjusted, they rise.  Their load is a heavy one, for they are very strong
animals.  Then there are sheep here as big as asses; and their tails are so
large and fat, that one tail shall weigh some thirty pounds.  They are fine
fat beasts, and afford capital mutton.

     In this plain there are a number of villages and towns which have lofty
walls of mud, made as a defense against the banditti, who are very numerous,
and are called Karaunahs.  This name is given them because they are the sons
of Indian mothers by Tartar fathers.  And you must know that when these
Karaunahs wish to make a plundering incursion, they have certain devilish
enchantments whereby they do bring darkness over the face of day, insomuch
that you can scarcely discern your comrade riding beside you; and this
darkness they will cause to extend over a space of seven days' journey.  They
know the country thoroughly, and ride abreast, keeping near one another,
sometimes to the number of ten thousand, at other times more or fewer.  In
this way they extend across the whole plain that they are going to harry, and
catch every living thing that is found outside of the towns and villages; man,
woman, or beast, nothing can escape them!  The old men who they take in this
way they butcher; the young men and the women they sell for slaves in other
countries; thus the whole land is ruined, and has become well nigh a desert.

     The king of these scoundrels is called Nogodar.  This Nogodar had gone to
the Court of Jagatai, who was own brother to the Great Khan, with some ten
thousand horsemen of his, and abode with him; for Jagatai was his uncle.  And
while there this Nogodar devised a most audacious enterprise, and I will tell
you what it was.  He left his uncle who was then in Greater Armenia, and fled
with a great body of horsemen, cruel unscrupulous fellows, first through
Badakshan, and then through another province called Pashai-Dir, and then
through another called Ariora-Kashmir.  There he lost a great number of his
people and of his horses, for the roads were very narrow and perilous.  And
when he had conquered all those provinces, he entered India at the extremity
of a province called Dalivar.  He established himself in that city and
government, which he took from the king of the country, Asedin Sultan by name,
a name of great power and wealth.  And there abideth Nogodar with his army,
afraid of nobody, and waging war with all the Tartars in his neighborhood.

     Now that I have told you of those scoundrels and their history, I must
add the fact that Messer Marco himself was all but caught by their bands in
such a darkness as that I have told you of; but, as it pleased God, he got off
and threw himself into a village that was hard by, called Conosalmi. However
he lost his whole company except seven persons who escaped along with him.
The rest were caught, and some of them sold, some put to death.

Chapter XIX

Of The Descent To The City Of Ormuz

     The plain of which we have spoken extends in a southerly direction for
five days' journey, and then you come to another descent some twenty miles in
length, where the road is very bad and full of peril, for there are many
robbers and bad characters about.  When you have got to the foot of this
descent you find another beautiful plain called the Plain of Formosa.  This
extends for two days' journey; and you find in it fine streams of water with
plenty of date palms and other fruit trees.  There are also many beautiful
birds, francolins, popinjays, and other kinds such as we have none of in our
country.  When you have ridden these two days you come to the Ocean Sea, and
on the shore you find a city with a harbor which is called Ormuz.  Merchants
come thither from India, with ships loaded with spicery and precious stones,
pearls, cloths of silk and gold, elephants' teeth, and many other wares, which
they sell to the merchants of Ormuz, and which these in turn carry all over
the world to dispose of again.  In fact, 'tis a city of immense trade. There
are plenty of towns and villages under it, but it is the capital.  The king is
called Rokneddin Mahmud.  It is a very sickly place, and the heat of the sun
is tremendous.  If any foreign merchant dies there, the king takes all of his
property.

     In this country they make a wine of dates mixed with spices, which is
very good.  When any one not used to it first drinks this wine, it causes
repeated and violent purging, but afterwards he is all the better for it, and
gets fat upon it.  The people never eat meat and wheat bread except when they
are ill, and if they take such food when they are in health it makes them ill.
Their food when in health consists of dates and salt fish (tunny, to wit) and
onions, and this kind of diet they maintain in order to preserve their health.

     Their ships are wretched affairs, and many of them get lost; for they
have no iron fastenings, and are only stitched together with twine made from
the husk of the Indian nut.  They beat this husk until it becomes like horse
hair, and from that they spin twine, and with this stitch the planks of the
ships together.  It keeps well, and is not corroded by the sea water, but it
will not stand well in a storm.  The ships are not pitched, but are rubbed
with fish oil.  They have one mast, one sail, and one rudder, and have no
deck, but only a cover spread over the cargo when loaded.  This cover consists
of hides, and on the top of these hides they put the horses which they take to
India for sale.  They have no iron to make nails of, and for this reason they
use only wooden trenails in their shipbuilding, and then stitch the planks
with twine as I have told you.  Hence 'tis a perilous business to go a voyage
in one of those ships, and many of them are lost, for in that sea of India the
storms are often terrible.

     The people are black, and are worshipers of Mahommet.  The residents
avoid living in the cities, for the heat in summer is so great that it would
kill them.  Hence they go out to sleep at their gardens in the country, where
there are streams and plenty of water.  For all that they would not escape but
for one thing that I will mention.  The fact is, you see, that in summer a
wind often blows across the sands which encompass the plain, so intolerably
hot that it would kill everybody, were it not that when they perceive that
wind coming they plunge into water up to the neck, and so abide until the wind
have ceased.  And to prove the great heat of this wind, Messer Mark related a
case that befell when he was there.  The lord of Ormuz, not having paid his
tribute to the king of Kirman, the latter resolved to claim it at the time
when the people of Ormuz were residing away from the city.  So he caused a
force of sixteen hundred horse and five thousand foot to be got ready, and
sent them by the route of Reobarles to take the others by surprise.  Now, it
happened one day that through the fault of their guide they were not able to
reach the place appointed for their night's halt, and were obliged to bivouac
in a wilderness not far from Ormuz.  In the morning as they were starting on
their march they were caught by that wind, and every man of them was
suffocated, so that not one survived to carry the tidings to their lord.  When
the people of Ormuz heard of this they went forth to bury the bodies lest they
should breed a pestilence.  But when they laid hold of them by the arms to
drag them to the pits the bodies proved to be so baked, as it were, by that
tremendous heat, that the arms parted from the trunks, and in the end the
people had to dig graves hard by each where it lay, and so cast them in.

     The people sow their wheat and barley and other corn in the month of
November, and reap it in the month of March.  The dates are not gathered till
May, but otherwise there is no grass nor any other green thing, for the
excessive heat dries up everything.

     When any one dies they make a great business of the mourning, for women
mourn their husbands four years.  During that time they mourn at least once a
day, gathering together their kinsfolk and friends and neighbors for the
purpose, and making a great weeping and wailing.  And they have women who are
mourners by trade, and do it for hire.

     Now, we will quit this country.  I shall not, however, now go on to tell
you about India; but when time and place shall suit we shall come round from
the north and tell you about it.  For the present, let us return by another
road to the aforesaid city of Kirman, for we cannot get at those countries
that I wish to tell you about except through that city.

     I should tell you first, however, that king Rokneddin Mahmud of Ormuz,
which we are leaving, is a liegeman of the king of Kirman.

     On the road by which we return from Ormuz to Kirman you meet with some
very fine plains, and you also find many natural hot baths; you find plenty of
partridges on the road; and there are towns where victual is cheap and
abundant, with quantities of dates and other fruits.  The wheat bread,
however, is so bitter, owing to the bitterness of the water, that no one can
eat it who is not used to it.  The baths that I mentioned have excellent
virtues; they cure the itch and several other diseases.

     Now, then, I am going to tell you about the countries towards the north,
of which you shall hear in regular order.  Let us begin.

Chapter XX

Of The Wearisome And Desert Road That Has Now To Be Traveled

     On departing from the city of Kirman you find the road for seven days
most wearisome; and I will tell you how this is.  The first three days you
meet with no water, or next to none.  And what little you do meet with is
bitter green stuff, so salt that no one can drink it; and in fact if you drink
a drop of it, it will set you purging ten times at least by the way. It is the
same with the salt which is made from those streams; no one dares to make use
of it, because of the excessive purging which it occasions. Hence it is
necessary to carry water for the people to last these three days; as for the
cattle, they must needs drink of the bad water I have mentioned, as there is
no help for it, and their great thirst makes them do so.  But it scours them
to such a degree that sometimes they die of it.  In all those three days you
meet with no human habitation; it is all desert, and the extremity of drought.
Even of wild beasts there are none, for there is nothing for them to eat.

     After those three days of desert you arrive at a stream of fresh water
running underground, but along which there are holes broken in here and there,
perhaps undermined by the stream, at which you can get sight of it. It has an
abundant supply, and travelers, worn with the hardships of the desert, here
rest and refresh themselves and their beasts.

     You then enter another desert which extends for four days; it is very
much like the former except that you do see some wild asses.  And at the
termination of these four days of desert the kingdom of Kirman comes to an
end, and you find another city which is called Kubenan.

Chapter XXI

Concerning The City Of Kubenan And The Things That Are Made There

     Kubenan is a large town.  The people worship Mahommet.  There is much
Iron and Ondanique, and they make steel mirrors of great size and beauty.
They also prepare both Tutia (a thing very good for the eyes) and Spodium;
and I will tell you the process.

     They have a vein of a certain earth which has the required quality, and
this they put into a great flaming furnace, while over the furnace there is
an iron grating.  The smoke and moisture, expelled from the earth of which I
speak, adhere to the iron grating, and thus form Tutia, while the slag that
is left after the burning is the Spodium.

Chapter XXII

Of A Certain Desert That Continues For Eight Days' Journey

     When you depart from this city of Kubenan, you find yourself again in a
desert of surpassing aridity, which lasts for some eight days; here are
neither fruits nor trees to be seen and what water there is is bitter and
bad, so that you have to carry both food and water.  The cattle must needs
drink the bad water, will they nill they, because of their great thirst.  At
the end of those eight days you arrive at a province which is called
Tunokain.  It has a good many towns and villages, and forms the extremity of
Persia towards the north.  It also contains an immense plain on which is
found the Arbre Sol, which we Christians call the Arbre Sec; and I will tell
you what it is like.  It is a tall and thick tree, having the bark on one
side green and the other white; and it produces a rough husk like that of a
chestnut, but without anything in it.  The wood is yellow like box, and very
strong, and there are no other trees near it nor within a hundred miles of
it, except on one side, where you find trees within about ten miles'
distance.  And there, the people of the country tell you, was fought the
battle between Alexander and King Darius.

     The towns and villages have great abundance and everything good, for the
climate is extremely temperate, being neither very hot nor very cold.  The
natives all worship Mahommet, and are a very fine looking people, especially
the women, who are surpassingly beautiful.

Chapter XXIII

Concerning The Old Man Of The Mountain

     Mulehet is a country in which the Old Man of the Mountain dwelt in
former days; and the name means "Place of the Aram." I will tell you his
whole history as related by Messer Marco Polo, who heard it from several
natives of that region.

     The Old Man was called in their language Aladdin.  He had caused a
certain valley between two mountains to be enclosed, and had turned it into
a garden, the largest and most beautiful that ever was seen, filled with
every variety of fruit.  In it were erected pavilions and palaces the most
elegant that can be imagined, all covered with gilding and exquisite
painting.  And there were runnels too, flowing freely with wine and milk and
honey and water; and numbers of ladies and of the most beautiful damsels in
the world, who could play on all manner of instruments, and sung most
sweetly, and danced in a manner that it was charming to behold.  For the Old
Man desired to make his people believe that this was actually paradise.  So
he had fashioned it after the description that Mahommet gave of his paradise,
to wit, that it should be a beautiful garden running with conduits of wine
and milk and honey and water, and full of lovely women for the delectation of
all its inmates.  And sure enough the Saracens of those parts believed that
it was paradise.

     Now no man was allowed to enter the garden save those whom he intended
to be his assassins.  There was a fortress at the entrance to the garden,
strong enough to resist all the world, and there was no other way to get in.
He kept at his court a number of the youths of the country, from twelve to
twenty years of age, such as had a taste for soldiering, and to these he used
to tell tales about paradise, just as Mahommet had been wont to do, and they
believed in him just as the Saracens believed in Mahommet.  Then he would
introduce them into his garden, some four, or six, or ten at a time, having
first made them drink a certain potion which cast them into a deep sleep, and
then causing them to be lifted and carried in.  So when they awoke, they
found themselves in the garden.

Chapter XXIV

How The Old Man Used To Train His Assassins

     When therefore they awoke, and found themselves in a place so charming,
they deemed that it was paradise in very truth.  And the ladies and damsels
dallied with them to their heart's content, so that they had what young men
would have; and with their own good will they never would have quitted the
place.

     Now this prince whom we call the Old One kept his court in grand and
noble style, and made those simple hill folks about him believe firmly that
he was a great prophet.  And when he wanted one of his Asbisbin to send on
any mission, he would cause that potion whereof I spoke to be given to one of
the youths in the garden, and then had him carried into his palace.  So when
the young man awoke, he found himself in the castle, and no longer in that
paradise; whereat he was not over well pleased.  He was then conducted to the
Old Man's presence, and bowed before him with great veneration as believing
himself to be in the presence of a true prophet.  The prince would then ask
whence he came, and he would reply that he came from paradise!  and that it
was exactly such as Mahommet had described it in the law.  This of course
gave the others who stood by, and who had not been admitted, the greatest
desire to enter therein.

     So when the Old Man would have any prince slain, he would say to such a
youth: "Go thou and slay So and So; and when thou returnest my angels shall
bear thee into paradise.  And shouldst thou die, natheless even so will I
send my angels to carry thee back into paradise." So he caused them to
believe; and thus there was no order of his that they would not affront any
peril to execute, for the great desire they had to get back into that
paradise of his.  And in this manner the Old One got his people to murder any
one whom he desired to get rid of.  Thus, too, the great dread that he
inspired all princes withal, made them become his tributaries in order that
he might abide at peace and amity with them.

     I should also tell you that the Old Man had certain others under him,
who copied his proceedings and acted exactly in the same manner.  One of
these was sent into the territory of Damascus, and the other into Kurdistan.

Chapter XXV

How The Old Man Came By His End

     Now it came to pass, in the year of Christ's incarnation, 1252, that
Hulagu, lord of the Tartars of the Levant, heard tell of these great crimes
of the Old Man, and resolved to make an end of him.  So he took and sent one
of his barons with a great army to that castle, and they besieged it for
three years, but they could not take it, so strong was it.  And indeed if
they had had food within it never would have been taken.  But after being
besieged those three years they ran short of victual, and were taken.  The
Old Man was put to death with all his men and the castle with its garden of
paradise was leveled with the ground.  And since that time he has had no
successor; and there was an end to all his villainies.

     Now let us go back to our journey.