The History of Voyages & Travels (All 18 Volumes). Robert Kerr

whom he committed to the guardianship of a certain great admiral. The third he had by a Turkish woman, to whom many Turks and Turkomans having gathered, they proposed to have slain all the soldans sons by Christian mothers, and if successful, to have destroyed all the churches, and to compel all to become Mahometans on pain of death. But he was overcome in battle, and many of his men slain. He recruited his army, and ventured a second battle, in which he was defeated and taken prisoner, and still remains confined. Pacester, the son of the Greek concubine, was soon afterwards made soldan, as the other was weak, whom they have sent to the Tartars; the kindred by the mothers side, of this son, such as the Iberians and Curds, are much dissatisfied at his being deprived; so that at this time a child ruleth in Turkey, having no treasure, few soldiers, and many enemies. The son of Vestacius is weak, and at war with the son of Assan, who is likewise a child, and worn out with the servitude of the Tartars. If, therefore, an army of the church were now to come to the Holy Land, it were easy to subdue all these countries, or to pass through them. The king of Hungary hath not above 30,000 soldiers. From Cologne to Constantinople are not above sixty days journey by waggons; and from Constantinople not so many to the country of the king of Armenia. In old times, valiant men passed through all these countries and prospered; yet they had to contend with most valiant opponents, whom God hath now destroyed out of the earth. In this way we need fear no dangers of the sea, or the mercy of sailors, and the price of freight would defray the expences by land. I say confidently, if our countrymen would go as the king of the Tartars does, and would be contented with such victuals, they might conquer the whole world.

      It does not seem to me expedient, that any more friars should be sent to the Tartars, in the way I went, or as the predicant friars go. But if our lord the Pope were to send a bishop in an honourable style, capable to answer their follies, he might speak unto them as he pleased; for they will hear whatever an ambassador chooses to speak, and always demand if he will say any more. But he ought to have many good interpreters, and ought to be at large expences.

      I have thus written to your highness, according to my weak power and understanding, craving pardon from your clemency, for my superfluities or wants, or for any thing that may be indiscreetly or foolishly written, as from a man of little understanding, not accustomed to write long histories. The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, preserve your heart and fortify your mind.

CHAPTER X.

       Table of Contents

      Travels of Haitho, Prince of Armenia, in Tartary, in 1254. [1]

      [1] Forst. Hist. of Voy. and Disc. in the North, p. 113.

      SECTION I.

      Introduction.

      Haitho, or Hatto, was the son of Livon, or Leon II., nephew of Haitho I., king of Armenia Minor, in Lesser Asia. At the demise of his father, he refused to accept of the crown, which he resigned in favour of his brother Thores or Theodore; but assisted him and his son and successor, Leon III., in all the wars and troubles in which they were engaged during many years. During the reign of his father in 1254, accompanied by his wife and child, he travelled to the court of Mangu-khan, the great sovereign of the Tartars or Mongals, for the purpose of obtaining an abatement of the tribute which had been imposed by these conquerors upon his country, and appears to have been successful in his negotiations. His journey into the east took place in the same year in which Rubruquis was on his return; and while at the court or leskar of Sartach, he was of material service to two of the attendants of Rubruquis, who had been left at that station; and who but for his interference must have perished by famine, or would have been reduced to slavery. Forster asserts that Haitho met with Rubruquis, who was then on his return home; but we have already seen, in the account of the travels of Rubruquis, that the two travellers did not meet.

      In the year 1305, when he must have become very old, Haitho became a monk of the Praemonstratensian order at Episcopia in Cyprus. He afterwards went to Poitou in France, where he dictated in French to Nicholas Salconi, a history of the events which had occurred in the east from the first commencement of the conquests of the Tartars or Mongals, including the reigns of Zingis-khan and his successors, to Mangu-khan inclusively; and a particular narrative of the history of his own country, Armenia Minor, from the reign of Haitho I. to that of Leon II. both inclusive. This account Salconi translated into Latin in 1307, by order of the reigning Pope.

      The travels of Haitho being perfectly contemporary with those of Rubruquis, are not sufficiently interesting to be here inserted; and the historical part of his relations have no connection with the plan of this work, which it would swell beyond due bounds: But the following brief account of his geographical description of the east, as it existed in the thirteenth century, and as abstracted by J. R. Forster, in his Voyages and Discoveries in the North, have been deemed worthy of insertion, together with the observations or commentaries of that ingenious author.

      SECTION II.

      Geographical Notices of the East in the Thirteenth Century, by Haitho.

      § 1. The empire of Kathay is one of the most extensive, most opulent, and most populous in the world, and is entirely situated on the sea coast. The inhabitants have a very high notion of their own superior intelligence, which they express by saying, that they only of all the people on earth have two eyes; to the Latins they allow one, and consider all other nations as blind. The Kathayans have small eyes and no beards. Their money consists of small square pieces of paper, impressed with the seal of their emperor. To the west, this empire is bounded by that of the Tarsae; to the north by the desert of Belgian; and to the south by the sea, in which there are innumerable islands. The inhabitants of Kathay are exceedingly skilful and ingenious in all works of art and in manufactures, but are of a very timorous disposition. In the foregoing description, and in the traits of character, the empire and inhabitants of northern China are distinctly indicated.--Forst.

      § 2. The empire of Tarsa is divided into three provinces, each of which has a sovereign who assumes the title of King. The inhabitants are called Jogur, the Jugur or Uigur of other authors. They are divided into many tribes, ten of whom are Christians, and the rest heathens. They abstain from every article of food which has ever had life, and drink no wine, but raise abundance of corn. Their towns are very pleasant, and contain great numbers of idol temples. They are not inclined to war, but learn all arts and sciences with great facility, and have a particular manner of writing, which is adopted by all the neighbouring nations. To the east, this country is bounded by Kathay, to the west by Turkestan, to the north by an extensive desert, and to the south by a very rich province, named Sym or Peim, in which diamonds are found, and which, is situated between Kathay and India. It appears, that Haitho here describes the country of the Uigurs in conjunction with that of the Gete: but how it came to receive the name of Tarsae I know not--Forst.

      § 3. Turkestan is bounded on the east by the empire of Tarsae, to the west by Khorasmin or Khuaresm, and to the south it extends to the desert which forms the northern frontier of India. In this country there are few good towns; but many extensive plains, which afford excellent pasturage to cattle, and the inhabitants are almost universally shepherds and tenders of cattle. They dwell mostly in tents, and in huts which can be transported from place to place. They cultivate only a small quantity of corn, and have no wine. Their drink is beer and milk, and they subsist upon meat with rice and millet. The people are known by the name of Turks, and are of the Mahometan religion. Such of them as live in towns use the Arabian letters. Ocerra or Otrar is the capital of this country.

      § 4. Khorasmin or Khuaresm, is a populous, pleasant, and fertile country, containing many good and strong towns, the capital being Khorasme. The country produces abundance of corn, and very little wine. This empire borders on a desert of an hundred days journey in extent. To the west is the Caspian sea, to the north Kumania, and to the east Turkestan. The inhabitants are heathens, without letters or laws. The Soldini are the most intrepid of warriors; have a particular language of their own, for which they employ the Greek characters in writing; and they follow the usages and rites of the Greek church, being subject in spirituals to the Patriarch of Antioch.

      According