The Travels of Marco Polo Volume I Part 66

[1] This story has been transferred to Peter the Great, who is alleged to have exhibited the docility of his subjects in the same way to the King of Denmark, by ordering a Cossack to jump from the Round Tower at Copenhagen, on the summit of which they were standing.

CHAPTER XXV.

HOW THE OLD MAN CAME BY HIS END.

Now it came to pa.s.s, in the year of Christ's Incarnation, 1252, that Alau, 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 levelled with the ground]. And since that time he has had no successor; and there was an end to all his villainies.[NOTE 1]

Now let us go back to our journey.

NOTE 1.--The date in Pauthier is 1242; in the G. T. and in Ramusio 1262.

Neither is right, nor certainly could Polo have meant the former.

When Mangku Kaan, after his enthronement (1251), determined at a great _Kurultai_ or Diet, on perfecting the Mongol conquests, he entrusted his brother Kublai with the completion of the subjugation of China and the adjacent countries, whilst his brother Hulaku received the command of the army destined for Persia and Syria. The complaints that came from the Mongol officers already in Persia determined him to commence with the reduction of the Ismailites, and Hulaku set out from Karakorum in February, 1254. He proceeded with great deliberation, and the Oxus was not crossed till January, 1256. But an army had been sent long in advance under "one of his Barons," Kitubuka Noyan, and in 1253 it was already actively engaged in besieging the Ismailite fortresses. In 1255, during the progress of the war, ALA'UDDIN MAHOMED, the reigning Prince of the a.s.sa.s.sins (mentioned by Polo as Alaodin), was murdered at the instigation of his son Ruknuddin Khurshah, who succeeded to the authority. A year later (November, 1256) Ruknuddin surrendered to Hulaku. [Bretschneider (_Med. Res._ II. p. 109) says that Alamut was taken by Hulaku, 20th December, 1256.--H. C.] The fortresses given up, all well furnished with provisions and artillery engines, were 100 in number. Two of them, however, Lembeser and Girdkuh, refused to surrender. The former fell after a year; the latter is stated to have held out for _twenty years_-- actually, as it would seem, about fourteen, or till December, 1270.

Ruknuddin was well treated by Hulaku, and despatched to the Court of the Kaan. The accounts of his death differ, but that most commonly alleged, according to Ras.h.i.+duddin, is that Mangku Kaan was irritated at hearing of his approach, asking why his post-horses should be f.a.gged to no purpose, and sent executioners to put Ruknuddin to death on the road. Alamut had been surrendered without any substantial resistance. Some survivors of the sect got hold of it again in 1275-1276, and held out for a time. The dominion was extinguished, but the sect remained, though scattered indeed and obscure. A very strange case that came before Sir Joseph Arnould in the High Court at Bombay in 1866 threw much new light on the survival of the Ismailis.

Some centuries ago a _Dai_ or Missionary of the Ismailis, named Sadruddin, made converts from the Hindu trading cla.s.ses in Upper Sind. Under the name of _Khojas_ the sect multiplied considerably in Sind, Kach'h, and Guzerat, whence they spread to Bombay and to Zanzibar. Their numbers in Western India are now probably not less than 50,000 to 60,000. Their doctrine, or at least the books which they revere, appear to embrace a strange jumble of Hindu notions with Mahomedan practices and s.h.i.+ah mysticism, but the main characteristic endures of deep reverence, if not wors.h.i.+p, of the person of their hereditary Imam. To his presence, when he resided in Persia, numbers of pilgrims used to betake themselves, and large remittances of what we may call _Ismail's Pence_ were made to him. Abul Ha.s.san, the last Imam but one of admitted lineal descent from the later Shaikhs of Alamut, and claiming (as they did) descent from the Imam Ismail and his great ancestor 'Ali Abu Talib, had considerable estates at Mehelati, between k.u.m and Hamadan, and at one time held the Government of Kerman. His son and successor, Shah Khalilullah, was killed in a brawl at Yezd in 1818. Fatteh 'Ali Shah, fearing Ismailite vengeance, caused the homicide to be severely punished, and conferred gifts and honours on the young Imam, Agha Khan, including the hand of one of his own daughters. In 1840 Agha Khan, who had raised a revolt at Kerman, had to escape from Persia. He took refuge in Sind, and eventually rendered good service both to General Nott at Kandahar and to Sir C. Napier in Sind, for which he receives a pension from our Government.

For many years this genuine Heir and successor of the _Viex de la Montaingne_ has had his headquarters at Bombay, where he devotes, or for a long time did devote, the large income that he receives from the faithful to the maintenance of a racing stable, being the chief patron and promoter of the Bombay Turf!

A schism among the Khojas, owing apparently to the desire of part of the well-to-do Bombay community to sever themselves from the peculiarities of the sect and to set up as respectable Sunnis, led in 1866 to an action in the High Court, the object of which was to exclude Agha Khan from all rights over the Khojas, and to transfer the property of the community to the charge of Orthodox Mahomedans. To the elaborate addresses of Mr.

Howard and Sir Joseph Arnould, on this most singular process before an English Court, I owe the preceding particulars. The judgment was entirely in favour of the Old Man of the Mountain.

[Ill.u.s.tration: H. H. Agha Khan Mehelati, late Representative of the Old Man of the Mountain.

"Le Seigneur Viel, que je vous ai dit si tient sa court ... et fait a croire a cele simple gent qui li est entour que il est un grant prophete."]

[Sir Bartle Frere writes of Agha Khan in 1875: "Like his ancestor, the Old One of Marco Polo's time, he keeps his court in grand and n.o.ble style. His sons, popularly known as 'The Persian Princes,' are active sportsmen, and age has not dulled the Agha's enjoyment of horse-racing. Some of the best blood of Arabia is always to be found in his stables. He spares no expense on his racers, and no prejudice of religion or race prevents his availing himself of the science and skill of an English trainer or jockey when the races come round. If tidings of war or threatened disturbance should arise from Central Asia or Persia, the Agha is always one of the first to hear of it, and seldom fails to pay a visit to the Governor or to some old friend high in office to hear the news and offer the services of a tried sword and an experienced leader to the Government which has so long secured him a quiet refuge for his old age." Agha Khan died in April, 1881, at the age of 81. He was succeeded by his son Agha Ali Shah, one of the members of the Legislative Council. (See _The Homeward Mail, Overland Times of India_, of 14th April, 1881.)]

The _Bohras_ of Western India are identified with the Imami-Ismailis in some books, and were so spoken of in the first edition of this work. This is, however, an error, originally due, it would seem, to Sir John Malcolm.

The nature of their doctrine, indeed, seems to be very much alike, and the Bohras, like the Ismailis, attach a divine character to their _Mullah_ or chief pontiff, and make a pilgrimage to his presence once in life. But the _persons_ so reverenced are quite different; and the Bohras recognise all the 12 Imams of ordinary s.h.i.+ahs. Their first appearance in India was early, the date which they a.s.sign being A.H. 532 (A.D. 1137-1138). Their chief seat was in Yemen, from which a large emigration to India took place on its conquest by the Turks in 1538. Ibn Batuta seems to have met with Bohras at Gandar, near Baroch, in 1342. (_Voyages_, IV. 58.)

A Chinese account of the expedition of Hulaku will be found in Remusat's _Nouveaux Melanges_ (I.), and in Pauthier's Introduction. (_Q. R._ 115-219, esp. 213; _Ilch._ vol. i.; _J. A. S. B._ VI. 842 seqq.) [A new and complete translation has been given by Dr. E. Bretschneider, _Med. Res._ I.

112 seqq.--H. C.]

There is some account of the rock of Alamut and its exceedingly slender traces of occupancy, by Colonel Monteith, in _J. R. G. S._ III. 15, and again by Sir Justin Sheil in vol. viii. p. 431. There does not seem to be any specific authority for a.s.signing the Paradise of the Shaikh to Alamut; and it is at least worthy of note that another of the castles of the Mulahidah, destroyed by Hulaku, was called _Firdus_, i.e. Paradise. In any case, I see no reason to suppose that Polo visited Alamut, which would have been quite out of the road that he is following.

It is possible that "the Castle," to which he alludes at the beginning of next chapter, and which set him off upon this digression, was _Girdkuh_.[1] It has not, as far as I know, been identified by modern travellers, but it stood within 10 or 12 miles of Damghan (to the west or north-west). It is probably the _Tigado_ of Hayton, of which he thus speaks: "The a.s.sa.s.sins had an impregnable castle called Tigado, which was furnished with all necessaries, and was so strong that it had no fear of attack on any side. Howbeit, Haloon commanded a certain captain of his that he should take 10,000 Tartars who had been left in garrison in Persia, and with them lay siege to the said castle, and not leave it till he had taken it. Wherefore the said Tartars continued besieging it for seven whole years, winter and summer, without being able to take it. At last the a.s.sa.s.sins surrendered, from sheer want of clothing, but not of victuals or other necessaries." So Ramusio; other copies read "27 years."

In any case it corroborates the fact that Girdkuh was said to have held out for an extraordinary length of time. If Ras.h.i.+duddin is right in naming 1270 as the date of surrender, this would be quite a recent event when the Polo party pa.s.sed, and draw special attention to the spot. (_J. As._ ser.

IV. tom. xiii. 48; _Ilch._ I. 93, 104, 274; _Q. R._ p. 278; _Ritter_, VIII. 336.) A note which I have from _Djihan Numa_ (I. 259) connects Girdkuh with a district called _Chinar_. This may be a clue to the term _Arbre Sec_; but there are difficulties.

[1] [Ghirdkuh means "round mountain"; it was in the district of k.u.mis, three parasangs west of Damghan. Under the year 1257, the _Yuan s.h.i.+_ mentions the taking of the fortress of _Ghi-rh-du-kie_ by _K'ie-di-bu-hua_. (_Bretschneider, Med. Res._ I. p. 122; II. 110.)--H. C.]

CHAPTER XXVI.

CONCERNING THE CITY OF SAPURGAN.

On leaving the Castle, you ride over fine plains and beautiful valleys, and pretty hill-sides producing excellent gra.s.s pasture, and abundance of fruits, and all other products. Armies are glad to take up their quarters here on account of the plenty that exists. This kind of country extends for six days' journey, with a goodly number of towns and villages, in which the people are wors.h.i.+ppers of Mahommet. Sometimes also you meet with a tract of desert extending for 50 or 60 miles, or somewhat less, and in these deserts you find no water, but have to carry it along with you. The beasts do without drink until you have got across the desert tract and come to watering places.

So after travelling for six days as I have told you, you come to a city called SAPURGAN. It has great plenty of everything, but especially of the very best melons in the world. They preserve them by paring them round and round into strips, and drying them in the sun. When dry they are sweeter than honey, and are carried off for sale all over the country. There is also abundance of game here, both of birds and beasts.[NOTE 1]

NOTE 1.--SAPURGAN may closely express the p.r.o.nunciation of the name of the city which the old Arabic writers call _Saburkan_ and _Shaburkan_, now called _s.h.i.+brgan_, lying some 90 miles west of Balkh; containing now some 12,000 inhabitants, and situated in a plain still richly cultivated, though on the verge of the desert.[1] But I have seen no satisfactory solution of the difficulties as to the time a.s.signed. This in the G. T.

and in Ramusio is clearly six days. The point of departure is indeed uncertain, but even if we were to place that at Sharakhs on the extreme verge of cultivated Khorasan, which would be quite inconsistent with other data, it would have taken the travellers something like double the time to reach s.h.i.+brgan. Where I have followed the G. T. in its reading "_quant l'en a chevauches six jornee tel che je vos ai contes, adunc treuve l'en une cite_," etc., Pauthier's text has "_Et quant l'en a chevauchie_ les vi cites, _si treuve l'en une cite qui a nom Sapurgan_," and to this that editor adheres. But I suspect that _cites_ is a mere lapsus for _journees_ as in the reading in one of his three MSS. What could be meant by "_chevauchier les_ vi _cites_"?

Whether the true route be, as I suppose, by Nishapur and Mes.h.i.+d, or, as Khanikoff supposes, by Herat and Badghis, it is strange that no one of those famous cities is mentioned. And we feel constrained to a.s.sume that something has been misunderstood in the dictation, or has dropt out of it.

As a _probable_ conjecture I should apply the six days to the extent of pleasing country described in the first lines of the chapter, and identify it with the tract between Sabzawur and the cessation of fertile country beyond Mes.h.i.+d. The distance would agree well, and a comparison with Fraser or Ferrier will show that even now the description, allowing for the compression of an old recollection, would be well founded; e.g. on the first march beyond Nishapur: "Fine villages, with plentiful gardens full of trees, that bear fruit of the highest flavour, may be seen all along the foot of the hills, and in the little recesses formed by the ravines whence issues the water that irrigates them. It was a rich and pleasing scene, and out of question by far the most populous and cultivated tract that I had seen in Persia.... Next morning we quitted Derrood ... by a very indifferent but interesting road, the glen being finely wooded with walnut, mulberry, poplar, and willow-trees, and fruit-tree gardens rising one above the other upon the mountain-side, watered by little rills....

These gardens extended for several miles up the glen; beyond them the bank of the stream continued to be fringed with white sycamore, willow, ash, mulberry, poplar, and woods that love a moist situation," and so on, describing a style of scenery not common in Persia, and expressing diffusely (as it seems to me) the same picture as Polo's two lines. In the valley of Nishapur, again (we quote Arthur Conolly): "'This is Persia!'

was the vain exclamation of those who were alive to the beauty of the scene; 'this is Persia!' _Bah! Bah!_ What gra.s.s, what grain, what water!

_Bah! Bah!_

['If there be a Paradise on the face of the Earth, This is it! This is it! This is it!'"]--(I. 209.)

(See _Fraser_, 405, 432-433, 434, 436.)

With reference to the dried melons of s.h.i.+brgan, Quatremere cites a history of Herat, which speaks of them almost in Polo's words. Ibn Batuta gives a like account of the melons of Kharizm: "The surprising thing about these melons is the way the people have of slicing them, drying them in the sun, and then packing them in baskets, just as Malaga figs are treated in our part of the world. In this state they are sent to the remotest parts of India and China. There is no dried fruit so delicious, and all the while I lived at Delhi, when the travelling dealers came in, I never missed sending for these dried strips of melon." (_Q. R._ 169; _I. B._ III. 15.) Here, in the 14th century, we seem to recognise the Afghan dealers arriving in the cities of Hindustan with their annual camel-loads of dried fruits, just as we have seen them in our own day.

[1] The oldest form of the name is _Asapuragan_, which Rawlinson thinks traceable to its being an ancient seat of the _Asa_ or _Asagartii_.

(_J. R. A. S._ XI. 63.)

CHAPTER XXVII.

OF THE CITY OF BALC.

Balc is a n.o.ble city and a great, though it was much greater in former days. But the Tartars and other nations have greatly ravaged and destroyed it. There were formerly many fine palaces and buildings of marble, and the ruins of them still remain. The people of the city tell that it was here that Alexander took to wife the daughter of Darius.

Here, you should be told, is the end of the empire of the Tartar Lord of the Levant. And this city is also the limit of Persia in the direction between east and north-east.[NOTE 1]

Now, let us quit this city, and I will tell you of another country called DOGANA.[NOTE 2]

When you have quitted the city of which I have been speaking, you ride some 12 days between north-east and east, without finding any human habitation, for the people have all taken refuge in fastnesses among the mountains, on account of the Banditti and armies that hara.s.sed them. There is plenty of water on the road, and abundance of game; there are lions too. You can get no provisions on the road, and must carry with you all that you require for these 12 days.[NOTE 3]

NOTE 1.--BALKH, "the mother of cities," suffered mercilessly from Chinghiz. Though the city had yielded without resistance, the whole population was marched by companies into the plain, on the usual Mongol pretext of counting them, and then brutally ma.s.sacred. The city and its gardens were fired, and all buildings capable of defence were levelled.

The province long continued to be harried by the Chaghataian inroads. Ibn Batuta, sixty years after Marco's visit, describes the city as still in ruins, and as uninhabited: "The remains of its mosques and colleges," he says, "are still to be seen, and the painted walls traced with azure." It is no doubt the Vaeq (Valq) of Clavijo, "very large, and surrounded by a broad earthen wall, thirty paces across, but breached in many parts." He describes a large portion of the area within as sown with cotton. The account of its modern state in Burnes and Ferrier is much the same as Ibn Batuta's, except that they found some population; two separate towns within the walls according to the latter. Burnes estimates the circuit of the ruins at 20 miles. The bulk of the population has been moved since 1858 to Takhtapul, 8 miles east of Balkh, where the Afghan Government is placed.