, khan of the Tartars, worthy of a place in this Dictionary, as well
, khan of the Tartars, worthy
of a place in this Dictionary, as well on account of his literary talents as from the circumstance of his being the only
Tartar historian with whom the nations of Europe are acquainted. He was born in the city of Urgens, capital of
the country of Kharasm, in the year of the hegira 1014,
answering to the year 1605 of the Christian sera. He was
the fourth, in order of birth, of seven brothers, and descended in a direct line, both on nis father’s and his mother’s side, though By different branches, from Zingis
khan. His youth was marked by misfortunes, which contributed not a little to form his character, and to fit him
for the government. of his states when he came to the sovereignty of the country of Kharasm, which happened in
the year of the hegira 1054. He reigned 20 years; and,
by his conduct and courage, rendered himself formidable
to all his neighbours, A short time before his death, he
resigned the throne to his son Anuscha Mohammed Bayatur khan, in order to devote the remainder of his life to
the service of God. It was in his retreat that he wrote
the famous “Genealogical History of the Tartar’s;
” but,
being attacked by the mortal disease that put an end to
his life in the year 1074 of the hegira, corresponding to
1663 of our sera, before he could complete it, when
dying he charged his son and successor to give it
the finishing hand, which he did accordingly two years
afterwards. As a specimen of the style and manner of
this historian, the reader will not be displeased to see the
preface to that work, which, in English, is as follows;
“There is but one God; and before him none other did
ever exist, as after him no other will be. He formed
seven heavens, seven worlds, and eighteen creations. By
him, Mohammed, the friend of God, was sent, in quality
of his prophet, to all mankind. It is under his auspices
that I, Abulgasi Bayatur khan, have taken in hand to
write this book. My father, Ariep Mohammed khan, descended in a direct line from Zingis khan, and was, before me, sovereign prince of the country of Kharasm. I
shall treat in this book of the house of Zingis khan, and
of its origin; of the places where it was established, of
the kingdoms and provinces it conquered, and to what it
arrived at last. It is true that, before me, many writers,
both Turks and Persians, have employed their pens on
this subject; and! have in my own possession 18 books of
these several authors, some of which are tolerably well
composed. But, perceiving that there was much to correct in many places of these books, and, in other places,
a number of things to be added, I thought it necessary to
have a more accurate history: and, especially as our
countries are very barren in learned writers, I find myself
obliged to undertake this work myself; and, notwithstanding that, before me, no khan has thought proper to take
this trouble upon him, the reader will do me the justice to
be persuaded that it is not from a principle of vanity that
I set up for an author, but that it is necessity alone that
prompts me to meddle in this matter that, if I were desirous of glorying in any thing, it could, at most, be only
in that conduct and wisdom which I hold as the gift of
God, and not from myself. For, on one hand, I understand the art of war as well as any prince in the world,
knowing how to give battle equally well with few troops as
with numerous armies, and to range both my cavalry and
my infantry to the best advantage. On the other hand, I
have a particular talent at writing books in all sorts of
languages, and I know not whether any one could easily
be found of greater ability than myself in this species of
literature, except, indeed, in the cities of Persia and India; but, in all the neighbouring provinces of which we
have any knowledge, I may venture to flatter myself that
there is nobody that surpasses me either in the art of war
or in the science of good writing; and as to the countries
that are unknown to me, I care nothing about them.
Since the flight of our holy prophet, till the day that I
began to write this book, there have elapsed 1074 years
[1663 of the Christian aera]. I call it A Genealogical
History of the Tartars; and I have divided it into nine
parts, in conformity with other writers, who universally
hold this number in particular regard.”
ion Marco was born. On their return through the deserts they arrived at the city where Kublai, grand khan of the Tartars, resided. This prince was highly entertained
, a celebrated traveller, was the son of
Nicholas Paulo, a Venetian, who went with his brother
Matthew, about 1225, to Constantinople, in the reign of
Baudoin. While they were on this expedition Marco was
born. On their return through the deserts they arrived at
the city where Kublai, grand khan of the Tartars, resided.
This prince was highly entertained with the account which
they gave him of the European manners and customs, and
appointed them his ambassadors to the pope, in order to
demand of his holiness a hundred missionaries. They
accordingly came to Italy, obtained from the Roman pontiff two Dominicans, the one an Italian, and the other an
Asiatic, and carried with them young Marco, for whom the
Tartar prince expressed a singular affection. This youth
was at an early period taught the different dialects of Tartary, and was afterwards employed in embassies which gave
him the opportunity of traversing Tartary, China, and
other eastern countries. After a residence of seventeen
years at the court of the great khan, the three Venetians
came back to their own country in 1295, with immense
wealth. A short time after his return, Marco served his
country at sea against the Genoese, his galley in a naval
engagement was sunk, and himself taken prisoner and
carried to Genoa. He remained there many years in confinement; and, as well to amuse his melancholy, as to
gratify those who desired it of him, sent for his notes from
Venice, and composed the history of his own and his
father’s voyages in Italian, under this title, “Delle maraviglie del mondo da lui vidute,
” &c. of which the first
edition appeared at Venice in 1496, 8vo. This work has
been translated into several foreign languages, and has
been inserted in various collections. The best editions are
one in Latin, published by Andrew Miiller at Cologne in
1671, and one in French, to be found in the collection of
voyages published by Bergeron, at the Hague in 1735, in
two vols. In the narrative there are many things not easily
believed, but the greater part of his accounts has been
verified by succeeding travellers. He not only gave better
accounts of China than had been before received; but
likewise furnished a description of Japan, of several islands
of the East Indies, of Madagascar, and the coasts of Africa,
so that from his work it might be easily collected that a direct passage by sea to the East Indies was not only possible, but practicable.