- CHAGATAI, here called Sigatay, was Uncle, not Brother, to the
Great Kaan (Kublai). Nor was Kaidu either Chagatai's son or Kublai's
nephew, as Marco here and elsewhere represents him to be. (See Bk. IV. ch.
i.) The term used to describe Chagatai's relationship is frere charnel,
which excludes ambiguity, cousinship, or the like (such as is expressed by
the Italian fratello cugino), and corresponds, I believe, to the
brother german of Scotch law documents.
NOTE 3. - One might say, These things be an allegory! We take the fine
stone that belongs to the Saracens (or Papists) to build our church on,
but the day of reckoning comes at last, and our (Irish Protestant)
Christians are afraid that the Church will come about their ears. May it
stand, and better than that of Samarkand has done!
There is a story somewhat like this in D'Herbelot, about the Karmathian
Heretics carrying off the Black Stone from Mecca, and being obliged years
after to bring it back across the breadth of Arabia; on which occasion the
stone conducted itself in a miraculous manner.
There is a remarkable Stone at Samarkand, the Kok-Tash or Green Stone,
on which Timur's throne was set. Tradition says that, big as it is, it was
brought by him from Brusa; - but tradition may be wrong. (See Vambery's
Travels, p. 206.) [Also H. Moser, A travers l'Asie centrale, 114-115.
- H. C.]
[The Archimandrite Palladius (Chinese Recorder, VI. p. 108) quotes from
the Chi shun Chin-kiang chi (Description of Chin-Kiang), 14th century,
the following passage regarding the pillar: "There is a temple (in
Samarcand) supported by four enormous wooden pillars, each of them 40 feet
high. One of these pillars is in a hanging position, and stands off from
the floor more than a foot." - H. C.]
CHAPTER XXXV.
OF THE PROVINCE OF YARCAN.
Yarcan is a province five days' journey in extent. The people follow the
Law of Mahommet, but there are also Nestorian and Jacobite Christians.
They are subject to the same Prince that I mentioned, the Great Kaan's
nephew. They have plenty of everything, [particularly of cotton. The
inhabitants are also great craftsmen, but a large proportion of them have
swoln legs, and great crops at the throat, which arises from some quality
in their drinking-water.] As there is nothing else worth telling we may
pass on.[NOTE 1]
NOTE 1. - Yarkan or Yarken seems to be the general pronunciation of the
name to this day, though we write YARKAND.
[A Chinese traveller, translated by M. Gueluy (Desc. de la Chine
occidentales, p. 41), says that the word Yarkand is made of Iar,
earth, and Kiang (Kand?), large, vast, but this derivation is
doubtful. The more probable one is that Yarkand is made up of Yar, new,
and Kand, Kend, or Kent, city. - H. C.]
Mir 'Izzat Ullah in modern days speaks of the prevalence of goitre at
Yarkand. And Mr. Shaw informs me that during his recent visit to Yarkand
(1869) he had numerous applications for iodine as a remedy for that
disease. The theory which connects it with the close atmosphere of valleys
will not hold at Yarkand. (J. R. A. S. VII. 303.)
[Dr. Sven Hedin says that three-fourths of the population of Yarkand are
suffering from goitre; he ascribes the prevalence of the disease to the
bad quality of the water, which is kept in large basins, used
indifferently for bathing, washing, or draining. Only Hindu and
"Andijdanlik" merchants, who drink well water, are free from goitre.
Lieutenant Roborovsky, the companion of Pievtsov, in 1889, says: "In the
streets one meets many men and women with large goitres, a malady
attributed to the bad quality of the water running in the town conduits,
and drunk by the inhabitants in its natural state. It appears in men at
the age of puberty, and in women when they marry." (Proc. R. G. S. 2
ser. XII. 1890, p. 36.)
Formerly the Mirza (J. R. G. S. 1871, p. 181) said: "Goitre is very
common in the city [of Yarkund], and in the country round, but it is
unknown in Kashgar."
General Pievtsov gives to the small oasis of Yarkand (264 square miles) a
population of 150,000, that is, 567 inhabitants per square mile. He, after
Prjevalsky's death, started, with V. L. Roborovsky (botanist) and P. K.
Kozlov (zoologist), who were later joined by K. I. Bogdanovich
(geologist), on his expedition to Tibet (1889-1890). He followed the route
Yarkand, Khotan, Kiria, Nia, and Charchan. - H. C.]
CHAPTER XXXVI.
OF A PROVINCE CALLED COTAN.
Cotan is a province lying between north-east and east, and is eight days'
journey in length. The people are subject to the Great Kaan,[NOTE 1] and
are all worshippers of Mahommet.[NOTE 2] There are numerous towns and
villages in the country, but Cotan, the capital, is the most noble of all,
and gives its name to the kingdom. Everything is to be had there in
plenty, including abundance of cotton, [with flax, hemp, wheat, wine, and
the like]. The people have vineyards and gardens and estates. They live by
commerce and manufactures, and are no soldiers.[NOTE 3]
NOTE 1. - [The Buddhist Government of Khotan was destroyed by Boghra Khan
(about 980-990); it was temporarily restored by the Buddhist Kutchluk
Khan, chief of the Naimans, who came from the banks of the Ili, destroyed
the Mahomedan dynasty of Boghra Khan (1209), but was in his turn
subjugated by Chinghiz Khan.
The only Christian monument discovered in Khotan is a bronze cross brought
back by Grenard (III. pp. 134-135); see also Deveria, Notes d'Epigraphie
Mongole, p. 80. - H. C.]
NOTE 2. - "Aourent Mahommet". Though this is Marco's usual formula to
define Mahomedans, we can scarcely suppose that he meant it literally. But
in other cases it was very literally interpreted. Thus in Baudouin de
Sebourc, the Dame de Pontieu, a passionate lady who renounces her faith
before Saladin, says:
