Odorico (Cathay, I.
P. 46), Speaking Of This City, Says It "Is Mighty Cold." (See Also On The
Low Temperature Of The Place, Tournefort, Voyage Du Levant, II.
Pp.
258-259.) Arzizi, ARJISH, in the vilayet of Van, was destroyed in the
middle of the 19th century;
It was situated on the road from Van to Erzrum.
Arjish Kala was one of the ancient capitals of the Kingdom of Armenia; it
was conquered by Toghrul I., who made it his residence. (Cf. Vital Cuinet,
Turquie d'Asie, II. p. 710). - H. C.]
Arjish is the ancient Arsissa, which gave the Lake Van one of its names.
It is now little more than a decayed castle, with a village inside.
Notices of Kuniyah, Kaisariya, Sivas, Arzan-ar-Rumi, Arzangan, and Arjish,
will be found in Polo's contemporary Abulfeda. (See Buesching, IV.
303-311.)
NOTE 3. - Paipurth, or Baiburt, on the high road between Trebizond and
Erzrum, was, according to Neumann, an Armenian fortress in the first
century, and, according to Ritter, the castle Baiberdon was fortified by
Justinian. It stands on a peninsular hill, encircled by the windings of
the R. Charok. [According to Ramusio's version Baiburt was the third relay
from Trebizund to Tauris, and travellers on their way from one of these
cities to the other passed under this stronghold. - H. C.] The Russians, in
retiring from it in 1829, blew up the greater part of the defences. The
nearest silver mines of which we find modern notice, are those of
Gumish-Khanah ("Silverhouse"), about 35 miles N.W. of Baiburt; they are
more correctly mines of lead rich in silver, and were once largely worked.
But the Masalak-al-absar (14th century), besides these, speaks of two
others in the same province, one of which was near Bajert. This
Quatremere reasonably would read Babert or Baiburt. (Not. et Extraits,
XIII. i. 337; Texier, Armenie, I. 59.)
NOTE 4. - Josephus alludes to the belief that Noah's Ark still existed, and
that pieces of the pitch were used as amulets. (Ant. I. 3. 6.)
Ararat (16,953 feet) was ascended, first by Prof. Parrot, September 1829;
by Spasski Aotonomoff, August 1834; by Behrens, 1835; by Abich, 1845; by
Seymour in 1848; by Khodzko, Khanikoff, and others, for trigonometrical
and other scientific purposes, in August 1850. It is characteristic of the
account from which I take these notes (Longrimoff, in Bull. Soc. Geog.
Paris, ser. IV. tom. i. p. 54), that whilst the writer's countrymen,
Spasski and Behrens, were "moved by a noble curiosity," the Englishman is
only admitted to have "gratified a tourist's whim"!
NOTE 5. - Though Mr. Khanikoff points out that springs of naphtha are
abundant in the vicinity of Tiflis, the mention of ship-loads (in
Ramusio indeed altered, but probably by the Editor, to camel-loads), and
the vast quantities spoken of, point to the naphtha-wells of the Baku
Peninsula on the Caspian. Ricold speaks of their supplying the whole
country as far as Baghdad, and Barbaro alludes to the practice of
anointing camels with the oil.
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