He Afterwards Proceeded To The Head Quarters Of
Another Khan, On The Eastern Shores Of The Caspian.
After passing a country
where the famous Prester John is said to have reigned, he reached the end
of his journey, the head quarters of the khan of the Moguls.
Besides the
information derived from his own observations, he inserts in his narrative
all he had collected; so that he may be regarded as the first traveller who
brought to the knowledge of western Europe these parts of Asia; but though
his travels are important to geography, they throw little light on the
commerce of these countries.
Rubruquis was sent, about this time, by the king of France to the Mogul
emperor: he passed through the Crimea, and along the shores of the Volga
and the Caspian Sea; visited the Khans Sartach and Batou; and at length
arrived at the great camp of the Moguls. Here he saw Chinese ambassadors;
from whom, and certain documents which he found among the Moguls, he learnt
many particulars respecting the north of China, the most curious of which
is his accurate description of the Chinese language and characters. He
returned by the same route by which he went. In his travels we meet with
some information respecting the trade of Asia. The Mogul khans derived a
considerable revenue from the salt of the Crimea. The alum of Caramonia was
a great object of traffic. He is the first author, after Ammianus
Marcellinus, who mentions rhubarb as an article of medicine and commerce.
Among the Moguls he found a great number of Europeans, who had been taken
prisoners: they were usually employed in working the mines, and in various
manufactures. He is the first traveller who mentions _koumis_ and
arrack; and he gives a very particular and accurate description of the
cattle of Thibet, and the wild and fleet asses of the plains of Asia.
Geography is indebted to him for correcting the error of the ancients,
which prevailed till his time, that the Caspian joined the Northern Ocean:
he expressly represents it as a great inland sea, - the description given of
it by Herodotus, but which was overlooked or disbelieved by all the other
ancient geographers.
While the pope and the French monarch were thus endeavouring to conciliate
the Moguls by embassies, the Emperor Frederic of Germany, having recovered
Jerusalem, Tyre, and Sidon, formed an alliance with the princes of the
East; and this alliance he took advantage of for the purposes of oriental
commerce: for his merchants and factors travelled as far as India. In the
last year of his reign, twelve camels, laden with gold and silver, the
produce of his trade with the East, arrived in his dominions. The part of
India to which he traded, and the route which was pursued, are not
recorded.
Among the most celebrated travellers of the middle ages, was Marco Polo:
he, his father, and uncle, after trading for some time in many of the
commercial and opulent cities of Lesser Asia, reached the more eastern
parts of that continent, as far as the court of the great khan, on the
borders of China.
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