A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume I Part 41

Having made a conquest of _Bissibur_, they marched into. _Walor_[11], which they also conquered, and then returned into Kiptschak.

At this period, there was a high officer of state among the Tartars, called Obmann, who had usurped the power of nominating and deposing the khan, and to whom all the lords or chiefs were subservient. This anomalous dignity was now held by Ideku; who, as has been already mentioned, had invited Zegra to accept the dignity of khan. This Ideku, with the khan, all the n.o.bility, and the whole people, wandered continually up and down the country, with their wives and children, their cattle, and whole property, to the number of about 100,000 people, having no fixed abodes, but dwelling in moveable huts, at all seasons of the year. At this time there was a king in Tartary, named _Schudicho chey_ or _Kom_, or Schadibeck-knan, the son of Timur-Utluck, grandson of Timur-melik-aglen, and great-grandson of Urus- Khan, This Schadibeck reigned from 1401 to 1406. Immediately on hearing that Ideku was approaching, he took to flight; but was pursued, and killed in a skirmish. Ideku appointed _Polat_ or Pulad-khan, the son[12] of Schadibeck, to be his successor, who reigned a year and a half, between 1406 and 1408. After him _Segel-Aladie_, or Zedy-khan, the son of _Tokatmysch_ or Toktemysch-khan, got possession of the throne; but he was soon expelled by Timur-Khan, the son of Timur-Uduck, and brother of Pulad- Khan, who reified fourteen months. Thebak, the brother of Pulad-khan, took the field against Timur-khan, and killed him, but was unable to attain the sovereignty, as his brother Kerunhardin ascended the throne, which he only held for five months. Thebak again endeavoured to dispossess his brother Kerunhardin, but was unable to effectuate his purpose; for at this juncture, Ideku interposed, and conferred the sovereignty on Zegra, in the room of both. Zegra, however, continued khan only for nine months, when Mohammed-khan, son of the before-mentioned Timur-khan, and grandson of Timur Utluck, gained a pitched battle against Ideku and Zegra, in which Ideku was made prisoner, and Zegra fled into a country called Descht-Kiptscha. Mohammed was in his turn driven from the throne by Waroch; from whom Mohammed soon after retook his dominions. He was again driven out by Doblaberd, who only kept possession for three days, when he was in his turn dethroned by Waroch. He again was soon afterwards slain by Mohammed, who a third time attained the sovereign power. After these repeated revolutions, Zegra made ah unsuccessful attempt to recover the throne, in which enterprize he lost his life.

On the death of Zegra, Schildtberger, and the other four Christians who had been in his service, attached themselves to Ma.n.u.stzusch, who had been counsellor to that prince. This person went upon a journey to Kaffa in the Crimea, where six different religions are professed among the mixed inhabitants of that peninsula, a part of whom are Christians; After a residence there of five months, Ma.n.u.stzusch crossed the straits of Zabake in the country called _Zeckchas_ or Zikchia, where he sojourned for six months. But the sultan of Turkey sent a message to the sovereign of that country, requesting that Ma.n.u.stzusch might not be allowed to remain there any longer; and upon this he removed into the land of _Magrill_[13].

Schildtberger and his Christian companions, reflecting that they were now only three days journey from the Black Sea, formed a resolution to endeavour to return into their own country. With this view, having taken leave of Ma.n.u.stzusch, they went, to the capital of the country of _Bathan_[14] whence they requested to be conveyed across into Christendom, but were refused. Upon this they rode four days journey along the coast, when at length they espied a s.h.i.+p at about eight Italian miles from the sh.o.r.e. They made signals to the people on board by means of fire, and a boat was sent to inquire their purpose; and having convinced the boats crew that they, were Christians, by rehearsing the Lords prayer, Ave Maria, and creed, and these people having reported an account of them to the captain, of the s.h.i.+p, boats were sent back to bring them, on board. Having escaped many dangers, they landed at Constantinople, where they were well received by John Palaeologus, the Grecian emperor, who: sent them by sea to the castle of Kilia, at the mouth of the Danube. Schildtberger here parted from his companions, and went with some merchants to Akkerman[15] in Wallachia.

From thence he went to _Sedhof_ Sutschawa the capital of Moldavia, or the lesser Walachia. Hence to _Lubick_ called otherwise Lwow or Lemberg, the capital of White Russia, where he was detained by illness for three months.

From that place he went to Cracow, the capital of Poland; and by Breslau in Silesia, Misnia, Eger, Ratisbon, and Freysingen, back to Munich, having been absent for more than thirty-two years.

[1] Forster, Voy. and Disc. in the North, p. 158.

[2] About this period, many abuses subsisted among the Golden Tribe on the Wolga. Mamay and Ideku, or Yedeghey-khan, called Edigi by Schildtberger, had not the t.i.tle of great khan of the Golden Tribe in Kiptschak, but held in fact the supreme power in their hands, and set up khans from among the royal family, or deposed them at their pleasure.--Forst

[3] The names are much disfigured, and the commencement of the journey is not mentioned; but, from the course afterwards, this may be some corruption for Armenia, or one of its districts.--E.

[4] Perhaps a corruption for Daghistan.--E.

[5] Perhaps Kahira, or Cairo.--E.

[6] Schildtberger, or his transcriber, calls this the town of Bursa, by mistake for the mountain of Al-Burs.--Forst.

[7] Probably Agrachan; as both Astracan and Saray had been demolished by Timur. As to his saying that it stood in the middle of the Edil, Etilia, or Wolga, that may be a mistake; but at any rate, Edil signifies any river whatever.--Forst.

[8] Bissibur or Issibur, is the ancient Russian town of Isborsk.--Forst. It would appear that the present expedition was into Siber, or Siberia --E.

[9] This appears to refer to the Uralian chain, and the frozen regions of the north of Russia.--E.

[10] A mistake, by confounding close-made dresses of fur with the notion of naked men, covered all over with s.h.a.ggy hair.--E.

[11] Probably Wolgar, Bulgar, or Bulgaria, is here meant.--E

[12] From the sequel he appears rather to have been his brother.--E.

[13] This is probably a corruption for Mangrill, or Mingrelia.--E.

[14] Forster explains this by subst.i.tuting the names of Bebian and Bedias as synonymous. No such name occurs in our best maps; but there is a place near the country of Mingrelia in Guria on the Black-Sea, named Batum, which may be here indicated--E.

[15] This place is called in the text Weisseburgh, signifying the White Town, otherwise named Akkerman or Akkiermann, Asprecastro, Tschetatalba, and Belgorod.--Forst.

From the concluding sentence, Schildtberger, who began his travels, or rather captivity in 1394, must have returned to Munich about 1426 or 1427--E.

CHAP. XVII.

_Travels of the Amba.s.sadors of Mirza Shah Rokh, King of Persia, from Herat to Khanbalek in Katkay, in 1419_[1].

INTRODUCTION.

This curious emba.s.sy, sent by Mirza Shah Rokh one of the sons of Timur, or Timour the Great, better known in Europe by the name of Tamerlane, travelled from Herat, in Persia, the residence of their sovereign, to Khanbalek, Cambalu, or Peking, the imperial city of Kathay, Khatay, Kitay, or Northern China, where Yong-lo, or Ching-tsu, the third emperor of the race of Ming then kept his court. Yong-lo began to reign, in 1404, and died in 1425, the year in which the amba.s.sadors returned to Persia, the race of Ming, a Chinese dynasty, was founded in 1368, fifty-one years before the present emba.s.sy, by Hoang-vu, who had expelled the Mongol khans, the degenerate and enervated descendants of Gingis or Zengis. This journey was described by the famous Persian historian, Emir-Khond, or Emir-Khovand, usually known by the name of Mirchond, in his performance, ent.i.tled, "Of the Wonders of the World." Nicolas Witsen[2], a learned burgomaster of Amsterdam, has inserted this curious journey, in his curious work, "Of North and East Tartary," Having translated it for that purpose from the Persian into Dutch. The singularly excellent work of Witsen is extremely rare, and very seldom to be met with, as the author suppressed the work, from motives which are now unknown. The library of the university of Goettingen; formerly possessed a copy, which had belonged to the library of the Empress of Russia, and which was purchased at the sale of the effects of the late Mr Thunnman for eighty-six dollars. These travels are contained in the fourth volume of the French collection by Thevenot; who says that it was written in Persian, in twelve pages, without notes or explanation. He makes no mention of the translator, but probably borrowed the article from Witsen, without acknowledgment. The present edition is taken from Astleys collection, and is enriched by several notes and elucidations, by Mr John Reinhold Forster; who, while he regrets the scarcity of Witsens valuable work in Dutch, forgets to inform us of the existence of this tract in Thevenot, or in the collection of Astley. This journey throws some light on the interior part of Tartary, or Central Asia; and is therefore an important addition to our scanty knowledge of that little known and interesting country, the real storehouse of nations, and the scourge, during many centuries, of all the surrounding countries, from the sea of j.a.pan to the Baltic, and from the Frozen Ocean, to the seas of China, India, Persia, Arabia, and Roum, or the Mediterranean.

The present edition has been carefully corrected and enlarged, by collation with the abstract which Forster published from the Dutch translation by Witsen. This journal gives many curious remarks on the magnificence of the Chinese court, and respecting the ceremonial observed in giving audience to amba.s.sadors, which still continue nearly the same. The editor of Astley labours hard to explain away the want of notice In these travels, and in the repeated journeys of Marco Polo, respecting the great Chinese wall. But the only rational explanation of this omission, is the clear conclusion that it was not then built. We learn from this narrative, that the paper money of the former Mogul Khans of Kathay was no longer in use, and that silver money, under the same denomination of Balishes, had been subst.i.tuted in its place.

[1] Astley IV. 621. Forst. Voy. and Disc. 158.

[2] I suspect this learned Dutchman has been sometimes quoted in Latin, by the name of Candidius.--E.

SECTION I.

_The Journey of the Amba.s.sadors from Herat to Khanbalek, and their reception at the Court of the Emperor of Kathay_.

In the year of the Hejirah 822, or 1419 of the Christian era, the Sultan Mirza Shah Rokh, king of Persia, sent amba.s.sadors from Herat, his royal residence, to the emperor of Kathay, or China, of whom Shadi Khoja was the chief. At the same time, Mirza Baysangar, the son of Shah Rokh, sent Soltan Ahmet, and a painter named Khoja Gayath Addin, to accompany his fathers amba.s.sadors, giving orders to his servants to keep an exact journal of their travels, and to take notice of every thing that was remarkable in every city and country they travelled through; carefully noting the nature of the roads, the police, and customs of the people, and the magnificence and government of the various sovereigns. Leaving Herat[1] on the 11th of the month Zi'lkaa-deh[2], the amba.s.sadors arrived at Balkh on the 8th of Zi'lhejjeh, where they were detained by the rains till the first of Moharram, in the year 823 of the Hejira[3], or Thursday, 16th January 1420; on which day they departed from Balkh, and arrived in twenty-two days journey at Samarkand. They here found Soltan Shars, and Mehemmed Bakhs.h.i.+, the amba.s.sadors of Ulug-Beg[4], who had been sent to accompany them, together with all his Kathayans: And the amba.s.sadors of Khora.s.san, Badakshan, and from other princes, having here joined company, they all set out together with those of Kathay[5].

Having pa.s.sed through the cities of Tashkend, Sayram, and Ash[6], they entered into the country of the Mongols[7] on the eleventh of _Rabiya-al- akher_, and learnt that the _horde_ was in great confusion, Awis-khan being at war with s.h.i.+r Mehemmed Aglan. These disturbances being settled, Amir Khudadad, who commanded in that country, came to inform them, that the amba.s.sadors might proceed safely on their journey. On the 18th of Jomada- al-awal, they came to a place named Bilgotu[8], on the territories of Mehemmed-Beg, where they waited for the Dajis[9], and the retinue of the Shah of Badakshan. After their arrival, they pa.s.sed the river _Kenker_[10]

on the twenty-second of Jomada-al-awal, and next day, they saw Mehemmed- Beg, prince of that horde, whose son, Soltan Shadi Karkan[11], was son-in- law to Shah Rokh, and a daughter of that prince had married Mirza Mehemmed Juki[12]. On the twenty-eighth of the before named month, they entered the country of Ilduz[13], which was occupied by the tribe of Jel, and under the dominion of s.h.i.+r Behram, or Scheir Begrahim; and though the sun was then in the summer solstice, they were often astonished to find ice two inches thick in this vast desert. On the eighth of Jomada-al-akher, they were alarmed, by receiving, news that the son of Ahmed Beg had plundered the Daji, who was amba.s.sador from Awis, or Oweys Khan; and they made every possible haste to pa.s.s through the defiles of the mountains, notwithstanding of much hail and rain falling at the time. At the end or the month, they arrived at Tarkan[14], where there is a great temple, with a huge idol, which the idolatrous inhabitants say is the image of Shakmonni, or Shamku. Departing from thence on the second of Rajeb, they came on the fifth to Karakoja.[l5] And certain Kathayans came here on the tenth, who took a list of the names of the amba.s.sadors and all their retinue. On the nineteenth they arrived at the town of Ata-Sufi, where Kha Zadeh Taj'oddin resided, a person descended from the prophet, originally of the city of Tormul, and son-in-law to Amir Fakr'oddin, chief of the Moslems in Kabul[16].

On the twenty-second of Rajeb they arrived at Kabul[17], in which place Amir Fakr'oddin had built a fine mosque; near which was a temple of the idolaters, set round with images, and strange figures of various sizes, and at the doors there were two gigantic statues that seemed to fight. Mengli Timur Bayri, a handsome young man, was governor of this city. Departing thence on the twenty-fifth of Rajeb, they entered on the desert of Noman Cobi, where they only found water once in two days; and on the twelfth of Shaaban, they saw lions, oxen, and other wild beasts; the oxen, named Gau Kottahs, are very large and strong, insomuch that they are able to toss a man and horse into the air. Their tails are remarkably long and hairy, and are in great estimation all over the East, where they are often carried on long poles, by way of ornament, and are likewise much employed for driving away flies. On the fourteenth, they arrived at a place within twelve stages of Sekju[18], the first city in Kathay. From this time, the Kathayans came daily to meet them, erecting tents or huts, adorned with green boughs, in the desert for their accommodation, and plentifully supplied their tables with fowls, and various kinds of flesh, fruits, fresh and dried, and other victuals, all served on porcelain or china dishes, besides several kinds of strong liquors; and henceforwards they were as splendidly regaled in the desert as they afterwards were in the cities of Kathay. According to the list taken by the Kathayans, Amir Shadi Khoja, and Gaksheh, had 200 persons in their retinue; Soltan Ahmed and Gayath-addin, 500; Argdak, sixty; Ardvan, fifty; and Taj'oddin, fifty; in all 860 persons; among whom were many merchants, who were pa.s.sed as belonging to the retinue of the amba.s.sadors, and who were, afterwards under the necessity of performing the services which fell to their lot, according to the register. In taking this list, the Kathayan officers made them swear that there were no other persons besides those named, and informed them that they would be despised if they did not tell the truth.

It is remarkable, that among the many viands and liquors supplied to them, in the before-mentioned entertainment, there was a pot of Chinese _tea_, which the Jesuit Trigault imagined had only come into use in China of late years. Tea is called _Tscha_ by the Chinese, and its use is very ancient, as the earlier of the two Mahometan travellers, who wrote in 851 and 867, mention the use, by the Chinese in that early period, of the infusion of the leaves of a shrub called _sah_ or _tsha_. Even at that time, the use of tea must have become an article of constant and extensive consumption in China, as the emperor derived a large revenue from the tax on that article[19].

On the sixteenth of the month Shaaban, they were informed that the Dankji, governor of the borders of Kathay, intended to entertain them that day with an imperial feast; and on their arrival at his encampment, they found a square arpent[20] of ground inclosed with tents, the cords of which, fastened to pegs in the ground, were so interlaced together that there was no entrance into the inclosure but by four gates, which were left on purpose. In the midst of this place, they had erected a great and very high awning of cloth, supported on wooden pillars; at one end of which was an imperial canopy of state, erected on two richly varnished pillars, between which stood a great chair of state as if for the emperor, and other seats on both sides. The amba.s.sadors were placed on the left hand of the imperial throne, arid the Kathayan officers on the right. Before each amba.s.sador there were two tables, one of which was covered with various meats and fruits, and the other with cakes and delicate bread, ornamented with festoons of silk and paper. The other persons present had only one table to each. At the opposite end of this great banqueting tent, there stood a buffet or side-board, full of vessels of china and of silver, for serving the liquors. During the entertainment, they were regaled by a band of music, and a number of young persons, in strange dresses, performed various tricks for their amus.e.m.e.nt. They were likewise much amused by the performance of a comedy, the actors of which wore masks representing the faces of animals; and a child, inclosed in the body of an artificial stork, walked about and performed a variety of surprising motions. In short, nothing could be more magnificent.

Next day, being the seventeenth of Shaaban, they continued their journey through the desert, and arrived in a few days at a karaul[21] or strong fortress, in the mountains, which is built across the road in a pa.s.s or defile, so that travellers must necessarily enter by one gate and pa.s.s through the other. Here the amba.s.sadors and all the members of their retinues were carefully numbered, and a new list made of all their names.

From the karaul they went to Sekju or So-chew[22], where they were lodged in a large public building over the gate of the city; in which, as in all their other lodgings, they were amply provided with every necessary and convenience, as provisions, beds, and horses; and even the servants had mattresses and coverlets allowed for their beds. So-chew is a large and strong city, quite square, in the entrance into Kathay. It has sixteen market places, each fifty cubits square, which are always kept clean. In these there are several covered halls or galleries, having shops on both sides; and a handsome hall of entrance, adorned with pictures. There are hogs kept in every house, and the butchers hang their pork in the shambles along with the mutton[23]. The city wall is flanked with towers at every twenty paces distance; and there is a gate in the middle of each side, from each of which one may see the opposite gate, as the streets pa.s.s straight through the middle of the city, dividing it into four quarters. Over each gate there is a pavilion of two stories, the roof of which is tiled with porcelain, and is shaped like an a.s.ses back, or penthouse, according to the fas.h.i.+on of Kathay, which is likewise followed in Mazanderan. Each of the temples in this place occupy nearly ten arpents of ground, and all are very neat, with their brick pavements polished like gla.s.s. At the gates there stand a number of fine youths, who, after regaling strangers, show them the temples.

From So-chew it is ninety-five days journey to Cambalu, or Khanbalek, where the emperor resides, the whole way leading, through a populous country, insomuch that travellers always lodge at night in a large town. Throughout the whole way there are many structures named Kargu, and Kidifu. The former are a species of corps-de-garde, which are sixty cubits high, and are built within sight of each other, having always persons on guard, who are relieved every ten days. These are intended to communicate alarms speedily to the seat of government, which they do by means of fires; and intelligence can be sent, in this manner, in the s.p.a.ce of a day and a night, from the distance of three months journey[24]. The Kidifus are a kind of post-houses, which are built at ten _merres_[25] from each other, having fixed establishments of people, with houses to live in, and ground to cultivate for their support; and all letters to the imperial city are sent by couriers from one to another. From Sakju, or So-chew, to Kamju[26], there are nine stages or days journey, and the dankji who resides in Kan-chew is superior to all the other governors on the frontiers. At each stage the amba.s.sadors were furnished with 450 horses, mules, and a.s.ses, and fifty-six chariots or waggons. The servants who tended the horses were called _Ba-fu_; the muleteers, who had charge of the mules and the a.s.ses,_Lu-fu_; and the men who drew the chariots, _Jip-fu_. These chariots were each drawn by twelve young men with cords on their shoulders, and they dragged through all difficulties from one lodging to another, the _Ba-fu_ always running before as guides. At all the lodging places, where the amba.s.sadors and their retinue stopped nightly, provisions were always found in abundance. At every city the amba.s.sadors were feasted in a hall set apart for that special purpose, called _Rasun_, in each of which there stood an imperial throne under a canopy, with curtains at the sides, the throne always facing towards the capital of the empire. At the foot of the throne there always was a great carpet, on which the amba.s.sadors sat, having their people ranked in regular rows behind them, like the Moslems at their prayers. When all were properly arranged, a guard beside the throne gave a signal, by calling out aloud three times; on which all the Kathayan officers bowed their heads to the ground towards the throne, and obliged the amba.s.sadors to make a similar reverence; after which every one sate down to his appointed table.

On the twenty-fifth of Ramazan, the dankji, or governor of Kan-chew invited the amba.s.sadors to a feast, intimating that they were to consider it as a banquet given them by the emperor; but as it was the fast of the Moslems, the amba.s.sadors sent an apology, yet he sent them all the victuals which had been prepared for the entertainment. In Kanchew they saw a temple, each side of which extended 500 _kes_ or cubits, having in the middle of it an idol fifty feet in length, lying as if asleep. The hands and feet of this gigantic idol were nine feet long, and the head was twenty-one feet round.

There were numbers of smaller idols, each a cubit high, behind this large one and above his head, in such natural att.i.tudes that they seemed alive.

The great idol was gilt all over, having one hand under his head, and the other stretched down along his thigh. This idol was called _Samonifu_, and vast numbers of people were constantly prostrating themselves before him.

The walls were also adorned with many figures. All round the great temple, there were numerous small temples, like the chambers in caravanseras, having curtains of tapestry or brocade, gilded easy chairs and stools, chandeliers, and vessels, for ornament. There were ten other temples in the city of Kan-chew like the former, and a tower having eight fronts, twenty cubits in circ.u.mference, and fifteen stories high. Each story was twelve cubits high, so that the whole tower was 180 cubits in height. In every story was a chamber finely varnished, and a gallery round, embellished with paintings. One of these paintings represented the emperor of Kathay sitting among his courtiers, and with boys and girls on either hand. This structure is called _Teherki felek_ by the Moslems, and resembles a kiosk. At the bottom there were the figures of giants, which seemed to carry the whole tower on their backs. The whole was constructed of wood, richly gilded and varnished, and so exquisitely polished, that it seemed of burnished gold.

In a vault under the edifice, there is an iron axis resting on a plate of iron, and reaching from the bottom to the top of the tower: and the whole was so ingeniously contrived, that it could easily be turned round on this axis, in so surprizing a manner, that all the smiths, carpenters, and painters of the world ought to go there, to learn the secrets of their respective trades[27].

Before the amba.s.sadors left Kan-chew, they were furnished with horses and carriages, which they returned here in their way back. In this place also, they consigned the presents which were intended for the emperor, except a lion, which they carried along with them, to the imperial court. In proportion as they approached towards the capital, the Kathayan magnificence always increased. Every evening they arrived at a _Yam_[28] or lodging, and once every week at a city. On the fourth of the month Shawal they reached the river Karamuran[29], which is as large as the Jihon or Amu. Across this river there is a bridge of twenty-six boats, laid over with planks, and kept together by iron hooks and chains, which are fastened to iron pillars on each bank, as thick as a mans thigh, so that the whole is kept perfectly firm and even. On crossing this river they came to a great city, where the amba.s.sadors were more splendidly, feasted that in any other place; and here they saw a more magnificent idol temple than any of the former. They took notice also of three public stews, full of very beautiful harlots; and as the women here are handsomer than any other in Kathay, this place has the name of _Rosnabaad_, or the _City of Beauty_.

After pa.s.sing through several other cities, they arrived on the twelfth of the month Zu'lkaadeh, at another river[30] twice as large as the Jihon, which they pa.s.sed over in boats. Continuing their journey, and crossing over several rivers, some in boats and others by means of bridges, they arrived, on the twenty-seventh of the last mentioned month, at the great and populous city of _Sadin-fu_[31]. In one of the temples of this city there stands a gilded bra.s.s image fifty cubits high, called the _image with a thousand hands_, for such is the number with which this idol is furnished, and on the palm of each there is an eye. The feet of this idol are near ten cubits long. Round this idol there are several others of different heights, placed in chambers or niches, some reaching only as high as the ankle of the great one, others to the knee, and others again as high as the breast. It is reckoned that this prodigious work required 100,000 loads of bra.s.s. The top of the temple is exquisitely finished, and terminates in an open hall. It is surrounded by eight mounts or eminences, which may be ascended both on the outside and the inside; and these have several grottos, the walls of which are adorned with various paintings, representing priests, idols, hermits, tigers, leopards, serpents, and trees. These, with the idols, mountains, and arches, seem all to be composed of plaster. Around this great temple there are many fine buildings, and among these a turning tower, similar to that of Kan-chew, but larger and finer.

Continuing their journey, at the rate of four or five pharasangs each day[32], the amba.s.sadors arrived before day-break of the eighth of Zu'lhajieh, at the imperial city of Khanbalik[33], or Pekin. This city is so great that each side is a pharasang in length, or about four and a quarter English miles. But at this time 100,000 houses within its walls lay in ruins. The amba.s.sadors and their retinue were conducted on foot along a causeway 700 feet long, to the palace gate, where there stood five elephants on either side. On pa.s.sing this outward gate, they entered a very beautiful paved court of great extent, where they found 100,000 men waiting at the emperors gate, although it was not yet day. Facing this court there was a great _kiosk_ or pavilion, the basis of which was thirty cubits high, on which stood pillars fifty cubits high, supporting a gallery sixty cubits long and forty cubits wide. This pavilion had three gates, the middle one being reserved for the emperor, and that on each side was smaller. Above this kiosk, and over the right and left gates, was a _kurkeh_, or great drum; and a bell hung over the middle gate, attended by two persons, to give notice of the appearance of the emperor on his throne. They reckoned that near 300,000 persons were a.s.sembled before the palace, among whom were 2000 musicians, who sung hymns for the prosperity of the emperor. Two thousand men, armed with halberts, batons, darts, arrows, lances, swords, and maces, had enough of business in keeping the crowd in order. Others held fans and umbrellas. Around this court there were many apartments, and it was surrounded by high porticos closed with grates, and containing sofas. When day appeared, the drums, trumpets, flutes, and hautboys, began to sound, and the great bell tolled; at which the great gates were thrown open, and the people crowded in to see the emperor. On pa.s.sing from the first court into the second, the amba.s.sadors found a larger and more magnificent pavilion than the former, on which was a raised platform, or sofa, of a triangular form, four cubits high, covered with yellow satin, and sumptuously adorned with gildings and paintings, representing the _Simorg_[34], or Phoenix, which the Kathayans call the royal bird. On this sofa was a seat or throne of ma.s.sy gold, and on both sides stood ranks of officers of different orders, some commanders of 10,000 men, some of a 1000, and others of 100 men. Each of these held a tablet in his hand, a cubit long and a quarter broad, on which they all continued to look with much gravity, without attending to any thing around them; and behind these, stood an infinite number of guards, all in profound silence. At length the emperor made his appearance from an inner apartment, and ascended the throne by nine steps of silver. The emperor was a man of middle stature, and his beard consisted of 200 or 300 long hairs, which descended from his chin upon his breast. On each side of the throne there stood two very beautiful maidens, having their faces and necks bare, with their hair tied on the top of their heads, and large pearls in their ears. Each of these held paper and a pen in their hands, and wrote down with great attention whatever was spoken by the emperor; and when he retires, they present him with the papers, to see if he has any alterations to make in his orders.

These are afterwards carried to the _Diwan_, or tribunal of state, that they may be carried into execution.

When the emperor was seated on his throne, the seven amba.s.sadors were brought forwards, facing the emperor, and at the same time a great number of criminals were presented. There were seven hundred of these, some of whom were fastened by the neck, others having their heads and hands inclosed by a board, six sometimes fastened thus to one board. Each criminal was attended by a keeper, who held his prisoner by the hair: and all thus waited the imperial sentence. Most of these were remanded to prison, and only a few were condemned to die, which power resides solely in the emperor. All the governors of this vast empire, however distant from court, send all malefactors to Khanbalik, to appear in presence of the emperor. Each persons crime is written on one end of the board which he carries about his neck; and the crimes against religion are the most severely punished of all. Great care is taken to examine into all the facts on these occasions, insomuch that the emperor holds council twelve several times before he condemns any one to death. Hence a person who has been condemned in eleven successive councils, is sometimes acquitted in the twelfth, which is always held in presence of the emperor, who never condemns any but those he cannot save. When the criminals were dismissed, the amba.s.sadors were led by an officer within fifteen cubits of the throne; and this officer, on his knees, read out of a paper the purport of their emba.s.sy; adding that they had brought rarities as presents to his majesty, and were come to knock their heads against the ground before him. Then the _Kadhi Mulana Haji Yusof_, a commander of ten thousand, who was a favourite of the emperor and one of his twelve councillors, approached to the amba.s.sadors, with some Moslems who spoke the Persian language, and ordered them to fall on their knees and knock their ground with their foreheads; but they only bowed their heads three times. Then they delivered the letters of Shah Rokh and the other princes, wrapped up in yellow satin, to Kadhi Mulana, who gave them into the hands of a khoja of the palace at the foot of the throne, and he presented them to the emperor. He took them into his own hands, opened them and looked at them, and delivered them back to the khoja, who descended from the throne, and sat down on a seat at the foot of the steps. At the same time were brought out three thousand vestments of fine stufis, and two thousand coa.r.s.e, such as are the usual clothing of the imperial children and household[35]. The emperor then commanded the amba.s.sadors to draw near, and being on their knees, he inquired after the health of Shah Rokh, and put many other questions to them, all of which they answered. He then ordered them to rise, and go eat, saying that they had come a far journey. From thence the amba.s.sadors were conducted back to the first court, where they were feasted in a similar manner as at other times already mentioned.

When this entertainment was finished, they were conducted to their lodgings, in which the princ.i.p.al chamber was furnished with a large sofa or raised platform, laid with fine silk cus.h.i.+ons, a great basin, and a pan for fire. On the right and left of this, there were other chambers, with beds, silk cus.h.i.+ons, and foot carpets or fine mats, for lodging the amba.s.sadors separately. Each person had a kettle, a dish, a spoon, and a table. Every day, for six persons, there were allowed a sheep, a goose, and two fowls; and to each person two measures of flour, a large dish of rice, two great basins full of things preserved with sugar, a pot of honey, some garlic, onions, salt, several sorts of herbs, a bottle of _dirapum_[36], and a basin of walnuts, filberts, chesnuts, and other dried fruits. They were likewise attended from morning till night by a number of handsome servants.