So the Christians were in great trouble
and wist not what to do. But they did do the best thing possible; they
besought Jesus Christ that he would consider their case, so that the holy
church should not come to destruction, nor the name of its Patron Saint,
John the Baptist, be tarnished by its ruin. And so when the day fixed by
the Prince came round, they went to the church betimes in the morning, and
lo, they found the stone removed from under the column; the foot of the
column was without support, and yet it bore the load as stoutly as before!
Between the foot of the column and the ground there was a space of three
palms. So the Saracens had away their stone, and mighty little joy withal.
It was a glorious miracle, nay, it is so, for the column still so
standeth, and will stand as long as God pleaseth.[NOTE 3]
Now let us quit this and continue our journey.
NOTE 1. - Of Kaidu, Kublai Kaan's kinsman and rival, and their long wars,
we shall have to speak later. He had at this time a kind of joint
occupancy of SAMARKAND and Bokhara with the Khans of Chagatai, his
cousins.
[On Samarkand generally see: Samarqand, by W. Radloff, translated into
French by L. Leger, Rec. d'Itin. dans l'Asie Centrale, Ecole des Langues
Orient., Paris, 1878, p. 284 et seq.; A travers le royaume de Tamerlan
(Asie Centrale) ... par Guillaume Capus ... Paris, 1892, 8vo. - H. C.]
Marco evidently never was at Samarkand, though doubtless it was visited by
his Father and Uncle on their first journey, when we know they were long
at Bokhara. Having, therefore, little to say descriptive of a city he had
not seen, he tells us a story: -
"So geographers, in Afric maps,
With savage pictures fill their gaps,
And o'er unhabitable downs
Place elephants for want of towns."
As regards the Christians of Samarkand who figure in the preceding story,
we may note that the city had been one of the Metropolitan Sees of the
Nestorian Church since the beginning of the 8th century, and had been a
bishopric perhaps two centuries earlier. Prince Sempad, High Constable of
Armenia, in a letter written from Samarkand in 1246 or 1247, mentions
several circumstances illustrative of the state of things indicated in
this story: "I tell you that we have found many Christians scattered all
over the East, and many fine churches, lofty, ancient, and of good
architecture, which have been spoiled by the Turks. Hence, the Christians
of this country came to the presence of the reigning Kaan's grandfather
(i.e. Chinghiz); he received them most honourably, and granted them
liberty of worship, and issued orders to prevent their having any just
cause of complaint by word or deed.
