There were in those days no Public
Censors whose duty it is to warn the Sovereign of what is going on: and no
one dared to speak out for fear of the resentment of the Ministers, who
were the depositaries of the Imperial authority, and the authors of the
oppressions under which the people laboured. Several Chinese, men of
letters and of great ability, who lived at Hupilai's court, might have
rendered that prince the greatest service in the administration of his
dominions, but they never were intrusted with any but subordinate offices,
and they were not in a position to make known the malversations of those
public blood-suckers." (De Mailla, IX. 459-460.)
AHMAD was a native of Fenaket (afterwards Shah-Rukhia), near the Jaxartes,
and obtained employment under Kublai through the Empress Jamui Khatun, who
had known him before her marriage. To her Court he was originally
attached, but we find him already employed in high financial office in
1264. Kublai's demands for money must have been very large, and he
eschewed looking too closely into the character of his financial agents or
the means by which they raised money for him. Ahmad was very successful in
this, and being a man of great talent and address, obtained immense
influence over the Emperor, until at last nothing was done save by his
direction, though he always appeared to be acting under the orders of
Kublai. The Chinese authorities in Gaubil and De Mailla speak strongly of
his oppressions, but only in general terms, and without affording such
particulars as we derive from the text.
The Hereditary Prince Chingkim was strongly adverse to Ahmad; and some of
the high Chinese officials on various occasions made remonstrance against
the Minister's proceedings; but Kublai turned a deaf ear to them, and
Ahmad succeeded in ruining most of his opponents. (Gaubil, 141, 143,
151; De Mailla, IX. 316-317; D'Ohsson, II. 468-469.)
[The Rev. W. S. Ament (Marco Polo in Cambaluc, 105) writes: "No name is
more execrated than that of Ah-ha-ma (called Achmath by Polo), a Persian,
who was chosen to manage the finances of the Empire. He was finally
destroyed by a combination against him while the Khan was absent with
Crown Prince Chen Chin, on a visit to Shang Tu." Achmath has his biography
under the name of A-ho-ma (Ahmed) in the ch. 205 of the Yuen-shi,
under the rubric "Villanous Ministers." (Bretschneider, Med. Res. I.
p. 272.) - H. C.]
NOTE 3. - This term Bailo was the designation of the representative of
Venetian dignity at Constantinople, called Podesta during the period of
the Latin rule there, and it has endured throughout the Turkish Empire to
our own day in the form Balios as the designation of a Frank Consul.
[There was also a Venetian bailo in Syria.
