The capture of Chang-chau by Gordon's force, 11th May 1864, was the final
achievement of that "Ever Victorious Army."
Regarding the territory here spoken of, once so rich and densely peopled,
Mr. Medhurst says, in reference to the effects of the T'ai-P'ing
insurrection: "I can conceive of no more melancholy sight than the acres
of ground that one passes through strewn with remains of once thriving
cities, and the miles upon miles of rich land, once carefully parcelled
out into fields and gardens, but now only growing coarse grass and
brambles - the home of the pheasant, the deer, and the wild pig."
(Foreigner in Far Cathay, p. 94.)
NOTE 2. - The relics of the Alans were settled on the northern skirts of
the Caucasus, where they made a stout resistance to the Mongols, but
eventually became subjects of the Khans of Sarai. The name by which they
were usually known in Asia in the Middle Ages was Aas, and this name is
assigned to them by Carpini, Rubruquis, and Josafat Barbaro, as well as by
Ibn Batuta. Mr. Howorth has lately denied the identity of Alans and Aas;
but he treats the question as all one with the identity of Alans and
Ossethi, which is another matter, as may be seen in Vivien de St. Martin's
elaborate paper on the Alans (N. Ann. des Voyages, 1848, tom. 3, p. 129
seqq.). The Alans are mentioned by the Byzantine historian, Pachymeres,
among nations whom the Mongols had assimilated to themselves and adopted
into their military service.
