On making the regent acquainted with
their business, he desired them to carry the young queen to Casan, who was
then on the confines of Persia, towards Arbor Secco[15] with an army of
60,000 men, guarding certain passes of the frontiers against the
enterprises of their enemies; Having executed this order, Nicolo, Maffei,
and Marco, returned to the residence of Chiacato, and staid there for nine
months.
At the end of this period they took leave of Chiacato, who gave them four
tablets of gold, each a cubit long and five fingers broad, and weighing
three or four marks[16]. On these were engraven to the following purport:
"In the power of the eternal God, the name of the great khan shall be
honoured and praised for many years; and whosoever disobeyeth, shall he put
to death, and all his goods confiscated." Besides this preamble, they
farther commanded, that all due honour should be shown to the three
ambassadors of the khan, and service performed to them in all the countries
and districts subject to his authority, as to himself in person; that all
necessary relays of horses and escorts, and their expences, and every thing
needful should be supplied to them freely and gratuitously. All this was
duly executed, so that sometimes they had 200 horse for their safeguard.
During their journey, they were informed that the great emperor of the
Tartars, Kublai-khan was dead, by which they considered themselves absolved
from all obligations of the promise they had made to return to his court.
They continued their journey to Trebisond, on the south side of the Euxine;
whence they proceeded by the way of Constantinople and Negropont to Venice,
where they arrived in safety, and with great riches, in the year 1295.
On their arrival at their own house, in the street of St Chrysostom in
Venice, they found themselves entirely forgotten by all their old
acquaintances and countrymen, and even their relations were unable to
recognize them, owing to their long absence, now thirty-five years from
setting, out on their first journey into the east; besides being much
altered by age they had become altogether resembling Tartars in their
speech, dress and manners, and were obliged to use some extraordinary
expedients to satisfy their family and countrymen of their identity, and to
recover the respect which was their due, by a public acknowledgment of
their name, family, and rank. For this purpose, they invited all their
relations arid connections to a magnificent entertainment, at which all the
three travellers made their appearance in rich eastern habits of crimson
satin. After the guests were seated, and before the Polos sat down, they
put off their upper garments which they gave to the attendants, appearing
still magnificently dressed in habits of crimson damask. These they threw
off at the appearance of the last course or service of the entertainment,
and bestowed likewise on the attendants; while they themselves still
appeared clad in magnificent dresses of crimson velvet. When dinner was
over, and all the servants had withdrawn, Marco Polo produced to the
company the coats of Tartarian cloth or felt, which he, and his father and
uncle had ordinarily worn during their travels, from the folds of which he
took out an incredible quantity of rich jewels; among which were some that
were well known to those who were present at the entertainment, and by
which the three travellers incontestibly proved themselves members of the
Polo family, and the identical persons they represented themselves.
[1] The Black-Sea, or Euxine, is here called the Great Sea. Soldadia,
Soldaia, or Sudak, was a city in the Crimea, a little to the west of
Caffa. - Forst.
[2] Barha or Barcha, more properly Bereke-khan, who reigned from 1256 to
1266. - E.
[3] Bolgara is the town of Bolgari, the capital of Bulgaria, which
subsisted from 1161 to 1578. Alsara is Al-seray, which was built by
Baatu-khan, on the Achtuba, a branch of the Volga. - Forst.
[4] Probably Holagu-khan, to whom all Persia was in subjection, quite to
Syria. - Forst.
[5] Ukakah, Grikhata, Khorkang, or Urghenz on the Gihon. - Forst.
[6] Bereke-khan. - Forst.
[7] This probably refers to the Constantinopolitan or Greek emperor; his
dominions being called Roum in the east to the present day. - E.
[8] In different editions this name is corruptly written Gogoka, Gogatal,
Cogatal, and Chogatal. - E.
[9] Otherwise called Glaza and Galza, but more properly Al-Ajassa, on the
south-east extremity of the Euxine or Black-sea. - Forst.
[10] Acon, or more properly Akko. It is not easy to conceive what should
have taken them so much out of their way as Acre; unless they could
not procure shipping at Giazza, and travelled therefore by land
through Asia Minor and Syria; or that they intended here to procure
the holy oil for the khan. - E.
[11] This is an error in transcription, and it has been already noticed in
the introduction to these travels, that Marco could not then have
exceeded the ninth year of his age. - E.
[12] Bibars el Bentochdari, sultan of Kahira or Cairo, in Egypt, often
called Babylon. - Forst.
[13] Chambalu, or Khan-balu, or the city of the Khan, now Peking. - Forst.
[14] Called likewise; Kogatin, Gogatin, and Gogongin, in the different
transcripts of these travels. - E.
[15] From the circumstance of this kingdom of Argon being near Arbor Secco
it would appear to have been one of the eight kingdoms of Persia
mentioned in the sequel; and from the sea voyage, it probably was
Mekran, which, reaches to the sea and the Indies, - E.
[16] These were most princely letters-patent; equal in weight to 400
guineas, perhaps equal in efficacious value to 4000 in our times.
