After Continuing In The North For Some Time, They Chose
A King Among Themselves, Named Zingis-Khan, Who Was A
Wise and valiant man,
and reigned with such justice, that he was beloved and feared of all as a
god
Rather than as a prince, so that by his fame and prowess, he soon
reduced all the Tartars in these parts under his authority. Seeing himself
at the head of so many valiant men, he determined to leave the northern
deserts; and commanding his people to provide themselves with bows and
other weapons, he began to reduce the neighbouring cities and provinces
under his dominion, in which conquests he placed such just governors, that
the people were perfectly reconciled to his authority. In all his conquests
he carried the chief persons along with him, bestowing upon them provisions
and other gifts, and by that means attached them to his person, and
continually augmented his power. After sometime, finding himself advanced
to power and glory, he sent ambassadors to Umcan, to entreat that he would
bestow his daughter upon him for a wife. Umcan received this message with
the utmost indignation, saying to the messengers; "Does my servant presume
to demand my daughter? Begone, and tell your master, that if ever he dare
to repeat so insolent a proposal, I will make him die a miserable death."
Zingis seems only to have wanted a reasonable pretence to justify him in
the estimation of his nobles for entering into war against Umcan; he
therefore immediately levied a great army, with which he marched boldly
against Umcan, and encamped in a great plain named Tanduc[4], sending a
message to Umcan to defend himself. Upon this Umcan collected a vast army,
with which he advanced into the plains, and pitched his camp within ten
miles of that of the Tartars. Zingis commanded his astrologers to shew him
what was to be the event of the approaching battle; on which they split a
reed into two pieces, on one of which they wrote the name of Zingis, and
the name of Umcan on the other, and struck them separately into the ground,
saying to Zingis: "While we read in our holy books, it shall come to pass
through the power of the idol, that these two pieces of reed shall fight
together, and whose part shall get the better, to that king shall the
victory be given." The astrologers began to mumble their prayers and
incantations, while the multitude stood around to observe the result; and
after some time, the two pieces of reed seemed spontaneously to fight
together, and the portion inscribed with the name of Zingis got the mastery
over that of Umcan; and the Tartars being encouraged by this prodigy, went
into the battle fully assured of victory, which they actually obtained. By
this battle, in which Umcan was slain, the sovereignty of all Tangut was
transferred to Zingis, who took to wife the daughter of Umcan. Zingis
reigned six years after this, and conquered many provinces: But at last,
while he endeavoured to take a certain castle called Thaigin, he approached
too near the walls, and was wounded in the knee by an arrow, of which wound
he died, and was buried in the mountain of Altai. Zingis was the first
king of the Tartars; the second was Khen-khan, the third Bathyn-khan, the
fourth Esu-khan, the fifth Mangu-khan, the sixth Kublai-khan, whose power
is greater than that of all his predecessors, as, besides having inherited
all their acquisitions, he has added almost the whole world to his empire,
during a long and prosperous reign of sixty years[5]. All the great khans
and princes of the blood of Zingis, are carried for burial to the mountains
of Altai, even from the distance of an hundred days journey; and those who
attend the body, kill all whom they meet by the way, ordering them to go
and serve their lord in the other world, and a great number of fine horses
are slain on the same occasion and pretence. It is said that the soldiers,
who accompanied the body of Mangu-khan to the mountain of Altai, slew above
ten thousand men during their journey.
The Tartar women are remarkably faithful to their husbands, considering
adultery as the greatest and most unpardonable of crimes; yet it is
accounted lawful and honest for the men to have as many wives as they can
maintain, but the first married is always accounted the principal and most
honourable. These wives live all in one house, in the utmost harmony and
most admirable concord; in which they carry on various manufactures, buy
and sell, and procure all things necessary for their husbands and families,
the men employing themselves only in hunting and hawking, and in martial
affairs. They have the best falcons in the world, and great numbers of
excellent dogs, and they live upon flesh and milk, and what they procure by
hunting. They eat the flesh of horses and camels, and even of dogs, if fat;
and their chief drink is cosmos, made of mares milk in a particular manner,
and very much resembling white wine. When the father of a family dies, the
son may marry all his fathers wives, except only his own mother, neither do
they marry their sisters; and on the death of a brother, the surviving
brother may marry the widow of the deceased. The husbands receive no
portions with their wives, but must assign sufficient dowries to their
wives and mothers. As the Tartars have many wives, they often have great
numbers of children; neither is the multitude of their wives very
burthensome, as they gain much by their labour, and they are exceedingly
careful in the management of family concerns, in the preparation of food,
and in all other household duties.
The Tartars feed many herds of cattle, and numerous flocks of sheep, and
great numbers of camels and horses. They remain with these during the
summer in the pastures of the mountains and colder regions of the north,
where they find abundance of grass and wood; but in winter they remove into
the warmer regions of the south, in search of pasture, and they generally
travel forwards for two or three months together.
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