All Who Were Admitted Entered By The Other
Gate, At Which There Were Guards, Armed With Bows, Arrows, And Swords.
If
any one presumed to approach the tent beyond the assigned limits, he was
severely beaten, if caught; or if he attempted to run away, he was shot at
with arrows.
Many of the people whom we saw here, had upon their saddles,
bridles, and other trappings of their horses, to the value of twenty marks
in pure gold, according to our estimation.[2]
The dukes assembled in the great tent, and consulted together, as we
thought, about the election of the emperor. The rest of the people were
collected all round the wooden walls, and at a considerable distance; and
in this manner they continued till almost noon. Then they began to drink
mares milk, or cosmos, and continued to drink amazing quantities till
evening. We were invited among them, and they treated us with ale, as we
did not drink cosmos. They intended this as a great honour, but they made
us drink so much, in comparison with our ordinary diet, as we were not able
to endure; but on making them understand that it was hurtful to us, they
desisted from insisting on our compliance. On the outside of the door stood
Jeroslaus, duke of Susdal in Russia, a great many dukes of the Kithayans
and Solangi, the two sons of the king of Georgia, the envoy of the caliph
of Bagdat, himself a sultan, and more than ten other Saracen sultans. We
were informed by the agents, that there were above four thousand messengers
present, partly from those who paid tribute or sent presents, and from
other sultans and dukes who came to make their submission, or who had been
sent for, and from the various governors of countries and places under
their authority. All these were placed on the outside of the wooden wall of
the great tent, and were supplied with drink; and they almost all gave to
us and the duke Jeroslaus the place of honour, when in their company.
[1] This term probably signifies the manufacture of Baldach or Bagdat, and
may refer to silken stuffs damasced, or woven with gold flowers. - E.
[2] Taking the mark of gold at 84 oz. and valuing the ounce at 4L 17s, 6d,
the sum of 20 marks amounts to L. 780 Sterling. - E.
SECTION XXVII.
Of the Exaltation of Cuyne as Emperor.
We remained in this place, called Syra Orda, about four weeks. In our
opinion the election was made here, though it was not published, because
always when Cuyne came out of the tent he was greeted with a noise of
music, and was saluted with beautiful rods tipt with scarlet wool, which
was not done to any of the other dukes. Leaving this place, we all rode
three or four miles to a fine plain, near a river among the mountains,
where we found another tent erected, called the Golden Orda, in which Cuyne
was to have been installed in the imperial seat on the festival of the
Assumption, 15th August; but on account of a vast fall of hail, formerly
mentioned, the ceremony was deferred.
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