I Now Propose To Relate The Great And Marvellous Acts Of Kublai-Khan, The
Great Emperor Of The Tartars.
His name, expressed in our language,
signifies lord of lords, and he certainly is the greatest prince in cities,
people, and treasures, that ever reigned in the world.
He is lineally
descended from Zingis-khan, the first prince of the Tartars, being the
sixth emperor of that race, and began to reign in 1256, being then
twenty-seven years of age[1] and he has long ruled this immense empire,
with great gravity and wisdom. He is a very valiant man, strong of body and
well exercised in arms, and evinced himself such, in many actions, before
he attained to empire, which he effected by his superior wisdom and
management, contrary to the will of his brethren. Before his accession, he
shewed himself a more valiant soldier, and a wiser general than ever the
Tartars had before his time. Yet, since he has swayed the empire, he has
always deputed his sons and other generals upon military expeditions, and
has only since then gone into the field on the following occasion.
In the year 1257, or 1258, his uncle[2] named Naiam, being then thirty
years of age, who had the command of so many countries and nations, that he
could easily have mustered 400,000 horse, became puffed up with youthful
vanity, determined to take away the empire from his lord, and drew into his
schemes another great Tartar prince, named Caydu, who was nephew to Kublai,
and commanded on the borders of great Turkey, and who engaged to bring an
100,000 men into the field, in aid of the ambitious project of Naiam. Both
of these confederates began to gather forces; but this could not be done so
secretly as not to come to the knowledge of the great khan, who immediately
set guards on all the roads into the desert, and assembled all the forces
which lay within ten days journey of Cumbalu[3], the imperial residence. In
twenty days, he had collected an army, amounting to 360,000 horse and
100,000 foot, a large part of which vast force was composed of huntsmen and
falconers, and persons belonging to the imperial household. With this army,
Kublai marched with all expedition into the province occupied by Naiam,
where he arrived at the end of twenty-five days march altogether
unexpectedly, and before Naiam had completed his preparations, or had been
joined by his confederate Caydu. After giving his troops two days rest, and
having encouraged his men in the confident expectation of victory, by means
of his astrologers and soothsayers, he advanced towards the encampment of
Naiam, and appeared with his whole army on a hill, over against the camp of
the rebels, who had not even sent out any scouts to procure intelligence.
Kublai-khan was seated on the top of a wooden castle, carried by four
elephants, and filled with archers and cross-bow men, from which the royal
standard was displayed, on which the pictures of the sun and moon were
pourtrayed. Dividing his army into three bodies, he kept one as a reserve
on the hill beside himself, and sent the two wings to attack the army of
Naiam, who resolved to stand the issue of a battle. To every ten thousand
horse in the army of Kublai, five hundred light armed footmen with lances
were assigned, who had been taught to leap up behind the horsemen on any
occasion when flight or retreat became necessary, and were instructed to
alight, and kill the horses of the enemy during battle. The two armies
joined in a well contested battle, which lasted from morning till mid-day,
when Naiam was made prisoner, and all his followers submitted themselves to
the clemency of the victor; and having renewed their oaths of allegiance,
were pardoned and dismissed, having a new governor set over them, in whose
fidelity the great khan could confide[4].
Naiam was ordered to be sewed up between two carpets, and tossed up and
down till he died, to avoid shedding the blood of any one belonging to the
imperial house of Zingis.
Naiam is said to have been secretly baptized, and to have professed himself
a Christian, having his principal ensign marked with the sign of the cross,
and to have had a great number of Christians in his army who were all
slain. On this occasion, the Jews and Mahometans, who served in the army of
Kublai, upbraided his Christian soldiers with the disaster which had
happened to the cross in this battle. The Christians complained to Kublai
of this injurious conduct, who sharply reproved the Jews and Mahometans for
their behaviour; then turning to the Christians, he addressed them as
follows: "Surely your God and his cross would not give aid to Naiam. Be not
you therefore ashamed of what has happened; seeing that God, who is good
and just, did not defend iniquity and injustice. Naiam was a traitor and a
rebel, and sought the aid of your God in his mischievous purpose: But your
good and upright God would not favour his bad designs." Kublai-khan
returned after this great victory to Cambalu; and on Easter day he called
the Christians into his presence, and kissed their gospel with great
reverence, making all his great officers and barons do the same. And he
acts in a similar manner on the great festivals of the Mahometans, Jews
[5], and heathens; that Segomamber-khan, the great god of the idol,
Mahomet, Moses, and Jesus, or whosoever is greatest in heaven, may be
favourable to him; yet he made the best shew of liking to the Christian
faith, but alleged that the ignorance of the Nestorian priests, and the
great interest of the sorcerers among the people, hindered him from making
a profession of Christianity.
For the better rewarding his brave and faithful soldiers, the khan has a
military council, composed of twelve Tartar barons, who give him notice of
the meritorious services of all commanders, that they may be promoted to
higher stations, giving to one the command of an hundred, to another the
command of a thousand, and to a third the command of ten thousand, and so
on.
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