In The Course Of
Our Journey, We Left To The South Certain Great Mountains, On Whose Sides,
Towards The Desert, Dwell The Cergis And The Alani Or Acas, Who Are
Christians, And Still Carry On War With The Tartars.
Beyond these, near the
sea or lake of Etilia, or the Caspian, are certain Mahometans named Lesgis,
who are subjected to the Tartars.
Beyond these again are the Irongates,
which were constructed by Alexander, to exclude the barbarians from Persia,
of which I shall speak hereafter, as I passed that way in my return. In the
country through which we travelled between these great rivers, the
Comanians dwelt before it was occupied by the Tarters.
[1] In the English of Hakluyt and Harris, these people are called Merdas
and Mardui. - E.
SECTION XVII.
Of the Magnificence of the Court of Sartach.
WE found Sartach encamped within three days journey of the river Volga or
Etilia, and his court or horda appeared to us very large and magnificent;
as he had six wives, and his eldest son three, and each of these ladies had
a great house, like those already described, besides that each had several
smaller houses, and 200 of the chest-carts already mentioned. Our guide
went immediately to a certain Nestorian named Coiat, who has great
influence at the court of Sartach; and this man carried us in the evening a
considerable distance, to an officer called, in the Tartar language, the
Lords Gate, to whom belongs the duty of receiving messengers or
ambassadors.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 296 of 810
Words from 81064 to 81318
of 222093
