Khorasmin or Khuaresm, is a populous, pleasant, and fertile country,
containing many good and strong towns, the capital being Khorasme.
The
country produces abundance of corn, and very little wine. This empire
borders on a desert of an hundred days journey in extent. To the west is
the Caspian sea, to the north Kumania, and to the east Turkestan. The
inhabitants are heathens, without letters or laws. The Soldini are the most
intrepid of warriors; have a particular language of their own, for which
they employ the Greek characters in writing; and they follow the usages and
rites of the Greek church, being subject in spirituals to the Patriarch of
Antioch.
According to Ulug-Beg, who was himself prince of this country, the capital
of Khuaresm is the city of Korkang, and no author except Haitho has ever
mentioned a place called Khorasme. The Soldini, whom he mentions as
Christians of the Greek church, are unknown; perhaps they may have been the
Sogdians. - Forst.
Sec. 5. Kumania is of vast extent; but, owing to the inclemency of its
climate, is very thinly inhabited. In some parts, the cold is so intense in
winter, that neither man nor beast can remain in them; and in other parts
the heat is so extreme, and they are so infested with swarms of flies, as
to be quite intolerable. The whole country is flat and level, and without
woods, except some orchards near the towns. The inhabitants live in tents,
and use the dung of their cattle as fuel.
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