Marco Polo

by Robin Brown

  The heat is so awful here that all the houses have been cunningly fitted with means of ventilation which let in air to the various floors of the apartments. I can’t tell you what relief these provide, in fact without them it would be impossible to live here.

  We are nearly home. Before bringing this account to a close, however, I think I should reflect further on some of the places and people I frankly overlooked earlier.

  As you now know, in the northern parts of the world there are many Tartars under a chief named Kaidu who is a descendant of Genghis Khan and a distant relative of Kublai. I’ve mentioned him before. He rules very independently and his people are genuine Tartars and retain the Tartar language, and observe the customs and traditions of their ancestors. They worship a god, Naagai, the god of the earth and all things born of it. Images and idols are made of this god of the material called felt.

  These Tartars do not shut themselves away in forts and towns but live all the while on the open plains, in the valleys and the woods in which their country abounds. As no cereals are grown they subsist solely on a diet of milk and meat and they live in perfect harmony, following the orders of their king to the letter. He in turn holds two things dear: the preservation of peace, and unity among his subjects. I personally regard these as the essential duties of a sovereign.

  True to the Tartar tradition they keep huge herds of horses, sheep and other domestic animals.

  In the far northern districts are found white bears of prodigious size, some almost 10 feet long. There are also black foxes, wild asses in great numbers and a small animal having the most delicate of fur which they call rodes and we know as sable. Then you have ‘Pharaoh’s mice’ [marmots], which are small beasts of the marten or weasel family. There are incredible swarms of these but the Tartars, using ingenious traps, catch them easily.

  To reach these latitudes involves a fourteen-day journey across an uninhabited plain featuring innumerable lakes and streams. It is in fact a huge marsh. The long winter here means that apart from a few months when the sun melts the ice and reduces everything to mud, it is entirely frozen over and thus much easier to cross in winter. To encourage merchants to come and buy their furs (the only item of trade) the Tartars have built wooden houses high above the marsh at the end of each day’s travel. These are staffed by people whose job it is to accommodate the weary traveller and see him safely on his way. Without these hostelries I very much doubt you could cross this region.

  The natives themselves travel in a vehicle that is an invention of the mountain people of the region. Called a tragula it is a kind of sledge with curved runners ideally adapted to crossing the ice. They are pulled by animals that look like dogs (they could well be dogs), but are as large as ponies. They are exceptionally strong and used to towing such loads. Six of them in pairs can pull a driver, a merchant and all his goods. The dog teams are replaced daily. The merchant, this time loaded with furs for sale in the West, returns in the same way.

  I should now like to return briefly to those countries that go by the name ‘The Heart of Darkness’.

  Beyond the most distant reaches of the domains of the Tartars there are lands stretching to the utmost boundaries of the north and are described thus because for most of the long winter the sun is invisible. Conditions resemble those of our dawn, a time, if you think of it, when you can see and yet not be seen.

  The men of the lands of darkness are tall but have very pallid complexions. They have no society governed by a king or a prince and live without laws or customs as brutishly as nature made them. They are slow and stupid and the Tartars often plunder their stock and possessions. These raids are undertaken without fear of detection in the dark time and the raiders then employ a remarkable method of finding their way home through the gloom. They ride only mares with young foals!

  The foals accompany their dams to the edge of the Tartar lands and there are left in the charge of grooms while the raiders push on into the gloom. When the work of darkness has been accomplished and the Tartars need to find their way back to the land of light, they lay their bridles on their mares’ necks and simply rely on them to find their way home. Guided by the maternal instinct the mares make their way unerringly back to their foals, thus carrying the Tartars safely home.

  Vast numbers of ermine, martens, arcolini, foxes and other furry creatures with more delicate coats (like sable) are hunted by the polar tribes in the continual daylight of the summer months. The raiding I have just described results from one not being able to find these finer furs in Tartar lands. The furs are sold very profitably in neighbouring countries and some, I’m told, even find their way to Russia.

  A word about Russia which I have been told by people who have been there. It’s vast, is divided into many provinces and borders on that region which I have just described as the Heart of Darkness. There are also Christians in Russia who follow the rituals of the Greek branch of Mother Church.

  The men are well put together, tall and fair, while the womenfolk have light complexions, wear their hair long and are also nicely proportioned.

  The eastern side of Russia borders the Kingdom of the Western Tartars and pays tribute to them. The fur trade is based in Russia and within its borders you find vast quantities of ermine, arcolini, sable, marten, fox and other skins. There is also a considerable trade in wax.

  My information is that Russia extends as far as the Northern Ocean and is a very cold place indeed. Gerfalcons and peregrines, as mentioned before, are taken from here in huge numbers for trade elsewhere in the world. Returning now to our homeward journey. We arrived eventually in Greater Turkey which is the kingdom ruled by Kaidu, the mighty great-grandnephew of the Grand Khan, and is a land of numerous cities and castles. Kaidu is a very grand lord indeed. The people are superb Tartar warriors, which is no wonder considering that they are all men raised to war. I tell you, this Kaidu has never given an inch to the Grand Khan without putting up a fierce fight.

  Their troubles began with Kaidu demanding a share of the territories of Cathay and Manji that Kaidu and Kublai had obtained by conquest. The Grand Khan said he was quite willing to give Kaidu his share as he had done with his other sons if he, Kaidu, would attend court whenever he was sent for, take his counsel and generally obey him like his other sons and barons. Kaidu, who did not trust the Grand Khan, rejected these conditions and said he would gladly promise his obedience at home but would not go to court for anything because he was afraid of being murdered. This impasse led to some almighty wars. In the end the Grand Khan mounted a military blockade of Kaidu ostensibly to stop Kaidu attacking his people, whereupon Kaidu retaliated with the first of many attacks on the Grand Khan’s forces.

  Kaidu could readily call up a hundred thousand cavalry, expert horsemen and all battle-hardened. Also he had under his command many barons of the lineage of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Tartar empire.

  Let me tell you something about the fighting methods of these people. When they go to war every man carries sixty arrows, thirty small ones for long-range work and thirty large ones with a broad-bladed tip which are used at close range to strike the foe in the face or arms, to cut the strings of their bows and generally do the utmost damage. Once having discharged all their arrows they go into the attack with swords and heavy maces in what can be a very bloody exchange.

  So, in the year 1266, we have King Kaidu and his cousin Jesudar attacking in this fashion two of the Grand Khan’s barons (who were also Kaidu’s cousins) with a vast army. One of the barons, Tabai or Ciban, was the son of Ciagatai, a brother of Kublai Khan, who had been baptised a Christian. The barons were also able to field a large army, bringing the total of Kaidu’s horsemen in the field to about two hundred thousand. The battle was hard fought and many were killed on both sides. Finally, however, the army of Kaidu was victorious and a considerable slaughter followed. Kaidu’s cousins, thanks to their superior horses, escaped unharmed.

  Kaidu’s pride and arrogance now knew no bounds and although he took hi
s army home and kept the peace for some years he was soon assembling another large force. He had also received intelligence that Kublai’s son, Nomogan, was at Carcorum and with him was George, the son of Prester John, at the head of a great army of horsemen. Kaidu immediately marched on Carcorum.

  So here we had two mighty armies, led on the one side by the formidable Kaidu and on the other by two men from a great fighting tradition. Their army numbered no less than sixty thousand horse, neither were they lacking in courage and determination. Nomogan and George advanced and pitched their camp in a plain about 10 miles from Kaidu’s position and there they remained preparing for the coming battle for three days. The armies were about equal, with each man armed with a bow and arrows, a sword, shield and mace.

  The armies were split into six squadrons of ten thousand men, each with its own commander. When the time came to do battle they all sang and sounded instruments – it was wonderful to hear – until a loud cymbal clash. The troops seem to draw great solace from the custom of singing and playing on two stringed instruments, but as soon as the cymbal, the nacar, sounds they immediately enter the fray. In an instant the air is filled, just like rain, with arrows, and many men and horses are struck down dead. The very thunder of the gods could not have been heard above such shouting and noise of battle!

  They fought as if they were mortal foes, every man no sooner having loosed one arrow than he prepared to fire the next, until they had none left; then they stowed their bows back in their cases and went at each other savagely with swords and maces. The ground was soon covered with bodies and this fierce and dreadful encounter turned into a slaughter. And the outcome? Complete stalemate!

  Kaidu especially performed great feats of arms, indeed but for his personal involvement in the battle his army would have lost its nerve and been routed. Similarly, on the other side the heirs of Kublai and Prester John fought with great bravery. The battle lasted until nightfall and in spite of all their efforts neither army could drive the other from the field. There were corpses everywhere and many a wife was that day made a widow and many a child orphaned.

  When the sun went down both sides quit fighting and went back to camp to sleep. The following morning at daybreak, having heard that Kublai had despatched a vast army to reinforce his opponents, Kaidu called his remaining men to arms and hurried home. Their opponents were so weary from the previous day’s encounter that they could make no attempt to follow, so Kaidu left unmolested. They retired to Samarcand in Greater Turkey.

  The Grand Khan was now furious with Kaidu for continuously invading his territory and injuring so many of his people. Only the fact that he was his nephew saved Kaidu from an unpleasant death. Eventually, however, they were obliged to settle for another uneasy peace.

  Let me now tell you about Kaidu’s remarkable daughter, Aigiarm, which means ‘shining moon’, who was reputed to be immensely strong and fierce. In fact there was not a young man in the kingdom who could subdue her, indeed she took pride in beating up all her would-be suitors. Of course, her father the King was anxious that she should marry but she declined, saying she could never love a man who could not overcome her by force. The King ended up giving her written permission to marry whomsoever she wished.

  So Aigiarm caused it to be proclaimed in different parts of the Tartar world that if any suitor fancied wrestling with her and could defeat her she would accept him as her husband. Many came to try their luck from all parts of the land and these trials of strength were staged with great ceremony. The King took his seat in the principal hall of the palace together with a large company of eminent citizens of the land, both men and women. Then came in the King’s daughter in a richly adorned dress of cendal and stood in the centre of the hall. The terms were that if the contender could throw the Princess to the floor he could have her; if he failed he had to give her one hundred horses. I‘m told that in this way the girl built up a collection of one thousand horses!

  People came to think of her as a giantess because she was so tall and strong. At last in the year 1280 a very beautiful young man, the son of a rich king, accompanied by a rich retinue and one hundred horsemen, came to King Kaidu’s court to try his luck with the lady. The King was delighted, seeing the prince as an ideal sonin-law (he was the son of the King of Parma) and the King told his daughter that this might be the occasion to ‘take a dive’. Aigiarm replied that nothing in the world would persuade her to do such a thing. So Kaidu and his Queen were obliged to take their places in the great hall surrounded by their most influential friends and courtiers. In came the Prince boasting that if he lost he would forfeit all of his one thousand horses – and was then soundly trounced!

  After this the King accepted the inevitable and took his daughter with him into battle and there was not a soldier in the land who could equal her bravery. The story also has a happy ending. One day in the heat of battle, the Princess spotted a horseman she fancied, carried him off to her own people and, so far as I know, lived happily ever after.

  The lands to the east of Kaidu, comprising many provinces, were commanded by Abaga, known as the Lord of the East. His extensive domains extended east as far as the famous forest, the ‘Arbor Secco’, which is mentioned by Alexander the Great in his book on the wonders he saw on his eastern conquests. This land had been much ravaged by Kaidu and eventually Abaga sent his son Argon with a great army of horsemen as far as the River Ion to the region of the Arbor Secco and there they remained to protect it from Kaidu’s raiders.

  Across the whole of the plain of the Arbor Secco they garrisoned many cities and towns. King Kaidu could not countenance this, so he in turn deployed his own large mounted army under the command of a wise and prudent man, his brother Barac. A long march brought him to the Ion where his troops went immediately into battle and a very fierce engagement resulted which ended in his defeat. In the rout, which involved retreating over the river, a great slaughter ensued.

  Soon after these events Argon heard that his father Abaga had died and he left immediately with his army for court, a journey of some forty days, to claim the sovereignty. But there was another contender for the throne, Abaga’s brother, Acomet Soldan, and when he heard that Argon was on his way to claim his inheritance he resolved to get to the court first and take over the throne. This he duly did, finding an enormous amount of treasure which he distributed so lavishly among Abaga’s barons and knights that he completely bought their loyalty and they all swore allegiance to him. It has also to be said that Acomet Soldan turned out to be a very good ruler and was soon loved by everyone.

  Apart from Argon, of course! When finally he arrived at court at the head of a vast army Acomet Soldan was ready for him, having assembled a huge number of cavalry all of whom declared they would march on Argon and put him swiftly to death.

  At the head of an army of sixty thousand Acomet Soldan marched for ten days to confront Argon and his troops. When intelligence reached him that Argon was just five days’ away with an army of equal size, Acomet picked a place in the great plain which he thought would give him the military advantage and addressed his men as follows:

  Lords. As I think you know I sought to be liege lord of Abaga’s kingdom because I was the son of his father and I assisted in the conquest of all the lands and territories he possessed. True, Argon was my dead brother’s son and some say the succession is rightfully his, but with due respect I say that’s wrong. My generosity alone allowed Abaga to hold the whole kingdom when I was entitled to half of it and it’s only right that I should retain the whole now. So pray for our victory. I promise you that all I want from this battle is fame and honour. You may have the profits and the goods from all the lands and provinces. I know that you are all wise, just men and you act from honour and the good of us all.

  To a man they declared that they would not desert him and would stand by him while they had life in their bodies. They further promised to deliver Argon into his hands.

  In Argon’s camp the news that his uncle was waiting with
so large an army met with considerable alarm, but Argon felt he had no choice but to show courage and determination before his men. He said to them:

  Fair brothers and friends, you know how tenderly my father loved you, treated you as brothers and sons, and how you conquered and gave him the lands he possessed. You know that I am the son of he who loved you so much and also loved you as though you were his own body. It is just and right, therefore, that you should support me against one who seeks to disinherit us all. He is not even of our Law – he has abandoned it to become a Saracen worshipping Mahomet – and it ill becomes us to let Saracens rule over Tartars. You should draw courage and resolve from all this and do your utmost to prevent it happening. Be valiant and make every effort to win this battle so that the sovereignty may belong to you and not to Saracens. Justice is on our side and we will prevail. Our enemies are in the wrong. Do your duty.

  Argon’s barons and knights heard his words and said they would prefer death in battle to defeat. One of them rose and replied:

  Fair Sir Argon, I will be spokesman for the men and assure you that we know you speak the truth and that we will not fail you for as long as there is life in our bodies. We would rather die than not be victorious. We have confidence in our ability to conquer the enemy because of the justice of your cause and the wrongs which have been done to you. So let’s go against them right away and so acquit ourselves in battle all the world will talk of our deeds.

  The entire army clamoured to go into battle right away and first thing the next morning they marched to within 10 miles of Acomet’s camp. From there Argon sent two trusted emissaries of very advanced age to Acomet; they went to his tent where they found him surrounded by a great company of his barons. Acomet knew these two elders and received them courteously, bade them welcome and invited them to be seated.