XI-
After ‘ARGHON, the son of ‘ABAKA, KANJATU [Geikhatu], his brother, who was called ‘ERNAJIN TURJAI’, ruled. Now, in the beginning of his kingdom, ‘ARGHON, his brother, appointed this man to take ten thousand of the soldiers of the MONGOLS and to go and keep guard over the countries of BETH RHOMAYE. And being there during the whole of the period through which ‘ARGHON lived, the places (or, towns) thereabouts pleased him, and he was unwilling to go out from them. At length, when ‘ARGHON, his brother, died, and all the princes assembled and declared that it was right for him to sit on the throne of the kingdom, with difficulty and. as it were, by sheer force, did he become willing to sit in his brother’s place. For he was living in the countries of BETH RHOMAYE in great content and absolute peacefulness, and he ate, and drank, and enjoyed life with the pleasant things of this world. And more especially when he saw that of the two kings who were his predecessors, whilst still in the vigour of early manhood, the thread of their lives had been cut off, without their having enjoyed to the full this temporary life. Then, [I say,] he drew back, and would not consent to sit upon the throne of the kingdom, and he made it his object, and his desire inclined thereto, to return to BETH RHOMAYE again. And so he made a compact, and he kept the princes and the nobles hanging on the hope that next year, at the same period in the following year, he would come and rule. And he left them and removed to the countries of BETH RHOMAYE.
And when he arrived there he found the TURKOMAN IUGAYE of BETH KARAMAN stretching out their hands against the MONGOLS, and plundering, and looting, and conquering [cities], and carrying away people into captivity. Then KAIJATU (KANJATU) collected his armies and he went and encamped against the famous Citadel of TANGAZLU, and they took it with the sword, and they killed a large number of men therein. And he laid the sword upon the remainder of the IUGAYE who had fled into the villages, and he destroyed them utterly.
When ‘ARGHON, his brother, was alive, [578] Frankish ambassadors used to come to him from the Pope of Rome and from other kings and impress upon him that the MOA:GOLS should become one shoulder (i.e, stand shoulder to shoulder) with the FRANKS, and go against the EGYPTIANS and PHARAOHITES who had waxed fat and kicked and were doing harm to the Christians and their towns. And ‘ARGHON himself sent to the Pope an ambassador, RABBAN BAR SAWMA, the Igurian monk, who had come with the Catholicus MAR YAHBH ‘ALLAH from the countries of the Great Khan, and the Pope sent with him compacts and assurances that they would sally forth together and destroy the Religion of the ARABS. But the exact opposite, however, of their calculations took place. When KAIJATU returned from the countries of BETH RHOMAYE to the mountains of GREAT ARMENIA, the princes and the nobles of the MONGOLS gathered together, and they took him and seated him on the throne of the kingdom on the twenty-third day of the month of HAZIRAN (JUNE), of the year sixteen hundred and three of the GREEKS (A.D. 1292).
Then when the EGYPTIANS heard that ‘ARGHON had already ended his life, they gathered together great armies composed of natives and foreign soldiers, whose number was without end. And they went and encamped against the great and famous city of ‘AKKO of the FRANKS, which is on the shore of the Great Sea. And they fought against it with great ferocity for two months. Now the FRANKS who were inside [it], because of their pride and boastfulness, did not condescend to shut the gates of the city in their faces at any time, neither by night nor by day. And the Frankish horsemen used to sally out boldly from within, and as with scythes used to mow down the ARABS who were outside. And it is said that more than twenty thousand men of the ARABS were killed at ‘AKKO. And the FRANKS held the city well and carefully until their Governor, the Great Count, was wounded by an arrow and died. Then those who were inside became sluggish, and those on the outside became exceedingly strong and prevailed. They set up about three hundred engines of war on the low wall which was on land, and they placed about one thousand miners under each tower to dig out the ground under it, and they threw down from the wall one or two towers. …Then the wretched Brethren and the rest of the nobles began to go into the strong buildings (or, monasteries) and they continued to fight.
And when they (i.e. the EGYPTIANS) [579] had taken the poor city, they began to coax those who were in the buildings to come out, saying that no man should harm them, and that they could go down into the sea (i.e. embark in ships), and go whithersoever they pleased with their wives, and their sons and their daughters, but that they must not take any of their possessions with them. And immediately they (i.e. the Brethren) opened the gates the ARABS went into them to keep watch over the goods [and money] which were in the buildings, so that they might not take any of them away. Now they (i.e. the ARABS) saw these sons and daughters with faces like moons for beauty, and they laid [their] hands upon them. But the FRANKS could not endure [this], and they drew their swords and daggers, and they fell upon each other, and an endless number of men were killed on both sides. And [the ARABS] laid waste the fine prosperous city, and they did not leave to the FRANKS on the shore of the Great Sea a place whereon to lay their heads. These things took place in the month of NISAN (APRIL), in the year which is the year sixteen hundred and three [of the GREEKS (A.D. 1292)].
And again the innumerable hosts of PHARAOH were gathered together, and they came and encamped against KAL’AH RHOMAITA, which is on the EUPHRATES. And this also they took in a period of twenty days, and they killed, and spoiled, and looted, and made prisoners of sons and daughters innumerable. And they took the Armenian Catholicus, and all the monks who were found with him, and they carried him with honour to JERUSALEM on the Sabbath, the twenty-eighth day of the month of HAZIRAN (JUNE) of that year, and behold there he still is. And others say that he is not, but that they crucified (or, impaled) him, and that they hung upon iron [stakes] those who were with him and carried [them] to EGYPT. And up to the present the history of him is uncertain. It is, however, quite true that he ended his days as a prisoner in DAMASCUS in misery. And the ARMENIANS regard this as a sure fact, [for] they selected a suitable man and appointed him Catholicus in the place of the other man, and they made a throne for him in SIS of CILIClA.
Now KAIJATU being ruler, and the kingdom of the House of MAGHOGH being established for him, occupied himself with nothing except riotous living, and amusement and debauchery. He had no thought for anything else except the things which were necessary for kings, and which they were bound to have, and how he could get possession of the sons and daughters of the nobles and have carnal intercourse with them. And he would wanton with them without shame and without modesty. And very many chaste women among the wives of the nobles fled from him, and others [580] removed their sons and their daughters, and sent them away to remote districts. But they were unable to save themselves from his hands, or to escape from the shameful acts which he committed with them. And when he had led this blameworthy manner of life for nearly four years, more or less, and he had polluted himself with the mire of wanton desire of this kind, and he had amused himself with the lusts of the body which do not bring profit, he was hated with a very great hatred by all those who held the reins of his kingdom.
And in the year fifteen hundred and five [of the Greeks (A.D. 1294)], in the month of TAMMUZ (JULY), there was present with him one of the sons of his uncles who was called ‘BAIDU’, and he had a son whose appearance was handsome. And whilst they were sitting at a wine-feast, and were eating, and drinking, and making merry, KAIJATU abused BAIDU openly, and BAIDU also abused him, and accused him of being the son of a whore. Then straightway KAIJATU was filled with a boiling rage, and he cried out to those who were round about him, and ordered them to drag BAIDU outside the Camp and stab him to death. Now this was a thing which had never entered the mind of BAIDU, and he never expected that KAIJATU would do a thing of this kind, even though he had greatly offended [him]. And seizing BAIDU they laid their hands upon him, and treated him with contempt in an immoderate fashion. And they dragged him out and carried him away and set him down in a small tent, and they thought that they were to kill him. But KAIJATU, having slept for an hour, sent a message concerning BAIDU to the nobles and told them to go and reprimand BAIDU for the vulgar way in which he had behaved, and for the disgraceful act in which he had belched forth revilings (or, curses) on the King of Kings. Then he [i.e. BAIDU] cunningly, as if by way of a joke, jeered at these [nobles], and said that he ‘neither understood nor knew what they were talking about’. And ‘Where was KAIJATU? ‘ And ‘Bring wine to drink’, And ‘What happened then? ‘ And ‘How did he come to that little tent? ‘ And with speeches similar to these he confounded [his] hearers, and he made many to hold the view that what was not true was even as that which was.
And KAIJATU also was easily coaxed and deceived, and he was exceedingly sorry for the blows which he had made BAIDU to suffer. And he strove in every way possible to pacify [581] his mind, and he said, ‘BAIDU hath been ill-treated’. And after BAIDU had slept for a further period, KAIJATU again sent his nobles to ask him ‘if he knew what he had said in his drunken bout’. And BAIDU denied [that he did] even more strongly, saying that even if he were beaten with stripes he could neither know nor even imagine [what he had said]. And with subtlety he made the nobles swear whether their stories were true or whether they were simply playing a game with him.
And when they repeated before him the full story of what had taken place between him and KAIJATU he was seized with great wonder and said, ‘There is nothing comparable to the debt which I owe KAIJATU, otherwise how is it that he did not forthwith hack me limb from limb?’
And when KAIJATU heard these things his mind was placated absolutely. And he himself went in to BAIDU, and he embraced him, and kissed him, and took him and went to the Camp. And he had royal apparel brought and arrayed him therein. And KAIJAJU made himself out to be an offender, and a doer of evil deeds, and one guilty of death, and in his drunken fits he would groan and say as tears ran down his face, ‘I did not know that I was sinning. Therefore, if I sinned it was without knowledge, I offended thee unwittingly. I entreat thee to feed thy dogs on my flesh without pity’. And KAIJATU added to his love for him. And he bestowed upon him very many incomparable gifts. And to speak briefly, in these two or three days he bestowed on BAIDU wellnigh forty myriads [of dinars]–gold, and silver, and apparel of gold brocade, and a priceless cloak, and belts inlaid with jacinths and [other] precious stones, and riding horses (stallions), and mules, and pack-horses. KAIJATU, however, was rebuked by all the members of his household, who said unto him, ‘It was not right that the honour of this man should be belittled, neither was it right for this man to be treated wholly with contempt, and handed over to inhuman beings who dragged him along by his hair, and beat him, and scourged him. Now that which hath happened hath happened. Gifts will not benefit, and amusing stories will not bring pleasantness. But it is right to keep a watch on him forthwith in every way possible, whatever the path may be.’ And others said, ‘It is right to remove him out of the way, for otherwise great tribulations will arise through him’. Others said, ‘No, but it is right that he should be yoked under service, [581] and that he should be kept in bondage for the whole period of his life, so that his hand can never be stretched out to kill or to commit any injury’.
Now KAIJATU, because of the peculiar propensities which he possessed and which cannot be praised, was overcome by lascivious desire, and his mind wandered about on all sides, and his understanding was distracted. And he was drawn on so far as to say to BAIDU, ‘I want thy son to live with me, and to be with me in my service, and to be to me a friend and a companion’. And BAIDU as one who was absolutely obedient, and was in cheerful subjection, accepted this [proposal] joyfully, and he commanded that some one should be sent quickly that he might fetch his son. But KAIJATU said, ‘No. Rise thou up and go quickly to the members of thy household, before the report of the strife which hath taken place between me and thee can reach them and these servants of thine, or they will be perturbed. And as soon as thou arrivest there send thy son to come to me.’ And BAITU said, ‘The command of thee shall be [obeyed]’.
And he went forth from the Camp like a bird from the snare, and he looked behind him, and travelled each day the distance of four ordinary days’ journey, until he came to his house. And he did not tarry there, but he made his son ready and sent him to KAIJATU, but he himself set out for the mountains of HAMADAN, as if he was going a-hunting. And from there he sent an ambassador to KAZAN [GHAZAN], the son of ‘ARGHON, weeping and complaining, and he showed him everything which had come upon him. Now KAIJATU knew nothing at all about this, but he was occupied with [abominable] affairs, and an immeasurable liberality of hand (i.e. extravagance). And by ill luck there was present before him the chief of the lawyers, that is the SAHIB DIWAN, a PERSIAN, whose name was SADR AD-DIN. And this man also was so extravagant that in a very short space of time he exhausted the treasures of the kingdom of KAIJATU. And he began to borrow and he spent, until at length there remained nothing, so that not even one sheep could be killed for the food of KAIJATU.
Now a certain JEW, whose name was RASHID AD-DAWLAH, had been appointed to prepare food which was suitable for KAIJTU, of every kind which might be demanded, and wheresoever it might be demanded. And thus this JEW stood up strongly in this matter, and he spent a large sum of his own money, and he bought myriads of sheep and oxen, and he appointed butchers and cooks, [583] and he was ready in a most wonderful fashion on the condition that in every month of days silver (or, money) should be collected for the SAHIB DIWAN, because the treasury was empty, and it was destitute of money, and not even the smallest [coin] was to be found therein. And he wrote letters and sent [them] to the [various] countries, but the JEW was unable to collect anything. And thus the whole of his possessions came to an end, and as he was unable to stand in (i.e. continue) a work such as he was doing, he left and fled. And though exactions (i.e. taxings) were frequent, the SAHIB AD-DIWAN was worried, and he was hard pressed to fulfil and to complete the frequent gifts of the King of Kings. Now since all the money which was collected in the whole of the dominion of the MONGOLS was insufficient for the liberality of the SAHIB DIWAN, how was it possible for him to provide for the liberality of KAIJATU? Then he began to think out vain imaginings–that he would make new money; but as his hand could not lay hands on the gold and silver he rejected them. And he promulgated a royal command that men should no longer use gold and silver. And he made slips of paper from papyrus which could be written upon, and he stamped them with a mark in red, and he wrote [on them] and showed which was for one dinar, and which for two, or three, or four, or five [dinars], and so on up to ten dinars. And he called them ‘Shaw‘. And the heralds proclaimed throughout the city, ‘Whosoever buyeth and selleth, and taketh and giveth without [using] Shaw shall die the death. And whosoever hath in his hand silver, and doth not carry it to the offices of the Government to be stamped therein with [the word] Shaw, and giveth it up and taketh [in exchange] Shaw shall die the death.’ And thus men remained in a state of great tribulation and indescribably difficulty for a space of two months.
And TABRIZ, which was the royal city of the MONGOLS, remained like a desolate ruin. Men fled therefrom and dispersed themselves about the country, and only a very few peoplc were seen in the streets (or, bazar). After the prosperity which [TABRIZ had enjoyed] words are not able to describe the famine, and scarcity, and hardship which arose therein. For men would not consent to use the contemptible slips of paper, and they clung to the use of money. And the people cried out against the SAHIB DIWAN until at length they hurled insults and abuse at him when they were face to face with him. And they made him to hear jeers and scoffs, [584] and they would not submit to be convinced and to hear his word. And he remained stupefied and astonished; to go back on his word (or, to withdraw it) would bring ignominy upon him, and to carry out his will he was unable. And there was not a singlc maker of verses who did not gibe at this act, and not a single singing man who did not string together poems and ditties and admirahle verscs [about it]. And being urged by those inside [the city] and those outside [it], the SAHIB DIWAN issued another royal command, saying, ‘Every man according to his wish and according to his inclination. If he wisheth for the Shaw let him use it, and if he wisheth silver (let him use it]. There is no compulsion for any man.’ And the King of Kings also said, ‘We wish you to have a comfortable existence, and a quiet life, and an abundance of good thing, and moreover, we do not wish that everything which a man hath to give should be taken from him. But let every man use, according to what [his] need is for goods (i.e. flocks and herds) and equipment (or, furniture). In the twinkling of an eye let the slips of paper by thousands and by tens of thousands be sunk in the sea and done away. And now let everyman who is not pleased [with them] know that we do not put pressure on anyman.’ And there was great joy in every country and city, and the roads were opened [again], for during these two months the merchants could not trade, and the roads were cut, and the khans (i.e. inns) were closed, and buying and selling ceased.
And the year sixteen hundred and six of the GREEKS (A.D. 1295) having begun, BAIDU went back to winter in the country of DAKUKAH, according to his wont, pondering on the cruelty of KAIJATU to him. And he entered into a secret compact with the captains of thousands of the MONGOLS who were near him, and he surrounded himself with soldiers. And he came in person to the country of MAWSIL, and he seized the captain of the soldiers there and killed him. And he also sent and killed the man who held a similar post in BAGHDAD.
And when the other great nobles of the MONGOLS saw that BAIDU had been bold enough to do a deed of this kind, they submitted to him without difficulty. They gathered together about him gladly, and sent ambassadors to KAZAN announcing their agreement, and they said, ‘KAIJATU hath departed from the path of the MONGOLS, and hath despised our father CHINGIZ KHAN. And by his reprehensible and riotous life and his unmeasured liberality (i.e. extravagance) he hath wasted the treasures of the kingdom. His care is only for the lustful amusements of the world, and not for the govermnent of the kingdom in which we live. Therefore the nobles, and the sons, and the daughters, and the wives, and the brides (or, daughters-in-law) have agreed together to cast him out of the way, [585] for his species is useless to the kingdom, and they intend to seat thee upon the throne of the kingdom of the House of MAGHOGH.’
Then KAZAN sent and said to BAIDU, ‘Thou art a great man in ISRAEL, and each of us together with all of us (i.e. individually and collectively) agree with thee, and we will bring ourselves back under thy governance. Whatsoever thou knowest to be fitting, and right, and beneficial, that do. But the houses of our kingdom must abide uninjured and unshaken. And if is meet that the man who shal1 be chosen shall not devote himself to luxury, and to eating and drinking, and to extravagant feasts and dainty meats, and to giving lavish gifts which should not by right [be given]; nay, he must, protect his kingdom carefully; and he must think continually how he can meet his enemies in battle, for a kingdom is better protectcd by wisdom than by tens of thousands of fighting men.’
Then the nobles, and the princes, and the captains of ten thousands of the MONGOLS, being assured that KAZAN and BAIDU were friends, and were with one consent and one desire treating each other lovingly, and were holding converse by means of ambassadors; and it being evident that their Law gave by right the throne of the kingdom to KAZAN after KAIJATU, and that BAIDU was striving for them to set KAZAN, on the throne of the kingdom, they all submitted themselves willingly to BAIDU. And they turned their faces from KAIJATU, he being unconscious [of it], for he had no knowledge of what was being done in the world; but he led a soft and very indolent life of enjoyment of the luxuries of the world, until at length he stood revealed, both to those inside and those outside, as an impostor.
Then he woke up as from slumber, and he sent an ambassador to the north, ordering the troops [stationed] there to ride forth and to seize BAIDU. And when the ambassador arrived in the northern quarter, that is to say in the country of DIAR BAKR, he discovered that all the troops there were joined to BAIDU, and that they were ready to go and engage KAIJATU in battle. And the ambassador left and fled back as from pollution, and he went and informed KAIJATU of the intention of those troops. And as soon as KAIJATU heard these things, he thought that BAIDU was about to flee, and that he would go to KAZAN. And he sent soldiers and closed the roads and passes of KHORASAN, and he made TAJIR, the great captain, to ride out with ten thousand men, and he sent him [586] to head off BAIDU from crossing the mountains of SHAHARZUR.
A few days later he also made his father-in-law, a man whose name was ‘AKBOKA, to ride out with another ten thousand, so that he himself might take another ten thousand and go and engage BAIDU in battle. And whilst he was still in the neighbourhood of TABRIZ, in a place which is called ”AUGHAN’, TAJIR and ‘AKBOKA arrived with the twice ten thousand men who were with them at the skirts of the mountains of SHAHARZUR, on the eastern side. And BAIDU himself was, together with his men, on the skirts of the mountain on the western side. And he sent an ambassador secretly, to TAJIR, saying, ‘I myself am burning with the fire of zeal for the kingdom of the House of MAGHOGH, and I am striving to uproot KAIJATU from the power of his personal qualities, which cannot be praised, more especially because I hear that he hath not left to you wives, and sons, and daughters whom he hath not debauched. Therefore it is right that all of us should unite and remove him from the midst (i.e. scene), and should set KAZAN on the throne of the kingdom, and we all together must reduce KAIJATU to subjection.’
Then TAJIR accepted this [proposal] gladly, and joined to him without difficulty. And straightway he sent [an ambassador] and said unto ‘AKBOKA, ‘I am with BAIDU, and I agree with him, and I am ready to go with him; what is thy intention?’ Now because ‘AKBOKA was the father-in-law of KAIJATU, this did not please him, and he was sad and troubled. And he made up his mind that during the night he would take the ten thousand men who were with him and go back to KAIJATU.
And when the day broke TAJIR rode out as if he were going to BAIDU. ‘AKBOKA thought that he was about to attack him, and he left and fled, and a few of the ten thousand who were with him accompanied him. And with quick marches he came to KAIJATU, and reported to him what had happened.
Then terror fell upon KAIJATU and he did not know what he was doing. He sent and called the captain of the thousands who were with him, and whose name was ‘BRIM’ (‘IBRAHIM?), and he said unto him, ‘Behold, I see that my troops are divided against me. Thou therefore, who art strong and strenuous, remain [with me], and be not doubtful.’
And he brought forth apparel and dressed himself therein, [587] and he mounted his horse intending [to go] to his camp, where his wives and families and household were; and he left the pavilions and the tents standing. And before he had gone the distance of a bow-shot BRIM struck and looted the tents of KAIJATU, and pursued him. And because before these things happened KAIJATU himself had sent demanding [the presence of] the captain of another ten thousand, who was in the country of the IBERIANS, and whose name was DUKAL, this man arrived from the region which was in the neighbourhood of the camp of KAIJATU. And he found there tumults, and quarrelings, and dissensions, and bodies of soldiers fighting each other, and looters and plunderers without end. And KAIJATU arrived immediately, with four or five persons, and BRIM (BRAIM?) pursued him–now it happened that DUKAL was in front of him–and they captured him and killed him, on the fifth day of the month of ‘ADHAR (MARCH), in the year sixteen hundred and six of the GREEKS (A.D. 1295), without the knowledge of BAIDU.
Now BAIDU was not inclined to destroy KAIJATU, but only to seize him and shut him up in one of the fortresses. Through the nobles having joined forces with him, and the soldiery agreeing with him, BAIDU had sent an ambassador to take KAIJATU and bring him to him. When the ambassador arrived he found that KAIJATU had already been put to death, and he left and came back empty. And thus all the nobles, and the sons, and the daughters, and the sons-in- law, and the brides urged each other to submission and obedience to BAIDU. And the greater number of the nobles being in one mind with him, he sent an ambassador to KAZAN [telling him] to come and not to delay. And because KAZAN himself was quartered a long way off, and it was still the time of winter, and the roads were destitute of grass and provender, KAZAN and the troops who were with him journeyed with difficulty to the region [where] BAIDU [was]. Then those who were gathered together about BAIDU, seeing that KAZAN was hampered and could not arrive quickly, began to flatter BAIDU, saying, ‘The kingdom is suitable for thee. And KAZAN is a young man, and his years are few, and he is not equal to governing the kingdom of BETH MAGHOGH. And if thou withdrawest thyself, and dost hand over the whole administration to KAZAN, the race of the MONGOLS will end in destruction.’
Then was BAIDU led into error by the flatterers, and he became proud and magnified himself, and he would not [588] wait any longer for KAZAN. But he sent and had brought the great throne which was in TABRIZ, that same throne on which ‘ABAKA, and ‘ARGHON, and the kings who rose up after them, had sat, and he planted it in the neighbourhood of ‘AUGHAN, and he went up and sat upon it, and he imagined that henceforth his kingdom was assured.
And after they had remained there a few days, being occupied in eating and drinking, they removed towards SIAHKUH, and there the sons, and the daughters, and the brethren, and the cousins, and the captains of the hosts, and all the nobles of the MONGOLS, were gathered together in friendly intercourse. And then BAIDU began to deal with them with complete humbleness of mind, and he delivered over to each brother and to each nephew a certain district, on the condition that they should eat the whole of the produce of that district, and that if there was anything left over they should send it to him, and that if they lacked anything they were to send to him and take what was sufficient for their subsistence. And thus all the [princes] and the nobles parted from him with joy, and pleasure, and gladness, and thanking God for the peace and friendship which had sprung up among the soldiers and among all the nobles of the MONGOLS.
Now when KAZAN arrived near SIAHKUH, he becamea aware that BAIDU had seized the kingdom for himself, and that he had sat upon the throne of the kingdom unlawfully. And he became hot with anger, and he lamented bitterly, and was very very much grieved that the toil, and the trouble, and the exhaustion of the long journey which had come upon him and upon the troops who were with him, appeared to be absolutely useless (or, empty) and fruitless. And in blaming BAIDU he would say, ‘Why ever did he summon me? And having summoned me, why ever did he not wait until I came to him? And did he sit on the throne with my consent?’ Now BAIDU was confident that he could pacify the mind of KAZAN by humbleness of mind and lavish gifts, even though he had to hand over to him the whole of KHORASAN, and SHIRAZ, and BAHRAIN, and KERMAN, and to give him all the camps of ‘ARGHON his father, leaving not even one of them for himself, and to deliver up to him horses, and cattle, and herds of horses, and goods, and flocks and herds, so that KAZAN might take them and go back to KHORASAN.