17.—How a vassal carried off riches that belonged to Tämerlin.
When Tämerlin returned from Lesser India, he sent one of his vassals named Chebakh, with ten thousand men, to the city of Soltania,[1] [(1)] to bring to him the five-yearly tribute of Persia and Ermenia which was kept in that city. He came, and took the tribute, and loaded one thousand waggons, and then he wrote to a lord in the country of Massander, who was his friend. He came with fifty thousand men, they made an alliance with each other, and the treasure was taken to Massenderam. When Tämerlin heard of this, he sent a great many people to conquer the above-named country, and bring to him the two lords as prisoners. When the people got to the country, they could not do any harm because of the large forests which surround it, and they sent to Tämerlin for more people. He sent other seventy thousand men to clear the woods and make a road. They did so for ten miles, but could not conquer the territory. They sent to tell Tämerlin, and he ordered them to go home, which they did, without having done anything.
[1]Sultania, to the north of Kaswin. The construction of this city was begun by Ilchan, or by Argun the Persian viceroy, and completed by Chasan. These powerful despots of Persia wanted to acquire, as is not rarely the case with other despots, immortal fame for themselves, by extorting from their subjects for the purpose of constructing magnificent buildings. Their wishes have not been realised. N.