Having regard to the geographical position of the places in this part of Mesopotamia, taken by Timour in 1400, his road to conquest must have lain thus—Behesna, Aïntab, Aleppo, Ourroum Kaleh.—Ed.
[(2.)] “And the city was pillaged.”—The Arabian authors, Aboul-Mahazin and Ibn Khaldoun (Rashid-eddin, Hist. des Mongols, etc.; by Quatremère, 286), the latter being an eye-witness, are agreed that Timour himself ordered the incendiarism of the mosque at Damascus, but they make no mention of the cruelties imputed to him by Schiltberger; they assert, on the contrary, that he very graciously received the deputation headed by the kady, Taky uddin ibn Mouflyk. Other writers have recorded, that Timour was even anxious to save the mosque from the fire which had broken out accidentally and destroyed the entire city. The magnificence of the great “temple” at Damascus, as shown in the text, is confirmed on the testimony of Eastern writers (Quatremère, ii, 262) who state, that this edifice, considered as one of the wonders of the world, had four gates. In saying that there were as many as forty outer gates, Schiltberger no doubt included those of the annexes which, together with the main building, were surrounded by a wall having several entrances; this appears conclusive on consulting an Arabian record quoted by Quatremère (283), which represents that in front of the mosque were many spacious porches, each of which conducted to a large gate, etc. “The view of the buildings, of the domes, of the three minarets, and water courses, as seen from the court, is admirable, and a sight to startle the imagination.” There can be little doubt that the gates were numerous, and that Schiltberger should have estimated their number at forty is not to be wondered at, when we consider the practice among Orientals of designating any large number by the numeral forty, as, for instance, Kyrkyer, Kyrkeklesy, etc.—Bruun.
(2A.) In Ibn Haukal’s time (10th century), the mosque at Damascus was considered one of the largest and most ancient in the land of the Mussulmans. Walid ben Abd-el-Melyk (the sixth Omniade caliph, 705–715) had beautified it with pavements of marble, and pillars of variegated marble the tops of which were ornamented with gold and studded with precious stones. The ceiling was covered with gold, and so great was the cost that the revenues of Syria were expended on the work. Porter (Five Years in Damascus, ii, 62) describes the quadrangle as being 163 yards in length, 108 yards wide, and surrounded by a lofty wall of fine masonry. The three sides of the cloister, in an adjoining court, are supported by arches resting on pillars of limestone, marble, and granite, and on the south side of the court is the harem (sacred place), whose interior dimensions are 431 ft. by 125 ft. Two rows of columns, 22 ft. in height, extend the whole length of the building and support the triple roof. A transept across the middle, is supported by eight massive piers of solid masonry, each 12 ft. square, and a splendid dome, nearly 50 ft. in diameter and about 120 ft. in height, stands in the centre. The interior of the mosque has a tesselated pavement of marble, and the walls of the transept and the piers are coated with marble in beautiful patterns. According to Arabshah (Vattier edition, v, 169), it was the Raphadites or Shyites (see chap. xxxiii, [note 3], for this sect) of Khorasan who set fire to this noble mosque, Timour being credited by various authors, as stated in the preceding paragraph, with having wished rather to save the edifice from destruction. Much as records may differ, Schiltberger’s relation, so graphic and detailed, merits the fullest consideration.—Ed.
[(3.)] “Scherch.”—On March 19, 1400, Timour proceeded from Damascus by way of Roha (the ancient Edessa near Orfa), Mardin, and Mosoul to Baghdad (Weil, Gesch. der Chal., v, 91), after having despatched flying columns hither and thither to forage, some of his people reaching even to the neighbourhood of Antioch. A portion of his forces must therefore have crossed the Antilibanus, called Jabal—mountain—also Shurky, which may have been the “Scherch” mentioned in the text.—Bruun.
CHAPTER XV.
[(1.)] “and the king kept his treasure there.”—This, in all probability, is the fortress of Alinjy or Alindsha, some miles to the south of Nahitchevan. In 1394, Ahmed ben Oweis sent thither his family and treasure, and it was not until the year 1401 that this fortress was taken by Timour’s troops, whilst he himself was laying siege to Baghdad with the bulk of his army. Faradj, who had been left in command by Ahmed, was forced to surrender, after a valorous defence of forty days. All the inhabitants were massacred, and the place was completely destroyed with the exception of the schools, mosques, and hospitals (Weil, Gesch. der Chal., 93). After taking Baghdad, July 9, 1401, Timour passed through Tabreez, on his way to Karabagh, where he purposed spending the winter, occupying the cities of Roha, Mardin, and Mosoul on his march. It would appear that it is to these places Schiltberger refers, but he has fallen into error in saying that they were taken after the capture of Baghdad—a mistake to be accounted for, from his not having served in the expedition.[1]—Bruun.
[1]See chapter xxxiii, [note 12.]—Ed.
CHAPTER XVI.
[(1.)] “Lesser India.”—Under this name Schiltberger includes the northern portion of the peninsula on this side of the Ganges, giving to the southern part the designation of Greater India. Marco Polo (Yule, ii, 416, 417) employs the same names, but in another sense. His Lesser India included Kesmacoran (Kij-Makrau, i.e., Makran), to the whole Coromandel coast inclusive. Greater India extended from the Coromandel coast to Cochin China—Middle India being Abyssinia. Timour’s expedition into India (1398) was conducted to the banks of the Indus from Samarkand, by way of Inderab and Cabul. On crossing the river near Kalabagh, he passed by way of Mooltan to Delhi, which he occupied, conducting himself as was his custom on such occasions; but Schiltberger makes no allusion to the cruelties he practised. Perhaps because the details of the expedition were related to him by the Mongols themselves, and not by their enemies, the Arabs and Persians.—Bruun.
[(2.)] “and it is of half a day’s journey.”—We are evidently given to understand here, that the narrow defile through which Timour had to pass, was the famous Iron Gate, at all times considered the frontier limit of India and Turania. In the year 328 B.C., Alexander of Macedon made his way through this passage, described by his historians in language identical to that of Schiltberger ... “sed aditus specus accipit lucem, interiora obscura sunt”.... (Curtius, viii, 8, 19). Very similar is the testimony of the several Oriental writers quoted in the Centralasiatische Studien (Sitzungsberichte d. Kais. Akad. d. Wissenschaften, lxxxvii, 1, 67, 184) by M. Tomaschek, who has availed himself of the results of the Russian expedition to Hissar (Ysvest. Imp. Geog. Obshtchest., xii, 70, 1876, 349–363) to determine the exact locality of the Iron Gate. There may have been near the Iron Gate, in Schiltberger’s time, as there is now, a “Winterdorf” (Tomaschek, l. c.) called Darbend or Derbent, but it is not of this “kishlak”, but rather of the city of Derbent, in the Caucasus, that Clavijo observes, after stating that the possessions of Timour extended from the Iron Gates situated near Derbent, to those in the land of Samarkand:—“E Darbante es una muy gran ciudad que se cuenta su señorio con una grande tierra, é las primeras destas puertas, que son mas cerca de nos, se llaman las puertas del Fierro de cerca Darbante, é las otras postrimeras se llaman las puertas del Fierro cerca Termit, que confinan con il terreno de la India menor.” I prefer giving this extract in the original.—Bruun.