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GUR  AMIR,  THE   MAUSOLEUM   OF  TAMERLANE 


THE   HEART   OF   ASIA 

A    History  of   Russian   Turkestan 

AND   THE   Central  Asian    Khanates 

FROM  THE  Earliest  Times 


BY 

FRANCIS   HENRY   SKRINE 

FORMIRLY    A    MEMBER     OF     H.M.    INDIAN    CIVIL    SERVICE 
AND 

EDWARD    DENISON    ROSS,   Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR    OF    PERSIAN    AT    UNIVERSITY    COLLEGE.    LONDON 

0 


''-  ^ 


/.■I 


WITH    19   ILLUSTRATIONS   FROM   SKETCHES   BY   VERESTCHAGIN 
NUMEROUS   PHOTOGR-\PHS   AND    2    M.\PS 


METHUEN      &      CO. 

36    ESSEX    street,    W.C. 
LONDON 

1899 


CONTENTS 


PART    I 


FROM    THE    EARLIEST   TIMES   TO   THE    RUSSIAN    OCCUPATION 


CHAP. 

I.  EARLIEST  TIMES  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  ALEXANDER 

II.  BACTRIANS   AND   PARTHIANS     .... 

III.  THE  HUNS  AND  THE  YU£-CHI 

IV.  THE  SASANIDES,   THE   EPHTHALITES,   AND  THE  TURKS 
V.  THE  RISE  OF  ISLAM   AND   INVASIONS  OF  THE  ARABS 

VI.  THE   FIRST  EASTERN    CAMPAIGNS   OF    KUTAVBA   IBN   MUSLIM 

VII.  KUTAYBA's  LAST  CAMPAIGNS    . 

VIII.  KUTAYBA's   FALL  AND  DEATH. 

IX.  KUTAYBA's  SUCCESSORS 

X.  NASR   IBN   SAYYAR  AND  ABO   MUSLIM 

XL  KHORASAN   UNDER  THE  FIRST  'aBBASIDS 

XII.   THE    CALIPHATES    OF    EL-MANSUR,     EL-HADI,     AND    HARUN 
er-rashTd      ..... 

XIII.    DECLINE  OF  THE  CALIPHS'  AUTHORITY  IN   KHORASAN.      THE 
TAHIRIDES        ..... 

XIV.    THE  SAFFARIDES   AND  THE   RISE  OF  THE  SAMANIDES 

XV.    THE   SAMANIDES  .... 

XVI.   THE   KARA-KHANIDES,   OR   UIGHURS    . 

XVII.    THE  GHAZNAVIDES  AND  THE   RISE  OF  THE  SELJGkS 

XVIII.   THE  SELJUKS      ..... 

XIX.    SULTAN   SANJAR  AND  THE   KARA-KHITAYS       . 

XX.    THE   KHWARAZM-SHAHS 

XXI.    CHINGIZ  KHAN.  .... 

XXII.    MONGOL   INVASION   OF  CENTRAL  ASIA 

XXIII.  THE   LINE  OF  CHAGHATAY 

XXIV.  rlMUR,  THE  GREAT  AMIR 


ID 

14 

22 

34 
45 
56 
63 
67 
77 
84 

90 

98 
103 
109 
114 

123 
129 

136 
144 
149 
155 
160 
165 


VI 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

XXV.  THE   SUCCESSORS   OF   TIMUR    . 

XXVI.  THE   SHAYBANIDES        . 

XXVII.  THE   HOUSE   OF   ASTRAKHAN  . 

XXVIII.  THE   HOUSE   OF   MANGIT 

XXIX.  AMIR   XASRULLAH,    A    BOKHARAN    NERO 


PAGE 

182 
194 
204 
211 


PART    II 


RUSSIA    IN    CENTRAL   ASIA 


I.    THE   MAKING   OF    RUSSIA 
II.    CROSSING   THE  THRESHOLD   OF   ASIA       . 

III.  THE  STRUGGLE   WITH   THE   KHANATES  . 

IV.  TURKOMANIA   AND   THE   TURKOMANS      . 
V.    THE   LAST   STEP   IN   ADVANCE      . 

VI.    THE   CENTRAL  ASIAN    RAILWAYS 
VII.    TRANSCASPIA   IN    1898      . 
VIII.    ASKABAD   AND   MERV 

IX.    BOKHARA,    A   PROTECTED   NATIVE   STATE 
X.    SAMARKAND  .... 

XI.    FRIENDS   OR    FOES? 
APPENDIX    I        . 
APPENDIX   II      . 
INDEX    ...... 


225 
238 
250 
262 

284 
306 
320 
340 

357 
386 
408 

417 
424 
429 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


GOR  AMIR,  THE  MAOSOLEOM  OF  TAMERLANE  {VERBSTCHAGIN)    Frontispiece 

SO-CALLED    SARCOPHAGUS     OF     ALEXANDER     IN     CONSTANTINOPLE 

(photograph)  9 

THE    RAH  LA,   OR    READING   DESK,   OUTSIDE    THE    MOSQUE    OF    BIBI 

KHAnDm,  SAMARKAND      ....      {photograph)        38 

( VBRBSTCHAGIX)  47 

(photograph)        66 

(V'ERBSTCHAGIX)  92 

(photograph)  106 

(yBRESTCHAGlN)  1 24 

„  126 

(photograph)  138 

( iSRBSTCHAGlX)  1 5 1 

170 

(photograph)       172 

172 
(  VERBS  TCHAGIN)        1 83 
DECORATIONS   IN  THE  SHAH   ZINDA,   SAMARKAND       .       (photograph)        I92 


CENTRAL  ASIAN  TYPES 
GENERAL   VIEW  OF  BOKHARA. 
RELIGIOUS  MENDICANT,    BOKH.\RA       . 
A  JEWISH  CHILD  OF  BOKHARA 
CENTRAL  ASIAN   TYPES 

>»  »»  .  .  . 

MAUSOLEUM  OF  SULTAN   SANJAR,   OLD   MERV 
NOMADS  CHANGING  CAMP 

DERVISHES  OF  THE  NAKSHABANDI   ORDER     . 
THE  TOMB  OF  TAMERLANE      . 
INTERIOR  OF  TAMERLANE'S   MAUS0LEU>I 
INTERIOR   OF   A    KIRGHIZ   TENT 


COURTYARD  OF   A   HOUSE   IN   SAMARKAND      . 
ENTRANCE  TO  THE   SHAH   ZINDA,   SAMARKAND 
THE   SEA  OF  SAND   IX   THE   KARA-KUM   DESERT  (l) 

..  (2) 

TURKOMAN   MUSICIANS 


212 

263 
263 

283 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


VIEW   FROM  THE  INTERIOR   OF   THE   FORT    OF    GEOK 
TEPPE  ...... 


DIVANIS,    OR    DERVISHES 

GENERAL   KURAPATKINE 

A  GROUP  OF  TURKOMANS   AT   ASKABAD   STATION 

RUINS  OF  OLD   MERV   .... 

HINDUS   OF    BOKHARA  .... 

THE   MINAR    KALAN   AT   BOKHARA 

PRISONERS   OF   THE   AMIR   OF   BOKHARA 

A   BOKHARA   BEAUTY  AND   HER  TWO  CHILDREN 

SHIR    DAR    MADRASA,    SAMARKAND 

THE  bIbT   KHANUM        .... 

THE   MARKET  NEAR   BIBI    KHANUM,    SAMARKAND 

BAZAAR   POLITICS  .... 


{.photograph) 
( VERESTCHAGIN) 

(photograph) 


( VERESTCHAGIN) 


292 

345 
353 
367 
374 
376 
382 
390 
392 
398 
414 


MAPS 

THE  ADVANCE   OF   RUSSIA    IN   CENTRAL   ASIA 
CENTRAL  ASIA.  .  .  .  . 


257 
428 


INTRODUCTION 

A  TIME  when  Russia's  movements  in  the  East  are 
being  watched  by  all  with  such  keen  interest  seems 
a  fitting  one  for  the  appearance  of  a  work  dealing 
with  her  Central  Asian  possessions.  "That  eternal 
struggle  between  East  and  West,"  to  quote  Sir 
William  Hunter's  apt  phrase,  has  made  Russia 
supreme  in  Central  Asia,  as  it  has  made  England 
mistress  of  India :  and  thus  it  has  come  to  pass 
that  two  of  the  greatest  European  Powers  find 
themselves  face  to  face  on  the  Asiatic  Continent. 
On  the  results  of  that  contact  depends  the  future 
of  Asia. 

Ten  years  have  elapsed  since  Lord  Curzon 
of  Kedleston  published  his  work  entitled  Russia 
in  Central  Asia,  and  in  the  interval  no  book 
on  this  subject  has  appeared  in  English.  The 
intervening  period  has  been  one  of  change — 
almost  of  transformation  —  in  the  countries  so 
brilliantly  described  by  the  present  Viceroy  of 
India. 

The  authors  of  the  present  work  have  visited 
independently    the    land     of    which     they    write, 


X  INTRODUCTION 

and  each  may  claim  to  have  had  exceptional 
facilities  for  studying  those  questions  in  which 
they  were  most  interested. 

Professor  Ross  is  responsible  for  the  greater 
part  of  the  research  in  the  historical  chapters.  He 
has  laid  under  contribution  many  Persian,  Arabic, 
and  Russian  authorities  hitherto  inaccessible  to 
persons  unacquainted  with  those  languages ;  and 
has  aimed  at  offering,  for  the  first  time  in  any 
language,  a  consecutive  history  of  Central  Asian 
events  from  the  earliest  days.  His  task  has  been 
lightened  by  the  generous  help  of  Sir  Henry 
Howorth,  M.P.  ;  Mr.  Percy  Gardner,  of  Oxford  ; 
M.  Drouin,  of  Paris ;  and  especially  of  Mr.  E.  G. 
Browne,  of  Cambridge.  The  historical  portion 
does  not  claim  to  be  exhaustive,  but  rather  intro- 
ductory, and,  such  being  the  case,  certain  omissions 
were  perhaps  inevitable.  Thus,  for  example,  the 
engrossing  subjects  of  Mediaeval  travel  and  Chris- 
tianity in  Central  Asia — which  have  already  been 
exhaustively  dealt  with  by  Colonel  Yule  and 
others — have  been  but  lightly  touched  on.  If, 
again,  such  famous  men  as  Chingiz  Khan  and 
Tamerlane  have  been  somewhat  briefly  dismissed, 
less  known  figures,  such  as  Kutayba  ibn  Muslim, 
have  been  brought  from  comparative  oblivion  into 
a  prominence  more  worthy  the  important  parts 
they  played  in  Central  Asian  history. 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

It  has  been  Mr.  Skrine's  province  to  describe 
the  mechanism  of  government,  the  development 
of  railways  and  commerce,  and  the  social  life  in 
the  great  cities.  He  owes  much  to  the  help  of 
Monsieur  P.  Lessar,  Chancellor  of  the  Russian 
Embassy;  Colonel  C.  G.  Stewart,  C.S.I. ,  our 
Consul-General  of  Odessa ;  Monsieur  de  Klemm, 
of  the  Turkestan  Staff;  Colonel  Brunelli,  Com- 
mandant of  Transcaspian  Railway  Rifles  ;  and 
Colonel  Arandarenko,  District  Officer  of  Merv. 
He  is  also  indebted  to  the  proprietors  of  the 
Standard  and  Pioneer  for  the  permission  to  use 
literary  matter  which  has  already  appeared  in  their 
journals.  In  the  important  matter  of  illustrations 
the  authors  desire  to  acknowledge  the  generous 
kindness  which  prompted  M.  Verestchagin  to  con- 
sent to  the  reproduction  of  his  admirable  drawings. 
They  have  to  thank,  too,  Sir  Archibald  Buchan 
Hepburn,  Bart,  of  Smeaton  Hepburn,  and  Mr.  A. 
Adam  of  Steeton  Hall,  for  lending  them  a  series 
of  most  interesting  photographs  of  Central  Asian, 
scenes. 


PART  I 

FROM  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES  TO  THE 
RUSSIAN  OCCUPATION 


CHAPTER    I 

Earliest  Times  to  the  Death  of  Alexander 

The  history  of  Central  Asia  is  that  of  the  cradle  of 
mankind.  He  who  seeks  to  evolve  it  from  the  mass  of 
nebulous  tradition  is  brought  into  contact  with  the  traces 
of  widely  diverse  nationalities  and  religions,  and  must 
consult  in  turn  the  annals  of  the  Iranians,  Greeks,  Scyth- 
ians, Chinese,  Turks,  and  Russians.  We  propose  in  the 
following  chapters  to  review  the  principal  events  enacted 
in  that  portion  of  Central  Asia  which  is  vaguely  styled 
Turkestan,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  and  east  by  the 
Sir  Darya  and  the  Hindu  Kush,  and  on  the  west  by  the 
Caspian  Sea. 

The  earliest  references  to  Turkestan  that  have  reached 
us  are  contained  in  the  Indian  and  Iranian  epics,  and 
give  some  colour  to  the  theory  that  the  Pamirs  were  the 
birthplace  of  the  Aryan  race.^ 

The  ancients  gave  the  name  of  Bactria  to  the  tract 
lying  between  the  Oxus  and  the  mountains  of  the 
Paropamisus.^ 

The  earliest  mention  of  Bactria^  is  preserved  in  the 

^  The  Iranian  branch  of  the  Arj'ans  is  represented  in  our  times  by  the 
Tajiks  of  Turkestan.  Cf.  Les  Aryens  au  nord  et  au  sud  de  VHindou-Kouch, 
par  Ch.  de  Ujfalvy,  passim. 

-More  correctly  Paropanisus.  See  an  article  on  "Bactria,"  by  E. 
Drouin,  in  the  Grande  Encyclopedic. 

*  The  mention  of  Bakhdi  (=  Balkh)  in  Fargard  I.  of  the  Avesta,  is  perhaps 
still  older. 

S 


4  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [b.c.sso. 

inscription  of  Behistun,  dating  back  to  the  sixth  century 
B.C.,  in  which  it  is  included  in  the  list  of  the  satrapies 
belonging  to  the  Persian  Empire  of  Darius  II.  Cyrus  I. 
subdued  this  country,  and,  according  to  Ctesias,^  Bactria 
was  the  first  of  his  conquests  in  Eastern  Asia.  The 
founder  of  the  Persian  Empire  carried  his  arms  as  far  as 
the  Jaxartes  (or  Sihun),  on  the  other  side  of  which  roamed 
the  Massagetae  (B.C.  550),  and  near  it  he  built  a  city 
called  Cyropolis.^  The  annexation  of  Bactria  involved 
that  of  Margiana,  Khorazmia,^  and  Soghdiana.  From 
Greek  sources  we  learn  that  under  the  rule  of  Darius 
Hystaspes  (B.C.  521-492)  these  districts  were  reckoned 
among  the  Persian  satrapies ;  although  the  authority  of 
the  Achaemenians  was  probably  but  slight  there.  It  is 
not  unlikely  that  all  the  eastern  countries  mentioned  in 
the  oldest  Darius  inscriptions  as  "  subdued,"  or  "  rebel- 
lious," had  already  belonged  to  Cyrus,  and  that  he 
ruled  over  Khorazmia  and  Soghdiana.* 

The  Persian  monarchy  finally  fell  before  the  over- 
whelming might  and  genius  of  Alexander  of  Macedon. 
In  the  space  of  four  years  (B.C.  334-331)  he  carried 
his  victorious  arms  from  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Medi- 

^  The  Greek  historians,  following  a  tradition  which  made  the  conquests  of 
Sesostris  (Rameses  11.)  even  more  extensive  than  they  really  were,  maintain 
that  this  conqueror  penetrated  into  Bactria  and  Scythia.  Rameses  11.  flour- 
ished in  the  thirteenth  century  before  our  era.  Cf.  Maspero,  Hist.  Anc.  des 
Peuples  de  T Orient,  p.  225.  Equally  fabulous  is  the  account  given  by  Dio- 
dorus  Siculus  of  the  conquest  of  Bactria  by  Ninus  and  Semiramis  in  B.C. 
2180.     Cf.  E.  Drouin,  loc.  cit. 

^  This  was  the  most  easterly  town  of  the  Persian  Empire.  Authorities 
differ  as  to  the  site,  some  identifying  it  with  Ura  Tepe. 

'  The  oases  at  the  embouchure  of  the  Oxus  were  anciently  styled 
Khwarazm,  from  a  Persian  word  signifying  eastwards.  They  constitute 
the  modern  Khiva.  Soghdiana  comprises  Bokhara  and  Samarkand,  and  the 
nomenclature  is  derived  from  Soghd,  the  old  name  for  the  source  of  its 
wealth,  the  river  known  to  the  Greeks  as  the  Polytimetus  and  to  moderns  as 
the  Zarafshan. 

*  Cf.  Noldeke,  Aufsdtze  zur  Persischen  Geschichte,  p.  23. 


B.C33*-]  EARLIEST  TIMES  5 

terranean  to  Persepolis,  overthrowing  Darius  II.  at  Issus 
in  B.C.  333,  and  again  at  Gaugamela  ^  in  B.C.  331.  The 
latter  defeat  was  the  deathblow  of  the  Persian  monarchy. 
Darius  fled  in  an  easterly  direction,  accompanied  by  a 
still  considerable  army,  determined  if  possible  to  enter 
Bactria.  Alexander  took  and  plundered  Persepolis  and 
Pasargadae,  the  cradle  of  the  Persian  dynasty,  and  then 
set  out  in  pursuit  of  Darius,  who  had  reached  Ecbatana, 
the  capital  of  Media.  But  at  this  crisis  Bessus,  the 
governor  of  Bactria  and  commander  of  the  contingent  of 
that  province,  in  conjunction  with  other  Persian  nobles, 
seized  on  the  person  of  the  king  and  laid  him  in  chains. 
Their  design  was  to  conciliate  Alexander,  should  he 
overtake  them,  by  giving  up  Darius  alive ;  while  in  the 
event  of  their  escaping,  they  proposed  to  murder  the 
prisoner,  usurp  his  crown,  and  begin  a  new  war. 

Bessus  won  over  the  whole  army  by  intimidation  and 
promises,  placed  the  fallen  monarch  in  a  covered  chariot, 
and  set  out  again  from  Ecbatana,  where  Alexander  arrived 
five  days  later.  The  conqueror  followed  them  with  all 
possible  despatch.  On  reaching  the  Caspian  Straits  he 
halted  to  rest  his  troops ;  but  when  news  was  brought 
him  of  the  treachery  of  Bessus,  he  at  once  continued  his 
march.  The  latter,  on  hearing  that  Alexander  was 
rapidly  overtaking  him,  was  filled  with  terror,  and 
entreated  Darius  to  mount  his  horse  and  flee  with  him. 
The  fallen  emperor  refused  to  follow  a  band  of  traitors  ; 
whereupon  the  conspirators,  roused  to  fury,  transfixed 
him  with  javelins,  and  left  him  weltering  in  his  blood. 

Alexander  came  up  only  a  few  moments  after  he  had 
expired.  It  is  on  record  that  he  lamented  the  "  too 
severe  a  fate  "  of  his  illustrious  foe,  and  caused  his  body 

^  Called  the  battle  of  Arbela,  from  a  neighbouring  city,  just  as  the  "crown- 
ing mercy  "  of  Waterloo  was  in  reality  bestowed  at  a  fonsiderable  distance 
from  the  town  indelibly  associated  with  it. 


6  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [b.c.3»9. 

to  be  embalmed  and  buried  with  every  demonstration  of 
respect.  He  then  set  out  on  a  fresh  career  of  conquest, 
overrunning  the  whole  country  now  occupied  by  Khorasan, 
Sistan,  Beluchistan,  Kandahar,  and  Kabulistan. 

Meanwhile  Bessus  hastened  back  to  his  satrapy  of 
Bactria,  and  assumed  sovereignty  under  the  name  of 
Artaxerxes  IV.  That  he  was  able  for  a  brief  period  to 
hold  his  own  was  due  only  to  the  fact  that  Alexander 
wished  to  secure  possession  of  other  districts  in  Eastern 
Persia  before  advancing  against  Bactria  and  Soghdiana. 

In  B.C.  329  the  conqueror  recrossed  the  Hindu  Kush. 
The  first  town  in  the  Bactrian  valley  which  he  came  upon 
was  Drapsaca  (corresponding  with  modern  Andarab), 
where  he  made  a  halt  of  a  few  days.  Thence  with  an 
army  of  25,000  men  he  took  Aornos  (Gori  or  Khulum) 
and  Bactria  (Balkh).  Bessus,  at  the  head  of  a  small 
body  of  men  who  remained  faithful, — for  on  hearing 
of  the  approach  of  Alexander  many  thousands  of  his 
Bactrians  abandoned  him, — crossed  the  Oxus,  burning 
all  the  boats  which  he  had  made  use  of,  and  withdrew  to 
Nautaca.^ 

Alexander  did  not  wait  to  replace  the  boats,  but 
crossed  the  river  with  his  whole  army  on  skins  and  sacks 
stuffed  with  straw. 

The  timidity  of  Bessus  had  probably  disgusted  his 
few  remaining  followers,  who  now  turned  against  him. 
His  chief  confidant  Spitamenes  seized  and  led  him  bound 
before  Alexander,  who  sent  him  to  Ecbatana  to  be 
judged  and  executed  as  a  traitor  by  the  Persians. 

Alexander  next  turned  towards  Marcanda  (Samar- 
kand), the  capital  of  Soghdiana,  which  he  took.  Placing 
therein  a  considerable  garrison,  he  laid  waste  the  sur- 
rounding country.     Thence  he  advanced  to  the  banks  of 

^  According  to  Grigorieff,  this  means  the  district  lying  between  the  Oxus 
and  Shahrisabz. 


B.c3a9.]  EARLIEST  TIMES  7 

the  river  Jaxartes  or  Sihun,  the  Sir  Darya  of  our  days, 
which  he  believed  to  be  the  Tanais,  or  Don. 

The  point  at  which  he  reached  the  Jaxartes  is 
probably  the  site  of  the  modern  Khojend  :  there  he  deter- 
mined to  build  a  town,  but  the  execution  of  his  design 
was  retarded  by  a  rebellion  of  the  Soghdians  and  the 
Bactrians.  The  natives  also  overpowered  the  garrisons 
which  he  had  established  in  seven  different  towns  on  the 
banks  of  the  Jaxartes,  the  most  important  of  which  was 
Cyropolis.  Alexander  crushed  the  rebels  and  re-estab- 
lished his  authority  on  the  Jaxartes  in  the  course  of 
a  few  days. 

At  this  juncture  he  received  news  of  two  serious 
events.  The  Sacae,  or  Scythians,  had  collected  an  army 
on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river ;  while  Spitamenes,  in 
whom,  owing  to  his  past  conduct,  he  had  placed  reliance, 
was  besieging  the  Macedonian  garrison  left  at  Marcanda. 
Alexander  despatched  a  considerable  force  against  Spita- 
menes, while  he  himself  turned  towards  the  Jaxartes,  on 
the  left  bank  of  which  he  built  a  city  in  the  space  of  seven- 
teen days,  calling  it  Alexandria  according  to  his  custom. 
It  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  60  stadia  ^  in  circumference. 
Hemmed  in  as  he  now  was  by  enemies  on  all  sides,  and 
weakened  by  sickness,  he  stood  in  great  need  of  that 
magnificent  self-confidence  which  is  the  birthright  of 
conquerors.  Moreover,  his  army  Wcis  becoming  dis- 
heartened, and  was  disinclined  to  attempt  the  passage 
of  the  river  in  the  teeth  of  an  enemy  drawn  up  in  battle 
array  on  the  opposite  bank.  But  he  was  daunted  by  no 
difficulty  or  danger.  After  completing  his  new  capital 
he  ordered   the  construction  of  a  multitude  of  rafts,  on 

*  The  stadium  was  600  feet  in  length ;  but,  as  the  foot  varied  greatly  in 
ancient  time,  this  measure  of  length  was  never  certain.  The  "  great  stadium," 
otherwise  known  as  the  Alexandrian  or  Egyptian,  was  .12  of  a  gec^raphical 
mile. 


8  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [b.cs^q. 

which  he  carried  his  whole  army  in  safety,  fell  on  the 
Scythians,  and  put  them  to  utter  rout.  They  recognised 
the  uselessness  of  further  resistance,  and  sent  envoys  to 
announce  their  submission. 

Meanwhile  the  division  which  had  been  sent  to 
relieve  the  garrison  of  Marcanda  had  been  annihilated 
by  Spitamenes  in  the  valley  of  the  Polytimetus,  or 
Zarafshan.  On  hearing  of  this  disaster  Alexander  set 
out  in  haste  for  Marcanda,  which  he  reached  in  four 
days.  Spitamenes  on  the  first  news  of  his  approach  fled 
into  Bactria.  Alexander  started  in  pursuit,  but,  despair- 
ing of  overtaking  him,  turned  back  and  laid  waste  the 
whole  valley. 

He  took  up  his  winter  quarters  in  Zariaspa.^  During 
this  winter  (B.C.  329-328)  he  received  reinforcements 
from  Greece  of  19,000  men,  which  enabled  him  to  over- 
run Margiana  in  the  following  spring.  There  remained 
now  but  one  stronghold  unsubdued,  namely,  Petra 
Oxiana,^  which  was  provisioned  for  two  years,  and 
defended  by  a  Soghdian  named  Arimazes.^  It  finally 
capitulated,  and  its  brave  defender,  together  with  his 
relatives  and  the  principal  nobility,  were  crucified  by  the 
exasperated  conqueror, 

Alexander  established  two  fortresses  south  of  the 
town  of  Margiana  or  Merv,  corresponding  with  the 
modern  Sarakhs  and  Meruchak,  He  next  turned  east- 
wards into  Bactria,  and  on  his  way  established  four  more 
strongholds,  on  the  sites  of  the  modern  Meimena, 
Andakuy,   Shaburgan,  and   Saripul.      From    Bactria   he 

^  Grigorieff  suggests  the  identification  of  this  place  with  the  old  town  of 
Baykand,  or  with  Hezarasp,  in  the  Khorasmian  oasis. 

^  It  may  perhaps  be  identified  with  Kalat-i-Nadiri  to  the  north-east  ot 
Meshed,  called  also  the  "Soghdian  Rock."  The  famous  Roxana,  whom 
Alexander  soon  afterwards  married,  was  the  daughter  of  a  certain  Oxyartes, 
who  was  among  the  captives  taken  with  this  fort, 

'  Rollin,  Ancient  History^  v.  2IO.     See  also  Quintus  Curtius. 


..c.  3*7.1  EARLIEST  TIMES  9 

returned  to  Marcanda,  whence  he  probably  made  several 
expeditions  into  the  surrounding  country.^ 

His  old  enemy  Spitamenes,  after  repeatedly  attacking 
the  Macedonian  garrisons  in  Soghdia  and  Bactria,  was  at 
length  killed  by  a  band  of  nomads,  and  his  head  was  sent 
to  Alexander.  Having  now  entirely  subdued  Soghdiana, 
Alexander  retired  for  the  winter  to  Nautaca.  It  was  at 
this  time  that  the  tragic  death  of  Cleitus  occurred  at  the 
hands  of  the  master  whom  he  had  loved  and  served  so 
well. 

In  B.C.  327  Alexander  set  out  on  the  conquest  of 
India,  leaving  in  Bactria  a  contingent  of  1 0,000  foot  and 
3000  cavalry  for  the  maintenance  of  order. 

His  career  has  left  an  indelible  impression  on  the 
Oriental  mind,  which  is  slow  to  grasp  new  ideas,  but 
extremely  tenacious  of  them  when  formed.  He  is 
associated  throughout  Islam  with  the  "  Two  Homed " 
(Zulkarnayn)  of  the  Koran,  and  his  exploits  are  the 
daily  theme  of  professional  story-tellers  in  the  market- 
places of  Central  Asia. 

^  He  may,  for  example,  have  visited  Iskander  Kul,  a  lake  which  to  this 
day  bears  his  name. 


CHAPTER    II 

Bactrians  and  Parthians 

At  the  epoch  of  Alexander's  death  the  satrapy  of 
Bactria  and  Soghdiana  was  held  by  his  general,  Amyntas. 
The  death  of  the  young  conqueror  was  the  signal  for  a 
mutiny  among  the  Macedonian  soldiers  who  had  remained 
in  that  country,  which  was,  however,  immediately  put 
down.  Amyntas  was  removed  from  his  satrapy  and 
superseded  by  Philippus  of  Elymeus,  who,  within  the 
space  of  a  year,  was  appointed  to  Parthia  and  succeeded 
by  Stasanor.^ 

The  latter  held  his  post  until  B.C.  301,  when  these 
provinces  passed  into  the  hands  of  another  of  Alex- 
ander's generals,  Seleucus  i.  (Nicator),  who  since  B.C. 
312  had  been  in  virtual  possession  of  the  greater  part  of 
his  late  master's  conquered  possessions.^  Hitherto  the 
allegiance  of  Bactria  had  been  of  a  doubtful  character 
— but  it  was  now  finally  established. 

In  305  he  entered  on  a  campaign  against  Chandra 
Gupta,  a  powerful  Indian  king  who  was  endeavouring  to 
regain  the  realms  conquered  by  Alexander. 

^  Cf.  Gutschmid,  Geschichte  Irans,  p.  22. 

*  In  B.C.  327  Seleucus  l.  had  been  placed  in  charge  of  Syria  and  the  East, 
and  of  Babylon — to  which,  with  the  aid  of  Antigonus,  he  added  Susiana.  In 
316,  owing  to  a  quarrel  with  Antigonus,  he  fled  to  Egypt,  but  in  312  he 
re-entered  Babylon.  The  era  of  the  Seleucidas  dates  from  this  event. 
Seleucus  extended  his  dominions  as  far  as  the  Oxus  and  the  Indus.  Not  till 
306  did  he  officially  adopt  the  title  of  king.     Gutschmid,  op.  cit.  p.  24. 

10 


B.c.,50.]  BACTRIANS  AND  PARTHIANS  ii 

At  his  hands  Seleucus  suffered  a  crushing  defeat,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  was  obliged  to  abandon  all  the 
territory  between  the  Indus  and  the  Paropamisus  except 
Alexandria  of  the  Caucasus.^  This  was  the  first  dis- 
memberment of  the  gigantic  empire.  The  terrible  civil 
war  which  began  immediately  after  the  death  of  Alex- 
ander lasted,  almost  without  interruption,  for  forty-two 
years,  when  the  Macedonians  were  at  last  compelled 
to  renounce  all  hopes  of  ruling  the  world. 

In  B.C.  280  Seleucus  was  assassinated  by  one  of  his 
officers,  and  was  succeeded  by  Antiochus  I.  In  B.C.  256, 
under  the  rule  of  Antiochus  II.,  Diodotus,  known  as 
"  Governor  of  the  thousand  cities  of  Bactria,"  threw  off 
his  allegiance  and  assumed  sovereignty,  thus  founding 
the  Greeco-Bactrian  kingdom.^  Polybius  ^  tells  us  that 
Diodotus  was  superseded  by  Euthydemus,  who  was  in 
the  enjoyment  of  power  at  the  time  of  Antiochus  the 
Great's  expedition  to  the  East — about  B.C.  208. 

Euthydemus  was  defeated  by  Antiochus,  but  appealed 
to  his  victor's  generosity,  and  pointed  out  the  grave 
danger  that  would  arise  if  he  were  obliged  to  call  in  the 
aid  of  the  Scythians,  who  were  already  hovering  on  the 
Chinese  frontier  of  his  dominions.*  Antiochus  finally 
agreed  to  acknowledge  his  independence. 

In  B.C.  250  a  certain  Arsaces,  who  seems  by  his  coins 
to  have  been  the  chief  of  a  band  of  Dahae  Scythians 
dwelling  near  the  Oxus,  overthrew  Andragoras,  nominally 
satrap  of  Parthia,  and  set  himself  up  as  king  of  Parthia.^ 

1  Cf.  E.  Drouin,  loc.  cii. 

'  Diodotus  seems  to  have  prepared  his  subjects  for  this  change  of  masters 
by  issuing  coins  of  the  type  struck  by  Antiochus  II.,  but  bearing  his  own 
portrait.     Cf.  Gardner,  Greek  and  Scythian  Coins,  p.  20. 

^  Hist.  X.  ad  Jin.  xi.  34. 

*  Gardner,  Greek  and  Scythian  Coins,  p.  21. 

'  Cf.  Justin,  xii.  4:  "Parthis  deinde  domitis  prefectus  his  statuitur  ex 
nobilis  Persarum  Andragoras :  inde  postea  originem  Parthorum  reges  habuere." 


12  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [b.c.  190. 

He  was  the  founder  of  the  famous  dynasty  of  the 
Arsacidae.  As  Mr.  Gardner  ^  observes,  the  "  so-called 
history  of  Parthia  is  really  the  history  of  Central  Asia 
under  the  Arsacidae." 

After  a  reign  of  two  years  he  was  killed  in  battle, 
leaving  his  kingdom  to  his  brother  Tiridates,  who  was 
the  real  founder  of  the  Parthian  power.  The  fifth  king 
of  this  dynasty  was  Mithridates  (B.C.  1 90),  who  extended 
his  conquests  to  such  a  degree  that,  according  to  Justin, 
his  sway  included  the  Himalayas  and  the  Euphrates.^ 
He  also  compelled  Eucratides,  the  powerful  king  of 
Bactria,  who  had  come  to  the  throne  about  B.C.  170, 
to  cede  certain  districts  of  his  kingdom. 

After  a  glorious  reign  he  died  about  B.C.  140,  and 
was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Phraates.^  The  Syrian 
Empire  of  the  Seleucidse  was  fast  falling  to  pieces,  and 
Parthia  was  never  again  invaded  by  the  Greeks.  But  a 
more  terrible  foe  was  approaching  from  the  East,*  for  it 
now  came  into  collision  with  a  Scythian  band,  called 
"  Su "  or  "  Se "  in  the  Chinese  annals,  which  in  the 
second  century  B.C.  had  overrun  the  provinces  bordering 
the  Jaxartes.  They  are  identical  with  the  Sacae  of 
classical  writers,  and  were  afterwards  known  in  Upper 
India  as  the  Sakas.  Phraates  ^  summoned  a  band  of 
these  savages  to  aid  him  against  the  Syrian  Antiochus. 
Arriving  at  the  scene  of  action  too  late  to  be  of  service 
in  the  campaign,  they  turned  against  him,  defeated  his 
army  and  slew  him. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew  Artabanus  il.,  who 

*  Parthian   Coinage,  Numismata  Orientalia,   vol.   i.    p.    2.      Strabo,   xi. 
9.  2. 

-  Justin,  xii.  6  :  "  Imperiunique  parthorum  a  monte  Caucaso  multis  populis 
indicionem  redactis  usque  flumen  Euphratem  protulit." 

*  Ibid.  xlii.  I. 

*  Gardner,  ibid.  p.  6. 

*  Gardner,  ibid.  p.  6. 


A.D.226.]     BACTRIANS  AND  PARTHIANS        13 

after  a  brief  reign  fell  in  battle  against  the  Thogari,^ 
mentioned  by  Strabo  as  one  of  the  four  great  Saka 
tribes.^  His  son  Mithridates  II.,  justly  distinguished  by 
the  appellation  "  Great,"  revived  the  fading  glories  of  the 
Parthian  Empire.  He  commenced  his  reign  by  ad- 
ministering several  crushing  defeats  to  the  Sakas,  from 
whom  he  wrested  the  greater  portion  of  Bactria.  But  he 
was  destined  to  meet  a  foe  more  v/orthy  of  his  steel,  and 
finally  to  submit  after  a  lifelong  struggle.  The  Romans 
had  entered  on  the  career  of  foreign  conquest  which  seems 
inevitable  in  the  case  of  a  powerful  republic.  Greece  was 
theirs,  and  they  had  planted  their  eagles  in  Asia  Minor. 

Between  B.C.  88  and  63  Mithridates  waged  three 
wars  of  extreme  ferocity  against  the  future  conquerors  of 
the  world,  and  inspired  them  with  a  dread  which  they 
had  not  felt  since  the  invasion  of  Hannibal.^  Not  till 
the  latter  year  did  this  great  monarch  acknowledge  the 
supreme  might  of  Rome,  and  then  his  indomitable  spirit 
forbade  him  to  sink  to  the  condition  of  tributary. 
Defeated  by  Pompey  on  the  Euphrates,  he  fled  to  the 
Caucasian  Bosphorus,*  and  was  planning  fuller  resistance 
when  the  rebellion  of  his  son  rendered  his  schemes  nuga- 
tory. He  slew  himself  in  despair,  leaving  a  reputation 
which  still  echoes  in  the  Crimea  and  Northern  Caucasus. 

From  the  period  down  to  A.D.  226  the  history  of 
Parthia  is  one  of  continual  struggle  and  crime,  which 
finally  exhausted  the  emperor's  strength  and  rendered  it 
an  easy  prey  to  a  Roman  invader. 

*  See  Note  i  at  p.  6  of  Chap.  iii. 
2  Strabo,  xi.  8.  2. 

^  This  sentiment  finds  many  echoes  in  Latin  literature.  Cf.  Odes  and 
Epistles  of  Horace,  passim.  It  is  curious  to  note  the  identity  between  the 
tactics  of  the  Parthians  and  those  of  the  hordes  of  Chingiz  and  Tlmur.  The 
usual  charge  of  bad  faith  is  brought  by  the  Romans  against  their  terrible 
enemies. 

*  The  Straits  of  Yenekale, 


CHAPTER    III 

The  Huns  and  the  Yu^-Chi 

It  is  to  Chinese  sources  that  we  must  turn  for  an 
account  of  the  tribes  which  overthrew  Graeco-Bactrian 
rule,  and  were  a  constant  thorn  in  the  side  of  the 
Parthian  Empire.  These  sources,  with  faint  sidelights 
thrown  on  an  obscure  period  by  allusions  to  be  found 
in  classic  authors,  enable  us  to  bridge  a  gap  of  several 
centuries  replete  with  events  which  exercised  a  lasting 
influence  on  the  history  of  Central  Asia. 

The  Chow  dynasty  ruled  from  B.C.  1 122  to  B.C.  250.^ 
After  its  fall  China  split  up  into  a  vast  number  of  nearly 
independent  principalities,  and  the  reigning  sovereign 
enjoyed  but  little  power.  The  Tsin  succeeded  in  gaining 
the  foremost  rank  as  feudatories,  and  finally  restored  the 
authority  of  the  central  power.  Their  aim  was  not 
achieved  without  a  desperate  struggle  with  their  rivals. 
In  the  course  of  the  resulting  civil  war  Tsin  Chi 
Hwang-ti  began  his  reign.  He  was  the  Louis  XI.  of 
the  Chinese  monarchy,  and  brought  force  and  stratagem  by 
turns  to  bear  on  the  task  of  restoring  the  imperial  prestige." 

^  The  three  great  reformers  Lao-tse,  Kung-fu-tse  (Confucius),  and  Meng-tse 
(Mencius)  flourished  under  the  princes  of  this  dynasty. 

2  The  greatest  calamity  which  this  ruthless  despot  inflicted  on  his 
country  was  the  wholesale  destruction  of  literature  which  he  ordered,  in 
view  of  keeping  his  people  in  ignorance.  This  atrocious  measure  was 
attended  by  the  slaughter  of  many  learned  men.  Cf.  Legge,  Analects  of 
Confucius,  p.  6. 

14 


B.C20O.1         THE  HUNS  AND  THE  YUE-CHI  15 

When  he  found  himself  master  at  home,  he  turned 
his  attention  to  the  task  of  protecting  his  frontier  from 
aggressors.  Of  these,  the  Hiung-nu,  a  Tartar  tribe  whose 
habitat  was  Eastern  Mongolia,  were  the  most  trouble- 
some. He  carried  the  war  into  the  enemy's  camp  by 
despatching  an  army  across  the  great  Gobi  Desert,  with 
orders  to  establish  a  strong  place  at  Hami.^  In  B.C.  250 
he  commenced  a  work  which  had  a  more  lasting  effect 
in  repressing  their  invasion.  This  was  the  Great  Wall  of 
China,  which  starts  from  the  Shan-hi  Pass  and  ends  at 
the  Chin-Yii  barriers,  a  distance  of  not  less  than  1500 
miles.  The  Hiung-nu,  like  their  kinsmen  the  Mongols  of 
Chingiz  and  of  Timur,  fought  on  horseback,  and  their 
plan  of  campaign  was  simply  a  succession  of  raids  followed 
by  speedy  retreats.  This  stupendous  barrier  intimidated 
them,  and  turned  westwards  the  tide  of  their  migration. 
Thus  the  Great  Wall,  which  it  is  the  fashion  to  decry  as 
a  monument  of  misplaced  labour,  was  a  most  important 
factor  in  the  history  of  Central  Asia.  At  this  epoch  the 
Sakas  were  settled  in  Hexapolis,  to  the  east  of  the 
Pamirs ;  while  the  Usuns  dwelt  on  the  southern  side  of 
Lake  Lob,  separated  from  the  Sakas  by  the  Uighurs. 
About  B.C.  300  the  empire  of  the  Yu^-Chi}  who  were 
a  branch  of  the  Tung-nu,  or  Eastern  Tartars,  extended 
most  probably  from  the  Muztagh  Mountains  on  the  north 
to  the  Kuen-lun  Mountains  on  the  south,  and  from  the 
Upper  Hoang-ho  in  Shan-si  on  the  east  to  Kochd  and 
Khotan  on  the  west.^ 

About  B.C.  200  a  war  broke  out  between  the  Tung-nu 
and  the  Hiung-nu  (the  Western  Tartars  or  Huns),  their 
neighbours.     Mothe,  the  chief  of  these  latter,  falling  on 

^  Also  called  Khamil,  a  town  about  700  miles  east  of  Kulja. 

'  According  to  Richthofen,  the  Yue-Chi  were  of  Tibetan  stock,  but 
Vambety  and  Gerard  de  Realle  assert  that  they  were  Turks.  Their  nidus 
was  to  the  north-east  of  Tangut. 

'  Cunningham,  Survey  of  India,  vol.  ii.  p.  62. 


i6  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [B.c.200. 

the  Eastern  Tartars  unawares,  utterly  defeated  them  and 
drove  the  Yu^-Chi  from  their  kingdom.  The  latter  fled 
to  the  banks  of  the  Hi  River,  while  Mothd  pushed  his 
conquests  as  far  as  the  Volga  on  the  west  and  the 
border  provinces  of  China  eastwards.  The  Emperor 
Kao-tsu  (B.C.  202—194),  founder  of  the  famous  Han 
dynasty,  who  had  achieved  the  subjugation  of  the  whole 
of  China,  was  alarmed  at  the  progress  of  Moth^,  and 
marched  against  him.  His  troops  were,  however,  sur- 
rounded by  Mothe's  colossal  hordes  in  the  north  of  the 
province  of  Shan-si,  and  only  escaped  destruction  by  the 
employment  of  a  ruse.^  On  the  departure  of  the  Chinese 
army  Mothe  set  out  for  Tartary.  For  upwards  of  fifty 
years  the  power  of  Hiung-nu  sustained  no  check.  They 
continued  to  press  down  on  the  Yu^-Chi,  who,  after 
suffering  a  further  crushing  defeat,  broke  into  separate 
hordes.  The  lesser  division,  or  "  Little  Yue-Chi,"  passed 
into  Tibet.  The  "  Great  Yue-Chi's  "  first  movement  was 
westwards  to  the  banks  of  the  Hi,  but  finding  the  Usun 
too  strong  for  them,  they  wandered  in  a  southerly  direc- 
tion, and  finally  descended  upon  Kashghar,  Yarkand,  and 
Khotan,  whence  they  displaced  the  Sakas  (B.C.  163). 
The  latter,  on  their  expulsion  from  Soghdiana,  invaded 
Bactria,  and  from  this  period  until  the  fall  of  the  Graeco- 
Bactrian  kingdom  the  Greeks  had  to  deal  with  both 
Sakas  and  Parthians.  It  would  seem  that  the  latter  were 
alternately  friends  and  foes.  This  intercourse  possibly 
accounts  for  the  Parthian  characteristics  found  on  the 
early  Saka  coins  of  India.^ 

The  Sakas  were  driven  towards  the  Pamirs  and  the 
Tien-shan.     One  branch  of  them  fled  to  Zungaria,  while 

^  Ct.  d'Herbelot,  Bib.   Orient,  vol.  vi.  p.   10;   and   Boulger,   Hist,    of 
China,  p.  11. 

2  Cf.  Rapson,   Indian  Coins,  in  Grundriss  der  Indo-Arischen  Philologie 
p.  7. 


ru:.  163.]         THE  HUNS  AND  THE  YU^-CHI  17 

the  majority  remained  in  Hexapolis  and  intermixed  with 
the  Uighurs,  who  had  been  for  a  long  period  masters  of 
that  country.  A  third  branch  turned  their  steps  towards 
the  upper  valleys  of  the  Yarkand  Dar>'a.  Some  of  these 
fugitives  established  themselves  in  the  little  Iranian  States 
of  Serikul  and  Shugnan,  where  appreciable  traces  of  their 
language  still  survive.^  Others  crossed  the  Karakorum, 
and  invaded  the  north-east  of  India. 

At  this  epoch  the  Chinese  obtained  a  glimpse  of  the 
position  of  Western  Asia  through  the  medium  of  prisoners 
taken  from  the  Hiung-nu.  From  them  they  learned  that 
the  Yu^-Chi  had  suffered  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  Huns, 
and  been  compelled  to  migrate  far  from  their  ancient 
abode.  They  had,  however,  become  very  powerful  in 
Bactria  and  Transoxiana,  and  had  conquered  Ta-hia 
(Khorasan),  establishing  themselves  finally  there  in  spite 
of  the  Parthian  resistance.  The  Emperor  Wu-ti  eagerly 
desired  an  alliance  with  the  Yue-Chi  against  their  common 
enemy  the  Hiung-nu.  With  this  view  he  sent  his  general 
Chang-Kien  on  an  embassy  to  the  prince,  accompanied 
by  a  suite  of  a  hundred  attendants.  The  envoy,  however, 
had  the  misfortune  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Huns 
while  traversing  their  territory,  and  escaped  only  after  a  ten 
years'  imprisonment.  On  joining  the  Yue-Chi,  he  found 
them  employed  in  driving  the  Sakas  out  of  Soghdiana. 
He  accompanied  them  on  a  victorious  expedition,  and 
then  returned  to  China,  with  two  followers,  sole  survivors 
of  his  cortege.  The  emperor  expressed  his  appreciation 
of  the  intelligence  brought  by  Chang-Kien  regarding 
Central  Asian  events,  by  elevating  him  to  an  important 
post.  These  events  led  to  the  establishment  of  direct 
commercial  intercourse  between  China  and  the  West, 
which,  however,  the  Huns  did  their  utmost  to  interrupt. 

A    collation    of    the     Chinese    annals,    the    classic 

^  Cf.  Ujfaivy,  Les  Aryens  au  nard  et  au  sua  de  V Hincbu-Kouch.  p.  64. 

2- 


i8  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [b.c.  163. 

authors,  and  the  coins  which  have  come  down  to  us, 
would  render  it  tolerably  certain  that  the  Greeks  lost 
their  hold  on  Soghdiana  in  B.C.  163;  that  a  little  later 
they  were  deprived  of  Bactria  by  the  Sakas,  and  of 
Margiana  by  the  Parthians.  From  this  period  their 
dominion  was  limited  to  the  southern  slopes  of  the 
Indian  Caucasus.  That  the  Graeco-Bactrian  Empire  had 
attained  a  high  degree  of  natural  civilisation,  and,  indeed, 
of  artistic  culture,  is  evidenced  by  the  purity  of  design  and 
the  excellence  of  workmanship  displayed  by  the  later  coins. 

The  Bactrians  displaced  by  the  Sakas  fled  eastward, 
and  settled  in  the  confines  of  Bokhara,  and  the  surround- 
ing countries.^  But  the  dominion  of  their  opponents 
in  Bactria  was  not  destined  to  be  of  long  duration, 
for  in  B.C.  120  the  Yue-Chi,  who  had  already  overrun 
the  ancient  territory  of  the  Sakas,  began  to  pour  into 
Bactria. 

After  expelling  the  Sakas,  and  the  remnant  of  the 
Graeco-Bactrians,^  the  Yue-Chi  settled  in  that  part  of 
Central  Asia  which  is  named  Tokharistan,  after  their 
tribal  appellation,  and  which  included  Balkh,  Kunduz, 
Hisar,  Bolor,  Wakhan,  and  Badakhshan.  Meanwhile 
the  Sakas  retreated  southwards,  and  occupied  in  turn 
Kiphin,  Soghdiana,  Arachosia  (Kandahar),  and  Drangiana 
(Slstan).^ 

Their  invasion  of  India  was  directly  due  to  the 
usurpation  of  their  country  by  the  Yue-Chi.     The  latter 

^  A  distinctly  Greek  type  survives  to  the  present  time  in  the  mercantile 
and  settled  agricultural  population  of  Bokhara,  and  the  neighbouring  khanates, 
who  are  known  as  Tajiks. 

^  Strabo  (xi.  8)  tells  us  that  the  Greek  power  in  Bactria  was  overthrown 
by  the  Asii,  Pasiani,  Tokhari,  and  Sakarauli.  The  first  two  names  are 
probably  identical,  and  represent  the  royal  family  of  the  Tokhari.  They 
may  be  identified  with  the  Asiani  of  Trogus  Pompeius.  The  Sakarauli  are 
the  Sarancoe  of  Trogus,  and  correspond  with  the  Chinese  Se  or  Sti,  i.e.  the 
Sakas.     Cf.  Cunningham,  Survey  of  India,  vol.  ii.  p.  65. 

^  Q,i.  Journal  A siatiqtu,  Serie  Nouvelle,  vii.  p.  162,  1896. 


B.C  30.1  THE  HUNS  AND  THE  YUE-CHI  19 

parcelled  Bactria  out  among  their  five  clans.^  Each  had 
its  own  capital,  but  the  only  Yue-Chi  headquarters  which 
has  been  identified  is  Bamian,  at  the  foot  of  the  northern 
slope  of  the  Hindu  Kush. 

The  partition  continued  in  force  for  nearly  a  century, 
during  which  repeated  collisions  occurred  between  the 
Yue-Chi  and  the  Parthians.  In  B.C.  30  the  chief  of  one 
of  the  clans,  the  Kwei-shuang,  subdued  the  rest,  and 
assumed  sovereignty  over  the  whole  race.  They  became 
thenceforward  known  by  the  name  of  the  conquering  clan, 
which  in  course  of  time  was  modified  to  Kushan,  and 
appears  so  inscribed  on  their  coins.  The  recent  overthrow 
of  their  most  persistent  enemies  the  Hiung-nu  rendered 
the  more  easy  the  task  of  consolidating  their  power,  for 
in  the  year  B.C.  71  the  reigning  Chinese  emperor  had 
administered  a  crushing  defeat  on  the  Huns,  who  were  in 
B.C.  60  finally  enrolled  into  the  Chinese  Empire.  They 
thus  became  masters  of  all  those  countries  which  go  to 
form  Turkestan,  Eastern  Iran,  and  Afghanistan.  The 
Yue-Chi,  or  Kushans,  relieved  of  this  incubus,  turned  their 
arms  towards  the  south,  crossed  the  Paropanisus,  and 
overran  Kabul,  which  belonged  in  part  to  the  Arsacidae, 
and  in  part  to  the  Sakas,  driving  the  latter  out  of  their 
kingdom  of  Kiphin.' 

At  the  dawn  of  the  Christian  era  the  Kushans  were 
a  foremost  power  in  Central  Asia.  The  Romans  deigned 
to  treat  with  them  as  an  established  empire.  Mark 
Antony,  for  example,  sent  ambassadors  to  Bactria, 
whose  chiefs  (all  Kushans)  were  represented  at  Rome 
by  an  envoy  under  Augustus  ;  while  later,  in  the  reign 
of  Trojan  and  Adrian,  they  sent  ambassadors  to  solicit 
an  alliance  against  the  Parthians.^ 

^  Cf.  Colonel  Vule,  Introduction  to  Wood's  Oxus,  p,  xxv. 

-  Identified  with  Kandahar. 

"  Cf.  Drotiin's  excellent  article  on  "Bactria"  in  the  Grojide  Encyclopedie. 


20  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D.98. 

From  Chinese  sources  we  learn  that  in  the  year  A.D. 
98  their  general  Panchao^  was  received  during  an  ex- 
pedition to  the  Caspian  by  the  Yu6-Chi,  and  that  they 
recognised  the  imperial  sovereignty  by  annual  presents. 

Their  power  was  not  destined  to  endure  for  long.  By 
the  end  of  the  third  century  A.D.  they  had  lost  most  of 
their  conquests  in  the  south  of  Paropamisus,  including 
Kashmir.  They  were  finally  expelled  from  Bactria  itself 
by  the  Ephthalites,  or  White  Huns,  about  the  year 
A.D.  430. 

The  last  Kushan  king  of  whom  we  find  a  trace  in 
history  was  named  Kitolo.  He  conquered  Gandhara, 
or  Kandahar ;  but  was  forced  to  return  to  his  own 
dominion  by  an  irruption  of  White  Huns.  The  son 
whom  he  left  in  charge  of  the  new  province  established 
his  capital  at  Peshawar.^  The  name  of  the  founder  of  the 
Little  Yue-Chi,  as  they  were  afterwards  called,  survives 
in  the  title  of  Shah  Kator,  chief  of  Chitral. 

The  Ephthalites,  or  White  Huns,  who,  as  we  have  seen, 
in  the  year  A.D.  430  became  possessed  of  Bactria,  were  in 
all  probability  of  the  same  stock  as  the  Yue-Chi.  They 
are  known  to  history  under  a  great  variety  of  names, 
such  as  Naphthalites,  Hayathila,  and  Yetha.  This  last 
is  the  name  by  which  they  are  known  to  the  Chinese, 
who  always  most  carefully  distinguish  between  the  Yetha 
and  the  Yue-Chi.^  The  Yetha  were  of  Tartaric  origin, 
and  are  described  as  having  anciently  lived  to  the  north 
of  the  Great  Wall,  and  to  have  advanced  southwards 
about  the  first  century  of  our  era.      They    then    came 

^  General  Cunningham  states,  without  quoting  any  authority,  that  the 
Yu^-Chi  waged  war  with  the  Chinese  in  Khotan  during  this  year  (Stirvey  of 
India,  ii.  63). 

^  General  Cunningham,  Sui-vey,  vol.  ii.  p.  64. 

^  This  point  is  worthy  of  note  in  that  eminent  scholars  used  to  maintain 
that  the  names  were  practically  identical.  Cf.  Vivien  de  St.  Martin,  Les 
Huns  Blancsy  1S49,  p.  64. 


A.D.4^s.)         THE  HUNS  AND  THE  YUfi-CHI  21 

under  the  domination  of  the  Juen-Juen,^  but  emerging 
from  this,  they  ultimately  became  masters  of  an  empire 
which  extended  to  the  borders  of  Persia,  and  com- 
prised Kiphin,  Kharashar,  Kashghar,  and  Khotan.  The 
arrival  of  the  Yetha  in  Transoxiana  about  the  year  425 
of  our  era  was  the  result  of  those  migrations  of  Tartar 
peoples  which  took  place  in  Central  Asia  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fifth  centur>\  About  360  the  Juen-Juen 
advancing  westwards  became  masters  of  all  Tartary." 
One  of  their  kings,  Tulun  by  name,  who  reigned  at  the 
beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  carried  his  conquest  from 
Corea  to  the  confines  of  Europe.  It  was  owing  to  these 
conquests  that  the  various  Hunnish  tribes,  driven  from 
their  ancient  habitats  by  these  new  invaders,  swept  into 
Transoxiana  in  425  {i.e.  the  Ephthalites),  and  into 
Europe,  under  Attila,  in  430.  On  the  appearance  of  the 
White  Huns  in  the  Oxus  districts  that  country  had 
been  for  five  centuries  in  the  possession  of  the  Yu^-Chi, 
or  Kushans,  as  we  have  seen  above,  and  they  occupied 
the  land  for  upwards  of  130  years  (425  to  557),  during 
which  period  they  were  in  close  contact  with  the  Sas- 
anides  of  Persia.  The  Kushans  did  not,  however,  immedi- 
ately disappear  from  Central  Asia,  for  we  find  references 
after  this  date  in  Chinese  authors  to  small  Kushan 
principalities  in  the  Upper  Oxus  and  Farghana. 

^  These  notes  on  the  Ephthalites  are  taken  principally  from  M.  Drouin's 
excellent  Memoire  sitr  les  Hzms  Ephthalites  dans  leur  rappoiis  avec  Us 
rots  Perses  Sassanides,  privately  printed  in  Louvain,  1895. 

^  Their  chiefs  originally  bore  the  title  of  Shen-Yu,  which  in  the  reign 
of  Tulun  (a.d.  402)  was  charged  to  Khakdn,  an  ancient  title  which  we  now 
encounter  for  the  first  time  in  history. 


CHAPTER    IV 

The  Sasanides,  the  Ephthalites,  and  the  Turks 

The  history  of  Central  Asia  during  the  earlier  centuries 
of  our  era  is  bound  up  in  that' of  Persia,  and  its  course 
was  moulded  by  the  fortunes  of  the  great  dynasty  called 
after  the  grandfather  of  its  founder,  the  Sasanide,  which 
governed  the  empire  from  A.D.  219  until  the  Arab 
invasion  more  than  four  centuries  later.  In  the  third 
century  (A.D.  200)  of  our  era  the  condition  of  Persia 
resembled  that  of  France  before  the  power  of  feudalism 
was  broken  by  the  crafts  and  iron  will  of  Louis  XI.  The 
authority  of  the  reigning  dynasty  was  little  more  than 
nominal,  and  the  land  was  parcelled  out  among  a  host  of 
petty  tribes  whose  mountain  fastnesses  enabled  them  to 
bid  defiance  to  the  Parthian  dynasty.  Among  the 
followers  of  one  of  their  rabble  chieftains  was  a  certain 
Papak,  a  native  of  a  village  lying  to  the  east  of  Shiraz. 
With  the  aid  of  a  son  named  Ardashir,  he  overthrew  his 
master,  and  usurped  authority  over  the  province  of  Pars. 
Ardashlr's  bold  and  restless  character  appears  to  have 
inspired  his  father  with  some  distrust,  for  on  his  death  he 
left  his  dominions  to  another  son,  named  Shapur.  The 
succession  was  contested  by  Ardashir,  but  when  he  was 
about  to  enforce  his  claim  with  the  sword,  Shapur  died, 
in    all    probability    by    poison.^       Ardashlr's    thirst    for 

*  The  best  accounts  of  the  Sasanide  dynasty  are  to  be  found  in  Noldeke's 
admirable  translation  of  the  portion  of  Tabari's  annals  dealing  with  that  period 

22 


A.D.27=.]         SASANIDES,  EPHTHALITES,  TURKS        23 

empire  now  led  him  to  attack  his  neighbouring  poten- 
tates. One  after  another  succumbed  to  his  genius  ;  and 
he  became  master,  in  turn,  of  Kirman,  Susiana,  and  other 
eastern  States.  Then  finding  himself  in  a  position  to 
strike  a  blow  for  the  sovereignty  of  Persia,  he  bade 
defiance  to  Ardavan,^  the  last  of  the  Parthian  line.  A 
decisive  battle  was  fought  between  them,  probably  in 
Babylonia,  in  the  year  218.  Ardavan  was  slain,  and 
Ardashir  was  crowned  **  king  of  kings "  on  the  field. 
His  capital  was  Istakhr,  but  he  chose  Ctesiphon  (or 
Mada'in)  as  a  residence.  How  far  i\rdashlr's  personal 
conquests  actually  extended,  it  is  hard  to  define.  Oriental 
historians  have  greatly  exaggerated  the  extent  of  his 
empire,  which  they  allege  to  have  stretched  from  the 
Euphrates  on  one  side,  to  Khwarazm  on  the  other. 
Ardashir  was  a  wise  and  just  ruler,  and  his  career  can 
be  compared  only  with  Napoleon's.  Without  the  prestige 
of  birth  or  fortune  he  won  an  empire,  and  was  able 
to  maintain  order  in  extended  realms  which  had  for 
centuries  been  a  prey  to  anarchy.  He  died  in  241,  and 
was  succeeded  by  his  son  Shapur  I.  For  the  first  ten 
years  of  his  reign  he  was,  like  his  father,  engaged  in 
chronic  warfare  with  Rome,  which  did  not  terminate  till 
260,  when  the  Emperor  Valerian  fell  into  his  hands, 
dying  afterwards  in  captivity.  According  to  extant  coins, 
Shapur  I.  made  himself  master  of  the  non-Iranian  lands 
to  the  east  of  Khorasan,  and  to  him  is  ascribed  the 
conquest  of  Nishapur,-  and  Shapur  in  Northern  Persia. 
In  272  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Hormuz,  who  con- 

— Geschichte  der  Araber  und  Perser  zur  Zeit  der  Sasaniden,  Leyden  1879,  and 
his  Aufsatze  zur  Persischen  Geschichte,  Leipzig,  1887.  From  these  sources 
we  have  derived  most  of  our  details,  and  will  therefore  give  no  further 
references. 

^  Or  Artabanus. 

'  Some  authorities  maintain  that  this  city  was  founded  by  Shapur  ll. 
about  340. 


24  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  272. 

tinued  the  struggle  with  the  Romans,  in  which  Syria, 
Asia  Minor,  and  Armenia  were  alternatively  subjects  of 
contention. 

The  succeeding  reigns  have  little  bearing  on  history 
until  we  come  to  that  of  Bahram  Gur,^  which  was 
signalised  by  a  persecution  of  the  Christians,^  and  a 
recommencement  of  warfare  with  Rome.  Bahram  Gur 
was  worsted  in  the  latter,  and  entered  into  a  treaty  with 
the  Western  Empire,  which  bound  the  contracting  parties 
to  tolerate  the  Christian  and  Zoroastrian  cults  respectively. 
The  Romans  further  undertook  to  pay  an  annual  subsidy 
towards  the  maintenance  of  the  fortifications  on  the 
Dariel  Pass  ^  in  the  Caucasus,  by  which  both  kingdoms 
were  protected  from  the  inroads  of  the  wild  hordes  of  the 
North.  Bahram  took  advantage  of  his  truce  with  the 
Romans  to  make  an  expedition  into  Bactria,*  where  he 
encountered  the  Ephthalites,  or  White  Huns,  whom, 
according  to  Persian  accounts,  he  utterly  defeated.  We 
are  told  that  the  Khakan  ^  of  the  "  tribes  of  Transoxiana," 
being  informed  that  Bahram  and  his  court  were  immersed 
in  luxury  and  had  entirely  lost  their  martial  spirit, 
ventured  to  cross  the  Oxus  and  laid  waste  the  whole  of 
Khorasan.^  He  was  soon  undeceived,  for  Bahram,  at  the 
head  of  seven  thousand  men,  fell  upon  the  Turks  by  night, 

^  Gur  means  "wild  ass."  The  king,  who  is  one  of  the  favourites  of 
Persian  tradition,  received  this  sobriquet  on  account  of  his  passion  for  hunting 
wild  asses.     He  usurped  the  crown. 

^  The  Sasanides  were  fire-worshippers,  disciples  of  Zoroaster. 

^  This  pass  is  traversed  by  the  famous  Georgian  Military  Road  connecting 
Vladikavkaz  with  Tiflis. 

*  Transoxiana  was  never  included  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Sasanides ;  the 
possessions  of  Achemenides  stretched  far  farther  east  than  those  of  the 
Sasanians. 

^  Cf.  p.  21,  note  2,  supra. 

^  Here  we  follow  Malcolm  {^History  of  Persia),  who  bases  his  account  on 
those  of  various  well-known  Persian  historians,  such  as  Mirkhwand  and 
Khwandamir. 


AD.  457.]         SASANIDES,  EPHTHALITES,  TURKS        25 

and  put  them  utterly  to  rout,  the  Khakan  perishing  by 
the  king's  own  hand.  Bahram  then  crossed  the  Oxus 
and  concluded  a  peace  with  his  eastern  neighbours.^ 
Bahram  died  in  438,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Yezdijerd  II.  During  his  reign  of  nineteen  years  his 
attention  was  engrossed  by  Armenia  and  by  Khorasan, 
where  he  suffered  many  reverses  at  the  hands  of  the 
Ephthalites.  On  his  death  in  A.D.  457  his  two  sons, 
Hormuz  III.  and  Piruz,  became  rival  claimants  to  the 
throne.  Their  father,  who  preferred  the  former,  but 
feared  a  quarrel  between  the  brothers,  had  given  Piruz 
the  governorship  of  a  distant  province,  Sistan.  Piruz,  on 
learning  that  his  brother  had  seized  the  throne  and  won 
the  support  of  the  nobility,  fled  across  the  Oxus,  and 
implored  the  chief  Khakan  ^  of  the  Ephthalites  to  espouse 
his  cause.  The  Huns  consented,  and  sent  an  army 
thirty  thousand  strong  to  his  aid.^  With  this  accession 
of  strength,  Piruz  invaded  Persia,  and  defeated  his  brother 
in  a  pitched  battle.  Hormuz  III.  thus  lost  his  crown, 
and  was  put  to  death  together  with  three  of  his  nearest 
relatives.  The  reign  of  his  successful  rival  was  fraught 
with  useful  domestic  measures.  He  had  to  contend 
against  a  famine  which  lasted  for  seven  years ;  but,  so 
prompt  and  effectual  were  the  means  adopted  to  combat 
it,  that,  if  Tabari  is  to  be  believed,  there  was  not  a  single 
death  from  starvation.*     Piruz's  foreign  policy  was  by  no 

^  We  are  told  that  when  Bahram  Gur  returned  from  this  expedition  to  his 
capital,  Ctesiphon,  he  appointed  his  brother  Governor  of  Khorasan,  designat- 
ing Balkh  as  his  residence. 

2  According  to  the  Persian  historians,  the  Khakan  was  named  Khush- 
Nawaz.  Ndldeke,  however,  disapproved  of  this  reading,  the  invention  he 
thinks  of  Firdawsi,  and  employs  that  of  Akh-Shunwar. 

'  Tabari  tells  us  that  Piriiz  had  pre%iously  ceded  to  the  Khakan  the 
important  frontier  town  of  Talikan. 

■*  Some  of  the  means  would  hardly  commend  themselves  to  modem  econo- 
mists. Piruz  remitted  taxes  and  large  sums  from  the  treasury ;  but  he  also 
compelled  the  rich  to  feed  their  poorer  neighbours  from  these  taxes. 


26  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  480. 

means  so  praiseworthy :  though  he  owed  his  crown  to  the 
ready  help  of  the  Khakan  of  the  Ephthalites,  we  find 
him  in  480  freely  attacking  his  benefactor's  son  and 
successor.  This  apparent  ingratitude  is  ascribed  by 
Joseph  Stylites  to  the  intrigue  of  the  Romans,  whose 
jealousy  of  the  power  of  Persia  induced  them  to  incite 
the  Huns  to  attack  her  eastern  frontier.  Noldeke 
suggests  as  the  cause  of  this  rupture  the  exorbitant 
nature  of  the  demands  made  by  the  Huns  as  the  price 
of  their  assistance  in  placing  Piruz  on  the  throne.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  the  struggle  was  disastrous  to  the  Persian 
army.  After  obtaining  some  trivial  successes,  Piruz  was 
obliged  to  conclude  more  than  one  humiliating  treaty 
with  the  Huns,  the  terms  of  which  he  did  not  loyally 
fulfil.  On  one  occasion  his  son  Kobad  was  left  for  two 
years  in  their  hands  as  a  hostage  for  the  payment  of  a 
large  indemnity.  A  little  later  we  find  Piruz  himself  a 
prisoner. 

A  crisis  in  his  afifairs  came  in  484,  when  he  led  an 
immense  force  against  his  inveterate  foes,  only  to  suffer 
a  crushing  defeat  at  their  hands,  and  to  lose  his  life ; 
while  his  daughter  was  taken  prisoner  and  forced  to 
enter  the  Khakan's  harem.  Persia  now  lay  at  the  mercy 
of  the  barbarians  whose  hordes  overran  the  country, 
drowning  its  civilisation  in  blood.  From  this  anarchy 
the  land  was  saved  by  the  efforts  of  a  great  noble  named 
Sukhra,  or  Zermihr.  At  the  time  of  the  Huns'  invasion 
he  was  essaying  to  quell  one  of  the  periodical  revolts  in 
Armenia.  Hurrying  back  to  the  Persian  capital  with  a 
considerable  force,  he  established  a  semblance  of  order, 
and  placed  Balash,  a  brother  of  Piruz,  on  the  throne. 
The  new  king  bought  off  the  White  Huns,  probably  by 
undertaking  to  pay  a  yearly  tribute.  But  his  treasury 
was  empty.  He  was  able  to  attach  no  party  in  the  State 
to  his  banner,  and  in  488  he  incurred  the  resentment  of 


A.D. 488.1         SASANIDES,  EPHTHALITES,  TURKS       27 

the  all-powerful  priesthood.  Falling  into  their  hands,  he 
was  deprived  of  his  eyesight,  a  loss  which  under  the 
Persian  law  incapacitated  him  from  ruling.  Balash  was 
succeeded  by  his  nephew,  Kobad,^  son  of  Piruz.  Tabari 
tells  us  that  before  he  came  to  power,  even  probably  on 
the  accession  of  his  brother,  he  had  fled  to  the  Khakan 
for  help  to  meet  his  claim.  On  his  way  he  halted  at 
Nishapur,  and  took  to  wife  the  daughter  of  a  nobleman, 
who  bore  him  a  son,  the  famous  x'\nushirawan.  He  was 
kept  waiting  four  years  for  the  promised  help,  but  finally, 
after  much  entreaty,  the  Khakan  gave  him  the  control 
of  an  army,  with  which  he  set  out  for  Mada'in.^  On 
reaching  Nishapur  he  learnt  the  news  of  his  brother's 
death.^  The  first  act  of  his  reign  was  to  resign  the 
entire  administration  to  Sukhra,  on  the  score  of  his  own 
youth  and  inexperience.  Finding,  when  he  came  to 
man's  estate,  that  the  people  regarded  Sukhra  as  their 
sovereign  and  ignored  his  own  ancestral  claims,  he 
determined  to  rid  himself  of  a  too  powerful  minister,  and 
had  him  put  to  death. 

When  Kobad  had  been  for  ten  years  on  the  throne  a 
false  prophet  arose  in  the  person  of  a  certain  Mazdak, 
who  taught  that  all  men  were  equal,  and  that  it  was 
unjust  that  one  should  have  more  possessions  or  wives 
than  another.  The  inference  was  that  there  should  be 
an  equal  division  of  all  property.  These  tenets  appear  at 
first  identical  with  the  latest  plans  of  social  ethics.      But 

'  The  more  ancient  form  is  Kavadh. 

-  I.e.  Ctesiphon. 

'  We  are  told  that  this  made  him  look  upon  Anushirawan  as  a  talisman, 
and  the  interesting  detail  is  added  that  the  mother  and  the  boy  were  conducted 
back  to  Mada'in  in  a  cart  as  became  a  princess.  Wheeled  traffic  is  unknown 
on  these  roads,  but  Professor  Noldeke  refers  us  to  Plutarch's  Artax.  27, 
where  we  are  told  that  the  king's  wife  used  that  means  of  locomotion.  In 
recent  times  Europeans  have  taken  their  carriages  from  Meshed  to  Teheran  on 
Kobad's  route. 


28  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  502. 

Mazdakism  had  a  side  which  is  not  shared  by  the 
Socialistic  creed.  Its  founder  preached  a  life  of  piety 
and  abstinence,  and  himself  practised  an  extreme 
asceticism,  refraining  from  the  use  of  animal  food. 
Kobad  saw  in  the  new  cult  an  opportunity  of  eluding 
the  grip  of  the  nobles  and  clergy,  who  stifled  his 
aspirations  to  govern  as  well  as  reign.  He  espoused  the 
reformer's  side  with  ardour,^  and  thereby  hastened  the 
anarchy  which  such  doctrines  were  certain  to  promote. 
The  followers  of  Mazdak  adopted  such  of  his  principles 
as  appealed  to  their  unbridled  lust,  and  ignored  the  re- 
ligious teaching  with  which  he  sought  to  hold  it  in  check. 
The  disorders  were  stemmed  by  a  combination  between 
the  nobles  and  the  clergy,  who  seized  and  imprisoned 
Kobad,  setting  up  his  brother  Jamasp  in  his  stead.  But 
Kobad  contrived  to  escape  from  confinement,  and  sought 
shelter  with  old  allies,  the  Ephthalites.  With  them  he 
sojourned  until  502,  when  he  returned  to  Persia  at  the 
head  of  a  large  force,  and  overthrew  his  brother,  thus 
regaining  sovereignty.  The  remainder  of  Kobad's  career 
was  as  stirring  as  the  commencement  had  been.  Hardly 
was  he  reinstated  on  the  throne  ere  hostilities  broke  out 
with  Rome,  and  then  began  a  series  of  terrible  conflicts 
which  reduced  the  strength  of  both  parties  to  the 
lowest  ebb,  and  rendered  them  a  prey  to  barbaric 
invasion. 

Not  until  506  was  a  truce  concluded  between  the  two 
powers ;  but  it  did  not  bring  rest  to  Kobad's  distracted 
empire.  He  was  soon  plunged  into  hostilities  with  the 
Huns, — whether  the  Ephthalites,  or  another  branch  of 
the  race,  is  uncertain.     The  result  is  not  recorded,  but 

^  Persian  historians  assert  that  he  was  converted  by  a  sham  miracle, 
and  that  he  continued  to  believe  in  Mazdak  during  the  rest  of  his  life. 
But  his  motives  were  probably  purely  political,  and  not  based  on  con- 
version. 


A.D.550.]         SASANIDES,  EPHTHALITES,  TURKS       29 

it  must  be  assumed  to  have  been  favourable  to  his  army. 
In  528  he  was  confronted  with  a  more  pressing  danger 
than  had  attended  his  struggles  with  Roman  legions  over 
barbaric  hordes.  Mazdak's  now  rampant  army  held  the 
land,  and  a  reign  of  terror  set  in  which  threatened 
the  existence  of  its  institutions.  Kobad  at  length  be- 
came alive  to  the  potency  of  the  force  for  evil  which 
he  had  encouraged,  and  the  measures  which  he  adopted 
for  the  suppression  were  drastic  and  effectual.  The 
effort,  however,  proved  too  severe  for  his  declining 
strength,  and  three  years  later  he  closed  a  chequered  but 
not  unsuccessful  career. 

His  successor,  Chosrau  I.,  surnamed  Anushirawan 
"the  Just,"  stands  forth  as  the  most  illustrious  figure 
in  the  annals  of  ancient  Persia.  Chroniclers  agree  in 
depicting  him  as  a  wise  and  benevolent  ruler,  and  one 
who  made  his  prowess  reflected  in  distant  regions.  His 
first  care  was  to  restore  order  in  a  realm  which  still 
groaned  under  the  curse  of  Mazdakism  ;  his  next  to 
crush  the  Ephthalites,  whose  incursions  into  his  eastern 
provinces  had  been  as  disastrous  as  those  of  the  Roman 
legions  into  Armenia.  In  the  meanwhile  the  Ephthalites 
were  being  threatened  from  another  quarter  by  the 
Turks. 

The  Turks  proper,  that  is  the  Tu-kiue  of  the  Chinese, 
first  appear  in  the  history  of  the  Sasanides  about  A.D. 
550.  At  that  period  the  Turks  were  divided  into  two 
distinct  khanates — (i)  the  Eastern  Turks,^  who  pos- 
sessed the  vast  territory  between  the  Ural  and  Mongolia  ; 
and  (2)  the  Western  Turks,  or  Tu-kiue,  who  ruled  in 
Central  Asia  from  the  Altai  to  the  Jaxartes.  About 
550  the  Khakan  of  the  Turks,  whose  name  was  Tumen, 

^  The  famous  Orkhon  inscriptions  which  have  been  deciphered  by  MM. 
Radloff  of  St.  Petersburg,  and  V.  Thomsen  of  Copenhagen,  belong  to  this 
branch  of  the  Turks. 


30  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  553. 

being  elated  with  successes  he  had  gained  over  the 
Tartars/  made  so  bold  as  to  demand  in  marriage  the 
daughter  of  the  Khakan  of  the  Juen-Juen,  Tiu-ping. 
On  receiving  an  insulting  refusal,  Tumen  at  once  de- 
clared war  against  the  Juen-Juen ;  at  the  same  time 
he  married  the  daughter  of  the  Chinese  emperor,  with 
whose  aid  he  defeated  Tiu-ping.  Tumen  then  took  the 
title  of  Il-khan  (or  khan  of  the  people),  and  established 
his  court  in  the  mountain  of  Tu-kin,  near  the  sources 
of  the  Irtish.  He  only  enjoyed  his  newly  acquired 
empire  for  a  short  time,  for  in  the  following  year  (A.D. 
553)  he  died.  His  son  Ko-lo  mounted  the  throne, 
but  died  very  shortly  afterwards,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  illustrious  brother  Mokan-khan,  whom  we  find 
in  554  entering  into  relations  with  Anushirawan  the 
Just.  Though  he  had  finally  crushed  the  Juen-Juen,  and 
became  master  of  their  vast  country,  he  was  fearful  of 
the  superiority  of  the  Chinese,  and  therefore  turned  his 
arms  in  a  westerly  direction.^  The  Turks  now  crossed 
the  Jaxartes  and  entered  Badakhshan,  where  they  en- 
countered the  Ephthalites,  with  whom,  according  to 
Tabari,  they  at  first  dwelt  in  peace. 

Great  uncertainty  prevails  as  to  the  dates  and  details 
of  the  campaigns  undertaken  by  the  Anushirawan  in 
association  with  the  Turks  against  their  inveterate  foes. 
But  their  result  is  not  open  to  question ;  for  about  the 
year  560  we  find  the  territories  of  the  White  Huns 
divided  between  the  allies.  The  Turks  then  became 
masters  of  Transoxiana,  while  the  Persians  took  pos- 
session of  Balkh  and  Tokharistan.  The  Oxus  served 
as  the  boundary  between  their  respective  spheres  of 
influence.^     Then  Bactria,  which  had  been  a  perpetual 

^  De  Guignes,  ii.  p.  374. 

2  Cf.  De  Guignes,  vol.  ii.  p.  378. 

'  Persian  and  Roman  writers  assert  that  Anushirawan  conquered  Trans- 


A.D.  579-1         SASANIDES,  EPHTHALITES,  TURKS       31 

thorn  in  Persia's  side,  became  one  of  its  provinces,  and 
the  fate  of  Piruz  was  fully  avenged.  Anushirawan  set 
a  seal  to  his  friendship  with  the  Turks  by  espousing 
their  chiefs  daughter ;  but  the  alliance  did  not  produce 
lasting  results.  The  Romans  regarded  with  unconcealed 
apprehension  the  alliance  between  foes  which  threatened 
the  existence  of  their  Western  Empire,  and  they  sent 
frequent  embassies  to  the  Turkish  Khakan  with  a  view 
to  detaching  him  from  Anushirawan.  The  recon- 
ciliation was  partially  successful,  but  the  recurrence  of 
disorders  on  his  frontier  led  the  Persian  king  to  build 
the  great  city  of  Darband,  to  ser\-e  as  a  rallying 
point  in  repulsing  Turkish  attacks.  After  its  com- 
pletion we  hear  little  of  their  troublesome  neighbours, 
and  Anushirawan's  concluding  years  were  exempt  from 
the  troubles  which  had  overwhelmed  so  many  of  his 
predecessors. 

On  the  death  of  Chosrau  Anushirawan  in  A.D.  579, 
Hormuz  IV.,  his  son  by  the  daughter  of  the  Turkish 
Khakan,  ascended  the  throne.  The  new  reign  was  soon 
clouded  by  war  with  Rome,  and  his  own  kinsmen  on  the 
maternal  side.  At  one  period  Hormuz  endured  simul- 
taneous attacks  from  four  different  quarters.  A  Turkish 
prince,  called  by  Tabari,  Shaba,  at  the  head  of  300,000 
warriors  advanced  as  far  as  BadghTs  and  Herat.  The 
Roman  emperor,  with  an  army  of  80,000  strong, 
attacked  Hormuz  in  the  Syrian  desert.  The  king  of 
the  Khazars  led  a  large  force  against  Darband,  and 
finally  two  Arab  chieftains  raided  the  Euphrates  Valley. 
Shaba   sent    Hormuz  a  haughty  message  "to  see  that 


oxiana,  but  this  seems  most  improbable.  For,  as  Noldeke  points  out  (foot- 
note to  page  159  of  his  Sasanides),  Huen-Tsang,  who  visited  the  countiy  soon 
after  these  events,  speaks  only  of  Turkish  and  other  barbarian  States.  More- 
over, the  State  of  Transoxiana  at  the  time  of  the  Mohammedan  invasion  augurs 
strongly  against  the  extension  of  Persian  rule. 


32  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  590. 

his  bridges  and  roads  were  in  good  order,  for  that  he 
intended  to  cross  Persia  on  his  way  to  the  Romans," 
The  Persian  monarch's  reply  was  the  despatch  of  a 
nobleman  of  Ray,  named  Bahram  Chubin,  in  command 
of  twelve  thousand  picked  veterans,  to  hinder  the  progress 
of  the  Turks.  Bahram  advanced  against  them  by  forced 
marches,  and  surprised  Shaba  in  his  camp.  The  Turks 
were  routed,  and  Shaba  perished  by  an  arrow  from 
Bahram's  bow.  The  dead  chieftain's  son  was  taken 
prisoner,  and  sent  together  with  250,000  camel-loads 
of  booty  to  Hormuz.  The  victorious  general  was 
straightway  despatched  to  Transcaucasia  to  oppose  the 
Romans ;  but  there  he  met  with  a  crushing  defeat.  It 
is  not  within  the  scope  of  the  present  work  to  record  all 
the  details  of  the  extraordinary  career  of  Bahram  Chubin, 
who  is  one  of  the  favourite  heroes  of  Persian  poetry.^ 
Suffice  it  to  state  that  Hormuz,  in  an  evil  hour  for  him- 
self, deprived  the  great  general  of  his  command  as 
a  punishment  for  his  failure  in  the  campaign  against 
the  Romans,  and  then  drove  him  into  a  revolt  which 
led  to  his  own  dethronement  (590).  His  successor, 
Chosrau  II.,  surnamed  Parviz  "  the  Victorious,"  proved  a 
despot  of  the  true  Oriental  type.  He  began  his  reign 
by  slaughtering  an  uncle  Bendoe,  to  whose  efforts  he 
owed  the  throne  of  Persia.  Another  uncle  called  Bistam, 
who  had  stood  by  him  at  the  crisis  of  his  fate,  escaped 
his  clutches,  and  held  out  against  him  for  six  years  with 
the  aid  of  the  Turks  and  people  of  Daylam,  succumbing 
at  length  to  treachery.  But  Parviz  was  a  brave  and 
capable  soldier ;  and  at  one  period  of  his  career  it  seemed 
as  though  Persia  were  destined  to  build  up  an  eastern 
empire  on  the  ruins  of  the  Roman  sway.  In  613  he 
conquered    Damascus,   and  in  the   following  year  Jeru- 

^  P'or  a  full  account  of  his  life — historical  and   fictitious — we   refer   the 
reader  to  the  Appendix  of  Noldeke's  Sdsaniden,  p.  474. 


A.D.6I3.)         SASANIDES,  EPHTHALITES,  TURKS       33 

salem  bowed  its  stubborn  neck  to  the  Persian  yoke.^ 
But  a  new  movement  was  gathering  force  which  was 
destined  to  sweep  before  it  the  effete  civilisation  of  Persia 
and  Byzantium. 

1  It  was  reconquered  in  629  by  Heraclius,  the  Byzantine  emperor,  who 
set  up  the  Cross  in  the  city  which  had  first  beheld  the  emblem  of  salvation  ; 
and  the  Feast  of  the  Elevation  of  the  Cross  is  kept  on  the  14th  September 
in  memory  of  that  event. 


CHAPTER  V 

The  Rise  of  Islam  and  Invasions  of  the  Arabs 

At  the  end  of  the  sixth  century  the  western  shore  of 
Arabia  was  inhabited  by  tribes  of  Semitic  descent,  who 
possessed  a  complex  religion  and  some  literary  culture. 
The  capital  was  Mekka,  to  the  north  of  Arabia  Felix,^ 
an  ancient  city  which  nestled  round  a  temple  called  the 
Ka'ba,  or  Cube.  In  this  holy  of  holies  was  a  black 
stone,  probably  a  meteorite,  which  served  as  a  tribal 
fetish,  and  attracted  hosts  of  pilgrims  from  the  southern 
provinces  of  the  peninsula.  The  family  who  had  charge 
of  the  temple  belonged  to  the  priestly  tribe  of  Koraysh, 
and  one  of  its  members  was  the  future  prophet  Mohammed. 
While  a  youth  he  gained  an  insight  into  the  habits  of  men 
of  various  creeds,  not  only  as  an  inhabitant  of  Mekka, 
whither  merchants  and  pilgrims  of  widely  different  creeds 
and  nationalities  flocked,  but  as  a  frequent  attendant  on 
caravans  during  distant  journeys  to  the  north.  The 
impression  left  on  his  mind  was  that  the  religions  of  the 
Christian  and  the  Jew  had  far  greater  vitality  than  the 
lukewarm  idolatry  of  his  own  people.^ 

^  The  origin  of  this  well-known  expression  is  curious.  The  designation 
Yemen,  or  the  "  right  hand,"  was  given  by  its  northern  neighbours  to  a 
strip  on  the  south-eastern  coast  of  the  Red  Sea.  But  in  Arabic,  as  in  the 
Latin  and  many  other  languages,  the  right  hand  is  associated  with  good 
fortune.  Hence  by  mistranslation  the  territory  became  known  to  the  West 
as  "The  Blessed,"  or  "Felix."  It  is  well  watered,  and  is  better  peopled 
than  any  other  part  of  the  Arabian  peninsula. 

2  The  Kdba  is  said  to  have  contained   i6o  idols,  each  tribe  having  its 

31 


A.D.62a.i  THE  RISE  OF  ISLAM  35 

At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  entered  the  service 
of  a  middle-aged  widow  named  Khadija,  who  carried 
on  a  large  caravan  trade,  and  he  found  such  favour 
in  her  eyes  that  she  offered  to  become  his  wife. 
Mohammed,  being  by  this  marriage  assured  of  a 
competence  for  life,  withdrew  from  the  world  and 
began  to  cast  about  him  for  the  means  of  raising 
the  debased  moral  standard  of  his  countrymen.  The 
conception  of  a  Messiah,  which  enabled  the  Hebrews 
to  bear  their  many  afflictions,  and  of  the  Comforter 
promised  by  Jesus,  worked  so  strongly  upon  his  power- 
ful imagination  that  he  was  at  length  convinced  that 
he  himself  was  the  chosen  one  for  whom  the  world  was 
waiting.  Catalepsy,  which  frequently  threw  him  into 
long  trances,  led  his  superstitious  neighbours  to  believe 
that  he  held  commune  with  higher  powers.  At  the  age 
of  forty  ^  Mohammed  came  before  the  Eastern  world  with 
his  simple  gospel :  "  There  is  but  one  God,  Allah,  and 
Mohammed  is  his  Prophet."  At  first  none  but  a  few  of 
his  closest  associates  believed  in  his  mission,  and  so 
much  opposition  did  he  encounter  that  he  was  obliged 
to  flee  from  Mekka  to  the  town  of  Medina,  270  miles 
northwards.  This  was  on  the  6th  of  July  A.D.  622, 
which  has  been  taken  as  the  starting-point  of  the 
Mohammedan  era.-  And  fitly  so,  for  it  was  the  turning- 
point  of  Mohammed's  great  career.  The  once  flouted 
visionary  gained  hosts  of  adherents  in  Medina  and  the 

separate  God ;  and  so  great  was  the  toleration  in  ante-Mohammedan  times  that 
on  the  pillars  of  the  temples  there  were  also  to  be  found  images  of  Abraham 
and  of  the  Virgin  and  Child.  In  the  sixth  cent\iry  the  primitive  religion  had 
lost  its  old  signification  and  had  developed  into  fetishism. 

^  Swedenborg  was  fifty-eight  ere  he  had  his  first  \-ision. 

2  There  are  two  popular  fallacies  to  be  noted  with  regard  to  the  so-called 
'■'•  Hegira."  In  the  first  place,  it  should  be  transcribed  as  Hijra  ;  and  secondly, 
the  word  does  not  mean  flight,  but  separation,  for  the  incident  to  be  recalled 
was  not  Mohammed's  flight  to  Medina — but  his  separation  from  his  family. 


36  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.n.esa. 

surrounding  country,  and  spared  no  effort  to  consolidate 
his  influence  by  appeals  to  the  latent  fanaticism  of  the 
Arab  character.  He  continued  to  utter  rhapsodies  which, 
two  years  after  his  death,  were  collected  and  divided  into 
chapters  and  verses  under  the  name  of  the  Koran,  and 
became  the  foundation  of  the  religious  and  civil  codes 
of  his  followers. 

Mekka  soon  recognised  his  mission,  and  after  a  fierce 
struggle  with  many  vicissitudes  the  whole  of  Arabia 
accepted  Islam.^ 

At  the  time  of  Mohammed's  death,  which  took  place 
in  the  i/^h  year  of  his  Hijra,  or  a.d.  632,  the  creed 
which  he  had  formulated  was  still  a  religious  rather  than 
a  worldly  power.  But  it  had  profoundly  stirred  the 
impetuous,  highly  strung  Arab  temperament,  which  was 
vaguely  conscious  of  possessing  immense  hidden  force, 
and  of  a  boundless  sphere  for  its  exercise  in  the  worn- 
out  empires  which  bounded  their  peninsula.  A  leader 
alone  was  wanted  to  focus  and  direct  the  aspirations 
engendered  by  the  dead  Prophet's  teachings,  and  one 
was  found  in  the  person  of  Abu  Bekr,  Mohammed's 
father-in-law  and  earliest  convert.  He  was  proclaimed 
as  the  Khalifa,^  or  successor  of  the  Prophet,  and  was  the 
first  of  that  long  line  of  sovereigns  who,  like  the  Tsars 
of  our  own  age,  wielded  unquestioned  spiritual  and 
temporal  power,  and,  like  them,  became  prominent  factors 
in  the  history  of  the  Eastern  world. 

^  "Islam"  is  synonymous  for  Mohammedanism  in  all  Arabic-speaking 
countries.  Its  literal  meaning  is  "resignation" — a  heart-whole  submission 
to  the  divine  will. 

2  Khalifa  Rasul  Illah  was  the  full  title  of  the  "  Successor  of  the 
Prophet  of  God."  The  correct  designation  of  the  holder  of  the  office  is 
Khalifa,  while  the  office  itself  is  Khilafaa.  The  former  word  has  till  quite 
lately  been  transcribed  "Khalif,"  or  Caliph.  The  self-styled  successor  of 
the  Mahdi  in  the  Soudan  is,  however,  known  to  Europe  under  the  correct 
designation,  Kbalifah. 


A.a  639.1  THE  RISE  OF  ISLAM  37 

The  new-born  creed  soon  showed  its  strongly  miUtant 
character.  Led  by  Khalid,  a  pillar  of  Islam  who  won  by 
his  prowess  the  title  of  the  Sword  of  God,  the  Arabs 
defeated  a  Roman  army  with  heavy  loss,  and  took  Dam- 
ascus. In  six  years  the  whole  of  Syria  and  Palestine 
passed  under  their  sway.  Persia  was  the  next  object  of 
attack.  The  Zoroastrians  struggled  long  and  desperately 
for  their  independence,  but  in  639  they  suffered  a  crush- 
ing defeat  at  Nahavend,  a  battle  which  must  rank  high 
amongst  those  which  have  influenced  the  current  of  the 
world's  histor>'.  Yezdijerd,  the  last  of  the  Sasanian 
dynasty,  fled  through  Sistan  and  Khorasan  to  Merv. 
Here  he  found  no  safe  asylum,  for  the  governor  sent 
news  of  his  arrival  to  the  Turks,  and  the  Khakan  advanced 
in  person  to  seize  so  rich  a  prize.  The  fugitive  became 
aware  of  the  intended  treachery,  and  concealed  himself 
in  a  mill  near  the  city.  The  owner  received  him  with 
apparent  kindness,  but  was  tempted  by  the  splendour  of 
the  king's  accoutrements  to  kill  him  while  he  slept.  He 
severed  Yezdijerd's  head  from  his  body,  which  he  cast 
into  the  mill  stream.^ 

The  immediate  results  of  the  battle  of  Nahavend  were 
disastrous  to  civilisation.  Persia  was  traversed  in  all 
directions  by  bands  of  marauding  Arabs,  and  the  miser- 
able inhabitants  suffered  as  severely  as  they  had  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  the  Mazdakites.  "  The  Caliph  Othman,"  ^ 
writes  Gibbon,^  "  promised  the  government  of  Khorasan 
to  the  first  general  who  should  enter  that  large  and 
populous  country,  the  kingdom  of  the  ancient  Bactrians. 
The  condition  was  accepted,  the  prize  was  deserved ;  the 

^  The  outraged  hospitality  was  avenged,  for  the  murderer  was  torn  to 
pieces  by  the  mob,  while  the  body  of  Yezdijerd  was  embalmed  and  buried 
in  his  ancestral  tomb  at  Istakhr. 

*  He  was  the  Prophet's  son-in-law,  and  had  been  elected  in  A.H.  44  by 
a  council  of  six  as  successor  to  the  stem  'Omar,  the  second  Caliph. 

'  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  chap.  li. 


38  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D.65.. 

standard  of  Mahomet  was  planted  on  the  walls  of  Herat, 
Merou,  and  Balkh ;  and  the  successful  leader  neither 
halted  nor  reposed  till  his  foaming  cavalry  had  tasted 
the  waters  of  the  Oxus."  The  ill-cemented  power  of 
the  Caliph  was  more  adapted  for  conquest  than  assimi- 
lation, and  its  area  overrun  by  his  undisciplined  hordes 
was  too  vast  to  be  held  in  permanent  subjection.  Con- 
scious of  their  weakness,  the  Arabs  spared  no  efforts  to 
spread  the  tenets  of  Islam,  which  alone  was  capable  of 
welding  together  communities  differing  widely  in  race, 
language,  and  customs.  From  this  epoch  dates  the 
decline  of  the  creed  of  Zoroaster  throughout  Persia  and 
the  countries  of  Central  Asia.  The  assassination  of  the 
Caliph  'Omar  by  a  Persian  slave  was  the  signal  for  a 
general  insurrection  throughout  this  loosely  knitted  empire. 
This  was  not  finally  quelled  till  A.H.  31  (652),  when 
Ibn  'Amir  gained  a  victory  over  the  Persians  at  Khwarazm 
on  the  Oxus,  and  compelled  the  country  as  far  as  Balkh 
to  acknowledge  the  Caliph's  suzerainty.^  In  A.H.  41  (661) 
'Abdullah  ibn  'Amir  organised  a  successful  expedition  into 
Khorasan  and  Sistan;  ^  and  in  the  course  of  the  following 
year  Kays  ibn  al-Haytham  was  sent  thither  as  provincial 
governor.  He  was  superseded  in  A.H.  43  (663)  by 
'Abdullah  ibn  Khazim.  In  A.H.  45  (665)  Ziyad,  whom 
in  the  preceding  year  the  Great  Caliph  Mo'awiya  had 
officially  recognised  as  his  brother,  was  made  governor 
of  Basra  and  "  the  East."  Al-Hakam  ibn  'Amir  al- 
Ghifarl  was  sent  in  A.H.  47  {66y)  on  an  expedition  into 

^  Cf.  Muir,  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Caliphate,  p.  208. 

2  Tabari,  Annates,  Series  II.  p.  15.  From  this  date  until  the  appearance 
in  Central  Asia  of  Kutayba  in  A.H.  86,  our  history  is  little  more  than  an 
enumeration  of  Arab  governors  in  Khorasan,  whose  rule  was  usually  as 
uneventful  as  it  was  shortlived.  We  have,  however,  considered  it  fitting  to 
enter  here  into  detail  somewhat  disproportionate  to  the  rest  of  our  narrative, 
seeing  that  the  facts  have  hitherto  been  only  accessible  in  works  of  Oriental 
writers. 


^  s" 

Z  3 

—  z 

—  < 


<     s 


AD. 673.]  THE  RISE  OF  ISLAM  39 

Khorasan.  He  occupied  Tokharistan  and  the  country' 
south  and  south-east  of  Balkh  as  far  as  the  Hindu  Kush, 
and  was,  moreover,  the  first  Arabian  general  to  cross  the 
Oxus.i  Al-Hakam  died  at  Merv  in  A.H.  50  (670),  on 
his  return  from  an  expedition  against  the  people  of  Mount 
Ashall.-  In  the  following  year  Rabf  ibn  Ziyad  ^  el- 
Harithl  was  sent  to  Khorasan  to  succeed  him.*  About 
this  date  many  Arabs  migrated  with  their  families  to 
Khorasan  and  settled  there.^  Rabf's  first  care  was  the 
reduction  of  Balkh,  which  had  been  the  scene  of  a  revolt, 
and  this  he  effected  without  resorting  to  force.  He  also 
engaged  the  Turks  in  Kuhistan,  and  put  them  to  rout. 
Among  the  fugitives  was  Nizak  Tarkhun,^  who  perished 
later  at  the  hands  of  Kutayba  ibn  Muslim.  Rabf  also 
crossed  the  Oxus,  but  made  no  conquests  on  the  farther 
side.^  His  death,  and  that  of  his  master  Ziyad,  took 
place  in  A.H.  53  (673).  He  named  his  son  'Abdullah  as 
his  successor,  but  the  latter  died  two  months  later,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Khulayd  ibn  'Abdullah  el-Hanafl.  On 
the  death  of  Ziyad  the  Caliph  gave  the  governments  of 
Kufa,  Basra,  and  Khorasan  to  his  own  son  'Ubaydullah, 
while  he  appointed  Ziyad's  son'Ubaydullah,in  supersession 
of  Khulayd,  as  his  lieutenant  in  Khorasan.  'Ubaydullah 
ibn  Ziyad  collected  an  army  in  Irak,  entered  Khorasan 
and,  crossing  the  Oxus,  penetrated  into  the  mountains 
of  Bokhara,^  and  conquered  Ramtlna  and  half  of  Bay- 

^  Miiller,  Der  Islam,  i.  p.  354. 

'  Tabari,  Atmales,  II.  p.  109. 

'  He  was  not  the  son  of  the  famous  governor  of  Basra. 

■*  In  the  interim  the  post  seems  to  have  been  filled  for  a  short  time  by 
Khulayd  ibn  'Abdullah  el-Hanafl  (Tabari,  II.  p.  155). 

«  Tabari,  II.  p.  156. 

'  Vambery  considers  Tarkhdn  (or  Tarkhun)  to  be  an  old  Turkish  title, 
which  Mohammedan  authors  have  regarded  erroneously  as  a  proper  name. 

^  Tabari,  II.  p.  156. 

*  Tabari,  II.  p.  169.  Tabari  says  he  was  the  first  to  cross  the  mountains 
of  Bokhara  on  a  camel,  loc.  cit. 


40  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D.676. 

kand.  The  Turks  of  Bokhara  were  at  that  time  governed 
by  a  princess  named  Khatun,  who  acted  as  regent  during 
the  minority  of  her  son  Tughshada.  On  the  approach  of 
the  Arabs  with  an  overwhelming  force,  Khatun  fled  to 
Samarkand.  According  to  Tabari,^  so  great  was  her 
haste  that  one  of  her  shoes  was  left  behind.  It  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Arabs,  and  was  valued  by  them  at 
200,000  direms.2 

Diplomacy  gained  for  Bokhara  what  arms  could 
never  have  accomplished.  Khatun  saved  the  evacuation 
of  her  capital  by  entering  into  a  treaty  by  which  she 
bound  herself  to  pay  a  yearly  tribute.^  'Ubaydullah  with- 
drew to  Merv  laden  with  booty,  and  on  his  return  to 
Irak  was  appointed  by  the  Caliph  Mo'awiya,  governor 
of  Basra.  In  A.H.  56  {6y6)  Sa'ld  ibn  'Othman,  who  had 
superseded  him  in  Khorasan,  determined  to  complete  the 
conquest  of  Bokhara,  in  spite  of  the  treaty  concluded  by 
his  predecessor.  The  Queen-Regent  Khatun  was  power- 
less to  resist  the  invasion,  for  she  had  reason  to  doubt  the 
loyalty  of  her  troops,  and  her  resources  had  been  well- 
nigh  exhausted  in  her  struggle  with  'Ubaydullah.  She 
therefore  came  to  terms  with  Sa'Id  by  the  surrender  of 
the  last  shreds  of  her  sovereignty  in  Bokhara.  But 
Samarkand,  the  wealthiest  of  its  strongholds,  was  still 
unmastered.  Sa'ld  ibn  'Othman  embarked  on  a  cam- 
paign for  its  reduction,  carrying  with  him  eighty  Bokharan 

^  Tabari,  II.  p.  169.  The  Persian  Tabari  does  not  mention  this  queen, 
but  relates  the  same  incident  of  the  king  of  the  Turks  ;  Ba" lami,  the 
Persian  translator,  also  adds  that  the  shoe  was  sold  by  Ubaydullah  to  the 
merchants  of  Basra.  Cf.  Zotenberg's  Chroniques  de  Tabari,  tome  iv. 
p.  19. 

*  The  direm,  derived  from  the  Greek  drachma,  contained  25  grains  of 
silver,  and  was  worth  about  5d.  of  our  money.  On  this  basis  the  value  of 
the  shoe  would  be  ^4166  sterling  ! 

^  Vambery,  History  of  Bokhara,  p.  20.  The  author  says  he  has  this  fact 
from  "Arabic  authors,"  but  we  have  been  unable  to  find  any  mention  of  it 
in  either  the  Arabic  or  Persian  versions  of  Tabari. 


A.D.68<x]  THE  RISE  OF  ISLAM  41 

nobles  as  hostages  for  their  queen's  good  behaviour.  After 
several  successful  engagements  with  the  Turks  he  stormed 
Samarkand  ^  and  carried  off  30,000  prisoners,  with  much 
booty ,'^  When  Said  passed  through  Bokhara  on  his 
return  to  Khorasan  the  queen  demanded  back  the  eighty 
hostages,  but  he  replied  that  he  did  not  yet  feel  sure  of 
her  good  faith,  and  that  he  would  not  part  with  the 
Bokharans  until  he  had  crossed  the  Amu  Darya.  At 
this  stage  of  his  march  the  queen  sent  messengers  to 
repeat  her  demand,  but  she  was  informed  by  Said  that 
the  hostages  should  be  sent  back  from  Merv.  Thus  he 
continued  to  elude  compliance,  and  finally  dragged  his 
wretched  captives  to  Medina.  Here  they  were  stripped  of 
the  attire  proper  to  their  rank  and  reduced  to  a  condition 
of  slavery.  Preferring  death  to  an  ignominious  existence, 
the  desperadoes  broke  into  Sa'id's  palace,  and,  closing  fast 
the  doors,  slew  him  and  afterwards  themselves.  This 
tragedy  occurred  in  A.H.  61  (680),  under  the  Caliphate  of 
Yezld  ibn  Merwan,  who  had  succeeded  his  father  Mo'awiya 
in  the  previous  year. 

One  of  the  Caliph's  first  acts  had  been  to  appoint 
Salm  ibn  Ziyad  as  his  lieutenant  in  Khorasan.^  The 
latter  found  the  northern  part  of  his  charge  a  prey  to 
revolt,  for  the  restless  Khatun  had  taken  advantage  of 
dissension  among  the  Caliph's  followers  to  throw  off  his 
hated  yoke.     Salm  took  council  with  a  trusted   general 

^  According  to  Tabari  {II.  p.  179),  Sa'id  was  met  by  a  great  Soghdian  force 
on  reaching  Samarkand.  The  rival  hosts  stood  facing  each  other  till  nightfall, 
but  on  the  following  day  Sa'id  made  a  furious  onslaught  and  put  the  defenders 
to  flight,  taking  fifteen  young  nobles  as  hostages. 

*  Narshakhi,  ed.  Schefer,  p.  39. 

'  Bellew  and  Vambery  both  call  him  "Muslim,"  a  reading  which  has 
been  adopted  in  the  Russian  translation  of  Narshakhi,  published  in  Tashkent 
in  1897.  The  latter,  indeed,  contains  a  note  to  the  effect  that  the  name  is 
written  "  Salm  "  in  Arabic  sources.  It  is  also  the  spelling  in  the  Persian 
Tabari.  Salm  was  twenty-four  years  of  age  on  his  appointment.  His  father 
was  Ubaydullah,  the  famous  governor  of  Basra. 


4«  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  683. 

named  Muhallab/  and,  establishing  a  base  at  Merv, 
crossed  the  Oxus  with  ^  a  force  6000  strong  and  moved 
rapidly  on  to  Bokhara.  The  queen,  in  her  despair, 
turned  to  the  Tarkhun  Malik  of  Soghd,  to  whom  she 
promised  her  hand  in  marriage  as  the  price  of  his  alliance 
against  the  invaders.  The  Tarkhun,  seduced  by  the 
dazzling  bait,  advanced  to  her  assistance  at  the  head 
of  1 20,000  men.  He  put  a  reconnoitring  party  of  the 
Arabs  to  flight,  destroying  more  than  half  their  number, 
but  was  beset  by  the  entire  force,  and  after  a  fierce 
struggle  was  utterly  routed.  So  vast  was  the  booty 
taken  by  Salm's  followers  in  the  pursuit  that  each  man- 
at-arms  received  2400  direms.^ 

This  victory  *  brought  the  queen  of  Bokhara  to  her 
senses.  She  sued  for  peace,  which  was  granted,  and  Salm 
returned  in  triumph.  Salm  seems  to  have  won  for 
himself  universal  respect  during  his  two  years'  residence 
in  Merv  as  governor  of  Khorasan,  and  the  fact  that  during 
this  period  2000  children  had  received  his  name-^  is 
quoted  as  a  proof  of  his  popularity. 

The  Caliph  Yezld  had  died  during  the  previous  year 
(683).  He  was  succeeded  by  Mo'awiya  II.,  who  was  less 
imbued  with  fanaticism  than  his  lieutenants,  and  found 
the  Caliphate  too  heavy  a  burden.      Resigning  it  after  a 

^  This  warrior  held  command  of  the  Arab  troops  in  Central  Asia  under 
several  viceroys  in  succession,  and  thus  gained  the  confidence  of  his  troops 
and  an  intimate  knowledge  of  Khorasan  and  the  adjoining  tracts.  The 
stability  in  the  office  of  generalissimo  went  far  to  neutralise  any  disadvan- 
tages occurring  from  the  frequent  changes  in  that  of  viceroy. 

'^  Tabari  (II.  p.  394)  tells  us  that  Salm  took  his  wife  Umm  Mohammed 
with  him,  and  that  she  was  the  first  Arab  woman  to  cross  the  Oxus.  She 
bore  him  a  son,  who  was  surnamed  the  "  Soghdian." 

'  ^55  reckoned  in  our  currency. 

*  Narshakhi's  account  of  these  events  brings  the  lack  of  discipline  among 
the  Arabs  into  a  strong  light,  and  serves  to  account  for  the  vicissitudes  of 
their  rule  in  Central  Asia. 

°  This  curious  custom  still  survives  in  Merv.  "One  day,"  writes 
O'Donovan,  "  the  town-crier,  accompanied  by  half  a  dozen  other  Turcomans, 


A.D.70O.]  THE  RISE  OF  ISLAM  43 

few  months'  reign,  he  left  Islam  a  prey  to  anarchy.  Two 
claimants  appeared  for  the  thorny  crown — ^'Abdullah  ibn 
Zobayr,  and  Merwan  I.  of  the  race  of  Umayya.  The 
first  gained  the  allegiance  of  Yemen,  including  the  Holy 
Places,  Egypt  and  part  of  Syria;  the  second  was  pro- 
claimed lord  of  Damascus,  and  speedily  drove  his  rival 
from  Syria  and  Egypt.  Mer\van's  son  and  successor, 
'Abd  el-Melik,  concluded  a  peace  with  the  Byzantine 
emperor  on  the  basis  of  the  payment  of  a  tribute  of 
50,000  pieces  of  gold,  and  turned  the  whole  of  his  forces 
against  the  pretender,  who  still  held  to  Mekka  and 
Medina.  Him  he  defeated  twice,  and  slew  Mohammad. 
All  Islam  was  now  under  his  chieftainship,  with  the 
exception  of  Khorasan,  which  was  governed  by  'Abdullah 
ibn  Khazim  as  representative  of  Ibn  Zobayr.  Finding 
it  impossible  to  secure  the  former's  allegiance,  'Abd  el- 
Melik  incited  one  of  his  generals  named  Bukayr  to 
compass  his  master's  death,  on  a  promise  to  confer  on 
him  the  governorship  of  the  province.  The  bait  was 
swallowed  by  Bukayr,  who  formed  a  conspiracy  against 
'Abdullah  ibn  Khazim,  and  deprived  him  of  authority 
(692).  He  became  head  of  Khorasan;  but  his  triumph 
was  shortlived.  The  Caliph  naturally  doubted  the 
loyalty  of  one  who  had  shown  himself  unfaithful  to  his 
trust,  and  superseded  him  by  Umayya  ibn  'Abdullah 
ibn  Khalid  (696).  Four  years  later  (700),  Muhallab, 
who  had  left  Merv  and  established  himself  in  Kesh  (the 
modern  Shahrisebz),  sent  his  son  Habib  with  a  huge  army 

entered  my  hut,  each  to  present  me  a  new-bom  child.  I  could  not  catch 
the  exact  words  ;  all  I  could  understand  was  that  one  of  the  infants  was 
O'Donovan  Beg,  another  0'Dono\'an  Khan,  a  third  O'Donovan  Bahadur. 
I  foiget  what  the  others  were.  It  turned  out  that  the  Tekkes'  newly  bom 
children  are,  as  a  rule,  called  after  any  distinguished  strangers  who  may  be 
on  the  oasis  at  the  time  of  their  births,  or  have  resided  there  a  short  time 
previously,  or  after  some  event  intimately  connected  with  the  tribe"  {The 
Story  of  Merv ^  p.  329). 


44  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  you 

against  Bokhara,  whose  king  he  utterly  defeated.  While 
Muhallab  was  in  Kesh,  his  followers  entreated  him  to 
penetrate  farther  into  the  country,  but  Muhallab  replied 
that  his  only  aim  was  to  bring  all  his  Musulmans  safe 
back  to  Merv.  After  two  years'  stay  at  Kesh  he  came 
to  terms  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding  country, 
and,  satisfied  with  the  large  tribute  they  rendered  to  him, 
returned  to  his  headquarters  at  Merv. 

Muhallab  died  A.H.  82  (701),  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Yezld  in  the  government  of  Merv.  In  A.H.  84 
(703)  ^  the  latter  was  deprived  of  his  post  by  the  famous 
Hajjaj,^  who  had  the  disposal  of  all  such  appointments. 
Yezld  thereupon  quitted  Khorasan,  and  his  brother 
Mufaddhal,  who  had  formerly  been  his  lieutenant,  was 
appointed  governor.  He  held  the  post  for  about  nine 
months,  undertaking  during  that  brief  period  successful 
expeditions  against  Khiva  and  Badghis.  The  immense 
spoils  of  war  he  distributed  among  his  soldiers,  keeping, 
we  are  told,  nothing  for  himself.  In  A.H.  86  (705) 
'Abd  el-Melik  died,  and  in  the  same  year,  on  the  arrival 
of  Yezld  in  'Irak,  Hajjaj  appointed  Kutayba  ibn  Muslim 
el-Bahili  governor  of  Khorasan  in  place  of  Mufaddhal. 
The  glorious  career  of  Kutayba  in  Central  Asia  began 
at  this  epoch  with  his  entry  into  Merv. 

^  Cf.  Aug.  Mviller,  Der  Islam,  p.  411,  who  gives  the  date  as  a.h.  85. 
'  An  entertaining  account  of  this  cruel  and  witty  governor  will  be  found  in 
d'ilerbelot,  under  the  article  Heggiage-ben-Josef-al-  Thakefi. 


CHAPTER   VI 

The  First  Eastern  Campaigns  of  Kutayba 
iBN  Muslim 

The  arrival  of  Kutayha  on  the  scene  marks  a  new  epoch 
in  the  history  of  Mohammedan  conquests  in  Central  Asia. 
Though  the  Arabs  had  been  for  many  years  masters  of 
Khorasan,  with  an  established  capital  at  Merv,^  their 
hold  on  the  country  beyond  the  Oxus  was  very  slight. 
The  expeditions  which  they  had  hitherto  made  into 
Bokhara  2  and  other  parts  of  Transoxiana  were  mere 
raids,  and  their  authority  in  those  countries  departed  with 
the  main  body  of  their  army.  Kutayba  was  the  first 
Arab  leader  who  compelled  the  inhabitants  of  the  tract 
lying  between  the  Oxus  and  Jaxartes  to  acknowledge  the 
Caliph's  supremacy,  and  to  plant  the  standard  of  Islam 
in  lands  where  the  creed  of  Zoroaster  had  retained  its 
greatest  vitality. 

^  Merv  has  been  styled  by  almost  all  European  writers  on  the  subject, 
"  The  Queen  of  the  World."  Now  the  origin  of  this  high-sounding  title  is 
the  expression  Merv-i-Shahijan^  a  title  used  to  distinguish  this  town  from 
Merv  er-Rud.  This  word  Shahijan  has  been  taken  as  a  corruption  of  Shah-i- 
jahan,  or  "  Queen  of  the  World."  Yakut  says  that  Shahijan  means  "Soul  of 
the  King."  The  form  as  it  now  stands  is  probably  "Arabicised"  from  an 
old  Persian  form  Shahgan,  "what  appertains  to  a  king."  Cf.  Ruckert, 
Gram.  Poet,  und  Rhet.  der  Perser  (Gotha,  1874),  p.  xix.  The  mistranslation, 
if  such  it  be,  has  shared  the  fate  of  most  mistranslations  of  the  kind,  and 
become  universal  among  Europeans. 

'  It  must  be  remembered  that  Bokhara  is  the  name  of  a  kingdom  as  well 
as  of  a  town. 


46  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D.705. 

In  A.H.  86  (705),  as  we  have  seen,  'Abd  el-Melik  died. 
He  was  succeeded  in  the  Caliphate  by  his  son  Wehd,  and 
in  the  same  year  Kutayba  ibn  Muslim  made  a  triumphal 
entry  into  Merv  as  governor  of  Khorasan.  On  arriving 
at  Merv,  Kutayba  called  together  the  inhabitants,  and 
urged  them  to  join  a  Holy  War,  emphasising  his  trum- 
pet-call by  quotations  from  the  Koran.  The  fierce  Arabs 
swarmed  to  his  standard,  and  Kutayba  soon  found  him- 
self at  the  head  of  an  army  animated  with  the  keenest 
enthusiasm,  to  whom  he  distributed  pay  sufficient  to  main- 
tain their  families  during  their  career  of  conquest.  The 
military  and  civil  administration  of  the  oasis  during  his 
absence  was  delegated  by  him  to  trusted  lieutenants. 
Having  thus  organised  victory,  he  set  out  in  a  westerly 
direction  across  the  desert.  The  first  town  which  he 
reached  was  Talikan.^  Here  he  was  received  by  the 
dihkans  ^  and  chief  men  of  Balkh,  who  escorted  him  across 
the  Oxus.  He  was  met  on  the  right  bank  by  the  king 
of  the  Chaghanian,  who  brought  presents  and  a  golden 
key,  and  invited  him  to  enter  his  capital.  Kutayba 
accepted  his  submission,  and  allowed  him  to  remain  in 
office  under  the  Caliph's  suzerainty.  He  then  marched 
to  Akhrun  and  Shuman,  and  after  levying  tribute  on 
their  chief,  returned  to  Merv.  Some  authorities  relate 
that  Kutayba,  before  crossing  the  Oxus,  made  an  expe- 
dition into  Balkh,  and  there  crushed  a  rising  among  the 
inhabitants,  who  were  attempting  to  rid  themselves  of  the 
Arab  yoke.^     In  the  same  year  he  concluded  a  peace 

^  Between  Balkh  and  Merv  er-Rud,  three  days'  journey  from  the  latter. 
Istakhri,  the  geographer,  speaks  of  it  as  the  most  important  place  in  Tok- 
haristan. 

2  Dihakan  =  tht  man  {i.e.  the  head  man)  of  the  dih,  or  village. 

'  Vambery  seems  to  confuse  the  two  accounts,  for  he  says  :  "  He  had  not 
yet  arrived  within  the  limits  of  ancient  Bactria  when  the  inhabitants  of  Balkh 
came  out  to  meet  him,  and  conducted  him  with  honour  into  their  city." 
But  Tabari  speaks  distinctly  of  an  engagement,  in  connection  with  which  he 


^-^^^ 


CENTRAL  ASIAN  TYPES 


1.  PERSIAN 

2.  PERSIAN 


3.  AFGHAN 

4.  KALMUCK 


A.D.705.1  FIRST  EASTERN  CAMPAIGNS  47 

with  Nizek,  Tarkhun  of  Badghis.  In  the  following  year, 
A.H.  87  (705),  Kutayba  set  out  for  Transoxiana.  During 
his  march  thither  he  passed  through  Merv  er-Rud,  Amul, 
and  Zamin ;  and,  crossing  the  Oxus,  sat  down  before 
Baykand.  This  place  was,  according  to  Tabari,  the 
Bokharan  town  nearest  to  the  great  river,  and  lay  at  the 
edge  of  the  desert.  It  was  known  far  and  wide  as  the 
"  City  of  Merchants,"  and  was  equally  renowned  for  the 
strength  of  its  fortifications.  The  inhabitants,  on  learning 
Kutayba's  approach,  put  their  town  into  a  state  of  de- 
fence, and  sent  messengers  into  Soghdiana  imploring 
aid.  The  call  was  obeyed,  and  Kutayba's  little  force 
was  soon  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  numerous  and 
determined  foes.  For  a  space  of  two  months  so  closely 
was  he  pressed  that  he  was  unable  to  send  a  messenger 
to  Hajjaj,  whose  consequent  anxiety  led  him  to  order 
prayers  for  the  army  in  all  the  mosques.  Tabari  tells  us 
that  Kutayba  had  in  his  employ  a  Persian  spy,  named 
Tandar,  whom  the  Bokharans  bribed  to  induce  his  master 
to  retire  from  their  country.  Tandar  obtained  a  private 
audience  of  Kutayba,  which  was  attended  only  by  a 
certain  Dhirar  ibn  Hasan.  He  told  the  Amir  that  his 
patron  Hajjaj  had  lost  his  office,  and  that  a  new  governor 
had  arrived  to  replace  the  former.  Kutayba  called  one 
of  his  slaves  named  Siyah,  and  ordered  him  to  strike  off 
Tandar's  head.  When  this  had  been  done,  he  turned 
to  Dhirar  and  said  :  "  No  one  knows  of  this  affair  except 
you  and  myself.  If  it  is  bruited  abroad  I  shall  be  certain 
that  you  are  to  blame ;  so  master  your  tongue.    For  should 

remembers  an  interesting  detail.  Among  the  captives  taken  at  that  time  was 
the  wife  of  a  certain  Barmek.  She  was  taken  into  the  harem  of  Kutayba's 
brother  'Abdullah,  by  whom  she  had  a  son,  who  was  commonly  regarded  as 
the  ancestor  of  the  famous  Barmecides  of  the  court  of  Baghdad.  The  story 
was  probably  invented  to  give  the  family  a  less  obscure  lineage  than  that 
of  humble  immigrants  from  Balkh.  Cf.  Muir,  History  of  the  Caliphate^ 
P-  358. 


48  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [ad.  705. 

the  people  hear  the  story,  they  will  be  discouraged." 
He  then  summoned  his  followers  into  his  presence. 
When  they  saw  the  body  of  Tandar  they  were  filled 
with  fear,  and  threw  themselves  on  the  ground  before 
Kutayba.  He  asked  them  why  they  were  appalled  by 
Tandar's  execution.  They  replied  :  "  Verily,  we  thought 
that  he  was  a  friend  to  the  Musulman."  "  No,"  replied 
Kutayba,  "  he  was  a  traitor — may  God  punish  him  for 
his  sins,  but  he  has  met  with  his  deserts.  Now  go  and 
prepare  to  meet  the  enemy  to-morrow  with  more  courage 
than  you  have  hitherto  shown." 

On  the  following  day  the  Arabs  took  up  their  posi- 
tions and  began  the  fight  with  fresh  vigour,  while 
Kutayba  passed  through  the  ranks  giving  his  commands 
and  encouraging  his  men  in  every  way.^  The  battle 
lasted  till  sunset,  when  the  enemy  gave  way  and  fled  in 
disorder  towards  the  town,  hotly  pursued  by  the  Arabs. 
A  few  only  reached  the  shelter  of  its  walls,  while  the 
rest  were  slain  or  taken  prisoners.  Kutayba  immedi- 
ately began  a  regular  siege  of  Baykand,  which,  though 
the  place  had  lost  most  of  its  garrison,  cost  the  assailants 
many  lives.^  For  fifty  days,  says  Narshakhi,  "  the 
efforts  of  the  Musulmans  were  of  no  avail,  and  their 
sufferings  were  great.  At  last  they  had  recourse  to 
stratagem.  A  party  of  soldiers  dug  a  trench  under  the 
town-wall,  near  the  citadel,  connected  with  a  stable  within 
the  fortress,  where  they  made  another  breach  in  the  wall. 
Hardly  had  the  Musulmans  reached  the  fortress  ere  these 
men  sallied  from  the  breach.  Kutayba  shouted :  "  To 
the  first  man  who  enters  the  fort  by  this  breach  I  will 
give  blood-money,  and  if  he  should  be  killed,  then  his 

'  Cf.  Tabari's  Annales,  Series  II.  p.  1 187,  and  Zotenberg's  Chroniques  de 
Tabari,  vol.  iv.  p.  157. 

2  Neither  version  of  Tabari  gives  any  details  of  this  siege,  but  Narshakhi's 
account,  of  which  we  extract  a  portion,  is  most  vivid. 


A.D.705.]  FIRST  EASTERN  CAMPAIGNS  49 

children  shall  receive  it."  This  promise  filled  the  be- 
siegers with  emulation.  All  threw  themselves  into  the 
breach,  and  captured  the  fort  The  men  of  Baykand 
begged  for  quarter,  which  Kutayba  granted,  and  then 
retired  laden  with  booty,  leaving  a  lieutenant  in  the 
town  with  a  detachment  of  troops.  But  when  he 
reached  Khunbun,^  which  is  only  a  farsakh's  distance 
from  Baykand,  on  the  Bokhara  road,  he  learnt  that  the 
people  of  Baykand  had  risen  against  his  lieutenant  and 
garrison,  and  slaughtered  them  after  cutting  off  their 
noses  and  ears.'^ 

Kutayba  immediately  turned  back  and  invaded  the 
town  a  second  time.  The  siege  lasted  a  month,  when 
the  Amir  had  a  tunnel  excavated  under  the  wall  and 
filled  with  wood,  which  was  set  on  fire.  The  wall  above 
crumbled  and  fell,  crushing  forty  men  to  death.  The 
Baykandis  offered  to  capitulate  on  condition  that  their 
lives  were  spared,  but  Kutayba  stormed  the  town  and 
put  to  death  all  the  fighting  men.  The  rest  were  carried 
off  into  slavery,  and  the  city  became  a  heap  of  ruins. 
Kutayba  then  returned  to  Merv  with  much  spoil,^  which, 
according  to  Tabari,  exceeded  in  value  all  the  booty 
that  had  been  taken  by  the  Arabs  in  Khorasan. 

The  story  of  Baykand's  resurrection  is  a  curious  one. 
It  was  a  town  of  long-standing  fame  and  a  great  centre  of 

^  Tabari  says  that  he  had  gone  five  farsakhs,  but  mentions  no  place- 
name. 

'  Narshakhi  records  that  the  lieutenant,  who  was  named  Varka,  was 
answerable  for  this  catastrophe.  A  citizen  of  Baykand,  it  seems,  had  two 
beautiful  daughters.  These  the  lieutenant  abducted,  whereupon  the  father 
remonstrated  with  him,  saying  :  "  Baykand  is  a  large  town,  why,  when  you 
have  the  whole  population  to  select  from,  should  you  carrv'  off  my  daughters  ?  " 
As  Varka  gave  no  answer,  the  enraged  father  drew  out  his  knife  and  stabbed 
him,  but  not  mortally. 

'  Narshakhi  tells  that  in  Baykand,  Kutayba  found  a  heathen  temple  in 
which  was  a  silver  idol  weighing  4000  direms  ;  also  a  quantity  of  golden 
vessels    which,   when  weighed    together,   amounted   to   150,000   mithkals. 


so  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  70s. 

trade ;  and,  during  the  siege,  most  of  the  heads  of 
families  were  absent  in  China  and  other  distant  countries 
with  their  caravans.  On  their  return  they  redeemed 
their  wives  and  surviving  relatives  from  the  Arabs,  and 
soon  repeopled  Baykand.  Narshakhi  justly  remarks,^ 
that  it  is  the  only  town  in  history  which,  after  under- 
going a  destruction,  root  and  branch,  was  restored  to  its 
former  prosperity  by  the  same  generation  as  saw  its 
ruin.  Tabari  adds  that  the  inhabitants  agreed  to  pay  a 
yearly  tribute  to  the  Arabs,  and  were  guaranteed  peace, 
under  a  written  pact,  by  Kutayba. 

The  conquest  of  Baykand  was  achieved  by  Kutayba 
in  the  autumn  of  the  year  of  the  Hijra,  87  (705). 
He  then  returned  for  the  winter  season  to  his  head- 
quarters at  Merv,  It  was  not  till  A.H.  88  (706)  that 
Kutayba  entered  on  a  career  of  conquest.  During  his 
first  two  years  of  command  he  had  achieved  little 
towards  the  extension  of  the  Caliph's  authority  in 
Central  Asia.  His  predecessors  had  already  carried 
their  arms  as  far  as  the  city  of  Bokhara,  while  his  own 
had  never  extended  far  beyond  the  frontier  of  that  king- 
dom. The  destruction  of  Baykand  was,  however,  a  feat  of 
no  mean  value,  as,  quite  apart  from  the  immense  booty 
which  fell  into  the  victor's  hands,  the  position  of  the  town 
rendered  it  "  the  south-western  gate    of   Transoxiana,"  ^ 

But  the  most  remarkable  of  his  discoveries  were  two  pearls,  each  the  size 
of  a  pigeon's  egg.  Kutayba  on  beholding  them  asked  the  people  whence 
such  large  pearls  had  been  brought.  They  replied,  "that  they  had  been 
brought  to  the  temple  by  birds  in  their  beaks."  When  Kutayba  sent  in- 
telligence of  his  conquest  of  Baykand  to  Hajjaj,  he  also  despatched  these  two 
pearls,  with  the  account  of  the  tradition  relating  to  them.  The  reply  of 
Hajjaj  ran  thus:  "We  have  read  your  story,  and  it  has  filled  us  with 
wonder  ;  but  more  wonderful  than  the  two  large  pearls,  and  the  birds  that 
brought  them,  is  your  generosity  in  having  sent  to  me  these  precious  prizes 
you  had  taken.     May  the  blessing  of  God  be  upon  you." 

^  Ed.  Schefer,  p.  43.     Khartum  may  possibly  come  to  offer  a  parallel. 

^  Vambery,  Bokhara,  p.  25. 


A.D.706.1  FIRST  EASTERN  CAMPAIGNS  51 

and  hence  its  importance  to  the  Arabs  as  a  basis  for 
further  encroachments. 

The  immediate  objects  of  Kutayba's  attacks  were, 
according  to  Tabari/  Numushkat  and  Ramtlna,  which 
obtained  peace  on  condition  of  paying  a  yearly  tribute. 

Meanwhile  the  people  of  Bokhara,  Soghdiana,  and 
the  surrounding  countries  had  banded  together  to  oppose 
the  Arab  invaders,  who  found  themselves  surrounded  in 
the  country  lying  between  Tarab,  Khunbun,  and  Ramtlna. 
The  combined  forces  numbered  about  40,000  men,  and 
comprised  the  armies  of  the  TarkJimi  Melik  of  Soghd, 
Khunuk-Khudat,  Vardan-Khudat,  and  Prince  Kur- 
Maghanun,-  who  was  a  son  of  the  Chinese  emperor's 
sister,  and  who  was,  according  to  Narshakhi,  a  mercenary 
soldier  of  fortune.  Kutayba  had  set  out  on  his  return  to 
iVIerv  when  the  Turks  suddenly  fell  upon  his  rear-guard. 
The  Musulmans  were  beginning  to  waver,  but  Kutayba 
appeared  on  the  scene  of  action  and  filled  them  with 
fresh  courage.  The  battle  lasted  till  midday,  when 
"  God  put  the  Turks  to  flight."  ^  Kutayba  then  returned 
to  Merv,  taking  the  road  in  the  direction  of  Balkh,  and 
crossing  the  Oxus  above  Tirmiz,  On  reaching  Faryab  * 
he  received  a  letter  from  Hajjaj  ordering  him  to  march 
against  the  Vardan-Khudat,  king  of  Bokhara.  He 
therefore  retraced  his  steps  and  crossed  the  Oxus  at 
Zamln.  On  the  road  through  the  desert  he  was  met  by 
some  Soghdians  and  the  people  of  Kess  (Kesh)  and 
Nasaf  (Nakhshab),  whom  he  engaged  and  defeated.  He 
then   plunged  into  Bokhara,  and   pitched    his   camp   at 

'  Tabari,  Annales,  Series  II.  p.  1195. 

-  Scholars  have  hitherto  failed  to  read  this  satisfactorily.  The  forms  that 
occur  are  Kur-Bughanun,  Kurighanun,  etc.  Professor  Houtsma  has  suggested 
that  the  termination  should  be  read  ««/■«,  i.e.  prince. 

'  Narshakhi. 

*  Not,  of  course,  to  be  confounded  with  Farab  opposite  Charjuy  j  but  the 
reading  of  the  name  is  doubtiul. 


52  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  rA.D.708. 

Lower  Kharkana,  to  the  right  of  Vardan,  where  he  was 
attacked  by  superior  forces.  After  a  battle  which  lasted 
for  two  days  and  two  nights,  victory  declared  for  the 
Arabs.  Kutayba  now  advanced  against  the  Vardan- 
Khudat,  king  of  Bokhara,  but  was  repulsed  and  retreated 
to  Merv.  Here  he  informed  Hajjaj  by  letter  how  he  had 
fared,  and  was  ordered  to  send  his  master  a  map  of  the 
country.  Having  examined  this  map,  Hajjaj  wrote  to 
him  in  the  following  terms :  "  Return  to  your  former 
purpose,  and  acknowledge  in  prayer  to  God  your  re- 
pentance for  having  abandoned  it.  Attack  the  enemy 
at  vulnerable  points.  Crush  Kesh,  destroy  Nasaf,  and 
repulse  Vardan}  Take  care  that  you  are  not  sur- 
rounded ;  and  leave  the  difficulties  of  the  road  to  me." 
On  receiving  these  instructions,  Kutayba  left  Merv,  and  in 
the  beginning  of  the  year  A.H.  90  (708)  again  invaded 
the  kingdom  of  Bokhara.  When  the  Vardan-Khudat 
heard  of  Kutayba's  advance,  he  sent  messengers  to  the 
Soghdians  and  their  neighbours  asking  for  their  help. 
Kutayba  arrived  before  their  allies,  and  immediately 
laid  siege  to  Vardan ;  but  as  soon  as  reinforcements  ap- 
peared the  garrison  sallied  forth  and  attacked  the  Arabs. 
The  versions  of  the  battle  that  ensued  as  given  by 
Tabari  and  Narshakhi  ^  differ  materially,  while  both 
enter  into  so  much  detail  that  it  is  hard  to  reconcile 
them.  That  given  by  Tabari  ^  is  graphic  enough  to 
deserve  epitomising. 

*  The  italics  indicate  three  excellent  puns  in  the  original  Arabic.  Hajjaj 
had  a  universal  reputation  as  a  master  of  this  difficult  tongue.  The  words 
may  be  transcribed  as  follows :  Kiss  bi  A'issa  wansif  Nasafan  waridd 
Wardan. 

'  Narshakhi's  version  of  the  campaign  is  full  of  discrepancies,  and  the 
events  of  the  years  88-91  are  perforce  presented  to  the  reader  without  much 
regard  for  chronology  or  natural  sequence.  The  results  are  to  be  found  in 
Bellew's  epitome  {Yarkaitd  Expedition,  p.  II7)» 

'  Annales,  Series  II.  p.  1201. 


A.D.708.)  FIRST  EASTERN  CAMPAIGNS  53 

"  When  the  Turks  came  out  of  the  town,  the  men  of 
the  tribe  of  Azd  asked  Kutayba  to  allow  them  to  fight 
separately.  They  straightway  charged  down  on  the 
Turks, — Kutayba  remaining  seated  the  while,  wearing  a 
green  mantle  over  his  armour, — and  their  endurance  was 
great.  At  length  they  were  driven  back  to  Kutayba's 
camp  by  the  Turks,  but  here  the  women  struck  their 
horses'  heads  ^  and  forced  the  Musulmans  to  turn  against 
the  enemy.  They  succeeded  in  driving  them  back  to  his 
first  position,  a  piece  of  rising  ground  which  appeared  to 
them  inassailable.  Then  said  Kutayba :  '  Who  will  dis- 
lodge them  for  us  from  this  place?'  No  one  advanced, 
and  all  the  tribes  remained  where  they  were.  Then 
Kutayba  went  up  to  the  Beni  Temim  ^  and  appealed  to 
their  old  prestige,  whereupon  their  chief  Wakf  seized  the 
banner  and  said :  '  Oh  ye  sons  of  Temlm,  will  you 
abandon  me  to-day  ? '  They  shouted  '  No,'  and  ad- 
vanced until  they  came  to  the  stream  separating  them 
from  the  enemy,  over  which  Husayni,  the  commander  of 
the  horse,  leaped,  followed  by  his  men.  Meanwhile 
Waki'  gave  the  banner  to  Husayni  and,  dismounting, 
superintended  the  construction  of  a  small  bridge.  He 
then  said  to  his  men :  '  He  who  is  willing  to  risk  his 
life,  let  him  cross ;  and  he  who  is  not  willing,  let  him 
remain  where  he  is ! '  Eight  hundred  men  dashed 
across  the  bridge.  Then  Waki'  told  Husayni  to  harass 
the  enemy  with  his  cavalry,  while  he  himself  attacked 
them  with  his  foot-men.  So  great  was  the  fury  of  their 
double  onslaught  that  the  Turks  gave  way,  seeing  which 
the  Musulmans  sprang  towards  the  bridge  as  one  man, 
but  ere  they  could  cross  the  Turks  were  in  full  flight. 
The  latter  were  thus  completely  routed  ;  the  Khakan  and 

^  Vambery  saj-s,  evidently  following  his  Turkish  Tabari :  "Their  women 
.  .  .  tore  their  faces ! " 

-  One  of  the  most  famous  tribes  of  Yemen, 


54  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  ca.d.  708. 

his  son  were  both  wounded.  When  the  inhabitants  of 
the  surrounding  countries  saw  what  had  happened  to  the 
men  of  Bokhara  they  trembled  before  Kutayba." 

After  this  victory  Kutayba  again  withdrew  to  Merv. 
The  chroniclers  differ  as  to  the  part  which  the  Tarkhun 
Melik  of  Soghd  played  in  this  battle.  Tabari  relates 
that  the  Tarkhun,  seeing  that  the  day  was  going  with 
the  Musulmans,  rode,  accompanied  by  two  horsemen, 
close  up  to  Kutayba's  camp — there  being  only  the  river  of 
Bokhara  between  them,  and  asked  him  to  send  a  man 
across  to  confer  with  him.  A  certain  Hayyan,  the 
Nabataean,  came  over,  and  through  his  mediation  a 
peace  was  settled  upon,  the  Tarkhun  agreeing  to  pay 
tribute  to  Kutayba.  The  Tarkhun  then  returned  to  his 
own  country,  while  Kutayba,  as  stated  above,  retired  to 
Merv,  accompanied  by  Nizek.  Narshakhi,  on  the  other 
hand,  says  that  Hayyan,  the  Nabatsean,  told  the  king  of 
Soghd  that  it  would  be  much  wiser  for  him  to  abandon 
the  allies  and  return  to  his  own  country.  "  We,"  he  said, 
"  will  remain  here  as  long  as  the  warm  weather  lasts,  but 
when  the  winter  sets  in  we  shall  retire,  and  then  you  will 
find  the  Turks  all  against  you, — for  nothing  will  induce 
them  to  leave  your  beautiful  Soghd."  The  Tarkhun, 
convinced  of  the  value  of  this  advice,  asked  what  course 
he  should  pursue.  Hayyan  replied :  "  First,  you  must 
make  peace  with  Kutayba,  and  pay  him  an  indem- 
nity. Next  represent  to  the  Turks  that  Hajjaj  is 
sending  reinforcements  by  way  of  Kesh  and  Nakhshab. 
Then  you  must  turn  back ;  and  haply  they  will  do 
likewise." 

That  same  night  the  Tarkhun  concluded  a  treaty 
with  Kutayba,  and  gave  him  2000  direms  ;  ^  Kutayba,  for 
his  part,  promising  not  to  molest  his  kingdom.  He  then 
sounded  his  trumpets  and  marched  off,  and  his  example 

^  Vambery  says  a  yearly  tribute  of  2,000,000  direms  I 


A.D.708.J  FIRST  EASTERN  CAMPAIGNS  55 

was  very  soon  after  followed  by  the  emperor  of  China's 
nephew. 

"  Thus  did  God  deliver  the  Musulmans  from  the 
great  straits  in  which  they  had  been  plunged  for  four 
months."  During  this  period  Hajjaj  had  received  no 
news  from  Kutayba,  and  his  anxiety  was  so  great  that 
special  prayers  were  offered  in  the  mosques  for  his 
safety. 

"This  was  Kutayba's  fourth  expedition  into  Bokhara."^ 

^  Narshakhi,  ed.  Paris,  p.  40. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Kutayba's  Last  Campaigns 

Among  Kutayba's  followers  was  a  certain  noble  named 
Nizek,  prince  of  Badghls,  and  a  minister  of  Jighaya, 
ruler  of  Tokharistan,  who  was  in  all  probability  attached 
temporarily  to  his  court  as  a  prisoner  on  parole.  Nizek 
had  watched  Kutayba's  campaigns  with  keen  interest,  in 
the  fond  hope  that  he  might  receive  a  serious  check,  and 
that  Transoxiana  and  Khorasan  might  be  emboldened  to 
throw  off  the  Arab  yoke.  The  great  leader's  success  in 
Bokhara  convinced  the  moody  rebel  of  the  folly  of  such 
anticipations ;  and  he  saw  only  too  clearly  that  the 
moment  had  come  for  the  oppressed  nationalities  of 
Central  Asia  to  strike  a  last  despairing  blow  for  freedom.^ 
His  first  step  was  to  obtain  from  the  unsuspecting 
Kutayba  permission  to  visit  Tokharistan,  his  next  to 
raise  the  standard  of  revolt,  which  he  did  on  reaching 
the  defiles  of  Khulm. 

As  a  measure  of  precaution  he  sent  his  valuables  for 
safe  keeping  to  the  king  of  Kabul,  whose  support  he  en- 
treated for  his  arduous  enterprise.  He  sent  messengers 
to  the  Ispahbad'^  of  Balkh  and  to  the  princes  of  Merv  er- 
Rud,  Talikan,  Faryab,  and  Juzajan,  inviting  them  to  join 

^  Vambery  follows  Narshakhi  in  ignoring  this  revolt,  which  was  certainly 
a  very  serious  one  as  far  as  Kutayba  was  concerned,  but  both  versions  of 
Tabari  give  detailed  accounts  of  its  various  phases. 

''^  Old  Persian  word  signifying  commander-in-chief. 

56 


A.D.709.]  KUTAYBA'S  LAST  CAMPAIGNS  57 

the  coalition.  All  replied  in  the  affirmative.  After  these 
negotiations  Nizek  placed  his  master  Jighaya  in  chains,^ 
and  dismissed  Kutayba's  agent  from  Tokharistan, 

When  Kutayba  received  intimation  of  this  revolt 
winter  was  setting  in.  His  army  was  dispersed,  and 
there  only  remained  with  him  the  contingent  supplied  by 
the  town  of  Merv.  He  sent  his  brother  'Abd  er-Rahman, 
at  the  head  of  2000  men  to  Balkh,  with  instruc- 
tions to  remain  there  inactive  till  the  spring,  when 
he  was  to  proceed  to  Tokharistan,  adding,  "  Be  sure  that 
I  shall  be  near  thee."  Towards  the  end  of  the  winter 
A.H.  91  (709),  Kutayba  summoned  reinforcements  from 
Abarshahr,  Blvard,  Sarakhs,  and  Herat.  On  their  arrival 
he  set  out  against  Talikan,  leaving,  as  was  his  practice, 
a  trusted  follower  in  charge  of  the  garrison,  and  another 
in  that  of  the  civil  affairs  of  Merv.'  The  first  operation 
was  the  storming  of  Merv  er-Rud.  Its  chief  had  fled, 
but  his  two  sons  who  had  remained  were  hanged.  At 
Talikan  he  met  the  enemy  in  the  open  field,  and  at 
the  first  onslaught  the  Turks  were  put  to  rout  by  his 
rear-guard,  which  was  commanded  by  'Abd  er-Rahman. 
No  quarter  was  given,  and  all  who  were  not  slain  out- 
right were  hanged, — the  line  of  gibbets  extending  for 
a  distance  of  sixteen  miles.  After  appointing  an  Arab 
as  governor  of  the  town,  Kutayba  received  the  submission 
of  Faryab  and  Juzajan,  and  placed  those  towns  under 
one  of  his  lieutenants.  He  now  proceeded  to  Balkh,  where 
he  was  peaceably  received  by  the  inhabitants;  and,  after 
remaining  there  for  a  day,  advanced  into  the  defiles  of 
Khulm.  Meanwhile  Nizek  had  retired  to  Baghlan  and 
established  a  camp  there,  leaving  a  small  force  to  guard 

*  He  was  opposed  to  Nlzek's  design.  We  are  also  told  that,  in  order  that 
a  certain  appearance  of  respect  might  be  kept  up,  his  chains  were  of  gold. 
Cf.  Tabari,  Annales,  Series  II.  p.  1206. 

*  Tabari,  Annaks,  Series  II.  p.  1218. 


58  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  709. 

the  entrance  of  the  pass.  Kutayba  halted  opposite  the 
castle  of  Nizek,  but  found  it  too  strong  for  reduction. 
While  disheartened  at  this  failure,  he  received  an  offer 
from  the  king  of  Rub  and  Siminjan  to  point  out  to  him 
a  road  leading  to  the  castle  in  return  for  an  amnesty. 
Kutayba  consented,  and,  guided  by  the  king,  his  troops 
turned  the  defiles  and  poured  down  upon  Nizek's 
garrison  and  advance-guard.  The  Turks  were  taken 
at  a  disadvantage,  and  all  were  put  to  the  sword  who 
did  not  make  good  their  escape.  The  army  of  Kutayba 
now  advanced  to  Siminjan,  which  was  separated  by  a 
desert  from  Baghlan,  where  Nizek  had  his  fortified  camp. 
Hearing  of  the  approach  of  Kutayba,  the  latter  retreated 
to  Kerz,  a  position  which  was  assailable  only  on  one  side, 
and  was  quite  unapproachable  for  cavalry.  Here  for  two 
months  he  sustained  a  siege,  and,  as  all  the  approaches 
were  occupied  by  Kutayba,  provisions  grew  scarce  in  this 
retreat.  On  the  other  hand,  Kutayba  dreaded  the  pros- 
pect of  remaining  in  a  country  so  remote  and  barbarous, 
and  determined  to  hasten  his  triumph  by  the  aid  of 
diplomacy.  Calling  to  him  a  trusted  councillor  named 
Sulayman,  he  ordered  him  to  make  his  way  to  Nizek's 
camp  and  endeavour  to  secure  his  surrender.  Quarter 
was  not  to  be  promised  unless  it  was  insisted  on,  and 
the  messenger  was  informed  that  his  own  fate  was  at 
stake.  Sulayman,  with  the  certainty  of  the  gallows  before 
him  as  the  result  of  failure  to  bring  the  rebel  to  terms, 
obtaining  a  covering  party  to  guard  his  retreat,  and 
taking  with  him  several  days'  provisions,  started  for 
the  enemy's  camp. 

He  was  admitted  to  a  parley  with  Nizek,  whom 
he  exhorted  to  submit  to  overwhelming  force.  The 
prince  stipulated  for  mercy,  but  was  assured  that  no 
formal  guarantee  was  necessary.  On  the  understanding 
that  his  life  would  be  spared,  he  surrendered  and  accom- 


A.D.709.1  KUTAYBA'S  LAST  CAMPAIGNS  59 

panied  Sulayman  to  Kutayba's  camp.  He  was  at  once 
placed  in  a  tent  under  strict  guard,  while  his  own  camp 
was  occupied  by  the  Arab  forces.  Kutayba's  then  asked 
instructions  from  his  chief  Hajjaj  at  Basra  as  to  what 
should  be  done  with  the  prisoner,  and  in  forty  days  a 
reply  arrived  that  he  must  be  put  to  death.  The  order 
was  not  obeyed  without  considerable  hesitation.  For 
three  days  Kutayba  shut  himself  up  in  his  tent  and 
held  converse  with  no  one.  On  the  fourth  he  took 
council  with  his  officers,  and  all  agreed  that  the  breach 
of  faith  implied  was  a  just  and  necessary  measure.  And 
so  Nizek,  with  700  of  his  followers,  was  put  to  death, 
and  their  heads  were  sent  to  Hajjaj. 

The  prince  of  Tokharistan  was  released  from  his 
golden  chains  and  despatched  with  a  retinue  to  Damascus. 
The  perfidy  which  Kutayba  had  practised  towards  Nizek 
was  too  outrageous  even  for  the  Arabs,  but  it  was 
followed  by  another  action  scarcely  less  scandalous. 
When  Kutayba  returned  to  Merv,  the  king  of  Juzajan, 
who  had  made  common  cause  with  Nizek,  sent  mes- 
sengers offering  his  submission  on  condition  that  his 
life  should  be  spared.  The  terms  were  agreed  to,  but 
Kutayba  insisted  that  the  king  should  present  himself 
in  person,  and  also  give  hostages.  Kutayba,  on  his 
side,  sent  him  an  Arab  hostage  named  Hablb.  The 
king  of  Juzajan  intrusted  several  members  of  his  own 
family  to  Kutayba's  care,  and  betook  himself  to  Merv, 
where  he  concluded  a  peace  with  Kutayba.  But  on 
his  return  to  his  native  country  he  died  at  Talikan, 
and  the  inhabitants,  in  the  belief,  real  or  pretended, 
that  he  had  been  poisoned,  slew  Hablb.  On  hearing 
of  this  Kutayba  put  all  the  hostages  to  death.  In  the 
year  a.h.  91  (709)  Kutayba  marched  against  Shuman, 
Kesh,  and  Nakhshab,  and  after  capturing  the  three  towns 
he  sent  his  brother  Rahman  to  attack  the  Tarkhun  of 


6o  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  Ia.d.  71,. 

Soghd.  The  latter,  however,  offered  to  pay  tribute,  and 
gave  hostages.  After  accepting  this  proposal  'Abd  er- 
Rahman  joined  Kutayba  in  Bokhara,  and  the  two  brothers 
returned  to  Merv. 

Meanwhile  the  people  of  Soghd  rose  against  their 
chief,  and  set  up  another  named  Ghuzek  in  his  stead. 
The  deposed  Tarkhun  put  an  end  to  his  own  life. 

In  A.H.  93  (711)  Chighan,  king  of  Khwarazm,  secretly 
invited  Kutayba  to  help  him  against  his  brother  Khorzad, 
who,  though  younger  than  himself,  usurped  much  of  his 
power  and  appropriated  a  large  share  of  his  possessions. 
Kutayba,  satisfied  with  the  terms  offered,  arrived  un- 
expectedly at  Hazarasp,^  whereupon  Khorzad  gave  him- 
self up,  and  was  handed  over  as  a  prisoner  to  his  brother 
Chighan.  After  recompensing  Kutayba  handsomely,  he 
begged  him  as  a  further  favour  to  assist  him  in  crush- 
ing the  king  of  Khamjerd,  who  had  repeatedly  invaded 
his  territory.  Kutayba  intrusted  the  operation  to  his 
brother,  who  slew  the  king,  conquered  his  realm,  and 
brought  4000  slaves  to  Merv. 

Having  thus  brought  his  Khwarazmian  campaign  to 
a  successful  termination,  Kutayba  turned  his  attention 
to  Soghdiana,  which,  as  related  above,  had  been  the 
theatre  of  a  revolution.  He  reached  Samarkand  without 
adventure,  and  at  once  invaded  the  historic  city.  The 
resistance  of  the  Soghdians  was  most  stubborn ;  they 
made  frequent  sorties,^  and  defied  the  besiegers  to  do 
their  worst.     The  new   king,   however,   alarmed   at   the 

^  On  the  river  Jihun,  one  of  the  three  principal  towns  of  Khwarazm,  of 
which  Medlnat-el-Fil,  or  the  Town  of  the  Elephant,  was  the  largest, 

2  Tabari  relates  that  one  day  several  Soghdians  mounted  the  rampart  and 
called  out:  "  Oh  ye  Arabs,  why  do  ye  exert  yourselves  thus  vainly?  Know 
that  we  have  found  written  in  a  book  that  our  town  shall  not  be  taken  except 
by  one  whose  name  is  "Camel-Saddle,"  whereupon  Kutayba  called  out — 
"God  is  great  !  for  verily  that  is  my  name."  (In  Arabic,  Kutayba  means 
literally  "camel-saddle.") 


A.D.7U.]  KUTAYBA'S  LAST  CAMPAIGNS  61 

persistence  of  the  Arabs,  sent  a  letter  to  the  king  of 
Shash  asking  his  aid.  Two  thousand  men  of  Shash 
set  out  at  once  for  Samarkand;  but  Kutayba,  hearing 
of  their  movements,  surprised  them  in  ambuscade  and 
put  them  to  rout.  Two  days  later  the  king  sued  for 
peace.  Kutayba  agreed  to  retire  on  payment  of  a  heavy 
tribute,  but  stipulated  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  enter 
the  city  and  build  a  mosque  and  inaugurate  a  religious 
service.  His  terms  were  accepted,  but  instead  of  masons 
he  sent  4000  armed  Arabs  to  uproot  idolatry.  All 
the  graven  images  of  Samarkand  were  burned,  Kutayba 
himself  commencing  the  conflagration  and  inaugurating 
the  auto-da-fe. 

The  hostility  of  Shash  was  not  forgotten.  At  the 
beginning  of  A.H.  94  (7 1 2)  Kutayba  set  out  from  Merv, 
crossed  the  Oxus,  and  marched  against  Shash  and 
Farghana  at  the  head  of  a  large  army.^  The  expedition 
resulted  in  the  reduction  of  the  towns  of  Shash,  Khojand, 
and  Kashan  on  terms  similar  to  those  accorded  to  the 
people  of  Samarkand.^ 

In  A.H.  96  (714)  Kutayba  set  out  on  his  last  ex- 
pedition. He  carried  the  Mohammedan  arms  farther 
east  than  any  of  his  predecessors  had  done ;  and,  though 
his  conquests  on  the  borders  of  China  were  not  of  a 
permanent  nature,  he  established  an  eastern  frontier  to 
Islam  which  has  never  since  been  encroached  on.  Before 
setting  out  on  this  last  campaign  Kutayba  received  news 
of  the  death  of  the  Caliph  Welld,  and  the  succession 
of  Sulayman  his  brother.  As  he  knew  that  the  Caliph 
was    his   enemy    he  ^   took   the    precaution    of   carrying 

^  He  is  said  to  have  obtained  no  less  than  20,000  native  levies,  men 
from  Kesh,  Nakhshab,  and  Khwarazm.  Cf.  Tabari,  Anttales,  Series  II. 
p.  1256. 

^  In  the  year  95  Hajjaj  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-four. 

'  Welld  had  been  most  anxious  to  make  his  own  son  heir-apparent  in  the 
place  of  his  brother,  and  in  his  designs  had  been  supported  by  Hajjaj  and 


62  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  714. 

his  family  with  him  to  Samarkand,  where  they  were 
placed  in  safe  keeping.  On  this  expedition  Kutayba 
reached,  and  apparently  entered,  Kashghar,  but  though  it 
is  stated  that  he  conquered  the  province,  v/e  have  no 
particulars  of  an  engagement  of  any  kind. 

Kutayba.  Hence  the  bad  blood  that  existed  between  the  conqueror  and  the 
new  Cahph. 

Vambery  adds  the  following  details  without  reference  (not  to  be  found 
either  in  Tabari  or  Narshakhi) :  "  Having  conquered  Farghana,  he  went 
through  the  Terek  Pass  into  Eastern  Turkestan.  Here  he  encountered  the 
princes  of  the  Uigurs,  who  in  default  of  union  among  themselves  were 
easily  conquered.  We  are  told  that  the  Arabs  extended  their  incursions  into 
the  province  of  Kansu.  .  .  .  Turfan,  on  the  very  first  appearance  of  the 
Arabs,  embraced  Islam"  {Bokhara,  pp.  31,  32). 


CHAPTER    VIII 

Kutayba's  Fall  and  Death 

The  realm  of  Arabic  literature  contains  no  more  vivid 
picture  of  contemporary  life  and  manners  than  that  given 
us  by  Tabari  in  his  account  of  Kutayba's  fall.^  Many 
circumstances  conspired  to  effect  his  ruin.  The  un- 
bounded arrogance  arising  from  uniform  success,  and 
the  many  acts  of  perfidy  of  which  he  was  guilty,  had 
weakened  the  attachment  of  his  followers,  which  was 
based  rather  on  greed  for  booty  than  devotion  to  a  cause. 
His  friend  and  constant  patron  Hajjaj  had  died  in 
A.H.  94.  The  new  Caliph,  Sulayman,  had  never  forgotten 
that  Kutayba  had  supported  his  predecessor  Welid  in  an 
attempt  to  exclude  him  from  the  succession ;  and  his 
principal  adviser  was  Yezld  ibn  Muhallab,  whom  Kutayba 
had  ousted  from  the  government  of  Khorasan.  But 
tribal  hatred  was  the  most  telling   factor   in   Kutayba's 

^  Gibbon  recognised  the  greatness  of  Kutayba  as  a  conqueror,  while 
lamenting  the  scanty  notices  to  be  found  of  him  in  European  works ;  of. 
Decline  and  Fall,  chap.  li.  D'Herbelot,  in  his  Biblioiheqtu  Orient  ale,  dis- 
misses our  hero,  under  the  heading  Catbah,  in  a  verj'  summar}'  manner. 
"  Ce  fut  un  des  plus  villains  Arabes  de  son  siecle,  Valid,  sixieme  Khalife  de  la 
race  des  Ommiades,  le  fit  general  de  ses  armees  en  Perse,  Tan  de  I'Hegire 
88.  II  conquit  tout  le  grand  pays  de  Khorazan,  et  obhgea  en  ces  quartiers- 
la  a  bruler  leurs  idoles  ct  a  batir  de  Mosquees.  Apres  cette  conquete,  il 
passa  dans  la  Transoxiana  et  prit  de  force  les  fameuses  villes  de  Samarcande 
et  de  Bokhara,  et  defit  Mazurk  roi  de  Turkestan,  qui  s'etait  approche 
pour  les  secourir.  Ce  grand  capitaine  finit  ses  conquetes  I'an  93  («V)  de 
I'Hegire." 

es 


64  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  714. 

fall.  It  raged  with  intense  fury  among  the  Arabs  during 
the  Caliphate,  and  was  at  the  root  of  every  revolution  of 
that  stirring  period. 

Kutayba's  first  thoughts  ^  on  hearing  of  the  accession 
of  Sulayman  were  that  the  Caliph  would  certainly  re- 
instate Yezid  as  governor  of  Khorasan.  In  view  of  fore- 
stalling this  action  he  sent  a  messenger  to  Sulayman 
bearing  three  letters.  The  first  contained  assurances  of 
his  loyalty ;  the  second,  expressions  of  his  contempt  for 
Yezld  ;  the  purport  of  the  third,  which  was  written  on 
a  smaller  sheet,  was  as  follows :  "  I  have  ceased  to 
recognise  Sulayman  as  my  sovereign,  and  have  revolted 
against  him."  His  envoy  was  intrusted  to  hand  the 
first  missive  to  the  Caliph  and  watch  his  movements 
narrowly.  If  he  should  read  it  and  then  pass  it  to 
Yezld,  the  second  was  to  be  submitted  to  him.  Should 
it  be  similarly  treated,  the  gauntlet  of  defiance  was  to  be 
thrown  down  in  the  third  letter. 

The  injunctions  were  strictly  followed.  The  three 
messages  were  delivered  successively ;  but,  beyond  com- 
municating each  to  Yezid,  the  Caliph  betrayed  no  sign  of 
resentment.  The  messenger  was  allowed  to  depart  in 
company  with  a  courtier,  who  carried  with  him  an  Act  of 
reinvestiture  in  the  governorship  of  Khorasan  in  favour 
of  Kutayba.  When  the  pair  reached  Holwan  ^  they  learnt 
that  Kutayba  had  already  raised  the  standard  of  revolt, 
and  Sulay man's  messenger  returned  straightway  to  Syria. 
When  Kutayba's  messenger  reached  Khorasan  his  master 
asked  him  how  matters  had  gone.  On  learning  that  his 
action  of  throwing  off  his  allegiance  had  been,  to  say  the 
least  of  it,  premature,  Kutayba  was  filled  with  repentance, 
and  took  counsel  with  his  brothers  and  captains  as  to 
what  course  he  should  pursue.     They  were  agreed  that 

^  Tabari,  Annales,  Series  II.  pp.  1283-96. 

'  An  important  town  on  the  Perso-Turkish  frontier,  north-east  of  Baghdad. 


A.i;.7i4.)    KUTAYBA'S  FALL  AND  DEATH       65 

Sulayman  would  never  pardon  Kutayba,  but  opined  that 
his  life  would  be  spared  in  remembrance  of  his  past  ser- 
vices to  Islam.  "  Alas,"  cried  Kutayba,  "  it  is  not  death 
I  fear,  but  that  the  Caliph  will  certainly  give  the  govern- 
ment of  Khorasan  to  Yezld,  and  humiliate  me  before  all 
the  world ;  I  prefer  death  to  that ! "  ^  Among  the  many 
projects  suggested  to  him  the  wisest  seems  to  have  been 
that  of  his  brother  'Abd  er-Rahman,  who  advised  him  to 
proceed  to  Samarkand  and  then  give  his  followers  the 
option  of  staying  with  him  or  returning  to  their  homes. 
Having  by  this  means  surrounded  himself  with  men 
whom  he  could  trust,  he  might  declare  his  independ- 
ence of  Sulayman.  But  Kutayba  was  too  confident  in 
his  own  influence  to  listen  to  counsel  savouring  of  timidity. 
The  only  plan  which  suited  his  temper  was  one  formu- 
lated by  another  brother  named  'Abdullah.  It  v/as  that 
Kutayba  should  call  his  officers  together  and  urge  them 
to  join  in  a  revolt  against  the  Caliph.  This  desperate 
scheme  was  promptly  acted  upon.  Kutayba  harangued 
his  followers  in  brief  but  stirring  words,  dwelling  on  the 
want  of  capacity  shown  by  his  predecessors,  especially  by 
Yezld  ;  he  reminded  his  troops  of  the  successes  that  had 
attended  them  under  his  leadership,  of  the  fairness  with 
which  he  had  always  divided  the  spoil  among  them,  and 
of  his  prosperous  administration  of  Khorasan.  He  then 
awaited  the  acclamations  which  his  lightest  utterances 
had  hitherto  received.  A  deep  and  anxious  silence 
reigned  on  the  assembly.  Kutayba,  lashed  to  fury  by 
the  ingratitude  of  those  who  owed  ever>^thing  to  him, 
lost  all  semblance  of  self-restraint  and  burst  forth  into 
a  tirade,  in  which  his  lieutenants  were  designated  as 
"  cowardly  Bedouins,  infidels,  and  hypocrites."  Then, 
trembling  with   half-suppressed  passion,  he  withdrew  to 

^  This  saying  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  Arabic  Tabaii,  but  in  the  Persian 
version.     See  Zotenberg,  voL  iv.  p.  204. 

5 


66  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  a.d.  7.4- 

his  palace,  where  he  joined  the  members  of  his  family. 
They  attempted  to  remonstrate,  and  pointed  out  the 
folly  of  exasperating  men  on  whose  goodwill  every- 
thing depended.  The  Arab  troops,  too,  entered  into 
negotiations  with  'Abd-er- Rahman,  who  was  regarded  as 
the  most  reasonable  of  Kutayba's  brothers,  and  he  prof- 
fered his  services  as  a  peacemaker.  But  Kutayba  had 
by  this  time  entirely  lost  his  head,  and  turned  a  deaf  ear 
to  all  advice.  The  Arabs,  lashed  to  madness  by  his 
obstinacy,  beset  his  palace  with  shouts  of  vengeance. 
Some  set  fire  to  his  stables,  and  in  the  confusion  that 
ensued  another  band  broke  into  the  council-hall  and 
attacked  their  fallen  chief.  He  received  a  wound  from 
an  arrow,  and  was  straightway  hacked  to  pieces  with 
swords,  A.H.  96  (714). 

Thus  fell,  at  the  age  of  forty-six,  a  man  whose  per- 
sonality stands  out  in  bold  relief  in  the  earlier  annals  of 
the  most  militant  of  creeds. 

It  would  be  unjust  to  omit  mention  of  Kutayba's 
zeal  in  the  propaganda  of  Islam.  Narshakhi  has  much 
to  tell  us  of  his  pious  exertions  in  the  town  of  Bokhara. 
On  each  of  his  four  expeditions  thither  he  compelled  the 
inhabitants  to  accept  the  faith  of  Mohammed,  but  as 
soon  as  his  back  was  turned  they  reverted  to  idol- 
worship.  In  A.H.  94  Kutayba  built,  on  the  site  of  a  fire- 
temple,  a  large  mosque,  where  prayers  were  read  every 
Friday;  a  reward  of  two  direms  was  given  to  every  at- 
tendant in  order  to  assure  the  permanent  conversion  of 
the  people.  Kutayba  quartered  an  Arab  in  every  house, 
who  played  the  dual  part  of  spy  and  missionary.  His 
character  was  an  epitome  of  the  qualities  which  made 
Islam  a  terror  to  mankind,  and  ultimately  conspired  to 
reduce  it  to  impotence. 


CHAPTER   IX 

Kutayba's  Successors 

On  the  death  of  Kutayba,  Wakf,  who  had  been  a  ring- 
leader in  the  revolt,  took  upon  himself  the  direction  of 

affairs  in  Khorasan,  After  a  lapse  of  nine  months, 
however,  a  new  governor  arrived,  in  the  person  of  Yezld 
ibn  Muhallab,  and  Wakf  was  placed  under  arrest,  while  his 
partisans  were  subjected  to  punishment  According  to 
the  Persian  translation  of  Tabari,  Yezid  this  year  "  began 
a  series  of  expeditions  beyond  the  frontiers  of  Khorasan, 
to  countries  where  Kutayba  had  not  penetrated,"  ^  but 
they  are  not  mentioned  in  the  Arabic  original,  nor  are 
such  undertakings  consistent  with  the  rest  of  Yezid's 
career.  For  his  attention  was  turned  to  the  subjection 
of  the  countries  to  the  west  of  Khorasan,^  rather  than  to 
the  extension  of  Mohammedan  authority'  towards  the 
Chinese  frontier. 

Thus  we  find  him  in  A.H.  98  conducting  his  troops 
against  Jurjan  and  Tabaristan.  The  former  country  was 
regarded  as  the  key  of  Western  Asia.  It  was  strongly 
fortified ;  and  its  walls,  extending  as  far  as  the  Sea  of 
Azof,  were  an  effectual  barrier  to  the  aggressions  of  the 
Turkish  hordes.^     But  these  attacks  appear  to  have  told 

^  See  Zotenberg's  translation  of  the  Persian  Tabari,  vol.  iv.  p.  221. 

*  After  remaining,  as  Tabari  tells  us,  four  months  in  Khorasan  to  settle  the 
administration  of  the  province. 

*  Zotenberg,  vol.  iv.  p.  225  et  seq. 

67 


68  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  716. 

severely    on    the    inhabitants,  who    finally    secured    the 
withdrawal  of  their  persistent  foes  by  the  payment  of 
tribute.     They  had  adopted  similar  tactics  on  an  Arab 
invasion    which     took     place    under    the    Caliphate    of 
'Othman :  when  the  enemy  again  withdrew,  on  receiving 
a  bribe  of  2,000,000  direms.     Jurjan  thereafter  enjoyed 
a   long    immunity  from   attack,  although   Kutayba  had 
more    than    once    solicited    permission    from    Hajjaj    to 
establish  a  direct  route  between  'Irak  and  Khorasan  by 
crushing  its  independence.     Yezld's  anxiety  to  achieve 
a  conquest  which  had  been  the  unrealised  ambition  of 
his     great    rival    can    be    easily    understood.       On    his 
departure   from    Jurjan    he    left    his   son    Mokhallad    in 
charge   of  Khorasan.     The   force   at   his   command   in- 
cluded    Kufans,     Basrans,    Syrians,    and     the    elite    of 
Khorasan   and    Ray,  and  numbered    100,000,  exclusive 
of  volunteers  and  slaves.      The  first  object  of  his  attack 
was  the  town  of  Dihistan,  which  was  peopled  by  Turks.^ 
Having  reduced  it  by  a  close  blockade,  he  proceeded  to 
Jurjan,  where  the  inhabitants,  as  was  their  wont,  bought 
peace    at   the   price   of    300,000    direms.       Yezld    then 
passed    in    a    south-westerly  direction    into    Tabaristan. 
Its  king  took  refuge  in  a  mountain  inaccessible  to  the 
Mohammedan   troops,   and   organised    resistance   to    the 
invader  from  this   safe  retreat.      He  obtained  reinforce- 
ments   from    Gilan     and    Daylam,    and    called    on    the 
Marzabdn   of  Jurjan   to  break    the   treaty  entered    into 
with  Yezld,  and  massacre  the  Arabs  in  Jurjan.     Thus 
was   Yezld   surrounded   by  active   foes,  and   his   retreat 
cut   off.      The   only  course   open   to    him   was   to   con- 
clude  peace  with    the   king   of  Tabaristan,  and    gather 
his    forces    for    the  punishment  of  the   faithless   people 
of  Jurjan.     This  he  did,  swearing    that    he  would    not 
stay  his  sword  until  he  had  shed  blood  enough  to  turn 

^  Tabari,  Annales,  Series  II.  p.  1318. 


AD.  719-1  KUTAYBA'S  SUCCESSORS  69 

a  mill,  and  had  eaten  bread  made  with  flour  there- 
from. The  Marzaban,  on  learning  the  approach  of  the 
Musulmans,  shut  himself  up  in  a  stronghold  which 
crowned  a  mountain  top,  and  was  accessible  by  one 
road  only.  Here  he  held  out  for  seven  months  against 
Yezld ;  but  the  latter  enticed  the  garrison  from  their 
retreat  by  a  ruse,  and  made  prisoners  of  them  all.  Their 
punishment  enabled  the  ruthless  conqueror  to  fulfil  his 
pledge. 

Yezld  now  returned  to  Merv,  and  sent  a  highly 
coloured  report  of  his  successes  to  his  master  the  Caliph. 
His  career,  however,  was  not  destined  to  be  a  long  one, 
for  in  the  following  year,  A.H.  99  (7 1 7),  Sulayman  died, 
and  was  succeeded  by  'Omar  ibn  'Abd  ul-'Aziz.  Yezld 
received  at  the  hands  of  the  new  Caliph  treatment  very 
similar  to  that  meted  out  to  Kutayba  by  Sulayman,  He 
was  summoned  to  appear  at  Basra,  and  after  a  brief 
interview  with  the  sovereign  he  was  thrown  into  prison. 
The  government  of  Khorasan  was  at  the  same  time 
transferred  to  Jarrah,  son  of 'Abdullah.  The  ostensible 
reason  alleged  for  Yezld's  disgrace  was  his  retention  of  the 
immense  booty  of  which,  in  his  report  to  the  preceding 
Caliph,  he  had  boasted  as  the  fruit  of  the  Jurjan  cam- 
paign. 'Omar's  real  motive  was  more  creditable  to 
him.  Yezld  had  been  accused  by  Mohammedan  converts 
from  Khorasan  of  harshness  and  caprice,  and  'Omar 
stood  alone  among  the  Eastern  Caliphs  in  pursuing  a 
policy  of  moderation  in  propagating  his  creed.^  This 
wise  monarch  died  in  A.H.  loi  (719),  and  was  succeeded 
by  Yezld  ibn  'Abd  el-Melik.  On  his  accession  Yezld 
ibn  Muhallab  effected  his  escape  from  prison,  raised  the 

*  He  directed  that  converts  were  to  be  exempt  from  all  taxes,  and  placed 
on  the  same  footing  as  the  Arabs ;  while  unbelievers  were  to  be  taxed  to  the 
utmost.  No  churches,  synagc^es,  or  fire-temples  were  to  be  destroyed,  but 
the  erection  of  new  ones  was  forbidden.     Cf.  Muir,  Caliphaie,  p.  38a 


70  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  7=0. 

flag  of  revolt  against  the  new  Caliph,  one  of  his  bitterest 
enemies,  and  made  himself  master  of  Basra.  The 
movement  spread  over  most  of  the  Eastern  provinces, 
and  was  not  crushed  until  the  end  of  the  following  year, 
A.H,  102  (720),  when  Maslama,  who  held  the  viceroyalty 
of  the  two  'Iraks,^  defeated  and  slew  Yezld  in  a  fierce 
battle  fought  near  Kufa  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates. 
In  the  same  year  Maslama  appointed  a  new  governor 
of  Khorasan  in  the  person  of  Sa'ld  ibn  'Abd  ul-'AzIz. 
This  step  was  followed  by  a  general  rising  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Khojend  and  Farghana.  The  tributary 
Soghdians,  being  thus  threatened  on  their  eastern  frontier, 
asked  help  from  Merv,  but  the  new  governor,  who  was 
of  a  weak  and  vacillating  disposition,  delayed  so  long  in 
sending  reinforcements  that  the  Soghdians  made  over- 
tures to  the  Turks,  When  at  length  the  Arabs  arrived 
they  were  joined  by  the  former ;  but  disputes  arose, 
which  ended  in  the  slaughter  of  the  Soghdians  to  the 
number  of  3000.  Throughout  the  reign  of  Yezid  II. 
the  Moslem  Far  East  was  plunged  in  continual  warfare, 
with  no  very  marked  results ;  for  the  army  of  'Irak  was 
fully  occupied  with  operations  against  the  Khazar  and 
Kipchak  tribes  occupying  Armenia,  which  were,  for  the 
most  part,  attended  by  ill-success.  In  A.H.  102  (720) 
Yezid  II.  dismissed  Maslama  from  his  post,  on  the 
ground  that  his  leniency  had  led  to  a  serious  falling  off 
in  the  revenues  from  'Irak  and  Khorasan.  'Omar  ibn 
Hobayra  replaced  him.  In  the  following  year  Sa'ld, 
"  the  Effeminate,"  ^  while  fighting  beneath  the  walls  of 
Samarkand,  received  the  news  of  his  dismissal.  He  was 
superseded    in    the   governorship   by  a   namesake,  Sa'ld 

^  His  post  was  the  same  as  Hajjaj's,  and  was  equivalent  to  a  viceroyalty 
of  the  Eastern  conquests  of  the  Caliphate. 

^  Known  by  the  sobriquet  of  Khuzayna,  "the  Village  Girl,"  because  of 
his  effeminate  ways. 


A.D.7»3l  KUTAYBA'S  SUCCESSORS  71 

ibn  'Amr  el-Harashl.^  El-HarashI  at  once  set  out  for 
Farghana  by  way  of  Bokhara  and  Samarkand,^  and  on 
reaching  Farghana  besieged  the  king  in  one  of  his 
fortresses.  The  king  at  last  came  to  terms  and  paid  an 
indemnity  of  100,000  direms,  besides  surrendering  many 
slaves.  During  the  following  night,  while  most  of  the 
Musulmans  were  asleep,  the  treacherous  chief,  at  the 
head  of  10,000  men,  fell  upon  them  and  slew  a  great 
number.  The  main  body,  however,  on  receiving  the 
alarm,  hastily  mounted  and  charged  the  infidels  fiercely, 
putting  them  to  rout  and  killing  the  king  with  2000  of 
his  followers.  In  the  same  year,  A.H.  104  (722),  El- 
Harashl  was  in  his  turn  deposed,^  and  Muslim  ibn  Sa'id, 
the  Kilabite,  put  into  his  place  as  generalissimo  of  the 
Eastern  army. 

The  Mohammedans  meanwhile  had  their  hands  full 
in  reducing  disorders  in  Transcaspia,  and  their  ill-success 
accounts  for  the  perpetual  changes  made  in  the  leaders  of 
their  troops.  The  Turks,  indeed,  were  yearly  growing  in 
power  and  insolence.  Muslim  ibn  Sa'id  suffered  a  series 
of  defeats  at  their  hands  which  culminated  in  an  utter  rout 
of  the  Mohammedan  army,  the  survivors  escaping  with 
difficulty  across  the  river  of  Balkh.  In  A.H.  105  (723) 
Yezld  II.  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Hisham, 
who  at  once  appointed  Khalid  ibn  'Abdullah  al-KasrI 
governor  of  the  two  'Iraks,  while  he  despatched  Khalid's 
brother  Asad  with  a  powerful  army  to  bring  the  Turks 
into  subjection.    He  failed  as  miserably  as  his  predecessor  ; 

^  See  Tabari,  Annales,  Series  II.  pp.  143 1  and  1433.  Yamber>-  (who 
reads  the  name  as  Tarshi)  states  that  this  man  succeeded  Yezld  ibn  Muhallab 
on  the  appointment  of  Maslama.  Cf.  Bokhara,  p.  37.  The  Persian  Tabari 
also  says  that  the  nomination  was  made  by  Maslama.  Cf.  Zotenberg,  vol.  iv. 
p.  268. 

^  The  Annales  devote  many  pages  to  his  progress,  but  as  the  details  are  of 
small  importance  we  refrain  from  summarising  them,  and  merely  follow  the 
abridged  account  of  the  Persian  Tabari. 

'  He  seems  already  to  have  been  dismissed,  and  to  have  been  reinstated. 


72  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D.723. 

for  thrice  in  successive  years  he  crossed  the  Balkh  River 
and  marched  into  Soghdiana,  as  often  to  retreat  with 
severe  losses.  Enraged  by  his  continued  misfortunes,  he 
called  together  his  generals  and  roundly  accused  them  of 
being  the  cause.  He  then  had  them  stripped,  bastinadoed, 
and  shaved,  and  sent  them  in  chains  to  his  brother 
Khalid.^  This  outrageous  behaviour  disgusted  the  Caliph, 
who  dismissed  Asad  and  gave  the  command  of  the 
Eastern  army  to  Ashras  ibn  'Abdullah.^  The  new  general 
was  held  in  high  esteem  by  his  followers,  and  received 
the  title  of  "the  Perfect."  He  made  great  efforts  to 
induce  the  Christians  of  Central  Asia  to  embrace  Islam, 
by  promising  them  exemption  from  the  capitation  tax. 
He  appears,  however,  not  to  have  abided  by  his  word, 
but  to  have  reimposed  the  tax,  with  the  result  that  many 
of  the  recent  converts  rose  in  rebellion  and  attached 
themselves  to  the  Khakan.  But  Ashras,  too,  met  with 
a  crushing  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  Turks,  and  was 
consequently  recalled.  In  the  person  of  his  successor, 
Junayd  ibn  'Abd  er-Rahman,^  we  find  a  man  more  fit  for 
supreme  command  than  those  who  had  preceded  him. 
In  his  first  engagement  with  the  Turks  he  defeated  the 
Khakan  with  a  force  of  170,000  men,  of  whom  the 
Musulmans  killed  about  3000.*  Junayd  then  retired 
across  the  Balkh  River  to  Merv,  where  he  wintered. 
In  the  following  spring  he  crossed   the  Oxus  with 

^  It  is  very  remarkable  that  from  this  point  in  the  history  the  account 
in  the  Arabic  is  as  prolix  as  that  in  the  Persian  translation  is  compressed  and 
condensed. 

^  Vambery  calls  him  (wrongly)  Esresh. 

^  Called  by  Vambery,  Jandab.  He  succeeded  to  the  command  in  a.h.  hi. 
He  had  previously  been  in  Sind,  and  on  his  way  to  join  the  army  at  Bokhara 
he  narrowly  escaped  falling  into  the  Khakan's  hands.  Tabari  relates  that  he 
obtained  his  promotion  by  offering  to  Hisham's  wife  a  necklace  of  precious 
stones,  which  the  Caliph  admired  so  greatly  that  Junayd  procured  another 
like  it  for  him.     See  Tabari,  Annales,  Series  II.  p.  1527. 

*  In  this  battle  a  nephew  of  the  Khakan  was  taken  prisoner,  and  after- 


A.D.7a4.l  KUTAYBA'S  SUCCESSORS  73 

his  whole  force,  and  on  gaining  the  right  bank  divided 
it  into  three  corps.  The  first,  consisting  of  10,000 
men,  he  sent  under  Saura  ibn  el  -  Hurr  to  occupy 
Samarkand.  The  second  division  was  ordered  to 
Tokharistan  under  Omara  ibn  Horaym,  who  quickly 
reduced  the  whole  province;  while  Junayd  himself 
took  command  of  the  remainder. 

The  accounts  of  the  fighting  that  ensued,  as  given 
by  the  two  versions  of  Tabari,  offer  great  discrepancies. 
The  Arabic  original,  which  in  this  case  seems  the  most 
trustworthy  source,  points  to  an  almost  total  defeat  of 
the  Mohammedan  forces  in  the  first  instance,  while 
the  Persian  translation,  in  abridging  this  account,  omits 
many  of  the  details  of  disaster.  According  to  the 
Arabic,  Junayd  was  marching  on  Tokharistan  when 
news  reached  him  that  Saura  was  hard  pressed  in 
Samarkand  by  the  Khakan  of  the  Turks,  where- 
upon Junayd  resolved  to  march  to  his  relief.  But  his 
forces  were  so  scattered  that  he  was  obliged  to  set 
out  with  the  small  contingent  under  his  personal 
command.  When  about  half-way  he  was  surrounded 
by  the  Turkish  hordes,  and  a  fearful  struggle  ensued 
in  which  hundreds  of  his  brave  Arabs  were  slain.  At 
last  he  withdrew  to  a  defile,^  threw  up  entrenchments, 
and  called  a  council  of  war.  His  officers  pointed  out  to 
him  that  either  he  or  Saura  must  perish.  He  therefore 
sent  word  to  Saura-  to  march  out  of  Samarkand,  which 
A^dth  much  reluctance  he  did  at  the  head  of  12,000 
men.  Saura  set  out  in  the  direction  of  Junayd's  camp, 
and  had  nearly  reached  it  when  he  was  suddenly  attacked 

wards  sent  to  the  Caliph.  Tabari  notices  that  there  is  a  doubt  as  to  the  year 
in  which  these  engagements  took  place,  some  saying  A.H.  112  and  others  113 
(730,  731). 

^  This  defeat  was  known  as  the  battle  of  the  Defile  (ash-Shfb),  a.h.  112 
(730)- 

*  Tabari,  AnrtaUs,  Series  II.  p.  1 539. 


74  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  730. 

by  the  Turks.  So  great  was  the  slaughter  that  of  the 
1 2,000  we  are  told  only  three  finally  escaped/  Saura 
himself  perishing  with  his  army.  Having  created  this 
diversion,  Junayd  thought  fit  to  sally  from  his  retreat, 
but  only  to  find  himself  again  outnumbered  by  the 
Khakan's  forces.  He  now  promised  freedom  to  the 
slaves  of  his  camp  if  they  would  fight  for  him,^  and  by 
the  valour  of  these  impromptu  auxiliaries  he  was  able 
to  push  his  way  through  to  Samarkand.  When  the 
Caliph  Hisham  received  Junayd's  report^  of  what  had 
passed  he  sent  him  larger  reinforcements  of  men  from 
Basra  and  Kufa,  numbering  in  all  some  25,000.  When 
Junayd  had  been  four  months  in  Soghdiana,  tidings  were 

*  About  ten  or  eleven  thousand  perished  in  the  battle,  the  remainder  were 
betrayed  to  the  Khakan  (Tabari,  loc.  cit.  p.  1542). 

-  Tabari,  loc.  cit.  p.  1543. 

*  Junayd  in  his  report  seems  to  have  laid  the  blame  of  his  defeat  on  Saura 
for  advancing  too  far  out  of  Samarkand.  According  to  Tabari,  his  words 
were :  "  Saura  disobeyed  me ;  I  ordered  him  to  keep  near  the  river, 
but  he  did  not  do  so"  (,loc.  cit.  p.  1544).  Beladhori  also,  in  his  very  brief 
account  of  this  campaign,  makes  no  mention  of  defeat  or  even  disaster.  He 
merely  says  that  Junayd  fought  the  Turks  till  he  had  utterly  repulsed  them, 
and  then  asked  the  Caliph  for  reinforcements.  The  account  in  the  Persian 
Tabari  is  roughly  as  follows :— Junayd's  first  brush  with  the  Turks  was 
successfiil ;  but  their  Khakan  was  not  discouraged  by  his  reverse.  He 
mustered  a  host  so  formidable  that  Junayd  found  it  necessary  to  order  Saura, 
who  had  taken  possession  of  Samarkand,  to  join  forces  with  him.  He  then 
marched  against  the  Khakan  with  20,000  men.  The  Turkish  leader  adopted 
tactics  which  have  again  and  again  enabled  a  prescient  leader  to  triumph 
against  immense  odds.  On  learning  that  Saura  had  left  Samarkand,  he 
turned  and  fell  upon  him  with  such  ferocity  that  not  one  of  his  20,000  troops 
escaped  to  tell  the  tale.  Thereupon  Junayd  summoned  every  town  of 
Khorasan  and  Tokharistan  to  send  him  its  quota  of  reinforcements ;  and 
having  thus  gathered  an  army  of  43,000  strong,  despatched  it  under  a  trusted 
follower  to  relieve  Samarkand,  which  was  closely  besieged  by  the  victorious 
Khakan.  The  Mohammedans  reached  the  city  when  their  garrison  was  on 
the  point  of  surrendering,  and  attacked  the  beleaguering  host.  For  the  first 
time  during  many  disastrous  years  the  banner  of  Islam  prevailed.  The 
Khakan  was  smitten  hip  and  thigh,  and  forced  to  raise  the  siege  of  Samar- 
kand. Junayd  placed  a  garrison  there  of  5000  men  under  Nasr  ibn  Sayyar, 
and  returned  to  Merv,  where  death  soon  closed  his  brilliant  career. 


/..D.  736.1  KUTAYBA'S  SUCCESSORS  75 

brought  to  him  that  the  Khakan  was  threatening 
Bokhara ;  he  thereupon  set  out  from  Samarkand,  leaving 
there  a  garrison  in  charge  of  Nasr  ibn  Sayyar.  In  the 
course  of  two  years  Junayd  appears  to  have  restored 
order  in  Transoxiana,  and  with  the  help  of  his  new 
reinforcements  to  have  driven  out  the  Turks.  The 
'Abbasid  faction,  which  a  little  later  brought  about  the 
downfall  of  the  Umayyad  dynasty,  in  the  year  i  1 3 
began  to  send  emissaries  into  Khorasan  ;  Tabari  tells  us 
that  Junayd  seized  one  of  these  men  and  put  him  to 
death.  But,  apart  from  this  fact,  Tabari  has  scarcely 
anything  to  relate  of  Junayd  between  the  years  113 
and  I  1 6. 

In  A.H.  116  (734)  Junayd,  in  spite  of  his  great 
services,  was  dismissed  from  his  post  by  the  Caliph  for 
having  married  the  daughter  of  Yezld  ibn  Muhallab,  and 
'Asim  ibn  'Abdullah  was  appointed  in  his  stead.  He 
died  of  dropsy  before  his  successor  reached  Merv.  By 
his  cruelty  and  injustice  to  all  who  had  held  office  under 
Junayd,  'Asim  incurred  the  bitter  hatred  of  his  people. 

A  certain  Harith  ibn  Surayj  rose  against  him,  took 
possession  of  many  towns  in  Khorasan,  such  as  Merv 
er-Rud,  Balkh,  and  Bab-el- Abwab,  and  gathered  a  crowd 
of  soldiers  of  fortune  to  his  banner  by  distributing  amongst 
them  the  tribute  levied  from  his  acquisitions.  'Asim, 
failing  to  crush  this  revolt,  was  dismissed  by  the  Caliph, 
and  Asad  el-KasrI  was  reinstated  in  the  governorship  of 
Khorasan.'^  Asad  at  once  advanced  against  Harith  at 
the  head  of  a  large  army,  drove  him  to  Turkestan, 
where  he  entered  into  league  with  the  Khakan,  who 
assigned  him  and  his  followers  the  town  of  Farab  as  a 
residence. 

In   A.H.    118    (736)    Balkh  became  temporarily  the 

^  He  appears  to  have  received  the  appointment  from  his  brother  Khalid, 
the  governor  of  'Irak. 


76  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  736. 

Mohammedan  capital  of  Central  Asia.  In  the  same 
year  Asad  planned  a  campaign  into  Khottal,  but  the 
Khakan  took  measures  to  forestall  him.  Asad's  advance 
column  was  taken  completely  by  surprise,  and  his  camp 
and  harem  were  captured.  A  parley  ensued  without 
result,  after  which  he  returned  to  Balkh,  while  the 
Khakan  again  withdrew  to  Tokharistan.  But  in  the 
following  spring  Asad  attacked  and  completely  routed 
the  Khakan  and  rescued  all  the  Moslem  provinces.^  The 
Turk  fled  back  to  Tokharistan,  and  shortly  afterwards, 
while  on  his  way  to  attack  Samarkand,  he  was  waylaid 
and  killed  by  a  rebellious  follower. 

^  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  in  the  Persian  Tabari  the  record  of  Asad's 
second  tenure  of  office  is  not  only  very  brief,  but  even  differs  essentially  from 
that  of  the  Arabic  original. 


CHAPTER    X 

Nasr  ibn  Sayyar  and  Abu  Muslim 

In  a.h.  1 20  (737)^  Asad  died,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Nasr  ibn  Sayyar,  one  of  the  ablest  rulers  and  generals 
ever  sent  to  the  East  in  Mohammedan  times.  He  was 
as  generous  as  he  was  strong,  and  seems  to  have  won 
the  affection  of  those  under  him.  During  the  nine  years 
of  his  governorship  his  position  was  by  no  means  an 
easy  one,  for  he  had  to  contend  with  the  growing  influence 
of  the  'Abbasid  faction,^  and  to  support,  with  a  loyalty 
worthy  of  a  better  cause,  the  last  degenerate  representa- 
tives of  the  house  of  Umayya.  His  first  care  on  assum- 
ing the  supreme  command  was  to  subjugate  the  Khakan 
of  the  Turks,  whose  name  was  Kursul,  against  whom 
he  led  three  successive  expeditions.  The  first  two  seem 
to  have  been  without  result,  but  in  the  last,  which  was 
directed  against  Shash,  the  Khakan  fell  into  his  hands 
and  was  put  to  death.^ 

In  the  same  year  Nasr  renewed  his  attempt  to  sub- 
ject Shash  to  the  Moslem  yoke.  The  campaign  was  a 
bloodless  one.  He  received  the  submission  of  Ushrusana, 
and  concluded  an  advantageous  peace  with  the  king  of 
Shash.^  He  thereupon  appointed  a  Mohammedan  gover- 
nor of  Farghana. 

^  In  Schefer's  edition  of  Narshakhi  (p.  59)  the  date  is  absurdly  given  as  166. 
-  Descendants  of  'Abbas,  uncle  of  the  Prophet.     See  note  below,  p.  80. 
"  Cf.  Tabari,  loc.  cit.  p.  1988  et  seq. 

*  Harith  ibn  Surayj  mentioned  above  was  still  with  the  Turks,  and  when 

77 


78  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  740. 

In  the  year  A.H.  123  (740)  this  judicious  ruler  estab- 
lished order  throughout  Transoxiana,  Khorasan,  and 
Farghana.-^  But  he  had  other  difficulties  to  meet  which 
were  not  of  his  own  making.  The  star  of  the  Umay- 
yads  was  in  the  descendent,  and  the  'Abbasid  party 
were  daily  adding  to  the  number  of  their  adherents. 
And,  apart  from  dynastic  struggles,  the  whole  of  Islam 
was  rent  with  the  dissensions  of  the  rival  sects  of  the 
Kharijites  and  the  Shi'ites.  The  sectarian  zeal  of  the 
latter,  which  to  this  day  remains  the  cause  of  bitter  dis- 
cord in  the  realm  of  Islam,  began  now  to  make  itself 
felt  in  Persia  and  in  Central  Asia. 

In  A.H.  125  (742)  Hisham,  the  last  Umayyad 
Caliph  of  any  distinction,  died.  The  dynasty  lasted  seven 
years  longer,  and  in  that  short  period  no  less  than  four 
Caliphs  2  attempted  to  restore  the  fading  glory  of  their 
house.  While  such  disorders  reigned  at  headquarters 
there  was  small  hope  of  quelling  sedition  in  the  outlying 
provinces.  The  'Abbasid  pretender,  Ibrahim,  thanks  to 
the  efforts  of  his  father's  ^'  emissaries,  had  now  a  powerful 
and  rapidly  increasing  faction  in  Merv.  But  Nasr  still 
held  command  in  Khorasan,  and  his  personal  influence 
was  still  great  enough  to  avert  open  rebellion.  It  failed ; 
and  the  fierce  tribal  jealousy  which  always  smouldered 
in  Arab  breasts  burst  into  civil  war.  The  two  rival 
factions  were  the  Yemenites  and  the  Modharites.  Nasr 
ibn  Sayyar  belonged  to  the  tribe  of  Modhar,  and  be- 
stowed the  highest  offices  on  his  clansmen.  In  fact,  all 
the  towns  of  Khorasan  were    governed  by  members  of 

Nasr  ibn  Sayyar  reported  his  victory  to  the  governor  of  'Irak  the  latter 
ordered  him  to  capture  Harith,  subdue  Farghana,  and  destroy  the  town  of 
Shash. 

^  By  the  promulgation  of  a  general  amnesty  the  Soghdians  were  brought 
back  to  their  allegiance. 

-  Their  names  were  Welid  11.,  Yezid  11.,  Ibrahim,  and  Merwan  11. 

^  His  father,  Mohammed,  had  died  in  A.H.  124. 


.n.745.]      NASR  IBN  SAYYAR  AND  ABU  MUSLIM     79 

one  or  the  other  of  the  three  principal  branches  of  the 
tribe,  Asad,  Temlm,  or  Kinana.  Now,  there  was  a  man 
of  the  tribe  of  Azd  called,  after  his  birthplace,  Juday'  el- 
Kirmani,  who,  before  the  promotion  of  Nasr,  had  held  a 
higher  position,  and  retained  some  authority  among  his 
own  people.  To  him  came  the  Beni  Rabfa  with  com- 
plaints of  the  partiality  of  Nasr.  He  promised  his  inter- 
cession with  the  governor.  On  attempting  remonstrance 
he  raised  Nasr's  ire,  and  was  cast  into  prison,  whence 
escaping  ^  he  rejoined  his  own  people.  All  efforts  at 
reconciliation  proving  fruitless,  the  rival  parties  had 
recourse  to  armed  strength.  In  A.H.  127  (744)  Harith 
ibn  Surayj,  who  was  permitted  to  return  to  Khorasan 
from  his  captivity  in  Farab,  set  up  his  standard  at  Merv, 
and,  gathering  many  followers  around  it,  openly  revolted 
against  Nasr.  In  the  following  year  Nasr  called  upon 
him  to  swear  allegiance  to  the  Caliph  Merwan,  but 
Harith  refused,  and  boasted  that  he  was  "  the  man  with 
the  black  flag "  ^  who  was  to  overthrow  the  Umayyad 
dynasty.  Hostilities  thereupon  commenced  between 
Nasr  and  Harith,  in  which  the  latter  was  worsted.  He 
fled  to  the  camp  of  El-Kirmani,  whom  Nasr  had  mean- 
while been  vainly  endeavouring  to  conciliate. 

Their  combined  forces  now  marched  against  Nasr, 
whom  they  defeated  in  a  pitched  battle.  Nasr  fled  to 
Nishapur,  while  the  allies  occupied  Merv,  where,  how- 
ever, dissensions  arose  between  them  which  cost  Harith 
his  life,  A.H.  128  (745).^ 

It  was   in   the    midst  of   these   disorders   that    Abu 

'  An  amusing  incident  is  given  in  this  connection  by  Tabari.  KirmanI 
was  very  stout,  and  the  passage  by  which  he  had  to  escape  was  so  narrow  that 
his  servant  was  obliged  to  drag  him  through  by  main  force,  and  the  operation 
very  nearly  killed  him. 

*  See  note  i,  p.  82. 

'  For  a'fiill  account  of  the  story  of  El-KirmanI  and  Harith  ibn  Surayj,  see 
Tabari,  Amiales,  Series  II.  pp.  1855-69,  1887-90,  and  1917-35. 


8o  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  74s. 

Muslim,  the  virtual  founder  of  the  'Abbasid  dynasty, 
raised  the  black  banner  in  Khorasan.  The  advent  of 
the  'Abbasids  to  the  Caliphate  was  an  event  of  such 
moment  for  the  future  of  Central  Asia  that  it  is  neces- 
sary in  this  place  to  give  a  brief  account  of  the  rise  of 
the  new  dynasty.  The  fall  of  the  Umayyads  was  the 
death-knell  of  unity  in  Islam.  In  spite  of  numberless 
rebellions  in  all  parts  of  their  conquered  provinces  the 
Umayyads  had  never  recognised  independent  rulers, 
but  with  the  establishment  of  the  house  of  'Abbas  there 
set  in  a  general  dismemberment  of  the  empire  of  the 
Caliphs.  The  origin  of  the  dispute  between  the  Hashim- 
ites  (or  'Abbasids)  and  the  Umayyads  dates  back  to  a 
period  anterior  to  the  birth  of  Mohammed.  It  was  a 
rivalry  between  the  two  chief  stocks  of  the  house  of 
Koraysh.^  We  have  seen  above  that,  although  Moham- 
med, on  first  declaring  his  mission,  met  with  opposition 
from  his  own  tribe,  after  the  conquest  of  Mekka  they 
temporarily  reconciled  the  conflicting  interests.  So  after 
the  Prophet's  death  discussions  again  arose  between  'All 
and  the  Caliph  Mo'awiya.  The  Kharijites,  who  demanded 
a  purely  theocratic  rule,  were  also  continually  in  a  fer- 
ment. After  the  tragic  death  of  Husayn,  the  son  of  'All, 
at  Kerbela,  a  party  arose  devoted  to  the  house  of  'All, 
and  claiming  the  succession  of  his  family  to  the  Caliphate, 

^  The  following  tabic  will  explain  the  descent  of  the  two  branches  : — 
Kossay 

*Abd  Menaf 


I  I 

'Abd  Shems  Hashim 

Umayya  'Abd  al-Muttalib 


Abu  Talib  'Abdullah  'Abbas 

.   I  I 

All  Mohammed 


A.D.  746.1     NASR  IBN  SAYYAR  AND  ABU  MUSLIM     8i 

who  called  themselves  the  Shfa  (or  faction),  and  who  are 
known  to  Europeans  as  the  Shi'ites. 

In  the  reign  of  Hisham  (a.h.  105),  Mohammed,  the 
great-grandson  of  the  Prophet's  uncle,  'Abbas,  who  was 
living  in  retreat  in  the  south  of  Palestine,  began  to  ad- 
vance his  claims  to  the  Caliphate.  Emissaries  and  secret 
deputations  were  sent  to  all  the  principal  towns  of  Persia, 
'Irak,  and  Khorasan,  and,  in  spite  of  the  severe  measures 
taken  to  check  the  movement,  the  cause  of  the  Hashim- 
ites  began  rapidly  to  spread.  The  Shi'ites  and  the  Khari- 
jites  were  induced  to  make  common  cause  with  the 
Hashimites,  on  the  plea  that  the  only  object  of  the 
movement  was  to  secure  the  Caliphate  for  a  member  of 
the  Prophet's  own  family. 

In  the  year  A.H.  125  (742)  Mohammed  visited 
Mekka,  and  in  the  same  year  Abu  Muslim  was  taken 
there  on  a  pilgrimage  by  a  party  of  the  Hashimite 
'action.  This  Abu  Muslim,  whose  real  name  was  'Abd 
er-Rahman  ibn  Muslim,  was  a  native  of  Khorasan,  and 
had  been  a  saddler  in  the  service  of  a  distinguished 
Arabian  family.^  While  residing  at  Mekka  he  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  'xA.bbasid  claimant,  who  at  once 
singled  him  out  as  a  youth  of  great  promise,^  and  pro- 
phesied that  Abu  Muslim  would  be  greatly  instrumental 
in  bringing  the  'Abbasids  to  power.  He  spent  the 
two  following  years  in  journeys  between  Khorasan  and 
Homayma,  in  order  to  promote  the  cause  and  report  its 
progress.  By  means  of  an  active  propaganda  the  Hash- 
imites had  been  most  successful  in  winning  over  large 
numbers  of  adherents,  and  Abu  Muslim  was  only  watch- 
ing for  a  suitable  moment  to  raise  the  flag  of  revolt.  In 
A.H.  129  (746),  on  the  death  of  Harith  ibn  Surayj, 
Nasr    ibn    Sayyar   sent    a   small    force    from    Nishapur 

^  Zotenbei^,  op.  cit.  vol.  iv.  p.  323  et  seq. 
^  He  was  then  not  twenty  years  of  age. 


82  •    THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D.747. 

against  El-Kirmani,  which  was  repelled,  and  Nasr  now 
moved  on  to  Merv  with  all  the  troops  he  could  command. 
Abu  Muslim,  deeming  the  moment  favourable  for  his 
designs,  unfurled  the  black  standard  ^  of  the  'Abbasids. 
Ere  a  month  had  elapsed  contingents  began  to  pour  in 
from  all  quarters.  Nasr,  finding  himself  unable  to  check 
the  movement,  implored  reinforcements  from  Merwan,  the 
governor  of  'Irak,  and  pointed  out  that  the  loss  of 
Khorasan  would  be  fatal  to  the  house  of  Umayya. 

But  no  help  arrived,  and  Abu  Muslim,  conscious  of  his 
foe's  weakness,  invited  El-KirmanI  to  join  with  him  against 
Nasr ;  the  latter,  foreseeing  this  contingency,  caused  El- 
Kirmani  to  be  killed  by  one  of  his  soldiers,  and  sent  his 
head  to  the  Caliph.  The  Yemenites  and  the  two  sons 
of  El-Kirmani  attached  themselves  to  Abu  Muslim.  In 
despair  Nasr  sent  to  Merwan  a  despatch  in  verse,^  in  which 
he  pointed  out  the  perils  surrounding  his  situation,  and 
asked  whether  the  house  of  Umayya  was  asleep  or  awake. 

In  the  year  A.H.  1 30  (747)  Abu  Muslim  made  his 
entry  into  Merv,  and  ordered  public  prayers  to  be  offered 
for  the  'Abbasid  claimant  as  Caliph.  Nasr,  who  had 
abandoned  the  struggle  for  power  and  was  living  in 
retirement  at  Merv,  withdrew  on  his  approach  to  Nishapur 
by    way    of    Sarakhs.^       In    his    flight    he    was    joined 

^  We  are  told  that  Abu  Muslim  wished  to  have  a  distinctive  colour  for  his 
party,  the  Umayyads  having  adopted  white.  After  making  one  of  his  slaves 
clothe  himself  in  suits  of  various  colours,  he  ordered  him  to  dress  in  black, 
and  finding  the  sombre  hue  the  most  awe-inspiring  adopted  it  for  his  party. 
Cf.  Zotenberg,  loc  cit.  p.  327,  Later  the  Kharijites  adopted  red,  and  the 
Shi'ites  green. 

Nasr  ibn  Sayyar  was  a  poet  of  no  mean  order,  and  Arabic  histories 
contain  many  quotations  from  his  compositions,  specimens  of  which  will  be 
found  on  p.  87  and  88  of  Noldeke's  Delectus  Vet.  Carm.  Arab. 

'  Two  very  different  versions  of  the  end  of  Nasr  are  to  be  found  in  Oriental 
histories.  That  given  in  the  text  is  the  usually  accepted  one  ;  but  in  the  Per- 
sian translation  of  Tabari  (cf.  Zotenberg,  loc  cit.  p.  329),  in  the  Tarikh-i- 
Guzlda,  etc.,  we  are  told  that  he  fled  unaccompanied  as  far  as  Ray,  where 


AD. 748.)     NASR  IBN  SAYYAR  AND  ABO  MUSLIM     83 

by  such  of  his  troops  as  remained  faithful,  but  near 
Nishapur  he  was  overtaken  and  defeated  by  Kahtaba 
ibn  Shebib,  who  had  been  despatched  by  Abu  Muslim  in 
pursuit.  Nasr  now  fled  farther  westward,  and  on  reach- 
ing Jurjan  was  joined  by  the  Syrian  troops  from  'Irak ; 
but  they  came  too  late.  Kahtaba  again  overtook  the 
fugitive  and  inflicted  a  final  defeat.  Nasr  fled  towards 
Hamadan,  but  he  died  worn  out  by  years  and  toil  at 
Sava  at  the  age  of  eight>'-five.  With  this  faithful  viceroy 
perished  the  last  hopes  of  the  Umajyads,  A.H.  131 
(748). 

he  died.  No  mention  is  made  here  of  the  engagements  with  Kahtaba,  who, 
according  to  the  author  of  the  GusMa,  gained  possession  of  Jurjan,  Ray, 
Sava,  and  Kum  without  striking  a  blow. 


CHAPTER    XI 

Khorasan  under  the  First  'Abbasids 

The  Umayyad  Caliph  at  last  recognised  the  gravity  of 
the  situation,  and  sent  all  the  forces  he  could  muster  to 
oppose  Kahtaba.  But  the  Hashimite  troops  carried  all 
before  them.  They  defeated  a  large  Syrian  army  near 
Isfahan,  and  captured  the  important  stronghold  of 
Nahavend,  A.H.  132  (749).  Then  Kahtaba  started  for 
Kufa,  making  a  slight  detour  to  avoid  Ibn  Hobayra,  who 
was  encamped  at  Jalula.  On  reaching  the  Euphrates, 
Ibn  Hobayra  came  up  with  him,  and  a  battle  ensued  at 
nightfall  near  Kerbela.  Kahtaba  perished,^  but  his  son 
Hasan  continuing  the  fray  defeated  Ibn  Hobayra,  and 
drove  him  back  on  Wasit.  Meanwhile  the  Yemenites 
revolted  in  Kufa,  and  on  the  arrival  of  the  victorious 
Hashimite  forces  ^  delivered  up  the  town  to  them.  On 
the  entry  of  Hasan  ibn  Kahtaba  into  Kufa  the  head  of 
the  'Abbasid  house,  Abu-1-' Abbas,  emerged  from  his 
hiding-place,  and  the  town  for  the  time  became  the  seat 
of  the  'Abbasids.  Abu  Salama  was  provisionally  re- 
cognised as  the  Vezir  of  the  house  of  Mohammed. 
Meanwhile  the  fate  of  the  Umayyads  had  been  decided 
by  the  battle  of   the   Zab   in    Mesopotamia,    A.H.    132 

^  His  horse  ran  away  with  him  and,  slipping  on  the  banks  of  the  river, 
threw  its  rider  into  the  water,  where  he  was  drowned.  His  disappearance 
was  not  remarked  until  daybreak.  The  Guztda  says  that  Ibn  Hobayra  also 
perished  in  the  battle. 

2  Numbering,  according  to  the  Persian  Tabari,  more  than  30,000  men, 

84 


AD.  750.)      KHORASAN  UNDER  THE  'ABBASIDS  85 

(750),  where  Menvan  himself,  surrounded  by  his  greatest 
generals,  encountered  the  Hashimites  under  'Abdullah, 
Abu-l-'Abbas's  uncle.  Merwan  suffered  a  crushing  defeat, 
and  fled,  hotly  pursued,  to  Egypt,  where  he  was  finally 
captured  and  slain. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  year  Abu-1-' Abbas,  called 
Es-Saffah,  or  the  "  Shedder  of  Blood,"  was  proclaimed 
Caliph  in  the  great  mosque  of  Kufa.  The  new  Caliph's 
first  measure  was  to  sweep  the  entire  Umayyad  race 
from  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  traditions  which  have 
come  down  to  us  of  his  butcheries  pass  all  belief^  Syria 
as  soon  reduced,  and  Ibn  Hobayra  surrendered  his  last 
retreat,  Wasit.  But  troubles  continued  throughout  his 
reign.  Abu  Muslim's  attempts  to  put  all  the  Umayyad 
taction  to  the  sword  led  to  a  serious  rising  in  Khorasan. 
The  partisans  of  the  fallen  dynasty,  in  Bokhara,  Sogh- 
diana,  and  Farghana,  aided  by  the  emperor  of  China,  took 
the  field  in  force,  but  were  soon  dispersed  with  great 
slaughter  by  Ziyad,  governor  of  Samarkand.  "  It  is 
plain,"  says  Vambery,-  "  from  the  historical  sources  before 
us  that  the  original  Iranian  population  of  the  land, 
namely,  the  Tajiks,  fought  under  the  banner  of  Nasr, 
and  long  remained  true  to  the  cause  of  the  Omma- 
yades.' 

"  The  resistance  which  Nasr  ibn  Sayyar  offered  not 

^  The  Caliph's  two  uncles,  Da  ud  and  "Abdullah, — the  former  in  Mekka  and 
Medina,  the  latter  in  Palestine, — were  responsible  for  the  wholesale  extermi- 
nation of  the  Umayyads  in  those  coantries.  The  historians  tell  us  that 
'Abdullah  on  one  occasion  invited  seventy  members  of  the  house  of  Umayya 
to  a  feast,  under  promises  of  a  full  amnesty,  and  that,  at  a  given  signal,  the 
servants  fell  upon  the  unsuspecting  guests  and  put  them  all  to  death.  This 
tragedy  recalls  the  famous  "  Blood  bath"  in  Stockholm,  but  the  Umayyads 
had  no  Gustav  Wasa  to  avenge  their  death.  We  are  told  that  the  spirit  of 
revenge  carried  them  so  far  that  they  caused  all  the  tombs  of  the  Umayj-ad 
Cahph  to  be  opened,  and  what  remained  of  their  corpses  to  be  scattered  to 
the  winds.     Cf.  Chroniqtus  di  Tabari,  vol.  iv.  p.  343. 

-  History  of  Bokhara,  p.  40. 


86  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D"75t. 

only  to  the  superior  force,  but  also  to  the  allurements  of 
Ebu  Muslim,  deserves  our  respect." 

"  On  the  other  hand,  the  adroitness  of  Ebu  Muslim 
deserves  our  admiration,  who  in  an  astonishingly  short 
space  of  time  gained  over  to  his  side  all  the  Turks  of 
Transoxiana,  and  attached  them  to  himself  to  such  a 
degree  that  the  myths  which  even  now  live  in  the  mouths 
of  the  Ozbegs  and  Turcomans  compare  him  to  the 
Caliph  All  for  valour  and  wondrous  works.  At  all  events 
the  influential  individuality  of  Ebu  Muslim  first  made 
the  warlike  supremacy  of  the  Turks,  although  only 
mediately,  felt  in  Western   Asia." 

About  the  year  A.H.  134  (751)  the  new  Caliph's 
brother  paid  an  official  visit  to  Merv,  in  order  to  report 
on  the  state  of  the  Eastern  provinces.  So  much  alarmed 
was  he  at  the  influence  and  independence  of  Abii 
Muslim  that  on  his  return  to  Kufa  he  recommended 
his  brother  to  rid  himself  of  the  man  to  whom  he  owed 
his  throne.  In  the  following  year  Ziyad,  the  governor  of 
Samarkand,  probably  at  the  instigation  of  the  Caliph, 
rose  against  Abu  Muslim  ;  but  the  movement  was  quickly 
crushed,  and  Ziyad  was  deposed  and  put  to  death. 

In  the  following  year,  A.H.  136  (753),  while  Abu 
Muslim  and  Abu  Ja'far  were  returning  from  a  pilgrimage 
to  Mekka,  the  Caliph  es-Saffah  died  in  Anbar.  Abu 
Ja'far,  who  is  well  known  in  history  as  El-Mansur,  had 
been  designated  by  his  brother  to  succeed  him,^  but  he 
had  a  rival  in  the  person  of  his  uncle  'Abdullah, 
who  was  at  the  head  of  a  considerable  army,  includ- 
ing a  contingent  of  17,000  men  of  Khorasan.  Abu 
Muslim,  compelled  to  choose  between  the  pretenders, 
declared  for  Abu  Ja'far,  whereupon  'Abdullah  caused  a 

^  Es-Saflfah  was  ten  years  younger  than  Abu  Ja'far,  but,  as  Weil  suggests, 
was  preferred  to  the  latter,  because  his  mother  was  a  free  woman,  while 
his  brother's  was  a  slave. 


A.D.753]     KHORASAN  UNDER  THE  'ABBASIDS  87 

massacre  of  the  whole  of  his  Khorasan  contingent,^  in 
the  knowledge  that  they  would  refuse  to  draw  the  sword 
against  the  governor  of  their  province.  But  the  pre- 
caution was  of  no  avail,  for  shortly  afterwards  his  Syrian 
army  was  utterly  defeated  near  Nisibis  by  a  Persian 
force  under  Abu  Muslim,  and  'Abdullah  was  compelled 
to  abandon  his  claim.  Hardly  was  this  danger  averted 
when  the  Caliph  el-Mansur  again  allowed  his  jealousy  of 
Abu  Muslim  to  get  the  better  of  him.  Abu  Muslim  was 
warned  of  his  ill-will,  so  resolved  an  immediate  return  to 
Khorasan.  In  order  to  prevent  this  the  Caliph  appointed 
him  to  the  governorship  of  Syria  and  Egypt,  and  invited 
him  to  an  audience  in  Mada'in.  The  correspondence  ^ 
which  followed  between  the  Caliph  and  his  too  powerful 
lieutenant  gives  us  a  graphic  picture  of  the  times,  and 
also  possesses  some  historical  importance.  Abu  Muslim 
was  too  wary  to  accept  the  Caliph's  invitation.  "  A 
certain  king  of  the  Sasanides,"  he  replied,  "  once  said : 
'  There  is  no  more  dangerous  time  for  a  Vezir  than  when 
complete  tranquillity  reigns  in  the  kingdom.'  ...  I  there- 
fore deem  it  expedient  to  avoid  the  proximity  of  the 
Commander  of  the  Faithful,  without,  however,  ceasing  on 
this  account  to  be  his  faithful  subject.  Should  the  Com- 
mander of  the  Faithful  allow  me  to  do  so  I  will  be  the 
most  humble  of  his  servants,  but  if  he  gives  vent  to 
his  passions  I  shall  be  compelled  for  my  own  safety  to 
recall  my  allegiance." 

To  this  the  Caliph  replied :  "  I  have  grasped  the 
meaning  of  thy  letter ;  but  thy  position  is  different  from 
that  of  the  bad  Vezirs  of  the  Sasanide  kings,  ...  a  humble 
and    faithful    servant   like   thyself   has    nothing   to   fear 

^  See  Weil,  Geschichte  der  Khalifen,  vol,  ii.  pp.  24,  25. 

'  The  correspondence  is  fully  reported  by  Tabari ;  and  Weil,  recognising 
its  historical  interest,  has  translated  in  full  three  of  the  letters.  Cf.  Weil, 
op.  cit.  vol.  ii.  pp.  27,  28. 


88  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  ta.d.  754- 

during  a  state  of  peace.  Although  the  conditions  hinted 
at  towards  the  close  of  thy  letter  do  not  bespeak  an 
entire  submission,  thou  wilt  doubtless  return  with  the 
bearer  of  this  letter.  I  pray  God  that  He  may  give  thee 
strength  to  withstand  the  enticements  of  Satan,  who 
hopes  to  frustrate  thy  good  intentions,  and  opens  for 
thee  the  gate  which  leads  to  destruction." 

Abu  Muslim  rejoined  in  the  following  remarkable 
letter :  "  I  had  a  guide  closely  connected  with  the  house 
of  the  Prophet  whose  business  it  was  to  instruct  me  in 
the  teachings  and  duties  prescribed  by  God.  From  him 
I  had  hoped  to  learn  the  sciences,  but  he  led  me  into 
ignorance  and  error  by  means  of  the  Koran  itself,  which, 
from  love  of  worldly  things,  he  misinterpreted.  He 
ordered  me,  in  God's  name,  to  draw  the  sword,  to  banish 
feelings  of  pity  from  my  heart,  to  accept  no  excuses 
from  my  enemies,  and  to  pardon  no  offence.  I  did 
everything  to  pave  his  way  to  dominion.  Nothing  now 
remains  for  me  but  to  entreat  God  to  pardon  me  for  the 
sins  I  have  committed."  Having  despatched  this  letter, 
Abu  Muslim  set  out  for  Khorasan,  but  in  the  meanwhile 
El-Mansur  wrote  privately  to  Abu  Da'ud  Khalid,  whom 
Abu  Muslim  had  left  as  his  lieutenant  in  Khorasan, 
appointing  him  to  the  governorship.  He  further  pointed 
out  that  the  army  of  Khorasan  had  obeyed  Abu  Muslim 
because  he  had  been  fighting  for  the  'Abbasids ;  that 
he  was  now  in  open  revolt,  and  ought  to  be  put  to  death 
at  the  first  opportunity.  Abu  Da'ud  communicated  this 
letter  to  the  army  and  chiefs  of  Khorasan,  who  at  once 
recognised  him  as  governor.  He  then  sent  news  of  this 
momentous  occurrence  to  Abu  Muslim,  who,  seeing  that 
he  could  no  longer  count  on  the  attachment  of  the 
Khorasanis,  and  deceived  by  the  false  assurances  of 
his  former  friends,  consented  to  wait  upon  the  Caliph 
at  Mada'in.     On  arriving  there  he  was  basely  murdered 


A.n.754]     KHORASAN  UNDER  THE  'ABBASIDS  89 

at    his   master's  instigation  by  five  hired  assassins,  A.H. 

137  (754). 

Abu  MusHm  was  barely  thirty-five  years  of  age  when 
he  met  his  fall.  It  was  certainly  deserved,  for,  according 
to  computations  of  Arabian  historians,  he  was  responsible 
for  the  slaughter  of  no  less  than  600,000  human  beings. 
But  though  the  monster  richly  merited  punishment, 
his  master,  on  whom  he  had  bestovved  the  Empire  of 
the  East,  should  have  been  the  last  to  inflict  it ;  and  the 
treachery  with  which  Abu  Muslim's  fate  was  compassed 
is  an  additional  stain  on  El-Mansur's  memory. 


CHAPTER   XII 

The  Caliphates  of  El-Mansur,  El-Hadi,  and 
HarDn  er-Rashid 

El-Mansur's  troubles  did  not  end  with  the  defeat  of 
'Abdullah  and  the  murder  of  Abu  Muslim.  The  rebellious 
Mesopotamians,  under  their  leader  Mulabbab  esh-Shaybani, 
more  than  once  repulsed  the  troops  sent  against  them  by 
the  Caliph, and  not  till  A.H.  i  38  (75  5)  was  order  restored  by 
Khazim  ibn  Khuzayma.^  In  the  meantime  a  "  Magian," 
or  Zoroastrian  of  Nlshapur,  named  Sinbad,^  disgusted  at 
the  murder  of  his  patron  Abu  Muslim,  rose  in  rebellion 
to  avenge  the  blood  of  the  fallen  general.^  He  soon 
found  himself  at  the  head  of  a  large  following,^  and 
gained  possession  of  Nlshapur,  Kumis,  and  Ray.  In  the 
town  last  mentioned  the  treasure  which  had  been  left 
there  by  Abu  Muslim  fell  into  his  hands.  Against  him 
El-Mansur  despatched  Jahwar^  ibn  Marrar  el-'ljll,  at  the 
head  of  10,000  men,  who  encountered  and  put  to 
flight  the  rebels  between  Hamadan  and  Ray.  Sinbad 
escaped  from  the  field  of  battle,  but  was  overtaken  and 
killed  between  Tabaristan  and  Ray,  his  revolt  having 
lasted  just  seventy  days.^ 

^  Tabari,  Annales,  Series  HI.  p.  122. 

^  An  account  of  this  man  may  be  found  in  the  Siasset  Natn^h,  pp.  1 22-23 
of  Schefer's  text. 

*  In  the  Arabic,  Wadhalika  innahu  kana  min  sanayi'ihi. 

*  Numbering  6000  men. 

^  Wrongly  read  by  Weil  z.%Jumhur. 
"  Tabari,  loc  cit.  p.  120. 

90 


A.D.758.)  EL-MANSUR  91 

In  A.H.  138  (755)  Jahwar  was  deprived  of  his 
command  for  having  failed  to  deliver  over  to  the  Caliph 
the  treasure  of  Abu  Muslim  which  had  fallen  into  his 
hands.  He  now  in  turn  took  up  arms  against  the 
Caliph,  who  sent  a  force  against  him  under  Mohammad 
ibn  el-Ash'ath.  Jahwar  suffered  a  crushing  defeat 
and  fled  to  Azerbayjan,  whither  he  was  pursued  and 
slain. 

Although  El-Mansur  had  now,  A.H.  1 39  (756),  secured 
comparative  tranquillity  and  recognition  of  his  sovereign 
rights  in  most  of  his  dominions,  the  distant  province 
of  Khorasan,  yearly  rising  in  importance,  was  still  under 
the  heel  of  the  rival  faction  of  the  Hashimites  and  the 
Shi'ites,  quite  apart  from  minor  sectarian  movements 
which  rendered  the  attempt  to  maintain  order  there 
almost  hopeless. 

In  the  year  A.H.  140  (757)  the  Shi'ites  broke  out 
into  open  revolt,  in  the  midst  of  which  the  then  governor, 
Abu  Da'ud  Khalid  ibn  Ibrahim,  died.^  His  successor, 
'Abd  el-Jabbar,  was  powerless  to  assert  his  authority,  and, 
on  learning  that  he  was  about  to  be  dismissed  from  his 
office,  turned  against  El-Mansur.  Khazim  ibn  Khuzayma, 
w^ho  had  already  distinguished  himself  in  Mesopotamia, 
accompanied  by  the  Caliph's  son  and  successor  El-Mahdi, 
at  once  marched  against  'Abd  el-Jabbar  and  his  following, 
A.H.  141  (758).  'Abd  el-Jabbar  was,  however,  captured 
by  his  own  people  and  sent,  mounted  backwards  on  an 
ass,  to  the  Caliph,  who,  after  extorting  from  him  by 
torture  all  his  treasure,  put  him  to  death.  The  governor- 
ship of  Khorasan  was  now  given  to  El-Mahdi,^  the 
Caliph's  own  son  and  successor — an  appointment  which 

^  According  to  both  versions  of  Tabari,  he  fell  from  a  window  and  broke 
his  back. 

'  El-Mahdi,  who  was  at  this  time  about  twenty  years  of  age,,  had,  we  are 
told,  a  lieutenant  to  assist  him  in  his  duties  as  governor. 


92  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  (a.d.  758. 

seems  to  indicate  the  growing  importance  of  the  far 
Eastern  provinces. 

In  the  year  A.H,  141  (758)  a  strange  sect  of  Persian 
origin  styled  Ravandis  caused  no  little  trouble  to  the 
Caliph,  and  even  placed  him  in  imminent  personal 
danger.^  The  old  chronicles  have  little  to  tell  us  of 
Khorasan  between  the  years  A.H.  141  and  150,  although 
during  this  period  they  have  many  grave  events  to 
record  in  other  parts  of  the  Caliph's  dominion, — such  as 
the  rising  of  Mohammad  and  Ibrahim,  descendants  of  the 
martyred  Hasan  (a.h.  I45),and  the  foundation  of  Baghdad, 
A.H.  145  (762).  We  also  hear  of  frequent  engagements 
in  Armenia  between  the  Caliph's  troops  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  Khazars  and  Turks  on  the  other.  These 
matters,  however,  do  not  directly  concern  our  narrative.^ 
We  propose,  therefore,  to  chronicle  the  years  A.H.  150  to 
1 80  briefly,  recording  only  such  facts  as  are  connected 
with  the  history  of  Central  Asia  proper,  and  mentioning 
the  names  of  those  who  held  the  governorship  of  Khorasan 
during  this  period.^ 

In  A.H.  150  {767)  a  serious  rising  took  place  in 
Khorasan,   under    the    leadership    of   a    Persian    named 

^  The  Ravandis  believed  in  the  transmigration  of  souls,  and  held  that  the 
soul  of  the  Deity  was  temporarily  resident  in  the  body  of  the  Caliph,  while 
the  souls  of  Adam  and  Gabriel  were  residing  in  the  bodies  of  two  of 
his  generals.  For  accounts  of  this  sect,  see  Weil,  Geschichte  der  Khalifen, 
vol.  ii.  p.  "^b  et  seq.;  Muir,  The  Caliphate,  p.  448;  Tabari,  Annates,  Series 
HI.  p.  129  et  seq.  ;  and  Zotenberg,  Chrotiiqitcs  de  Tabari,  vol.  iv.  p.  137  et 
seq. 

•  In  the  preceding  pages  undue  space  may  appear  to  have  been  given 
to  the  history  of  the  Caliphs,  but  the  growing  importance  of  Central  Asia  will 
in  future  render  our  history  almost  independent  of  events  at  Baghdad. 

^  The  famous  Annates  of  Tabari  (which  have  been  our  Haupt-  Quelle  for 
the  history  of  the  Arabs  in  Central  Asia),  like  those  of  Ibn  el-AthIr,  are 
arranged  under  the  heading  of  each  succeeding  year.  We  make  a  point 
of  giving  throughout  the  name  of  each  governor  of  Khorasan  appointed  by 
the  Caliphs,  for,  though  such  details  are  in  themselves  trivial,  no  list  of  them 
has,  to  our  knowledge,  appeared  in  any  European  work. 


RELIGIOUS  MENDICANT  >  BOKHARA 


A.D.  77Sl 


EL-MANSCR  93 


UstadsTs/  who,  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  300,000 
men  of  Herat,  Badghls,  Sistan,  and  other  provinces, 
put  to  flight  a  large  force  of  Khorasanis  and  men 
of  Merv  er-Rud.  On  hearing  of  this,  El-Mansur  im- 
mediately sent  Khazim  ibn  Khuzayma,  who  had  been 
so  successful  in  quelling  the  revolt  in  Mesopotamia, 
to  help  El-Mahdi,  the  governor  of  Khorasan,^  to  meet 
this  new  danger.  El-Mahdi  gave  over  the  supreme 
command  of  his  troops  to  Khazim,  who  led  a  force 
of  20,000  men  to  meet  the  rebel  Ustadsls.  On 
approaching  the  enemy,  Khazim  threw  up  a  zariba 
and  prepared  for  battle,  whereupon  Ustadsls  advanced 
to  the  attack.  But  while  a  portion  of  his  army  was 
forcing  the  entrenchments  Khazim  created  a  diversion 
by  causing  a  body  of  his  men  to  sally  forth  from  an 
opening  on  the  opposite  side.  This  party  fell  on 
the  rear  of  the  rebel  army  and  put  them  completely 
to  rout,  killing  70,000  and  taking  14,000  prisoners. 
Khazim  fled  to  the  hills,  but  was  at  length  obliged  to 
surrender. 

A.H.  151  (768).  El-Mahdi  returned  to  Baghdad,  and 
took  up  his  residence  in  the  new  town  of  Rusafa, 
which  had  been  built  for  the  Khorasanis,  who  were 
unable  to  dwell  in  peace  with  the  haughty  Arabs  of 
the  capital. 

A.H.  152  (769).  Humayd  ibn  Kahtaba  was  appointed 
governor  of  Khorasan,  and  proclaimed  a  Holy  War 
against  Kabul. 

A.H,  158  (774).  El-Mansur  died,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  son  El-Mahdi. 

A.H.  159  (775).  Humayd  was  succeeded  in  the 
governorship  of  Khorasan  by  Abu  'Aun.      A  rising  took 

^  Weil,  op.  cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  65,  says  that  he  gave  himself  out  as  a  prophet, 
but  Tabari  says  nothing  of  this.     Cf.  Tabari,  Annales,  Series  HI.  p.  149. 
'  El-Mahdi  had  held  this  post  since  A.H.  141  (758}. 


94  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  776. 

place  in  Khorasan  in  connection  with  the  appointment  of 
the  heir-presumptive  {vali-  ahd). 

A.H.  160  {776).  Another  rising  occurred  in  Khorasan 
under  the  leadership  of  Yusuf  ibn  Ibrahim,  called  El-Barm, 
which  was  quelled  by  Yezid  ibn  Mazyad.  Yusuf  was 
sent  captive  to  El-Mahdi,  who,  after  subjecting  him  to  the 
cruellest  torture,  crucified  him. 

Abu  'Aun  having  provoked  the  Caliph's  wrath  was 
dismissed  from  his  office,  and  succeeded  by  Mu'az  ibn 
Muslim. 

A.H.  161  {777).  The  revolt  of  Mokanna',  "the  Veiled 
Prophet  of  Khorasan,"  originated  in  a  village  near  Merv. 
He  taught  the  transmigration  of  souls,  and  gave  out  that 
the  Deity  had  lately  been  incarnate  in  the  person  of  Abu 
Muslim,  and  had  now  passed  into  his  own.  He  secured 
a  great  following  from  among  the  people  of  Khorasan 
and  Transoxiana,  who,  from  the  colour  of  their  clothes, 
took  the  name  of  Seftd-Jdmegdn,  or  the  "  White- 
robed." 

A.H.  163  (779).  Mokanna'  was  besieged  by  Sayyid 
el-HarashI  in  his  fortress  in  Kesh,  and  on  finding  his 
position  hopeless  poisoned  himself  His  head  was  sent 
to  El-Mahdi  in  Aleppo.^ 

Mu'az  was  supplanted  by  Musayyah  ibn  Zobayr  in 
the  governorship. 

A.H.  166  (782).  A  general  rising  took  place 
against  Musayyah,  who  was  superseded  by  El-Fadhl  ibn 
Sulayman  TusI  in  the  governorships  of  Khorasan  and 
Sistan. 

A.H.  167  (783).  Death  of  El-Mahdi.  Succession  of 
El-Hadi. 

1  We  have  not  thought  fit  to  dwell  at  any  length  on  the  adventures  of  this 
famous  impostor.  Professor  Vambery,  in  his  History  of  Bokhara,  devotes  no 
less  than  ten  pages  to  the  rising.  The  story,  in  its  main  outlines,  is  familiar 
to  Englishmen  from  Moore's  Lalla  Kookh. 


AD.  8o2.]  HARUN  ER-RASHID  95 

A.H.  170(786).  Death  of  El-Hadi.  Succession  of 
Harun  er-Rashid. 

A.H.  171  (787).  Ja'far  el-Ash'ath,  governor  of  Kho- 
rasan. 

A.H.  172  (788).  E1-' Abbas  el-Ash'ath  followed  his 
father  as  governor,  and  was,  A.H.  175  (791),  succeeded 
by  his  uncle  El-Ghatrif  ibn  'Ata. 

A.H.  176  (792).  Shi'ite  revolt  in  Daylam.  Hamza 
el-Khuza'l,  governor  of  Khorasan. 

A.H.  178  (794).  El-Fadhl  ibn  Yahya  was  appointed 
governor  of  Khorasan. 

A.H.  178  (794).  He  built  mosques  and  post-stations 
in  Khorasan,  conducted  a  "  Holy  War  "  in  Transoxiana, 
and  was  unsuccessfully  attacked  by  the  king  of  Oshrusana 
Kharakhara.^ 

A.H.  179  (795).  Mansur  el-Himyari  was  governor  of 
Khorasan. 

A.H.  180  (796).  Ja'far  ibn  Yahya  was  governor  of 
Khorasan  and  Sistan. 

A.H.  182  (798).  The  famous  Caliph  Harun  er-Rashid 
appointed  his  infant  son  Ma'mun  ruler  over  all  the 
countries  from  Hamadan  to  the  farthest  East,  under  the 
guardianship  of  JaTar  ibn  Yahya. 

The  year  A.H.  187  (802)  was  memorable  in  Moham- 
medan annals  for  the  sudden  disgrace  and  fall  of  the 
all-powerful  favourites  of  the  Caliph,  the  Barmecides,^  at 
that  time  represented  by  the  brothers  Fadhl  and  Ja'far 
and  their  aged  father  Yahya.     Their  story  has  been  told 

^  Cf.  Tabari,  loc.  cit.  p.  631. 

-  This  powerful  family  took  its  descent  from  one  Barmelc,  a  physician  of 
Balkh.  One  of  its  members,  Khalid  ibn  Barmek,  became  vezir  of  the  first 
'Abbasid  Caliph,  and  under  El-Mahdi  was  intrusted  with  the  education  of 
the  heir-apparent  Harun.  Khalid's  son  Yahya  succeeded  him  as  vezir  in 
A.H.  170  (786),  and  showed  himself  one  of  the  most  capable  rulers  of  his  age. 
For  an  account  of  their  fall  consult  Sec.  iii.  of  the  Terminal  Essay  in  vol.  x. 
of  Burton's  Tkcitsand  and  One  A'ights, 


96  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  802. 

too  often  to  bear  repetition  in  this  place,  although,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  Barmecides  had  from  their  origin  been 
closely  connected  with  Khorasan. 

On  the  fall  of  the  Barmecides,  A.H.  187  (802),  'All 
ibn  'Isa  ^  was  appointed  to  the  governorship  of  Khorasan, 
but  the  complaints  against  his  misgovernment  and  extor- 
tion grew  so  loud  that  in  A.H.  1 89  (804)  Harun  resolved 
to  undertake  a  journey  of  inspection  into  the  province. 
He  accordingly  set  out  at  the  head  of  50,000  men,^ 
leaving  the  government  in  the  hands  of  his  heir-apparent 
Amin.  On  reaching  Ray,  however,  he  found  'All  ibn  'Isa 
awaiting  his  arrival  with  rich  presents  for  himself  and  his 
generals,  and,  soothed  by  these  gifts  and  by  the  flattery 
of  the  cruel  governor,  Harun  took  him  into  favour  and 
sent  him  back  to  Khorasan,  while  he  himself  returned  to 
his  capital,  A.H.  190  (806). 

In  the  following  year  a  certain  Rafi'  ibn  Layth,  a 
grandson  of  the  Umayyad  governor,  Nasr  ibn  Sayyar, 
for  reasons  of  private  vengeance,  killed  the  governor  of 
Samarkand  and  became  master  of  that  town.  With  the 
aid  of  the  discontented  citizens  and  some  Turkish  tribes 
he  repulsed  the  army  sent  against  him  by  'All  ibn  'Isa, 
A.H.  191  (807).  Harun,  on  hearing  of  this  revolt,  at 
once  despatched  his  trusted  general  Harthama  to  re- 
establish order;  but  the  seditionary  movement  under 
Rafi'  continued  to  grow  with  such  rapidity  that  the 
Caliph  thought  fit  to  take  the  field  against  him  in 
person.^  So,  again  leaving  Baghdad  in  the  hands  of  his 
son  AmIn,  he  set  out  for  Khorasan  with  a  large  army. 
On    reaching    Kirmanshah,    he    sent    forward    Ma'mun, 

*  August  Miiller,  generally  so  accurate,  calls  him  erroneously  Isa  ibn  All, 
and  equally  erroneously  states  that  he  was  killed  in  battle  in  the  year  191, 
whereas  he  did  not  die  till  195  (see  below). 

^  Zotenberg,  op.  cit.  iv.  p.  469. 

"  Cf.  Miiller,  op.  cit.  i.  p.  497  ;  Vambery,  Bokhara,  pp.  53,  54  ;  Zotenberg, 
op.  cit,  iv,  Tx  et  seq. 


A.D.809.1  HARUN  ER-RASHID  97 

accompanied  by  Fadhl  ibn  Sahl  as  his  vezlr,  with  orders 
to  establish  himself  in  Merv  and  to  send  Harthama  to 
attack  Rafi',  who  had  established  his  camp  in  Bokhara 
and  was  now  practically  master  of  Transoxiana.  Mean- 
while the  Caliph,  who  was  suffering  from  a  severe  malady ,i 
was  advancing  by  slower  stages  towards  Khorasan  with 
the  main  body  of  his  army.  On  reaching  Tus  the  symptoms 
became  more  acute,  and  on  the  3rd  of  Jumada  II.  193 
(24th  March  809),  the  great  Caliph  succumbed  at  the 
early  age  of  forty-five,  and  was  buried  in  that  town. 

1  Its  exact  nature  is  not  known,  but  it  was  probably  the  fruits  of  a  life  of 
reckless  dissipation. 


CHAPTER    XIII 

Decline  of  the  Caliphs'  Authority  in 
Khorasan.     The  Tahirides 

On  the  death  of  Harun  er-RashId,  A.H.  193  (809),  a 
serious  dispute  arose  between  his  two  sons,  Amin  and 
Ma'mun.  The  former,  probably  on  the  advice  of  his 
vezir,  Fadhl  ibn  Rabfa,^  ordered  the  army,  which  was  at 
Tus,  to  return  to  Baghdad.  This  act  was  not  only 
unfriendly  towards  his  brother,  but  was  also  in  direct 
contravention  of  his  father's  will.  Ma'mun,  in  retaliation, 
put  a  stop  to  all  postal  communication  between  Baghdad 
and  the  East,  and  assumed  the  title  of  Caliph  over  a 
kingdom  which  extended  from  Hamadan  to  Tibet,  and 
from  the  Caspian  to  the  Persian  Gulf.  With  the  help  of 
his  able  vezIr,  Fadhl  ibn  Sahl,^  he  succeeded  in  establish- 
ing order  throughout  his  realms.  Meanwhile  Harthama 
took  Samarkand  after  a  protracted  siege ;  whereupon 
Rafi'  threw  himself  on  Ma'mun's  mercy  and  was  par- 
doned, and  thus  peace  was  restored  throughout  Khorasan. 
But  the  elements  of  civil  disorder  still  held  sway.  While 
Amin,  on  the  one  hand,  struck  Ma'mun  from  the  succession, 
the  latter  ordered  the  omission  of  his  brother's  name  from 
the  public  prayers.  Amin,  angered  at  his  rival's  attitude, 
resolved  on  reducing  him  by  force  of  arms.     To  this  end 

1  Cf.  Zotenberg,  op.  cit.  tome  iv.  p.  481. 

2  He  was  minister  of  both  the  civil  and  military  departments,  and  was 
hence  known  as  Dhu-l-Rlyasatayn,  or  "  Lord  of  the  two  Ministries," 


A.D.  817.1  TAHIRIDES  99 

he  despatched  'All  ibn  'Isa  against  him  at  the  head  of 
50,000  men.  On  reaching  Ray,  A.H.  195  (810),  he 
encountered  Tahir,  who  had  been  posted  there  by 
Ma'mun  to  watch  the  frontier.  In  the  battle  that  en- 
sued 'All  was  slain  in  single  combat  by  Tahir,  and  his 
army  was  put  to  flight.  Tahir,  in  obedience  to  Ma'mun's 
orders,  now  marched  on  Baghdad,  and  with  reinforcements 
brought  by  Harthama  defeated  all  the  armies  sent  to 
stop  his  progress.  Having  secured  the  submission  of 
Arabia  and  Mesopotamia,  he  laid  siege  to  Baghdad,  and 
took  the  city  by  storm  in  A.H.  198  (813),  after  twelve 
months'  investment.  Amin  made  a  vain  attempt  to 
escape,  and  was  finally  slain  by  a  party  of  Persian 
soldiers, 

Ma'mun,  who  was  now  the  undisputed  master  of  the 
Caliphate,  made  Merv  his  capital  instead  of  removing  to 
Baghdad.  He  took  this  fatal  step,  which  gave  offence  to 
the  people  of  the  West  generally,  on  the  advice  of  Fadhl 
ibn  Sahl ;  for  Ma'mun,  like  his  brother,  was  overruled  by 
a  selfish  and  masterful  vezlr.  After  the  capture  of 
Baghdad,  Tahir  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  affairs  in 
that  town ;  but  the  people  soon  rose  against  him  to 
avenge  the  death  of  AmIn.  The  revolt  was  quelled  by 
the  distribution  of  largesses,  and  all  'Irak  acknowledged 
Tahir's  sway.^  It  is  impossible  to  enumerate  the  disorders 
which  distracted  Baghdad  and  the  West,  and  the  countless 
difficulties  which  Ma'mun  had  to  face  during  the  next  few 
years.  Suffice  it  to  say  that,  in  spite  of  repeated  risings 
and  conspiracies  against  the  Caliph's  authority,  Ma'mun 
continued  to  be  guided  by  the  short-sighted  counsels  of 
his  vezlr,  who,  as  a  Persian  ^  and  a  Shi'ite,  was  hated  in 
the  orthodox  West.  Not  till  A.H.  202  (817)  did  the 
monarch  awaken  to  the  dangers  of  the  situation  and  set 

^  Cf.  Weil,  Geschichte  der  JChalifen,  voL  ii.  p.  197. 

*  He  was  called  "  the  Magian,  the  son  of  a  Magian." 


loo  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  iA.D.817. 

out  from  Merv  to  Baghdad.  On  reaching  Sarakhs, 
Fadhl,  the  real  cause  of  all  Ma'mun's  misfortunes,  was 
murdered  in  his  bath — it  appears,  at  the  instigation  of  his 
master.  In  a.h.  204  (817)  Ma'mun  entered  Baghdad, 
and  Tahir,  who  had  during  the  recent  troubles  fallen  into 
disfavour  with  the  Caliph,  was  now  appointed  governor  of 
Baghdad.  He  did  not  remain  long  in  this  office,  for  at 
his  own  request  he  was  appointed  to  the  viceroyalty  of 
the  East,  A.H.  205  (818).^  With  him  the  Caliph  sent  a 
confidential  eunuch,  who  had  orders  to  poison  Tahir  should 
he  show  any  signs  of  insubordination.  After  a  successful 
rule  of  two  years  Tahir  suddenly  omitted  the  Caliph's 
name  in  the  weekly  prayers,  and  on  the  following  day  he 
was  found  dead  in  his  bed,  A.H.  207  (822).  But  so  great 
were  the  esteem  and  influence  which  the  viceroy  had 
gained  in  Khorasan,  that  the  Caliph  did  not  dare  to  take 
the  governorship  of  that  province  out  of  the  hands  of 
Tahir's  family.  His  two  sons,  Talha  and  'Abdullah,  did 
not  inherit  his  turbulent  character ;  and  whilst  'Abdullah 
was  fighting  Ma'mun's  battles  in  Mesopotamia  and  Egypt, 
his  brother  Talha  governed  the  Eastern  provinces  (from 
A.H.  207-213  (822-828))  in  the  Caliph's  name.  His 
residence  was  Nishapur,  whence  he  exercised  complete 
authority  over  Khorasan,  Tabaristan,  and  Transoxiana. 

It  is  fitting  in  this  place  to  revert  to  the  rise  of  a  family 
destined  to  play  an  important  part  in  the  East  under  the 
Tahirides,  and,  after  succeeding  their  former  masters  in 
the  governorship  of  Khorasan,  to  found  the  first  inde- 
pendent Mohammedan  dynasty  in  Central  Asia. 

While  Asad  ibn  'Abdullah  el-Kasri  ^  held  the  governor- 

^  Ma'mun  had  conceived  an  aversion  for  Tahir  (some  authors  say  because 
Tahir  reminded  him  of  his  brother  Amin's  death),  and,  being  conscious  of 
his,  Tahir  naturally  feared  the  proximity  of  the  Caliph.  He  superseded  a 
certain  Ghassan,  whom  Ma'mun  had  left  in  charge  of  Khorasan, 

2  Who  died  A.H.  166  (782). 


A.D.828.]  TAHIRIDES  ror 

ship  of  Khorasan  a  certain  nobleman  of  Balkh  named 
Saman,^  who  had  been  driven  out  of  his  native  town, 
came  to  Asad  in  Merv  and  begged  the  governor  to  help 
him  against  his  enemies.  Asad  warmly  espoused  his 
cause  and  succeeded  in  reinstating  him  in  Balkh.  Out 
of  gratitude  for  this  action,  Saman,  who  had  hitherto 
been  a  Zoroastrian,-  embraced  Islam  and  named  his  son 
Asad  after  his  protector.  This  Asad  had  four  sons, 
who  rendered  excellent  services  to  Harun  er-Rashid  in 
quelling  the  revolt  of  Rafi'  ibn  Layth.=^  Ma'mun,  mindful 
of  the  obligations  under  which  the  sons  of  Asad  had 
placed  his  father,  ordered  the  then  governor  of  Khorasan, 
Ghassan  ibn  'Abad,^  to  give  to  each  of  them  the  govern- 
ment of  a  town.  Thus  in  the  year  A.H.  202  (817)  ^  Nuh, 
the  eldest  son,  became  Amir  of  Samarkand  ;  Ahmed,  Amir 
of  Farghana ;  Yahya,  Amir  of  Shash  (Tashkent)  and 
Oshrusana  ;  and  Ilyas,  lord  of  Herat.®  When,  in  A.H.  205, 
Ghassan  was  superseded  by  Tahir,  these  grants  to  the 
family  of  Saman  were  confirmed,  and  continued  in  the 
same  hands  until  the  downfall  of  the  Tahirides  and  the 
rise  of  the  Saman  ides  to  the  supreme  power  in  the  East. 
In  A.H.  213  (828)  Talha  died  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  'All,  who,  however,  perished  shortly  afterwards  in 
a  conflict  with  the  Kharijites  near  Nishapur.  Ma'mun 
thereupon  sent  Talha's  brother  'Abdullah  to  Khorasan 

^  His  full  title  was  Saman-Khudat,  being  lord  of  a  village  which  he  him- 
self had  built  and  given  the  name  of  Saman.  He  claimed  descent  from  the 
Sasanide  Bahram  Chubin.     Cf.  Narshakhi,  ed.  Schefer,  pp.  57,  58. 

*  Vambery  ^Bokhara,  p.  55)  notes  that  "  the  fact  that  Saman,  whilst  still  a 
heretic,  had  held  a  command  long  after  the  Arab  conquest,  proves  the 
small  progress  Islamism  had  at  first  made  among  the  followers  of  Zoroaster." 

^  See  above,  p.  96. 

*  See  note  i  above,  p.  100. 

'  Narshakhi,  ed.  Schefer,  reads  absiirdly  292  ! 

®  Cf.  Mirkhwand,  Historia  Samanidarum,  ed.  Wilken,  p.  3.  Narshakhi 
says  that  Ahmed  was  made  governor  of  Merv,  but  from  what  follows  this 
seems  erroneous. 


I02  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  844. 

to  assume  the  reins  of  government,  which  he  held  until 
his  death  in  A.H.  230  (844),  at  the  age  of  forty-eight, 
after  seventeen  years  of  most  successful  administration. 
But  although  the  Caliph's  name  was  scrupulously  men- 
tioned in  Friday  prayers,  Khorasan  was  now  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  independent  of  Baghdad.  The 
falling  away  of  this  essentially  Persian  province  was  but 
the  first  step  towards  the  final  separation  of  the  Arabs 
and  the  Persians  which  was  shortly  to  follow,  after  two 
hundred  years  of  involuntary  and  unnatural  association. 
The  Tahirides  continued  to  rule  Khorasan  and  the  East 
during  a  period  of  fifty-six  years,  when  their  last  repre- 
sentative, Mohammad,^  in  A.H.  259  (872),  was  overthrown 
by  the  Safifaride  Ya'kub  ibn  Layth,  of  whom  we  must 
now  speak. 

^  D'Herbelot  quotes  a  Persian  quatrain  in  which  the  Tahirides  are  enu- 
merated— 

Dar  Khorasan  zi  aUi-Massdbshah, 
Tahir  u  Talha  bud  u  Abdullah, 
Bdz  Tahir,  digar  Mohammad  dan 
Kii  be   Yd  hub  dad  takht  u  kulah. 

Translation. — In  Khorasan,  of  the  house  of  Massab  (Tahir's  name  was 
Tahir  ibn  Husayn  ibn  Massab)  there  were  the  following  princes — Tahir, 
Talha,  'Abdullah,  another  Tahir  and  then  Mohammad,  who  gave  up  throne 
and  crown  to  Ya'kub. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

The  Saffarides  and  the  Rise  of  the  Samanides 

During  the  Caliphate  of  Mutawakkil  ^  the  government 
of  the  province  of  Sistan  was  usurped  by  a  man  named 
Salih  ibn  Nasr,  who,  under  the  pretext  of  putting  down 
a  rising  of  the  Kharijites,  had  gathered  round  himself  a 
large  body  of  adherents.  The  then  governor  of  Khorasan, 
Tahir  II.,  hearing  of  the  disorders  in  Sistan,  took  the 
field  in  person  in  order  to  put  an  end  to  the  hostilities 
between  the  Kharijites  and  Salih's  adherents.  This  he 
succeeded  in  doing,  but  scarcely  had  he  returned  to 
his  residence  when  news  reached  him  that  Salih  had 
again  taken  the  field.  Among  the  lieutenants  of  the 
latter  was  a  certain  Ya'kub  ibn  Layth,  who  was  destined 
to  play  an  important  part  in  the  history  of  his  time,  and 
to  establish  a  powerful  though  short-lived  dynasty.  He 
is  one  of  the  most  popular  heroes  of  Persian  history,  and 
so  many  anecdotes  have  clustered  round  his  name  that 
it  is  difficult  to  separate  truth  from  romance.  His  origin 
was  certainly  obscure,  and  he  appears  to  have  been  the 
son  of  a  coppersmith,^  though  authorities  are  divided  as 
to  whether  he  ever  plied  that  trade  himself.^     Many  tales 

^  He  raled  from  a.h.  232-247  (846-861). 

^  In  Arabic  Saffar,  whence  the  dj-nasty  took  its  name. 

'  Cf.  Khwandamlr's  account  of  the  Saffarides  in  his  Habtb-us-Siyar.  We 
refer  the  reader  also  to  Noldeke's  brilliant  sketch  of  this  man's  career,  entitled 
"  Ya'qub  the  Coppersmith"  {^Sketches from  Persian  History,  pp.  176-206). 

103 


I04  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  tA.D.86i. 

are  told  of  his  reckless  generosity  as  a  boy,  and  his 
consequent  popularity  among  his  schoolfellows.  His 
Persian  biographers  tell  us,  without  apology  or  comment, 
that  on  reaching  the  age  of  adolescence  he  became  a 
highway  robber ;  and  he  was  doubtless  followed  by  those 
whom  his  masterful  bearing  had  attached  to  his  person 
during  childhood.  "  The  number  and  character  of  his 
followers,  and  the  success  of  his  enterprises,  soon  gave 
him  fame  and  wealth,  and  his  generous  and  humane 
usage  of  those  whom  he  plundered  added  to  his  renown 
and  popularity.  In  such  a  state  of  society  the  transition 
from  the  condition  of  a  successful  robber  to  that  of  a 
chief  of  reputation  was  easy  and  natural.  A  man  who 
possessed  activity  and  courage,  and  who  was  able  to 
command  a  number  of  adherents,  could  not  fail  of  early 
attaining  rank  and  consequence."  ^  Salih  was  only  too 
glad  to  obtain  the  services  of  the  bold  highwayman,  who 
rose  so  rapidly  to  power  that  the  governor's  successor, 
Dirham  ibn  Nasr,  in  A.H.  247  (861),  gave  him  command 
of  his  army,  which  henceforth  became  the  terror  of  the 
surrounding  countries.  Meanwhile  the  Tahirides  remained 
inactive  in  Nishapur,  and  followed  a  policy  of  laisser-faire 
which  wrought  their  downfall. 

Ya'kub  soon  set  upon  a  career  of  extended  conquest, 
and  made  himself  master  of  Herat  (A.H.  253  (867)), 
Kirman,  and  Shiraz.  In  A.H.  257  (87 1 )  he  sent  a  message 
to  Muwafifak,  the  Caliph  Mu'tamid's  brother,  declaring  him- 
self one  of  the  Caliph's  most  humble  slaves,  and  proposing 
to  pay  him  a  visit.  The  Caliph,  wishing  at  any  cost  to 
keep  this  redoubtable  warrior  at  a  safe  distance,  sent  him 
an  investiture  of  the  government  of  Balkh,  Tokharistan, 
and  all  the  country  as  far  as  the  Indian  frontier.  These 
districts  were  inhabited  by  widely  different  races,  and 
included  the  Turks  of  Kabul  and  their  neighbours  the 

^  Malcolm,  History  of  Persia,  vol.  i.  p.  148. 


A.D. 884.1  THE  SAFFARIDES  105 

Afghans,  Ya'kub  now  crossed  the  passes  of  the  Hindu 
Kush  and  entered  the  Kabul  valley.  For  the  past 
hundred  years  or  so  it  had  never  entered  the  mind  of 
any  Eastern  governor  to  disturb  the  independence  of  the 
Turkish  king  of  Kabul.^  But  Ya'kub  succeeded  where 
the  early  Moslem  conquerors  had  failed,  for  he  carried  off 
the  king  and  all  his  idols,  and  was  the  first  to  establish 
Islam  in  a  district  hitherto  under  the  influence  of 
Buddhism.  IrKA..H.  259  (872)  he  administered  a  crushing 
defeat  to  the_jast_of  lie  Tahirides,  and  thus  became 
master  of  Khorasan  and  the  East.  He  died  in  A.H.  265 
(878),  leaving  nearly  the  whole  of  Persia  to  his  brother 
'Amr,  who  for  some  years  enjoyed  a  prosperous  rule 
and  remained  obedient  to  the  Caliph  at  Baghdad.  But 
in  A.H.  271  (884),  owing  to  the  complaints  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Khorasan,  the  Caliph  Mu'tamid  deprived 
'Amr  of  the  governorship  of  that  province,  which  was 
apparently  given  to  Rafi'  ibn  Harthama,  and  sent 
an  army  to  attack  him.  In  the  first  encounter  'Amr 
was  defeated,  and  fled  to  his  native  state  of  Sistan  by 
way  of  Shiraz  and  Kirman.  At  this  point  we  must 
for  a  time  leave  'Amr,  and  revert  to  the  story  of  the 
Samanides. 

It  has  been  stated  above  that  the  province  of 
Mavara-un-Nahr,  or  Transoxiana,  had  been  held  during 
the  supremacy  of  the  Tahirides  by  various  members  of 
the  house  of  Saman.  At  the  time  of  the  overthrow  of 
the  Tahirides  by  Ya'kub  ibn  Layth,  Nasr  ibn  Ahmed 
was  governor  of  Samarkand.  We  are  told  -  that,  after 
the  fall  of  the  Tahirides,  Muwaffak  sent  a  regal 
mandate  to  Nasr  ibn  Ahmed  appointing  him  to  the 
government  of  all  Transoxiana,  from  the  banks  of  the 

^  Cf.  Miiller,  op.  cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  29. 

'  Narshakhi  (ed.    Schefer,   p.    78)  gives  the   date   as  A.H.   260  (872), 
Mirkhwand  (ed.  Wilken,  p.  4)  as  A.H.  261  (873). 


io6  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  885. 

Oxus  to  the  farthest  East.^  It  is  not  apparent  how  he 
became  independent  of  the  new  masters  of  Khorasan  ;  ^ 
but  in  the  year  261  we  find  Nasr,  with  the  help  of  his 
brother  Isma'll,  engaged  in  the  direction  of  affairs  in 
Transoxiana.  Narshakhi  tells  us  that  the  names  of  both 
were  mentioned  in  the  public  prayers,  while  that  of 
Ya'kub  ibn  Layth  was  omitted.  Nasr  appears  to  have 
had  a  natural  predilection  for  the  town  of  Samarkand, 
and  on  this  account,  perhaps,  on  receiving  his  appoint- 
ment from  the  Caliph,  he  did  not  proceed  to  the  then 
capital,  Bokhara,  but  sent  thither  a  deputy  in  the  person 
of  his  brother  Isma'il,  who  was  then  but  twenty-seven 
years  of  age.  Bokhara  was  at  this  period  in  a  state  of 
great  disorder  owing  to  the  dissensions  of  political 
and  religious  factions,  and  partly  to  the  rapine  caused 
by  organised  robber-bands  which  infested  the  country. 
Isma'll,  who  shone  as  a  general  and  an  administrator, 
and  possessed  the  rarer  faculty  of  winning  men's  hearts 
by  his  justice  and  clemency,  soon  established  order 
throughout  the  country,  and  succeeded  in  extirpating  the 
banditti,  whose  numbers,  we  are  told,  even  between 
Ramtina  and  Barkad,  amounted  to  4000.^  All  would 
have  gone  well  in  Nasr's  dominions  had  not  his  jealousy, 
or  proneness  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  slander,  led  him 
to  quarrel  with  his  brother.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
recount  the  various  phases  of  these  one-sided  disputes. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  while,  on  the  one  hand,  Isma'll 
always  remained  loyal  to  his  brother,  Nasr  himself  was  too 

^  Narshakhi,  loc.  cit.  Muwaffak  is  here  spoken  of  as  CaHph,  but  he  was 
merely  chief  minister  of  state  to  his  brother  the  Caliph  Mu  tamid, 

^  This  point  is  not  made  clear  by  Persian  historians.  The  Safiarides  had 
by  their  victories  become  masters  of  all  the  provinces  ruled  by  the  Tahirides, 
of  which  Transoxiana  was  certainly  one.  It  is  hard  to  conceive  either  that 
they  should  have  renounced  their  claim  on  Transoxiana,  or  that  the  feeble 
Caliph  should  have  taken  upon  himself  to  pronounce  the  Samanides  inde- 
pendent of  Khorasan. 

^  Narshakhi,  ed.  Schefer,  p.  79. 


A  JEWISH   CHILD   OF    BOKHARA 


A.D.888.]  THE  SAFFARIDES  107 

prudent  to  withdraw  him  abruptly  from  Bokhara,  where 
he  had  won  the  esteem  and  affection  of  the  people.  But 
in  A.H.  272  (885)  he  succumbed  to  the  wiles  of  self- 
interested  advisers  and  marched  against  his  brother,  who 
fled  from  Bokhara  and  called  upon  his  friend  Rafi'  ibn 
Harthama,^  the  viceroy  of  Khorasan,  for  aid.*  Nasr 
soon  brought  most  of  the  towns  of  Bokhara  to  sub- 
mission, and  forbade  their  citizens  to  furnish  supplies  to 
Isma'il  and  his  army,  who  soon  felt  the  stress  of  famine. 
So  pitiable,  indeed,  was  their  plight  by  the  time  that 
Rafi'  arrived,  that  the  governor  of  Khorasan,  rather  than 
embark  upon  so  losing  a  venture,  suddenly  declared  to 
Nasr  that  he  was  not  come  to  make  war,  but  peace, 
between  the  brothers.  Terms  were  soon  arrived  at  by 
which  the  government  of  Bokhara  was  given  to  Ishak, 
while  Isma'll  was  appointed  tax-collector  (^dmil-i-khardj)^ 
A.H.  273  (886).  These  matters  being  settled,  Nasr 
returned  to  Samarkand,  and  Rafi'  to  Khorasan.  But  in 
the  following  year  Nasr,  dissatisfied  with  the  accounts 
rendered  by  Isma'il,  and  perhaps  suspecting  treachery  on 
the  part  of  Isma'll  and  Ishak,  again  prepared  to  attack 
Bokhara.  To  this  end  he  drew  large  reinforcements  from 
Farghana.  Isma'il,  determined  on  this  occasion  to  be 
better  prepared  to  encounter  his  brother,  raised  a  powerful 
contingent  in  Khwarazm.  After  suffering  a  few  slight 
reverses,  Isma'll,  at  the  end  of  the  year  A.H.  275  (888), 
administered  a  crushing  defeat  on  his  brother  and  took 

*  Vambery  is  in  this  place  (see  Bokhara,  p.  58)  guilty  of  a  curious  error, 
for  he  says  that  this  Raff  was  the  Rajt  ibn  Layth  who  had  Rebelled  against 
Harun  er-RashId  in  A.H.  190  and  was  pardoned  in  196  by  Ma'mun.  He 
would  by  the  year  272  have  been  rather  old  to  receive  a  governorship  of 
a  province. 

'  Mirkhwand  (ed.  Wilken,  p.  6)  says  that  it  was  in  connection  with  this 
firiendship  that  certain  mean  persons  poisoned  the  mind  of  Xasr  against  his 
brother.  This  author  tells  us  that  Isma'U  had  requested  and  received  of 
Raff  the  province  of  Khwarazm,  and  this,  so  Nasr's  advisers  said,  was  merely  a 
plot  to  deprive  Nasr  of  Transoxiana. 


io8  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  893. 

him  prisoner.  At  this  crisis,  as  on  many  other  occasions,^ 
if  we  are  to  believe  the  historians,  Isma'il  displayed  an 
almost  incredible  degree  of  generosity,  for  he  treated  his 
fallen  brother  with  the  utmost  deference  and  kindness, 
and  sent  him  back  to  Samarkand  without  suggesting  any 
change  in  their  relative  positions,  Nasr  seems  from  this 
date  to  have  ruled  peacefully  until  his  death  in  A.H.  279 

(893). 

^  See  below,  p.  1 10. 


CHAPTER    XV 

The  Samanides 

On  the  death  of  Nasr  ibn  Ahmed,  A.H.  279  (892),  Isma'il 
became  the  acknowledged  lord  of  Transoxiana  and  Khwar- 
azm,  with  Bokhara  as  his  capital.  His  succession  was 
furthermore  confirmed  by  a  royal  patent  from  the  Caliph 
Mu'tadhid.  The  first  recorded  act  of  Isma'il's  reign  was 
the  ghazd,  or  Holy  War,  which  he  conducted  against  the 
Christian  settlement  of  Taraz.^  The  undertaking,  accord- 
ing to  Narshakhi,"-  cost  him  no  little  trouble ;  but  finally 
"  the  Amir  and  many  of  the  Dihkdns  embraced  Islam," 
and  opened  the  gates  of  Taraz  to  Isma'il,  who  immedi- 
ately converted  the  principal  church  into  a  mosque  and 
had  prayers  in  the  Caliph's  name.  His  troops  returned 
to  Bokhara  laden  with  booty .^  In  the  meantime  'Amr 
ibn  Layth  had  reorganised  his  shattered  forces,*  and  set 
out  on  a  fresh  career  of  conquest.  In  279  Mu'tadhid, 
on  the  death  of  his  brother,  succeeded  to  the  Caliphate, 

*  Five  £cLrsakhs  to  the  south  of  Aulie-ata.  For  a  full  account  of  what  is 
known  of  Christianity  in  Central  Asia  in  early  times  we  refer  the  reader  to  an 
excellent  monograph  on  this  subject  by  M.  Barthold,  of  St.  Petersburg,  which 
was  published  in  vol.  viii.  of  the  Zapiski,  or  Journal  of  the  St.  Petersbui^ 
Universit}'  Oriental  Faculty.  Much  valuable  information  on  this  subject  is 
also  to  be  found  in  Col.  Yule's  Cathay  and  the  Way  Thither. 

-  Ed.  Schefer,  p.  84. 

^  Bellew  {^Forsyth  Mission,  p.  119)  says  that  Isma'fl  received  his  patent 
of  succession  from  the  Caliph  while  engaged  in  this  campaign  ;  but  this  is  not 
in  agreement  wth  Narshakhi,  whom  he  gives  as  his  authoti^. 

*  See  above,  p.  105. 

109 


no  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  896. 

'Amr  ibn  Layth,  who  had  been  the  late  Caliph's  bitterest 
enemy,  now  offered  his  services  to  his  successor,  who 
appointed  him  to  the  governorship  of  Khorasan.  The 
Caliph  doubtless  thought  that  'Amr  would  act  as  a  useful 
counterpoise  to  the  Samanides,  whose  power  was  daily 
increasing  in  Transoxiana,  and  Rafi'  ibn  Harthama, 
who  was  in  possession  of  part  of  Khorasan  and  Persian 
'Irak.^  In  A.H.  283  (896)  'Amr  defeated  Rafi'  and  took 
possession  of  Nishapur.  Rafi'  was  cruelly  murdered,  and 
his  head  sent  as  a  trophy  of  'Amr's  successes  to  Baghdad. 
'Amr's  ambition  now  knew  no  bounds.  He  insisted  that 
the  Samanides  should  be  removed  from  Transoxiana, 
and  that  the  province  should  be  added  to  his  governor- 
ship. The  Caliph,  in  reply  to  these  demands,  urged  him 
to  attack  Isma'll,  and  practically  offered  him  the  province 
should  his  expedition  prove  successful,  while  at  the 
same  time  he  confirmed  Isma'll  in  his  governorship,  and 
encouraged  him  to  withstand  'Amr.^  He  doubtless  hoped, 
by  provoking  a  conflict,  to  weaken  the  power  of  both 
men.  These  hostilities  finally  culminated  in  the  siege 
and  capture  of  Balkh,  A.H.  288  (900),  when  'Amr  fell 
into  Isma'il's  hands.^  In  this  connection,  again,  wonder- 
ful stories  are  told  of  Isma'il's  generosity  towards  his 
fallen  enemies.     It  is  said,  indeed,  that  he  would  have 

1  Cf.  Weil,  op.  cit.  ii.  p.  483. 

2  Weil,  op.  cit.  ii.  p.  485,  hints  at  this  duplicity,  basing  his  statement  on  the 
fact  that  the  Caliph  praised  and  rewarded  Isma'll  when  he  heard  of  his  victory 
over 'Amr.  Khwandamir,  in  his  Habib-us-Siyar,  leaves  the  question  open,  and 
expressly  says  that  Isma'll  acted  "either  on  the  Khalif's  orders  or  on  his  own 
initiative." 

^  Nizam  ul-Mulk,  in  his  Siyaset  Name,  tells  an  amusing  anecdote  in  this 
connection.  After  'Amr  had  been  taken  prisoner,  towards  nightfall  one  of  his 
fellows,  having  procured  some  meat  and  borrowed  a  saucepan,  was  preparing 
a  meal  for  his  master  :  while  he  for  a  moment  left  his  cooking  to  fetch  some 
salt,  a  dog  came  and  poked  his  head  into  the  saucepan.  In  trying  to  pull 
out  a  bone  the  handle  of  the  pot  fell  round  his  neck,  and  he  scampered  off, 
carrying  the  scalding  pot  with  him.  On  seeing  this,  'Amr  remarked  :  "  This 
morning  300  camels  bore  my  kitchen,  and  to-night  a-dog  has  carried  it  off." 


A.D.903.]  THE  SAMANIDES  iii 

kept  'Amr  by  him,  and  treated  him  with  kindness  and 
distinction,  had  not  the  Caliph  demanded  that  his  enemy 
should  be  delivered  over  to  him  for  punishment.  'Amr 
was  therefore  sent  to  Baghdad,  where  he  remained  a  close 
prisoner  until  his  death  by  the  executioner's  hand  in  A.H. 
290  (903).^  He  was  nominally  succeeded  by  a  son, 
Tahir,  who,  however,  only  held  his  post  for  one  year. 

As  soon  as  'Amr  arrived  a  prisoner  in  Baghdad  the 
Caliph  sent  a  royal  patent  confirming  the  appointment  of 
Isma'll  to  the  governorship  of  "  Khorasan,  Turkestan, 
Mavara-un-Nahr,  Sind,  Hind,  and  Jurjan." "  Isma'Tl's 
government  is  spoken  of  in  the  highest  terms,  and  we 
are  expressly  told  by  Narshakhi  that  throughout  his  rule 
he  owed  implicit  obedience  to  the  Caliph.  He  chose 
Bokhara  as  his  capital,^  and  appointed  separate  governors 
for  all  the  towns  in  his  realms. 

The  last  campaign  in  which  he  engaged  was  against 
the  Turks  in  the  modem  Hazrat-i-Turkestan,  whom  in 
A.H.  291  (903)  he  drove  back  within  their  own  frontiers, 
while  Isma'il  returned  to  Bokhara  laden  with  plunder. 

The  last  four  years  of  Isma'll's  reign  were  characterised 
by  internal  peace  and  progress,  which  enabled  him  to 
devote  much  of  his  attention  to  the  welfare  of  his  beloved 
city  of  Bokhara,  which  now  became  a  great  centre  of 
Mohammedan  learning  and  culture.*  Many  of  the  prin- 
cipal buildings  in  Bokhara  date  back  to  the  days  of  Amir 
Isma'il,  and  among  her  children  are  to  be  reckoned  some 
of  the  greatest  theologians,  jurisconsults,  historians,  and 

^  Xarshakhi,  ed.  Schefer,  p.  90.  The  editor  was  here  (as  in  only  too 
many  places  in  this  uncritical  edition)  guilty  of  allowing  an  absurd  date  to  be 
printed  in  his  text ;  for  the  date  of  'Amr's  death  is  given  as  280  ! 

*  Narshakhi,  Ice.  cit.  Vambery  points  out  {,op.  cit,  note  to  p.  66)  that 
Sind  and  Hind  are  "a  random  boast "  of  the  author. 

^  The  governor  before  him  had  made  Bokhara  his  residence. 

*  A  very  striking  description  of  the  literary  talent  gathered  there  is  given 
by  ath'Thdlabi,  in  the  Yatiniatu  'd-Dakr,  voL  iv.  p.  30  (Damascus  ed.). 


112  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.w. 

poets  of  the  day.  Bokhara  was,  moreover,  the  capital 
of  an  empire  which  included  such  famous  and  widely 
separated  towns  as  Merv,  Nishapur,  Ray,  Amul,  Herat, 
and  Balkh.^  At  this  date  Bokhara  fully  deserved  the 
title  of  Sheriff  or  "  the  Noble,"  which  she  has  retained 
to  the  present  time,  when  the  memory  alone  of  her  ancient 
greatness  survives. 

Such  was  the  inheritance  which  Isma'll,  on  his  death  ^ 
in  A.H.  295  (907),  left  to  his  son  Ahmed. 

While,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Buyide  or  Daylamite 
dynasty  was  becoming  daily  more  powerful,  and  was 
gradually  absorbing  the  whole  of  Persia  and  trespassing 
on  the  Western  possessions  of  the  Samanides,  the  repre- 
sentatives of  this  house  had  become  mere  puppets  in  the 
hands  of  their  ministers,  many  of  whom  were  Turks,  who, 
like  their  kinsmen  the  Mamluks  of  Egypt,  had  risen 
from  the  position  of  slaves  to  the  highest  offices  in  the 
state. 

Thus  in  the  year  A.H.  350  (961),  on  the  death  of 
'Abd  el-Melik  I.,  Mansur  I.,  his  brother  and  successor, 
met  with  serious  opposition  from  a  certain  Turk  named 
Alptagin,  governor  of  Nishapur,  who  refused  to  recognise 
his  claims.  Resort  was  had  to  arms,  and,  after  a  battle 
at  Balkh,  the  results  of  which  are  variously  stated, 
Alptagin  withdrew  to  Ghazna,  where  he  established  him- 
self so  strongly  that  he  was  able  to  repulse  the  army  sent 
by  Mansur  to  attack  him.  On  the  death  of  Alptagin  in 
A.H.  366   (976)   the  leadership  of  those  men  who  had 

^  Vambery  {Bokhara,  p.  67)  adds  to  this  list  Kazwln,  Shlraz,  and  Isfahan, 
which  were  towns  in  the  dominion  of  the  Buyides.  The  Buyides  and  the 
Samanides  practically  shared  the  whole  of  Persia  and  Central  Asia  as  follows : — 

Satnanides — Khorasan,  Sistan,  Balkh,  Bokhara,  and  Samarkand. 

Buyides — The  two  Traks,  Fars,  Kirman,  Khuzistan,  and  Luristan. 
Tabaristan  and  Jurjan  were  continually  changing  hands. 

^  He  died  of  some  malady  at  a  place  called  Zarmun,  whither  the  doctors 
had  sent  him  for  change  of  air. 


A.D.976.]  THE  SAMANIDES  113 

accompanied  him  to  Ghazna  passed  to  another  Turk 
named  Sabuktagin.  The  choice  was  fortunate,  for 
Sabuktagin  proved  himself  to  be  a  general  of  great 
talent ;  and  by  means  of  little  frontier  engagements  he 
succeeded  in  rapidly  extending  his  territories,  and  ulti- 
mately in  founding  a  powerful  dynasty  which,  under  his 
successor,  was  to  bring  Northern  India,  Persia,  and  the 
East  under  its  sway.  Although  Sabuktagin  was  the 
nominal  vassal  of  the  Samanides,^  he  was  in  reality  an 
independent  ruler.  This  was,  moreover,  the  case  in  a 
lesser  or  greater  degree  with  many  of  the  governors  in 
Khorasan  and  the  neighbouring  dependencies. 

^  Dawlat  Shah,  in  his  Lives  of  the  Poets  (see  Browne's  edition,  p.  44), 
quotes  from  'Unsuri  the  following  quatrain  in  which  the  rulers  of  the  house 
of  Saman  are  enumerated — 

Niih  kas  budatid  zi  al-i-Sanidn  mazkur 
Daini  bi  imarat-i-Khorasan  viashhur 
Ismail ast  u  Ahviadl u  Nasrl 
Du  Nuh  u  du  ' Abd-ul- Malik  u  du  MansHr. 

Translation. — Nine  members  of  the  house  of  Saman  were  famous  in  the 
government  of  Khorasan,  namely,  Ismail,  one  Ahmad,  one  Nasr,  two  Nuh's, 
two  'Abd  el-Melik's,  and  two  Mansur's. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

The  Kara-Khanides,  or  Uighurs 

While  the  Samanides  were  thus  harassed  by  the  powerful 
Daylamites  in  the  west,  by  the  growing  power  of  Sabuk- 
tagin  in  the  south,  and  the  fear  of  insubordination  in 
their  own  states,  a  force  still  more  formidable  had  arisen 
on  their  northern  frontier,  where  a  Turkish  state  had 
been  founded  which  extended  from  Kashghar  to  the  Sea 
of  Aral.  The  relations  of  this  state  with  its  southern 
neighbours  were  at  first  of  a  peaceful  and  even  friendly 
character ;  but  when  the  nomads  perceived  that  Iranian 
authority  was  on  the  wane  they  began  to  cast  longing 
eyes  across  the  Jaxartes.  They  probably  belonged  to 
the  tribe  of  U'ighur,  which  had  been  the  first  to  separate 
from  the  main  body  of  the  Turkish  race  and  settle  down 
in  a  home  on  the  slopes  of  the  Tien-shan.^ 

^  Cf.  Vambery,  Bokhara,  p.  8i,  and  Bretschneider,  MedicEval  Researches 
from  Eastern  Asiatic  Sources  (London,  1888),  vol.  i.  p.  236  seqq.  An  in- 
teresting article  was  published  in  1874  by  Grigorieff  in  the  Memoirs  of  ike 
Eastern  Branch  of  the  St,  Petersburg  Arckceological  Society,  vol.  xviii.  p.  191 
seqq.  This  article  contains  the  Turkish  text  of  an  extract  from  the  Tdrikh-i- 
Munajjim-Bashl,  with  an  introduction,  a  translation,  and  copious  notes.  The 
name  of  Kara-Khanides  was  first  suggested  by  Grigorieff  for  this  dynasty, 
after  Satuk  Kara  Khan,  who  was  the  first  of  its  kings  to  embrace  Islam. 
The  title  is  more  convenient  than  the  others  by  which  this  dynasty  has  been 
known,  such  as  Uighurs,  Ilek-khans,  and  Ilkhans,  as  will  appear  from  note 
below,  p.  116.  Bretschneider,  whom  on  such  subjects  it  is  hard  to  contradict, 
was  by  no  means  convinced  by  Grigorieff's  positive  assertion  that  the  Kara- 
Khanides  were  not  Uighurs. 

114 


A.D.  976^1  THE  KARA-KHANIDES  115 

According  to  the  Mohammedan  historian  Juvaynl,^  the 
Uighurs  originally  came  from  the  valley  of  the  Orkon  River. 
The  first  king  whose  name  has  come  down  to  us  was  Buku 
Khan,  whom  tradition  has  identified  with  the  great  A  frasiyab.^ 

Baku  Khan,  having  learnt  in  a  dream  that  he  would 
possess  the  entire  world,  assembled  his  troops  and  sent 
his  brothers  to  wage  war  against  the  Mongols,  Kirghiz, 
Tanguts,  and  Khitays.^  They  returned  to  their  dwelling- 
place  with  great  booty,  and  founded  the  city  of  Urdu 
Balik.  Buku  Khan  again  dreamt  that  a  piece  of  jade 
was  given  him  with  the  assurance  that  as   long  as  he 

*  The  passage  from  his  famous  history,  the  Tdrikh-i-Jahan-Kushay,  dealing 
at  great  length  with  the  Uighurs,  has  been  translated  by  d'Ohsson.  Cf. 
Histoire  des  Mongols,  vol.  i.  p.  430  et  seq. 

2  Narshakhi  (ed.  Schefer,  p.  233)  calls  this  dynasty  of  "  Turkish  Khans" 
the  "  house  of  Afrasiyab."  Afrasiyab  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  figures  in 
Firdawsi's  great  epic  of  kings,  the  Shah  Name.  B.C.  700  is  given  as  a 
conjectural  date  of  the  first  migration  of  the  Turks  across  the  Oxus — as  far  as 
India  and  Asia  Minor.  According  to  the  coins,  it  appears  that  the  Turks 
(under  what  name  it  is  not  known)  entered  the  Greek  kingdom  of  Bactria. 
Cf  Reinaud,  Relations  de  V Empire,  Rom.  avec  VAsie  Centrale  (Paris,  1863), 
p.  227.  Tradition  has  it  that  Afrasiyab  flourished  about  B.C.  580.  He  was 
the  emperor  of  Turan,  of  which  Turkestan  was  a  province,  and  was  the  great 
foe  of  Iran.  During  his  reign  Siyawush,  son  of  the  emperor  of  Iran,  Kay- 
Ka'us,  having  incurred  his  father's  displeasure,  fled  across  the  Oxus,  which 
formed  the  boundary  between  the  two  kingdoms,  to  Afrasiyab,  who  held  court 
at  Ramtln.  Siyawush  received  Afrasiyab's  daughter  Ferengis  in  marriage, 
with  the  provinces  of  Khotan  and  Chin  as  her  dowry.  Afrasiyab's  brother 
Gersiwaz,  jealous  of  the  strangers  growing  power,  set  his  brother's  mind 
against  Siyawush,  and  induced  him  to  take  the  field  against  his  son-in-law, 
who  was  captured  and  conveyed  to  Ramtin  and  there  put  to  death.  Sij^wush 
left  a  posthumous  son  by  Ferengis,  named  Kay-Khosru,  who  became  emperor 
of  Iran.  Kay-Khosru,  bent  on  avenging  his  father's  death,  besieged  Ramtin, 
drove  Afrasi)-ab  out  of  his  country-,  and  occupied  it  for  seven  years  ;  Afrasij-ab 
afterwards  returned  and  recovered  his  capital,  but  was  finally  defeated  and  slain. 
Kay-Khosru  now  became  master  of  Samarkand  and  Bokhara;  but,  wishing  to 
devote  his  days  to  religious  contemplation,  resigned  his  government  to  Lohrasp, 
the  son-in-law  of  Kay-Kaus,  who  soon  exacted  homage  from  the  rulers  of 
Tartar>'.     Thus  the  Persian  d}-nasty  existed  till  the  overthrow  of  Darius  II. 

^  The  accurate  transcription  of  this  name  is  Khitai',  however,  for  con- 
venience the  more  familiar  spelling  of  Khitay  has  been  retained  throughout. 


ii6  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  rA.D.976. 

preserved  it  he  would  rule  the  world.  The  prospect 
induced  him  to  turn  his  arms  to  the  west  and  enter 
Turkestan,  where  he  built  the  city  of  Balasaghun.^  We 
know  from  Chinese  sources  that  these  Uighurs^  had 
their  abode  in  the  seventh  century  in  the  north-west  of 
Mongolia;  that  in  the  eighth  century  they  dwelt  near 
the  place  where,  in  the  five  hundred  years  later,  the 
Mongols  built  Karakorum.  In  the  ninth  century  their 
empire  in  Mongolia  was  destroyed  by  the  Kirghiz,  when 
they  were  dispersed,  and  apparently  split  into  two 
parties.  The  eastern  branch  came  into  contact  with 
Chingiz  Khan.  After  and  thenceforward  they  appear  in 
the  Mongol-Chinese  annals  as  under  the  name  of  Wei- 
wu-rh.3  Of  the  Western  Uighurs  little  is  known,  but 
they  may  be  identified  with  the  Eastern  Turks  of  Moham- 
medan authors  of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries.'* 

^  The  exact  position  of  this  town,  which  during  the  tenth  and  eleventh 
centuries  was  the  capital  of  the  Khans  of  Turkestan  (see  Ibn  el-Athir),  is  not 
known.  Abulfeda  says  it  was  not  far  from  Kashghar.  Juvaynl  says  that  in 
the  days  of  the  Mongols  it  was  called  Gu-Balik. 

-  GrigoriefiF,  in  his  well-known  but  harsh,  and  indeed  unjust,  review  of  Vam- 
hiry^s  Bokhara,  published  as  an  Appendix  to  vol.  i.  of  Schuyler's  Turkestan,  says 
(l)  that  the  Ilik  Khans  were  not  Uighurs,  but  Karlukhs,  and  (2)  that  the  Kara- 
Khitays  were  their  descendants.  Though  he  takes  M.  Vambery  to  task  for  not 
knowing  such  "facts,"  neither  of  these  statements  will  bear  the  light  of  modern 
research.    Vambery  was,  however,  wrong  in  calling  the  Kara-Khitays  Uighurs, 

'  Klaproth  (Sprache  und  Schrift  der  Uiguren)  proves  convincingly  that 
the  Hui-ho  of  the  Chinese  authors  anterior  to  the  Mongol  period  are  identical 
with  the  Uighurs,  and  that  the  Uighurs  are  to  be  classed  among  the  Eastern 
Turks.  The  term  Hui-ho  was,  however,  used  by  Chinese  writers  of  the 
Mongol  period  to  designate  Mohammedans  generally  (cf.  Bretschneider's 
article  on  the  Uighurs  in  his  Mediaval  Researches  from  Eastern  Asiatic 
Souixes,  to  which  excellent  monograph  most  of  these  notes  are  due).  Trans- 
lations of  the  principal  Chinese  records  of  the  Uighurs  are  to  be  found  in 
Videlou's  supplement  to  d'Herbelol's  Bib.  Orient. 

*  The  name  Uighur  is  first  found  in  Mohammedan  histories  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  thirteenth  century.  Previously  to  this  they  seem  to  have  been 
known  by  the  name  of  Taghazghaz,  which  is  doubtless  a  corruption.  Cf. 
Tarikh-i-Rashidi,  or,  History  of  the  Moghuls  of  Central  Asia,  by  Ney  Elias 
and  E.  Denison  Ross,  p.  94  of  Introduction. 


A.D.994.]  THE  KARA-KHANIDES  117 

The  first  of  the  Uighur  Khans  of  Turkestan  who 
plays  any  great  part  in  Mohammedan  history  is  Boghra 
Khan,  whose  capital  was  Balasaghun,  and  who  ruled 
over  Kashghar  (called  Urdu  Kend),  Khotan,  Karakorum, 
Taras,  and  Farab  (Otrar).^  He  was  contemporaneous 
with  Nuh  III.,  seventh  of  the  Samanide  line,  whose  reign 
was  characterised  by  the  utmost  confusion  and  anarchy. 
Two  of  Nuh's  most  powerful  nobles — Abu  'All  Simjur, 
governor  of  Khorasan,  and  Fa'ik,  governor  of  Herat, 
whose  insubordination  had  received  severe  but  well- 
merited  punishment  at  the  hands  of  their  master — made 
treacherous  overtures  to  Boghra  Khan,  and  invited  him 
to  attack  Nuh.  The  invitation  was  accepted  with 
alacrity  by  the  Uighur  prince,  who  at  once  set  out  for 
Samarkand,  which  was  delivered  over  to  him  by  the 
faithless  Fa'ik,  whom  Nuh  had  intrusted  with  its  defence. 
The  feeble  representative  of  the  Samanides,  thus  betrayed, 
fled  from  his  capital,  which  Boghra  Khan  shortly  after 
entered  in  triumph,  and  became  practically  master  of 
Transoxiana.  But  the  climate  of  Bokhara  did  not  suit 
him.  He  set  out  for  his  home,  when  death  overtook  him 
ere  he  had  gone  many  stages,  A.H.  383  (993).  Mean- 
while Nuh  re-entered  Bokhara  and  regained  possession 
of  his  dominion.  But  though  he  was  heartily  welcomed 
by  the  people  he  did  not  feel  secure  from  the  treachery 
of  his  nobles,  and  on  this  account  he  invited  the  great 
Sabuktagin,  in  the  year  A.H.  384  (994),  to  come  to 
his  aid.  Sabuktagin  immediately  hastened  over  the 
mountain  passes  at  the  head  of  20,000  men,  and, 
crossing  the  Oxus,  joined  Nuh  at  Kesh.  Seconded  by 
his  son  Mahmud,  he  gained  three  victories  over  the 
rebel  lieutenants  at  Herat,  Nishapur,  and  finally  at 
Tus.     Fa'ik  had  in  the  meanwhile  fled  to  Ilik  Khan,  the 

^  For  notices  of  these  places,  consult  Grigorieff 's  article  <Mi  the  Kara- 
Khanides,  and  Bretschneider's  Mediaval  Researches. 


ii8  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D.997. 

son  and  successor  of  Boghra  Khan,  and  Bokhara  was 
threatened  with  a  second  Ui'ghur  invasion.  In  reply  to 
the  menace,  Sabuktagin,  who  had  quarrelled  with  Nuh, 
concluded  a  peace  with  Ilik,  and  appointed  the  rebellious 
Fa'ik  governor  of  Samarkand. 

In  A.H.  387  (997)  both  Sabuktagin  and  Nuh  died, 
and  were  respectively  succeeded  by  the  valorous  and 
talented  Mahmud,  and  by  Mansur  II.  who  exhibited 
qualities  precisely  the  reverse. 

Transoxiana  fell  into  the  power  of  Ilik  Khan,  while 
Mahmud  of  Ghazna  gained  possession  of  Khorasan.  Turks 
had  long  held  high  office  in  the  states  of  Islam  in  Central 
Asia,  as  well  as  in  Baghdad  and  in  Egypt,  where  they 
had  founded  a  powerful  dynasty.  It  was,  therefore,  no 
great  change  for  them  to  find  themselves,  as  a  nation, 
masters  of  the  extensive  kingdom  of  which  Bokhara  was 
the  capital. 

Mansur  II.,  after  a  reign  of  less  than  two  years,  was 
deprived  of  sight  by  one  of  his  discontented  courtiers 
named  Bektuzun  ;  and  'Abd  el-Melik  II.,  a  mere  child,  was 
set  up  in  his  stead.  All  power  was  now  concentrated  in 
the  hands  of  Fa'ik  and  Bektuzun.  When  news  of  these 
events  reached  Ilik  Khan  in  Kashghar  he  sent  a  message 
to  'Abd  el-Melik  to  the  effect  that  he  would  speedily  take 
measures  to  protect  him.  Bektuzun  immediately  set  out 
to  oppose  Ilik  Khan,  but  he  was  unsuccessful,  and  in  A.H. 
389  (999)  Ilik  Khan  entered  Bokhara.  Instead,  however, 
of  helping  the  young  prince,  he  cast  him  into  prison, 
where  he  soon  afterwards  died.^ 

^  He  was  not  actually  the  last  of  the  Samanides,  for  one  member  of  the 
family  named  Isma'Il  el-Muntazir  had  escaped  from  Ilik's  hands.  His  sub- 
sequent adventures  would  go  to  make  an  exciting  story.  For  six  years  he 
maintained  himself  at  the  head  of  a  faithful  following.  With  the  help  of  the 
Ghuz  he  twice  defeated  Ilik's  troops,  and  (in  391-1001)  actually  wrested 
Nishapur  from  the  hands  of  the  governor,  Mahmud  of  Ghazna's  brother.  He 
finally  perished  at  the  hands  of  a  Bedouin  in  a.h.  395  (1005). 


A.D.IOI2.]  THE  KARA-KHANIDES  119 

When,  in  A.H.  389  (999),  IHk  Khan  ^  wrested  Trans- 
oxiana  from  the  Samanides,  their  capital  was  removed  to 
Bokhara,  In  A.H.  398  (1007)  they  attempted  to  estab- 
lish themselves  south  of  the  Oxus,  but  were  driven  back 
by  Mahmud  of  Ghazna,  and  henceforward  their  territory 
was  restricted  to  Transoxiana,  Kashghar,  and  Eastern 
Tartary.- 

About  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century  a  prince 
of  the  hereditary  house  of  the  Khans  of  Kashghar, 
named  Satuk  Boghra  Khan,^  became  the  first  convert 
in  that  country  to  Islam,  which  he  proceeded  to  force 
upon  his  subjects  at  the  point  of  the  sword,  in  the 
face  of  a  determined  and  protracted  opposition  which 
prevented  its  spread  beyond  the  limits  of  his  own 
territory'.  It  was  only  on  the  downfall  of  the  Samanides 
that  the  creed  of  Mohammed,  through  proselytising  y 
zeal — of  Mahmud  in  the  direction  of  Hindustan,  and 
of  Ilik  Khan  in  that  of  Turkestan — received  a  fresh 
impetus,  and  spread  north,  south,  and  east  with  a 
rapidity  only  equalled  by  the  violence  employed  by  its 
propagators.^ 

According  to  Narshakhi,^  Ilik  Khan  died  in  A.H.  403 
(10 1 2),  and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Toghan  Khan, 
who,  a  few  days  after  his  accession,  was  attacked  by  what 
appeared  to  be  an   incurable  malady.     The  Sultans  of 

^  His  name  was  Abu-1-Husayn  Nasr  I. 

'  A  tentative  list  of  the  Khans  of  Turkestan  is  given  in  S.  Lane -Poole's 
Mohammedan  Dyttasties,  p.  134.  They  ruled,  according  to  this  aathor's 
computation,  from  about  a.h.  320-560  (932-1165). 

3  He  was  bom  in  a.h.  333  (944).     Cf.  Tarikk-i-Jiashidi,  p.  287. 

*  Cf.  Forsyth's  Mission  to  Yarkand, — Dr.  Bellew's  chapter  on  the  History 
of  Kashghar,  p.  121.  The  account  of  the  first  introduction  of  Islam  into 
Kashghar  is  given  in  a  Turki  work  entitled  the  Tazkira  Bughra  Khan  (which 
was  translated  from  the  Persian  of  Shaykh  'Attar).  Extracts  firom  this  some- 
what fantastic  work  have  been  published  in  the  original  in  Shaw's  Turki 
Grammar, 

'  Ed.  Schefer,  p.  233. 


I20  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  lois. 

Khitay  and  Khotan,  thinking  to  take  advantage  of  his 
helpless  state,  advanced  with  an  enormous  host  to  attack 
his  dominions.^  But,  on  hearing  of  the  approaching  in- 
vasion, the  Khan  miraculously  recovered  his  health  and 
forthwith  set  out  to  oppose  his  enemies.  We  are  told 
that  they  retreated  without  striking  a  blow  as  soon  as 
they  learnt  that  their  quarry  had  regained  his  strength, 
but  were  hotly  pursued  and  harassed  by  the  Khan  for 
three  months. 

Toghan  Khan  died  in  A.H.  408  (1018).  He  is 
spoken  of  in  terms  of  the  highest  praise,  both  on 
account  of  his  piety  and  his  learning.  His  successor 
was  Arslan  Khan,  who,  however,  was  unable  to  preserve 
the  integrity  of  his  kingdom.  Coming  into  conflict  with 
Sultan  Mahmud,  he  was  defeated  and  killed  in  the  3/^ear 
A.H.  410  (1020). 

Kadir^  Khan,  who  now  ascended  the  throne  at 
Samarkand,  is  said  to  have  brought  the  whole  of  Kash- 
ghar  and  Khotan  under  his  subjection.  He  died  in 
A.H.  423  (1031),  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Arslan 
Khan.  During  his  reign  he  received  a  deputation  from 
some  Turks  of  Tibet,  who,  hearing  of  his  justice  and 
clemency,  asked  permission  to  settle  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Balasaghun.  He  granted  their  request,  and 
when  they  arrived  he  tried  to  compel  their  acceptance 
of  Islam.  This  they  refused,  but  as  they  were  otherwise 
loyal  and  obedient  he  gave  way  and  allowed  them  to 
remain  in  a  state  of  heathenism.^  Arslan  Khan  was 
overthrown  in  A.H.  425  (1033)  by  his  brother  Boghra 
Khan,  during  whose  reign  the  immigrant  Turks  embraced 

^  They  advanced  within  three  stages  of  Balasaghun.  They  are  spoken  of 
as  coming  from  Sin  (China),  but  they  were  probably  not  Chinese  but  Eastern 
U'ighurs  (cf.  Bretschneider,  i.  253). 

^  His  name  is  often  given  in  Oriental  histories  as  Kadr.  See  Raverty, 
Tabakat-i-Nasiri, 

^  Cf.  Narshakhi,  ed.  Schefer,  p.  234, 


A.D.i,o9.i  THE  KARA-KHANIDES  121 

Islam  (a.h.  432).^  He  died  by  poison  in  A.H.  439  (1047), 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Ibrahim — the  last  chief 
of  the  house  of  Boghra  Khan.^ 

The  kingdom  of  Kashghar  seems  shortly  afterwards 
to  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  another  branch  of  the 
Eastern  Uighurs,  called  by  Narshakhi  the  Tufghaj,^ 
the  first  of  whose  representatives,  Ibrahim,  was  killed 
in  battle  against  Alp  Arslan,  the  Seljuk,  in  A.H.  472 
(1079),  and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Khidhr  Khan.* 
He  apparently  died  in  the  same  year,  when  his  son 
Ahmed  Khan  came  to  the  throne.  The  latter,  in  A.H. 
482(1089),  was  attacked  and  defeated  by  Melik  Shah,  and 
sent  prisoner  to  Isfahan ;  but  soon  afterwards  he  was  re- 
instated as  governor  of  Transoxiana.  In  488  he  was  con- 
demned to  death  by  the  mullas  or  doctors  of  Samarkand, 
on  the  ground  that  he  professed  heretical  tenets  acquired 
during  his  residence  in  Persian  'Irak.  After  him  Mas'ud 
Khan^  reigned  for  a  short  period,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Kadir  Khan,  who  in  A.H.  495  (iioi)  perished  in  an 
insurrection  fomented  by  him  against  Sanjar,  the  then 
governor  of  Khorasan. 

The  next  ruler  of  Samarkand  was  Mohammad 
Khan^  ibn   Sulayman,  who  in  A.H.  503  (1109)  success- 

*  We  are  told  by  this  same  author  that  they  had  caused  much  depredation 
among  the  Mohammedans,  which  seems  inconsistent  with  what  has  been  said 
of  them  before. 

^  S.  Lane- Poole  gives  the  date  of  Bc^hra  Khan's  death  as  435,  and  makes 
no  mention  of  his  son  Ibrahim. 

'  Narshakhi,  ed.  Schefer,  reads  this  name  Tumgfuich. 

*  S.  Lane-Poole  (^loc.  cit.)  says  Ibrahim  died  in  460,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Nasr,  who  died  in  472.  It  will  be  seen  that  great  confusion  exists 
with  regard  to  these  Khans.  Major  Raverty,  in  his  translation  of  the 
Tabakat-i-Nasiriy  furnishes  a  long  list  of  Ilik  Khans ;  but  it  is  hard  to  re- 
concile any  two  accounts,  so  much  do  the  names  and  dates  differ. 

*  S.  Lane-Poole  {Mohammedan  Dynasties,  p.  135)  saj-s  Mahmud  Khan  II. 
®  S.  Lane-Poole  {loc.  cit.)  reads  Mahmud  Khan  in.,  and  from  this  point 

the  list  he  gives  no  longer  corresponds  with  Narshakhi's  account. 


122  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1128. 

fully  defended  his  capital  against  the  attack  of  a  large 
Turkish  force  under  a  certain  Saghir  Beg.  He  held  this 
post  until  his  death,  and  apparently  continued  in  his 
loyalty  to  Sanjar,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  ascended  the 
throne  of  the  Seljuks  in  511.  We  are  not  told  when  he 
died,  but  Narshakhi  says  that  his  son  Nasr  Khan  was 
killed  during  a  revolt  in  Samarkand  in  A.H.  523  (i  128). 
On  the  death  of  his  father,  Nasr's  son  Mohammad  Khan 
wrote  to  inform  Sanjar  of  what  had  passed.  Sanjar 
thereupon  set  out  with  a  force  to  establish  order  in 
Samarkand,  but  when  he  approached  the  town  Moham- 
mad Khan  sent  him  an  insolent  message  that  the  Sultan 
would  do  well  to  retreat,  inasmuch  as  he  (Mohammad) 
had  subdued  his  opponents.  Sanjar  was  much  incensed, 
and  promptly  invested  the  city.  After  a  protracted  siege 
he  captured  Samarkand  and  took  Mohammad  prisoner, 
A.H.  524  (11 29).  A  new  governor  was  now  appointed, 
but  he  died  two  years  later,  when  the  reins  of  power 
were  given  to  Mahmud  Khan,  the  son  of  Mohammad.^ 

In  the  meanwhile  another  mighty  host  was  advancing 
on  Transoxiana ;  but  before  describing  their  progress  we 
must  retrace  our  steps  and  recount  the  downfall  of  the 
Ghaznavides  and  the  rise  of  the  great  Seljuk  dynasty  of 
Persia. 

^  Mirkhwand  (Vullers,  Historia  Seldschukidanun^  p.  176),  and  Vambery 
following  him,  say  that  Mohammad  was  reinstated. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

The  Ghaznavides  and  the  Rise  of  the 
Seljuks 

The  struggles  between  Mahmud  of  Ghazna  and  Ilik 
Khan  of  Kashghar  continued  till  the  year  A.H.  401 
(loio),  when  the  latter,  owing  to  a  quarrel  with  his 
brother  Toghan,  was  obliged  to  withdraw  his  troops, 
and  a  long  period  of  peace  ensued,  with  but  slight  in- 
terruptions, during  which  the  Oxus  continued  to  be 
regarded  as  the  frontier  of  their  respective  realms. 

Before  the  actual  downfall  of  the  Samanides  the 
province  of  Khwarazm,^  which  lay  between  the  states  of 
the  Turkish  Khans  and  the  Ghaznavides,  had  become 
practically  independent.  On  the  final  overthrow  of  the 
Samanides,  the  Khwarazm  Shah,^  as  their  ruler  was 
called,  had  thrown  in  his  fortunes  with  the  Ghaznavides. 
In  A.H.  407  (1017)  the  then  ruler  was  murdered  by 
rebels,  whereupon  Mahmud  marched  into  the  country 
at  the  head  of  a  large  force  and  conquered  it, 
setting  up  a  governor  of  his  own  creation  named 
Altuntash. 

Great  difficulties  attend  an  attempt  to  define  the 
ethnographic  affinities  of  the  Turks.  A  similarity  of 
language  forces  one  to  associate  the  Tartars  of  Southern 
Russia,  the  Turkomans  of  the  Oxus  countries,  and  the 
Uzbegs   of  Transoxiana.      This    race,   in   the   broadest 

^  The  modem  Khiva.  *  See  chap.  XX. 

123 


124  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D.985. 

sense     of     the     word,     may     be     divided     into     three 
groups : — 

(i)  The  Northern  Turks,  comprising  the  Siberian 
nomads,  such  as  the  Yakuts,  etc. 

(2)  The  Eastern  Turks,  including  those  of  Chinese 
Turkestan  and  the  Uzbegs  of  Russian  Turkestan,  to 
whom  are  related  the  Tartars  of  the  Crimea  and  the 
Volga. 

(3)  The  Western  Turks,  comprising  the  Osmanlls,  or 
Ottoman  branch,  the  Azerbayjanis  of  Persia,  and  the 
Turkomans, — in  fact,  what  we  commonly  in  Europe 
understand  by  the  word  Turk. 

The  habitat  of  the  original  Turks  was  in  the  Altai", 
whence  they  migrated  in  large  numbers  at  an  early 
period  towards  China  and  Turkestan.  It  was  in  this 
latter  direction  that  they  met  with  least  resistance,  and 
thither,  therefore,  they  wandered  in  the  greatest  numbers. 

But,  apart  from  these  lesser  migrations,  two  great 
Turkish  waves  poured,  at  an  interval  of  two  hundred 
years,  over  Western  Asia  and  Southern  Europe — the 
Seljuks  and  the  hordes  of  Chingiz  Khan. 

The  former,  composed  of  what  we  now  call  Western 
Turks,  of  whom  the  Ghuz  and  the  Turkomans  were 
the  predominant  element,  swept  over  the  Oxus-lands 
into  Armenia  and  Asia  Minor.  From  them  sprang,  at 
a  later  date,  the  Osmanlls,  who  finally  overthrew  the 
Byzantine  Empire.  A  portion,  however,  of  the  Seljuks 
either  remained  in  the  Oxus  country,  or  were  pressed 
across  that  river  by  the  advances  of  the  Eastern  Turks 
into  modern  Turkomania. 

The  second  great  migration  spread  simultaneously  in 
two  directions.  The  larger  body  penetrated  noi*^  of 
the  Sea  of  Aral  into  Southern  Europe,  where  they 
carried  all  before  them  until  their  progress  was  stayed 
by  Western  skill  at   the   memorable  battle  of  Leignitz 


JJ**ff?«'"-.'  . 


K 


'^     f 


CENTRAL  ASIAN  TYPES 


I     UZBEO   WOMAN 
2.    t'ZBEG 


3.  IZBEG 

4.  UZBEG 


A.D.i<»9.i  THE  GHAZNAVIDES  125 

(a.d.  1 241).  The  smaller  horde  was  composed  of 
Eastern  Turks,  who,  under  Mongolian  leadership,  drove 
their  Western  cousins  out  of  Transoxiana  in  the  thirteenth 
century. 

According  to  the  Tdrikh-i-Guzlda}  the  Turks  of  the 
tribe  of  Kabak,  to  which  Seljuk  belonged,  passed  in  the 
year  A.H.  395  (985)  from  Turkestan  into  Transoxiana, 
and  settled  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Samarkand  and 
Bokhara.  They  were  a  race  of  shepherds,  and  were 
prompted  to  cross  the  Jaxartes  by  the  scarcity  of  pas- 
turage on  their  own  side. 

They  are  said  to  have  lived  on  peaceful  terms  with 
Sultan  Mahmud  of  Ghazna,  who,  not  long  afterwards, 
gave  them  permission  to  cross  the  Oxus  and  settle  in 
the  environs  of  Nisa  and  Abiverd.  Their  chief  at  this 
period  was  named  Mika'il,  and  he  had  two  sons  named 
Toghrul  and  Chakir,  who  were  the  founders  of  the  Seljuk 
dynasty."^ 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  the  present  sketch  to 
describe  the  wonderful  campaigns  of  Sultan  Mahmud  ^ 
in  India  and  elsewhere,  and  the  brilliant  circle  of  poets 
and  writers  which  he  had  gathered  round  him  at  Ghazna. 
In  the  year  before  his  death,  A.H.  420  (1029),  he  con- 

^  This  history,  by  Hamdullah  Mustawfi,  is  one  of  the  most  important 
Persian  chronicles.  The  whole  text  has  never  yet  been  published,  but  the 
portion  relating  to  the  Seljuks  was  edited  and  translated  by  M.  Defrcmer)-. 

^  There  is  some  confusion  as  to  the  precise  origin  of  this  branch  of  the 
Turks.  Aug.  Miiller  says  that  during  the  disorders  which  attended  the 
downfall  of  the  Samanides  and  the  struggles  between  the  Ghaznavides  and 
the  Khans  of  Kashghar,  the  Ghuz,  through  internal  dissensions,  became  split 
up  into  subdivisions.  The  foremost  of  these  was  a  branch  who  in  a.  h.  345 
(956)  settled  down  in  Jend  (east  of  Khwarazm).  They  received  the  name  of 
Seljuk  from  their  chief,  who  had  been  compelled  to  quit  the  court  of  his 
master  Pighu  Khan  of  the  Kipchak  Turks.  He  is  said  to  have  embraced 
Islam  (Mtiller,  Islam,  ii.  74). 

^  He  was  the  first  prince  to  bear  the  title  of  Sultan.  Cf.  Gibbon, 
chap.  47. 


126  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a. d.  1030. 

ducted  a  successful  expedition  against  the  Seljuks,  who  had 
invaded  his  Persian  territories.  The  last  of  his  successes 
was  the  conquest  of  nearly  the  whole  of  'Irak,  which, 
together  with  Ray  and  some  other  territories,  he  formed 
into  a  government  for  his  son  Mas'ud,  declaring  at  the 
same  time  his  other  son  Mohammad  heir  to  his  throne 
and  the  rest  of  his  possessions.^ 

On  the  death  of  Sultan  Mahmud,  in  A.H.  421  (1030), 
Mas'ud's  whole  energies  were  absorbed  in  withstanding  the 
Ghuz  hordes  which  invaded  his  province  of  Khorasan  in 
ever-increasing  numbers.  He  tried  in  vain  to  conciliate 
them  by  granting  fresh  pasture-lands.  In  A.H.  425  (1034), 
while  he  was  engaged  in  quelling  a  rebellion  in  India,  a 
formidable  rising  against  the  Ghaznavides  took  place  in 
Khorasan,  whose  inhabitants  felt  that  they  were  deserted 
by  their  chief  and  left  at  the  mercy  of  the  Ghuz.  At 
the  same  time  the  prince  of  Tabaristan  and  Jurjan, 
deeming  the  occasion  favourable,  reasserted  their  in- 
dependence. In  the  following  year  Mas'ud  marched 
northwards,  and  succeeded  not  only  in  driving  back  the 
Ghuz  beyond  Tus  and  Nishapur,  but  in  bringing  to 
submission  the  rebellious  prince  of  Tabaristan. 

Meanwhile  events  were  taking  place  in  the  north 
which  were  to  render  these  minor  successes  valueless,^ 
for  in  A.H.  425  (1034)  Harun,  the  Ghaznavide  governor 
of  Khwarazm,^  profiting  by  the  embarrassed  position  of 
Mas'ud,  threw  off  his  allegiance.  Although  the  im- 
mediate result  of  this  step  was  an  interval  of  disorder, 
during  which  Harun  was  murdered,  his  successor  per- 
sisted in  a  policy  of  rebellion,  and  ceased  to  pay  any 
regard  to  the  court  at  Ghazna.  This  event  in  itself 
seemed  of  small  importance,  but  it  brought  grave  results 

^  Malcolm,  op.  cit.  i.  p.  195. 

^  Cf.  Muller,  op.  cit.  ii.  p.  76. 

2  The  son  of  Altuntash  mentioned  above,  p.  123. 


^*% 


as 


j^\J 


-^ 


CENTRAL  ASIAN  TYPES 


1.  TURKOMAN 

2.  KIRGHIZ 


3-   TAJIK 
4.    SAKI 


A.r.io4o.]  THE  GHAZNAVIDES  127 

in  its  train.  We  are  told  that  the  Seljuks,  in  A.H.  426 
(1035),  helped  Mas'ud  to  drive  the  rest  of  the  Ghuz 
out  of  Khorasan,  but  the  alliance  did  not  survive  this 
campaign  ;  and  thus,  while  Mas'ud  was  absent  in  Ghazna 
in  the  following  year,  we  find  his  lieutenant  in  Khorasan 
engaged  in  hostilities  with  the  Seljuks.  During  the 
same  year,  A.H.  427  (1036),  the  Ghaznavide  general 
suffered  a  severe  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Chakir  Beg  in 
the  vicinity  of  Merv.  From  this  event  dates  the  rise  of 
the  Seljuks.  In  A.H.  428  (1037)  Merv  surrendered  to 
Chakir,  and  in  the  following  year  Toghrul  was  declared 
master  of  Nishapur.  Khorasan  was  now  practically  in 
the  hands  of  the  Seljuk  brothers.  Mas'ud  had  been 
too  busily  employed  with  troubles  in  India  to  give  due 
attention  to  the  protection  of  his  richest  province.  At 
length,  in  A.H.  431  (1040),  he  determined  to  make  a 
final  effort  to  retrieve  his  losses,  and  led  an  army  in 
person  against  Merv,  where  he  suffered  a  final  and 
crushing  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Chakir  and  Toghrul.^ 
He  still  clung  to  Khorasan  with  all  the  energy  of  despair. 
Leaving  his  son  in  Balkh,  he  hastened  to  India  to  raise 
a  fresh  army.  But  his  influence  with  his  troops  had 
gone,  and  no  sooner  had  he  crossed  the  Indian  frontier 
than  his  lawless  soldiers  began  to  plunder  the  treasures 
which  had  been  accumulated  by  his  illustrious  father. 
When  they  recovered  their  senses  they  "  were  seized  with 
a  dread  of  punishment,  and  came  to  the  sudden  resolu- 
tion of  reinstating  Mohammad,^  who  was  a  prisoner  in 
the  camp."^      Mas'ud  was  captured,  and  in  the  following 

^  Gibbon  (chap.  Ivii.)  speaks  of  this  victory  as  the  "memorable  day  of 
Qandacan"  which  "founded  in  Persia  the  djuasty  of  the  shepherd  kings." 
He  gives  the  date  as  A.D.  1038. 

-  Mohammad,  who,  as  stated  above,  had  been  nominated  by  his  father 
Mahmud  to  succeed  him  in  Ghazna,  had  been  almost  immediately  deposed  by 
his  brother  Mas'ud. 

^  Malcolm,  op,  cit,  i.  p.  199. 


128  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  104=. 

year,  A.H.  433  (1042),  murdered  by  his  own  nephew. 
The  princes  of  Ghazna  continued  to  reign  until  A.H.  555 
(11 60), — in  fact,  they  outlasted  the  Seljuks  of  Central 
Asia, — but  no  chief  of  the  dynasty  ever  attained  to  the 
greatness  of  its  earlier  representatives.  Their  hostilities 
with  the  Seljuks  were  finally  brought  to  a  close  by  a 
treaty  concluded  in  A.H.  451  (1059)  between  Chakir 
and  Ibrahim,  the  then  ruler  of  Ghazna,  who  thereby 
for  ever  lost  the  province  of  Khorasan.-^ 

^  Mliller,  op.  cit.  i.  77. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

The  Seljuks 

TOGHRUL  Beg's  career  of  conquest  is  admirably 
epitomised  by  Gibbon  in  the  57th  chapter  of  his 
immortal  work.  After  driving  the  Ghaznavides  back  to 
India,  he  overthrew  the  powerful  dynasty  of  the 
Buyides,^  and  with  their  fall  the  whole  of  Persia  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  Turks.  "  By  the  conquest  of 
Azerbayjan,  or  Atropatene,  he  approached  the  Roman 
confines,  and  the  shepherd  presumed  to  despatch  an 
ambassador  or  herald  to  demand  the  tribute  and 
obedience  of  the  Emperor  of  Constantinople.- 

The  expeditions  of  these  fortunate  brothers,  Toghrul 
and  Chakir,  in  their  results  at  all  events,  more  closely 
resembled  the  migration  of  entire  peoples  than  military 
campaigns.  By  the  year  A.H.  440  (1048)  Azerbayjan, 
Mesopotamia,  and  Asia  Minor  were  entirely  overrun  by 
Turkish  bands.  Four  hundred  years  before  this  a  huge 
wave  of  conquering  Arabs  and  Persians  had  swept  in  an 
easterly  direction  over  all  Persia  as  far  as  the  Oxus  and 

^  Vide  supra,  p.  ii2,  note  I. 

*  Cf.  Gibbon,  chap.  Ivii.  De  Guignes  gives  a  somewhat  different  version 
of  the  relations  between  the  Emperor  and  the  Turk  (vol.  iii.  p.  191).  He 
says:  " Constantin-Monomaque  qui  regnoit  alors  a  Constantinople,  ne  crut 
pas  devoir  negliger  I'alliance  d'un  prince  qui  faisoit  trembler  toute  I'Asie : 
il  lui  envoya  des  ambassadeurs  pour  lui  proposer  de  faire  la  paix,  et  Thc^rul- 
begh  y  consentit."  This  difference  is  due  to  the  feet  that  Gibbon's  authorities 
were  Byzantine,  while  De  Guignes'  were  Mohammedan. 

9 


I30  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1055. 

beyond  it.  We  now  find  a  still  vaster  influx  of  Turks 
over  the  same  country,  but  starting  where  the  other  had 
ended.  The  first  flood-tide  took  the  form  of  a  religious 
war  into  the  infidel  countries,  and  brought  with  it  the 
influence  of  culture  and  solid  learning.  The  reflex  wave 
was  an  irresistible  migration  of  savage  tribes,  who,  though 
well-nigh  destitute  of  any  tincture  of  letters,^  were  still,  it 
must  be  remembered,  the  children  of  Islam.  The  marks 
left  on  the  East  by  the  Western  wave  were  ethnographi- 
cally  slight,  but  psychically  of  great  importance ;  while 
precisely  the  opposite  is  true  of  the  second  immigration, 
Bokhara  and  Balkh  became,  and  for  centuries  remained, 
the  centres  of  Mohammedan  lore,  while  Asia  Minor  and 
Azerbayjan  were  the  permanent  abodes  of  the  descendants 
of  the  Seljuks.  The  forces  of  the  two  brothers  were 
probably  augmented  by  the  westward  flow  of  new  bands 
of  Turks,  and  victory  attended  them  wherever  they 
turned. 

In  A.H.  449  (1055)  Toghrul  Beg  entered  Baghdad, 
and  helped  to  establish  the  Caliph  Ka'im  on  his  throne.^ 

Toghrul  Beg  had  no  male  issue.  On  the  approach 
of  death  he  selected  as  his  successor  his  nephew  Alp 
Arslan,  the  son  of  his  deceased  brother  Chakir.  Thus, 
in  the  year  A.H.  455  (1063),  Alp  Arslan  became  lord  of 
a  kingdom  which  extended  from  the  Oxus  to  the 
Euphrates,  and  from  the  Caspian  to  the  Persian  Gulf. 
One  of  his  first  measures  was  to  rid  himself  of  his  uncle's 

^  It  would,  however,  be  wrong  to  regard  these  Turks  as  uncultured  people  ; 
for  though  few  traces  of  their  early  literature  have  come  down  to  us,  testi- 
mony is  not  wanting  to  the  fact  that  they  had,  long  before  they  began  their 
westward  migrations,  a  written  language  and  perhaps  a  literature. 

"^  He  was  not  received  in  audience  by  the  Caliph  till  a.h.  451  {1059).  In 
455  (1063),  in  spite  of  his  outward  show  of  respect,  Toghrul  Beg  practically 
forced  the  Caliph  to  give  him  his  daughter  in  marriage.  But,  in  the  same 
year,  as  Toghrul  was  about  to  claim  his  bride,  fortune  suddenly  deserted  him, 
and  he  died  at  the  age  of  seventy  in  Ray,  where,  according  to  Mirkhwand 
(see  ed.  Viillers,  p.  6^),  he  wished  to  celebrate  his  nuptials. 


A.D.I073.]  THE  SELJUKS  131 

vezir,  and  appoint  in  his  stead  a  man  who  afterwards 
bore  one  of  the  most  exalted  names  in  the  history  and 
literature  of  the  East.  Hasan  ibn  'All,  better  known  as 
Nizam  ul-Mulk,  or  Regulator  of  the  State,  was  born  in 
Tus  in  A.H.  408  (10 1  8),  and  early  displayed  signs  of  ad- 
ministrative power.  He  held  office  first  under  the  Ghazna- 
vides,  and  later,  at  Balkh,  under  the  Seljuks.  The  post  of 
chief  vezIr,  which  now  fell  to  his  lot,  he  continued  to  hold 
for  a  period  of  thirty  years.  He  was  celebrated  alike 
for  justice,  tolerance,  and  literary  attainments.^ 

It  was  under  Alp  Arslan  that  the  Turks  first 
invaded  the  Roman  Empire.^  Having  temporarily 
satisfied  his  ambition  in  the  West,^  he  returned  to 
his  capital,  and  formed  the  project  of  crossing  the 
Oxus  and  invading  the  countries  whence  his  ancestors 
had  come.  His  career  was,  however,  cut  short  in 
A.H.  465  (10^3)  by  a  mortal  wound  received  at  the 
hands  of  a  man  whom  he  had  condemned  to  death.^ 
He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Melik  Shah,  whose 
claims  were  disputed  by  several  rivals,^  but  these  were 
disposed  of  with  little  difficulty.       In  A.H.    446  (1073) 

^  His  name  is  familiar  to  the  English  public  through  the  medium  of  'Omar 
Khajyam.  All  who  have  read  Fitzgerald's  admirable  translation  of  the 
Rubaiydt  know  the  story  of  the  three  famous  schoolfellows — ^"Omar  Khayyam, 
the  poet ;  Nizam  ul-Mulk,  the  statesman  ;  and  Hasan  ibn  Sabbah,  "  the  Old 
Man  of  the  Mountain."  These  three,  as  schoolboys  at  Nishapur,  had  sworn 
that  whichever  of  them  should  rise  highest  in  the  world  should  help  the 
others.     Of  two  of  them  we  shall  have  to  speak  below. 

*  His  was  not  actually  their  first  expedition,  for,  in  1050,  parts  of  Armenia 
had  been  laid  waste  and  countless  Christians  massacred  by  the  Turks.  Cf. 
Gibbon,  chap,  xlvii. 

'  We  refer  the  reader  to  Gibbon's  57th  chapter  for  a  vivid  account  of  Alp 
Arslan's  dealings  with  the  Romans  (see  also  Malcolm,  op.  cit.  i.  209-213). 

*  This  was  a  chief  named  Yusuf,  who  had  long  held  out  against  the  Sultan 
in  his  fortress  of  Berzem  in  Khwarazm.  Cf.  Malcolm,  op.  cit.  i.  213  ;  and  De 
Guignes,  iii.  213. 

*  Notably  his  uncle  Kawurd  (see  Miiller,  op.  cit.  ii.  94), — whom  Vambery 
calls  Kurd;  and  Viillers  (in  Mirkhwand's  Seljuks),  Kadurd-,  and  Malcolm 
{op.  cit.  i,  216),  Cawder. 


132  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  1089. 

he  engaged  in  warfare  with  Altagin,  the  Turkish 
Khan  of  Samarkand,  who,  on  hearing  of  the  death  of 
Alptagin,  had  presumed  to  lay  siege  to  Tirmiz,  a  town 
included  in  the  Seljuks'  realms,  though  it  lay  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Oxus.^  He  soon  drove  the  Khan  back, 
and  forced  him  to  sue  for  peace.  Melik  Shah  apparently 
remained  on  peaceful  terms  with  the  Turks  until  A.H.  482 
(1089),  when,  in  response  to  a  call  from  the  oppressed 
inhabitants  of  Transoxiana,  he  crossed  the  great  river  and 
made  himself  master  of  Bokhara  and  Samarkand.  Push- 
ing beyond  the  last-named  city,  he  threatened  to  invade 
the  territory  of  the  Khan  of  Kashghar,-  who,  overcome 
by  fear,  consented  to  recognise  the  suzerainty  of  the 
Seljuks,^  both  in  his  coins  and  in  the  public  prayers.  At 
the  zenith  of  his  fortunes  the  great  Sultan  held  sway 
from  the  frontiers  of  China  up  to  the  gates  of  Constanti- 
nople. August  Miiller*  aptly  compares  Alp  Arslan  and 
Melik  Shah  with  Trajan  and  Hadrian.  Brilliant  as 
were  the  military  successes  of  Melik  Shah,  they  are  cast 
into  the  shade  by  his  cultivation  of  the  peaceful  arts  and 
his  sedulous  care  for  the  development  of  his  territories. 
Though  five  years  passed  by  ere  he  was  firmly  established 
on  his  throne,  the  remaining  fifteen  years  of  his  reign 
were  attended  by  a  degree  of  internal  prosperity,  an 
advance  in  literature  and  learning,  which  will  ever 
associate  his  name  with  one  of  the  most  brilliant  epochs 
in  the  history  of  Islam.  There  is,  however,  one  great  blot 
on  his  escutcheon :  his  treatment  of  his  able  and  faithful 
minister,  Nizam  ul-Mulk.  Influenced  by  lying  reports 
brought    to  his   ears    by  the  enemies  of   the  vezir,    he 


^  Miiller,  op.  cit.  ii.  94. 
^  See  below,  chap.  xix. 

^  Vambery  (^/.  cit.  p.  100)  qualifies  these  statements  as  the  "  mere  fabrica- 
tions of  partial  Arab  and  Persian  writers. " 
■»  Op.  cit.  ii.  95. 


A.D.,o92.i  THE  SELJUKS  133 

degraded  his  devoted  servant  and  indirectly  brought  about 
his  death.  For,  shortly  after  Nizam  ul-Mulk's  removal 
from  office,  he  was  murdered  by  an  assassin,^  employed 
perhaps  by  his  successor  in  office,  who  feared  a  change 
in  the  Sultan's  sentiments,  A.H.  485  (1092).  Melik 
Shah  did  not  long  survive  the  fallen  minister.  Within 
a  month  he  was  seized  with  a  violent  illness,  which 
terminated  his  life  in  the  thirty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

He  left  four  sons,  who  each  in  turn  succeeded  to 
his  throne.2  The  youngest,  Mahmud,  was  only  four 
years  of  age  when  his  father  died ;  but  the  ambition  of 
his  mother,  the  Sultana  Khatun  Turkan,  placed  the 
crown  upon  his  infant  head,  and  the  Caliph  Muktadi 
was  prevailed  on  to  have  his  name  mentioned  in  the 
public  prayers.  The  Sultana  marched  to  Isfahan, 
preceded  by  the  corpse  of  Melik  Shah.  Berkiyaruk,  the 
eldest  prince,^  was  residing  there  ;  but,  powerless  to  resist, 
he  retired  to  Ray,  attended  by  Mu'ayyad  ud-Dawla, 
the  son  of  the  late  vezir  Nizam  ul-Mulk,  who  warmly 
espoused  his  cause,  with  all  the  adherents  of  his  family. 
This  support  enabled  him  to  return,  and  Khatun  Turkan 
was  compelled  to  resign  a  great  part  of  her  treasures  as 
the  price  of  permission  to  retain  control  of  Isfahan.     All 

^  This  assassin  was  one  of  the  emissaries  {fxtfcuiawt)  of  Hasan  ibn  Sabbah, 
Nizam  ul-Mulk's  old  school  friend.  For  an  account  of  the  Assassins  we  refer 
the  reader  to  the  article  under  that  heading  in  the  Encyclopadia  Britannica. 
For  more  than  a  century  the  devotees  of  the  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain  played 
a  part  in  politics  not  dissimilar  to  that  of  the  Jesuits  at  certain  periods  in 
Europe.  See  J.  von  Hammers  Hist,  de  I'Ordre  des  Assassins  (Paris,  1833)  > 
S.  Guyard's  "  Un  Grand  Maltre  des  Assassins,"yi7«rwa/  Asiatique,  1877 ; 
and  an  article  by  Mr.  E.  G.  Browne  in  St.  Bartholomcaf  s  Hasp,  /oum., 
March  1897. 

'  The  history  of  the  remaining  Seljuk  kings  (of  the  original  branch)  is  so 
admirably  epitomised  by  Malcolm  that  it  was  considered  unnecessary  in  this 
place  to  do  more  than  quote  from  his  well-known  History  of  Persia  (voL  ii. 
p.  222  et  seq.).  These  sons  were  Berkiyaruk,  Mohammad,  Sanjar,  and 
Mahmud. 

'  He  was  himself  but  fourteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  oX.  his  Other's  death. 


134  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1104. 

her  schemes  of  aggrandisement  were  soon  afterwards 
terminated  by  her  own  death  and  that  of  her  son,  A.H. 
487  (1 104). 

The  death  of  the  Caliph  Muktadi,  which  occurred  about 
the  same  period,  induced  Berkiyaruk  to  go  to  Baghdad, 
where  he  confirmed  Mostadhhir  as  the  new  Caliph,  and 
was  in  return  hailed  by  him  as  Sultan  of  the  empire. 
He  enjoyed  that  dignity  for  eleven  years,^  but  his  reign 
was  a  perpetual  war  in  which  his  nearest  relatives  and 
all  the  great  nobles  of  the  state  were  engaged.  His 
usual  residence  was  Baghdad.  His  brother  Mohammad 
ruled  over  Azerbayjan,  while  Sanjar  established  a  kingdom 
in  Khorasan  and  Transoxiana,  whence  he  extended  his 
conquests  over  the  fallen  princes  of  Ghazna,  compelling 
them  to  pay  him  tribute.  Berkiyaruk,  who  appears  to 
have  had  an  excellent  disposition,  and  to  have  been 
wanting  neither  in  courage  nor  conduct,  died  on  a  journey 
from  Isfahan  to  Baghdad,^  A.H.  498  (i  104).  He  felt  his 
end  approaching,  and  before  he  expired  made  his  army 
take  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  his  son  Melik  Shah  II.  The 
young  prince  was,  however,  unable  to  resist  his  uncle 
Mohammad,  who  seized  Baghdad  treacherously  and  took 
him  prisoner,  A.H.  498  (i  104).  The  reign  of  Mohammad, 
which  lasted  thirteen  years,  was  remarkable  only  for 
continual  civil  disturbances,  and  for  the  wars  which  his 
generals  carried  on  in  Syria  against  the  European  armies 
engaged  in  their  crusade  to  recover  the  sacred  city  of 
Jerusalem  and  the  Holy  Land  from  the  Mohammedans. 
He  died  at  Isfahan  in  A.H.  511  (1117),  and  was 
nominally  succeeded  by  his  son  Mahmud,  who  was  almost 

^  A.H.  487-498  (1094-1104).  Malcolm  throughout  his  otherwise  excellent 
history  scarcely  ever  condescends  to  supply  the  reader  with  a  date  of  any 
kind. 

^  He  died  of  consumption  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-seven  (perhaps  even 
younger).     Cf.  Muller,  op.  cit.  ii.  120. 


A.D  .,17.]  THE  SELJUKS  135 

immediately  reduced  by  his  uncle  Sanjar  to  the  condition 
of  a  dependant.^  Sanjar,  who  had  been  governor  of 
Khorasan  and  its  dependencies  for  the  past  twenty  years, 
now  became  Sultan,  and  as  such  enjoyed  a  reign  of  no 
less  than  forty  years,  a.h.  511-552  (1117-1157). 

We  must  now  turn  our  attention  to  Transoxiana  and 
the  East,  where  important  events  were  passing. 

^  He  allowed  his  nephew  the  two  'Iraks  on  condition  that  his  (Sanjar's) 
name  should  be  mentioned  first  in  the  public  prayers  (cf.  Halnb-us-Siyar). 


CHAPTER   XIX 

Sultan  Sanjar  and  the  Kara-Khitays 

The  country  of  Khwarazm  ^  was  one  of  the  first  conquests 
of  the  Seljuks.  On  becoming  masters  of  Khorasan,  the 
'Iraks,  Persia,  and  Syria,  they  chose  men  from  among 
their  Turkish  slaves  whom  they  placed  in  charge  of 
the  various  provinces.  The  governor  thus  set  over 
Khwarazm  was  named  Balkategin,  who  was  Tasht-ddr, 
or  Grand  Ewer-bearer,^  to  Sultan  Melik  Shah,  who  exer- 
cised paramount  authority  in  that  country.  He  had 
under  him  a  Turkish  slave  whom  he  had  purchased, 
named  Nushtegin,  who  by  his  conduct  at  his  master's 
court  was  in  such  esteem  that  on  the  death  of  Balka- 
tegin ^  he  succeeded  to  the  government  of  Khwarazm. 
He  became  even  more  powerful  than  his  lord,  but, 
though  he  is  regarded  as  the  first  of  the  dynasty  of 
Khwarazm-Shahs,  he  remained  loyal  to  the  Seljuks. 
He  bestowed  great  care  in  the  education  of  his  son 
Kutb  ed-Din  Mohammad,  who  succeeded  him  in  A.H. 
490  (1097)  with  the  additional  title  of  Khwarazm- Shah, 
or  emperor  of  Khwarazm.  He  was  a  great  patron  of 
letters,  and  made  himself  generally  beloved  in  his 
province. 

^  The  modern  Khanate  of  Khiva. 

2  The  Khans  of  Khiva  still  bear  the  title  of  Ewer-bearers  to  the  Sultan 
of  Constantinople. 

3  About  A.H.  470  (1077). 

136 


A.D.  1,34.1  SULTAN  SANJAR  i37 

It  was  during  his  tenure  of  office  that  the  Kara- 
Khitays  began  to  make  their  inroads  westwards. 

The  empire  of  the  Kara-Khitays  had  been  founded 
by  the  last  prince  of  the  Kitan  or  Liao  dynasty/  whose 
name  was  Ye-liu  Ta-shi.^  On  the  destruction  of  that 
line  by  the  Kin  dynasty^  in  A.D.  1123,  Ye-liu  Ta-shi, 
with  a  following  of  some  two  hundred  men,  passed 
into  the  country  lying  to  the  north-west  of  Shen-si,* 
where  he  was  joined  by  numbers  of  Turks.  He 
now  set  out  in  a  westerly  direction  and  carried  all 
before  him.  He  conquered  Kashghar,  Yarkand,  Khotan, 
and  Turkestan,  and  at  the  beginning  of  A.D.  11 24  or 
1 125  he  reached  Ki-rh-man.^  Here  all  his  officers 
assembled  and  proclaimed  him  emperor,  whereupon  he 
assumed  the  title  of  Gur-Khdn,  or  "  Universal  Lord." 

Mahmud,  the  Uighur  Khan  mentioned  above,^  was 
driven  into  Transoxiana,  which  shortly  after  became 
tributary  to  the  Kara-Khitays.  Ye-liu  Ta-shi,  whose 
dominions  reached  from  the  Gobi  to  the  Oxus,  and  from 
the  mountains  of  Tibet  to  Siberia,  now  fixed  his  residence 
at  Balasaghun. 

Towards  the  end  of  Kutb  ed-Dln's  rule  they  ad- 
vanced so  far  into  Transoxiana  that  the  Grand  Ewer- 
bearer     sent     an     army     of     100,000    men    to    oppose 

^  He  was  a  descendant  in  the  eighth  generation  of  T^ai-tsu,  or  Apaoki, 
the  first  Liao  emperor.  Cf.  Bretschneider,  op.  cit.  i.  211  ;  Visdelou,  p.  28. 
For  the  various  forms  his  name  has  taken,  cf.  Howorth  on  the  ' '  Kara- 
Khitay,"  f.R.A.S.,  New  Series  VIII.  273,  274. 

-  De  Guignes  called  him  Taigir. 

^  Called  by  the  Mohammedans  ChtircM,  which  corresponds  to  the  Nitichi 
of  Chinese  historians.     Cf.  Bretschneider,  op.  cit.  i.  224,  note. 

*  Cf.  d'Ohsson,  Huioire  des  Mongols,  i.  163. 

*  Some  scholars  have  wished  to  identify  this  name  with  Kirman  in  Persia, 
but  this  seems  most  improbable.  Bretschneider  {op,  cit.  i.  216,  note) 
suggests  Kermine,  which  is  the  site  of  the  summer  quarters  of  the  present 
Amir  of  Bokhara.     Cf.  also  Howorth,  he.  cii. 

«P.  134. 


138  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1141. 

them.^  He,  however,  suffered  a  crushing  defeat,  and 
the  prince  of  the  Kara-Khitays,  after  imposing  tribute 
on  his  vanquished  enemies,  returned  to  Kashghar,  which 
now  became  his  capital.^ 

Soon  after  his  deHverance  from  these  barbarians 
Kutb  ed-Din  died,^  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Atsiz. 
For  many  years  the  latter  remained  at  the  court  of 
Merv,  fulfilling  the  office  of  Grand  Ewer-bearer  to  Sultan 
Sanjar;  and  so  great  was  his  influence  with  the  Seljuk 
prince  that  he  made  himself  many  enemies  at  court, 
and  on  this  account  he  asked  permission  to  proceed  to 
Khwarazm,  which  was  then  suffering  from  anarchy.  In 
spite  of  the  warnings  of  his  ministers,  Sanjar  allowed 
Atsiz  to  depart.  As  soon  as  the  governor  reached  his 
province  he  rose  in  open  revolt  against  his  master, 
who  was  compelled  to  march  against  his  too  powerful 
vassal.*  But  the  rebels  were  no  match  for  the  troops 
of  Sanjar,  who  utterly  defeated  them.^  The  province 
was  restored  to  obedience,  and  Sulayman  Shah,  San- 
jar's  nephew,  was  appointed  as  its  governor.^  No 
sooner  had  Sanjar  reached  his  capital  than  Atsiz, 
collecting  the  scattered  remnants  of  his  army,  pro- 
ceeded to  attack  Sulayman  Shah.  This  latter,  with 
whom  Sultan  Sanjar  had  left  but  a  few  troops, 
deeming  resistance  useless,  fled  to  his  uncle,  and  thus 
the  whole  of  Khwarazm  again  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Atsiz. 

In  the  year  A.H.  536  (i  141)  Ye-liu  Ta-shi  died  with- 

^  Cf.  De  Guignes,  iii.  pt.  ii.  p.  253. 

^  Some  confusion  exists  as  to  whether  Kashghar  or  Balasaghun  was  his 
residence.  It  seems  improbable  that  he  should  have  changed  in  so  short 
a  space. 

3a.h.  521  (1127).  *  A.H.  533(1138). 

*  Il-Kilij,  the  son  of  Atsiz,  perished  in  the  battle. 

*  Cf.  d'Herbelot,  article  "Atsiz";  and  De  Guignes,  vol.  ii.  pt.  ii.  p. 
254. 


A.D.i,4..]  SULTAN  SANJAR  139 

out  male  issue,  and  the  empire  of  the  Kara-Khitays 
fell  to  two  princesses  in  succession,^  the  daughter  and  the 
sister  of  the  late  ruler.  It  was  in  this  year  that  Atsiz 
invited,  or  rather  encouraged,  the  Kara-Khitays  to  push 
their  conquests  farther  west  into  Transoxiana.  Sanjar, 
hearing  of  their  advance,  crossed  the  Oxus  at  the  head 
of  100,000  men  to  meet  them.^  In  the  battle  which 
ensued,  in  the  valley  of  Dirgham,  Sanjar  met  with 
the  most  crushing  defeat  which  the  Moslems  had 
yet  endured  in  their  struggles  against  the  infidels 
in  the  East.^  Sanjar  himself,  who  had  hitherto  been 
invincible,  fled  to  Khorasan  by  way  of  Tirmiz,  accom- 
panied by  the  remnants  of  his  huge  army.  Transoxiana 
was  now  in  the  entire  possession  of  the  Kara-Khitays, 
and  for  the  first  time  a  Mohammedan  community 
became  subject  to  the  enemies  of  their  faith.*  The 
Kara  -  Khitays,  in  the  same  year,^  pushed  on  as 
far  as  Sarakhs,  Merv,  and  Nishapur,  but  they  appear 
to  have  retired  satisfied  with  the  Oxus  as  their 
western  boundary.  Meanwhile  Atsiz  took  advantage  of 
Sanjar's  fallen  fortunes,  and  began  to  ravage  Khorasan. 
The    Sultan,    however,    had    mustered    forces    sufficient 

^  Thus,  according  to  Narshakhi  (p.  243).  The  statements  of  historians  are 
somewhat  conflicting  in  this  place.  De  Guignes,  following  Abulfida,  says 
that  Ye-liu  Ta-shi  (whom  he  calls  Taigir)  died  in  11 36,  when  about  to  abandon 
Kashghar  and  return  to  his  ancient  settlements  in  Tartary.  The  Khitays 
then  set  upon  the  throne  his  infant  son,  Y-li,  with  his  mother  Liao-chi  as 
queen-regent.  Bretschneider  has  translated  a  Chinese  work  which  gives  a  list 
of  all  the  line  of  Kara-  Khitay  rulers,  whose  dynasty  became  extinct  about  1203. 
We  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  reproduce  a  list  of  their  names  in  this 
place.  It  may  be  mentioned,  however,  that  Bretschneider's  accoimt  does  not 
agree  with  De  Guignes. 

*  Cf.  De  Guignes,  vol.  iii.  pt.  i.  p.  254  ;  Muller,  op.  cit.  vol.  ii.  p.  173. 
Rashid  ud-Din  tells  us  he  had  drawn  auxiliaries  from  all  parts  of  his 
dominions. 

'  The  Kara-Khitays  were  Buddhists. 

*  Cf.  Muller,  loc.  cit. 

*  A.  H.  537(1142). 


I40  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  fA.D.  1143. 

to  reassert  his  authority.  He  marched  on  the  town  of 
Khwarazm  and  invested  it,  whereon  Atsiz  bought  him  off 
with  rich  presents  and  assurances  of  good  conduct  in 
the  future,  A.H.  538  (1143).^  This  truce  was  of  short 
duration. 

In  the  year  A.H.  541  (1147)  Sanjar  again  attacked 
Atsiz,  but  a  permanent  reconciliation  was  soon  attained." 

In  A.H.  551  (1156)^  Atsiz  died  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
one,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Il-Arslan,  with  whom 
the  independent  dynasty  of  Khwarazm-Shahs  properly 
begins.  Meanwhile  the  affairs  of  Sultan  Sanjar  were 
going  from  bad  to  worse,  and  the  end  of  the  last  great 
Seljuk  was  as  ignoble  as  his  career  had  been  glorious. 
Strange  to  say,  his  ultimate  ruin  was  caused  by  a 
Turkish  tribe  who  came  of  the  same  stock  as  the  Seljuks 
themselves. 

The  domination  of  the  Kara-Khitays  in  Transoxiana 
does  not  appear  to  have  affected  the  condition  of  the 
dwellers  in  towns,  the  peaceful  Tajiks,  who  were  even 
allowed  to  appoint  their  own  tax-collectors  and  other 
officials.^  The  only  classes  who  suffered  at  the  hands  of 
the  invaders  were  the  Ghuz  Turks,  who  were  nomads 
like  the  Kara-Khitays  themselves,  and  occupied  all  the 
best  pasture -grounds.  They  now  found  themselves 
forced  to  seek  fresh  fields.  Crossing  the  Oxus,  they 
obtained  permission  from  Sanjar  to  settle  in  Khatlan, 
Chaghaniyan,  and  the  environs  of  Balkh.^  They  num- 
bered, we  are  told,  40,000  families,  and  the  tribute  im- 
posed upon  them  was  an  annual  contribution  to  the  royal 
kitchen  of  24,000  sheep.     These  supplies  were  carried 

^  Cf.  De  Guignes,  loc.  cit.  ;  and  Miiller,  ii.  p.  174. 
-  Cf.  De  Guignes,  iii.  pt.  i.  pp.  256,  257. 
^  De  Guignes  (following  Abulfida)  says  a.h.  550  (1155). 
*  Cf.  Miiller,  op.  cit.  ii.  173. 

"  Mirkhwand  (ed.  Viillers,  p.  183).     Khwandamir  {Habib-us-Siyar)  adds 
"  Kunduz  and  Baklan  "  to  the  list. 


A.D.II53-]  SULTAN  SANJAR  141 

off  as  occasion  required  by  an  officer  of  the  Household.^ 
On  one  occasion  the  man  sent  to  fetch  the  sheep 
was  so  scrupulous  in  his  choice  that  the  Ghuz  took 
offence  and  put  him  to  death.  The  chief  butler  was 
thus  obliged  to  supply  the  royal  kitchen  from  his  own 
flocks.  The  official  complained  of  this  outrage  to  Kamaj, 
the  governor  of  Balkh,  who  immediately  reported  it  to 
Sultan  Sanjar,  offering  to  bring  the  Ghuz  to  obedience, 
and  further  to  extract  from  them  30,000  sheep  for 
the  royal  kitchen.  With  the  Sultan's  permission  he 
returned  to  Balkh  and  demanded  of  the  Ghuz  the 
sheep  that  had  been  withheld ;  but  the  herdsmen  refused 
to  comply,  adding  that  the  Sultan  of  Merv  was  their 
master,  not  the  governor  of  Balkh.  Kamaj,  much 
incensed  at  the  slight  put  upon  his  authority,  attacked 
the  nomads,  but  in  the  first  engagement  he  was  utterly 
put  to  rout.^  On  hearing  of  this  disaster.  Sultan  Sanjar 
marched  on  Balkh  at  the  head  of  100,000  men.*  In 
spite  of  his  vast  numerical  superiority  he  suffered  a  crush- 
ing defeat,  A.H.  548  (11 5  3),  and  was  taken  prisoner.'* 
Intoxicated  by  this  unlooked  -  for  success,  the  Ghuz 
attacked  the  capital  itself.  They  found  the  Merv  oasis 
in  a  state  of  brilliant  prosperity ;  ^  for  since  the  days  of 

^  The  word  used  is  Khansalar^  which  means  the  "Taster,"  or  "  Table - 
Decker  of  the  Household." 

-  Mirkhwand  (ed.  Vullers,  p.  185)  says  that  Kamaj  and  his  son  perished 
in  this  battle,  but  Hamdullah  Mustawfi,  in  the  Tarikh-i-Guzida,  says  they 
were  spared. 

'  De  Guignes,  vol.  iii.  pt.  i.  p.  256. 

*  Mirkhwand  relates  (ed.  Vullers,  p.  i88)  that  when  Sanjar  fled  with  his 
army,  and  was  hotly  pursued  by  the  Ghuz,  a  man  who  bore  a  striking 
resemblance  to  the  Sultan  was  captured.  Say  what  he  might,  the  Ghuz 
would  not  be  convinced  that  this  was  not  Sanjar,  and  paid  him  all  the  respect 
due  to  royalty,  until  finally  some  one  recognised  him  as  the  son  of  Sanjar's 
cook,  whereupon  he  was  beheaded. 

'  Professor  Shukovski,  of  St.  Petersburg,  published  in  1894  an  excellent 
and  ejchaustive  monograph  on  the  ruins  and  past  history  of  Merv,  under  the 
title  Rawilini  starago  Merva,  "  The  Ruins  of  Old  Merv." 


142  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1156. 

Chakir  Beg  it  had  never  been  molested,  and,  as  the 
author  of  the  Rawzat-us-Safd  says,^  "  it  had  slumbered 
in  peace  and  tranquillity."  The  greedy  nomads,  spurred 
to  madness  by  the  sight  of  so  much  wealth,  seized  all 
that  met  their  eyes,  and  then  tortured  the  inhabitants  till 
they  revealed  their  hidden  treasures.^  The  fallen  Sultan, 
meanwhile,  was  kept  in  close  confinement,^  but  was  treated 
with  the  respect  due  to  his  rank.  Having  ransacked 
Merv,  the  Ghuz  laid  waste  the  whole  of  Khorasan,  so 
that,  says  Mirkhwand,  "  not  a  single  spot  in  that  pro- 
vince escaped  their  destructive  hands."  Sanjar  remained 
for  about  four  years  in  captivity ;  and  while  his  consort, 
Turkan  Khatun,  who  acted  as  queen-regent,  lived,  he 
made  no  attempt  to  escape,  lest  harm  should  befall  her. 
On  her  death,  in  A.H.  551  ( i  i  5  6),  he  took  advantage  of 
a  hunting  expedition  to  evade  his  captors.  Gathering 
a  few  devoted  followers  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Oxus,  he  set  out  for  his  capital,  but  on  reaching 
Merv  he  was  so  heartbroken  at  the  desolation  that  met 
his  eyes  that  he  sickened  and  died.*  The  ruins  of  his 
splendid  mausoleum  are  the  chief  glory  of  ancient  Merv. 

1  Ed.  Vullers,  p.  189. 

2  Mirkhwand  has  in  this  place  evidently  followed  Hafiz  Abrvi  (the  author 
of  the  Zubdat-ut-Tawdrikh),  who  says  that  the  first  day  of  plunder  was 
devoted  to  articles  of  gold,  brass,  and  silver  ;  the  second  to  bronzes,  carpets, 
and  vases ;  and  the  third  to  whatever  of  value  was  left,  such  as  cotton-stuffs, 
glass,  wooden  doors,  and  the  like.  Cf.  Professor  Shukovski's  Kuins  of  Old 
Merv,  pp.  29,  30. 

^  He  is  said  to  have  been  kept  in  a  cage  at  night.  Cf.  De  Guignes,  iii. 
pt.  i.  257.  Mirkhwand  has  been  followed  in  this  relation,  and  we  have  seen 
what  he  considered  to  be  the  cause  of  the  hostilities  between  the  Ghuz  and  Sanjar. 
From  Ibn  el-Athir  (Tartkh-i-Kamil,  xi.  Ii8,  as  quoted  by  Professor  Shu- 
kovski,  Merv,  p.  29)  it  would  appear  that  the  cause  of  the  conflict  was 
Sanjar's  refusal  to  give  up  Merv  to  the  Ghuz,  on  the  plea  that  he  could  not 
be  expected  to  abandon  his  royal  residence.  De  Guignes  (iii.  pt.  i.  p.  257) 
introduces  this  anecdote  after  the  capture  of  Sanjar. 

•*  Many  say  he  died  of  an  internal  malady,  A.H.  552  (1157).  He  was  in 
his  seventy- third  year. 


Aj».<>9L]  SULTAN  SANJAR  i43 

It  was  built  by  him  dnring  his  lifetime;  and  so 
great  was  its  solidity  that  he  gave  it  the  name  of 
Dar  ul-Akkirat,  "tiie  Abode  of  Eternity."  Sixty 
years  after  his  death  it  was  destroyed  by  Chingiz 
Khan. 


CHAPTER    XX 

The  Khwarazm-Shahs 

On  the  death  of  Melik  Shah  in  A.H.  485  (1092)  a  civil  war 
broke  out  between  the  brothers  Berkiyaruk  and  Moham- 
mad, which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  separate  semi- 
independent  states,  under  various  branches  of  the  Seljuks, 
in  different  quarters  of  the  dominions  of  that  family. 
Chief  among  their  representatives  were — the  Seljuks  of 
Kirman,  A.H.  433-583  (1041-1187);  the  Seljuks  of 
Syria,  A.H.  487-5  1 1  (i  094-1 117);  the  Seljuks  of  'Irak 
and  Kurdistan,  A.H.  5  1 1-590  (i  1 17-1 194) ;  the  Seljuks 
of  Rum  (or  Asia  Minor),  A.H.  470-700  (1077-1300). 
Until  the  death  of  Sanjar  the  main  branch  preserved  a 
nominal  suzerainty  over  the  rest,  although  their  empire 
had  been  so  greatly  reduced  that  Sanjar's  rule  was 
practically  confined  to  Khorasan.  On  his  death  in 
A.H.  552  (11  57)  the  authority  of  the  great  Seljuks  came 
to  an  end,  and  Khorasan  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Khwarazm-Shah,  Il-Arslan,  who  had  succeeded  his  father 
in  the  previous  year.  In  567  (a.d.  1171)  the  Kara- 
Khitays  advanced  into  Khwarazm,  and  Il-Arslan  marched 
out  to  oppose  them ;  but  on  reaching  Amuya  ^  he  fell 
dangerously  ill,  and  was  obliged  to  resign  command  of 
his  army  to  one  of  his  generals.  After  gaining  a 
decisive  victory  over  the  Khwarazmians  the  Kara-Khitays 
again  withdrew,  A.H.  568  (11 72).^    In  the  following  year 

^  The  modern  Charjuy.  ^  Cf.  De  Guignes,  iii.  pt.  ii.  p.  258. 

144 


A.D.  1,9^.1  THE  KHWARAZM-SHAHS  145 

Il-Arslan  died,  leaving  his  realms  to  his  youngest  son, 
Sultan  Shah  Mahmud.  His  elder  brother  Tekish,  how- 
ever, disputed  the  succession,  and,  with  the  aid  of  the 
Kara-Khitays,  overthrew  the  young  prince  and  set  himself 
upon  the  throne,  A.H.  568  (i  172).! 

Sultan  Shah  Mahmud,  with  his  mother,  Queen 
Turkan,  fled  to  Nlshapur,  and  sought  the  aid  of  its 
governor,  Mu'ayyad.  Reinforced  by  a  contingent  under 
his  command.  Sultan  Shah  made  a  fresh  bid  for 
sovereignty.  Tekish  advanced  to  meet  him  in  the  desert 
of  Khwarazm,  and  inflicted  a  crushing  defeat  on  his 
brother.  The  queen-mother  was  slain,  and  Mu'ayyad 
was  captured  and  cut  in  two.  Sultan  Shah  escaped  a 
similar  fate  by  flight,  and  found  safety  among  the 
Ghurides  of  Ghazna. 

Tekish  2  was,  in  A.H.  588  (i  192),  firmly  settled  on 
the  throne  of  Khwarazm.  Confident  in  the  devotion  of 
an  army  which  he  had  led  to  victory,  he  grew  ambitious 
and  forgot  the  obligations  under  which  the  Kara-Khitay 
had  placed  him.  He  incurred  the  wrath  of  that  powerful 
tribe  by  putting  to  death  one  of  their  envoys  who  had 
come  to  claim  the  annual  tribute,  and  brought  them  into 
the  field  against  him.  On  learning  that  his  brother  was 
sorely  beset.  Sultan  Shah  left  the  protection  of  the 
Ghurides  and  joined  the  Kara-Khitays,  whose  queen  he 
persuaded  that  the  Khwarazmians  were  anxious  for  his 
return  to  the  throne.  As  the  Queen-Gur-Khan  was 
incensed    against    Tekish,    she    allowed    herself    to    be 

'  Cf.  De  Guignes,  loc.  cit. 

'  He  entered  into  a  union  with  the  Khan  of  the  Kipchak,  named  Ikran, 
and  married  his  daughter,  who  became  the  mother  of  the  famous  Suhan 
Mohammad  Khwarazm  Shah  ;  cf.  Tabakat-i-Nasiri,  Raverty's  translation,  i. 
240.  This  Khan  of  the  Kipchaks  is  called,  on  p.  254  of  the  same  work, 
Kadr  Khan,  a  discrepancy  which  escaped  the  notice  of  Major  Ravertj*,  who, 
however,  calls  attention  to  three  different  Kadr  Khans  in  one  chapter  (see 
op.  cit.  p.  267,  note). 

10 


146  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  ziSo. 

gained  over  by  Sultan  Shah,  and  sent  her  husband 
Karma  ^  with  a  large  force  into  Khwarazm  to  defend  the 
rights  of  Sultan  Khan.  Tekish,  hearing  of  their  advance, 
commanded  the  waters  of  the  Jihun  (Oxus)  to  be  diverted 
across  their  line  of  march,  so  that  the  progress  of  the 
Kara-Khitays  was  rendered  almost  impossible.  Mean- 
while he  busied  himself  with  military  preparations. 
Karma,  seeing  clearly  that  Sultan  Shah's  pretensions  to 
the  esteem  of  the  Khwarazmians  were  unfounded,  led  his 
army  home.  Sultan  Shah,  with  his  own  followers  and  a 
small  body  of  Kara-Khitays,  marched  to  Sarakhs,  and, 
evicting  its  governor,  established  himself  there. 

In  A.H.  576  (11 80)  we  find  him  at  the  head  of 
10,000  horsemen,  and  lord  of  Nishapur.  In  A.H.  582 
(i  186)  Tekish  set  out  for  Khorasan  with  a  large  army; 
while  Sultan  Khan  hastened  to  Khwarazm  by  another 
road.  These  hostilities  between  the  two  brothers  con- 
tinued with  only  short  intermissions  until  the  death  of 
Sultan  Shah  in  A.H.  589  (i  192),  when  Tekish  became 
master  of  all  Khorasan  and  Khwarazm.^ 

In  A.H.  590  (1194)  he  entered  Persian  'Irak  and 
overthrew  Toghrul  in.,  the  last  of  the  great  Seljuks  of 
Persia.^  After  adding  Ray,  Isfahan,  and  other  important 
towns  to  his  dominions,  he  obtained  an  investiture  from 
Caliph  Nasir  li  Din-illah  of  all  the  countries  which  he 
had  conquered. 

^  Cf.  Habib-us-Siyar. 

2  In  this  account  of  the  reign  of  Tekish  we  have  followed  the  Habib-us- 
Siyar.  There  is,  however,  a  great  discrepancy  in  this  part  of  the  history, 
for  in  one  place  Khwandamir  says  that  the  hostilities  lasted  only  ten  years 
(A.H.  568-578),  when  they  were  brought  to  a  close  by  a  treaty  between  the 
two  brothers,  in  which  Tekish  granted  the  rule  of  certain  towns  in  Khorasan 
to  his  brother.  An  account  of  Sultan  Shah  Mahmud  may  be  found  in  the 
Tabakat-i-Nasiri,  trans.,  i.  245-249. 

8  There  is  a  misprint  in  d'Ohsson,  op.  cit.  i.  180,  the  date  being  given  as 
1 149.  He  also  waged  war  on  the  Assassins  in  "Irak  and  Kuhistan,  and  took 
from  them  their  strongest  fort,  Arslan  Kushay. 


A.D.iao8.]  THE  KHWARAZM-SHAHS  147 

From  this  epoch-time  till  his  death  Tekish  appears 
to  have  paid  tribute  regularly  to  the  Gur-Khan,  and 
retained  his  friendship.  He  recommended  his  son  and 
successor  to  follow  the  same  policy,  for  the  Kara-Khitay 
were  a  bulwark  against  the  dreaded  hordes  of  the  EasL^ 

In  A.H.  596  (1200)  Tekish  died,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  famous  son,  'Ala  ud-Din  Mohammad,  who  soon 
made  himself  master  of  Khorasan,  Balkh,  Herat,  Mazen- 
deran,  and  Kirman.^  He  now  considered  himself  suffi- 
ciently powerful  to  assert  his  independence  of  the  Gur- 
Khan,  to  whom,  like  his  three  predecessors,  he  had  paid 
an  annual  tribute.  He  was  encouraged  to  resist  his  liege 
lord  by  'Othman,  prince  of  Samarkand  and  Transoxiana, 
who  was  also  a  vassal  of  the  Gur-Khan,  who  promised  to 
pay  him  the  same  allegiance  as  he  had  rendered  to  the 
Kara-Khitays  in  return  for  his  assistance  against  the 
common  enemy.^  An  occasion  for  the  rupture  of  friendly 
relations  between  the  Khwarazm-Shah  and  the  Gur-Khan 
was  soon  found.  It  was  identical  with  the  method  em- 
ployed by  Tekish, — the  slaughter  of  one  of  the  receivers 
of  tribute.* 

After  perpetrating  this  outrage,  Mohammad  entered 
the  Kara-Khitay  territory,  A.H.  605  (1208),  where  he 
suffered  a  crushing  defeat  and  barely  escaped  capture.^ 

^  Tankh-i-Jahan-KushSyy  as  quoted  by  Bretschneider,  op.  cit.  L  229,  from 

d'Ohsson. 

^  Cf.  d'Ohsson,  op.  cit.  i.   180;  and  Tabakat-i-Nasiri,  trans.,  i.  253-260. 

*  He  had  solicited  the  hand  of  a  daughter  of  the  Gur-Khan,  and,  having 
been  refused,  had  become  his  secret  enemy.  Howorth,  /.R.A.S.,  New 
Series  VHI.  p.  282. 

*  Cf.  d'Ohsson  {op.  cit.  L  181),  who  does  not  quote  his  authoritj-. 

'  Thus  according  to  d'Ohsson.  But  De  Guignes  gives  a  very  different 
account  of  Mohammad's  first  Eastern  campaign,  which  he  dates  A.H.  604 
(1209).  He  sa)'s  that  Bokhara  and  Samarkand  were  delivered  over  to  him 
by  the  friendly  Turkish  princes,  that  on  entering  the  Kara-Khitay  territory 
he  gained  a  splendid  victory.  Thus  the  first  disastrous  campaign  is  wholly 
ignored.     De  Guignes,  op.  cit.  i.  pt.  ii.  pp.  266,  267. 


148  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  (a.d.  1208. 

In  the  following  year  Mohammad  made  a  second 
incursion  into  the  land  of  the  Kara-Khitay.  Crossing 
the  Jaxartes  at  Finaket,  he  gained  a  signal  success 
over  their  general,  Tanigu,  beyond  Taraz,  pushed  his 
conquests  as  far  as  Otrar^  (Farab),  and  returned  in 
triumph  to  Khwarazm.  But  the  tangled  knot  of  Cen- 
tral Asian  politics  was  soon  to  be  cut  by  a  conqueror 
whose  annals  are  as  devoid  of  complexity  as  his  career. 
In  the  place  of  paltry  struggles  for  supremacy  in  isolated 
states,  attended  by  obscure  and  ever-changing  fortunes, 
we  have  the  triumphant  advance  of  one  who,  like  Alex- 
ander of  Macedon,  was  destined  to  give  a  new  impulse 
to  the  world's  history. 

'  Cf.  De  Guignes,  i.  pt.  ii.  p.  267.     D'Ohsson  says  as  far  as  Uzkend,  op. 
cit.  p.  182. 


CHAPTER    XXI 

Chingiz  Khan 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  the  present  work  to  trace 
in  any  detail  the  meteor-like  path  of  Chingiz  ;  for  we  are 
concerned  with  it  only  in  so  far  as  it  affected  the  internal 
affairs  of  Central  Asia.  His  career  has  exercised  a 
peculiar  fascination  for  students  of  Oriental  history,  though 
by  no  means  all  the  available  evidence  has  yet  been 
marshalled  in  elucidation  of  the  controversies  which  still 
rage  round  that  mighty  name.^ 

^  The  name  of  this  famous  conqueror  has  been  spelled  in  many  different 
ways, — e.g.,  Genghiz  (De  Guignes),  Gengis  (Voltaire,  in  his  tragedy  of  that 
name),  Zingis  (Gibbon),  Tchinguiz  (d'Ohsson),  etc.  We  have  adopted  the 
one  which  most  nearly  approaches  the  Turkish  and  Persian  pronunciation  of 
the  name.  For  authorities  we  would  refer  the  reader  to  Sir  H.  Howorth's 
History  oj  the  Mongols,  part  i.  (1876) ;  R-  K.  Douglas,  Life  ofjinghiz  Khan 
(1877);  an  article  by  same  author  in  the  Encyclopadia  Britannica;  Erd- 
mann's  Temudschin  der  Unerschiitterliche  (1862);  and  d'Ohsson  and  De 
Guignes  (vol.  iv. ).  The  principal  original  sources  for  the  history  of  Chingiz 
Khan  are:  (l)  the  Chinese  account  of  a  contemporary-  named  Men- Hun, 
which  has  been  translated  into  Russian  by  Professor  Vassilief,  and  published 
in  his  History  and  Antiquities  of  the  Eastern  Part  of  Central  Asia  (see 
Transactions  of  Oriental  Section  of  the  Russian  Archaeological  Society, 
vol.  iv. ) ;  and  (2)  the  Tabakat-i-Nasiri  of  Juzjani,  translated  by  Major 
Raverty.  This  important  work  comprises  a  collection  of  the  accounts  of 
Chingiz  Khan  written  by  his  Mohammedan  contemporaries.  Other  Chinese 
and  Persian  sources  might  be  mentioned,  but  the  above  are  the  most  im- 
portant. 

One  very  important  authority  for  the  Mongol  period  is  the  compilation, 
from  Chinese  sources,  by  Father  Hyacinth,  entitled  History  of  the  first  four 
Khans  of  the  House  of  Chingiz,  St.  Petersburg,  1829.     This  Russian  work  is 

149 


ISO  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.u.ne,. 

"  All  that  can  safely  be  said  about  the  early  history  of 
the  Mongols,"  ^  writes  Mr.  Stanley  Lane- Poole,  "  is  that 
they  were  a  clan  among  clans,  a  member  of  a  great  con- 
federacy that  ranged  the  country  north  of  the  desert  of 
Gobi  in  search  of  water  and  pasture ;  who  spent  their  lives 
in  hunting  and  the  breeding  of  cattle,  lived  on  flesh  and 
sour  milk  (kumis),  and  made  their  profit  by  bartering  hides 
and  beasts  with  their  kinsmen  the  Khitans,^  or  with  the 
Turks  and  Chinese,  to  whom  they  owed  allegiance. 
The  name  Mughal  was  not  known  until  the  tenth 
century,  and  probably  came  to  be  applied  to  the 
whole  group  of  clans  only  when  the  chief  of  a  particular 
clan  bearing  that  name  acquired  an  ascendency  over  the 
rest  of  the  confederacy,  and  gave  to  the  greater  the 
name  of  the  less.^  Yissugay,  the  father  of  Chingiz 
Khan,  if  not  the  founder  of  his  clan,  was  a  notable 
maintainer  of  it,  and  it  was  probably  he  who  first 
asserted  the  independence  of  the  Mongols  from  Chinese 

comparatively  little  known  outside  Russia.  Both  Erdmann  and  d'Ohsson 
often  lay  it  under  contribution.  It  may  be  added  that  Sir  Henry  Howorth, 
in  his  first  volume  on  the  Mongols  (published  in  1876),  gives  a  complete 
bibliography  of  all  the  available  sources  for  the  history  of  Chingiz  and  his 
successors. 

^  M.  Barthold,  of  the  St.  Petersburg  University,  has  devoted  much  time  to 
the  study  of  the  Mongol  period  in  Central  Asia,  the  fruits  of  which  he  has 
not  yet  published  on  an  extended  scale,  though  some  shorter  articles  of  great 
value  have  appeared  in  Baron  Rosen's  Zapiski.  The  expeditions  of  Chingiz 
Khan  and  Tamerlane  were  admirably  treated  by  M.  M.  I.  Ivanin  in  a  work 
published  after  his  death,  entitled  On  the  Military  Art  and  Conquests  of  the 
Mongol-  Tata7-s  under  Chingiz  Khan  aftd  Tamerlane,  St.  Petersburg. 

^  Since  the  discovery  and  decipherment  of  the  Orkon  inscriptions  it  may 
be  regarded  as  certain  that  the  form  Khitan,  or  Kidan,  is  but  the  Chinese 
transcription  of  the  word  Kitai,  which  is  the  name  of  a  people,  most  probably 
of  Manchurian  origin,  who,  as  is  well  known,  ruled  over  Northern  China 
during  the  tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  centuries.  It  was  borrowed  by  some 
of  the  tribes  inhabiting  those  parts.  Cf.  note  on  p.  106  of  vol.  x.  of  Baron 
Rosen's  Zapiski,  article  by  ^I.  Barthold. 

'  Precisely  the  same  thing  occurred  in  the  case  of  the  Yue-Chi  and  the 
Kushans. 


AD.  1175  1  CHINGIZ  KHAN  151 

rule.  In  spite,  however,  of  conquest  and  annexation, 
the  people  who  owned  the  sovereignty  of  Yissugay 
numbered  only  40,000  tents.  Yet  it  was  upon  this 
foundation  that  his  son,  Chingiz  Khan,  built  up  in  twenty 
years  the  widest  empire  the  world  has  ever  seen."  ^ 

Temuchin,^  known  to  history  as  Chingiz  Khan,  was 
born  most  probably  in  1162,^  and  was  therefore 
thirteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death, 
in  1 175. 

The  Mongolian,  or,  as  they  called  themselves  at  that 
period,  the  Tatar  people,  were  divided  into  a  number  of 
tribes,  among  which  the  Chinese  distinguished  three 
groups,  according  to  the  degree  of  their  civilisation, — the 
white,  the  black,  and  the  savage  Tatars.  The  first,  who 
dwelt  in  Southern  Mongolia,  near  the  Chinese  Wall,  were 
under  the  influence  of  Chinese  civilisation.  The  black 
Tatars,  who  occupied  the  greater  part  of  what  we  now 
call  Mongolia,  remained  unaffected  by  their  uninterrupted 
contact  with  more  advanced  races  whose  representatives 
entered  their  country  only  in  the  qualitj''  of  merchants. 
The  trade  of  barter  and  exchange  with  the  nomads 
was  in  the  hands  of  men  of  Turkestan,  Uighurs,  and 
Musulmans,  who  in  such  matters  were  far  more  enter- 
prising than  the  Chinese.  These  Uighurs  and  Musul- 
mans, moreover,  kept  in  their  own  hands  the  commerce 
between  Mongolia  and  China;  that  is  to  say,  they 
bought  goods  in  China  and  sold  them  to  the   nomads. 

^  This  admirable  summary  is  taken  from  S.  Lane-Poole's  Caialogtu  of 
Oriental  Corns  in  the  British  Museum,  vol.  vi.  (also  reprinted  in  his  Moham- 
medan Dynasties,  pp.  201,  202).  It  is  a  condensation  of  what  may  be  read 
in  great  detail  in  Howorth's  Mongols,  vol.  i.  pp.  27-50.  Cf.  also  De  Guignes, 
vol.  iv.  p.  I  et  seq.  ;  and  d'Ohsson,  vol.  i.  chaps,  i.  and  ii. 

'  For  information  with  regard  to  this  name,  cf.  d'Ohsson,  op.  cit.  vol.  i. 
PP-  36,  37,  note. 

^  Thus  according  to  the  Chinese  authorities.  The  Mohammedan  historians 
give  the  date  of  his  birth  as  a.h.  550  (1155). 


152  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  1175. 

By  means  of  the  knowledge  thus  gained,  these  mer- 
chants were  able  to  influence  the  Khans,  and  through 
them  the  people.  Moreover,  Buddhist,  Nestorian,  and 
Musulman  merchants  were  always  closely  followed  by 
the  missionaries  of  their  respective  religions.  Islam  at 
that  period  had  not  yet  obtained  predominance  in  Central 
Asia,  and  in  Mongolia  its  propaganda  was  practically 
non-existent.  Over  the  Uighurs,  the  nearest  neighbours 
of  the  Mongols,  Buddhists  and  Nestorian  Christians  still 
had  the  upper  hand.  These  latter  even  succeeded  in 
converting  some  of  the  most  powerful  tribes  of  the 
black  Mongols,  such  as  the  Keraits  and  the  Naimans,  to 
Christianity.  The  savage  Tatars,  whom  the  Mongols 
called  "  forest  peoples,"  led  a  roving  life  in  the  forests  of 
the  modern  province  of  Trans-Baikal  and  the  north-west 
of  Mongolia.  They  practised  Shamanism  in  its  purest 
form.i 

Authorities  are  in  disagreement  as  to  which  of  these 
Mongol  clans  claimed  Temuchin  as  its  own.  The 
Chinese  aver  that  he  belonged  to  the  black  Tatars ; 
while  Mongolian  tradition  ^  would  enrol  him  among  the 
savage  tribes.  Rashid  ud-Din  tells  us  that  Yissugay 
married  a  woman  belonging  to  the  white  Tatars,  who 
became  the  mother  of  Temuchin  and  his  brothers ;  and 
that  the  lads  were  adepts  as  hunters  and  fishermen. 

Whatever  may  have  been  Yissugay's  position  among 
his  tribe,^  it  seems  clear  that  on  his  death  in  battle  his 
eldest  son,  Temuchin,  then  thirteen  years  of  age,  was  not 
recognised  as  a  chief,  and  supported  a  miserable  existence 
with  his  mother  on  roots,  game,  and   fish.     Such  a  life 

^  The  above  remarks  on  the  Mongols  have  been  translated  from  an  article 
in  Russian  by  M.  Barthold  in  Baron  Rosen's  Zapiski,  vol.  x.  (St.  Petersburg, 
1897)  pp.  107-8. 

*  Rashid  VL^-Hm,  Jdmi' -ut-Tawdrikh,  Berezine's  ed.  i.  89. 

'  The  Chinese  and  Persian  authorities  are  here  again  at  variance. 


A.D.  I203.1  CHINGIZ  KHAN  153 

probably  served  to  develop  his  genius,  signs  of  which,  not 
less  than  the  memory  of  his  father's  military  prowess, 
attracted  round  him  a  band  of  young  nobles  who  after- 
wards formed  his  bodyguard.  The  growing  power  of 
the  Mongols  in  the  twelfth  century  alarmed  the  Man- 
churian  dynasty  of  the  Tsin,  then  reigning  in  Northern 
China,  who  incited  the  Buyr-Nur  Tatars  to  attack  them. 
It  was  in  this  war  that  Yissugay  perished.  As  soon  as 
they  had  crushed  the  common  enemy,  the  Buyr-Nurs 
turned  against  their  former  allies  and  invaded  China. 

The  Tsin  emperor  now  sent  other  nomad  chiefs  to 
oppose  the  Buyr-Nurs,  of  whom  the  mightiest  was 
Toghrul,  the  Khan  of  the  Christian  Keraits,^  whose 
habitat  was  on  the  shores  of  the  Tola.  Temuchin  allied 
himself  with  this  tribe,  and  in  the  final  campaign  against 
the  Buyr-Nurs,  when  the  Tsin  emperor  himself  led  his 
forces  into  Mongolia,  Temuchin  so  distinguished  himself 
as  to  gain  an  honorific  title.*  This  occurred  in  1194. 
The  next  ten  years  Temuchin  spent  in  struggles  with 
confederacies  of  hostile  tribes  whose  jealousy  he  had  in- 
curred by  his  uninterrupted  successes.  Having  reduced 
all  who  dwelt  north  of  the  desert  of  Gobi,  from  the  Irtish 
to  the  Khinggan  Mountains,^  he  found  himself  in  the 
year  1202  engaged  in  a  war  against  his  former  ally 
Toghrul,  Khan  of  the  Keraits.  He  was  at  first  defeated, 
and  compelled  to  retire ;  but  in  the  following  year 
(1203)  he  collected  another  army  and  inflicted  a  crush- 

*  They  had  been  converted  to  Christianity  by  the  Nestorians  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  eleventh  centur)-.  See  verj-  interesting  note  in  d'Ohsson,  op.  cit. 
i.  p.  48.  This  Toghrul  received  the  title  of  Oang,  or  King,  and  called  himself 
Oang-Khan.  The  similarity  of  this  in  sound  to  the  nzme  Jokan,  or  Johannes 
Qohn),  led  to  the  fabulous  personage  so  familiar  in  Marco  Polo  and 
other  travellers,  as  Prester  John.  Cf.  Yule's  Cathay  and  Marco  Polo, 
passim. 

'  Cf.  d'Ohsson,  i.  p.  47. 

'  Cf.  S.  Lane-Poole,  loc.  cit. 


154  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  Ia.v.x^. 

ing  defeat  upon  the  Keraits,  reducing  them  to  abject 
submission.  In  1206^  he  summoned  a  Kurultay,^  or 
Diet  of  the  Nobles,  and,  in  the  presence  of  all  the 
tribal  chieftains,  formally  adopted  the  title  of  Chingiz 
Khan,  or  "  The  Very  Mighty  King." 

His  ambitions  were  now  aroused,  though  they  were 
as  yet  bounded  by  the  narrow  horizon  in  which  they  had 
found  scope ;  and  he  could  not  have  foreseen  the  goal  to 
which  they  would  carry  him. 

^  The  exact  date  is  uncertain. 

^  This  word  may  be  read  either  Kuriltdy  or  Kiirultdy,    Cf.  Pavet  de 
Courteille,  Dictionnaire  Turk- Oriental,  p.  429. 


CHAPTER   XXII 

Mongol  Invasion  of  Central  Asl\ 

Tai  Yang  Khan,  king  of  the  Christian  tribe  of  Naimans, 
alarmed  at  the  growing  power  of  the  young  ruler,  sent 
Alakush-Tekin,  chief  of  the  Onguts,  or  white  Tatars,  an 
invitation  to  join  him  against  the  ambitious  Mongol. 
Alakush-Tekin  immediately  informed  Chingiz  of  the 
Naimans'  intentions,  assuring  him  at  the  same  time  of 
his  own  friendly  feeling.  Chingiz  promptly  marched 
against  Tai  Yang,  who  descended  from  the  Altai  to  the 
foot  of  the  Khanggai  Mountains,  attended  by  many 
allies,  among  whom  was  Tukta,  king  of  the  Merkits.^ 
In  the  battle  which  took  place  the  Naimans  were  utterly 
routed.  Among  the  prisoners  who  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Mongols  was  Tatatungo,  the  chancellor  of  Tai 
Yang,  who  belonged  to  the  Uighur  tribe,  and  tradition 
attributes  to  his  influence  the  veneer  of  civilisation  of 
the  Mongols ;  and  it  is  certain  that  Chingiz  caused  him 
to  instruct  his  sons  in  the  language,  law^s,  and  customs  of 
the  Uighurs." 

Tai  Yang  Khan  perished  in  this  battle,  while  his  son 
Guchluk  fled  by  way  of  Bish  Balik  to  the  country  of  the 
Gur-Khan  of  Kara-Khitay,^  After  wandering  for  some 
time  and  enduring  great  privations,  he  at  length  arrived 
at  the  court  of  the  Gur-Khan  (i  208).  He  was  hospitably 
received,  and  the  Khan  gave  him  his  daughter  in  marriage  ; 

1  Cf.  d'Ohsson,  i.  86.  *  Ibid.  p.  89. 

'  Cf.  Howorth,  J.R.A.S.,  New  Series  VIII.  p.  283. 
U6 


156  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.n.  ,ao8. 

but  the  favours  showered  on  him  did  not  prevent  his 
plotting  to  dethrone  his  benefactor.  He  obtained  per- 
mission to  enhst  the  remnants  of  the  Naiman  tribe, 
and  thus  collected  a  considerable  force ;  then  he  entered 
into  a  league  with  Mohammad  Shah  of  Khwarazm,  and 
'Othman,  prince  of  Samarkand,  who,  as  we  have  seen 
above,  were  both  vassals  of  the  Gur  -  Khan.  They 
arranged  that  they  should  attack  their  Gur-Khan  suzerain 
simultaneously,  the  one  from  the  east  and  the  other 
from  the  west.  The  conditions  determined  on  were 
that  if  Sultan  Mohammad  should  be  the  first  to  gain  a 
victory,  Almaligh,  Khotan,  and  Kashghar,  which  were  in 
Guchluk's  hands,  should  be  ceded  to  him ;  but  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  Guchluk  should  win  the  initial  success,  Kara- 
Khitay,  as  far  as  Finaket,  should  be  delivered  over  to 
him.^  Guchluk  arrived  before  the  Sultan,  and  was  at 
first  successful,  but  was  afterwards  defeated  on  his  way 
to  attack  Balasaghun,  and  obliged  to  retreat.  In  the 
meantime  the  troops  of  Mohammad  and  'Othman  had 
entered  Kara-Khitay,  and  gained  a  victory  over  the  Gur- 
Khan's  general,  Tanigu,  near  the  city  of  Taraz.  Guchluk, 
taking  advantage  of  this  reverse,  hurried  back,  surprised 
the  Gur-Khan,  and  took  him  prisoner,  A.H.  608  (12  12). 
Two  years  later  the  Gur-Khan  died,  at  a  very  advanced 
age.  Guchluk,  now  firmly  established  on  the  throne 
of  Kara-Khitay,  reduced  his  new  subjects  to  complete 
obedience.  He  was  a  cruel  persecutor  of  Islam,  being 
himself  a  Nestorian  Christian  until  his  marriage  with  the 
Gur- Khan's  daughter,  when  he  became  a  Buddhist.^ 

Chingiz   had  been  occupied  since  the  overthrow  of 
the  Naimans  with  the  conquest  of  China,  and  "  though  it 

^  The  above  facts  are  from  ^&  Jahan- Kush&y.  Cf.  Bretschneider,  op.  cit. 
i.  230,  231;  the  Tarikh-i-Rashidiy  p.  289;  and  d'Ohsson,  op.  cit.  i.  166 
et  seq. 

'  Cf.  d'Ohsson,  i.  I'jo  et  seq.  ;  Bretschneider,  op,  cit.  i.  231. 


A.D.i,i8.]  MONGOL  INVASION  157 

was  reserved  for  his  grandson  to  complete  the  subjuga- 
tion of  the  Celestial  Empire/  a  great  part  of  the  northern 
provinces  .  .  .  was  added  to  the  Mongol  dominions 
during  the  great  Khan's  own  lifetime."  ^ 

In  I  2 1 8  he  despatched  an  army  20,000  strong,  under 
Noyan  Chebe,  to  attack  Guchluk  Khan  in  Kashghar, 
Hearing  of  their  approach,  Guchluk  fled,  but  was  shortly 
afterwards  overtaken  in  the  mountains  of  Badakhshan 
and  put  to  death.  He  was,  as  we  have  seen,  a  bigot, 
and  especially  intolerant  in  his  dealings  with  Moham- 
medans. The  Mongols  proclaimed  religious  liberty,  and 
thereby  ensured  for  themselves  the  favour  of  the  people.' 

After  the  downfall  of  the  Kara-Khitays  the  pos- 
sessions of  Mohammad  of  Khwarazm  extended  into  the 
heart  of  Turkestan,  with  Samarkand  as  a  capital.  Those 
of  Guchluk  Khan  were  restricted  to  Kashghar,  Khotan, 
and  Yarkand.* 

Chingiz's  relations  with  his  powerful  neighbour  in 
Khwarazm  were  long  of  a  peaceful  and  even  friendly 
nature,  but  causes  were  at  work  which  altered  them 
radically .5  Abu-1-Ghazi  states*  that  the  Caliph  Nasir's 
intense  jealousy  of  the  northern  empire  led  him  to  adopt 
every  means  in  his  power  to  weaken  it,  and  that  he 
invited  Chingiz  to  attack  Sultan  Mohammad.  It  is 
probable  that  this  perfidious  policy  caused  a  coldness 
between  the  two  potentates ;  but  the  immediate 
cause  of  rupture  was  an  act  for  which  the  Khwarazm 
Sultan  was    alone    responsible.      He    cruelly    slew,    at 

*  This  occupied  him  between  the  years  12 10  and  12 14. 

-  S.  Lane-Poole,  loc.  cit.     See  also  Gibbon's  64th  chapter. 
^  Cf.  Bretschneider,  loc.  cit.  ;  and  on  the  subject  of  the  religious  tolerance 
of  Chingiz,  Gibbon,  chap.  Ixiv. 

*  Cf.  d'Ohsson,  i.  204. 

*  He  had  put  his  former  ally  'Othman  to  death  in  A.H.  607  (1210).     See 
d'Ohsson,  i.   183. 

'  Abu-1-Ghazi,  ed.  Desmaisons,  p.  99. 


158  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a-d.  1218. 

Otrar,  some  Mohammedan  traders  who  had  incurred 
his  animosity,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  were  travel- 
ling under  Chingiz's  protection.  The  avalanches  which 
descended  on  the  habitable  world  in  the  twelfth  century 
were  thus  set  in  motion  by  princes  whose  interest 
required  that  the  vast  forces  controlled  by  Chingiz 
should  remain  pent  up  in  their  native  steppes. 

In  A.H.  615  (12 1 8)  he  set  out  for  Otrar,  determined 
to  avenge  the  insult  offered  by  Sultan  Mohammad,  and 
on  his  way  was  joined  by  large  reinforcements  of 
Karliks,  Uighur  and  other  Mongol  tribes,  eager  to  share 
in  the  plunder  of  the  West.^  On  reaching  that  goal  he 
divided  his  forces  among  his  sons,  and  laid  down  for 
each  the  object  of  attack. 

Ogday  and  Chaghatay  were  to  reduce  Otrar;  Juji 
Khan  was  despatched  in  the  direction  of  Jand  ;  while 
two  of  his  generals,  with  5000  men,  were  sent  to 
attack  Finaket  and  Khojend.  With  the  remainder  of 
his  forces  Chingiz  himself,  accompanied  by  his  son  Tull, 
set  out  for  Bokhara,^  and  arrived  at  that  capital 
in  A.H.  616  (12 19),  having  carried  all  before  him 
on  his  march.  No  sooner  had  he  appeared  than  the 
garrison,  20,000  strong,  fled  towards  Khwarazm,  but 
were  overtaken  on  the  banks  of  the  Oxus  and  cut  to 
pieces  by  the  Mongols  sent  in  their  pursuit.  Meanwhile 
the  shaykhs  and  mullas  of  Bokhara  sallied  forth  and 
presented  the  keys  of  the  town  to  Chingiz  Khan,  who 
made  a  formal  entry,  penetrated  the  courtyard  of  the 
principal  mosque  on  horseback,  and  asked  whether  this 
fine  building  was  Sultan  Mohammad's  palace.  On  being 
told  that  it  was  God's  house  he  dismounted,  and,  ascend- 
ing the  pulpit,  hurled  the  Koran  beneath  his  horse's  feet. 
He  next  insisted  that  the  inhabitants  should  deliver  up 
their  hidden  treasures.  Here  his  destroying  hand  would 
^  Abu-1-Ghazi,  ed.  Desmaisons,  p.  100.  *  Abu-l-Ghazi,  loc,  cit. 


A.D.«3i.l  MONGOL  INVASION  159 

have  been  stayed  had  he  not  learnt  that  some  remnants 
of  Sultan  Mohammad's  garrison  were  still  in  hiding. 
In  order  to  compass  their  death  he  ordered  the  city, 
which  was  mainly  built  of  wood,  to  be  given  to  the  flames. 
His  behests  were  obeyed,  and  Bokhara  for  a  time  ceased 
to  exist.     Chingiz,  however,  caused  it  to  be  rebuilt.-^ 

Meanwhile  success  had  attended  all  his  other  army 
corps ;  and  Otrar,  Jand,  and  Khojend,  together  with 
many  other  towns,  submitted  to  the  Mongols.  The 
sons  and  generals  of  Chingiz  now  joined  the  main  body, 
and  their  united  forces  together  marched  on  Samarkand. 
Before  the  end  of  the  year  A.H.  616(1219)  this  great  city, 
after  a  three  days'  siege,  fell.  The  garrison  was  put  to  the 
sword,  and  Samarkand  was  given  over  to  reckless  pillage. 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  record  the  story  of 
the  Mongol's  progress  of  conquest.  Khwarazm  soon 
succumbed,  and  Khorasan  was  overrun  by  his  hordes. 
The  Sultan  himself  took  no  active  part  in  the  hopeless 
effort  to  stay  the  advance  of  Chingiz,  but  fled  across 
Khorasan  ^  to  an  island  in  the  Caspian  named  Abasgun, 
not  far  from  the  modern  Astarabad,  where  in  A.H.  617 
(1220)  he  died  in  utter  destitution.^  A  manful  struggle 
to  revive  the  glory  of  his  house  was  made  by  Sultan 
Mohammad's  heroic  son  Jalal  ud-Din,  whose  career 
forms  one  of  the  most  exciting  narratives  in  history.* 
This  last  representative  of  the  Khwarazm  Shahs,  after 
having  boldly  faced  death  on  a  hundred  battlefields,  was 
brutally  murdered  in  A.H.  628(i23i)bya  low-born  Kurd. 

^  Abu-l-Ghazi,  pp.  101-103  of  Desmaisou's  text. 

^  The  route  he  took  was  Kazwin,  Gilan,  and  Mazenderan  ( Tarikh-i- 
Mukim  Khani). 

'  He  is  said  to  have  died  a  lunatic.  The  island  in  question  has  long  since 
been  swallowed  up  by  the  sea.  Cf.  Tabakat-i-Nanri,  Major  Raverty's  trans., 
vol.  i.  p.  278,  note. 

^  We  refer  the  reader  especially  to  Mailer's  Geschichte  des  Islams,  pp. 
213-225. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

The  Line  of  Chaghatay 

"  The  Mongol  armies,"  writes  Mr.  S.  Lane- Poole, "  divided 
into  several  immense  brigades,  swept  over  Khwarazm, 
Khorasan,  and  Afghanistan,  on  the  one  hand  ;  and  on 
the  other,  over  Azerbayjan,  Georgia,  and  Southern  Russia  ; 
whilst  a  third  division  continued  the  reduction  of  China. 
In  the  midst  of  these  diverging  streams  of  conquest 
Chingiz  Khan  died  in  A.H.  624  (1227),  at  the  age  of 
sixty-four.  The  territory  he  and  his  sons  had  conquered 
stretched  from  the  Yellow  Sea  to  the  Euxine,  and  in- 
cluded lands  or  tribes  wrung  from  the  rule  of  Chinese, 
Tanguts,  Afghans,  Persians,  and  Turks. 

"  It  was  the  habit  of  a  Mongol  chief  to  distribute  the 
clans  over  which  he  had  ruled  as  appanages  among  his 
sons,  and  this  tribal  rather  than  territorial  distribution 
obtained  in  the  division  of  the  empire  among  the  sons  of 
Chingiz.  The  founder  appointed  a  special  appanage  of 
tribes  in  certain  loosely  defined  camping-grounds  to  each 
son,  and  also  nominated  a  successor  to  himself  in  the 
Khanate."! 

In  this  division  of  the  newly  founded  Mongol  Empire, 
— i.e.  Transoxiana,  with  part  of  Kashghar, — Badakhshan, 
Balkh,  and  Ghazna  fell  to  the  lot  of  Chingiz  Khan's 
second  son,  Chaghatay,  the  founder  of  the  Khanate  of 
that  name,  which  existed  for  146  years,  till  its  over- 
throw by  Timur  in  A.H.  771  (1370). 

^  Mohammedan  Dynasties,  p.  204. 
160 


A.D.  ,37cx]  THE  LINE  OF  CHAGHATAY  i6i 

The  annals  of  his  branch  of  his  dynasty  have 
hitherto  been  obscurer  than  those  of  the  other 
descendants  of  Chingiz.^  He  appears  to  have  profited 
by  the  lessons  of  the  Naiman  chancellor,-  and  to  have 
developed  into  a  just  and  energetic  ruler,  capable  of 
preserving  order  among  the  heterogeneous  population 
under  his  charge. 

He  scrupulously  observed  the  Vasdk,  or  Civil 
Code,  established  by  his  father,  and,  like  him,  was 
tolerant  towards  all  religions  and  creeds.  He  fixed 
his  capital  at  Almaligh,^  in  the  extreme  east  of  his 
dominions.  His  Mongol  ministers,  loving  the  life  of 
the  steppes,  probably  induced  him  to  choose  this 
locality  rather  than  Samarkand  or  Bokhara.*  They 
would  serve  no  Khan  who  did  not  lead  a  life  worthy 
of  free-born  men ;  and  Chaghatay  and  his  immediate 
successors  saw,  as  did  his  later  descendants,  that  the 
one  way  of  retaining  the  allegiance  of  his  people  was 
to  humour  their  desires  in  this  respect  and  live  with 
them  a  nomad's  life.^ 


*  The  best  account  of  this  ofifshoot  is  to  be  found  in  an  excellent  paper 
taititled  "The  Chaghatai  Mughals,"  by  W.  E.  E.  Oliver,  in  the  Journal  of 
the  Ro)-al  Asiatic  Societj-,  vol.  xx.  New  Series,  p.  72,  sec.  9.  It  will  be 
found  in  a  condensed  form  in  Ney  Ellas  and  Ross's  Introduction  to  the 
Tarikh-i-Jiashidi,  or  "  History  of  the  Mughals  of  Central  Asia," 

'  Vide  ante  on  p.  1 55. 

'  In  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Hi,  near  the  site  of  the  present  Kulja. 

*  During  the  reign  of  Chaghatay  Khan  a  curious  rising  occurred  in  the 
pro\-ince  of  Bokhara,  A  half-witted  sieve-maker,  from  a  %-ilIage  near 
Bokhara,  managed  by  various  impostures  to  gather  round  him  a  number  of 
disciples  from  among  the  common  people,  and  so  numerous  and  powerful  did 
they  become  that  in  630  (1232)  they  drove  the  Chaghatay  government  out  of  the 
country,  and,  assuming  the  government  of  Bokhara,  proceeded  to  put  to  death 
many  of  its  most  distinguished  citizens.  They  at  first  successfully  repulsed 
the  Mongol  forces  sent  against  them,  but  were  finally  vanquished,  and  order 
was  again  restored  in  Bokhara.  For  this  episode  consult  Vamber}-,  op.  cit, 
p.  143  «/  seq.  ;  Major;  Price's  Mohammtdan  History,  iiL  2. 

*  Tarikh-i-Rashidiy  Introduction,  p.  32. 

II 


i62  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D.1241. 

In  the  year  A.H.  639  (1241)  both  Ogday  and 
Chaghatay,^  the  great  Khans  of  the  MongoHan  Empire, 
died,  and  the  successors  of  Chingiz  fell  to  disputing  the 
succession. 

We  do  not  propose  to  enlarge  on  the  struggles  and 
disorders  which  existed  almost  without  cessation  in 
Turkestan  during  the  whole  period  of  the  Chaghatay 
Khan's  rule,  and  will  confine  ourselves  to  a  consideration 
of  the  social  conditions  of  that  country  under  his  suc- 
cessors.2  fj^g  Mongols  in  contact  with  communities 
possessed  of  a  comparatively  high  standard  of  civilisation 
lost  none  of  their  passion  for  their  boundless  steppe.  In 
their  eyes  the  town,  the  settled  abode,  were  abominations, 
indicating  deep-seated  effeminacy  and  corruption :  the 
only  life  worth  living  was  that  of  the  herdsman,  roving 
free  as  air,  with  his  tent  of  white  felt. 

Their  subjects  who  preferred  a  sedentary  existence,  so 
long  as  they  were  obedient  and  orderly,  were  left  in  tran- 
quil occupation  of  their  homes,  and  were  even  encouraged 
by  their  nomad  lords  to  repair  the  damage  suffered  by 
their  cities  in  war.  Ruin  doubtless  fell  on  many  great 
centres  of  population,  such  as  Herat ;  ^  but  in  Persia  and 
Transoxiana  there  was  no  systematic  obliteration  of 
organised  society,*  no  reversion  to  the  nomadic  level. 
The  case  in  Mongolia  and  Kashgharia  was  different. 
Less  than  a  century  prior  to  the  rise  of  the  Mongols 

^  Chaghatay  is  said  to  have  died  from  grief  at  his  brother's  death  (Habtb- 
us-Siyar). 

2  For  historical  data  we  have  already  referred  the  reader  to  Mr.  Oliver's 
paper  and  Vambery's  Bokhara.  S.  Lane-Poole,  in  his  Mohat?imedan  Dynas- 
ties, gives  a  Hst  of  twenty-six  Khans  of  this  house  who  ruled  in  Central 
Asia  from  A.H.  624  to  771  (a.d.  1227  to  1358),  i.e.  140  years.  The  Zafar- 
Name  of  Nizam  Shanii  (see  note  below,  p.  168)  gives  a  list  of  thirty-one 
Khans  of  this  line. 

8  Cf.  Muller's  Geschichte  des  Islams,  ii.  p.  217. 

*  In  A.H.  671  (1273)  Bokhara  was  sacked  by  the  Mongols  of  Persia  (MUller, 
oJ>.  cit.  ii.  p.  260). 


A.D.  13:^1.]  THE  LINE  OF  CHAGHATAY  163 

these  countries  had  been  occupied  by  the  Ui'ghurs,  who 
were  a  race  which  had  attained  a  certain  degree  of  de- 
velopment, and  evinced  it  by  preferring  a  settled  existence 
in  towns.  Their  successors,  the  Kara-Khitay,  though 
less  civihsed,  seem  also  to  have  affected  urban  life.  In 
these  countries,  however,  during  the  Chaghatay  period, 
no  new  towns  sprang  up,  while  those  already  in  being 
fell  into  a  state  of  ruin. 

"  Amidst  the  terrible  ravages  committed  by  the 
Mongolians,"  writes  Vambery,^  "  the  science  of  theology 
and  its  votaries  alone  continued  to  flourish.  In  the  days 
of  the  earlier  Chaghatay  Khans  the  mullas  of  Turkestan 
had  enjoyed  a  certain  amount  of  protection,  thanks  partly 
to  the  principle  of  religious  toleration,  and  partly  to  the 
superstitious  awe  in  which  every  class  of  the  priesthood 
was  held  ;  and  in  almost  every  town  there  was  some  one 
or  other  holy  man  to  whom  the  Moslems  had  recourse  in 
the  day  of  peril.  The  spiritual  teachers  thus  became  at 
the  same  time  secular  protectors,  and  from  this  time  for- 
ward we  find  the  Sadr-i-shartat  (heads  of  the  religious 
bodies)  and  chief  magistrates,  and  in  general  all  men  of 
remarkable  piety,  attaining  an  influence  in  the  towns  of 
Transoxiana  unknown  in  the  rest  of  Islam ;  an  influence 
which  maintains  itself  to  this  day,  though  the  land  has 
been  for  centuries  governed  by  Musulman  princes.  The 
seats  of  spiritual  authority  were  filled  by  regular  dynasties 
of  learned  men  of  certain  families,  as  though  they  had 
been  thrones." 

It  appears  that  about  the  year  A.H.  721  (1321)  a 
final  division  of  the  Chaghatay  Khanate  took  place.  The 
two  branches  established  were  the  Khans  of  Transoxiana 
and  those  of  Jatah,  or  Moghulistan ;  ^  but  each  had  other 

^  Bokhara,  pp.  159-60. 

^  This  Khanate  embraced  the  present  Zungaria  and  the  greater  part  of 
Eastern  and  Western  Turkestan  ;  but  the  exact  meaning  of  this  geographical 


i64  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  ud.  13,1. 

provinces  in  its  possession.  As  for  the  history  of  the 
western  branch,  it  is  only  necessary  to  mention  that 
during  the  fifty  years  of  their  rule,  which  continued  until 
Timur  made  himself  master  of  the  country,  we  find  no  less 
than  fifteen  Khans  recorded — some  of  them  strangers  in 
blood  to  the  Chaghatay  line — and  long  periods  of  anarchy .^ 
Leaving,  then,  this  confused  chapter  of  Central  Asian 
history,  we  will  pass  to  the  rise  of  the  mightiest  of  her 
conquerors. 

term  is   still   undetermined.      The  subject  has  been  fully  discussed  in  the 
Tarikh-i- Rashidi  {passim).     Cf.  also  Bretschneider,  op.  cit.  ii.  225  et  seq. 
^  See  Tarikh-i-Rashidi,  Introduction,  p.  37. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

TiMUR,  THE  Great  Amir 

In  the  year  A.H.  733  Kazan  Khan^  mounted  the  throne 
of  the  western  Chaghatay  family.  He  is  described  by 
his  contemporaries  as  a  cruel  and  tyrannical  villain,  who 
inspired  so  general  a  terror  that  when  his  nobles  were 
summoned  to  a  Kui-ultdy,  or  general  assembly,  they  made 
their  wills  before  leaving  their  homes.-  To  such  a  pitch 
did  the  dissatisfaction  of  his  nobles  rise,  that  in  the  year 
A.H.  746  (1345)  they  banded  together  under  the  leader- 
ship of  a  certain  Amir  Kazghan,  and  broke  into  open 
revolt.  The  Khan  at  once  set  out  with  his  troops  to 
crush  them.  In  the  first  encounter  ^  he  gained  the  upper 
hand,  and  Amir  Kazghan  lost  an  eye  from  an  arrow 
shot  by  the  Khan  himself.  The  conqueror  thereupon 
retired  to  KarshI ;  but,  owing  to  the  severity  of  the 
winter,  most  of  his  horses  and  transport  cattle  perished. 
Amir  Kazghan,  hearing  of  the  Khan's  misfortunes, 
took  courage  and,  in  the  following  year,  A.H.  747 
(1346),    attacked     KarshI,        The     fortune    of    war    on 

^  The  Calcutta  text  of  the  Zafar-Name  of  Sheref  ud-Din  'All  Yazdl, 
the  famous  biographer  of  Tlmur,  reads  throughout  Karan.  S.  Lane- 
Poole,  op.  cit.,  gives  the  date  of  his  accession  as  744  (a.d.  1343), — upon 
what  authority  it  is  not  clear.  Price  (following  the  Khtilasat  ul-Akhbdr)  is 
in  agreement  with  the  Zafar-Ndme.  We  are,  moreover,  expressly  told 
that  he  ruled  fourteen  years,  and  died  in  747. 

-  Zafar-Name  (ed^  Calcutta),  i.  p.  27. 

^  This  took  place  in  the  plains  round  the  village  of  Dara-Zangi  (Zafar- 
Nanu-,  ii.  p.  28). 

les 


i66  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a. d.  1348. 

this  occasion  veered  towards  his  side.  He  defeated 
and  slew  the  tyrant,  becoming  thus  master  of  Trans- 
oxiana  and  Turkestan.  He  next  assumed  the  role  of 
king-maker,  and  placed  on  the  throne  one  of  the 
descendants  of  Ogday,i  named  Danishmandja,^  whom, 
however,  he  put  to  death  two  years  later,  setting  up  in 
his  place  Bayan  Kuli,  a  Chaghatay  by  descent,  A.H. 
749  (1348).  For  ten  years  this  prince  sat  upon  the 
throne  of  the  Chaghatay  Khans,  but  he  governed  in 
name  only,  for  all  the  affairs  of  the  state  were  directed 
by  the  skilful  hand  of  Amir  Kazghan,  who  made  him- 
self loved  and  respected  by  his  prudence  and  equity. 

In  A.H.  759  (1357)  this  worthy  chief  was  murdered 
while  hunting  in  the  vicinity  of  Kunduz,  to  the  deep 
regret  of  the  people. 

His  son  'Abdullah  was  universally  recognised  as  the 
successor  to  Amir  Kazghan's  peculiar  office  of  Prime 
Minister.  The  residence  of  the  Khans — in  fact  the  capital 
of  the  western  branch  of  Chaghatays — had  lately  been 
Sail  Saray,  but  was  transferred  to  Samarkand,  owing, 
we  are  told,  to  'Abdullah's  great  love  for  that  town. 
Thither  he  carried  his  puppet,  Bayan  Kull ;  but,  falling 
in  love  with  the  Khan's  wife,  he  put  the  ill-starred  hus- 
band to  death,  and  set  up  in  his  stead  Timur  Shah 
Oghlan,  A.H.  759  (1357).  The  nobles  were  deeply 
incensed  at  this  arbitrary  and  cruel  deed,  and,  with  the 
intent  of  avenging  their  prince's  death,  one  of  their 
number,  named  Bayan  Selduz,  raised  an  army  and 
marched  on  Samarkand.  On  his  way  thither  he  was 
joined  by  Haji  Birlas^  in  Kesh,*  and  the  united  forces 

^  The  third  son  of  Chingiz,  who  had  inherited  the  kingdom  of  Mongolia 
proper. 

^  Zafm--Ndme  (ed.  Calcutta)  reads  Danishmand  Oghlan. 
^  Perhaps  a  corruption  of  the  older  form  Berillas. 
*  The  modern  Shahr-i-Sabz. 


A.D.I360.1  TIMUR,  THE  GREAT  AMIR  167 

administered  a  crushing  defeat  to  'Abdullah,  who  fled 
across  the  Oxus  to  Andarab,  where  he  remained  in 
obscurity  till  his  death.  The  family  and  partisans  of 
Amir  Kazghan  were  now  scattered  far  and  wide,  and  the 
government  of  Transoxiana  passed  into  the  hands  of  Bayan 
Selduz  1  and  Haji  Birlas.  The  former,  however,  was  a 
hopeless  drunkard,  and  utterly  unfit  to  rule  in  times  so 
charged  with  storm.  The  western  Chaghatay  states  were 
parcelled  out  among  a  host  of  prominent  nobles,  whose 
rivalries  plunged  the  country  into  the  throes  of  civil  war ; 
and  the  town  of  Kesh,  with  its  immediate  dependencies, 
was  all  that  Haji  Birlas  could  call  his  own. 

At  this  period  the  chief  of  Jatah,  or  Moghulistan,  was 
Tughluk  Timur  Khan.^  Perceiving  the  state  of  disruption 
into  which  the  kingdom  of  Transoxiana  had  lapsed,  he 
resolved  to  take  up  the  fallen  sceptre.  Gathering  round 
him  a  large  army,  he  set  out  from  Kashghar  for  the 
Khojend  River,  A-H.  761  (1360).  After  crossing  it  he 
was  joined  by  Amir  Bayazld  Jala'ir,  and  they  proceeded 
together  in  the  direction  of  Shahr-i-Sabz.  Haji  Birlas, 
hearing  of  the  Khan's  approach,  attempted  to  organise 
resistance ;  but,  at  the  last  moment,  he  deemed  discretion 
the  better  part  of  valour,  and  fled  towards  Khorasan  ere 
the  two  armies  had  come  into  conflict 

The  darkest  period  of  a  country's  annals  is  often 
illumined  by  the  light  of  a  better  time  to  come.  Trans- 
oxiana, torn  by  civil  war,  and  a  prey  to  the  worst  form 
of  tyranny,  that  of  a  horde  of  greedy  and  imperious 
nobles,  sighed  not  in  vain  for  a  deliverer.  Rarely  in  history 
do  we  find  a  state  of  society  readier  to  deliver  itself  into  the 

^  Sheref  ud-Din  affirms  that  his  love  of  wine  was  so  inveterate  that  he 
was  not  sober  for  a  week  in  the  whole  year  {Zafar-Name  (Calcutta  edition), 
i.  p.  41). 

'  He  was  bom  in  a.h.  730.  In  748  he  became  Khan  of  Jatah  ;  in  754  he 
was  converted  to  Islam ;  in  764  he  died.  His  history,  and  the  story  of  his 
conversion,  is  told  at  some  length  in  the  Tarikh-i-Rashidi,  pp.  5-23. 


i68  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  X333. 

hands  of  a  man  of  destiny  than  was  the  shattered  empire  of 
the  Chaghatay  Khans  in  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century .^ 
The  early  biographers  ^  of  him  whom  his  contempor- 
aries styled  Timur  Leng,  the  "  Lame  Timur,"  ^  delighted  to 
give  him  a  common  ancestry  with  Chingiz  Khan.and  traced 
his  descent  from  a  vezir  in  the  service  of  Chaghatay  named 
Karachar  Nuyan,  whose  genealogy  merges  with  that  of 
the  earlier  conqueror.  This,  however,  is  a  long-exploded 
myth ;  for  Timur  was  certainly  a  Turk  by  descent,  and 
belonged  to  one  of  the  numerous  tribes  which  partici- 
pated in  the  Mongol  occupation  of  Central  Asia,  and, 
after  the  downfall  of  Amir  Kazghan,  gained  the  mastery 
over  all  Transoxiana  and  Turkestan.*  Timur  was  the 
son  of  Amir  Turghay,  who  had  preceded  Haji  Birlas  in 
the  government  of  the  province  of  Kesh  and  its  depen- 
dencies.^    He  was  born  in  the  town  of  Kesh,  now  called 

^  Our  readers  will  have  traced  for  themselves  the  parallel  afforded  by 
France,  exhausted  by  the  horrors  of  the  Revolution  at  the  outset  of 
Napoleon's  career. 

^  The  sources  for  the  biography  of  Timur  are  plentiful.  The  best  known, 
both  in  the  East  and  in  Europe,  is  the  Zafar-Name,  by  Sheref  ud-Din  'Ali,  of 
Yezd.  This  was  completed  in  1424  by  the  order  of  Ibrahim,  the  son  of  Shah 
Rukh,  the  son  of  Timur.  It  was  first  translated  into  PVench  in  1722  by  M. 
Petis  de  la  Croix,  whose  work  was  in  turn  englished  shortly  afterwards.  It  is 
this  history  that  has  served  as  a  basis  for  all  European  historians,  Gibbon 
included.  There  is,  however,  an  older  biography  of  Timiir,  which,  owing  to 
its  scarcity,  is  very  little  known.  The  only  MS.  in  Europe  is  in  the  British 
Museum.  It,  too,  bears  the  title  of  Zafar-Namc,  or  Book  of  Victory.  It  was 
compiled  at  Timur's  own  order  by  a  certain  Nizam  Shami,  and  is  brought  down 
to  A.H.  806,  i.e.  one  year  before  Timur's  death.  The  MS.  itself  bears  the 
date  of  A.H.  838  (1434).  Owing  to  the  vast  interest  attaching  to  such  a  con- 
temporary account.  Professor  Denison  Ross  has  undertaken  to  prepare  an 
edition  of  the  text  for  the  St.  Petersburg  Academy  of  Sciences. 

'  He  had  gained  the  sobriquet  "  Leng  "  from  a  wound  which  caused  him  to 
halt  through  life,  inflicted  during  the  siege  of  Sistan  (Wolff,  Bokhara,  p.  243). 

*  For  example,  the  names  Jala'ir,  Beriilas,  and  Selduz  are  those  of  well- 
known  Turkish  tribes. 

'  According  to  the  Zafar-Name  of  Sheref  ud-Din  'Ali  Yazdi,  and  other 
historians  who  follow  him,  Haji  Birlas  was  the  uncle  of  Timur.  The  Zafar- 
NCime  of  Nizam  Shami,  however,  states  that  he  was  Timur's  brother. 


A.o.,36']  TIMUR,  THE  GREAT  AMIR  169 

Shahr-i-Sabz,  the  Green  City,  in  the  year  A.H.  736 
(1333).  According  to  his  autobiography,  he  became 
conscious  of  his  own  powers  at  an  early  age,  and  dis- 
tinguished himself  alike  in  council  and  in  the  hunting-field. 

When  Haji  Birlas  reached  the  Oxus  in  his  flight  from 
the  army  of  Tughluk  Timur  Khan,  the  young  Tlmur,^ 
who  had  accompanied  him,  requested  leave  to  return  to 
his  native  city  and  seek  an  audience  of  the  Khan,  in 
order  to  intercede  for  his  suffering  fellow-townsmen. 
Having  obtained  the  required  permission,  he  hastened  to 
the  camp  of  the  allied  Amirs,  whom  he  so  favourably 
impressed  by  his  earnestness  and  eloquence  that  they  not 
only  desisted  from  their  hostile  intentions,  but  conferred 
upon  him  the  government  of  his  native  city.  Timur 
took  leave  of  the  Amirs  of  Jatah,  and  entered  upon  the 
administration  of  his  state  and  the  levy  of  troops  in  the 
country  between  Kesh  and  the  Oxus.  Meanwhile  the 
Amirs  quarrelled,  withdrew  their  troops  from  Transoxiana, 
and  returned  to  headquarters  in  Kashghar. 

In  the  following  year,  A.H.  762  (1361),  the  Khan  of 
Jatah  again  entered  Transoxiana,  and,  after  a  successful 
campaign  against  various  rebellious  nobles,  took  posses- 
sion of  Samarkand.  He  intrusted  the  government  of 
the  conquered  districts  to  his  son  Iliyas  Khwaja  Oghlan, 
while  Timur,  whose  sagacity  had  attracted  the  Khan's 
attention,  was  appointed  chief  councillor  to  the  young 
prince.  Timur,  however,  was  disgusted  with  the  conduct 
of  certain  of  his  colleagues,  and  fled  the  country  in  search 
of  his  brother-in-law  Amir  Husayn,  the  grandson  of 
Kazghan.^  After  a  career  of  marvellous  adventure  in 
company   with    Amir    Husayn,    he    had    by    the    year 

'  He  was  at  this  period  about  twentj'-seven  years  of  age,  and  had  served 
with  some  distinctiofl  under  Amir  Ka^han  (Wolff,  Bokhara,  p.  245). 

'  We  refer  the  reader  to  Gibbon's  65th  chapter  for  a  striking  account  of 
Timur's  wanderings  in  the  desert,  and  to  Petis  de  la  Croix's  translation  of  the 
Zafar-Nanu  for  Timur's  thrilling  adventures  with  his  friend  Amir  Husayn. 


I70  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  ,363. 

A.H.  765  (1363)  collected  sufficient  troops  round  him  to 
make  a  stand  against  Iliyas  Khwaja,  whom  in  an 
encounter  near  Kunduz  he  entirely  routed,  and  compelled 
to  withdraw  across  the  Oxus. 

At  the  close  of  A.H.  771  (1370)  he  had  made  him- 
self absolute  master  of  the  dominions  of  the  western 
*•  Chaghatays,  and  had  restored  order  in  the  state.  He 
did  not,  however,  place  himself  on  the  throne  of  the 
Chaghatays,  but  made  another  rightful  descendant  of 
that  line  nominal  head  of  the  empire. 

This  apparent  self-abnegation  was  probably  due  to 

the  universal  respect  enjoyed  by  the  house  of  Chaghatay 

as  descendants  of  Chingiz,  and  to  the  associations  which 

clustered   round   their   name.     Be   this  as  it  may,  it  is 

certain  that  Timur  was  content  with  the  absolute  power 

won  by  his  genius,  and  scorned  the  sounding  style  of 

^,  emperor.     That  his  rule  made  for  the  happiness  of  the 

•peoples  who  owned  his  sway  is  evidenced  by  the  hold 

"*which  his  personality  had,  and  still  retains,  on  the  fickle 

>4)opulation  of  Central  Asia.     "  The  love  and  attachment 

of  the  army  to  Timur,"  writes  Wolff,^  "  was  so  great  and 

so  unlimited  that  they  would  forego  plunder  in  time  of 

need  if  ordered  by  him ;  and  the  subjection  to  him  was 

so  blind  and  unconditional  that  it  would  only  have  cost 

him  an  order  to  cause  himself  to  be  proclaimed  not  only 

as  emperor,  but  even  as  Prophet  of  the  Tartars,      He 

endeavoured  to  soften  the  inclination  to  cruelty  of  his 

soldiers,  composed  of  so   many   nations,  by   poets   and 

learned  men,  by  musicians  and  sufis,  who  came  in  swarms 

to   the   army  and   wandered    with  him  through  Asia,"^ 

—Under    his    enlightened    rule    Samarkand    became    the 

^  Bokhara,  p.  244. 

^  The  famous  order  of  dervishes  called  Nakshabandi  was  founded  in 
Timur's  reign  by  a  certain  Khwaja  Baha  ud-Din,  who  died  in  A.H.  791  (1388). 
The   three   saints  held  in   reverence   by  the   dervishes  next  after  him  are 


DERVISHES  Of  THE   NAKSHABANDI  ORDER 


AD.  .402.1  TIMUR,  THE  GREAT  AMIR  171 

centre  of  a  great  and  brilliant  court,  and  was  embellished 
with  palaces,  mosques,  and  colleges  which  extort  the 
admiration  of  those  who  view  them  in  their  decay. 

It  is  the  hard  fate  of  a  conqueror  that  he  can  never 
pause  in  his  onward  progress.  The  fierce  passions  let  loose 
by  war  can  be  assuaged  only  by  their  repeated  exercise; 
and  Timur's  hordes  were  ever  clamouring  to  be  led  to 
fresh  victories.  Thus,  when  he  had  restored  peace  and 
prosperity  to  Central  Asia,  he  set  out  on  a  triumphant 
march  which  threatened  to  include  the  whole  inhabited 
world.  In  A.H.  793  (1390)  Persia  and  the  Caucasus, 
that  halting-place  in  the  migration  of  human  masses 
westwards,  were  overrun  by  his  armies.  Then,  in  A.H.  798 
(1395),  he  attacked  the  Kipchaks,  a  Mongolian  tribe 
firmly  settled  in  South-Eastern  Russia  and  the  lower 
Volga,  which  for  the  first  time  in  history  were  united 
under  their  great  chief,  Tokhtamish  Khan.  Long  and 
desperate  was  the  struggle  between  the  rivals,  but  it 
ended  in  Timur's  triumph.  His  eyes  now  turned  to 
India,  whose  fabulous  wealth  had  attracted  other  adven- 
turers such  as  he.  The  Panjab  and  the  whole  Gangetic 
Delta  fell  an  easy  prey  to  his  legions;  and  in  A.H.  801 
(1398)  he  returned  to  Samarkand  laden  with  spoils. 
The  Egyptian  dynasty  established  in  Syria  and  the 
Turkish  lords  of  Asia  Minor  alone  retained  their  inde- 
pendence. Tlmur  stormed  Damascus  and  broke  the 
Mamluk  power.  Then,  on  the  field  of  Angora,  A.H.  805 
(1402),  he  utterly  defeated  the  Sultan  Bayazld  I.,  a 
conqueror  of  a  renown  only  second  to  his  own.     Con- 

Khwaja  Ahrar  (whose  mausoleum  is  to  be  seen  a  few  miles  outside  Samar- 
kand), Ishan  Mahzihn  Kashani,  and  Sufi  Allah  Yar.  It  is  a  group  of 
members  of  this  mendicant  brotherhood  which  forms  the  subject  of  the 
frontispiece  to  this  work  by  M.  Verestchagin.  There  are  two  other  sects  of 
der\-ishes  in  Samarkand — (i)  the  Kadiriyya,  whose  founder  was'Abd  el-Kadiri 
Gilani,  and  (2)  the  Alf  Tsatti,  an  order  whereof  the  founder  seems  to  be 
unknown,  and  which  is  sparsely  represented. 


172  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a. d.  1404. 

stantinople  and  the  empire  of  the  East  lay  at  his  mercy. 
Happily  for  European  civilisation,  his  darling  Samarkand 
attracted  the  war-spent  conqueror.  He  returned  thither 
in  triumph,  and  three  years  later  died  at  Otrar,  while  on 
his  way  to  subdue  China,  A.H.  807  (1404)^-^- 

Mo7's  sola  fatetur 

Quantula  sunt  hominum  corpuscula! 

^  "  He  was  of  great  stature,  of  an  extraordinary  large  head,  open  forehead, 
of  a  beautiful  red  and  white  complexion,  and  with  long  hair — white  from  his 
birth,  like  Zal,  the  renowned  hero  of  Persian  history.  In  his  ears  he  wore 
two  diamonds  of  great  value.  He  was  of  a  serious  and  gloomy  expression  of 
countenance  ;  an  enemy  to  every  kind  of  joke  or  jest,  but  especially  to  false- 
hood, which  he  hated  to  such  a  degree  that  he  preferred  a  disagreeable  truth  to 
an  agreeable  lie, — in  this  respect  far  different  from  the  character  of  Alexander, 
who  put  to  death  Clitus,  his  friend  and  companion  in  arms,  as  well  as  the 
philosopher  Callisthenes,  for  uttering  disagreeable  truths  to  him.  Timur 
never  relinquished  his  purpose  or  countermanded  his  order ;  never  regretted 
the  past,  nor  rejoiced  in  the  anticipation  of  the  future  ;  he  neither  loved  poets 
nor  buffoons,  but  physicians,  astronomers,  and  lawyers,  whom  he  frequently 
desired  to  carry  on  discussions  in  his  presence ;  but  most  particularly  he 
loved  those  dervishes  whose  fame  of  sanctity  paved  his  way  to  victory  by 
their  blessing.  His  most  darling  books  were  histories  of  wars  and  biographies 
of  warriors  and  other  celebrated  men.  His  learning  was  confined  to  the 
knowledge  of  reading  and  writing,  but  he  had  such  a  retentive  memory  that 
whatever  he  read  or  heard  once  he  never  forgot.  He  was  only  acquainted 
with  three  languages — the  Turkish,  Persian,  and  Mongolian.  The  Arabic 
was  foreign  to  him.  He  preferred  the  Tora  of  Chingiz  Khan  to  the  Koran, 
so  that  the  Ulemas  found  it  necessary  to  issue  a  Fetwa  by  which  they 
declared  those  to  be  infidels  who  preferred  human  laws  to  the  divine.  He 
completed  Chingiz  Khan's  Tora  by  his  own  code,  called  Tuzukat,  which 
comprised  the  degrees  and  ranks  of  his  officers.  Without  the  philosophy  of 
^il  Antonius  or  the  pedantry  of  Constantine,  his  laws  exhibit  a  deep  knowledge 
of  military  art  and  political  science.  Such  principles  were  imitated  success- 
fully by  his  successors.  Shah  Baber  and  the  great  Shah  Akbar,  in  Hindustan. 
The  power  of  his  civil  as  well  as  military  government  consisted  in  a  deep  - 
knowledge  of  other  countries,  which  he  acquired  by  his  interviews  with  •■ 
travellers  and  dervishes,  so  that  he  was  fully  acquainted  with  all  the  plans, 
manoeuvres,  and  political  movements  of  foreign  courts  and  armies.  He  himself 
despatched  travellers  to  various  parts,  who  were  ordered  to  lay  before  him  the 
maps  and  descriptions  of  other  foreign  countries  "  (Wolff's  Bokhara,  p.  243). 


INTERIOR   OF   TAMER LAXE'S    MAUSOLEUM,    BOKHARA 


THE   TOMB   OF   TAMERLANE 


CHAPTER    XXV 

The  Successors  of  Timur 

The  method  taken  by  Chingiz  Khan  of  assuring  the 
continuance  of  sovereignty  in  his  house  was  inspired  by 
statesmanHke  prescience.  It  is  well-nigh  impossible  for 
a  single  individual  to  maintain  intact  an  empire  inherited 
from  a  father  who  has  won  it  by  the  sword.  Its  founder 
may,  indeed,  say  with  far  greater  truth  than  the  scion  of 
a  long  line  of  kings,  "  the  State  is  Myself" ;  but  his  hour 
of  triumph  is  embittered  by  the  reflection  that  possessions 
amassed  by  ruthless  greed  are  apt  to  melt  away  when 
the  strong  arm  that  secured  them  has  mouldered  into 
dust.  Chingiz,  by  dividing  his  unwieldy  dominions 
among  his  four  sons,  removed  all  cause  of  jealousy,  such 
as  would  inevitably  have  arisen  had  one  child  been 
exalted  above  the  rest,  and  established  a  community  of 
interest  among  his  descendants  which  for  several  genera- 
tions sufficed  to  keep  the  greater  portion  of  the  known 
world  in  his  family. 

Timur's  disregard  of  the  sound  principles  of  state- 
craft in  the  disposal  of  his  conquests  brought  upon  his 
dynasty  the  curse  of  perennial  rivalries,  of  mutual 
hatreds  which  Jed  to  the  disruption  of  his  empire  and 
paved  the  way  for  the  advent  of  alien  rulers. 

When  the  news  of  Timur's  death  reached  Samarkand, 
his  grandson,  Pir  Mohammad,  to  whom  he  had  bequeathed 
his   crown,   was   absent    in    Kandahar.      Khalil    Sultan, 

173 


174  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  x4os. 

another  grandson,  assured  of  the  support  of  the  army 
and  the  more  powerful  nobles,  took  possession  of  Samar- 
kand and  proclaimed  himself  king,  A.H.  807  (1405). 

Meanwhile  the  dead  conqueror's  son.  Shah  Rukh,^ 
who  ruled  Herat,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  feudal 
chiefs  of  his  province,  laid  claim  to  the  succession,  and 
was  acknowledged  as  the  rightful  heir  throughout  Khor- 
asan,  Sistan,  and  Mazanderan.  Leaving  followers  devoted 
to  his  interests  in  charge  of  these  three  important  dis- 
tricts, he  set  out  for  Transoxiana,  and  on  his  way 
thither  learnt  that  Khalil  had  been  proclaimed  king  of 
Samarkand.  On  hearing  this  news  he  sent  back  one  of 
his  generals  with  orders  to  place  Herat  in  a  state  of 
defence,  while  he  himself  continued  his  march  towards 
the  Oxus. 

In  the  meantime  his  rivals  came  to  terms;  Sultan 
Khalil  being  left  in  possession  of  Transoxiana,  while  Pir 
Mohammad  was  acknowledged  as  his  heir.^  Shah  Rukh 
was  conscious  of  his  inability  to  contend  against  these 
combined  forces,  and  he  wisely  resolved  to  secure  a 
realm  which  they  were  not  likely  to  dispute  with  him. 

He  hastened  back  to  Herat  and  seized  Khorasan, 
Mazanderan,  and  Sistan.  In  A.H.  817  (14 14)  he  added 
Isfahan  and  Shiraz  to  these  acquisitions,  and  ruled  over  the 
fairest  province  of  Iran  until  his  death,  in  A.H.  850  (1447). 

Sultan  Khalil  possessed  many  admirable  qualities, 
with  no  small  share  of  the  vices  which  are  associated 
with  every  virtue.  He  was  too  lavish  in  gifts  and  in 
affection.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  slavery  in  which  he 
was  held  by  his  beloved  mistress.  Shad  Mulk,  the  "  Joy 

^  Shah  Rukh  was  Timur's  favourite  son.  He  derived  his  name,  which 
means  "King  and  Castle,"  from  a  well-known  move  in  chess,  which  royal 
game  was  one  of  Timiir's  few  amusements  ( WolfiPs  Bokhara,  p.  244). 

^  Cf.  Price's  Mohammedan  History,  iii.  492,  quoting  the  Khuldsat-ul- 
Akhbar.  As  a  fact,  Pir  Mohammad  only  obtained  the  government  of  Balkh, 
and  was  murdered  in  Kandahar  in  A,H.  809  (1406).     Cf.  De  Guignes,  v.  79. 


A.D.  1409]  THE  SUCCESSORS  OF  TiMUR  175 

of  the  State,"  he  might  have  revived  the  lustre  of  his 
grandsire's  rule.  But  his  submission  to  every  whim  of  an 
extravagant  woman  soon  depleted  Timur's  brimming 
treasury,  and  estranged  from  his  person  even  those  who 
had  been  his  most  ardent  supporters. 

The  general  discontent  came  to  a  head  in  A.H.  809 
(1406),  when  two  nobles,  named  Khodaydad  and  Shaykh 
Nur-ed-Din,  suddenly  took  up  arms  against  their  master, 
and  advanced  to  attack  Samarkand.  They  were  re- 
pulsed by  Khalll,  and  in  the  following  year  Shaykh  Nur- 
ed-Dln  made  peace  with  the  Sultan.  Meanwhile  Kho- 
daydad, allying  himself  with  other  malcontent  nobles, 
returned  to  the  attack.  On  arriving  before  Samarkand, 
the  rebels  decoyed  Sultan  Khalil  from  his  defences 
under  a  pretence  of  parleying,  seized  his  person  and 
obtained  possession  of  the  city,^  A.H.  812  (1409). 

On  learning  this  piece  of  treachery,  Shah  Rukh  at 
once  despatched  an  army  under  his  general,  Shah  Mulk, 
to  punish  Khodaydad.  The  latter  abandoned  Samar- 
kand, which  remained  without  a  ruler  until  the  arrival 
of  Shah  Mulk,  to  whom  the  gates  were  opened.  Shah 
Rukh  himself  arrived  shortly  afterwards,  and,  after 
establishing  order  in  the  town,  heaped  the  most  galling 
indignities  on  Shad  Mulk,  who  had  been  the  cause  of 
Khahl's  misfortunes.-  He  then  made  his  young  son, 
Ulugh  Beg,  governor  of  Transoxiana,  and  returned  to 
Herat. 

The  thirty-eight  years  during  which  the  cultured 
prince  ruled  as  his  father's  lieutenant  in  Samarkand 
were    the    golden    age    of   Central    Asia.      Himself   an 

^  Cf.  De  Guignes.'v.  81. 

'  De  Guignes,  v.  81.  Khalil  spent  some  years  in  Moghulistan,  but,  un- 
able to  bear  a  longer  separation  from  Shad  Mulk,  joined  her  in  Herat. 
Shah  Rukh  gave  him  the  government  of  Khorasan,  and  he  died  the  same  year 

(A.H.  812). 


176  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1448. 

astronomer  and  mathematician  of  no  mean  renown,^  he 
gathered  round  him  a  galaxy  of  stars  of  science,  which 
made  Timur's  capital  a  beacon-light  for  the  Eastern 
world.  His  liberality  and  deep  artistic  sense  were 
not  less  conspicuous.  They  stood  revealed  in  palaces, 
mosques,  and  colleges,  which  during  their  brief  existence 
made  Samarkand  the  most  beautiful  of  Asiatic  cities. 
The  long  peace  that  had  brooded  over  Transoxiana 
under  the  reign  of  this  enlightened  prince  was  rudely 
dispelled  by  the  death  of  his  father.  Shah  Rukh,  which 
took  place  in  A.H.  850  (1448).^  Ulugh  Beg,  as  heir- 
apparent,  was  proclaimed  emperor,  and  set  out  for  Herat 
to  take  possession  of  his  father's  treasure.  But  his 
nephew,  'Ala  ud-Dawle,  had  seized  the  citadel  and  the 
person  of  Ulugh  Beg's  son,  'Abd  ul-Latlf.  Paternal  love 
induced  the  emperor  to  come  to  terms  with  the  pre- 
tender on  certain  conditions,  first  and  foremost  amongst 
these  being  his  son's  release.  This  was  achieved,  but 
the  other  stipulations  were  not  carried  out  by  'Ala  ud- 
Dawle.  The  war  was  therefore  renewed,  and  it  ended 
in  his  discomfiture  and  flight  towards  Meshed.  While 
pursuing  his  enemy  through  Khorasan,  Ulugh  Beg 
received  disquieting  news  from  home.  Herat  had  been 
plundered  by  a  Turkoman  chief,  and  Samarkand  by  the 
uncouth  Uzbegs,  who  destroyed  in  a  few  hours  the 
marvels  of  art  with  which  he  had  decorated   it.      But 

^  His  astronomical  tables  are  amongst  the  most  accurate  and  complete 
that  come  down  to  us  from  Eastern  sources.  They  treat  of  the  measurement 
of  time,  the  course  of  the  planets,  and  of  the  position  of  fixed  stars. 
The  best  editions  are  those  printed  in  Latin  in  1642-48  by  an  Oxford  pro- 
fessor named  Greaves,  and  reprinted  in  1 767.  The  remains  of  his  celebrated 
observatory  still  crown  the  hill  known  as  Chupan  Ata  in  an  eastern  suburb 
of  Samarkand. 

2  Shah  Rukh's  authority,  to  judge  by  the  coins  which  have  come  down  to 
us,  extended  nearly  as  far  as  his  more  celebrated  father's.  We  have  his 
superscription  on  the  issues  of  mints  as  widely  distant  as  Shiraz,  Kaswin, 
Sabzawar,  Herat,  Kum,  Shuster,  and  Astarabad. 


A.D.  .46M  THE  SUCCESSORS  OF  TIMUR  177 

worse  was  still  in  store  for  the  unhappy  monarch.  His 
darling,  'Abd  ul-Latif,  for  whom  he  had  sacrificed  so 
much,  set  up  the  standard  of  revolt  at  Baikh  and  in- 
vaded Transoxiana.  Ulugh  Beg  was  forced  to  oppose 
his  claims,  but  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner.  To 
'Abd  ul-Latif's  eternal  disgrace,  he  caused  his  father  to 
be  put  to  death  in  prison  by  a  Persian  slave.^ 

The  parricide  did  not  prosper  long.  Abu  Sa'id,  a 
descendant  of  Timur's  third  son,  Miran  Shah,  seized  the 
throne  of  Samarkand  ;  and,  though  'Abd  ul-LatIf  proved 
himself  the  stronger  in  the  field,  his  triumph  was  cut 
short  by  his  assassination  by  one  of  Ulugh  Beg's  trusted 
servants,  A.H.  854  (1450).  Abu  Sa'ld  claimed  the 
succession,  but  was  repulsed  by  one  of  Shah  Rukh's 
grandsons  named  'Abdullah  Mirza,  who  took  possession 
of  the  oft-contested  throne  of  Samarkand.  Gathering 
a  strong  force  of  Uzbegs,  he  returned  to  the  charge  and 
deprived  'Abdullah,  his  cousin,  of  his  crown  and  life,  A.H. 
856  (1452).-  The  history  of  the  following  thirty  years 
is  a  dreary  record  of  struggles  for  supreme  authority 
between  Timur's  descendants.  At  length,  in  A.H.  870 
(1465),  Abu  Sa'ld  had  defeated  every  rival  and  found 
himself  unquestioned  master  of  Transoxiana,  Northern 
Persia,  and  Afghanistan.  Central  Asia  enjoyed,  too,  a 
brief  respite  from  the  stress  of  civil  war  under  a  prince 
of  real  military  and  administrative  genius.  Two  years 
later,  a.h.  872  (1467),  his  _evil  star  tempted  him  to 
intervene  in  the  affairs  of  Azerbayjan.  He  marched 
against  a  pretender  named  Hasan  Beg  with  a  powerful 
army,  but  was  utterly  defeated  and  handed  over  by  his 
captor  to  the  tender  mercies  of  Prince  Yadgar  Mirza,  son 
of  Shah  Rukh's  consort,  Gawhar  Shad,  whom  Abu  Sa'ld 
had  put  to  death.  The  Mohammedan  law  is  based  on 
the  Mosaic  code,  which  prescribes  blood  for  blood :  and 

^  Vamber>'s  Bokhara,  p.  223.  2  Ibid.  p.  244. 

12 


178  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1493. 

the  once-powerful  emperor  was  beheaded  by  the  inexor- 
able Yadgar, 

His  son,  Sultan  Ahmed,  was  permitted  to  mount 
the  throne  of  Samarkand.  He  was  known  to  be  of 
moderate  abilities  and  a  yielding  nature ;  and  revolts 
against  his  authority  were  frequent.  The  southern 
provinces  threw  off  their  allegiance,  and  were  never  re- 
conquered during  Sultan  Ahmed's  lifetime.  His  brother 
'Omar  Shaykh  successfully  withstood  him  on  the  ex- 
treme east,  and  he  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  bringing 
back  Turkestan  to  obedience.  His  reign  was,  however, 
more  peaceful  than  might  have  been  anticipated  in  times 
so  stormy.  If  Sultan  Ahmed  was  given  to  alternate  fits 
of  drunkenness  and  devotion,  he  was  at  least  devoid  of 
the  lust  of  conquest  which  proved  so  fatal  to  his  pre- 
decessors. Transoxiana  enjoyed  comparative  repose 
during  his  twenty-seven  years'  reign,  and  its  capital  was 
adorned  with  public  edifices  which  rivalled  those  of  Ulugh 
Beg  in  beauty  and  grandeur.  He  slept  with  his  fathers 
in  A.H.  899  (1493);  whereon  his  brother,  Sultan  Mo- 
hammad, seized  the  throne,  and  basely  slaughtered  his 
five  youthful  nephews.  This  infamous  cruelty  and  his 
own  debauched  life  roused  the  ire  of  his  nobles,  whom 
good  Sultan  Ahmed  had  raised  to  a  comparatively  high 
standard  of  civilisation.  He  died  after  a  reign  of  six 
months  ( 1 494),  probably  by  violent  means.  The  succession 
was,  as  usual,  disputed  by  his  children,  Mas'ud,  Sultan  'AH, 
and  Baysunkur,  the  latter  of  whom,  a  youth  of  eighteen, 
was  elevated  to  supreme  authority  by  a  powerful  faction ; 
for  by  this  time  a  new  factor  had  been  introduced  into 
Central  Asian  politics.  The  Uzbeg  chieftains  and  the 
ecclesiastics,  who  had  been  restrained  by  the  strong  arm 
of  Timur  and  his  descendants,  gained  the  mastery  under 
the  feeble  Sultan  Ahmed.  Baysunkur's  youth  and  in- 
experience rendered  him  unable  to  hold  the  balance  true 


A.D.M99-1  THE  SUCCESSORS  OF  TlMUR  179 

between  the  contending  parties.  His  lukewarmness 
made  him  disliked  by  all ;  and  his  brother,  Sultan  'Ali, 
was  invited  from  Karshi  to  supplant  him.  Baysunkur 
sought  refuge  in  flight,  but  was  soon  afterwards  restored, 
while  his  rival,  Sultan  'Ali,  escaped  to  Bokhara,  Here 
he  organised  resistance  so  effectually  that  Baysunkur  was 
foiled  in  an  attempt  to  capture  Bokhara,  and  driven 
back  to  his  capital.  Sultan  'Ali  now  turned  the  tables 
effectually  on  his  brother.  He  advanced  on  Samarkand 
at  the  head  of  overwhelming  forces,  while  Mas'ud  pressed 
fonvard  from  the  south  to  assist  him ;  and  the  famous 
Baber  Mirza,  grandson  of  Abu  Sa'ld,  raised  the  standard 
of  revolt  in  Kokand,^ 

Baysunkur  felt  resistance  to  this  powerful  combina- 
tion hopeless,  and  he  fled  ^  to  his  brother  Mas'ud  for 
protection,  dying  in  obscurity  in  A.H.  905  (1499),  His 
dominions  were,  in  name,  divided  between  Sultan  'Ali 
and  Baber  Mirza,  but  their  extreme  youth  forbade 
them  to  assert  authority  over  the  powerful  nobles  who 
had  usurped  every  species  of  pov.er.  They  abandoned 
the  contest ;  and  a  chieftain  named  Mohammad  Khan 
Shaybani,  a  descendant  of  Juji,  the  son  of  Chingiz  Khan, 
seized  the  throne  of  Samarkand.  Thus  fell  the  dynasty 
of  Tlmur,  after  a  duration  of  1 40  years.^  Their  age  has 
cast  undying  lustre  on  the  Turkish  name,  for  their  own 
culture  attracted  an  array  of  scholars  and  men  of  science 
whose    works    recall     the    brightest    days    of    Moorish 

^  The  young  prince  was  bom  in  1483,  the  son  of  'Omar  Shaykh  Mirza, 
whom  he  succeeded  in  the  sovereignty  of  the  eastern  portion  of  Timur's 
dominions.  His  conquest  of  India,  and  foundation  of  the  Moghul  dj-nasty 
of  Delhi,  do  not  come  within  the  scope  of  this  work.  He  was  equally  great 
in  war,  administration,  and  literature  :  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  figure  of 
his  age. 

'  A.  H.  903(1497). 

'  An  excellent  table,  showing  the  ramifications  of  the  Timurides,  will  be 
found  in  voL  viL  of  the  Mohammedan  Coins  of  the  British  Museum, 


i8o  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  rA.D.T499. 

dominion  in  Spain.  Shah  Rukh  was  a  song-writer  of 
no  mean  order ;  while  Ulugh  Beg  won  fame  in  the  severer 
studies  of  the  mathematician  and  astronomer.  Baber 
Mirza,  who  afterwards  sat  on  the  throne  of  Delhi,  was 
famous  alike  as  statesman,  philosopher,  and  writer ;  and, 
indeed,  there  was  hardly  one  of  Timur's  descendants  but 
manifested  a  taste  for  letters.  The  annals  of  this  house 
are  rendered  illustrious  by  the  names  of  poets,  philo- 
sophers, and  theologians  which  are  still  household  words 
throughout  the  East.  During  this  period  of  Central 
Asian  history,  Bokhara,  Samarkand,  and  Merv  all  gave 
birth  to  distinguished  Mohammedan  writers,  as  did  many 
other  less  important  towns  of  Transoxiana  and  Turkestan  ; 
but  rarely  did  these  authors  employ  in  their  compositions 
the  principal  vernacular  of  these  countries,  namely,  Eastern 
Turkish.  All  theological  and  didactic  works  were  written 
— as  they  still  are — in  Arabic  :  and  thus  it  is  that  many 
of  the  masterpieces  of  Arabic  literature  owe  their  origin 
to  Mohammedans  of  Central  Asia.  The  alternative 
literary  language  was  Persian,  which  probably  came  in 
vogue  for  poetical  compositions  about  the  time  of  the 
Tahirides. 

In  the  days  of  the  Timurides,  however,  the  dialect  of 
Turkish,  known  as  Chaghatay,  became  honoured  by  a 
definite  position  in  literature,  chiefly  in  the  department  of 
poetry.  The  Chaghatay  dialect  is  the  oldest  form  of 
Turkish  which  has  come  down  to  us  in  the  Arabic 
character,  and  it  is  still  spoken  throughout  Transoxiana, 
Turkestan,  and  Kashghar.  As  with  the  Aryan  family  of 
languages  so  with  the  Turkish,  the  farther  east  we  go 
the  nearer  we  approach  its  source.  In  Yarkand  and 
Kashghar  this  language  is  called  TurkI,  while  in  Samar- 
kand and  Bokhara  it  is  known  by  the  name  of  UzbegT. 
Although  Uzbegl  is  the  language  most  commonly  heard 
in  the  bazaars  of  Samarkand  and  Bokhara,  it  does  not 


A.D.  1499-1  THE  SUCCESSORS  OF  TlMUR  i8i 

hold  the  field  alone,  its  rival  being  a  corrupt  form  of 
Persian  spoken  by  the  Tajiks,  and  hence  known  as 
Tajik!.  This  dialect,  while  on  the  one  hand  preserving 
many  old  Persian  words  which  in  Persia  itself  have 
dropped  out  of  the  spoken  tongue,  has,  on  the  other  hand, 
with  regard  to  its  grammatical  forms  and  its  syntax,  been 
greatly  influenced  by  its  Turkish  neighbour,^  Under  the 
Timurides  there  flourished  a  poet  named  Mir  'All  Shir, 
or  Navay,  who  certainly  did  more  than  any  other  to 
enrich  the  Chaghatay  literature,  and  who  may  justly  be 
regarded  the  national  poet  par  excellence  of  the  Eastern 
Turks. 

^  In  the  case  of  possessive  pronouns  and  verbal  inflexions,  for  example, 
we  find  direct  and  obvious  imitations  of  the  Turkish  grammar. 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

THE    SHAYBANIDES 

The  Mongol  dynasty,  established  in  China  and  known  as 
the  Yuen,  founded  by  Kubilay  Khan  ^  cir.  1260,  began 
to  decline  very  soon  after  his  death  (1294);  and  in 
1353a  native  of  humble  birth,  named  Chu  Yuan  Chang, 
succeeded  in  overthrowing  the  alien  line,  and,  in  1368, 
originated  the  famous  dynasty  of  Ming.  The  nomads' 
rule  was  again  confined  to  the  steppes  of  Mongolia. 

Eastern  and  Western  Turkestan  continued,  in  the 
Ming  period,  to  constitute  the  dominions  of  the 
Chaghatays.2  This  so-called  Middle-Empire  originally 
included  Transoxiana,  but  in  the  first  half  of  the 
fourteenth  century  Transoxiana  came  under  the  sway  of 
a  separate  line  of  Chaghatay  Khans. 

North  of  the  Middle-Empire  was  that  of  the  Dasht- 
i-Kipchak,  which  included  the  vast  steppes  extending 
east  and  north  of  the  Sea  of  Aral,  a  part  of  modern 
Siberia,  the  land  north  of  the  Caspian,  and  both  sides  of 
the  Lower  Volga.^  These  broad  realms  had  been  given 
to  Chingiz  Khan's  first  son,  JujI,  on  whose  death,  in 
1225,  it  was  divided  into  two  sections.  The  Eastern 
division,  the  habitat  White  Horde,  fell  to  JujI's  eldest 
son,  Orda ;  while  the  Western,  that  of  the  Golden  Horde, 

1  The  "  Great  Caan  "  of  Marco  Polo. 

2  Cf.  Bretschneider,  op.  cit.  ii.  pp.  139,  140. 
'  Cf.  Bretschneider,  loc.  cit. 

182 


A.D.  1469-1  THE  SHAYBANIDES  183 

was  ruled  over  by  Batu,  the  conqueror  of  Russia,  who 
had  his  residence  in  Sarai,  on  the  Lower  Volga.^ 

Another  branch  of  the  house  of  Juji  was  the 
heritage  of  his  fifth  son,  Shayban,  whose  dominions 
were  contiguous  with  those  of  the  White  Horde.^  They 
became  famous  in  the  fifteenth  centur>-  under  the  name  of 
Uzbegs,  and  the  origin  of  their  name  has  given  rise  to 
many  strange  conjectures. 

The  real  founder  of  the  Uzbeg  power  was  Abu-1- 
Khayr,  a  descendant  of  Shayban  in  the  sixth  degree,  who 
was  born  in  A.H.  816  (141  3).  His  rule  extended  over 
the  western  portion  of  the  present  Kirghiz  steppes.  About 
the  year  A.H.  870  (1465)  a  number  of  these  Uzbegs, 
discontented  with  their  Khan,  Abu-1-Khayr,  migrated 
into  Moghulistan,  with  the  Sultans  Giray  and  Janibeg, 
of  the  line  of  JujI.^  Isan  Bugha,  the  then  Khan  of 
Moghulistan,  or  Jatah,  received  them  hospitably,  and 
allotted  them  some  territories  on  the  river  Chu,  to  the 
west  of  his  own  domains.  These  emigrants  were 
subsequently  known  as  the  Uzbeg-Kazaks,  or  simply 
Kazaks.*     After  the  death  of  Abu-1-Khayr,  in  A.H.  874 

^  Idem.  Tuka  Timur,  from  whom  sprang  the  Khans  of  the  Crimea,  was  the 
youngest  son  of  Juji.  Cf.  Lane-Poole's  Mohammedan  Dynasties,  p.  233. 
Tokhtamish,  the  inveterate  foe  of  Tamerlane,  belonged  to  the  Crimean  branch 
of  the  Khans  of  Dasht-i-Kipchak.  The  Khanate  of  Kazan  was  founded  in  1439, 
on  the  remains  of  the  Bulgarian  Empire,  by  Ulugh  Mohammed  of  the  same  line. 

'  Bretschneider,  loc.  cit. 

'  There  seems  some  confusion  on  this  point ;  I  have  followed  Veliaminof- 
Zemof,  but  Bretschneider  does  not  call  this  movement  a  migration  of  Uzbegs 
but  a  flight  of  the  White  Horde,  whom  he  says  were  expelled  from  their 
original  seats  by  Abu-1-KhajT.     Cf.  Tarikh-i-Rashidi,  p.  82. 

*  The  results  of  M.  Veliaminof-Zemofs  carefiil  researches  into  the  history 
of  the  Kazaks  were  published  in  three  volumes  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Eastern 
Branch  of  St.  Petersburg  Archaohgical  Society,  under  the  title  of  The 
Emperors  and  Princes  of  the  Line  of  Kasim.  He  called  this  dynasty  the 
Kasimtmski,  after  Kasim  Khan,  the  son  of  Janibeg.  Cf.  also  Levshin's 
Description  of  the  Hordes  and  Steppes  of  the  Kirghiz- Kazaks,  St.  Petersbui^, 
1864.     Mirza    Haydar    says:    "The    Kazak    Sultans    began    to   reign    in 


184  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1469. 

(1469),  a  large  number  of  his  Uzbegs  passed  into 
Moghulistan  and  joined  their  kinsmen.^ 

Abu-1-Khayr  overran  Khwarazm  and  part  of  Turkes- 
tan ;  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  his 
son  Mohammad  ShaybanI,  also  known  as  Shahi  Beg, 
made  himself  master  of  Samarkand  and  Transoxiana, 
and  was  the  first  of  the  so-called  dynasty  of  the 
Shaybanides.  It  is  more  than  a  mere  coincidence  that 
the  appearance  of  the  Uzbegs  and  Kazaks  in  Southern 
Central  Asia  was  contemporaneous  with  Russia's  libera- 
tion from  the  Tartar  yoke. 

ShaybanI  Khan  achieved  the  conquest  of  Transoxiana 
in  A.H.  906  (1500),^  but  soon  after  this  event  Zahir  ud- 
Dln  Baber,  then  aged  nineteen,  entered  that  country  and 
captured  Samarkand,  Soghd,  Miyankul,  Karshi,  and  other 
strong  places  ;  Bokhara  alone  remaining  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Uzbegs.  However,  in  the  following  year, 
A.H.  907  (1501),  ShaybanI  Khan  defeated  Baber  and 
regained  the  lost  territory.  By  A.H.  911  (1505),  from 
which  date  historians  reckon  the  commencement  of  his 
reign,^  he  had  made  himself  master  of  Transoxiana, 
Farghana,  Khwarazm,  and  Hisar. 

His  attention  was  now  turned  towards  Khorasan, 
which  was  in  the  hands  of  Husayn  Mirza,  also  called 
Sultan  Husayn  Baykara,  a  descendant  of  Timur's  second 
son,  'Omar  Shaykh.  In  A.H.  912  (1506)  Baber,  hearing 
of  the  Uzbeg  designs,  marched  northwards  from  Kabul 
to  assist  his  relatives.*     But  in  the  interval  Mirza  Husayn 

A.H.  870  (1465),  and  continued  to  enjoy  absolute  power  in  the  greater  part  of 
Uzbegistan  till  the  year  A.H.  940"  (1533).     See  Tari/ch-i-Rashidi,  p.  82. 

^  Tarikh-i-Rashidi,  pp.  82  and  92. 

^Thus  according  to  both  the  Tdrikh-i-Tunurl  and  the  Tarlkh-i-Abu-l- 
Khayr,  quoted  by  Howorth,  op.  cit.  ii.  695. 

^  There  is  in  the  British  Museum  a  silver  coin  of  Shayb.ani  Khan,  dated 
A.H.  910  :  Merv. 

*  An  account  of  this  campaign  will  be  found  in  the  Tarikh-i-Rashidi,  p. 


A.D..5.0.1  THE  SHAYBANIDES  185 

died,  and  Baber,  on  his  arrival  in  Khorasan,  A.H.  913 
(1507),  found  that  the  two  sons  of  the  late  prince  had 

instituted  a  dual  government.  So  disgusted  was  he 
with  their  lack  of  definite  policy  and  their  mutual  re- 
criminations, that  he  returned  to  Kabul  and  left  them  to 
fight  their  own  battles.  In  this  year  Shaybani  Khan, 
entering  Khorasan,  defeated  these  ill-assorted  colleagues 
and  made  himself  master  of  the  country.  The  next 
three  years  were  passed  in  successful  expeditions  in  the 
direction  of  Khorasan  and  India,  and  against  the  Kazaks. 
But  in  A.H.  916  (151  o)  his  career  of  conquest  was 
brought  to  a  sudden  close.  Shah  Isma'll,  the  Safavl, — 
who  eight  years  previously  had  overthrown  the  Turko- 
man dynasty  of  the  "  White  Sheep  "  in  Azerbayjan,  and 
had  set  upon  the  conquest  of  all  Persia, — now  marched 
into  Khorasan.  Here  he  defeated  and  slew  Shaybani 
Khan  in  the  vicinity  of  Merv,  thereby  making  himself 
master  of  the  whole  country.^ 

For  two  years,  from  A.H.  9 1 6  to  918  (i  5  i o  to  i  5  1 2) 
Transoxiana  practically  passed  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
Uzbeg  Sultans.  At  all  events,  we  find  no  coin  of  theirs 
during  that  period,  though  Persian  historians  aver  that 
Shaybani  Khan  was  succeeded  in  the  chief  Khanate  by 
Kuchunji.  The  nobles  were  probably  too  much  occupied 
in  providing  for  their  own  safety,  after  the  disaster  of 
Merv,  to  give  consideration  to  the  choice  of  a  new  chief. - 

Baber,  on  hearing  of  the  death  of  Shaybani  Khan, 
and  having  been  led  to  suppose  that  his  presence  would 
be   attended   by  most   important   advantages,  again   set 

243  et  seq.  The  account  of  the  Emperor  Baber's  doings  at  this  period  are  all 
the  more  interesting  and  valuable  from  the  fact  that  in  the  famous  Memoirs 
of  Baber  a  break  occurs  from  the  year  1508  to  the  banning  of  the  year  1519  ; 
though  an  account  is  also  given  in  the  Tarikh-i-Alam-Aray  of  Miiza  Sikandar, 
which  was  used  by  Erskine  in  his  History  of  India. 

^  Lubb  ttt-  Tawdriih,  book  III.  pt.  iii.  chap,  vu 

-  Cf.  Veliaminof-Zemof,  op.  cit.  p.  247. 


i86  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  isti. 

out  from  Kabul,  and,  entering  Transoxiana,  entirely 
defeated  the  Uzbeg  army  sent  out  to  meet  him  under 
Hamza  Sultan,  A.H.  917  (15 11).  The  Uzbegs  were 
pursued  as  far  as  the  Iron  Gates.  Meanwhile  Baber's 
victorious  army  assembled  in  Hisar,  where  it  was  now 
reinforced  by  a  larger  body  of  Persians,  sent  by  Shah 
Isma'll,  who  made  common  cause  with  Baber  against 
the  Uzbegs.  The  united  forces,  numbering  60,000  men, 
next  marched  against  KarshI,  where  Sultan  'Ubaydullah 
had  fortified  himself,  while  the  most  of  the  Uzbeg  Sul- 
tans had  fled  to  Samarkand.  On  the  march,  Baber 
learnt  that  'Ubaydullah  had  abandoned  Karshi  and  fled 
to  Bokhara.  Baber  at  once  followed  him,  marching  day 
and  night  until  he  reached  the  city,  whence  he  drove 
'Ubaydullah  into  the  deserts  of  Turkestan.^  When  the 
rest  of  the  Uzbeg  Sultans  in  Samarkand  learnt  this 
disaster,  they  were  filled  with  terror  and  fled  in  disorder 
into  different  parts  of  Turkestan,  leaving  Baber  absolute 
master  of  Transoxiana.  He  now  entered  Samarkand 
amid  the  rejoicings  of  the  people,  who  welcomed  him  as 
the  rightful  successor  to  the  realms  of  Timur.  But  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  orthodox  Sunnis  began  to  cool  when 
they  found  that  Baber  still  maintained  cordial  relations  with 
the  Shi'ite  Shah  Isma'll  and  carried  out  the  stipulation  on 
which  the  alliance  was  based  by  recognising  his  suzerainty. 
Becoming  aware  of  the  popular  discontent,  the  Uzbeg 
Sultans  collected  their  forces  and  marched  out  of  Turkes- 
tan.^ Their  main  body  took  the  direction  of  Tashkent, 
while    'Ubaydullah,  with    the    remainder,  proceeded    to 

^  Tarikh-i-Rashidi,  p.  245. 

'^  Cf.  Tarikh-i-Rashidi,  p.  259.  Cf.  also  Veliaminof-Zernof  (p.  353),  who 
bases  his  statements  on  the  'Abdullah  Natni  of  Hafiz  ibn  Tanish.  Copies  of 
this  valuable  work  are  very  scarce.  Its  scope  and  contents  have  been 
described  (from  a  copy  in  the  Imperial  Academy  in  St.  Petersburg)  by  M. 
Veliaminof-Zernof.  See  Melanges  Asiatiqties  de  St.  Petersbourg,  vol.  iii.  p.  258 
et  seq. 


A.D.I5...  THE  SHAYBANIDES  187 

Bokhara  by  way  of  Yati  Kuduk.^  Baber  also  advanced 
on  Bokhara  at  the  head  of  40,000  well-equipped  men, 
and  overtook  'Ubaydullah  at  Kul-Melik.- 

The  Uzbeg  had  only  3000  men  under  his  command ; 
but,  nothing  daunted  by  the  fearful  odds,  he  rallied  his 
troops  and  attacked  Baber's  force  with  such  fury  that, 
after  a  bloody  encounter,  he  put  them  utterly  to  rout, 
A.H.  918  (15  1 2).  After  this  disaster  Baber  returned  to 
Samarkand,  but,  finding  no  supporters  there,  fled  to 
Hisar,  after  a  reign  of  just  eight  months.^ 

Though  the  Uzbegs  were  again  masters  of  Trans- 
oxiana,  their  position  was  by  no  means  secure.  On  the 
west,  Baber,  with  the  aid  of  60,000  Persians,  sent  at 
his  request  by  Shah  Isma'll,  under  Amir  Yar  Ahmed 
Isfahan!,  known  as  Najm-i-Sani,  or  the  Second  Star, 
passed  the  Iron  Gates  and,  entering  KarshI,  massacred 
the  inhabitants  and  sacked  the  town.  On  the  east,  the 
Khan  of  Moghulistan,  on  learning  Baber's  success  at 
KarshI,  marched  out  by  way  of  Andijan  to  attack 
Suyunjik  Khan,  one  of  the  chief  Uzbeg  Sultans.  An 
encounter  took  place  at  Bishkand,*  in  which  the  Khan 
was  utterly  defeated. 

Meanwhile  Baber  and  his  Persian  auxiliaries  were 
marching  in  the  direction  of  Samarkand,  causing  great 
alarm  among  the  Uzbegs.  On  reaching  Ghujduvan  ^ 
they  encountered  Janibeg  Sultan,^  who  had  thrown 
himself  into  the  fort.     A  fierce  battle  ensued,  which  is 

^  "  The  Seven  Wells."  V. -Zemof  reads  Yati  Kuruk,  which  might  mean 
"  the  Seven  Walls."     Thefonner  reading  seems  more  probable. 

-  On  the  localitx.  of  this  place,  cf.  Vambery's  Bokhara,  p.  257. 

'Cf.  Tarikh-i-Rashidi,  p.  260. 

*  Probably  to  be  identified  with  Panjakand,  in  the  Zaraishan  valley,  forty 
miles  east  of  Samarkand. 

'  Some  distance  north  of  Bokhara. 

"  Cf.  Tarikh-i-Rashidi,  Tp.  261.  Howorth  (ii.  713)  says* Ubaydullah  was 
in  this  fort. 


i88  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1512. 

vividly  described  by  Mirza  Haydar  in  the  following 
words :  "  The  Uzbeg  Sultans  entered  the  fort  on  the 
same  night  on  which  the  Turkomans  and  Baber,  who 
were  encamped  before  the  place,  were  busy  preparing 
their  siege  implements.  At  dawn  they  arranged  their 
forces  in  the  midst  of  the  suburbs,  and  stood  facing  the 
enemy.  On  the  other  side,  too,  preparations  were  made 
for  a  fight.  Since  the  Uzbegs  were  in  the  suburbs,  the  field 
of  battle  was  a  narrow  one.  The  Uzbeg  infantry  began  to 
pour  forth  a  shower  of  arrows  from  every  quarter,  so  that 
soon  the  grip  of  Islam  wrenched  aside  the  hands  of  heresy 
and  unbelief,  and  victory  declared  for  the  true  faith.^  The 
victorious  breezes  of  Islam  overturned  the  banners  of  the 
schismatics.  The  Turkomans  were  so  completely  routed 
that  most  of  them  perished  on  the  field  ;  all  the  wounds 
that  had  been  effected  by  the  swords  at  KarshI  were 
now  sewn  up  by  the  arrow-stitches  of  vengeance.  They 
sent  Mir  Najm  and  all  the  Turkoman  Amirs  to  hell ;  and 
the  emperor  retired,  broken  and  crestfallen,  to  Hisar." 
Baber  now  determined  on  relinquishing  his  designs  on 
Transoxiana,  and,  returning  to  Kabul,  he  prepared  for 
an  easier  conquest — that  of  Hindustan.  On  gaining 
possession  of  Transoxiana,  the  Shaybanides  divided  it 
into  a  number  of  appanages,  the  eldest  Sultan  usually 
assuming  the  leadership  of  the  rest.  His  name  alone 
was  read  in  the  public  prayers  throughout  the  whole 
empire,  and  appeared  on  the  coins  of  all  the  states 
which  composed  it. 

For  nearly  ninety-nine  years  did  the  Shaybanis, 
that  is,  the  descendants  of  Abu-1-Khayr  Khan,^  rule 
in  Transoxiana.     M.  Veliaminof-Zernof  was  the  first  to 

'  Mirza  Haydar  does  hesitate  to  speak  thus  of  the  fortunes  of  his  own 
cousin  Baber,  who  had  in  his  opinion  sold  himself  to  the  heretic  Persians. 

^  As  Grigorieff  suggested,  the  name  Abii-I-Khayride  would  fit  this  dynasty 
far  better  than  that  of  Shaybanide. 


A.D.is.3.1  THE  SHAYBANIDES  189 

elucidate  the  complications  in  their  system  of  govern- 
ment during  the  sixteenth  century.^  In  his  article  on 
the  coins  of  Bokhara  and  Khiva,  above  quoted,  he 
published  a  list  of  the  chief  Khans,  whom  he  calls  the 
KJidkdnSy  of  the  Shaybanis,  and  also  a  genealogical  table 
showing  their  descent  from  Abu-1-Khayr  Khan,- 

The  separate  appanages  passed  from  father  to  son, 
and  thus  the  residence  of  the  Khakan,  or  chief  Khan,  was 
continually  changing  from  one  city  to  another.  Thus 
Bokhara  lost  its  proud  position  as  capital  of  Trans- 
oxiana,  and  took  rank  with  other  towns  as  the  head- 
quarters of  successive  chiefs.^ 

After  the  battle  of  Ghujduvan,  in  A.H.  918  (15  12), 
in  accordance  with  their  established  custom,  tura  and 
yasdk,  the  ShaybanI  Sultans  proceeded  to  elect  their 
Khakan.  Kuchunji  Khan,  as  the  eldest,  was  appointed 
to  the  high  office ;  while  Suyunjik  was  nominated 
Kdlgha,  or  heir-apparent.  The  latter,  however,  died 
before  Kuchunji,  whereupon  Janlbeg  became  the  Kdlgha ; 
but  he  too  predeceased  Kuchunji,  and  the  title  of  Kdlgha 
passed  to  Abu  Sa'id  Khan,  who  eventually  became 
Khakan,  A.H.  936  (1529).  On  his  death  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  'Ubaydullah  Khan,  A.H.  939  (15^3). 

The  various  appanages  of  Transoxiana  were  thus 
apportioned  in  918  by  Janlbeg: — Kuchunji  received 
Samarkand ;     Suyunjik,     Tashkent ;     and   'Ubaydullah, 

^  "  Bokharan  and  Khivan  Coins,"  a  monograph  published  in  the  Memoirs 
of  the  Eastern  Branch  of  tht  Russian  Archtzological  Society ,  vol.  iv,,  St. 
Petersburg,  1859.  This  excellent  and  original  monograph  is  extensively  laid 
under  contribution  in  the  present  chapter,  as  it  was  also  by  Sir  H.  Howorth 
in  his  chapter  on  the»Shaybanides,  pt.  ii.  div.  ii.  chap.  ix. 

*  See  note,  p.  190. 

*  The  Tazkira  Muktm  KhdnT,  being  a  history  of  the  appanage  of  Bokhara, 
makes  no  mention  of  Kuchunji,  or  Abu  Sa'id,  who  ruled  in  Samarkand,  though 
they  both  attained  the  position  of  Khakan.  Cf.  Histoire  de  la  Grande  Bok- 
karie^par  Mouhamed  Joussouf  el-Munshi,  etc.,  par  Senkovsky,  St  Peters- 
burg, 1824. 


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THE  HEART  OF  ASIA 


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A.D.,583.)  THE  SHAYBANIDES  191 

Karakul  and  KarshI,  besides  Bokhara,  which  was  his 
by  inheritance.  Janlbeg  reserved  for  himself  and  his 
children  all  the  country  of  Miyankul,  Soghd  of  Samar- 
kand, and  the  town  of  Kermin^  which  was  his  residence. 
Omitting  the  unimportant  reigns  of  the  seven  following 
Khdkdns}  we  will  pass  at  once  to  a  short  account  of  the 
greatest  of  the  Abu-1-Khayrides,  'Abdullah  II.,  the  last 
but  one  of  his  dynasty ;  and  for  this  purpose  we  cannot 
do  better  than  summarise  the  account  given  by  Professor 
Vambery  in  his  History  of  Bokhara?- 

InA.H. 964(1  556)  he  had  put  an  end  to  the  sub-dynasty 
of  Bokhara,  and  in  A.H.  968  (i  560)  proclaimed  his  father 
in  that  town  as  "  Khakan  of  the  world";  in  A.H.  986 
(1578)  he  similarly  abolished  the  sub-dynasty  of  Samar- 
kand, which  had  sprung  up  during  Iskandar's  reign  at 
Bokhara;  and  in  A.H.  991  (1583),  on  his  father's  death, 
he  became  Khakan. 

"  In  imitation  of  ShaybanI  Khan  and  'Ubaydullah, 
who,  although  practically  sovereigns  of  the  country,  had 
left  the  actual  seat  of  the  Khanate  to  others,  the  more 
freely  to  pursue  their  military  career,  'Abdullah  placed 
his  father  Iskandar  on  the  throne,  and  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  his  army  to  re-conquer  the  original  frontiers  of 
Shaybanl's  empire  The  greater  part  of  his  life  was  spent 
in  this  enterprise,  but  he  was  more  fortunate  in  his 
conquests  than  any  of  his  predecessors,  and  also  contri- 
buted more  to  the  restoration  of  prosperity  to  the 
countries  of  the  Oxus  and  the  Jaxartes.  .  .  .  Under  him 
the  frontiers  of  the  Khanate  of  Bokhara  were  pushed 
forward  in  the  north  far  beyond  the  inhabited  province 

^  Their  names  were — Abu  Sa'ld, 'Ubaydullah,  'Abdullah  I.,  'Abd-ul-Latif, 
Xawruz  Ahmed,  Pir  Mohammad,  and  Iskandar.  All  are  described  at  some 
length  by  Vambery  and  Howorth,  the  latter  basing  his  account  on  a  great 
variety  of  authorities. 

*  P.  284  tf  seq. 


192  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1583. 

of  Turkestan.  In  the  east,  not  only  all  F'arghana,  but 
also  Kashghar  and  Khotan,  were  subdued  by  the  Shay- 
banides.  In  the  south,  an  aggressive  policy  had  been 
pursued — on  the  one  hand  by  the  family  of  Baber,  and 
on  the  other  by  the  Safavis,  who  both  coveted  the 
possession  of  Balkh ;  but  the  power  of  the  Uzbegs  was 
even  greater  than  in  the  time  of  the  first  Shaybanides. 
Balkh  was  fortified,  Tokharistan  and  Badakhshan  were 
incorporated  with  Transoxiana,  and  once  more  the  bright 
green  waters  of  the  Murghab  became  the  frontiers  of 
Turania.  In  the  west,  the  armies  of  'Abdullah  were 
again  victorious,  in  spite  of  the  united  opposition  of  the 
Iranians  and  Khwarazmians.  Astarabad  was  surprised 
and  taken  ;  the  Prince  of  Gilan,  an  ally  of  Sultan 
Murad  III.,  had  to  take  refuge  at  Constantinople,  and 
the  frontiers  of  the  empire  of  the  Shaybanides  were 
extended  in  this  direction  farther  than  they  had  ever 
been  before.  For  the  moment  "Abdullah  .  .  .  got 
possession  of  a  great  part  of  Khorasan,  including  the 
towns  of  Herat,  Meshed,  Sarakhs,  Merv,  etc.,  all  of 
which  he  retained  very  nearly  to  his  death." 

Soon  after  'Abdullah's  death  anarchy  broke  out  in 
Transoxiana,  and  the  way  was  prepared  for  a  change  of 
dynasty.  The  line  of  ShaybanI,  after  holding  the  govern- 
ment for  nearly  a  century,  gave  place  to  the  dynasty  of 
Astrakhan.^  During  its  tenure  of  power  the  Khans  of 
Bokhara  and  Khwarazm  were  continually  at  variance. 
On  the  conquest  of  Transoxiana  by  Abu-1-Khayr  and 
ShaybanI,  both  Khanates  were  simultaneously  occupied 
by  the  invaders.  Subsequently,  when  Shah  Isma'll 
drove  ShaybanI  out  of  Khwarazm,  he  placed  a  Persian 
governor  in  charge  of  the  province,  but  the  Sunni 
people  detested  the  Shi'ite  Shah,  and  expelled  him  in 
921.2     During  the  Khakanship  of  Kuchunji  the  Uzbegs 

^  Cat,  Coins  Brit,  Mus.  vii.  ^  q^  Howorth,  ii.  876. 


DECORATIONS   IX  THE   SHAH   Z[XDA,   SAMARKAND 


A.D.  ,583.1  THE  SHAYBANIDES  193 

founded  an  independent  principality  in  Khwarazm  ;  ^ 
Ilbars,  son  of  a  chief  named  Bereghe,  being  the  first 
Khan  of  the  new  line. 

^  Khwarazm  had  never  properly  belonged  to  Chaghatay's  territories  in 
Transoxiana,  and  accordingly  it  is  a  common  mint  name  on  coinage  of  the 
Golden  Horde  ( Cat.  Orient.  Coins  Brit.  Mus.  vii,  p.  26). 


13 


CHAPTER    XXVII 

The  House  of  Astrakhan 

Among  the  Mongol  chiefs  who  struggled  for  mastery  in 
Eastern  Russia  at  the  epoch  of  Timur's  intervention  ^ 
was  a  descendant  of  Chingiz,  named  Kutluk,  who  rose 
to  fame  by  defeating  Timur's  great  rival,  Tokhtamish 
Khan,  near  Kiev  in  1399.^  His  offspring  vegetated  in 
obscurity  for  nearly  two  centuries  in  the  Khanate  of 
Astrakhan,  on  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Volga,  and  were 
then  driven  eastwards  by  the  growing  power  of  the 
Russian  princes.  Thus,  towards  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  the  head  of  this  ancient  line,  Yar  Mahammad 
Khan,  sought  refuge  in  Transoxiana,  and  was  received  with 
honour  by  the  Shaybanides,  whose  pride  in  their  descent 
from  Timur  was  flattered  by  the  exile's  recognition  of 
their  claims  to  kinship.  Iskandar  Khan  gave  his  daughter, 
the  sister  of  'Abdullah,  greatest  of  the  Shaybanide  line, 
in  marriage  to  the  Astrakhan  chiefs  son,  Jani  Khan. 

The  new-comer  soon  showed  that  he  possessed  the 
warrior's  instincts,  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  his 
brother-in-law  'Abdullah's  campaigns.  And  so  it  came 
to  pass  that  when  the  last  of  the  Shaybanides,  'Abd  ul- 

^  Vide  ante,  p.  169. 

^  His  genealogy  is  very  doubtful ;  but,  according  to  the  best  authorities, 
his  ancestor  was  JujI  Khan,  one  of  the  mighty  conqueror's  sons,  who  had 
predeceased  him  (note  at  p.  304  of  Vambery's  History  of  Bokhara).  Cf. 
Howorth's  Mongols,  part  ii.  p.  744. 


A.D.i6,i.]  THE  HOUSE  OF  ASTRAKHAN  195 

Mu'min,  was  slain,  the  nobles  of  Transoxiana  offered  the 
crown  to  Jani  Khan.  He,  being  well  stricken  in  years, 
declined  it  in  favour  of  his  son  Din  Mahammad,  who 
united  the  blood  of  Chingiz  and  of  the  fallen  dynasty. 
He  did  not  long  survive  to  enjoy  his  fortune  ;  perishing 
in  battle  with  the  Persians,  who  attempted  to  drive  the 
Uzbegs  from  Khorasan.  His  successor,  A.H.  1007  (1598) 
was  his  brother  Baki  Mohammad,  while  Vali  Mohammad, 
another  of  old  Jani's  sons,  took  possession  of  Balkh  and 
the  country  west  of  the  Oxus.  A  third  brother  was 
murdered  in  A.H.  10 11  (1602)  by  the  Kara  Turkomans 
who  dwelt  at  Kunduz,  and  from  them  Baki  Mahammad 
exacted  a  terrible  vengeance.  Kunduz  was  taken  by 
storm,  and  the  entire  garrison  was  put  to  the  sword. 
This  punishment  brought  Shah  'Abbas  of  Persia  into  the 
field,  determined  to  guard  his  north-eastern  frontier  from 
foes  who  threatened  the  existence  of  his  authority.  He 
met  with  a  crushing  defeat  near  Balkh,  and  escaped  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  from  capture.  The  remainder  of 
Baki  Mohammad's  reign  was  disturbed  only  by  those  in- 
surrections, fomented  by  kinsmen,  from  which  few  Eastern 
princes  were  free.  He  died  in  A.H.  10 14  (1605),  and 
was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Vali  Mohammad,  the 
erstwhile  lord  of  Balkh.  Vali  Mohammad's  rule  was 
brief  and  inglorious.  He  wallowed  in  debaucher>%  and 
surrendered  all  power  to  an  unscrupulous  vezir,  whose 
fiendish  cruelties  aroused  fierce  resentment,  and  led  to 
his  master's  defeat  and  death  at  the  hands  of  a  kinsman, 
Imam  Kull  Khan  (161 1).  The  new  ruler  was  of  sterner 
and  purer  mould.  He  courted  the  society  of  the  learned 
and  pious,  and  laboured  to  secure  his  country's  prosperity. 
And  so,  under  his  wise  and  just  regime,  Bokhara  regained 
a  share  of  her  ancient  glory.  She  grew  rapidly  in  wealth, 
and  again  became  a  beacon-light  in  the  darkness  of 
Central  Asia.     At  length,  after  a  reign  of  thirty-eight 


196  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  ,64.. 

years,  the  good  Imam  Kull  Khan  felt  himself  unequal  to 
the  task  of  governing,  and  sought  the  repose  which  is 
the  ideal  of  all  true  Musulmans.  He  summoned  his 
brother  Nazir  Mohammad  from  Balkh  and  surrendered 
his  realm  to  him.^  Then,  taking  a  pilgrim's  staff,  he  set 
out  for  Medina,  where  he  died  in  the  odour  of  sanctity, 
leaving  traces  of  his  munificence  which  have  endured  to 
the  present  day. 

His  successor  (1642)  found  it  impossible  to  secure  a 
place  in  his  people's  affections.  He  was  immensely  rich, 
and  endeavoured  to  win  public  regard  by  his  largesses  ; 
but  Bokhara  sighed  for  the  good  times  of  old  Imam  Kull 
Khan,  and  the  popular  feeling  found  vent  in  a  revolt  which 
raged  in  the  northern  provinces.  Nazir  Mohammad  sent 
his  son  'Abd  el-' Aziz  to  quell  it,  but  the  faithless  prince 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  rebels  and  marched  on 
Bokhara.  The  unhappy  father  fled  to  Balkh,  leaving  his 
capital  at  his  unnatural  foe's  mercy,  and  'Abd  el-' Aziz 
took  up  the  fallen  sceptre  (1647).  Nazir  Mohammad,  in 
despair,  divided  the  rest  of  his  realms  among  his  sons 
who  had  remained  faithful  to  him — the  fourth,  Subhan 
Kull  Khan,  receiving  in  fief  the  country  round  the  ford 
of  Khwaja  Salu  on  the  Upper  Oxus.  But  his  old  age 
was  still  embittered  by  his  children's  contests  for  supre- 
macy. Worn  out  at  last  by  the  unequal  struggle,  he 
resolved  to  spend  the  brief  remainder  of  his  days  in  the 
sacred  soil  of  Medina,  and  died,  broken-hearted,  on  his 
pilgrimage  thither.^  His  death  served  only  to  increase 
the  hostility  between  his  sons.  Subhan  Kull  Khan,  who 
had  established  himself  at  Balkh,  became  a  thorn  in  the 
side  of  his  brother  'Abd  el-'AzIz  of  Bokhara.     A  third 

^  Vambery  relates  that  when,  in  the  great  mosque  of  Bokhara,  the  public 
prayers  were  read  for  the  first  time  for  the  new  ruler,  the  whole  congregation 
burst  into  sobs  and  bitter  tears  {^History  of  Bokhara^  p.  319). 

*  Vambery,  p.  323. 


A.D.  1665.1  THE  HOUSE  OF  ASTRAKHAN  197 

brother,  Kasim  Mohammad,^  was  despatched  with  an 
army  to  reduce  him  to  submission  ;  but  he  was  defeated, 
and  driven  to  take  refuge  at  Hisar,  and  peace  was 
restored  on  the  masterful  Subhan  Kull  Khan  being 
recognised  as  heir  to  the  throne.  Hardly  had  the  clouds 
of  civil  war  been  dissipated  ere  Bokhara  became  the  prey 
of  foreign  invasion  (1663).  Khiva  had  long  been  a 
province  of  the  southern  Khanate,  but  its  prince, 
Abu-1-Ghazi,  a  man  whose  life  had  been  one  long 
romance,  determined  to  throw  off  the  hated  yoke.  He 
drove  the  Bokharans  from  the  Lower  Oxus,  and  carried 
the  war  into  the  enemy's  camp.  Defeated  with  great 
slaughter  by  'Abd  el-' Aziz  near  Kermine,  he  escaped  with 
a  grievous  wound  by  swimming  across  the  great  river. 
Nothing  daunted,  he  soon  took  the  field  again,  and 
carried  his  ravages  to  the  very  gates  of  Bokhara. 

His  son  and  successor,  Anusha  Khan,  was  still  more 
venturesome.  He  invaded  'Abd  el-'Aziz's  territory  at  the 
head  of  a  great  force,  A.H.  1076  (i  665),  and  actually  gained 
possession  of  the  capital  during  the  sovereign's  temporary 
absence  at  Kermine.  The  latter  hastened  to  his  people's 
aid.  With  only  forty  devoted  followers  he  hewed  his 
way  to  the  citadel,  and  summoned  his  subjects  to  oust 
the  invader.  The  call  was  but  too  eagerly  obeyed :  all 
classes  rose  as  a  man  against  the  abhorred  Khivans. 
The  Sicilian  Vespers  were  repeated,  and  but  few  escaped 
to  tell  the  tale  of  disaster.  This  splendid  heroism 
exhausted  'Abd  el-' Aziz's  stock  of  mental  vigour.^     He 

^  This  prince  was  famed  throxighout  the  East  for  his  love  of  letters.  He 
was  a  poet  of  no  mean  skill,  and  an  adept  at  prose  composition.  His  end 
was  untimely.  Enticed  to  give  a  private  interview  to  some  of  his  brother 
Subhan  Kuli  Khan's  party,  he  was  foully  murdered  by  them  (Vamberj-, 
P-  323). 

-  Vambery  tells  us  that  he  was  a  man  of  amazing  corpulence  ;  and  one  of 
his  historians  avers  that  a  child  four  years  old  could  find  accommodation  in 
one  of  his  boots  !  {History  of  Bokhara^  p.  325). 


198  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1683. 

determined  to  abdicate  in  favour  of  his  brother  Subhan 
Kuh  Khan,  and  seek  the  secure  refuge  which  Medina 
offered  to  those  oppressed  with  the  carking  cares  of  Hfe. 
His  temperament,  indeed,  predisposed  him  in  favour  of  a 
course  which  had  become  traditional  in  his  family.  It 
was  a  rare  mixture  of  the  adventurous  and  the  contem- 
plative. Daring  in  battle,  prompt  in  action,  'Abd  el-'AzIz 
inherited  a  tendency  to  asceticism,  and  was  wont  to 
withdraw  himself  from  worldly  affairs  and  remain  plunged 
in  prolonged  meditation  on  the  ineffable  goodness  of  his 
Maker.  Without  regret  he  laid  down  his  crown  and 
betook  himself  as  a  humble  pilgrim  to  the  Holy 
City,  which  is  the  goal  of  every  true  follower  of  the 
Prophet. 

Subhan  Kuli  Khan  assumed  the  insignia  of  royalty 
on  his  brother's  departure ;  but  gratified  ambition  brought 
with  it  no  accession  of  happiness.  The  Astrakhanides, 
with  many  virtues,  were  deficient  in  filial  love,  and 
Subhan  Kull's  heart  was  wrung  by  the  jealousy  and 
disrespect  of  his  children.  His  neighbour  of  Khiva,  too, 
did  not  take  to  heart  the  terrible  lesson  taught  him  in 
the  preceding  reign.  In  A.H.  1095  (1683)  he  invaded 
Bokhara,  and,  though  defeated  by  a  loyal  chief  named 
Mohammad  Bi,  he  repeated  his  incursions  in  the  follow- 
ing year.  In  A.H.  1 100  (1688)  his  successor  advanced  to 
the  very  gates  of  Bokhara  ;  but  he,  too,  was  soundly 
beaten  by  Mohammad  Bi,  and  Khiva  fell  for  a  time 
under  Subhan  Kuli  Khan's  dominion.  This  age  wit- 
nessed the  apogee  of  Bokhara's  greatness  in  the 
estimation  of  the  Mohammedan  world.  Aurangzlb,  the 
narrow-minded  zealot  who  sat  on  the  throne  of 
Akbar,  sent  thither  ambassadors  with  elephants  and 
other  costly  gifts ;  and  Ahmad  II.  of  Turkey,  whose  lust 
for  conquest  far  exceeded  his  military  genius,  did  not 
disdain  to  address  his  Bokharan  brother  a  grandiloquent 


A.D.  .7.7.1         THE  HOUSE  OF  ASTRAKHAN  199 

epistle  describing  mythical  successes  against  the  Prankish 
unbelievers.^ 

In  spite  of  endless  trouble  with  rebellious  nobles, 
Subhan  Kull  Khan  found  a  leisure  to  cultivate  the 
Muses :  and  he  was  also  the  author  of  a  book  on 
medicine  which  epitomises  the  lore  of  Galen,  Hippocrates, 
and  Avicenna,  but  suggests  nostrums  in  the  shape  of 
prayers  and  talismans  of  which  none  of  those  worthies 
would  have  approved.  He  was  now  eighty  years  of  age, 
and  felt  that  a  time  had  come  when  he  must  bid  adieu 
to  ambition.  He  called  around  him  his  nobles,  and 
publicly  designated  his  son  Mukim  Khan,  who  ruled  at 
Balkh,  as  his  successor.  Then  he  peacefully  resigned  his 
breath  after  a  reign  of  twenty-four  years,  A.H.  1 1 1 4 
(1702). 

MukIm  Khan  found  an  obstacle  in  his  path  in  the 
person  of  his  elder  brother 'Ubaydullah,  and  a  civil  war 
broke  out  in  which  the  great  Uzbeg  nobles  of  Bokhara 
found  their  account.  The  faithful  Mohammad  Bi  took 
up  the  gauntlet  for  Mukim,  while  the  elder  pretender's 
cause  was  espoused  by  Rahim  Bi,  the  chief  of  the  power- 
ful Mangit  tribe.  It  lasted  for  five  years,  when,  thanks 
to  his  nominal  vassal's  support,  'Ubaydullah  triumphed. 
He  chafed  under  the  dictation  of  the  Mangit  king- 
maker, and  was  promptly  suppressed  by  poison  ;  another 
brother  named  Abu-1-Fayz  being  elevated  to  the  throne 
in  his  stead,  A.H.  1 1  30  (17 17). 

The  new  sovereign's  character  was  wholly  deficient 
in  the  strength  of  purpose  so  needful  in  one  who  aspires 
to  rule  his  fello^w-men,  and  he  owed  to  his  utter  insig- 
nificance his  recognition  by  the  turbulent  nobles  who 
surrounded  him.  It  is  the  fate  of  all  long-lived  dynasties 
to  end  miserably  with  a  succession  of  rois  faineants ; 
and  the  Astrakhanides  were  no  exception    to  the  rule. 

^  Vamber)-,  History  of  Bokhara,  p.  333. 


200  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  X736. 

Not  only  did  Abu-1-Fayz  meekly  submit  to  the  dictation 
of  Rahim  Bi ;  he  bowed  the  neck  to  a  foreign  potentate, 
and  disgraced  his  country  in  the  eyes  of  Islam. 

In  1736  Nadir  Shah  of  Persia,  whom  Vamb^ry 
styles  the  last  of  the  Asiatic  conquerors  of  the  world,^ 
after  crushing  the  Ottoman  power  in  Georgia,  turned  his 
eagle  glance  on  the  states  on  his  north-eastern  frontier. 
A  host  under  his  son  Riza  Kull  Khan  was  hurled 
against  Andakhuy  and  Balkh,  and  soon  the  Sun  and  Lion 
of  Persia  waved  over  both  citadels.  Flushed  with  victory, 
Riza  Kuli  Khan  crossed  the  Oxus  and  fell  upon  Abu-1- 
Fayz  Khan's  dispirited  legions.  But  Ilbars,  the  lion- 
hearted  ruler  of  Khiva,  came  to  the  rescue,  and  the  forces 
of  the  two  Khanates  gained  the  day  in  an  encounter 
with  the  invaders  at  Karshi.  Nadir  Shah,  who  had  far 
deeper  designs  at  stake,  recalled  his  impetuous  son,  and 
informed  the  Khans  of  Central  Asia  that  the  expedition 
had  been  undertaken  without  his  consent,  and  that  he 
wished  to  live  in  amity  with  the  descendants  of  Chingiz. 
Meantime  Persian  gold  was  brought  into  play.  Rahim 
Bi  and  other  Uzbeg  chiefs  were  won  to  his  side,  and  a 
breach  was  produced  by  the  jealousy  between  Bokhara 
and  Khiva.  Then,  secure  from  attack  from  his  dreaded 
foes  of  Khiva,  Nadir  Shah  invaded  India,  A.H.  1 1 5  2 
(1739))  took  Delhi  with  fearful  slaughter,  and  bent  his 
steps  homewards  with  booty  valued  at  eighty  millions 
sterling. 

When  the  news  of  this  successful  raid  reached  Abu-1- 
Fayz  he  sent  an  embassy  to  the  conqueror,  who  was 
resting  on  his  easily  won  laurels  at  Peshawar.  "  I  am 
the  last  off-shoot,"  he  wrote,  "  of  an  ancient  line.  I  am 
not  powerful  enough  to  withstand  a  monarch  so  redoubt- 
able as  thou,  and  so  I  keep  myself  apart,  offering  prayers 
for   thy   welfare.       If,  however,  thou    shouldst  deign  to 

'  History  of  Bokhara,  p.  339. 


AD.  ,740.)  THE  HOUSE  OF  ASTRAKHAN  201 

honour  me  by  a  visit,  I  will  show  thee  the  regard  due  to 
a  guest"  ^  The  fatuous  prince  at  the  same  time  sought 
to  associate  his  neighbour  of  Khiva  in  his  abasement,  but 
his  overtures  were  received  with  outspoken  contempt. 

Nadir  Shah  saw  in  the  submission  tamely  offered  by 
Bokhara  (i  740)  a  means  of  crushing  his  inveterate  enemy, 
Ilbars  Khan,  and  he  accepted  Abu-1-Fayz's  invitation. 

He  marched  from  Peshawar  to  Herat  with  three 
hundred  elephants,  a  tent  embroidered  with  pearls,  and 
the  famous  Peacock  Throne,  ravished  from  the  Hall  of 
Private  Audience  at  Delhi.^  Thence  he  travelled  to 
Karki  on  the  Oxus  frontier  of  Bokhara,  where  he  was  met 
by  Rahim  Bi  with  presents  and  supplies  for  his  locust- 

^  Page  95,  History  of  Central  Asia,  by  'Abd  ul-Kerim  Bokhari  ;  translated 
into  French  by  Charles  Schefer,  Paris,  1876. 

^  This  throne  was  ' '  so  called  from  its  ha\'ing  the  figures  of  two  peacocks 
standing  behind  it,  their  tails  being  expanded,  and  the  whole  so  inlaid  with 
sapphires,  rubies,  emeralds,  pearls,  and  other  precious  stones  of  appropriate 
colours  as  to  represent  life.  The  throne  itself  was  six  feet  long  by  four  broad  ; 
it  stood  on  six  massive  feet,  which,  with  the  body,  were  of  solid  gold,  inlaid 
with  rubies,  emeralds,  and  diamonds.  It  was  surmounted  by  a  canopy  of 
gold  supported  by  twelve  pillars,  all  richly  emblazoned  with  costly  gems,  and 
a  fringe  of  pearls  ornamented  the  borders  of  the  canopy.  Between  the  two 
peacocks  stood  the  figure  of  a  parrot  of  the  ordinary  size,  said  to  have  been 
carved  out  of  a  single  emerald.  On  either  side  of  the  throne  stood  an 
umbrella,  one  of  the  Oriental  emblems  of  royalty.  They  were  formed  of 
crimson  velvet,  richly  embroidered  and  fringed  with  pearls.  The  handles 
were  eight  feet  high,  of  solid  gold  and  studded  with  diamonds.  The  cost  of 
this  superb  work  of  art  has  been  variously  stated  at  sums  varj-ing  from  one 
to  six  millions  sterling.  It  was  planned  and  executed  under  the  supervision 
of  Austin  de  Bordeaux,  already  mentioned  as  the  artist  who  executed  the 
Mosaic  work  in  the  Am  Khas"  (Beresford's  Delhi,  quoted  by  Mr.  H.  G. 
Keene  at  p.  20  of  the  third  edition  of  his  Handbook  for  Visitors  to  Delhi, 
Calcutta,  1876).  Tavemier,  who  was  himself  a  jeweller,  and  visited  India  in 
1665,  valued  this  piece  of  extravagance  at  two  hundred  million  of  livres, 
j^8,ooo,ooo  ;  Jonas  Hanway  estimated  it  as  worth,  with  nine  other  thrones, 
;^ll,250,cxx)  {Travels,  ii.  383).  It  stood  on  a  white  marble  plinth,  on  which 
are  still  to  be  deciphered  the  world -renowned  motto  in  flowing  Persian  char- 
acters: "  If  there  be  a  paradise  on  earth,  it  is  even  this,  even  this,  even  this." 
Agar  Fardawsi  ba  niyi  zamin  ast : 
Haniin  ast,  hamin  ast,  hamtn  ast. 


202  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a. d.  1740. 

horde  of  followers.  Thence  he  fared  to  Charjuy,  and 
traversed  the  mighty  river  by  a  bridge  which  he  threw 
across  it  in  three  days.  Leaving  half  his  army  to  protect 
the  priceless  baggage,  he  moved  on  to  Karakul,  a  fortress 
one  day's  march  from  the  capital.  Here  he  was  met  by 
Abu-1-Fayz,  attended  by  his  nobles,  courtiers,  and  clergy, 
bringing  a  present  of  beautiful  Arab  horses.  The  titular 
sovereign  of  Bokhara  presented  himself  as  a  suppliant, 
but  was  given  a  seat  by  Nadir  Shah.  Clad  in  a  robe 
of  state  and  crowned,  the  imperious  guest  carried  his 
complaisance  so  far  as  to  address  his  host  as  "  Shah," 
But  further  honours  were  in  store  for  the  obsequious 
Abu-1-Fayz.  Nadir  deigned  to  accept  his  lovely  daughter 
as  a  wife,  bestowing  her  sister,  at  the  same  time,  on  his 
nephew.  He  created  Mohammad  Rahim  Bi,  to  whose 
influence  he  owed  his  reception.  Khan,  and  gave  him 
command  of  6000  chosen  troops  levied  in  Turkestan. 
Having  thus  brought  Bokhara  to  heel.  Nadir  Shah 
turned  his  attention  to  Khiva.  He  sent  an  envoy  to 
Ilbars  Khan,  demanding  his  instant  submission.  The 
Khivan  was  a  man  of  ungovernable  temper,  and  his 
reply  was  to  put  to  death  those  who  held  out  to  him  the 
olive  branch.  This  breach  of  the  usages  of  Islam  sealed 
his  fate.  He  was  attacked  by  Nadir  Shah  with  an  over- 
whelming force,  and  closely  invested  in  his  fortress  of 
Khanka.  After  undergoing  a  cannonade  for  three  days, 
the  proud  Ilbars  was  forced  to  throw  himself  upon  the 
mercy  of  a  man  whose  fearful  butchery  of  the  population 
of  Delhi  showed  that  he  was  insensible  of  the  softer 
feelings ;  and  against  him  pleaded  the  children  of  the 
slaughtered  envoys,  whose  blood  cried  aloud  for  venge- 
ance. He  was  put  to  death,  and  twenty-one  of  his  prin- 
cipal officers  shared  his  fate.^  Having  thus  rid  himself 
of  a  perpetual  thorn  in  his  side,  Nadir  Shah  returned  to 

^  'Abd  ul-Kerim  Bokharl,  p.  106. 


A.D.1747]  THE  HOUSE  OF  ASTRAKHAN  203 

Charjuy,  whence  he  sent  back  to  her  father  the  young 
princess  whom  he  had  lately  wedded.  He  then  returned 
to  Khorasan  by  way  of  Merv,  and  fell  a  victim  to  a 
conspiracy  among  his  followers,  provoked  to  extremities 
by  his  insane  cruelty,  A.H.  1 160  (1747). 

The  news  of  his  death  led  the  all-powerful  Mo- 
hammad Rahim  Bi  to  throw  off  the  semblance  of  loyalty 
to  his  effete  master.^  He  entered  Bokhara  with  a  strong 
force,  seized  the  person  of  the  wretched  Abu-1-Fayz, 
confiscated  his  treasure,  and  finally  put  him  to  death. 
With  him  virtually  ended  the  dynasty  of  the  Astrak- 
hanides,  which  had  exhibited  many  virtues,  neutralised, 
however,  by  an  absence  of  will-power  and  a  bias  towards 
the  mystic  side  of  their  religion.  Their  age  was  one  of 
profound  decadence.  Its  architectural  remains,  which 
reflect  the  spirit  of  an  era  much  more  closely  than  is 
generally  supposed,  are  insignificant.  They  are,  indeed, 
limited  to  the  great  college  known  as  Shir  Dar,  which  was 
built  at  Samarkand  in  16 10,  and  a  few  other  public 
edifices  which  do  not  shine  by  contrast  with  those  dating 
from  Timur's  happier  days.  But  Bokhara  was  destined 
to  wallow  in  a  yet  deeper  abasement  under  the  uncouth 
Uzbegs,  who  supplanted  the  cultured  sovereigns  of  the 
Astrakhan  line. 

^  Vambery  gives  the  date  of  this  coup  d^etat  as  1737  (p.  343)  ;  but  'Abd  ul- 
Kerim  Bokhara  makes  it  follow  the  assassination  of  Nadir  Shah,  the  epoch  of 
which  is  not  open  to  question  (p.  1 10).  The  dates  of  events  of  the  eighteenth 
century  in  Bokhara  are  strangely  uncertain,  contemporary  chroniclers  rarely 
deigning  to  aid  posterity  by  recording  them. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 

The  House  of  Mangit 

The  family  thus  raised  to  royal  rank  by  the  ambition 
of  Rahim  Bi  ^  belonged  to  the  great  Uzbeg  tribe  of 
Mangit,  which  had  been  brought  from  the  north-east 
of  Mongolia  by  Chingiz,  and  had  settled  on  the  lower 
reaches  of  the  Oxus  and  around  Karshi,  a  Bokharan 
citadel  140  miles  south-east  of  the  capital.  Their 
warlike  spirit  had  placed  them  at  the  head  of  the 
Uzbeg  clans ;  and  while  the  Astrakhanide  sovereigns 
retained  any  real  power,  the  loyalty  of  the  Mangits 
was  as  conspicuous  as  their  courage.  We  have  seen 
how  the  imbecility  of  the  degenerate  Abu-1-Fayz  tempted 
his  headstrong  minister,  RahIm  Bi,  to  throw  off  the  mask 
of  allegiance.  The  latter  sealed  his  disloyalty  by  assassin- 
ating the  murdered  Khan's  young  heir,  'Abd  ul-Mu'min, 
who  had  married  his  daughter.^  By  an  irony  of  fate 
RahIm  Bi  was  destined,  in  his  old  age,  to  sink  to  the 
condition  of  a  roi  faijtiant.  His  vezir,  a  Persian  slave 
named  Dawlat  Bi,  usurped  all  the  functions  of  royalty, 

^  "Bi"  is  an  Uzbeg  word  meaning  "judge."  It  is  not  spelt  "bai,"  nor  does 
it  mean  "  superior  grey-beard,"  as  I\I.  Vambery  supposes  {History  of  Bokhara, 

p.  347)- 

^  There  are  many  versions  of  the  death  of  'Abd  ul-Mu'min.  The  most 
probable  is  that  related  by  'Abd  ul-Kerim  of  Bokhara,  at  p.  115,  which  is  to 
the  effect  that  RahIm  Bi  had  the  young  prince  taken  by  his  own  followers 
on  a  pleasure-party,  and  then  pushed  into  a  well  while  he  was  dreamily 
peering  into  its  depths. 

204 


A.o.  X770.)  THE  HOUSE  OF  MANGIT  205 

and  misgoverned  Bokhara  in  his  name.  On  his  death- 
bed, having  no  male  heirs,  he  designated  his  uncle  Daniyal 
Bi  as  his  successor — the  choice  having  been  probably 
dictated  by  his  vezir,  who  was  acquainted  with  Daniyal's 
weak  and  overscrupulous  character,  and  fondly  hoped  to 
retain  the  mastery  which  he  had  won  over  the  degenerate 
Rahim  Bi.  Daniyal  was,  at  his  nephew's  death,  governor 
of  the  town  of  Kermine.  His  modest  disposition  forbade 
him  to  assume  the  purple.  He  contented  himself  with 
the  title  of  Atalik,i  and  placed  Abu-1-Ghazi  Khan,  the 
last  scion  of  the  Astrakhanides,  on  the  throne.-  But  his 
son,  the  famous  Ma'sum,  who  afterwards  assumed  the 
name  of  Shah  Murad,  was  not  of  a.  nature  to  brook  an 
inferior  position.  Under  a  mask  of  asceticism  and  insensi- 
bility to  the  promptings  of  ambition,  which  imposed  on 
the  priesthood  and  the  mob,  he  cherished  deep-seated 
schemes  of  conquest.  He  gained  unbounded  influence 
over  his  doting  father,  and  persuaded  him  to  connive  at 
his  assassination  of  the  vezIr,  Dawlat  Bi,  under  circum- 
stances of  peculiar  atrocity.  Then  he  gathered  all  the 
threads  of  authority  in  Bokhara  into  his  own  hands,  and, 
when  the  dotard  Daniyal  Bi  died,  in  1770?  none  of  his 
brethren  ventured  to  dispute  his  claims  to  the  successor- 
ship.*  He  was  at  first  content  to  govern  without 
reigning ;  and  Abu-1-Ghazi,  the  grandson  of  Abu-1-Fayz, 

^  This  is  the  highest  degree  in  the  Bokharan  official  hieiarchy  (see 
KhanikofTs  Bokhara :  Us  Amir  and  People,  p.  239 ;  Meyendorffs  Voyage  d 
Bokhara,  p.  259). 

'  Note  at  p.  120  of  Schefer's  edition  of  Abd  ul-Kerim  Chronicles. 

'  See  note  at  p.  13?,  idtd.  The  editor  corrects  an  obvious  lapsus  calami, 
— A.H.  1 148  for  1 184. 

*  With  characteristic  Pharisaism, 'Abd  ul-Kerim  tells  us  that  "fear  and 
terror  fell  upon  Masum's  brethren,  even  as  they  had  possessed  the  brethren 
of  Joseph.  He  set  himself  to  repress  their  iniquities,  and  had  their  accom- 
plices in  crime  put  to  death.  He  suppressed  prostitution,  and  tolerated  no 
disorders  condemned  by  law.  Bokhara  became  the  image  of  Paradise  !  "  (p. 
125). 


2o6  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [ad.  ,784. 

was  permitted  to  retain  the  trappings  of  royalty.  In 
1784,  however,  Ma'sum  had  rendered  intrigue  and  overt 
opposition  to  his  rule  hopeless,  and  felt  strong  enough  to 
deprive  the  forlorn  descendant  of  Chingiz  of  his  shadowy 
crown.  From  that  year  dates  the  commencement  of  the 
reigning  house,  although  the  founder  eschewed  the  title 
of  king  and  adopted  that  of  "  Dispenser  of  Favours." 
Ma'sum,  secure  at  home,  turned  his  eyes  to  foreign  con- 
quest. Khorasan,  the  richest  province  of  Persia,  was 
powerless  to  resist  his  encroachments ;  but  the  road 
thither  was  blocked  by  Bahram  'All  Khan,  a  Persian  of 
the  Kajar  tribe  to  which  the  present  Shahs  belong.  This 
remarkable  man  had  established  himself  in  the  chief 
strategical  position  of  Central  Asia  in  1781.^  He  had 
built  for  himself  a  citadel  out  of  the  ruins  of  Old  Merv, 
which,  even  in  its  decay,  conveys  the  impression  of  over- 
whelming strength ;  and  his  stern  rule  had  reduced  his 
kinsmen,  the  Turkoman  tribes,  to  abject  submission.^  In 
vain  did  he  attempt  to  propitiate  the  ruthless  Amir  by  an 
embassy,  and  offering  prayers  for  the  repose  of  the  soul 
of  Daniyal  Bi.  In  1785  Ma'sum  set  out  for  Merv  at  the 
head  of  6000  Uzbeg  horsemen.  After  lulling  Bahram 
'All  into  security  by  one  of  those  ruses  in  which  he  was 
so  great  an  adept,  he  suddenly  appeared  before  Merv, 
and  drew  its  defenders  into  an  ambuscade,  in  which 
Bahram  'All  was  slain.  But  the  royal  city  defied  his 
forces,  secure  in  the  wealth  poured  into  her  lap  by  a 
system  of  irrigation,  the  work  of  the  Sultan  Sanjar  of 
the  Seljuk  line.  Its  head  works  were  a  mighty  barrage 
on  the  Murghab,  thirty  miles  above  Merv,  which  was 
guarded  by  a  strong  castle.^  The  governor  of  these 
defensive  works  quarrelled  desperately  with  Mahammad 

^  'Abd  uI-Kerim,  p.  132. 

2  His  mother  belonged  to  the  noble  Salor  tribe,  ibid. 

2 'Abd  ul-Kerim,  p.  137.     For  descriptions  of  ancient  Merv  the  reader  is 


AD.  I799-]  THE  HOUSE  OF  MANGIT  207 

Khan,^  the  son  and  successor  of  Bahram  Khan ;  the 
causa  teterrhna  belli  being,  as  is  generally  the  case,  a 
woman.  In  the  torments  of  disappointed  love  he  had 
recourse  to  the  Amir  Ma'sum,  to  whom  he  delivered  his 
charge.  Thus  Merv's  relentless  foe  was  enabled  to  strike 
at  the  root  of  its  prosperity.  He  destroyed  the  Sultan 
Band,  as  the  barrage  was  called,  and  turned  the  most 
fertile  spot  on  the  world's  surface  into  a  desert.  Famine 
stared  the  inhabitants  in  the  face,  and  they  had  no  other 
resource  but  to  submit  to  the  ruthless  Amir.  He  obtained 
possession  of  the  coveted  prize  without  striking  a  blow, 
and  transported  the  bulk  of  its  population  to  Bokhara, 
where  they  have  left  indelible  traces  in  the  population.^ 

Ma'sum's  thirst  for  conquest  was  not  stayed  by  this 
splendid  capture.  He  carried  his  raids  far  into  Persia,  laid 
Khorasan  waste,  and  swept  off  so  many  of  its  wretched 
inhabitants  that  the  price  of  Persian  slaves  fell  in  the 
Bokhara  bazaar  to  a  few  pence.^  His  conduct  towards 
other  princes  who  had  the  misfortune  to  be  his  neigh- 
bours was  equally  devoid  of  mercy  and  good  faith ;  and 
at  his  death,  in  1799,*  the  people  of  Khiva,  Kokand,  and 
Balkh  felt  that  Central  Asia  had  been  delivered  from 
a  scourge  almost  as  terrible  as  that  wielded  by  Chingiz 
Khan.  Amongst  his  own  subjects  Ma'sum  left  behind 
him  a  reputation  of  piety  and  virtue.    "  Under  his  reign," 

referred  to  vol.  v.  Dictionnaire  geographique  de  la  Perse,  by  C.  Barbier  de 
Meynard,  p.  526  ;  Eumes'  Travels  into  Bokhara,  London,  1834  ;  KhanikoflTs 
Memoire  sur  la  partie  Meridionale  de  VAsie  Cenirale,  pp.  53,  57,  113,  and 
128 ;  and  Prof.  Shukovski's  exhaustive  work  referred  to  on  p.  144 — ^note  3, 
supra. 

^  'Abd  ul-Kerim  assures  us  that  this  prince  was  the  Plato  of  the  centmy,  a 
man  full  of  \^Tsdoin  and  Knowledge  (p.  135). 

-  'Abd  ul-Kerim  tells  us  that  the  number  of  families  then  deported  was 
17,000,  which  would  give  a  total  of  about  85,000  individuals  (p.  142). 

'  Vamber}',  History  of  Bokhara,  p.  354, 

*  'Abd  ul-Kerim  (p.  151)  gives  the  date  as  Friday,  14th  Rajab  A.H.  1214. 
Vambery  is  apparently  in  error  in  placing  it  as  1802  (p.  360). 


2o8  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a. d.  1799. 

writes  'Abd  ul-Kerlm,^  "  the  prosperity  of  Bokhara  excited 
the  envy  of  Paradise.  Religion  had  then  taken  a  new 
lease  of  life.  The  prince  was  occupied  only  in  good 
works,  in  prayers  and  practising  devotion.  He  had 
renounced  the  pleasures  and  pomps  of  this  world ;  he 
touched  neither  gold  nor  silver,  and  he  spent  on  his  own 
needs  only  the  proceeds  of  the  capitation  tax  levied  from 
Jews  and  infidels."  Historians  who  are  not  blinded  by 
religious  prejudice  give  us  a  very  different  estimate  of 
his  character  and  the  influence  of  his  reign. 

Under  this  cruel  and  hypocritical  bigot  Bokhara  lost 
the  last  semblance  of  national  spirit,  and  succumbed  to  a 
terrorism  such  as  that  which  sapped  the  power  of  Spain. 
Ma'sum  it  was  who  revived  the  office  of  Ra'is-i-Sharl'at,  or 
religious  censor,  which  had  fallen  into  desuetude  in  the  rest 
of  Islam.  These  officials  drove  the  people  to  prayer  with 
whips,  visited  neglect  of  outward  observances  with  severe 
floggings,  and,  on  its  repetition,  with  death.  The  use  of 
wine  and  tobacco  was  forbidden  under  the  like  penalties, 
and  thieves  and  prostitutes  were  delivered  over  without 
trial  to  the  executioner.  Spoliation  and  the  levy  of  black- 
mail were  carried  by  these  pests  to  the  height  of  a  fine 
art,  and  the  sanctity  of  the  harem  itself  was  not  respected,^ 
No  system  can  be  conceived  which  was  better  calculated 
to  repress  all  independence  of  thought  and  action,  and 
encourage  the  growth  of  hypocrisy  and  even  darker 
vices. 

Ma'sum  had  designated  his  son  Sayyid  Haydar  Tura 
as  his  successor ;  but  the  new  sovereign  had  to  reckon 
with  three  paternal  uncles,  'Omar  Bi,  Fazil  Bi,  and  Mah- 
mud  Bi,  who  raised  the  standard  of  revolt  in  the  northern 

^P.  151. 

^  See  Meyendorff's  Voyage  cCOrenbourg  h  Boukhara  en  1820,  p.  281  ; 
Bokhara :  its  Amir  and  People,  by  Khanikoff,  p.  248 ;  VamWry,  History 
of  Bokhara,  p.  360. 


A.D.  ,799.1  THE  HOUSE  OF  MANGIT  209 

provinces.  Amir  Haydar  ^  marched  against  them  at  the 
head  of  an  army  so  powerful  as  to  render  resistance 
impossible.  The  rebels  threw  themselves  into  strong 
places,  but  were  driven  from  these  retreats  by  concen- 
trated artillery  fire.  Two  of  them,  'Omar  Bi  and  Fazil 
Bi,  were  tracked  to  a  village  by  the  Amir's  troops,  were 
captured  and  put  to  death ;  while  Mahmud  Bi,  the  third, 
sought  safety  in  Kokand.^  Amir  Haydar's  store  of 
energy  was  apparently  exhausted  by  this  early  test.  He 
permitted  Iltuzar  Khan  of  Khiva  to  ravage  the  suburbs 
of  his  capital,  and  not  until  the  cry  of  his  suffering  sub- 
jects could  no  longer  be  disregarded  did  he  give  orders 
for  an  expedition  to  avenge  their  woes.  It  consisted  of 
30,000  Uzbegs  under  the  command  of  a  general  of 
distinction  named  Mahammad  Niyaz  Bi.  The  avenging 
host  followed  the  course  of  the  Amu  Darya  until  the 
confines  of  Khiva  had  been  reached.^  In  the  meantime, 
Iltuzar,  overjoyed  at  the  prospect  of  victory,  crossed  the 
Amu  Darya  in  the  enemy's  rear  and  established  himself  in 
an  entrenched  camp  with  4000  chosen  men.  The  invaders 
were  on  the  horns  of  a  dilemma.  To  leave  the  river  was 
to  enter  a  waterless  desert,  wherein  none  would  emerge 
alive  ;  while  retreat  to  Bokhara  was  barred  by  the  K  hi  vans' 
entrenchments.  In  desperation  they  attacked  the  foe  with 
suddenness  and  vigour,  driving  them  into  the  Amu  Darya 
and  securing  a  decisive  victory.  Khiva  lay  open  to  their 
attack,  but  the  pusillanimous  Haydar  was  content  to 
rest  on  his  vicariously  won  laurels,  and  to  pass  the  rest 

^  Amir  Haydar  was  the  first  of  the  present  dynasty  to  assume  the  title 
of  Padishah.  r 

-  'Abd  ul-Kerim,  pp.  154-156.  Vambery  gives  a  different  version  (History 
of  Bokhara,  p.  462),  but  we  prefer  to  follow  the  native  chronicler,  who  held 
high  diplomatic  posts  in  Bokhara  at  the  commencement  of  the  century,  and 
may  be  presumed  to  have  had  personal  knowledge  of  the  events  which  he 
records  (see  M.  Charles  Schefer's  Introduction  to  his  Chronicle,  p.  iii). 

' 'Abd  ul-Kerim,  pp.  163,  164. 
14 


2IO  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  ,8,6. 

of  his  reign  in  the  practice  of  a  pharisaical  piety  and 
association  with  priests,  who  ruled  the  people  in  his  name 
with  a  rod  of  iron.  As  is  too  frequently  the  fate  of 
Oriental  princes,  he  was  unable  to  resist  the  enervating 
influence  of  the  harem,  and  lost  his  power  of  initiative 
by  wallowing  in  licensed  debauchery.^  He  died  in  1826, 
after  an  inglorious  reign  of  twenty-seven  years. 

^  "  He  always  has  four  legitimate  wives:  when  he  wishes  to  espouse  a  new 
wife  he  divorces  one  of  her  predecessors,  giving  her  a  house  and  pension  cor- 
responding with  her  condition.  Every  month  he  receives  a  young  virgin, 
either  as  wife  or  slave.  He  marries  the  slaves  who  have  not  given  him 
children,  either  to  priests  or  soldiers"  ("Abd  ul-Kerini,  p.  163). 


CHAPTER    XXIX 

AmIr  Nasrullah,  a  Bokharan  Nero 

In  writing  of  the  monkish  Haydar's  successor,  Vambery 
appositely  quotes  an  old  Uighur  proverb,  "  The  princes 
of  an  age  are  its  mirrors."  ^  Nasrullah  Khan  epitomised 
the  vices  which  flourished  unchecked  in  Bokhara.  The 
passion  for  low  intrigue,  the  lust  and  cruelty,  the  self- 
righteousness  and  hypocrisy  so  often  associated  with  the 
Mohammedan  character,  were  found  in  him  in  their 
highest  development. 

As  the  third  son  of  Haydar,  he  had  small  chance  of 
succeeding  to  the  throne  ;  but  he -kept  that  goal  constantly 
in  view  during  his  father's  lifetime,  and  paved  the  way 
thither  by  pandering  to  the  greed  of  the  military  caste. 
No  opportunity  was  lost  of  gaining  adherents  among  the 
Amir's  courtiers.  Hakim  Bi,  the  Kushbegi,  or  vezlr, 
and  his  father-in-law  Ayaz  Topchi-bashi,-  who  held  an 
important  military  command,  were  devoted  to  his  in- 
terests.^ 

On  Haydar's  death,  his  eldest  son,  Husayn  Khan, 
took  possession  of  the  citadel  of  Bokhara  and  was 
proclaimed  Amir.  He  received  fervent  assurances  of 
loyalty  from  Nasrullah,who  was  the  while  actively  plotting 

^  History  of  Bokhara,  p.  365.  A  long  chapter  is  devoted  to  Amir 
Nasrullah  by  Sir  H.  Howorth.  See  his  History  of  the  Mongols,  part  ii. 
pp.  790-809. 

-  "  General  of  artillery."  *  Khanikoff,  Bokhara,  p.  296. 


212  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  ,826. 

to  subvert  his  authority,  and  who  held  a  council  of  war  at 
KarshI,  at  which  Mu'min  Beg  Dadkhah,  one  of  Husayn's 
chief  lieutenants,  assisted. 

At  this  crisis  he  learnt  that  his  brother  had  died 
suddenly  after  a  reign  of  barely  three  months,  and  took 
immediate  steps  to  assert  his  claims.^  He  obtained  a 
legal  decision  in  his  favour  from  the  chief-justice  of 
Karshi,  who  also  invited  the  clergy  of  Samarkand  to 
espouse  his  cause.  In  the  meantime  another  brother 
named  'Omar  Khan  seized  the  reins  of  power  at  Bokhara, 
and  sent  orders  to  the  governor  of  Samarkand  on  no 
account  to  surrender  his  charge.  But  on  Nasrullah's 
arrival  the  gates  were  flung  open  to  him  by  the  influence 
of  the  mullas,  and  he  was  enthroned  on  the  famous 
Blue  Stone,  or  Kok-tash,  whereon  nearly  every  Amir 
since  Timur's  reign  had  received  investiture.  Then  began 
a  triumphant  progress  throughout  the  realm.  Katti- 
Kurgan,  Kermin^,  and  other  cities  surrendered  to  the 
pretender,  who  replaced  their  governors  by  creatures  of 
his  own,  and  bade  the  former  swell  his  train.  Thus  at- 
tended, he  arrived  before  Bokhara  and  closely  invested 
the  city.  Starvation  soon  decimated  its  swarming  popu- 
lation. A  pound  of  meat  sold  for  seven  tangasf  flour 
was  introduced  through  Nasrullah's  trenches  in  coffins, 
and  the  stench  of  stagnant  water  in  the  irrigation  canals 
grew  intolerable.  The  Kushbegi  and  his  father-in-law 
Ayaz  took  advantage  of  the  people's  agony  to  proffer 
their  submission,  and  undertook  to  give  the  signal  of 
capitulation  by  blowing  up  an  ancient  cannon,  said  to 
have  weighed  nearly  thirteen  tons.^  On  hearing  the 
muffled  roar  of  the  explosion,  Nasrullah  immediately  at- 

^  The  Kushbegi  was  vehemently  suspected  of  removing  him  by  poison 
(KhanikofiF,  p.  298). 
2  About  four  shillings. 
'  Khanikoff,  p.  301. 


A.D.ia4o.i  AMiR  NASRULLAH  213 

tacked  the  city  from  two  quarters,  and  entered  it  in 
triumph  on  the  22nd  March  1826.  'Omar  saved  his 
life  by  instant  flight,  but  three  of  his  brothers,  with  many 
of  their  adherents,  were  butchered  in  cold  blood.-^ 

The  policy  with  which  NasruUah  inaugurated  his  reign 
partook  of  the  ingrained  cunning  which  was  his  chief 
characteristic.  He  seemed  to  prefer  amusements  to 
affairs  of  state,  and  thus  induced  the  Kushbegi  to  believe 
that  his  own  lease  of  power  would  be  indefinitely  pro- 
longed. Meantime  no  occasion  was  lost  of  strengthen- 
ing his  hold  on  the  lower  classes  by  acts  of  apparent 
generosity  and  justice.  The  motto  on  his  seal  was  that 
adopted  by  the  noble-hearted  Tlmur,  whom  he  affected  to 
regard  as  his  prototype.  It  was  "  Truth  and  Equity  "  !  - 
When  he  felt  himself  strong  enough  to  throw  off  the 
mask,  he  banished  his  benefactor  to  KarshI,  and  afterwards 
to  Samarkand.  Ayaz  Topchi  -  bashi's  suspicions  were 
lulled  by  ardent  asseverations  of  friendship,  lest  he  should 
make  away  with  the  vast  possessions  which  Nasrullah  had 
long  marked  as  his  own.  He  summoned  the  old  man 
to  his  presence,  gave  him  a  beautiful  horse,  and  aided 
him  to  vault  into  the  saddle  with  his  own  royal  hands.^ 
The  victim  set  out  for  Samarkand,  of  which  he  had  been 
appointed  governor,  in  the  assurance  that  he  had  not 
participated  in  his  son-in-law's  disgrace  ;  but  he  was  soon 
ordered  back  to  Bokhara,  and  thrown  into  prison  with 
the  Kushbegi.  To  Nasrullah's  eternal  disgrace,  he  put 
both  of  these  early  friends  to  death  in  the  spring  of 
1840.  Then  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  military 
class,  which  had  attained  preponderance  in  an  empire 
won  and  kept  together  by  the  sword.  They  were 
butchered  in  large  numbers  without  any  form  of  trial,  or 
banished  to  a  distance  from  the  capital.     The  clergy  had 

1  Vamben-,  p.  366.  '  WolfiF,  Bokhara^  p.  232. 

'  Khanikoflf,  Bokhara,  p.  304. 


214  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  ia.d.  1840. 

been  permitted  by  his  bigoted  predecessor  to  meddle  in 
the  affairs  of  state,  and  even  the  warrior-prince  Ma'sum 
had  not  ventured  to  thwart  them.  Nasrullah  overturned 
their  authority,  and  substituted  his  royal  commands  for 
the  hitherto  sacred  injunctions  of  law  and  custom.^ 

His  evil  passions  gained  a  complete  mastery  as  he 
grew  older.  He  gave  full  rein  to  the  foulest  lust,  and 
neither  rank  nor  sex  were  sacred  in  his  eyes.  His  temper 
became  utterly  ungovernable.  "  When  angry,"  writes 
one  who  knew  him  well,^  "  the  blood  comes  into  his  face 
and  creates  a  convulsive  action  of  his  muscles ;  and  in 
such  fits  he  gives  the  most  outrageous  orders,  reckless  of 
consequences."  These  spells  of  madness  alternated  with 
periods  when  he  became  a  prey  to  the  wildest  suspicion. 
To  gratify  it,  an  army  of  spies  was  maintained,  who  were 
paid  to  report  the  most  trivial  words  of  those  whom  he 
believed  to  be  disaffected.^ 

Our  readers  may  well  wonder  why  a  tyrant  of  his 
mould  was  allowed  to  reign  for  more  than  a  generation 
and  to  die  in  his  bed.  The  key  to  the  mystery  is  to  be 
found  in  his  attitude  towards  the  populace,  by  whom  he 
was  idolised  as  their  protector  against  the  violence  of 
the  military  class.*  Juvenal,  in  lamenting  the  atrocities 
of  a  monster  of  the  like  nature,  remarks  that  he  did  not 
perish  until  he  came  to  be  feared  by  the  dregs  of  the 
people.^ 

His  foreign  policy  was  as  perfidious  as  his  domestic. 
He  attacked  Shahrisabz,  a  little  state  enclosed  in  his 
dominions,  which  had,  like  Holland,  preserved  its  inde- 
pendence by  the  bravery  of  its  people  and  their  ability  to 
lay  the  environs  of  their  capital  under  water  at  an  invader's 

1  Wolff,  Bokhara,  p.  233.  ^  Ibid.  p.  233. 

3  Wolff,  p.  181.  *  Ibid.  p.  232. 

''  "Sed    periit   postquam    cerdonibus  esse    timendures   Coeperat"   (Sat. 

IV.  153). 


AD.  i84o.]  AMIR  NASRULLAH  215 

approach.^  He  was  baffled,  and  Shahrisabz  continued 
to  be  a  thorn  in  his  side  during  his  long  reign, — albeit 
that  he  endeavoured  to  gain  a  footing  there  by  espousing 
the  ruler's  sister.  With  Kokand  he  was  more  successful. 
That  state  was  governed  by  Khan  Mohammad  'All,  a 
prince  descended  in  the  female  line  from  the  great  Baber, 
emperor  of  Hindustan,  who  had  won  glory  by  successes 
against  the  Chinese  on  his  western  frontier.^  Thus  he 
incurred  Nasrullah's  jealousy,  and  his  ruin  was  determined 
on.  It  was  compassed  by  the  aid  of  a  Persian  soldier  of 
fortune  named  'Abd  us-Samad  Khan,  who  had  fled  his 
country  after  attempting  to  assassinate  his  master.^  He 
knew  how  to  cast  and  work  cannon — engines  of  war 
which  exercise  an  overwhelming  influence  on  the  Oriental 
mind ;  and  commended  himself  to  Nasrullah  by  military 
knowledge  and  an  eagerness  to  pander  to  his  worst 
vices.  He  became  his  dme  dantn^e,  even  as  the  infamous 
"Azimulla"  prompted  every  atrocity  committed  by  Nana 
Sahib  during  the  Indian  Mutiny.  The  excuse  for  aggres- 
sion was  afforded  by  the  frontier  fortress  of  Pishagar, 
which  Nasrullah  declared  had  been  erected  by  the  Ko- 
kandis  on  his  territory.  Its  destruction  was  peremptorily 
demanded ;  and,  on  Mohammad  'All's  refusal  to  comply, 
it  was  attacked  by  a  strong  force,  accompanied  by  a 
breaching  battery  under  'Abd  us-Samad's  command.* 
The  mud  walls  of  Pishagar  were  unable  to  resist  the  iron 
shower,  and  its  surrender  was  followed  in  the  succeeding 
year  by  that  of  Ura  Teppe  and  of  Khojend.  The  Khan 
of  Kokand,  seeing  that  the  capital  was  in  peril,  sued  for 
peace,  and,  by  the  treaty  of  Kohna  Badam,  ceded  Khojend 
and  recognised  th'e  Bokharan  Amir  as  his  suzerain. 

With  the  cunning  which  in  the  East   passes  for  the 
highest  manifestation  of  diplomacy,  Nasrullah  placed  the 

^  Wolff,  p.  248.  2  Vamben-,  p.  372. 

'  Khanikoff,  p.  306  ;  Wolff,  p.  152,  et passim.  *  Vambery,  p.  373. 


2i6  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  184.. 

newly  conquered  territory  under  the  governorship  of  Sultan 
Mahmud,  a  brother  of  the  Khan  of  Kokand  and  a  pretender 
to  his  throne.  But  hardly  were  these  arrangements  com- 
pleted ere  Mahmud  and  his  brother  came  to  terms,  and 
both  Khojend  and  Ura  Teppe  were  temporarily  lost  to 
Bokhara.  The  wrath  of  the  Amir  was  unbounded.  In 
April  1842  he  took  the  field  against  Kokand  with  a  host 
of  30,000  horsemen  and  regulars,^  and  10,000  Turkoman 
mercenaries.  He  reached  Khojend  by  forced  marches, 
and  captured  that  city  without  firing  a  shot,  though  it 
was  defended  by  a  garrison  15,000  strong.^  Thence  he 
moved  rapidly  on  the  capital  and  drove  Mohammad 
'All  to  seek  refuge  in  Marghilan.  Here  he  was  taken 
prisoner,  dragged  back  to  Kokand,  and  slaughtered  with 
the  greater  part  of  his  relatives.^ 

Nasrullah's  relations  with  Khiva  were  bitterly  hostile 
throughout  his  reign  ;  and  he  played  into  the  hands  of 
the  common  enemy,  Russia,  by  harrying  the  Khan's 
territory  at  a  time  when  all  his  force  was  needed  to 
oppose  an  expedition  under  General  Perovski. 

The  petty  states  of  Balkh,  Andakhuy,  and  Maymana 
on  the  southern  frontier  were  the  objects  of  his  constant 
aggression,  and  the  mutual  jealousy  of  Persia  and 
Afghanistan  allowed  him  to  assume  suzerainty  over 
them.  Thus  the  weakness  of  his  neighbours  turned 
to  his  advantage.  He  was  hailed  by  his  obsequious 
courtiers  as  king  of  kings,  and  firmly  believed  himself 
destined  to  repeat  the  conquests  of  his  model,  Timur. 

This  was  the  man  at  whose  gates  knocked  the  two 
greatest  of  European  Powers.  England  had  watched  the 
constant  advance  of  Russia  towards  her   Indian  frontier 

1  Under  'Abd  us-Saniad's  advice  he  had  organised  a  corps  of  soldiers  who 
were  drilled  and  accoutred  in  the  European  fashion. 

2  Khanikoff,  p.  313. 

^  Ibid.  p.  314.     Wolff  adds  that   the  unfortunate  Khan's  pregnant  wife 
was  also  butchered  {Bokhara,  p.  232). 


A.D.184*.]  AMiR  NASRULLAH  217 

with  ill-concealed  alarm,  and  in  1832  Alexander  Bumes 
was  despatched  on  an  unofficial  mission  to  Bokhara. 
He  accomplished  nothing,  and  was  fortunate  indeed  to 
escape  from  the  bloodthirsty  tyrant's  clutches.^ 

The  next  attempt  made  by  England  to  establish 
friendly  relations  with  the  leading  Central  Asian  Powers 
was  less  fortunate.  Her  agent  was  Colonel  Stoddart  of 
the  Indian  Army,  a  man  utterly  unfitted  by  training  and 
temperament  for  a  diplomatic  mission.^  His  rude  and 
overbearing  manners  gave  the  deepest  offence  to  a  despot 
accustomed  to  see  all  around  him  tremble  at  his  slightest 
movement.^  He  was  thrown  into  a  loathsome  dungeon, 
and  languished  there,  with  brief  intervals  of  comparative 
liberty,  till  death  put  an  end  to  his  sufferings.  In  1 840 
he  received  a  companion  in  affliction  in  the  person  of 
Captain  Arthur  Conolly,  whose  gentle  disposition  and 
high  culture  rendered  him  equally  unfit  to  cope  with 
a  truculent  monster  such  as  Nasrullah.  He  had  been 
charged  with  the  duty  of  uniting  the  Central  Asian 
Khanates  in  an  informal  alliance  against  Russia — a  task 
which  their  common  jealousies  rendered  absolutely  im- 
possible. Thus  his  overtures  were  politely  rejected  by 
Khiva  and  Kokand  in  succession.  Enticed  by  Nasrullah 
into  his  camp,  he  was  seized,  robbed  of  all  his  possessions, 
and  sent  to  join  poor  Stoddart  in  captivity.  In  the 
meantime  the  Russians  had  begun  to  compete  for  Nas- 
rullah's  favour.*  Major  Batanieff  was  despatched  to 
Bokhara  in    1840  by  the  Tsar  Nicholas,  with  orders  to 

^  He  published  an  interesting  account  of  his  wanderings  in  his  Travels 
into  Bokhara,  being  an  account  of  a  Journey  from  India  to  Cabool,  Tartary, 
and  Persia  in  i8jr-jj.     London,  1834-39. 

^  Wolff,  p.  1 76.  It  appears  that  he  drew  his  sword  on  the  court  official 
charged  with  the  duty  of  presenting  him  to  His  Majesty. 

^  "  He  delights  to  hear  that  people  tremble  at  his  name,  and  laughs  with 
violence  when  he  hears  of  their  apprehensions"  (Wolff,  p.  233). 

*  The  first  regular  Russian  embassy  to  Bokhara  was  that  of  M,  Regni  in 


2i8  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  ,842. 

conclude  a  treaty  of  commerce  and  amity  with  the 
Amir.  He  was  received  with  ostentatious  courtesy,  and 
his  presents  found  especial  favour  in  NasruUah's  eyes. 
But  every  attempt  to  arrive  at  a  modus  vivendi  was 
baffled  by  those  excuses  and  procrastinations  in  which 
Oriental  monarchs  are  past  masters.  He  left  in  1841, 
after  vainly  interceding  for  his  rivals,  who  languished  in 
daily  expectation  of  death.  Their  fate  was  sealed  by  his 
departure  and  by  the  news  of  our  disasters  in  Kabul.^ 

On  the  17th  June  1842  the  unfortunate  men  were 
brought  out  to  die.  Stoddart,  who  had  been  forced  to 
embrace  Mohammedanism,  was  the  first  to  suffer.  When 
his  head  had  been  severed  from  his  body  the  executioner 
paused,  and  Conolly  had  an  offer  made  of  life  as  the 
price  of  his  apostasy.  He  scorned  the  bargain,  and 
stretched  out  his  neck  to  receive  the  fatal  blow.  This 
atrocious  crime  was  never  avenged  by  the  country 
which  had  sent  her  sons  forth  to  perish,^  but  for  many 
years  Bokhara  was  a  word  full  of  evil  associations  in  the 
English  mind.  It  was  undoubtedly  prompted  by  the 
fiendish  'Abd  us-Samad,  who  lost  no  opportunity  of  gratify- 

1820,  which  was  described  by  Colonel  Baron  Meyendorff  in  his  Voyage 
(V  Orenbourg  d  Boukhara.  Paris,  1826.  The  Russian  reply  to  Burnes' 
mission  were  those  of  Desmaison  in  1834,  and  of  Vitkovich  in  the  following 
year  (Vambery,  p.  380). 

^  The  issue  of  our  first  attempt  to  meddle  in  the  affairs  of  Afghanistan  is  too 
well  known  for  recapitulation.  The  British  forces  left  Kabul  on  January  1842 
on  their  homeward  march,  and,  out  of  16,500  troops  and  camp  followers, 
only  one  man  lived  to  carry  the  news  of  disaster  to  Jalalabad.  See  Kaye's 
History  of  the  War  in  Afghanistan,  185 1. 

"  Nasrullah  was  tormented  by  remorse  to  his  dying  day.  He  told  the 
Shaykh  ul-Islam  of  Bokhara  that  "  he  had  given  himself  a  terrible  wound  by 
having  killed  Stoddart  and  Conolly."  And  the  chief-justice  assured  WolflF 
that  the  Amir  had  more  than  once  exclaimed,  "  The  wounds  of  my  heart,  for 
having  slain  these  English  people,  will  never  heal!"  (Wolff's  Bokhara, 
pp.  176,  233).  Even  this  black  heart  had  one  white  spot.  But  we  must  not 
judge  a  bad  man  by  the  good  he  may  do  on  impulse,  nor  a  good  one  by  the 
evil  which  alloys  the  finest  nature. 


A.D.  IS44.1  AMIR  NASRULLAH  219 

ing  his  hatred  of  Europeans.  Nor  were  Stoddart  and 
Conolly  Nasrullah's  only  victims.  A  lust  for  blood  seized 
him,  and  all  who  professed  Christianity  were  proscribed. 
The  missionary  Wolff,  who  visited  Bokhara  in  1 844  in 
order  to  learn  the  two  young  officers'  fate,  and  if  possible 
to  procure  their  release,  gives  a  list  of  seven  Englishmen 
who  were  slaughtered  at  'Abd  us-Samad's  instigation.^ 

Nasrullah's  closing  years  were  embittered  by  con- 
spiracies amongst  his  nobles ;  and  his  successor  jMozaffar 
ud-Din  was  strongly  suspected  of  having  incited  one  of 
those  movements,  which  was  put  down  with  much  blood- 
shed."- He  was  maddened,  too,  by  the  repeated  failure  of 
his  attempts  to  reduce  Shahrisabz.  On  his  deathbed, 
in  i860,  he  learnt  that  that  last  stronghold  of  independ- 
ence had  fallen  to  his  conquering  arm.  His  last  act 
was  to  order  the  execution  of  its  chief,  who  was  his 
brother-in-law,  and  all  his  children,  and  his  own  wife, 
whose  only  crime  was  her  relationship  to  the  rebel, 
beheaded  in  his  presence.^ 

Sayyid  Mozaffar  ud-Din  Khan,  who  succeeded  this 
monster  of  iniquity,  had  attained  the  mature  age  of 
thirty-eight  on  his  death.  He  was  the  son  of  a  Persian 
slave-girl,and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  was  appointed  governor 
of  KarshI,  the  Dauphinee  of  modern  Bokhara.*  That  he 
lived  to  reign  in  his  turn  was  due  to  his  extreme  circum- 
spection, for  he  was  swayed  by  the   same  vices  as  his 

^  Wolff,  Bokhara,  p.  231.  It  is  not  exhaustive,  for  Vamberj'  (p.  389) 
mentions  a  poor  Italian  watchmaker  named  Giovanni  Orlando  as  one  of 
Nasrullah's  victims.  Wolff's  work  is  disfigured  by  its  authors  eccentricities, 
and  is  deficient  in  information  of  value  as  to  the  manners  and  economy  of  the 
country'.     But  his  courage  and  self-devotion  are  beyond  all  praise. 

-  Vamberj',  p.  391.  The  date  which  he  gives  tentatively,  1840,  is  certainly 
wrong :  had  it  occurred  then,  details  would  have  appeared  in  the  works  of 
Wolff  and  Khanikoff.  H.  Moser,  who  twice  visited  Bokhara  during  his 
reign,  says  that  he  lived  in  idleness  till  his  father's  death,  the  date  of  which 
he  inexplicably  states  to  have  been  1842  {A  Trovers  I'Asie  Centrale,  p.  156). 

*  Vambery,  p.  391.  *  H.  Moser,  p.  156. 


220  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1853. 

father  had  been.  His  first  care  was  to  regain  the  con- 
fidence of  the  priestly  caste,  which  had  been  aHenated 
by  the  insane  excesses  of  Nasrullah.  Then,  inspired  by 
those  dreams  of  universal  conquest  which  had  been  the 
curse  of  his  dynasty,  he  turned  his  attention  to  Shahri- 
sabz,  which  continued  in  a  state  of  revolt.  Undeterred 
by  his  failure  to  reduce  the  stubborn  mountaineers  to 
subjection,  he  next  attacked  Kokand.  That  Khanate 
had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Khuda  Yar,  a  grandson  of 
the  murdered  Mohammad  'All,  who  had  been  brought  up 
under  Nasrullah's  eye  in  that  gilded  sty,  the  Bokharan 
Court.  He  attained  power  at  a  period  pregnant  with 
danger  to  his  country.  The  lower  reaches  of  the  Sir 
Darya  were  enclosed  in  the  coil  of  the  Russian  advance. 
In  1853  the  fortress  of  Ak-Mechet  had  fallen,  and  eleven 
years  later  the  Eagle  waved  over  Turkestan  and  Chim- 
kent.^  The  onward  movement  was  checked  in  1864  by 
the  failure  of  an  assault  on  Tashkent ;  but  Khuda  Yar 
was  foiled  in  his  turn  in  a  like  attempt  on  Turkestan, 
and  retreated  to  his  capital  only  to  find  that  the  warlike 
Kipchaks,^  a  tribe  who,  then  as  now,  were  the  backbone 
of  the  population,  had  set  up  a  younger  brother  named 
Molla  Khan  in  his  stead.  Khuda  Yar  fled  to  Bokhara 
and  implored  the  Amir  to  aid  him  to  regain  the  throne. 
Mozaffar  ud-Din  saw  in  these  events  an  excuse  for  extend- 
ing his  own  authority  up  to  the  frontier  of  China.  As  a 
preliminary  measure,  he   had  Molla  Khan  assassinated, 

^  It  was  regarded  in  Central  Asia  as  a  bird  of  ill  omen,  and  nicknamed 
Kara-Kush,  "black  bird"  (Vambery,  p.  394). 

2  The  Kipchaks  are  a  race  of  Turkish  origin,  who,  according  to  Howorth 
{History  of  the  Mongols,  part  ii.),  settled  on  the  south-eastern  Russian  steppes, 
in  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries.  They  afterwards  split  up  into  hordes, 
the  "Golden"  and  the  "Eastern,"  but  were  united  under  Timur's  great 
antagonist,  Tokhtamish  Khan.  When  his  power  was  shattered  the  Kipchaks 
dispersed  over  Central  Asia,  and  large  numbers  found  their  way  to  Kokand, 
then  styled  by  its  present  name,  Farghana. 


A.D.  1865-1  AMiR  NASRULLAH  221 

and,  marching  on  Kokand,  reinstated  Khuda  Yar. 
The  Kipchaks,  however,  were  far  from  approving  his 
choice.  They  rose  in  rebellion,  and,  after  a  protracted 
struggle  with  the  Bokharan  forces,  they  succeeded  in 
wresting  the  eastern  half  of  the  Khanate  from  Mozaffar 
ud- Din's  protege.^  But  their  strength  was  sapped  by  the 
war  raging  on  the  northern  frontier,  and  their  trusted 
leader  was  slain  by  the  Russians  at  Tashkent.  Thus 
when  in  1865  the  Bokharan  Amir  invaded  Kokand,  in 
order  to  repress  their  insolence,  he  found  the  task  an  easy 
one.  Khuda  Yar  was  replaced  on  his  tottering  throne, 
and,  had  Mozaffar  ud-Din  possessed  a  trace  of  political 
foresight,  he  might  have  united  the  forces  of  Central  Asia 
against  the  common  danger.  But  his  lust  for  conquest 
was  increased  by  his  cheaply  won  successes  in  Kokand, 
and,  spurred  to  his  ruin  by  a  fanatical  priesthood,  he 
flung  the  gauntlet  of  defiance  in  the  teeth  of  Russia. 
Though  General  Chernaieflf  had  made  himself  master  of 
Tashkent,  and  had  Kokand  at  his  mercy,  he  received  a 
haughty  summons  to  evacuate  his  conquests,  accompanied 
by  a  threat  of  a  Holy  War.^  His  reply  was  couched  in 
language  equally  peremptory,  and  a  struggle  began 
which  closed  in  the  deep  humiliation  of  the  proud 
Amir. 

It  remains  for  us  to  trace  the  origin  of  a  Power 
which  was  destined  to  play  a  part  of  the  first  importance 
in  the  history  of  Central  Asia,  and  to  repeat  the  con- 
quests of  Chingiz  and  Timur. 

1  \'ambery,  p.  395. 

2  H.  Moser,  A  Trovers  VAsie  Centrule,  p.  156. 


i 


PART    II 
RUSSIA   IN   CENTRAL   ASIA 


CHAPTER    I 

The  Making  of  Russia 

During  the  long  dark  centuries  whose  annals  we  have 
endeavoured  to  reconstruct,  the  tide  of  conquest  ran 
westwards.  It  was  checked  at  times  by  the  might  of 
civilisation  or  fanaticism,  but  its  flow  was  tolerably 
steady  and  quite  beyond  control.  Had  it  not  been  for 
the  evolution  of  a  still  greater  force  on  her  eastern 
borders,  the  whole  of  Europe  would  have  been  enveloped 
in  the  coils  of  a  Mongolian  invasion.  The  world  was 
saved  from  this  calamity  by  the  unconscious  agency  of 
Russia.  It  remains  to  trace  succinctly  the  history  of  her 
rise,  and  to  show  how  she  combated  the  Yellow  Terror, 
and,  by  a  reflex  action,  carried  the  banner  of  European 
civilisation  eastwards. 

Long  ages  before  the  Christian  era  the  vast  plains  of 
Eastern  Europe  were  invaded  by  an  Aryan  race  called 
the  Veneti  by  Ptolemy.^  In  the  fourth  century  we  find 
them  struggling  for  existence  with  the  Goths  on  the  plains 
watered  by  the  Vistula.^  They  afterwards  split  into  three 
branches — the  Veneti  proper,  afterwards  known  as  the 
Wends,  the  Antes,  aod  Slavi.     The  first-named  pitched 

*  Bom  at  Pelusum  in  Egj'pt,  A.  d.  70,  and  flourished  under  M.  Antoninus 

and  Hadrian. 

-  Our  authority  here  is  Jomandes,  more  properly  styled  Jordanes,  who 
lived  at  Byzantium  under  Justinian  11.  His  work,  De  Gothorum  Origine  et 
Rebus  Gesiis,  is  to  be  found  in  Muratori's  Rtrtim  Italicarum  Scriptores  ab 
Anno  500  ad  1500,  27  vols,  folio. 

15 


226  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA 

their  tents  in  north-eastern  Europe,  and  have  left  indelible 
traces  in  the  Baltic  provinces  of  Prussia.^  The  second 
spread  over  the  plain  between  the  Dnieper  and  Dniester ; 
while  the  Slavs  2  occupied  the  land  between  the  latter 
river  and  the  Vistula.  Their  progress  was  impeded  for  a 
while  by  contests  with  the  Huns,  but  the  overthrow  of 
their  fierce  foes  which  followed  the  death  of  Attila  gave 
full  scope  to  their  expansion.  They  crossed  the  Danube 
and  occupied  the  rich  country  between  the  Adriatic  and 
the  Black  Sea ;  then,  spreading  northwards,  they  took 
possession  of  the  lake  region  of  Pskov  and  Novogorod. 
These  movements  ceased  in  the  seventh  century,  the 
close  of  which  saw  the  Slavs  firmly  established  in 
European  Russia,  Illyria,  and  Bulgaria.  They  were 
employed  in  agriculture  and  stock-raising,  and  their 
characteristics  appear  to  have  been  much  the  same  as 
those  observed  at  the  present  day  in  the  rural  popula- 
tions of  Eastern  Europe.  Ancient  writers  agree  in 
depicting  them  as  being  hospitable  and  cheerful,  firmly 
attached  to  ancient  customs,  courageous,  and  fighting 
only  in  self-defence.  In  point  of  culture  the  Slavs  of  a 
thousand  years  ago  failed  to  reach  the  low  standard 
attained  by  their  contemporaries  of  the  West ;  for  they 
were  sparsely  scattered  over  vast  areas  and  plunged  in 
continual  warfare  with  aggressive  neighbours.  Society 
was  organised  on  a  patriarchal  basis.  The  soil  was  held 
in  common  by  the  tribe  or  "  land,"  whose  affairs  were 
discussed  and  whose  chiefs  were  elected  at  a  general 
gathering  of  the  members.  The  religion  of  the  Slavs 
betrayed  its  Eastern   origin.      The  supreme   deity  was 

^  The  Grand  Dukes  of  Mecklenburg  claim  a  Wendish  origin,  and  are 
officially  styled  "Princes  of  the  Wends." 

-  Slav,  originally  Slovene  or  Slovane,  was,  according  to  Miklositch,  Ver- 
ghichende  Grammatik  den  Slavischen  Spracken  (Vienna,  1879),  the  tribal 
name  of  one  of  several  Aryan  clans,  whose  settlements  stretched  from  the 
Arctic  Ocean  to  the  ^grean  Sea,  from  Ivamskatka  to  the  Elbe. 


THE  MAKING  OF  RUSSIA  227 

called  Bog,  his  wife  Siwa ;  but  there  were  good  spirits 
{belbog)  to  be  worshipped  and  evil  ones  {chernebog)  to  be 
propitiated,  and  every  village  had  its  patron  divinity.^ 

It  is  possible  to  carry  too  far  the  theory  on  which 
Mr.  Buckle  insisted  so  strongly — that  the  destinies  of  a 
race  are  moulded  by  their  physical  environment ;  but  its 
general  truth  is  demonstrated  by  the  history  of  Russia. 
The  European  dominions  of  the  Tsar  are  an  unbroken 
plain.  They  contain  no  mountain  fastnesses  serving  as 
a  refuge  for  inferior  races,  and  were  thus  fit  arenas  for  a 
struggle  for  existence  in  which  the  most  vigorous  stem 
of  the  human  family  was  sure  to  survive  and  to  expand. 
And  then,  Russia  lay  on  the  highway  of  commerce 
between  the  East  and  West.  The  silks,  spices,  and 
sugar  of  China  traversed  her  plains  on  their  passage  to 
mediaeval  cities,  and  the  growth  of  local  trade  was 
fostered  by  the  35,000  miles  of  navigable  river  which 
the  empire  possesses.  To  this  cause  is  due  the  accre- 
tion of  great  urban  centres,  which  played  as  great  a  part 
in  Muscovite  history  as  they  did  in  that  of  Western 
Europe.  These  cities  were  fortified  to  serv^e  as  rendez- 
vous for  the  surrounding  population  in  time  of  stress. 
Their  government  was  strictly  democratic ;  affairs  being 
directed  by  a  general  assembly  of  the  citizens,  which 
elected  a  mayor,  a  commander  of  their  trained  bands, 
and,  later,  a  bishop.  Traders  and  merchants,  who  were 
the  backbone  of  the  urban  population,  were  divided  into 
self-governing  guilds ;  and  the  city,  not  the  individual, 
sent  out  its  fleets  and  caravans  and  colonised  distant 
regions.  Each  town  became  a  nucleus  of  a  territory 
whose  peasant-inhabitants  rendered  the  City  Fathers  the 
allegiance  formerly  paid  to  the  tribe. 

*  "God"  in  Sanskrit  is  Bhag^'an.  Siva  was  the  devoted  wife  of  the 
demigod  Rama,  who  is  worshipped  by  Hindus  with  a  fervour  like  that  in- 
spired by  the  Virgin  Mary  in  Catholic  lands. 


228  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA 

With  the  decay  of  the  tribal  conception  came  radical 
modifications  in  the  tenure  of  land.  Individualism  slowly 
triumphed  over  socialism  ;  a  class  of  agriculturists  sprang 
up,  who  long  remained  free  yeomen.  But  prisoners 
of  war  were  reduced  to  slavery,  and  freemen  who  con- 
tinued in  service  for  more  than  a  year  encountered 
a  similar  fate.  Hence  the  origin  of  a  great  body  of 
serfs,  tied  down  to  the  soil  and  acknowledging  the 
mastership  of  their  wealthier  brethren.  Such  was  the 
Russian  township  in  its  earlier  stages  of  growth.  It 
was  the  nidus  of  a  self-governing  republic,  impelled  to 
expand  and  conquer  by  the  growth  of  population  which 
follows  increased  material  prosperity,  but  powerless  to 
defend  itself  against  foreign  aggression.  The  conscious- 
ness of  this  defect  led  the  citizens  to  invite  soldiers  of 
fortune  to  lead  their  militia  and  give  organised  means  of 
repelling  attack.  These  adventurers  were  styled  princes 
ikniaz).  They  were  called  on  to  engage  to  rule  according 
to  custom  and  law.  They  were  bound  to  keep  a  body 
of  armed  retainers,  who  were  paid  by  a  stipulated  tribute. 

The  prince  was  not  only  the  head  of  the  executive, 
but  the  right  arm  of  the  general  assembly  {yetche), 
which  still  arrogated  to  itself  the  right  of  deciding  on 
peace  and  war.  He  exercised  judicial  functions,  pro- 
nouncing sentence  on  the  findings  arrived  at  by  the 
jurors  ^  who  decided  civil  and  criminal  suits,  and  levying 
the  fine  adjudged,  which  he  appropriated  to  the  main- 
tenance of  his  dignity.  The  Russian  princes  of  the 
tenth  century  held  a  position  analogous  to  that  occupied 
by  the  podesta  of  the  Italian  republic ;  and,  indeed,  the 
political  evolution  of  the  two  countries  for  many  years 
proceeded  on  parallel  lines.     It  was  reserved  for  Chris- 

^  They  were  judges  rather  than  jurymen  of  the  British  type.  Their 
number  was  twelve,  half  of  whom  were  chosen  by  the  plaintiff  and  half  by 
the  defendant.     See  Stubbs'  Constitutional  History,  chap.  xiii. 


A.D.  987-1  THE  MAKING  OF  RUSSIA  229 

tianity,  which  had  played  so  vast  a  part  in  the  disin- 
tegration of  the  Roman  Empire,  to  modify  profoundly 
the  relations  between  prince  and  city.  The  form  in 
which  this  highly  militant  creed  reached  the  cities  of 
Russia  was  that  which  had  ruled  supreme  in  Byzantium. 
It  was  first  preached  in  northern  countries  in  the  ninth 
century  by  two  monks  named  Cyrillus  and  Methodus, 
who  are  still  venerated  as  the  "  Apostles  of  the  Slavs." 
They  are  also  regarded  as  the  founders  of  the  national 
literature,  for  they  reduced  the  melodious  accents  of  the 
Slavonic  tongue  to  writing,  and  translated  into  it  the 
Holy  Writings  and  the  Byzantine  ritual.  The  seed  thus 
sown  fell  upon  fruitful  soil ;  for  the  impulsive,  dreamy 
character  of  the  Slavs,  a  heritage  from  their  remote 
Indian  ancestors,  was  powerfully  attracted  by  the  gor- 
geous and  rather  sensual  rites  whose  glory  is  still  faintly 
shadowed  in  the  desecrated  splendours  of  St.  Sophia. 
Russia  soon  swarmed  with  missionaries  preaching  a 
creed  which  appeals  with  greater  force  than  any  other  to 
the  idiosyncrasies  of  Aryans.  The  princes  themselves 
were  carried  away  by  the  movement,  and  paused  in  their 
career  of  tyranny  and  bloodshed  to  bow  before  the  em- 
blems of  peace  and  goodwill  to  men. 

In  987  Vladimir  of  Novogorod  was  baptized  at  Kieff  ^ 
with  his  warrior  band.  He  married  a  Greek  princess 
named  Anna,  who  was  a  powerful  ally  of  the  priests  in 
maintaining  her  half-savage  husband  in  the  path  which 
he  had  adopted.  The  influence  of  these  churchmen  was 
by  no  means  an  unmixed  blessing  for  Russia ;  for  they 
brought  with  them  conceptions  of  government  which 
were  wholly  alien  to  Slav  traditions.  In  the  great 
Eastern  Empire,  which  had  inherited  no  small  share  of 

^  Other  writers  give  Cherson  as  the  scene  of  this  historic  rite.  Vladimir 
wears  a  halo  in  monkish  legend,  and  is  commonly  styled  the  Saint,  or  the 
Great. 


230  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  ,015. 

the  power  and  glory  of  Rome,  the  chief  of  the  state  was 
much  more  than  a  first  magistrate.  He  was  the  head  of 
the  Church,  Pontifex  Maximus  as  well  as  Autocrat,  and 
exacted  implicit  allegiance  and  submission.  His  sover- 
eignty was  transmissible  to  his  heirs ;  and  a  wide  gulf 
separated  the  imperial  family  from  the  noblest  subject. 
The  law  in  Byzantium  was  mainly  that  of  Rome,  which 
regarded  offences  as  injuries  to  the  state  and  as  calling 
for  sanguinary  punishments  rather  than  compensation 
to  the  private  individual  aggrieved.  Women  there 
occupied  a  position  of  inferiority.  They  were  jealously 
guarded,  and  were  forbidden  to  show  their  faces  in  public  or 
in  the  church.  The  Russian  priests  sought  in  a  monarch 
of  the  European  type  a  secular  arm  for  the  defence  of 
their  privileges.  Their  teachings  were  eagerly  assimi- 
lated by  Vladimir,  who,  at  his  death  in  10 15,  parcelled 
out  his  domains  amongst  twelve  sons.  The  new  theory 
of  kingship  received  a  wider  extension  at  the  hands  of 
Yaroslav  the  Wise,  a  politic  sovereign  whose  chief  care 
it  was  to  elevate  the  status  of  his  caste.  Henceforward 
Kieff  was  regarded  as  the  mother  city,  and  the  seat  of 
the  eldest  of  his  kin.  The  other  centres — Novogorod, 
Pskov,  Smolensk,  and  Polotsk — were  free  to  select  their 
own  princes,  with  the  proviso  that  the  chosen  one  must 
be  descended  from  Yaroslav.  But  the  narrow  tyranny 
of  the  Church  and  the  growth  of  a  royal  caste  were  not 
the  only  cankers  eating  into  the  heart  of  the  Russian 
commonwealths.  The  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries 
saw  the  rise  of  the  Bolars,  or  Boyars,  a  class  of  great 
proprietors  descended  from  successful  warriors,  or  citizens 
enriched  by  commerce,  who  engrossed  huge  tracts  of  soil 
and  reduced  the  free  cultivators  to  a  status  of  bondage. 
Their  power  as  councillors  of  the  prince  soon  ousted 
that  of  the  popular  assemblies,  and  its  expansion  was 
furthered  by  the  importation  from  Germany  of  the  worst 


A.D.  IOT5.]  THE  MAKING  OF  RUSSIA  231 

features  of  feudalism,  unillumined  by  the  tender  light  of 
chivalry.  The  revolution  received  a  vast  impetus  by  the 
transfer  of  the  seat  of  power  from  Kieff  to  Suzdal  and 
Rostov,  peopled  by  the  colonisation  of  the  territories 
watered  by  the  Oka  and  Upper  Volga.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  Great  Russia  which  thus  took  its  origin  were  without 
traditions  of  independence,  and  offered  their  necks  will- 
ingly to  the  feudal  yoke.  In  the  twelfth  century  the 
prince  of  Suzdal  built  the  town  of  Vladimir  and  subdued 
Kieff,  making  his  own  metropolis  the  centre  of  Russian 
politics.  Then,  pushing  their  boundaries  ever  in  ad- 
vance, his  people  founded  Nijni  Novogorod  at  the 
confluence  of  the  Oka  and  Volga,  which  soon  eclipsed 
the  glories  of  its  namesake.  Thus,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  thirteenth  century,  Russia  was  studded  with  republics 
governed  by  oligarchies,  and  resembling  in  most  essentials 
those  which  were  in  process  of  formation  in  Italy.  The 
popular  liberties  were  already  undermined  by  the  en- 
croachments of  prince  and  noble,  fostered,  for  selfish 
ends,  by  the  Church ;  but  material  civilisation  was  on  the 
increase,  and,  had  it  been  permitted  to  grow  on  Slavonic 
lines,  the  arts  which  adorn  and  sweeten  life  would  have 
found  a  home  in  Russia.  This  nascent  culture  was 
destroyed  by  an  eruption  of  foes  more  ruthless  than 
those  who  had  completed  the  ruin  of  imperial  Rome, 
and  the  clock  of  moral  and  industrial  advance  was  put 
back  by  several  centuries. 

Human  progress  is  stimulated  by  the  tendency 
exhibited  by  population  to  outstrip  the  means  of  sub- 
sistence. No  sooner  has  a  community  attained  a  certain 
degree  of  physical  well-being  than  this  great  natural  law 
comes  into  play.  The  numbers  begin  to  press  too 
heavily  on  the  land,  and  the  younger  and  more  vigorous 
are  driven  to  seek  new  spheres  for  their  energies.  They 
colonise  distant  lands,  subdue  their  weaker  neighbours, 


232  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  :i62. 

and  the  mother  state  becomes  a  centre  of  dominion,  of 
luxury  and  its  attendant  arts.  It  is  the  process  which 
gave  the  world  the  priceless  boon  of  Greek  civilisation, 
and  made  Rome  a  storehouse  whence  we  moderns  have 
drawn  our  principles  of  law  and  government.  In  the 
earlier  centuries  of  our  era  the  regions  lying  between  the 
Gobi  Desert  and  Lake  Baikal  were  the  habitat  of  a 
congeries  of  Mongolian  tribes  belonging  to  the  Ural-Altaic 
family .1  They  were  a  pastoral  race,  living  in  tents  of  felt 
and  skins  which  they  moved  when  the  surrounding  pas- 
tures had  been  exhausted  by  their  flocks  and  herds. 

The  nomad  instinct  thus  became  with  them  a 
second  nature,  and  as  they  were  tireless  horsemen  and 
inured  to  hardships,  it  led  them  to  carry  bloodshed  and 
rapine  over  neighbouring  territories.  In  their  case  the 
tendency  to  spread  over  the  face  of  the  earth  was  keener 
far  than  in  that  of  communities  engaged  in  settled  avoca- 
tions. But  much  of  their  strength  was  expended  in  inter- 
tribal war,  until  a  man  of  genius  arose  who  knew  how 
to  reconcile  discordant  interests  and  to  forge  a  weapon 
of  aggression  which  no  living  force  could  withstand. 
This  Napoleon  of  Asia  was  known  to  his  contemporaries 
as  Temuchin,  and  to  posterity  as  Chingiz  Khan.  He  was 
born  in  1 162,  the  son  of  a  chieftain  whose  authority  was 
supreme  in  the  tract  between  the  Amur  and  the  Great 
Wall  of  China.  His  youth  was  spent  in  struggles  for 
supremacy  with  rival  chieftains,  but  he  at  length  welded 
together  the  whole  Mongolian  race  by  sheer  personal 
ascendency,  and  dangling  before  his  followers  the  bait  of 
plunder.     Then  began  a  career  of  conquest  which  finds 

^  According  to  Ujfalvy,  the  Mongols  were  leading  a  peaceful  and  patriarchal 
life  round  Lake  Baikal  in  the  second  century  before  our  era.  Richthofen 
thinks  that  the  primitive  land  of  the  Turks  was  not  in  the  Altai  Mountains, 
as  their  legends  would  have  it,  but  rather  in  the  countrj'  below  the  Anan,  the 
Lena,  and  the  Seleuga  {Les  Aryens  (Paris,  1896),  p.  25). 


A.D..238.)  THE  MAKING  OF  RUSSIA  233 

no  parallel  save  in  that  of  his  greater  successor  Tamer- 
lane. He  entered  Khwarazm  ^  in  1 2 1 8  at  the  head  of 
three  hordes,^  overran  Khojend,  Samarkand,  Bokhara, 
and  devastated  Northern  Persia.  Merv,  Nishapur,  Herat, 
and  other  great  and  wealthy  cities  were  overwhelmed  in 
the  avalanche.  After  penetrating  far  into  India  he 
returned  to  his  darling  steppes  in  1225,  gorged  with 
booty.  The  impetus  thus  given  to  the  teeming  forces 
of  disorder  continued.  Two  lieutenants  of  Chingiz 
Khan  skirted  the  southern  shore  of  the  Caspian  and 
carried  ruin  through  Georgia  and  the  Crimea,  return- 
ing by  way  of  Bulgaria,  while  a  third  subdued  nearly 
the  whole  of  China.  The  death  of  Chingiz  in  1227 
brought  no  cessation  to  the  movement.  The  greed 
of  his  followers  was  inflamed  by  rumours  of  the 
wealth  and  luxury  of  the  Russian  republics ;  and 
in  1238  his  grandson,  Batu  Khan,  headed  an  in- 
vading host  which  ravaged  the  central  and  eastern 
plains,  and  ruined  Riazan,  Rostov,  Yaroslav,  and  Tver. 
In  the  following  year  the  cities  of  South-Western  Russia 
shared  their  fate;  and  then  the  Khan  retired  to  his 
camp  at  Serai  on  the  Lower  Volga,  where  he  rested 
awhile  from  rapine  and  slaughter.  His  headquarters 
became  a  centre  for  intrigue  among  the  Russian  princes, 
who  were  permitted  to  retain  a  certain  degree  of 
authority  by  their  conquerors. 

The  Mongols,  indeed,  interfered  but  httle  with  the 
internal  affairs  of  the  country.  The  Church  was  not 
molested,  taxes  were  farmed  out  to  merchants,  and  after 
a    while    commerce    began    to   rear   its   drooping    head. 

^  Khwarazm,  an  old  Persian  word  said  to  mean  "  eastwards,"  comprises  the 
embouchure  of  the  Sir  Darj'a,  and  is  now  known  as  Khiva. 

^  "  Horde"  is  derived  from  the  Old  Turkish  Urdu,  meaning  encampment. 
Hence  Urdu,  the  lingua  franca  evolved  in  the  progresses  which  the  Mongolian 
emperors  of  India  used  to  make  yearly  throughout  the  peninsula.  The 
people  of  Samarkand  still  call  the  citadel  Urda,  "  the  encampment." 


234  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1238. 

With  it  came  a  recrudescence  of  the  civil  struggles  which 
had  made  Russia  an  easy  prey  to  the  invaders.  The 
princes  sought  the  countenance  of  Tartar  Khans,  and 
employed  their  warrior  bands  against  neighbouring 
states.  But  the  influence  of  the  Mongols  was  not 
restricted  to  the  arena  of  public  affairs.  It  penetrated 
the  social  life  of  the  Slav,  and  produced  a  strain  which  is 
still  conspicuous  in  the  physiognomy  of  every  class  of 
the  population.^  It  leavened  the  national  character, 
implanting  in  Russian  breasts  that  nomad  instinct  which 
is  destined  to  sweep  away  the  effete  political  organi- 
sations of  the  Asiatic  continent.  Intercourse  with  the 
West  was  not  without  its  effects  on  the  conquerors. 
Dissensions  arose  among  them.  The  Golden  Horde 
gathered  round  Batu  Khan,  and  the  White  Horde 
separated  from  the  main  body.  Unity  of  interests  gave 
place  to  mutual  jealousy  and  distrust.  Batu's  brother 
Barak  embraced  Mohammedanism,  and  with  it  obtained 
the  thin  veneer  of  Arab  civilisation.  The  Mongolian 
tent  was  exchanged  for  the  walled  town,  and  commerce 
grew  apace.  But  the  nomads'  strength  lay  in  their 
barbarism,  and  the  growth  of  luxury  among  them 
encouraged  the  Russians  to  shake  off  lethargy  and 
dream  of  political  redemption. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  fourteenth  century 
Russia  was  parcelled  out  into  the  principalities  of  Suzdal, 
Nijni  Novogorod,  Riazan,  and  Tver.  This  age  witnessed 
the  rise  of  a  fifth  which  was  destined  to  subdue  them 
all,  and  to  become  the  nucleus  of  a  world-shadowing 
empire.  The  village  of  Moscow  had  been  fortified  by  a 
Dolgoroucki  in  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century;  and 
its  situation,  at  the  point  of  intersection  of  many  caravan 
routes,  led  to  the  rapid  development  of  its  wealth  and 

^  A  Historical  Sketch  of  Russian  Policy  in  Central  Asia,  by  Professor  V. 
Grigorieff ;  Schuyler's  Turkestan,  App.  IV.  vol.  ii.  p.  391. 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  SHAH  ZINDA,   SAMARKAND 


A.D.  ,393.1  THE  MAKING  OF  RUSSIA  235 

population.  The  Church,  ever  alive  to  the  advantage  of 
recognising  the  imperial  principle,  set  up  its  standard  in 
a  centre  which  promised  to  give  full  scope  to  its  own 
influence.  The  Metropolitan  migrated  hither  from 
Vladimir  in  1325,  taking  with  him  a  holy  image  of 
widely  acknowledged  efficacy,  and  the  princes  were 
encouraged  by  the  wily  priests  to  persist  in  a  policy  of 
weakening  the  adjacent  states.  In  1380  Prince  Dmitri, 
finding  his  Mongol  oppressors  distracted  with  internecine 
feuds,  was  emboldened  to  refuse  tribute ;  and,  gathering 
a  huge  army,  he  met  the  enemy  at  Kulikovo  on  the  Don. 
The  conflict  was  indecisive ;  but  the  Russians  asserted 
that  victory  had  been  bestowed  on  their  arms  at  the 
intercession  of  the  eikon  which  had  accompanied  their 
hosts.  The  claim  was  acquiesced  in  by  the  Russian 
people,  and  from  this  epoch  dates  the  rise  of  Moscow. 
But  the  Mongolian  incubus  still  weighed  upon  them.  A 
great  chieftain  named  Tokhtamish  Khan  arose  who 
united  the  rival  hordes,  and  in  1 3  8 1  their  forces 
obtained  possession  of  Moscow  and  massacred  24,000 
of  its  citizens.  But  the  citadel  already  known  as  the 
Kremlin  defied  his  attacks,  and  became  the  rallying- 
point  for  a  state  more  powerful  than  that  which  had 
undergone  a  baptism  of  blood.  And  now  a  greater 
warrior  appeared  on  the  scene  and  became  an  uncon- 
scious ally  of  the  cause  of  Russian  independence. 

Timur  Leng,  or  Lame  Timur,  possessed  a  genius  for 
civil  administration  as  well  as  for  conquest.  He  seized 
the  throne  of  Samarkand  and  became  undisputed  master 
of  Central  Asia.  Then  he  overran  Persia  and  Georgia 
in  1369,  and  came  to  blows  with  the  redoubtable 
Tokhtamish  Khan.  Fierce  and  prolonged  was  the 
struggle  for  supremacy,  but  in  1395  it  ended  dis- 
astrously for  the  western  chief.  After  effectually  break- 
ing his  rival's  power,  Timur  destroyed  that  of  the  Turkish 


236  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1408. 

Sultan  Bayazld  in  Angora,  and  was  on  his  way  to  subdue 
China  when  death  overtook  him  at  Otrar  on  the  Sir 
Darya,  or  Jaxartes.  With  the  defeat  of  Tokhtamish 
and  the  disappearance  of  Timur  the  MongoHan  power 
steadily  declined.  In  1408  the  Khan  Edighei 
attempted  to  chastise  rebellious  Moscow,  but  was 
baffled  by  the  ramparts  of  the  Kremlin.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  vigorous  capital  continued  under  Vassili  I., 
who  purchased  from  the  Mongolian  Khan  the  right  to 
reign  supreme  at  Kiefif,  and  afterwards  subdued  Rostov. 
He  assumed  the  style  of  Great  Prince,  and  levied  tribute 
in  return  for  his  protection  from  all  the  cities  of  Muscovy. 
But  the  real  founder  of  the  Russian  autocracy  was 
Vassili  III.,  rightly  styled  the  Great.  His  ambition  was 
fired  by  the  promptings  of  the  priesthood  and  of  his 
Greek  wife  Sophia,  who  was  a  daughter  of  the  Byzantine 
emperor,  Constantine  Paleologus.  He  persistently  under- 
mined the  autonomy  of  other  states ;  and,  after  adding 
all  but  Novogorod  to  his  empire,  he  finally,  with 
Mongolian  aid,  crushed  that  last  stronghold  of  Russian 
independence.  To  Vassili  the  Great,  Russia  owes  its 
claim  to  succeed  the  mighty  emperors  of  the  East  and 
the  grandiloquent  style  and  title  assumed  by  its  Tsars, 
for  he  adopted  the  arms  of  Byzantium  and  was  pro- 
claimed Ruler  of  All  the  Russias.  In  1480  he  found 
himself  strong  enough  to  throw  off  the  Mongolian  yoke, 
and,  when  the  Khan  marched  against  Moscow  with 
150,000  men,  he  was  confronted  by  a  Russian  army 
and  was  fain  to  abandon  his  enterprise.  Vassili's  grand- 
son Ivan  IV.,  surnamed  the  Terrible,  was  crowned  Tsar 
at  Moscow  in  1547.  After  a  prolonged  struggle  with 
the  haughty  Boyars  he  shook  off  their  influence  and 
became,  in  deed  as  well  as  in  name,  an  autocrat.  Then 
his  restless  energies  found  vent  in  aggression. 

He  conquered  Kazan  and   Astrakhan  in  1554;  but, 


AD.  157..]  THE  MAKING  OF  RUSSIA  237 

falling  a  prey  to  insanity,  he  was  guilty  of  excesses 
which  weakened  his  authority  and  emboldened  the 
Mongols  to  make  a  fresh  bid  for  supremacy.  The  Khan 
Dawlat  Giray  appeared  before  Moscow  in  1571  with 
1 20,000  followers  and  burnt  the  suburbs.^  But  the 
Kremlin  again  held  out,  and  the  nomads  retreated  to 
the  Volga,  never  to  return.  Thus  was  Russia  delivered 
from  an  influence  which  had  paralysed  her  energies,  and 
was  free  to  work  out  her  destinies.  We  shall  see  how 
profoundly  they  were  affected  by  the  action  of  the 
Mongolian  restlessness  on  the  dreamy,  sluggish  nature 
of  the  Slav. 

^  For  further  details  consult  Howorth's  Mongols,  pt.  ii.  div.  i.  p.  507. 


CHAPTER    II 

Crossing  the  Threshold  of  Asia 

The  Ural  range  had  hitherto  been  the  eastern  boundary 
of  Russia.  Beyond  lay  a  region  of  steppes  and  rivers, 
peopled  towards  the  polar  seas  by  tribes  of  Tartar  and 
Esquimaux  origin,  employed  in  hunting ;  and  on  the 
southern  frontier,  by  Kirghiz  and  Kalmak  nomads. 
Under  Vassili  III.  (1505-15 33)  the  Western  Urals 
were  annexed  to  the  nascent  empire,  and  peopled 
by  Yaik  Cossacks,  a  race  addicted  to  raiding  and  pil- 
lage.i  These  freebooters  recognised  no  natural  barriers. 
Crossing  the  mountain-chain,  they  attacked  the  Ostiaks, 
Samoyeds,  and  Kirghiz  who  had  hitherto  roamed  un- 
challenged over  the  wind-swept  plains.  The  collision 
was  disastrous  for  the  invaders,  and  the  frontier  became 
a  prey  to  anarchy.  Meantime  the  Tsar,  Ivan  the  Terrible, 
had  bestowed  a  huge  tract  of  land  in  the  Urals  on  his 
favourite,  Strogonoff,  who  at  once  began  to  exploit  its 
rich  deposits  of  gold.  His  schemes  were  rendered 
abortive  by  the  incursions  of  tribesmen  from  the  west, 
and  Strogonoff,  in  despair,  summoned  a  Cossack  named 
lermak  to  his  aid.  The  new  ally  was  promised  a  free 
pardon  for  his  numerous  outrages,  and  his  followers  were 
supplied  with  firearms  from  Russian  arsenals.  Thus 
equipped  lermak  made  short  work  of  the  invaders,  and 

*  Rtissia  in  Central  Asia,  by  Hugo  Stumm,  pp.  2,  3  ;  En  Asie  Cent  rale, 
by  N.  Ney,  p.  203. 

238 


A.D.  1587.]  CROSSING  THE  THRESHOLD  239 

in  1587  captured  Sibir,  the  capital  of  Kushan  Khan, 
chief  of  the  Kirghiz.  In  1604  Tobolsk  was  built  and 
fortified  on  a  site  twelve  miles  from  the  town  which  gave 
its  name  to  the  entire  country.  The  victorious  Cossacks 
plunged  deeper  into  the  hitherto  unknown  regions,  and 
came  to  blows  with  the  Kirghiz,  who  ranged  the  steppes 
between  Lake  Balkash  and  the  Urals  on  the  northern  shore 
of  the  Aral  Sea.  Hearing  vague  rumours  of  the  wealth  of 
Khiva  or  Khwarazm,  a  Khanate  embracing  the  fertile  em- 
bouchure of  the  Amu  Darya,  a  band  of  Cossacks  swooped 
down  on  Urgenj,  its  capital,  at  a  time  when  the  Khan 
and  his  warriors  were  absent  on  a  distant  expedition. 

The  city  fell  an  easy  prey,  and  they  bent  their  steps 
homewards,  dragging  with  them  a  vast  amount  of  booty, 
and  a  thousand  of  the  most  beautiful  inmates  of  Khivan 
harems.  Their  cupidity  was  their  ruin,  for  they  were 
overtaken  by  the  incensed  husbands,  and  cut  to  pieces. 
A  still  worse  fate  was  encountered  during  a  later  raid ; 
for  the  Cossacks  who  undertook  it  lost  their  way,  and 
were  overtaken  by  winter  on  the  wind-swept  shores  of 
the  Aral.  To  such  straits  were  they  reduced  that  they 
had  recourse  to  cannibalism.^  But  the  stream  of  Russian 
immigration  continued  steadily  eastwards.  Irkutsk  was 
founded  in  1661,  and  before  the  end  of  the  century  the 
northern  limits  were  pushed  forward  to  the  polar  ice. 
The  southern  boundary,  however,  was  conterminous  with 
steppes  occupied  with  Mongolian  nomads,  and  was  open 
to  their  incursions.  No  'part  of  his  immense  empire 
escaped  the  notice  of  Peter  the  Great.  In  the  brief 
leisure  left  him  by  his  self-imposed  task  of  reform  he 
did  not  neglect  his  Siberian  possessions.^     He  perceived 

^  The  Cossacks  have  never  been  able  to  shake  off  the  stigma  imprinted  by 
this  dire  necessit)'.  They  are  still  called  "Man-eaters"  in  many  parts  of 
Central  Asia. 

-  En  Asie  Centrale,  by  N.  Ney,  pp.  203-5. 


240  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [ad.  1714. 

the  necessity  of  giving  them  a  defensible  frontier,  and  of 
securing  commercial  relations  with  the  Khanates  of  Khiva 
and  Bokhara,  in  order  to  pave  the  way  for  an  intercourse 
with  China  and  the  Indies.  With  this  aim  in  view  he 
took  counsel  of  an  adventurer  named  Khwaja  Nefes,  who 
had  studied  in  Samarkand  and  Bokharan  colleges,  and 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  politics  of  the  Khanates. 
Under  his  promptings,  Peter  sent  congratulations  to  the 
Khan  of  Khiva  on  his  accession.  His  overtures  were 
welcomed  by  that  sovereign,  who  was  hard  pressed  by 
the  legions  of  Bokhara.  He  sent  an  embassy  to  Peter,^ 
offering  to  accept  his  suzerainty  in  return  for  protection 
against  his  powerful  neighbours.  The  great  reformer 
had  too  many  cares  nearer  home  to  permit  of  his  taking 
immediate  action  on  this  tempting  offer,  and  it  was  not 
till  1 7 14  that  he  was  reminded  of  his  distant  vassal's 
existence  by  another  embassy,  the  object  of  which  was 
to  induce  the  Tsar  to  build  a  chain  of  forts  on  the 
east  of  the  Caspian  as  a  protection  against  Turkoman 
raids.  Peter  was  now  convinced  that  the  time  had  come 
for  effective  interference  in  Central  Asian  affairs.  He 
cast  about  him  for  an  instrument,  and  found  one  in  a 
young  Circassian  chieftain  who  had  changed  his  name 
from  Dawlat  Giray  to  Bekovitch  Cherkaski  on  his  con- 
version and  baptism,  and  had  been  given  a  commission 
in  the  famous  Preobajinski  regiment,  with  the  title  of 
prince.  The  Tsar  appointed  him  to  the  command  of 
an  exploring  expedition,  the  objects  of  which  were 
enumerated  in  a  decree  of  the  29th  May  17 14. 
Bekovitch  was  enjoined  to  congratulate  the  Khan  of 
Khiva  on  his  accession,  and  to  confirm  him  in  his 
acknowledgment  of  Russian  suzerainty.  He  was  to 
explore  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Sir  Darya  for  gold,  and 
ascertain  whether  it  was  practicable  to  reopen  the  old 

^  Stumm,  p.  5. 


A.D.  .7t7.]  CROSSING  THE  THRESHOLD  341 

course  of  that  river  into  the  Caspian  on  the  south  of 
the  Balkan  range.  Bekovitch's  voyage  of  discovery 
began  in  171  5.  He  sailed  along  the  east  coast  of  the 
Caspian,  landing  at  the  extremity  of  the  Mangishlak 
peninsula,  and  erected  a  fort  to  serv^e  as  a  base  for  his 
advance  into  the  desert.  The  former  bed  of  the  Amu 
Darya  was  examined,  and  a  report  was  submitted  to 
the  Tsar.  Peter  instructed  his  lieutenant  to  build  a 
strong  place  on  the  banks  of  the  old  channel,  and  to 
induce  the  Khan  of  Khiva  to  join  in  thoroughly  investi- 
gating its  course,  in  view  of  a  possible  diversion  of  the 
great  waterway.  Mercantile  expeditions  were  also  to  be 
sent  to  Bokhara  and  India.  While  preparations  were  in 
progress  for  a  second  expedition,  the  friendly  Khan  died, 
and  his  successor  was  reported  to  be  ill-disposed  towards 
Russia. 

Nothing  daunted,  the  intrepid  adventurer  set  out  in 
1 7 1 7  for  Garieff,  on  the  river  Ural,  at  the  head  of  a 
force  of  4000  men,  with  engineers  and  marine  officers. 
After  struggling  across  the  wind-swept  desert  of  Ust 
Urt,  he  reached  a  lake  known  as  Bara  Kilmas,  about 
200  miles  north-west  of  Khiva.  Here  he  rested  his 
travel-worn  troops,  and  built  a  fort  with  a  solidity  which 
has  resisted  the  elements  for  1 80  years.  The  suspicions 
of  the  Khan  that  Russia  contemplated  the  annexation  of 
his  country  were  confirmed  by  the  strength  of  Bekovitch's 
expedition,  and  the  measures  adopted  by  him.  But, 
feeling  that  his  ill-disciplined  forces  were  no  match  for 
those  of  comparative  civilisation,  he  had  recourse  to 
treachery.  Bekovitch  was  lulled  into  security  by  pro- 
mises of  aid  and  alliance,  and  was  persuaded  to  divide 
his  little  army  into  weak  detachments,  on  the  plea  that 
it  would  be  easier  to  furnish  them  with  provisions.  Then 
the  Khan  fell  upon  the  isolated  Russian  posts  and  crushed 
them  in  detail.  Not  a  man  escaped  to  give  news  of  the 
16 


242  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1720. 

failure  of  this  first  plunge  into  Central  Asian  politics. 
To  this  day  the  expression  "  Lost  as  Bekovitch "  is 
synonymous  in  Russia  for  hopeless  ruin.  So  disgusted 
was  the  great  Tsar  with  this  unexpected  failure  that 
when,  in  1720,  the  Khan  of  Khiva  sent  an  envoy  to 
solicit  pardon  and  a  renewal  of  friendship,  he  was  thrown 
into  prison  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  died  there.^ 

Russia's  next  step  in  advance  was  the  outcome  of  the 
mischievous  activity  of  the  Kirghiz,  a  race  of  Mongolian 
origin  which  roams  over  the  steppes  between  the  Volga 
and  the  Irtish,  and  north  of  the  Turkoman  desert  and  the 
Ala  Tau  Mountains.^  Peaceful  colonisation  was  impossible 
while  these  restless  neighbours  retained  their  independ- 
ence. Omsk  and  the  middle  course  of  the  Irtish  became 
Russian  in  1 716- 1 719;  and  for  1500  miles  the  Siberian 
frontier  marched  with  that  of  tracts  claimed  as  their  own 
by  these  untamed  nomads.  In  the  reign  of  the  Empress 
Anne  disputes  arose  between  the  Kirghiz  of  the  Middle  and 
Little  Hordes,  who  ranged  over  the  western  steppes,  and 
their  brethren  of  the  Far  East ;  and  in  1732  the  former 
offered  submission  to  the  empress  in  return  for  protection 
against  their  foes.  Thus  the  Russians  obtained  a  footing 
in  immense  tracts  which  were  claimed  by  the  Khanates  of 
Khiva  and  Bokhara,  and  a  collision  with  their  forces  was 
rendered  inevitable.  The  foundation  of  Orenburg  marks  a 
second  stage  in  the  Russian  advance.  It  became  a  rendez- 
vous for  caravans  between  Russia  and  Central  Asian  cities, 

^  Tradition  has  it  that  the  Khan  retaliated  by  tearing  in  pieces  a  letter, 
subsequently  received  from  Peter,  and  giving  it  to  his  children  to  play  with 
{Peter  the  Great,  by  Oscar  Browning,  p.  323). 

2  The  Kirghiz  affirm  that  they  were  divided  into  three  Hordes  by  an 
ancient  chieftain  named  Alash.  The  Great  Horde  wander  over  Chinese 
and  Russian  Turkestan,  near  Lake  Balkash ;  the  Middle  occupy  the 
northern  and  eastern  shores  of  the  Sea  of  Aral ;  the  Little  Horde,  now 
more  numerous  than  the  others  combined,  feed  their  flocks  between  the 
Tobol  and  the  Aral  Sea.  An  interesting  account  is  given  by  Stumm  of  their 
manners  and  character.     See  Russia  in  Central  Asia,  pp.  227-34. 


A.D.  .839.1  CROSSING  THE  THRESHOLD  243 

and  a  basis  for  the  expeditions  which  followed.  In  1 803 
the  Tsar  had  received  the  allegiance  of  the  tribes  of  the 
Mangishlak  peninsula,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Caspian. 
Ten  years  later  Turkoman  envoys  asked  help  against 
Persia.  It  was  refused,  for  Russia  had  her  hands  full 
with  the  Napoleonic  wars,  and  a  profound  irritation  was 
aroused  among  the  savages.^  In  1822  an  ordinance  was 
issued  bringing  the  Little  Horde  within  the  government 
of  Orenburg,  while  the  western  Kirghiz  were  made 
subject  to  that  of  West  Siberia.  These  attempts  to 
annex  territories  with  southern  boundaries  so  ill-defined 
aroused  intense  suspicion  throughout  the  Khanates,  and 
it  found  a  vent  in  raids  on  Russian  caravans.  One 
despatched  to  Bokhara  was  robbed  in  1829  of  property 
to  the  value  of  500,000  roubles  by  Kirghiz  and  Khivans. 
The  Turkoman  bands,  still  more  to  be  dreaded,  pillaged 
the  Bokharan  traders. 

Friction  followed  between  the  Kirghiz  of  the  west 
and  Cossack  settlers,  who,  in  common  with  old-established 
policy,  had  been  pushed  forward  to  occupy  strips  of  fertile 
soil  on  the  southern  frontier,  and  the  unrest  was  increased 
by  the  levy  of  a  tax  on  the  nomads,  which  was  fiercely 
resented  by  those  who  rendered  a  nominal  allegiance  to 
Khiva.  Count  Perofski,  who  governed  Orenburg,  en- 
deavoured to  cope  with  the  disturbance  by  constructing 
a  chain  of  forts  on  his  southern  boundary,  beginning 
with  one  named  Alexandrovsk,  on  the  Mangishlak  penin- 
sula. But  the  Kirghiz  carried  their  incursions  far  into 
Russian  Orenburg,  and  plundered  caravans  close  to  Alex- 
androvsk. In  1839  it  became  clear  that  neither  forts 
nor  flying  expeditions  of  Cossacks  could  effect  the  paci- 
fication of  so  chaotic  a  frontier.  In  Khiva  the  nomads 
found  support  in  their  attacks  on  Russian  caravans,  and 
a   market   for   the    sale    of   their   prisoners   and    booty. 

^  Stumm,  pp.  20,  21. 


244  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1839. 

There,  too,  hundreds  of  Russian  subjects  were  held  in 
a  state  of  abject  slavery.^  The  prestige  as  well  as  the 
peace  of  the  empire  was  at  stake.  The  Tsar  Nicholas 
was  not  a  man  to  brook  any  infringement  of  either,  and 
he  decided  that  prompt  and  heavy  punishment  should 
be  meted  out  for  Khivan  treachery.  Perofski,  the 
governor  of  Orenburg,  was  an  agent  fitted  by  nature 
and  training  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  Tsar's 
designs.  He  equipped  an  army  of  3I  battalions  of 
picked  infantry,  2  regiments  of  Ural  and  5  squadrons 
of  Orenburg  Cossacks,  and  22  guns  with  a  rocket  train. 
Transport  was  effected  by  nearly  2000  horses  and 
10,000  camels,  tended  by  2000  Kirghiz,  and  the 
utmost  care  was  lavished  on  every  detail  of  the  equip- 
ment.^ Perofski  calculated  on  reaching  his  objective, 
a  distance  of  900  miles,  in  50  marches,  and  never 
doubted  of  a  triumph  over  the  ill-trained  forces  of 
Khiva. 

He  had  reckoned  without  a  force  which  had  again 
and  again  won  the  battle  for  Russia,^  and  committed  the 
fatal  mistake  of  starting  from  his  base  at  Orenburg  in 
November,  a  month  which  brought  his  army  to  the  centre 
of  the  Ust  Urt  at  the  most  inclement  season  of  the  year. 
The  sufferings  of  men  and  beasts  in  the  ice-storms  which 
swept  over  the  desert  in  the  winter  of  1839  are  paralleled 
only  by  those  endured  by  Napoleon's  legions  during  the 
retreat  from  Moscow.  The  expedition  struggled  on  as 
far  as  Ak  Bulak,  about  half-way  to  the  Khivan  frontier, 
and  was  there  fain  to  retreat,  leaving  the  bones  of  1000 

^  Meyendorf,  Voyage  d' Orenburg  h  Botikhara,  p,  285. 

"  For  a  detailed  account  of  the  Khivan  expedition,  see  Hugo  Stumm's 
Russia  in  Central  Asia,  chap.  ii.  p.  26, 

^  It  is  well  known  that  the  Tsar  Nicholas,  on  learning  the  disasters 
suffered  by  the  allied  forces  during  the  terrible  Crimean  winter  of  1854-55, 
complacently  remarked  that  there  were  two  generals  who  fought  for  Russia — 
Generals  January  and  February. 


A.D.I833.J  CROSSING  THE  THRESHOLD  245 

men  and  8000  camels  whitening  the  pitiless  sands. 
Nothing  daunted  by  his  failure,  Perofski  set  about  the 
organisation  of  a  second  attempt  on  a  far  more  elaborate 
scale,  but  it  was  rendered  unnecessary  by  the  submission 
of  the  Khivans.  The  ruler,  'Ala  Kull  Khan,  was  cowed 
by  the  persistence  and  the  might  of  Russia,  and  in  i  840 
he  despatched  an  embassy  to  Orenburg,  accompanied  by 
more  than  400  released  Slavs.  Perofski  accepted  the 
olive-branch,  and  in  i  842  a  treaty  of  peace  and  alliance 
was  concluded  with  the  new  ruler.  The  failure  of  the 
expedition  of  1 840  had  shown  the  incurable  defects  of 
Orenburg  as  a  base  for  operations  in  Central  Asia. 
If  the  trackless  steppes,  the  oases  teeming  with  robber- 
tribes,  were  to  be  dominated  by  Russian  influence, 
some  route  must  be  chosen  which  possessed  the  advan- 
tage of  water  transport.  The  vast  lake  known  as  the 
Sea  of  Aral  is  connected  with  the  heart  of  Asia  by  the 
Sir  and  the  Amu  Darya,  and  is  easier  far  to  traverse 
than  the  steppes  on  either  side.  Batakoff  explored  it 
thoroughly  in  1 844,  employing  vessels  brought  in  sections 
from  Orenburg.  Four  years  later  a  fort  named  Kazalinsk 
was  erected  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sir  Darya,  and,  ere 
many  months  had  elapsed,  Russia  was  in  possession  of 
a  chain  of  strongholds  completely  commanding  the 
lower  reaches  of  the  great  river.  These  precautionary 
measures  raised  an  intense  irritation  in  the  breast  of  the 
Khan  of  Kokand,  who  claimed  the  whole  course  of  the 
Sir  Darya  as  his  own.  His  subjects  were  encouraged  to 
invade  Russian  territory,  compelling  costly  reprisals.  In 
order  to  put  a  period  to  these  aggressions,  Perofski 
attacked  the  fortress  of  Ak  Mechet,  280  miles  from  the 
embouchure  of  the  Sir  Darya,  and  after  an  abortive 
attempt  took  it  by  storm  in  1853.  Thus  the  second 
great  highway  of  Central  Asia  fell  under  Russian  control, 
and    it   was   soon    afterwards    navigated    by    a    steamer 


246  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  i8s4. 

constructed  in  Sweden,  and  brought  in  sections  with 
incredible  labour  by  way  of  Nijni  Novogorod.  The 
amazement  excited  in  the  nomads  by  the  spectacle  soon 
died  away,  and  Perofski  was  besieged  by  the  Kokandis 
in  vain.  The  grip  of  Russia  tightened.  In  1854  an 
expedition  penetrated  the  valley  of  the  Hi,  and  a  fort 
was  built  at  Verni,  between  the  lakes  of  Balkash  and 
Issik  Kul.  But  between  this  stronghold  and  Perofski 
there  was  a  gap  of  more  than  500  miles,  which  included 
the  desert  of  Ak  Kum,  and  through  it  the  Kirghiz  and 
Turkoman  bands  carried  devastation  far  into  Siberia. 
The  Kokandis,  too,  were  determined  to  break  the  net 
in  the  meshes  of  which  they  were  struggling.  Frequent 
attacks  were  made  on  Russian  outposts,  and  the 
whole  Siberian  border  was  kept  in  a  ferment.^  Russia 
resolved  to  strike  a  decisive  blow  at  the  recalcitrant 
Khanate,  and  to  obtain  possession  of  the  northern 
portion,  which  gave  a  more  defensible  boundary,  and 
was  desirable  by  reason  of  its  fertility.  With  this  object 
in  view.  Staff  Colonel  Chernaieff  marched  southwards  from 
the  basin  of  the  Hi  on  the  fortress  of  'All  Ata,  command- 
ing the  Kara  Tau  range,  while  Colonel  Verefkin,  starting 
from  a  base  on  the  Sir  Darya,  moved  eastwards  and 
captured  Hazrat,  another  strong  place  which,  under  the 
name  of  Turkestan,  stands  sponsor  to  the  whole  province. 
The  two  columns  then  joined  hands  and  stormed  the 
citadel  of  Chimkent,  nearly  300  miles  south-east  of  the 
old  frontier  post  at  Perofski.  This  steady  advance 
aroused  the  susceptibilities  of  the  British  public,  which 
saw  in  the  Russian  invasion  of  the  Mohammedan  states 
on  the  Siberian  frontier  a  foreshadowing  of  similar 
designs  on  India.  In  order  to  allay  suspicion  and 
enlighten  the  communities  of  the  West  as  to  the  motives 
of  the  recent  encroachments,  Prince  Gortschakoff  issued 

^  Stumm,  p.  50. 


A.D.  1864-]  CROSSING  THE  THRESHOLD  247 

a  circular  addressed  to  the  Great  Powers.^  It  is  a 
remarkable  state  paper,  which  enunciates  the  principles 
governing  the  Russian  advance  in  a  manner  as  con- 
vincing as  it  is  accurate  and  logical.  The  prince  pointed 
out  the  dilemma  in  which  civilised  states  in  contact  with 
wandering  tribes  are  placed.  They  find  it  impossible  to 
live  in  unity  with  such  neighbours,  and  must  establish  a 
system  of  control  or  see  their  frontier  a  prey  to  chronic 
disorder.  But  the  tribes  brought  under  the  strong  arm 
of  law  and  order  become,  in  their  turn,  victims  of  similar 
aggression  on  the  part  of  more  distant  ones.  Thus  the 
process  of  subjugation  must  be  repeated  until  the  para- 
mount Power  comes  into  direct  contact  with  one  which 
affords  reasonable  guarantees  that  it  can  maintain  order 
within  its  own  territory.  Prince  Gortschakoff  fondly 
hoped  that  this  boundary,  safeguarded  by  a  long  chain  of 
strong  places  stretching  over  a  fertile  and  well-watered 
country  between  the  Sir  Darya  and  Lake  Balkash,  would 
secure  two  desiderata — supplies  for  Russian  garrisons,  and 
the  vicinity  of  a  state  strong  enough  to  be  mistress  at  home 
and  willing  to  unite  in  fostering  that  true  civiliser,  com- 
merce. He  had  omitted,  however,  the  consideration  of 
factors  which  are  at  the  root  of  all  conquests,  the  fierce 
passions  evoked  by  warfare,,  and  the  lust  for  fame  and 
booty.  Such  are  the  motives  that  inspire  successful 
generals  to  fresh  exploits,  and  they  burned  in  the  breast 
of  Staff  Colonel  Chernaieff,  a  man  who,  under  happier 
auspices,  might  have  been  the  Clive  of  Central  Asia. 
Learning  that  a  host  of  Kokandis  was  massed  at  Tash- 
kent, the  second  city  of  the  Khanate,  eighty  miles  south 
of  Chimkent,  he  determined  to  anticipate  attack  by 
adopting  the  only  safe  policy  in  dealing  with  Orientals. 
He  advanced  with  every  available  man,  and,  on  the  2nd 
October    1864,    attacked    Tashkent.      The    want    of   a 

^  See  Appendix. 


248  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1864. 

breaching-train  and  scaling-ladders  was  an  insuperable 
obstacle  to  success,  and  the  Russians  were  fain  to  retire, 
baffled  by  the  lofty  ramparts  of  Tashkent.  The  effect 
of  this  disaster  on  the  excitable  Asiatic  character  was 
marked  and  instantaneous.  A  Kokandi  force  of  10,000 
men,  under  the  Khan  in  person,  burned  Chimkent,  and 
attacked  Turkestan  far  in  its  rear.  They  surprised  a 
squadron  of  Cossacks  during  a  halt  near  the  fortress,  but 
met  with  a  reception  which  should  have  convinced  them 
of  the  superiority  of  the  Russian  arms.^  The  Khan  was 
compelled  to  raise  the  siege  of  Turkestan  and  retreat  on 
Tashkent.  But  this  incident  rendered  it  clear  that  no 
peace  could  be  expected  on  the  frontier  while  a  town  of 
72,000  inhabitants,  inspired  by  the  fiercest  fanaticism, 
remained  unsubdued  in  the  proximity  of  the  outposts. 
General  Chernaieff  resolved  to  plant  his  country's  flag 
on  the  fortifications  of  Tashkent ;  but  his  master,  Tsar 
Alexander  II.,  was  a  monarch  who  loved  peace  from  a 
personal  knowledge  of  war's  horrors,  and  on  learning  of 
the  failure  of  Chernaieff's  first  attempt  he  positively  for- 
bade a  repetition.  The  general,  however,  postponed  taking 
cognisance  of  His  Majesty's  orders  till  he  had  made  a 
second  onslaught  on  Tashkent.  It  was  delivered  by  a 
column  of  951  men  with  10  pieces  of  artillery,  and  in 
spite  of  the  vast  disproportion  in  numbers  the  city  was 
stormed  with  a  loss  of  125  men  only.  Then  only  did 
the  daring  commander  peruse  his  master's  despatches, 
and  his  reply  was  a  characteristic  one.  "  Sire,"  he  wrote, 
"  your  Majesty's  order  forbidding  me  to  take  Tashkent 

'  The  Cossacks  numbered  only  104,  under  Sub- Lieutenant  Saroff.  They 
made  a  zariba  of  their  horses'  bodies,  and,  after  repelhng  incessant  attacks 
for  two  days,  they  cut  a  path  through  the  dense  masses  of  their  foes,  and 
joined  a  relief  column  from  Turkestan.  Only  nine  escaped  unwounded,  and 
the  killed  numbered  fifty-seven.  Such  actions  abound  in  modern  Central 
Asian  annals,  and  they  are  as  glorious  as  any  performed  by  our  own  brave 
troops  in  India  (Ney,  p.  213). 


AD.  1865]  CROSSING  THE  THRESHOLD  249 

has  reached  me  only  in  the  city  itself,  which  I  have 
taken  and  place  at  your  Majesty's  feet."  ^  The  Tsar  was 
furious  at  the  breach  of  discipline,  but  he  did  not  refuse 
the  fruits  of  his  lieutenant's  too  daring  enterprise.  In 
1865  Turkestan  was  constituted  a  frontier  district,  with 
Tashkent  as  its  capital. 

^  Ney,  p.  214. 


CHAPTER    III 

The  Struggle  with  the  Khanates 

Thus  was  a  third  stage  reached  in  Russia's  advance. 
Her  Siberian  frontier  extended  from  the  north-eastern 
shore  of  the  Caspian  to  the  borders  of  China.  It  had 
been  pushed  forward  to  the  edge  of  the  plateau  of 
Samarkand,  then  a  province  of  Bokhara,  and  lay- 
within  striking  distance  of  the  three  Central  Asian 
states  which  still  maintained  their  independence.  A 
sense  of  common  danger  united  the  forces  which  had 
hitherto  been  hostile :  Kokandis,  Bokharans,  and  Khivans 
felt  instinctively  that  the  hour  had  come  for  a  combined 
attempt  to  shake  off  the  Russian  incubus.  A  leader 
alone  was  required,  and  one  was  found  in  Sayyid 
Muzaffar  ed-Din,  Amir  of  Bokhara.  He  claimed  a 
descent  from  Timur,  and  doubtless  dreamed  of  repeating 
the  conquests  of  his  great  predecessor  on  the  throne  of 
Samarkand.  His  ambition  was  fanned  by  the  fierce 
breath  of  fanaticism,  for  the  Amir  was  notoriously  subject 
to  priestly  influence,  and  the  mullas  of  Central  Asia 
were  among  the  bitterest  foes  of  Russian  designs.  At 
his  prompting  the  bazaars  of  the  three  Khanates  swarmed 
with  emissaries,  who  preached  a  Holy  War,  and  exhorted 
true  believers  to  drive  back  the  invaders  into  the  Siberian 
steppes.  The  Amir  soon  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a 
huge  force  drawn  from  his  own  subjects,  while  he  obtained 
control  over  those  of  Kokand  by  assuming  the  guardian- 

250 


A.D.  1866.1        STRUGGLE  WITH  THE  KHANATES       251 

ship  of  the  minor  Khan.^  Thus  reinforced  he  occupied 
Khojend,  a  city  on  the  north-east  comer  of  Samarkand 
only  a  hundred  miles  from  the  new  Russian  capital,  and 
summoned  Chernaieff  to  release  his  conquests.  At  the 
same  time  he  imprisoned  four  Russian  envoys  ^  sent  him 
by  the  general.  This  act  of  war  met  with  a  prompt 
response. 

Chernaieff  advanced  from  Tashkent  with  14 
companies  of  infantry,  6  squadrons  of  Cossacks,  and 
16  guns  as  far  as  Jizak,  a  fortress  barely  60  miles 
from  Samarkand.  But  the  population  was  hostile, 
supplies  failed,  and  he  was  obliged  to  retreat  on  his 
capital.  Retrograde  movements  in  the  face  of  Asiatic 
forces  are  always  pregnant  with  disaster.  General 
Chernaieff's  was  interpreted  by  the  Bokharans  as  a 
confession  of  weakness.  Crowds  flocked  to  the  Amir's 
standard,  and  he  moved  on  Tashkent  with  40,000  men. 
In  the  meantime  Chernaieff,  who  had  not  been  forgiven 
for  his  breach  of  instructions  in  the  occupation  of 
Tashkent,^  was  superseded  by  General  Romanovski,  who 
had  received  peremptory  orders  from  the  Tsar  that 
hostilities  with  the  Khanate  must  cease.  Like  his  pre- 
decessor, he  found  himself  compelled  by  force  of  circum- 
stances to  disobey  orders. 

The  Bokharan  host  was  within  three  marches  of  Tash- 

1  Ney,  En  Asie  Centrale,  p.  214.  Stumm  asserts  that  the  Bokharan 
Amir  made  the  exiled  Khan  named  Khuda  Yar  his  Bey,  or  governor  of 
Kokand  {The  Russians  in  Central  Asia,  p.  57). 

*  The  chief  was  Colonel  Von  Struve,  who  afterwards  attended  Kauffman 
in  a  diplomatic  capacity  during  his  campaign  against  Khiva  in  1873,  and, 
at  a  later  period  of  his  career,  was  envoy  of  Japan.  Among  the  other  members 
was  Colonel  Glukhovsky,  who  was  an  ardent  pioneer  for  Russia  in  these 
little-known  tracts  (see  Schuyler's  Turkestan,  ii.  354,  386),  and  published  an 
interesting  account  of  his  mission  in  the  Paris  Geographical  Society's  Bulletin 
for  September  1868. 

*  This  illustrious  soldier  never  regained  imperial  favour,  and  died  almost 
unnoticed  in  August  1898. 


252  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  isee. 

kent  The  city  with  its  70,000  inhabitants  was  seeth- 
ing with  rebellion,  and  to  maintain  a  defensive  attitude 
was  to  court  defeat.  Romanovski  adopted  the  only  tactics 
which  afforded  a  chance  of  success.  He  marched  from 
Tashkent  with  a  force  of  14  infantry  companies,  5  Cos- 
sack squadrons,  20  guns,  and  a  rocket  apparatus,  and, 
following  the  left  bank  of  the  Sir  Darya,  encountered  the 
enemy  at  Irjai,  between  Jizak  and  Khojend.  The  battle 
that  followed  on  the  20th  May  1866  recalls  Plassey : 
3600  Russians  utterly  routed  a  force  of  5000  well- 
armed  Bokharan  regulars  and  35,000  horsemen  with  2 
guns  which  had  taken  up  an  entrenched  position  on  the 
road  to  Samarkand,  on  which  the  beaten  host  retreated 
in  the  utmost  disorder.  That  hotbed  of  fanaticism  lay 
open  to  the  invader,  but  he  deemed  it  safer  to  seize  the 
fortress  of  Khojend,  thus  driving  a  wedge  between 
Bokhara  and  the  Kokand  territories.  On  the  6th  of 
June  1866  Khojend  fell  after  a  siege  of  eight  days  and 
a  bombardment  by  2  mortars  and  i  8  field-pieces.^  The 
news  of  the  rout  of  Irjai,  and  the  capture  of  Khojend, 
created  a  profound  dismay  throughout  Central  Asia ; 
but  the  proud  Uzbegs  were  loth  to  acknowledge 
themselves  beaten  ;  and  the  mullas  were  still  less 
inclined  to  forfeit  the  great  position  which  they  held 
under  so  pious  a  ruler  as  Muzaffar  ed-Din.  He  was 
persuaded  to  disregard  the  ultimatum  sent  by  Roma- 
novski, and  actively  pursued  preparations  for  a  new 
campaign.  The  Russians  therefore  took  the  offensive 
with  unabated  vigour.  During  October  they  seized  the 
Bokharan  border  strongholds  of  Ura-teppe  and  Jizak, 
thus  obtaining  a  complete  command  of  the  valley  of 
the  Zarafshan.  In  the  spring  of  1867  Yani  Kurgan  was 
added  to  the  list  of  Russian  conquests,  and  was  twice 
heroically  defended  by  General  Abramoff  against  a 
*See  Schuyler's  Turkestan,  i.  312. 


A.D.  1867.1        STRUGGLE  WITH  THE  KHANATES       253 

Bokharan  force  of  45,000  men  bent  on  wresting  it  from 
the  invader.  Thus,  in  the  middle  of  1867,  the  Russians 
found  themselves  masters  of  the  great  sources  of  Bokharan 
prosperity — the  basins  of  the  Zarafshan  and  the  Sir 
Darya.  The  vast  extent  of  this  newly  conquered 
territory,  and  its  distance  from  Orenburg,  still  the 
administrative  capital  of  Russian  Central  Asia,  led  to  a 
revision  of  the  boundaries. 

By  a  ukase  ^  dated  iith(23rd)  July  1867  Turkes- 
tan was  placed  under  a  governor-general,  with  head- 
quarters at  Tashkent.  His  authority  extended  over  the 
provinces  of  Sir  Darya  and  Semirechensk,  the  latter 
including  the  vast  territory  lately  acquired  between  the 
lakes  of  Balkash  and  Issik  Kul.  General  Kauffman,  a 
general  who  has  written  his  name  indelibly  on  Central 
Asian  annals,  was  appointed  to  the  important  post.  On 
taking  the  helm  he  found  Kokand  quiescent,  but 
Bokhara  still  in  a  state  of  suppressed  excitement,  which 
found  occasional  vent  in  attacks  on  Russian  outposts. 

He  began  by  making  the  Amir  overtures  of  peace, 
on  the  basis  of  the  statu  quo  as  regards  boundaries,  the 
grant  of  equal  rights  to  Russians  and  natives  in  the 
matter  of  trade,  and  the  payment  of  a  war  indemnity'  of 
125,000  tilas.* 

No  reply  was  returned  by  the  Amir,  but  he  obtained 
reinforcements  from  Khiva,  and  massed  troops  to  attack 
the  Russian  outpost  at  Jizak.  The  general,  in  conson- 
ance with  the  policy  pursued  by  all  Asiatic  conquerors, 
anticipated    the    onslaught    by    a    forward    movement. 

^  It  is  to  be  fonnd  in  extenso  in  Xhc  Journal  de  St.  Petersburg  of  i6th  July 
1867. 

'  500,c»o  roubles ;  equivalent  to  about  ;^S3,ooo.  This  ultimatum  is 
omitted  in  Vamberj's  admirable  description  of  the  Samarkand  campaign  in  the 
Monatsichrift  fur  deutsche  Litteraiur,  1896.  He  alleges  that  Kaufihian  ignored 
the  Amir's  embassies,  and  fell  imexpectedly  on  Samarkand  when  the  prepara- 
tion for  the  campaign  was  complete. 


254  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  ises. 

Samarkand  was  the  objective,  the  holiest  of  Central 
Asian  cities,  with  a  fierce  and  crafty  population  and 
many  remains  of  past  splendour  to  remind  its  inhabitants 
that  it  had  been  once  the  seat  of  an  empire  which  regarded 
Russia  as  an  outlying  province.  On  the  1 2th  May 
1868  Kaufifman,  at  the  head  of  3600  troops,  attacked 
the  united  Bokharan  and  Khivan  host,  40,000  strong, 
massed  on  the  heights  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Zarafshan, 
fifteen  miles  from  the  capital.  The  Russians  forded 
the  shallow  river  and  fell  upon  the  foe  with  such 
impetuosity  that  an  utter  rout  followed.  Samarkand 
surrendered  on  the  following  day.^  The  cowardly  Sarts  ^ 
offered  sumptuous  banquets  to  the  victors.  But  a  note 
of  warning  was  sounded  by  the  Jews,  whom  ages  of 
cruel  oppression  had  rendered  friendly  to  the  Russian 
cause.  They  were  disregarded  by  Kaufifman,  who  had 
hurried  on  to  capture  the  towns  of  Urgut  and  Katti 
Kurgan,  on  the  direct  road  to  Bokhara,  Learning  that 
the  warlike  population  of  Shahrisabz  had  joined  the 
movement,  and  were  encamped  to  the  east  of  Samarkand, 
while  the  Bokharan  forces  menaced  Katti  Kurgan,  he 
moved  out  to  attack  the  foe.  His  wounded  were  left 
in  the  citadel,  a  fortress  nearly  surrounded  by  scarped 
ravines  in  the  centre  of  Samarkand,  under  a  guard  of 
762  men,  commanded  by  Major  Von  Stempel,  under 
whom  Colonel  Nazarofif,  with  a  chivalry  equal  to  Outram's, 
consented  to  serve. 

Hardly  were  the  main  body  out  of  sight  than  a  force 
of  20,000  men  from  Shahrisabz  were  surreptitiously 
introduced  into  the  city  by  the  treacherous   inhabitants,' 

^  Schuyler  denies  that  this  affair  was  really  a  battle.  Judged  by  his 
standard,  Plassey  was  a  mere  skirmish.  The  two  battles  closely  resemble  one 
another.     See  his  Turkestan,  i.  242. 

^  Sarts,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  is  the  Russian  term  for  the  sedentary 
inhabitants  of  Central  Asia. 

'  Schuyler  denies  that  the  attack  on  a  small  isolated  garrison  was  an  act  of 


a.i>.t868.]        struggle  with  the  khanates       255 

and  the  citadel  was  closely  beset.  It  was  defended  as 
heroically  as  the  Residency  of  Lucknow  had  been  by  a 
handful  of  Britons.  Every  wounded  Russian  capable  of 
pointing  a  rifle  took  his  place  on  the  ramparts  ;  and 
though  the  enemy  repeatedly  penetrated  the  enceinte, 
never  did  they  effect  a  lodgment  thereon.  And  now 
provisions  and  ammunition  ran  short;  189  of  the  de- 
fenders were  killed  or  wounded,  and  surrender  seemed 
inevitable.  But  the  terrible  Kauffman  heard  of  his 
brave  followers'  distress  from  a  messenger  who  had 
contrived  to  slip  through  the  beleaguering  lines.  He 
had  defeated  the  last  remnant  of  Bokhara's  forces,  and 
was  free  to  retrace  his  steps.  Like  Gillespie's  vengeance 
on  the  Vellore  mutineers  was  that  taken  by  Kauffman  on 
the  foe.  They  were  smitten  hip  and  thigh,  thousands 
of  prisoners  were  massacred  in  cold  blood,  and  the 
villainy  of  the  Sart  inhabitants  was  punished  by  the 
surrender  of  the  town  for  three  days  to  pillage  by  the 
infuriated  army.  The  avenger  was  able  to  report  to  his 
master  that  tranquillity  reigru^d  in  Samarkand.  The 
Amir  Muzaffar  was  at  length  convinced  that  the  Great 
White  Tsar's  arm  was  too  long  to  be  withstood  or  evaded. 
His  proud  spirit  was  crushed  by  repeated  misfortunes, 
and  he  implored  permission  to  abdicate  and  end  his 
days  at  Mekka.  But  policy  demanded  that  the  ruler  of 
Bokhara  should  be  one  who  had  learnt  submission  by 
bitter  experience.  Muzaffar  ed-Din  was  confirmed  as  Amir, 
while  his  whilom  province,  Samarkand,  was  incorporated 
with  Turkestan,  and  placed  under  Lieutenant-General 
Abramoff,  who  had  given  innumerable  proofs  of  dauntless 
energy.     The  general  soon  had  his  hands  full,  for  the 

treacher}-.  It  may  not  have  been  so  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  Shahrisabz ; 
but  the  inhabitants  of  Samarkand  were  undoubtedly  guilty  of  the  basest 
dissimulation  in  welcoming  the  Russians  and  then  secretly  conspiring  their 
destruction  ( Turkestan,  i.  246). 


256  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1868. 

mullas  were  by  no  means  inclined  to  share  their  sover- 
eign's despondency.  They  worked  upon  the  ambitions 
of  Katti  Tura,  the  heir-presumptive,  a  youth  of  seventeen, 
whose  reckless  cruelties  would  have  made  him  a  meet 
successor  of  his  grandfather,  the  murderer  of  Stoddart 
and  Conolly.  This  prince  raised  the  standard  of  revolt, 
and  declared  his  father  to  have  forfeited  the  throne.  He 
routed  a  detachment  of  Bokharan  regulars  sent  against 
him,  and  took  the  stronghold  of  Karki,^  a  fortress  com- 
manding the  upper  reaches  of  the  Amu  Darya.  Abramoff 
had  little  difficulty  in  quelling  the  insurrection.  He 
took  KarshI,  the  cradle  of  the  reigning  dynasty,  stormed 
Karki,  and  drove  the  prince  into  the  mountains  which 
occupy  the  centre  of  Bokhara.  Here  he  found  no 
hiding-place.  He  was  driven  to  the  western  border  of 
Samarkand,  and  finally  captured  through  the  treachery 
of  a  peasant.  The  young  rebel  was  dragged  into  the 
presence  of  his  outraged  father,  who  ordered  his  head  to 
be  struck  off  and  exposed  at  the  palace  gate. 

General  Abramoff  completed  the  pacification  of 
Bokhara  by  subduing  Shahrisabz,  the  last  refuge 
of  highland  independence.  He  then  politely  invited 
the  Amir  to  assume  the  sovereignty  of  the  pacified 
territory. 

So  effectually  was  Muzafifar  ed-Din's  proud  spirit 
crushed  by  adverse  fortunes  that  he  humbly  received  his 
province  as  a  boon  from  his  Russian  suzerain.  He  saw 
the  once  hated  and  despised  infidels  in  possession  of 
Samarkand,  the  richest  inheritance  of  his  fathers,  and 
masters  of  the  Zarafshan,  the  source  of  Bokharan 
prosperity.  He  knew  that  it  was  in  their  power  to  divert 
its  life-giving  waters  and  render  his  capital  a  prey  to  the 
ever-advancing  desert  sands.  Thus  the  remainder  of  his 
days  was  spent  in  vain  repentance,  in  indulging  "  sorrow's 

^  This  is  now  a  Russian  cantonment. 


A.D..869.]        STRUGGLE  WITH  THE  KHANATES       257 

crown  of  sorrow  " ;  and  the  Tsar  had  no  more  obedient 
vassal  than  the  man  who  had  aspired  to  sit  on  the  throne 
of  Timur.  His  later  policy  has  been  adopted  by  his  son, 
the  present  Amir  'Abd  ul-Ahad.  With  the  conquest  of 
Bokhara  and  the  annexation  of  Samarkand  the  fourth 
great  stride  in  the  Russian  advance  was  completed. 
She  was  mistress  of  Central  Asia,  from  the  confines  of 
China  to  the  Amu  Darya,  that  historic  river  which  rises 
in  the  Pamirs  to  empty  its  waters  into  the  Sea  of  Aral. 

These  immense  accessions  to  an  empire  which 
already  rivalled  that  of  ancient  Rome  served  but  to  open 
up  a  vista  of  future  possibilities. 

"  Since  the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great,"  wrote  a  con- 
temporary Russian  author,^  "  we  have  advanced  with 
diligence  and  at  the  price  of  immense  sacrifices  across 
the  steppes  which  barred  our  passage.  They  are  now 
left  behind.  Our  dominion  has  reached  the  basin  of 
two  great  rivers  whose  waters  lave  thickly  peopled  and 
fertile  regions.  We  have  a. right  to  seek  compensa- 
tion for  sacrifices  and  labours  endured  for  more  than  a 
century.  We  have  a  right  to  attain  a  secure  frontier  by 
pushing  our  colonies  up  to  the  summit  of  the  Himalayan 
range,  the  natural  barrier  between  the  Russian  and 
English  possessions.  When  this  point  has  been  reached, 
then  only  can  we  look  calmly  on  the  development  of 
Great  Britain's  empire."  The  reduction  of  Khiva  was  a 
corollary  of  that  of  Bokhara.  The  Khanate  stretched 
northwards  as  a  wedge  into  the  newly  acquired  territory 
and  dominated  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Amu  Darj^a.  Its 
ruler  and  its  entire  population  were  bitterly  hostile  to 
Russian  designs.  A  Khivan  contingent  had  fought  side  by 
side  with  the  hosts  of  Samarkand  during  the  recent  cam- 
paigns, the  result  of  which  did  not  intimidate  them. 

In  the  year  which  followed  the  conquest  of  Samar- 

^  Quoted  by  Ney,  En  Asie  CentraU,  p.  221, 
17 


258  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  .870. 

kand,    Khivan    bands    penetrated    the    steppes    of    the 
Orenburg   government   and    urged  the  Russian   Kirghiz 
to  revolt.     Caravan  trade  between  Western  Siberia  was 
paralysed;  and  in  1870  the  Khan  had  the  presumption 
to  forbid  the  export  of  grain.i     General  Kaufifman,  now 
in  supreme  command  in  Turkestan,  was  compelled  by 
his    imperial    master's    explicit   instructions    to    show   a 
degree  of  forbearance  which  ill-suited  his  temper.     He 
was  content  to  demand  the  release  of  the  Russians  whom 
the  Khan  still  held  in  slavery,  and  an  explanation  of  the 
offensive  tone  adopted  by  his  ministers  in  their  despatches. 
As  is  invariably  the  case  in  dealing   with  Asiatics,  the 
Russians  found  that  moderation  was  mistaken  for  weak- 
ness.    The  Khan  claimed  the  river  Emba,  on  the  north- 
eastern shore  of  the  Caspian,  as  the  boundary   of   his 
dominions,  and  endeavoured  to  collect  taxes   from  the 
tribes   of   the    Ust    Urt   Desert,   which    had    long   been 
regarded  as  within  the  Russian  sphere  of  influence.     The 
Kirghiz  steppes  became  unsafe  for  caravans,  and  postal 
communication    between    Tashkent    and  Orenburg   was 
subject  to  continual  interruptions.     It  was   well  known 
that  the    mullas   had   incited   the    Khan  to    proclaim  a 
religious    war,    and    that    his    forces    were    swollen    by 
refugees    from     Bokhara.      The    limits    of    forbearance 
had  been  reached,  and  the  most  timid  adviser  of   the 
Tsar  admitted  that  Khiva  must  be  reduced  to  impotence. 
The  story  of  the  fall  of  the  rebellious  Khanate  has  been 
told  often,  and  so  graphically  that  it  is  needless  to  relate  it 
in  any  detail.^     The  Russians  had  by  this  time  amassed 
great     experience    in     the    physical    conditions     to    be 
encountered,  and  had  profited  by  the  lessons  taught  by 
former  disasters.     Depots  for  provisions  were  formed  at 

^  Hugo  Stumm,  Russia  in  Central  Asia,  p.  104. 

^  The  best  account  is  one  compiled  by  the  Russian  staff, — T/ie  Khivan 
Cafnpaign,  St.  Petersburg,  1873. 


1 


A.D.  .875.1        STRUGGLE  WITH  THE  KHANATES       259 

each  halting-place,  and  columns  started  severally  from 
the  eastern  corner  of  the  Caspian,  Orenburg,  Perovski 
on  the  Sir  Darya,  and  Tashkent.  So  carefully  had  the 
minutest  detail  been  worked  out  by  the  Russian  staff 
that  the  several  divisions,  after  marching  for  nearly  900 
miles  through  waterless  deserts,  reached  Khiva  almost 
simultaneously.  The  Khan  was  unable  to  cope  with 
a  disciplined  army  14,000  strong.  His  capital  was  taken 
by  storm,  and  on  the  24th  of  March  1873  he  signed  a 
treaty  of  peace,  acknowledging  himself  to  be  the  humble 
vassal  of  Russia,  and  agreeing  to  pay  an  indemnity  of 
2,500,000  roubles,  and  to  surrender  all  Russian  and 
Persian  slaves.  This  pact  has  been  loyally  obser\'ed  on 
both  sides.  The  Khan  still  retains  a  nominal  sovereignty 
with  even  less  independence  than  had  been  accorded 
to  Bokhara,  and  Khiva  is  de  facto  as  much  a  part  and 
parcel  of  Russia  as  the  government  of  Moscow. 

Kokand,  the  third  Khanateof  Central  Asia,  was  doomed 
to  lose  all  semblance  of  freedom.  Its  ruler  had  accepted 
the  inevitable  on  the  defeat  of  his  powerful  neighbours, 
had  abolished  slavery,  and  had  striven  to  maintain  friendly 
relations  with  Russia.  But  his  territories  were  so  placed 
that  the  annexation  was  essential  to  the  safety  of  the 
eastern  borders.  They  intervened  between  Turkestan 
and  China,  and  were  inhabited  by  a  fanatical  population 
with  a  strong  leaven  of  untamed  Kirghiz  and  Kipchak 
nomads.  Had  Kokand  possessed  a  firm  and  politic  ruler, 
its  absorption  might  have  been  indefinitely  postponed. 
The  reverse  was  the  case;  for  the  Khan,  Khuda  Yar, 
was  detested  by  his  subjects,  and  rebellions  frequently 
recurred  which  kept  the  whole  of  Central  Asia  in  a 
ferment.^     A  climax  was  reached  in    1875,  when,  after 

^  Schuyler,  who  visited  the  capital  just  before  the  annexation,  mentions  that 
500  prisoners  taken  in  one  of  these  emeutes  had  their  throats  cut  in  the  bazaar, 
which  literally  streamed  with  blood  {Turkestan,  ii.  16). 


26o  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1876. 

three  years  of  almost  incessant  civil  war,  the  Russians 
found  themselves  compelled  to  intervene.  Kokand  was 
invaded  by  a  strong  expeditionary  force  under  General 
Kauffman,  among  whose  lieutenants  was  Skobeleff, 
destined  to  win  imperishable  glory  in  subsequent 
campaigns.  Short  work  was  made  of  the  Kokandis, 
who  had  dethroned  their  Khan  and  marched  under  his 
son's  banner.  They  were  routed  with  prodigious  slaughter 
at  Makhram,  and  the  holy  city  of  Marghilan  was 
occupied  without  resistance.  Defeats  were  afterwards 
administered  to  the  native  levies  at  Andijan  and 
Namangan,  and  on  20th  February  the  capital  was  seized 
by  a  force  under  Skobeleff.  On  the  20th  March  1876 
the  Tsar,  Alexander  II.,  formally  authorised  the  annexa- 
tion of  Kokand  as  a  province  of  Turkestan  under  its 
ancient  name,  Farghana.  Skobeleff,  the  ardent  soldier 
who  had  so  greatly  contributed  to  the  reduction  of  the 
Khanate,  became  its  first  governor.  Farghana  has  a 
temperate  climate,  and  has  bred  a  hardy  and  warlike 
population.  Owing  to  its  remoteness  from  the  centres 
served  by  the  Transcaspian  Railway,  the  Russian  officials 
were  not  till  lately  subjected  to  the  vigorous  surveillance 
which  is  exercised  over  their  colleagues  in  other  provinces, 
and  the  reins  of  administration  were  slackly  held.  In  the 
spring  of  1898  the  discontent  inspired  by  alien  rule, 
which  had  been  sedulously  fanned  by  the  priesthood, 
burst  into  a  flame.  The  ringleader  of  the  movement  was 
a  Mohammedan  monk  named  Ishan  Mohammad  'All 
Khalifa,  who  claimed  the  hereditary  dignity  of  Imam,  or 
descendant  of  the  Prophet.  He  announced  that  on 
himself  had  devolved  the  task  of  fulfilling  a  prophecy 
widely  received,  that  during  the  last  decade  of  our 
century  an  Imam  would  proclaim  a  Holy  War  against 
the  infidel.  As  had  been  the  case  on  the  eve  of  the 
Indian  Mutiny,  a  general  rising  had  been  planned,  and 


A.D.  1876.1        STRUGGLE  WITH  THE  KHANATES        261 

a  simultaneous  massacre  of  the  Russian  troops  through- 
out the  province.  History  repeated  itself  in  the  result  of 
their  deeply  laid  conspiracy.  India  was  saved  by  the 
premature  outbreak  at  Mirat ;  and  Farghana  by  the 
impatience  of  the  Ishan,  who  on  29th  May  attacked  a 
Russian  camp  near  Andijan  before  his  sympathisers  were 
ready  for  concerted  action.  The  rising  was  quelled  with 
much  bloodshed  on  either  side ;  1 8  of  the  leaders  were 
executed,  and  350  were  deported  to  North-Eastern 
Siberia.  The  recent  opening  of  railway  lines  connecting 
the  cities  of  Farghana  with  Tashkent  and  Samarkand 
will  render  a  recrudescence  of  the  spirit  of  revolt  well- 
nigh  impossible. 


CHAPTER  IV 

TURKOMANIA  AND  THE  TURKOMANS 

The  reduction  of  Khiva  marks  a  new  era  in  the  history 
of  the  Russian  advance.  The  last  semblance  of  organised 
opposition  to  the  movement  had  disappeared,  and  the 
Tsar  saw  himself  the  unquestioned  suzerain  of  the  great 
Khanates,  Westwards,  his  base  was  planted  securely  on 
the  Caspian,  where  the  port  of  Krasnovodsk,  founded  in 
1869  by  General  Stolietoff,^  was  connected  with  the 
Russian  colonies  in  the  Mangishlak  peninsula  by  a  chain 
of  strong  places.  The  Amu  Darya,  that  ancient  boundary 
of  nations,  marked  the  limits  of  the  new  empire  in  the 
west.  But  the  vast  tract  between  sea  and  river  was  still 
unsubdued,  and  Russia's  boundary  marched  with  that  of 
no  organised  state.  Here  lay  the  habitat  of  the  Turko- 
mans, a  race  with  whom  no  peace  or  truce  was  possible, 
and  the  story  of  their  subjection  forms  the  final  chapter 
in  the  history  of  the  heart  of  Asia.  The  haunt  of  these 
untamed  tribes  may  be  described  as  a  triangle,  with 
Khiva  as  its  apex ;  its  sides  the  Caspian  and  the  Amu 
Darya ;  and  its  base  formed  by  a  line  drawn  from  the 
city  of  Balkh  in  Afghanistan  to  the  south-eastern  corner 
of  the  Caspian  Sea.  The  area  thus  enclosed  is  not  far 
short  of  240,000  square  miles,  more  than  twice  as  great 
as  that  of  the  United  Kingdom.  The  north  portion  is  a 
trackless  waste ;  but  it  is  by  no   means  a  desert  of  the 

^  Moser,  A  Travers  VAsie  Centrale,  p.  314. 


*'^.  % 


w^     % 


THE    SEA   OF    SAXD    I\   THE   KARA-KUM    DESERT 


THE   SEA   OF   SAND    IN   THE    KAKA-KUM    DESERT 


TURKOMANIA  363 

Sahara  type,  made  familiar  to  us  by  so  many  records  of 
African  travel.  Variety  is  its  most  salient  characteristic. 
In  some  parts  so  firm  is  the  surface  that  a  horse's  hoof 
rings  on  it  as  on  a  macadamised  road.  In  others,  again, 
the  loose  sand  forms  ridges  like  petrified  waves.^  After 
the  spring  rains  the  expanse  of  dull  white  is  carpeted,  as 
if  by  miracle,  with  gorgeous  lilies,  tulips,  and  other  bulbous 
plants,  long  grass  and  tufts  of  reed.  Water  is,  indeed, 
required  to  clothe  the  arid  sand  with  perennial  verdure, 
and  render  it  a  breeding-ground  for  countless  flocks  and 
herds.  It  is  found  at  depths  rarely  exceeding  thirty  feet 
below  the  surface,  and  wells  are  of  frequent  recurrence.^ 
The  only  rivers  of  importance  are  the  Murghab  and  the 
Tajand,  which  rise  in  the  mountains  of  Afghanistan  and 
lose  themselves  in  the  sand  ;  but  streams  innumerable 
descend  their  flanks.  In  times  beyond  the  range  of 
history  the  western  portion  of  the  Turkoman  Desert  was 
watered  by  the  Amu  Darya,  which  discharged  itself  into 
the  Caspian  at  the  head  of'  the  Bay  of  Michaelovsk. 
Owing  to  some  convulsion  of  nature,  or  to  interference 
with  its  course  by  an  attempt  to  employ  it  for  irrigation, 
the  bed  of  the  mighty  stream  shifted  and  now  discharges 
into  the  Sea  of  Aral.  Vegetation  is  scanty,  except  during 
the  brief  spring-time.  The  soil  is  covered,  in  some  parts, 
with  the  camel's  thorn,  a  forbidding  plant  which  can  be 
masticated  only  by  the  "  ship  of  the  desert."  The 
perennial  flora  are  completed  by  the  stunted  tamarisk, 
a  root  like  the  stem  of  a  rose  called  takh,  and  a  shrub 
termed  saxaul  {Jialoxyloyi  anwiodendroti).  The  latter  is 
full  of  knots,  and  has  a  grain  most  difficult  to  cut  or  split, 

^  Moser,  A  Travers  VAsie  Centrale,  p.  298. 

'  The  desert  wells  are  termed  urpa  when  shallow,  and  kuduk  or  knyii 
when  they  are  deep  and  afford  a  constant  supply.  The  only  sign  of  their 
existence  is  the  tracks  converging  on  them  from  every  quarter.  They  are 
mere  holes,  without  kerb  or  fencing,  and  the  sides  are  roughly  shored  up  by 
the  branches  of  desert  shrubs  {ibid,  p.  299). 


264  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA 

but  it  is  precious  as  fuel,  and  still  more  valuable  as  a 
means  of  binding  the  billowy  sands.  These  steppes 
contain  few  traces  of  animal  life.  Herds  of  beautiful 
wild  asses  are  sometimes  seen  in  the  distance,  and  a 
species  of  antelope  is  oftener  met  with.^  Wells  are 
beset  with  a  variety  of  birds,  which  fly  down  to  their 
depths  in  search  of  water.  But  the  stillness  of  the  waste 
is  intense,  and  the  boundless  horizon  is  seen  through  the 
clear  pure  air  shimmering  with  the  heat  or  broken  only 
by  a  mirage.  The  climate  of  the  Turkoman  Desert  is 
one  of  extremes.  In  December  and  January  the  cold  is 
intense.  Moser,  who  traversed  the  Karakum  in  the  depth 
of  winter,  encountered  a  temperature  of  i  5  degrees  below 
freezing-point,  with  squalls,  snow,  and  glacial  cold.^  In 
the  summer  months  the  heat  is  equally  trying,  and  it  is 
sometimes  accompanied  by  sand-storms  which  render 
respiration  almost  impossible.  But  the  Turkomans  are 
not  confined  to  regions  so  inhospitable.  They  have  long 
been  established  in  the  south-east  of  the  Caspian,  a  tract 
watered  by  the  rivers  Gargan  and  Atrak,  which  is  swampy 
towards  the  embouchure,  but  farther  inland  is  broken  by 
valleys  as  rich  and  full  of  charm  as  any  on  the  flanks  of 
the  Pyrenees.^     The  streams  descending  from  the  Kopet 

^  "  In  the  Turkoman  Desert  is  a  species  of  antelope  almost  as  numerous  as 
the  wild  ass.  It  is  smaller  than  a  sheep,  which  it  resembles  in  body,  neck, 
and  head,  and  has  the  delicate  limbs,  horns,  and  hair  of  the  antelope ;  the 
horn,  however,  is  not  opaque  but  white,  and  like  a  cow's  horn.  The  nos- 
trils are  directly  in  front,  and  are  closed  by  a  muscle  acting  vertically.  The 
nose  is  greatly  arched,  and  provided  with  an  integument  which  can  be 
inflated  at  pleasure.  The  head  is  extremely  ugly.  The  animal  ...  is 
called  by  the  natives  kaigh "  (Abbott,  Narrative  of  a  Journey  to  Khiva, 
1856). 

2  Moser,  p.  309.  The  Karakum  is  the  portion  of  the  Turkoman  Desert 
lying  between  Khiva  and  the  Akkal  and  Merv  oases. 

^  "  Our  path  lay  through  fields  and  natural  meadows  of  the  richest  verdure, 
among  groves  of  oak  clothed  in  young  leaves  of  the  most  delicate  hues, 
broken  into  glades  and  lawns  of  velvet "  {Narrative  of  a  Journey  through 
Khorasan  in  the  Years  1821-1822,  by  James  Baillie  Fraser  ;  London,  1825). 


TURKOMANIA  265 

Dagh,  a  mountain  range  which  separates  Persia  from  the 
Turkoman  Desert,  has  produced  a  fertile  belt  of  fifteen  to 
twenty-five  miles  wide,  extending  from  Kizil  Arvat  to 
Giaour,  a  distance  of  187  miles.  This  is  the  Akkal 
oasis.  Where  the  Murghab  enters  the  desert  it  forms 
the  great  Merv  oasis,  a  land  which,  even  in  its  decadence, 
is  one  of  the  most  fertile  in  the  world.  This  ancient  seat 
of  empire,  which  fell  into  Turkoman  hands  after  its  in- 
vasion in  1784  by  the  forces  of  the  Amir  Murad  of 
Bokhara,  has  other  advantages  precious  to  a  predatory 
race.  It  is  within  striking  distance  of  Northern  Persia, 
and  is  separated  from  Herat  by  a  low  range  of  rolling 
hills  which  offer  no  obstacle  to  an  invading  horde.^  Such 
is  the  land  which,  from  time  immemorial,  has  been  the 
haunt  of  one  of  the  most  interesting  races  in  the  world. 
Like  the  Red  Indians,  with  whom  they  have  many  char- 
acteristics in  common,  they  have  succumbed  to  the 
ruthless  force  of  Western  civilisation  ;  and  a  study  of  their 
traditions  and  usages  possesses  the  greater  interest 
because  both  will  soon  disappear  under  the  process  of 
Russification  to  which  Central  Asia  is  being  subjected. 
In  the  opinion  of  a  well-known  living  authority,-  the 
Turkomans  belong  to  a  branch  of  the  Turkish  race 
inhabiting  the  Altai"  Mountains  and  the  upper  regions 
of  the  Yenesei  and  Irtish  in  Mid-Siberia.  Long  before 
the  Christian  era  the  pressure  of  population  led  them  to 
migrate  southwards  and  eastwards,  and,  following  in  all 
probability  the  old  course  of  the  Oxus,  their  hordes 
spread  over  the  great  steppes  extending  from  the 
Caspian  to  the  Hindu  Kush.     The  appellation  by  which 

*  M.  P.  Lessar,  whose  knowledge  of  Central  Asian  geography  is  profound, 
affirms  that  the  Paropamisus,  as  the  range  was  anciently  called,  offers  no 
difficulty  to  the  engineer.  The  sumniit  is  reached  by  an  almost  imperceptible 
incline.  In  fact,  the  traveller  crosses  the  range  almost  without  perceiving  that 
he  has  done  so. 

'  Vamber)-,  in  a  lecture  delivered  in  London  on  loth  April  1880. 


266  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA 

the  race  has  for  centuries  been  known  is  considered  by 
Vambery  to  be  derived  from  "  Turk,"  a  proper  name 
which  the  nomads  always  employ  when  speaking  of 
themselves,  and  "men,"  a  suffix  equivalent  to  the  English 
"  ship  "  or  "  dom."  That  the  Turkomans  were  identical 
with  the  Parthians,  who  were  so  long  a  thorn  in  the  side 
of  the  Roman  Empire,  admits  of  little  doubt,  and  the 
supposition  derived  from  identity  of  racial  character  finds 
corroboration  in  the  fact  that  the  Dahse,^  a  famous 
Parthian  tribe,  dwelt  in  ancient  days  in  the  region 
between  the  Balkans  and  the  river  Atrak,  which  is  still 
called  Dehistan.  But  the  strangers  from  the  icy  north 
were  not  long  contented  to  roam  over  steppes  which  were 
well-nigh  as  hospitable  as  those  of  Siberia.  They  smelt 
booty  in  the  richly  watered  slopes  of  the  Kopet  Dagh 
and  the  populous  cities  of  Northern  Persia.  The  era  of 
the  Samanides  (a.d.  218—639)  was  one  of  constant 
struggles  between  these  unwelcome  immigrants  and  the 
settled  Iranians  of  Northern  Persia,  and  history  repeated 
itself  in  the  ruin  and  desolation  which  befell  the  latter. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  Middle  Ages  the  northern  portion 
of  the  old  empire  of  Darius  was  given  up  to  Turkoman 
tribes  bent  on  war  and  pillage.  At  this  date  we  find 
them  divided  into  many  tribes.  The  most  famous  were 
the  Salors,  who  possessed  some  at  least  of  the  traits  of 
the  noble  savage  of  fiction.  They  dwelt  at  the  edge  of 
the  hills  on  the  oasis  formed  by  the  Murghab  and  Tajand. 
In  the  twelfth  century  the  Sultan  Sanjar,  the  greatest  of 
the  Seljukides,  was  defeated  by  the  Kara  and  Alieli 
Turkomans  at  Andakhuy  and  Maymena,  where  both  are 
still  to  be  found.  The  Balkan  Mountains  in  the  sixteenth 
century  looked  down  on  Ersari  encampments,  and  at  an 
earlier  date  the  peninsula  of  Mangishlak  was  roamed  over 
by  various  tribes.     For  centuries  unnumbered  the  Turko- 

*  See  Rawlinson's  History  of  Parthia,  1873, 


TURKOMANIA  067 

mans  were  free  from  foreign  influence,  and  maintained 
the  primitive  ferocity  and  power  for  aggression  unleavened 
by  intercourse  with  civilisation.  They  found  their  master 
in  rare  exceptions  to  the  long  succession  of  debauchees 
who  filled  the  throne  of  Persia.  In  the  seventeenth  century 
Shah 'Abbas  the  Great  (i  585-1626)  drove  them  from 
the  rich  valleys  of  the  Kopet  Dagh  and  planted  colonies 
of  15,000  Kurds  along  the  crest,  in  the  not  altogether 
vain  hope  that  these  scourges  of  Asia  Minor  would  hold 
their  neighbours  in  check.  Nadir  Shah,  infamous  for  the 
bloodshed  attending  his  capture  of  Delhi,  was  himself  a 
Turkoman,  and  proved  more  than  a  match  for  his  kins- 
men. In  1 796  Agha  Mohammad,  the  first  sovereign  of 
the  reigning  dynasty,  who  was  also  of  Turkoman  origin, 
took  effectual  measures  to  protect  his  frontier,  and,  had 
his  brief  career  not  been  brought  to  a  close  by  the 
assassin's  dagger,  he  would  doubtless  have  tamed  these 
fierce  children  of  the  desert.  His  successor,  Fath  'All 
Shah,  attempted  the  process,  and  in  1813  the  Turkoman 
tribes  appealed  to  the  Tsar  of  Russia  for  assistance 
against  him.  Alexander  I.,  however,  was  then  engaged 
in  rolling  back  the  tide  of  Napoleon's  invasion,  and 
was  powerless  to  help  them,  thus  exciting  an  intense 
irritation.  We  obtain  a  glimpse  of  the  position  occupied 
by  the  Turkoman  tribes  in  1831  in  the  pages  of  Burnes.^ 
At  that  date  the  Tekkes  were  second  to  no  tribe  in 
numbers,  though  they  had  not  reached  the  commanding 
position  which  they  attained  at  the  eve  of  the  Russian 
conquest.  This  section  of  the  Turkoman  race  is  found 
at  the  dawn  of  their  history  occupying  the  Isthmus  of 
Mangishlak,  on  the  north-eastern  coast  of  the  Caspian. 
Driven  thence  in  1 7 1 8  by  the  Kalmaks,  they  dislodged 
the  Yamuds  from  Kizil  Arvat,  and  the  Kurds  and  Alielis 
from  the  strip  of  fertile  land  at  the  basis  of  the  Kopet 

^  Travels  in  Bokhara,  1834, 


268  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1830. 

Dagh,  known  as  the  Akkal  oasis.  Their  name,  which  in 
our  tongue  signifies  "  Mountain  Goat,"  is  said  to  be  de- 
rived from  the  agiHty  with  which  they  urged  their  horses 
over  the  ravines  on  the  mountain  side.  The  Tekkes 
proclaimed  their  allegiance  to  the  Khan  of  Khiva,  and 
each  village  paid  a  tribute  of  a  camel,  but  they  were 
forced  to  recognise  the  supremacy  of  Nadir  Shah.  Until 
the  commencement  of  the  present  century  they  were 
confined  to  the  limits  of  the  oasis ;  but  population  began 
to  press  too  heavily  on  the  means  of  subsistence,  which, 
in  Central  Asia,  is  synonymous  with  water.  The  culti- 
vation spread  to  such  an  extent  that  the  arlks,  or  small 
irrigation  canals,  proved  unequal  to  its  necessities.  Hence, 
about  1830,  10,000  families  migrated  eastwards  and 
established  themselves  on  the  banks  of  the  Tajand. 
Here  they  built  a  fort,  called  after  their  chief,  Oraz  Khan 
Kal'a.  The  total  number  of  Tekke  tents  or  kibitkas  ^  is 
put  by  Burnes  at  40,000. 

At  that  epoch  the  Ersaris  roamed  over  the  Upper  Oxus, 
and  were  equally  numerous  with  the  Tekkes.  The  Merv 
oasis  was  inhabited  by  the  Sariks,  numbering  20,000  tents, 
who  were  engaged  in  a  struggle  with  the  Khivans,  then  tem- 
porary masters  of  Merv.  The  Yamuds,  about  as  numerous 
as  the  Sariks,  wandered  between  Khiva  and  Astrabad  in 
Khorasan,  while  the  territory  watered  by  the  Atrak  and 
Gurgan  was  inhabited  by  the  Gokhlans,  who  acknowledged 
the  sway  of  Persia.  Finally  the  Salors,  who  made  up  by 
courage  for  the  paucity  of  their  numbers,  held  the  upper 
reaches    of    the  Tajand  near  Sarakhs.       In    1832  their 

^  Kibitka  is  the  Russian  term  for  the  nomads'  tent.  It  is  composed  of 
portable  felt  carpets  secured  by  strips  of  raw  hide  to  a  circular  collapsible 
wooden  frame.  An  old  tent,  black  with  age  and  smoke,  is  called  by  the 
Turkomans  "  kara  ev  "  ;  a  new  one,  still  whitish-grey,  "  ak  ev."  The  kibitka 
is  the  Russian  administrative  unit,  and  is  supposed  to  connote  five  inhabitants. 
A  group  of  kibitkas  ranging  between  twenty-five  and  fifty  is  called  aul, 
"  portable  village." 


A.D.1845.]  TURKOMANIA 

constant  ravages  led  to  reprisals  on  the  Persian  side. 
They  were  attacked  by  an  overwhelming  force  under 
'Abbas  Mirza,  son  of  Shah  Fath  'All,  and  after  a 
desperate  resistance  their  stronghold,  Sarakhs,  was 
captured.  The  survivors  fled  northwards  and  occupied 
the  Yoletan  oasis,  south  of  Merv.  Meantime  the  Tekkes, 
who  had  settled  in  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Taj  and,  had 
been  desolating  the  northern  possessions  of  Persia,  and 
the  cry  of  the  harassed  inhabitants  reached  the  capital. 
Vigorous  measures  were  ordered  by  the  Shah,  and  in 
1845  Asaf  ud-Dawle,  the  governor  of  Khorasan,  fell  on 
their  settlements  and  utterly  destroyed  them.  The 
Tekkes,  ousted  from  their  coign  of  vantage,  sought  re- 
fuge in  the  Akkal  oasis,  but  it  was  already  over-peopled, 
and  their  brethren  there  were  constrained  to  refuse  them 
ingress.  They  finally  obtained  Asaf  ud-Dawle's  leave  to 
settle  in  Sarakhs,  which  had  bpen  depopulated  thirteen 
years  earlier  by  the  expulsion  of  the  Salors.  At  first 
they  respected  the  Persian  territory,  for  the  energetic 
governor  of  Khorasan  had  shown  that  he  knew  how  to 
deal  with  them.  Their  relations  with  Khiva  were  very 
different,  for  that  Khanate  was  surrounded  by  nomad 
tribes,  and  had  no  outlet  for  the  prowess  of  their  cavalry 
save  in  conflict  with  them.  Mohammad  Amin  Khan, 
then  sovereign  of  Khiva,  stormed  Sarakhs  and  left  a 
viceroy  with  a  garrison  there.  Hardly  was  his  back 
turned  when  the  Tekkes  rose  at  the  intruders  and  put 
them  to  the  sword.  This  outrage  brought  the  Khan 
again  into  the  field.  He  laid  siege  to  Sarakhs,  but, 
while  directing  the  operations  upon  a  mound  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Hari  Rud,  was  surprised  by  a  body 
of  Turkomans  and  decapitated.  His  head  was  sent  to 
the  Shah  and  his  body  to  Khiva  for  burial.  The  Tekkes 
were  encouraged  by  this  brilliant  success  to  resume  their 
raids  into  Persia,  and   again  the  governor  of  Khorasan 


270  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [ad.  1845. 

was  provoked  to  retaliate.  He  burnt  Sarakhs  and  drove 
the  Tekkes  northwards  as  far  as  Merv,  which  had,  with 
one  brief  interval,  been  held  by  the  Sariks  since  its 
devastation  by  the  Amir  of  Bokhara  in  1784.  The  in- 
habitants resisted  the  Tekkes'  invasion  with  the  fierce 
jealousy  which  reigned  between  all  Turkoman  tribes. 
They  implored  help  of  the  Persians,  and  the  governor 
of  Khorasan  forthwith  marched  on  Merv  with  1 8  bat- 
talions and  7000  cavalry.  The  Tekkes,  finding  them- 
selves between  two  fires,  offered  submission  to  Persia,  and 
rendered  it  acceptable  by  costly  gifts.  Then  they  turned 
on  the  churlish  Sariks,  and  drove  them  from  Merv  to 
the  oases  of  Yoletan  and  Panjdih  in  the  upper  reaches 
of  the  Murghab,  dispossessing  in  their  turn  the  Salors, 
who,  with  the  permission  of  the  Persian  authorities, 
settled  at  Zarabad  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Harl  Rud.^ 
Thus  the  pressure  of  population  in  the  Akkal  oasis  led 
to  a  dispersal  of  the  Tekkes  who  inhabited  it.  In  little 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  we  find  them  masters 
of  the  wondrously  fertile  lands  irrigated  by  the  Murghab, 
after  dislodging  the  former  occupants  and  destroying  a 
force  sent  against  them  by  the  greatest  of  Khivan  rulers. 
On  taking  possession  of  their  conquest  the  Tekkes  began 
to  develop  its  resources  according  to  their  lights.  They 
made  a  rude  dam  twenty-five  miles  above  Merv,  and  ex- 
cavated twenty-four  small  canals  which  irrigated  lands 
sufficient  to  support  48,000  families.^     But  they  were  as 

^  The  subsequent  history  of  this  once  powerful  tribe  is  a  curious  example 
of  the  process  of  agglomeration  which  raised  the  Tekkes  to  supremacy. 
In  1 87 1  the  remnant  of  the  Salors  were  forcibly  deported  by  the  former 
tribe  to  Merv,  and  incorporated  with  themselves.  Petrusevitch,  quoted  by 
Marvin  {Merv,  p.  80). 

^  O'Donovan,  who  visited  these  works  in  1880,  describes  them  as  follows : 
"For  twenty  yards  on  either  side  the  river-bank  was  revetted  with  stout 
fascines  of  giant  reeds,  solidly  lashed  to  stakes  planted  on  the  bank  to 
prevent  the  friction  of  the  current,  as  it  neared  the  dam,  from  washing  away 


A.D.  ,86o.i  TURKOMANIA  ayi. 

far  from  being  peaceful  cultivators  as  ever.  They  overran  the 
whole  of  Khorasan,  and  carried  their  raids  450  miles  south 
of  its  capital,  Meshed.  Stung  to  madness  by  the  desolation 
thus  wrought,  the  Persians  planned  a  systematic  vengeance. 
In  i860  they  built  a  fort  as  a  basis  of  their  opera- 
tions, which  they  called  New  Sarakhs,  opposite  the 
old  citadel  of  that  name.  Then,  in  the  following  year, 
the  commander-in-chief  advanced  against  Merv  with  a 
force  of  12,000  infantry,  10,000  horsemen,  and  33  guns. 
The  Tekkes,  in  great  alarm,  offered  submission  and  a 
substantial  tribute.  But  the  Persian  general,  confident 
in  his  numbers  and  armament,  would  hear  of  no  com- 
promise. The  tribesmen,  compelled  to  fight  for  life  and 
freedom,  acquitted  themselves  with  a  gallantry  which 
inspired  terror  in  the  invaders.  The  Persian  artillerymen 
and  infantry  were  slain  or  captured  to  a  man,  and  the 
guns  served  twenty  years  after  -to  arm  a  citadel  which 
the  Tekkes  built  as  a  defence  against  an  anticipated 
Russian  attack.^  The  cavalry  alone,  including  the 
cowardly  commander-in-chief,  found  safety  in  flight,  and  so 
great  was  the  glut  of  prisoners  that  the  price  of  a  Persian 
slave  in  Khivan  and  Bokharan  markets  fell  to  a  sum  equal 
to  a  pound  sterling.'  This  was  the  last  organised 
attempt  from  the  Persian  side  to  subvert  Tekke  inde- 
pendence, and  the  tribe,  settled  firmly  in  the  great  oases 
of  Akkal  and   Merv,  were   free  to  pursue  their  lawless 

the  earth  surface.  Huge  masses  of  earthwork  closed  the  narrow  gorge  by 
which  the  stream  found  exit  in  the  lower  level  by  a  passage  scarce  ten  feet 
wide.  The  waters  rushed  thunderously  through  this  narrow  gap  to  a  level 
eight  feet  below  their  upper  surface.  The  passage  was  some  fifty  yards  in 
length,  and,  like  its  approaches,  was  lined  with  reed  fascines"  {The  Story 
of  Merv,  p.  210).  Petrusevitch  states  that  the  repairs  of  distributories  were 
provided  for  by  the  labour  of  a  contingent  of  one  man  in  every  twenty-four 
families  (Mar\'in's  Merv,  p.  80). 

^  O'Donovan  saw  them  in  1881.  One  was  an  eighteen,  the  others  six- 
poimders ;  all  were  bronze  smooth-bores  {TTu  Story  of  Merv,  p.  198). 

*  Petruse\-itch,  quoted  by  Mars-in,  Merv,  p.  81. 


272  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  i860. 

impulses  at  the  expense  of  their  neighbours.  For  Persia 
was  not  alone  in  serving  as  a  quarry.  The  fierce  children 
of  the  steppes  carried  rapine  and  murder  within  a  few 
miles  of  the  citadel  of  Herat,^  and  spread  far  and  wide 
a  terror  as  abject  as  that  inspired  by  the  Danish  pirates 
in  the  coast  towns  of  Saxon  England.  Such  is  the 
history  of  the  rise  of  the  Tekke  division  of  the  Turko- 
man race  to  a  position  which  rendered  it  the  chief  obstacle 
to  the  Russian  advance.  It  is  a  modern  reproduction,  in 
miniature,  of  the  great  Mongol  movement  which,  starting 
seven  centuries  ago,  has  not  yet  spent  its  force.  Like 
the  other  Turkoman  tribes,  the  Tekkes  were  ranged  in 
divisions  and  clans  —  the  Tokhtamish  inhabiting  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  Merv  oasis,  while  the  Otamish 
occupied  the  western.  In  the  extreme  east  lived  the 
Beks.2  These  great  divisions  were  split  up  into  minor 
ones,  and  the  latter  again  ramified  into  clans. 

The  organisation  applied  to  Tekkes  of  the  Akkal  and 
Merv  oases  alike,  for  members  of  the  various  sections 
were  scattered  over  the  entire  territory  in  their  occupa- 
tion.^ Government  among  the  Tekkes  of  every  tribe 
was  a  pure  democracy.^  Affairs  of  state  were  discussed 
by  an  assembly  consisting  of  the  entire  population. 
These  gatherings  elected  a  Khan  to  represent  the  execu- 
tive   by   acclamation,   and   withdrew   the   dignity   when 

^  Grodekoff  found  the  burial-places  full  of  murdered  victims,  the  villages 
in  ruins,  and  the  fields  out  of  cultivation  (Marvin's  Merv,  p.  207). 

^  O'Donovan,  p.  182 ;  Moser,  p.  319. 

^  Petrusevitch,  quoted  by  Marvin,  pp.  82,  83.  For  an  enumeration  of  the 
Turkoman  clans  the  reader  is  referred  to  Marvin's  Merv,  which  is  a  mosaic  of 
quotations  from  v^riters  of  different  value.  Petrusevitch  is  by  far  the  most 
trustworthy. 

*  "  Residence  among  these  lawless  tribes  convinces  me  more  than  ever 
that  there  cannot  be  a  worse  despotism  than  the  despotism  of  a  mob.  There 
is  nothing,  in  my  eyes,  more  pregnant  with  fatal  consequences  than  the  sway 
and  power  of  an  ignorant  and  uncivilised  multitude  governed  by  no  other 
motives  than  its  own  maddening  impulses"  (Wolffs  Bokhara,  p.  262). 


A.D.  .86..)  TURKOMANIA  273 

the  chosen  one  ceased  to  please.  The  office  was  not  an 
object  of  ambition,  for  the  Khan's  authority  was  little  more 
than  a  matter  of  form.  He  had  forty  jigits,  or  attendants, 
to  enforce  order ;  but  he  had  not  the  power  of  the  purse. 
For  special  purposes  a  tribal  representative,  termed 
Ikhtiyar,  was  chosen  by  the  popular  assembly.  Thus,  in 
1 88 1,  O'Donovan  found  one  at  Merv  who  had  been  sent 
to  treat  with  the  Shah  of  Persia  at  Teheran.^  In  latter 
days  the  tribe  exhibited  a  tendency  to  follow  the  ordinary 
evolution  of  a  state,  which  is  from  a  democracy  to  a 
hereditary  monarchy  acquired  by  the  sword.  The  new 
departure  began  with  a  famous  chieftain  named  Nur 
Verdi  Khan,  who  had  led  the  Tekkes  in  the  victories 
over  the  Khivans,  the  Persians,  and  the  Sariks.  He  was 
intrepid,  just,  and  hospitable,  moulded  in  the  stamp  of 
those  who  carve  for  themselves  empire,  and  his  influence 
was  so  great  that  he  was  permitted  to  hand  over  the 
chiefship  of  the  Akkal  Tekke?  to  his  son  Makhdum 
Kuli  Khan,^  when  he  assumed  that  of  the  Merv  oasis. 
The  growth  of  the  hereditary  principle  was  doubtless 
fostered  by  the  sense  of  impending  danger  from  the 
Russian  avalanche.  In  earlier  times  an  attempt  to  in- 
troduce it  would  have  been  fiercely  resisted  by  the 
untamed  nomads.  Old  age  and  experience  alone  com- 
manded weight,  and  the  yoke  of  Mohammedanism,  else- 
where so  heavy  in  the  East,  pressed  but  lightly  on 
these  popular  assemblies.  Though  nominally  Sunnis 
or  orthodox  followers  of  the  Prophet,  the  Turkomans 
practised  few  of  the  interminable  observances  prescribed 
by    the    Koran ;     and    the    mullas,    mostly    steeped    in 

^  O'Donovan,  Story  of  Merv,  p.  220. 

^  Niir  Verdi  Khan  was  one  of  those  exceptional  men,  to  be  found  in  widely 
divergent  societies,  who  acquire  the  commanding  influence  which  all  strong 
personalities  must  attain.  His  death,  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  fifty, 
just  before  the  Russian  invasion,  was  the  death-knell  of  Tekke  independence 
(Moser,  p.  319). 

18 


274  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.v.  i86i. 

ignorance,  possessed  no  influence  over  them.^  But  the 
Tekkes  felt  instinctively  the  impossibility  of  maintaining 
democratic  methods  in  times  of  stress.  Military  opera- 
tions were  confided  to  the  tribesmen  of  known  valour 
and  intelligence,  termed  Sardars,^  who  had  a  minute  know- 
ledge of  the  country  to  be  traversed,  and  were  intrusted 
with  the  direction  of  the  raids,  which  were  the  main 
object  of  the  Turkoman's  existence.  Thus  did  these 
banditti  acquire  prisoners  who  could  be  held  to  ransom, 
and  slaves  who  found  a  ready  market  in  the  neigh- 
bouring Khanates.  The  things  needed  were  a  good 
horse,  arms,^  and  a  contempt  for  death.  "  He  who  puts 
his  hand  to  his  sword-hilt,"  runs  a  Turkoman  proverb, 
"  hath  no  need  to  ask  for  a  good  reason."  "  On  horse- 
back," says  another,  "  a  Tekke  knows  neither  father  nor 
mother."  When  one  of  these  natural  leaders  of  men 
determined  on  a  foray,  he  planted  his  lance,  surmounted 
by  a  flag,  in  the  ground  in  front  of  his  kibitka,  and 
invited  all  good  Musulmans,  in  the  name  of  the  Prophet, 
to  range  themselves  under  his  banner. 

The  call  to  arms  was  rarely  disregarded ;  and  the 
Sardar  soon  found  his  tent  besieged  by  several  hundreds, 
or  even  thousands,  of  warriors  prepared  to  yield  him  a  blind 
obedience.  He  fixed  the  date  and  place  of  gathering, 
but  the  object  was  not  disclosed.  On  the  day  pre- 
scribed his  followers  assembled,  each  on  a  well-trained 

^  Wolff  found  a  "  Calipha,"  or  high  priest,  named  'Abd  er-Rahman  enjoying 
great  influence  at  Merv  in  1843.  This  was  another  case  of  force  of  character 
leading  to  the  attainment  of  greatness  {Bokhara,  pp.  114,  115). 

''■  Sardar  is  a  Persian  word  signifying  "head-man."  Tokma  Sardar,  who 
had  commanded  the  garrison  of  Geok  Teppe  during  the  memorable  siege  by 
the  Russians,  visited  O' Donovan  at  Merv  soon  after  that  event.  "He  was 
slightly  under  middle  height,  very  quiet,  almost  subdued  in  manner,  his  small 
grey  eyes  lighting  up  with  a  humorous  twinkle  "  {The  Story  of  Merv,  p.  178). 

*  The  weapons  were  a  long  flintlock,  laboriously  loaded  with  the  contents 
of  a  powder-horn  and  leather  bullet  bag,  but  the  Tekke  trusted  chiefly  to  his 
sabre  and  a  long  murderous  dagger,  called /j/^fl/i-  (Moser,  p.  296). 


A.D.  i86i.]  TURKOMANIA  275 

stallion,  and  leading  spare  horses  with  provisions.  If  the 
object  of  attack  lay  in  the  plains  of  Khorasan,  the  Kopet 
Dagh  Mountains  were  scaled  by  one  of  the  three  passes 
practicable  to  Tekke  horsemen.  On  reaching  the 
southern  slopes,  the  provisions  were  left  in  some  sure 
retreat,  known  only  to  the  Sardar,  under  the  charge  of  a 
few  horsemen,  while  the  day  was  spent  in  preparing  for 
the  raid.^  Far  in  the  valley  below  lay  the  village 
destined  to  destruction.  The  smoke  curled  upwards 
from  its  white  cottages  embowered  in  forest  trees.  The 
old  men  gossiped  in  the  evening  sun ;  the  maidens  were 
bringing  home  the  cattle  from  the  pastures.  This  was 
the  moment  chosen  for  the  onslaught.  In  a  few 
moments  the  village  street  was  thronged  with  fierce 
Turkomans  bending  low  over  the  saddle-bow  and  hack- 
ing and  stabbing  right  and  left.  Then  the  survivors, 
with  the  cattle  and  valuables,  were  gathered  together 
and  hurried  off  to  the  robbers'  lair.  When  pursuit  was 
feared,  100  or  even  130  miles  were  traversed  ere  rein 
was  drawn.  The  girls  and  child  captives,  being  more 
valuable  than  adults,  were  carried  at  some  warrior's 
saddle-bow,  but  all  able  to  run  were  dragged  in  chains 
behind  the  captors.  When  they  sank  from  fatigue  their 
sufferings  were  ended  by  a  thrust  from  the  long  Turko- 
man dagger.  If  the  quarry  were  a  Kurd  village,  greater 
precautions  were  needed,  for  every  settlement  had  its 
tower  into  which  the  population  fled  on  an  alarm  being 
given.  These  fortresses  were  sometimes  stormed  while 
the  defenders  slept,  and  the  garrison  stabbed  with  fiendish 
ferocity.  In  dealing  with  caravans,  the  Turkomans  lay 
in  wait  for  their  prey  in  the  vicinity  of  wells,-  and 
swooped  down  on  the  travellers  during  their  halt.  At 
other  times  they  hung  on  the  outskirts  of  the  procession 
of  camels  and  cut  off  stragglers.     Success  depended  on 

'  Moser,  p.  324.  »  Ibid,  p.  300. 


376  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1861. 

the  suddenness  of  attack ;  and  if  it  failed  it  was  seldom 
repeated,  for  bravery  was  not  a  characteristic  of  the 
Turkoman,  except  when  the  safety  and  honour  of  his 
family  were  at  stake.  Then,  as  the  Russians  found  to 
their  cost,  they  fought  like  lions. 

For  the  slaves  a  ready  market  was  found  in  the 
Khanates  of  Khiva  and  Bokhara,  whence  dealers  visited 
Tekke  settlements  at  frequent  intervals.  The  traffic  was 
of  ancient  date,  and,  until  the  advent  of  the  Russians,  was 
recognised  by  law  and  custom.  Florio  Beneveni,  an 
Italian  who  passed  some  time  at  Bokhara  in  the  early 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  informed  Peter  the  Great 
that  3000  Russians  were  held  captive  there,  and,  at  the 
commencement  of  our  own,  Mouravieff  reported  that  a 
similar  number  languished  in  bondage  in  Khiva.^  Wolff, 
writing  in  1843,  estimated  the  number  of  Persian  slaves 
in  Bokhara  at  200,000,  and  those  detained  at  Khiva 
about  the  same  period  were  stated  by  Major  Abbott  to 
exceed  700,000.  The  price  paid  varied  with  the  age  of 
the  prisoner,  children  and  young  girls  being  twice  as 
valuable  as  adults. 

But  the  Tekke  considered  his  steed  as  even  more 
indispensable  than  a  trusted  leader  to  success  in  pursuing 
his  inherited  instinct.  The  fame  of  the  Turkoman 
horse  is  as  old  as  Alexander's  days.  Timur  improved 
the  breed  by  distributing  5000  Arab  stallions  among  the 
tribesmen,  and  in  our  own  day  Shah  Nasir  ud-Din,  of 
Persia,  unwisely  sent  600  to  his  ancient  foes,^  But  the 
Turkoman's  innocent  ally  in  his  marauding  expeditions 
showed  hardly  any  traces  of  Arab  ancestry.  He  was 
big,  leggy,  and  narrow-chested,  with  a  high  crupper, 
large  head,  and  sloping  quarters.^  The  neck  and  tail 
showed  none  of  the  proud  curves  which  characterise  the 

^  Moser,  p.  247.  '  Ibid.  p.  320. 

'  Ibid.  ;  also  O'Donovan,  p.  298. 


A.D.  i86i.]  TURKOMANIA  277 

courser  of  Yemen.  At  short  distances  he  was  no  match 
for  the  English  thoroughbred  ;  but  with  careful  training 
and  special  diet  he  was  able  to  amble  for  60  or  70 
miles  a  day  for  an  almost  unlimited  period.^  When 
hard  pressed,  a  Tekke  has  been  known  to  travel  with  two 
steeds  at  the  rate  of  160  miles  a  day,  and  even  more. 
The  endurance  of  the  horseman  was  even  more  remark- 
able, for  he  could  keep  his  saddle  for  twenty  hours  out 
of  the  twenty-four  during  eight  consecutive  days.^  The 
Tekke  stallions — mares  were  rarely  ridden — were  not 
indulged  in  stabling,  but  picketed  outside  their  owner's 
tent,  and  preserved  against  cold  by  layers  of  felt,^  the 
number  of  which  increased  with  his  age.  They  were 
never  removed  without  the  greatest  precaution,  and 
served  to  maintain  the  coat  in  a  lustrous  sheen,  though 
a  knife  and  a  piece  of  felt  were  the  only  substitutes  for 
the  currycomb,  brush,  and  clippers  of  Western  stables. 
On  these  coverings  was  placed  the  wooden  saddle  with  a 
high  peak,  which  was  covered  with  a  piece  of  coloured 
silk  tied  across  the  chest.  The  Turkoman's  warmest 
affections  were  lavished  on  his  steed,  with  whom  he 
would  share  the  last  drop  of  water,  the  last  handful  of 
barley  meal.      The  whip  was    carried   merely  for  show, 

^  O'Donovan,  p,  297.  The  training  consisted  in  a  gradual  reduction  of  the 
rations  of  food  and  water.  Dry  lucem  gave  place  to  chopped  straw  ;  barley 
and  juwari  [sorghtun),  to  a  mixture  of  flour  and  matter-fat. 

2  Moser,  p.  322.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  Tekke  seat  is  precisely  the 
same  as  that  in  use  among  the  nomads  of  the  Mongolian  plateau  north  of 
the  Great  Wall,  who,  according  to  Mr.  E.  H.  Parker  in  a  letter  addressed  to 
the  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  "  always  ride  with  very  short  stirrups,  the  knee  bent 
forward  almost  to  the  withers,  the  reins  grasped  short,  and  (when  there  is  any 
speed)  the  body  well  over  the  horse's  neck.  Possibly  this  is  the  reason  why 
the  Mongol  saddle  always  has  a  high  peak,  for  it  prevents  the  rider  being 
chucked  over  the  horse's  neck."  This  method  is  also  identical  with  that 
adopted  by  the  jockey  Tod  Sloan. 

'The  felt  blankets  were  worked  by  the  cavaliers'  women-folk.  "The 
finer  the  courser's  felt,"  ran  a  Turkoman  proverb,  "  the  greater  the  love  of  the 
maker  for  the  horseman"  (Moser,  p.  331). 


278  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  i86i. 

and  spurs  were  unknown.  His  attachment  was  repaid 
by  his  dumb  friend,  whose  fiercest  encounter  with  another 
stallion  could  be  stayed  by  his  master's  well-known 
accents. 

The  daily  life  of  the  Turkoman  varied  with  the 
category  to  which  he  belonged.  Those  who  adopted  a 
nomad  existence  were  styled  Chomry}  and  dwellers  in 
fixed  habitations  Charva  ;  but  they  passed  from  one  stage 
to  the  other  at  their  own  inclination,  wealth  being  the 
prevailing  factor.^  The  nomads  wandered  on  the  banks 
of  the  rivers  and  the  limits  of  the  desert  where  the 
mountain  streams  had  not  been  absorbed  by  the  thirsty 
sands.  Their  herds  were  their  only  wealth,  and  they 
rarely  pitched  their  felt  abodes  for  more  than  three  days 
at  any  spot.  The  Chomry,  or  sedentary  Turkomans, 
dwelt  for  a  portion  of  the  year  in  fastnesses  termed  kata^ 
open  spaces  crowded  with  their  tents,  and  fortified  with 
clay  walls  flanked  by  towers.  Around  them  spread  the 
fields  and  gardens  of  the  aul,  in  which  barley,  juwarl 
{Jiolc7is  sorghum),  rice,  and  finely  flavoured  melons  were 
produced  in  abundance,  thanks  to  the  water  distributed 
by  the  arlks,  or  irrigation  canals.  In  times  of  stress  the 
fortresses,  which  had  but  a  single  gate,  formed  places  of 
refuge.  At  the  eve  of  the  Russian  conquest  ^  the  whole 
Akkal  oasis  was  covered  with  these  strongholds.  They 
stretched  in  a  single  line,  afterwards  in  two  or  more 
lines,  from  Kizil  Arvat  to  Askabad.  The  great  strong- 
hold of  Geok  Teppe,  destined  to  give  the  Russians  so 
much  trouble,  was  situated  in  the  broadest  part  of  the 
oasis ;  Askabad,  now  the  headquarters  of  Transcaspia, 
was  a  congeries  of  eight  of  these  fortified  villages. 

The  physiognomy  of  the  Turkoman  betrays  the  in- 

^  Moser,  p.  274.  -  Ibid.  p.  319. 

'  See  chapter  iv.  of  Marvin's  Merv,  which  is  a  translation  of  Petnisevitch's    j 
account  of  the  Turkomans. 


AD.  1861]  TURKOMANIA  279 

delible  Mongolian  type.  He  is  above  the  middle  height, 
of  a  dark  olive  complexion,  with  prominent  cheek-bones, 
and  small  almond  eyes,  shifty,  and  glittering  with  in- 
telligence.^ His  nose  is  generally  broad  and  uplifted  at 
the  extremity,  his  lips  thick,  and  moustaches  scanty. 
The  ears  are  very  large,  and  stand  up  from  the  head. 
The  senses  of  smell  and  hearing  are  as  strongly  devel- 
oped as  those  of  the  Red  Indian.^  In  the  female  the 
Mongolian  strain  is  even  more  visible.  Their  hair  is 
short,  but  very  thick  and  coarse.  In  youth  they  are  tall 
and  well  formed,  with  every  movement  full  of  grace.^ 
Their  rosy  cheeks  give  a  charm  to  features  destined  in 
early  middle-life  to  become  a  network  of  wrinkles.  No 
characteristic  of  savage  life  is  so  marked  as  the  rapid 
decay  of  beauty.  The  Turkoman  dress  has  changed  but 
little  since  he  met  the  Roman  legionaries  in  battle  grip. 
It  consists  of  a  long  crimson  tunic  of  coarse  Bokharan 
silk,  with  slender  black  and  yellow  combined  stripes.'* 
Over  this  is  worn  a  loose  dressing-gown,  termed  j'abba, 
descending  below  the  knee,  of  black  or  dark  brown 
material,  which  in  summer  is  of  cotton  and  in  winter 
of  camel's  hair  or  wool.  The  wealthier  adopt  the  Uzbeg 
costume  of  several  jabbas  of  coarse  Bokhara  silk,  con- 
fined by  waistbands  of  silk  over  a  shirt  and  pantaloons 
of  the  same  material.  The  legs  are  covered  with  thick 
socks  of  a  checked  pattern,  and  the  feet  with  high  metal- 

^  "The  eyes  of  a  cat,  with  the  extremity  raised  towards  the  temple" 
(Ney,  En  Asu  Cenirale,  p.  193). 

*  A  Turkoman,  while  travelling  in  the  desert  with  Wolff,  said,  "  I  smell  a 
caravan  of  Uzbegs  "  ;  and  in  a  few  hours  one  was  met  with.  They  can  hear 
conversation  at  a  great  distance  by  flinging  themselves  on  the  ground  and 
listening  intently  (Wolff,  Bokhara,  p.  242).  They  can  name  the  tribe  and 
even  the  individual  cavalier  by  his  traces  on  the  sand  (Moser,  p.  300). 

^  "The  Tekke  is  the  only  woman  in  Central  Asia  who  knows  how  to 
walk.  Nothing  is  more  graceful  than  a  girl  of  this  race  going  to  fetch  water 
from  a  well  and  carrying  the  tall  amphora  on  her  shoulder  "  (Moser,  p.  330). 

*  O'Donovan,  p.  193. 


28o  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  i86i. 

heeled  slippers  just  large  enough  to  admit  the  insertion  of 
the  toe.  They  are  slow  and  ungraceful  walkers,  and  show 
to  more  advantage  when  on  horseback.  Then  the  jabba 
is  tucked  into  wide  leather  boots  of  a  Hessian  pattern, 
giving  a  most  ungainly  appearance  to  the  equestrian. 
But  the  distinguishing  mark  of  the  Turkoman  is  his  large 
cylindrical  head -covering  of  black  sheepskin,  termed 
kalpak.  It  is  worn  over  a  skull-cap  fitting  tightly  to 
the  half-shaved  head,  and  is  far  less  heavy  than  its 
appearance  would  imply.  The  women's  dress  consists  in 
long  floating  skirts  of  red  or  blue  silk.^  The  bosom  is 
covered  with  a  sort  of  cuirass  of  silver  plaques,  coins 
and  amulets,  the  trophies  of  her  husband's  prowess  in 
war  or  raids.  The  wealthier  add  bracelets  of  thick 
silver,  and  collars  with  plates  suspended  therefrom,  like 
that  worn  by  Jewish  high  priests.  Married  women 
confine  their  stubborn  locks  in  a  small,  round,  em- 
broidered bonnet,  while  those  of  young  girls  cover  their 
shoulders.  On  occasions  of  ceremony  a  casque  of  open 
silver-work  is  worn  over  a  red  cloth  cap,  giving  a 
Minerva-like  appearance.^  The  face  is  partly  covered 
by  the  end  of  a  silk  mantila  or  bwunjak. 

The  character  of  the  Turkomans  before  the  process 
of  Russification  began  was  a  compound  of  the  virtues 
and  the  vices  to  be  found  in  half-tamed  races  of  the 
higher  type.  He  has  been  branded  as  an  irreclaimable 
savage  because  he  wrought  untold  misery  on  the  helpless 
populations  within  striking  distance  of  his  own  den. 

But  no  greater  mistake  can  be  made  by  the  student 
of  ethics  than  to  judge  men  of  other  nationalities  by  the 
standard  of  right  and  wrong  maintaining  in  our  own.^ 

^  Moser,  p.  330.  ^  O'Donovan,  p.  254. 

2  It  is  generally  admitted  that  these  rules  are  slowly  evolved  by  the  com- 
munity to  which  the  individual  who  adopts  them  belongs.  There  are  some 
still  amongst  us  who  looked  with  complacency  at  the  cnielties  once  perpetrated 


A.D.  iS6i.]  TURKOMANIA  a^i 

It  would  be  as  unjust  to  blame  the  Turkomans  for  the 
bluntness  of  their  moral  sense  in  the  matter  of  raids  as 
to  condemn  George  Washington  because  he  did  not 
think  fit  to  emancipate  his  slaves.  By  dint  of  inherited 
instinct  the  inhabitant  of  Merv  and  Akkal  had  come  to 
regard  depredations  as  a  necessary  incident  of  his  daily 
life.  His  barbarous  insensibility  while  engaged  in  an 
alavian  was  not  inconsistent  with  the  exercise  of  solid 
virtues.  He  was  hospitable  to  a  fault,  and  is  so  at  the 
present  day,  though  the  advent  of  Russians  has  sorely 
curtailed  his  means.  A  stranger  was  made  welcome  to 
the  Tekke's  smoky  kibitka,  and  was  safe  beneath  its 
shelter.  He  was  invited  to  share  the  family  meal,  were 
it  thick  cakes  of  unleavened  bread  pilaw,^  compressed 
curds,  or  rice  boiled  with  sour  milk.  For  his  delectation 
the  tea-pot,  the  Persian  watet-pipe,^  the  chess-board, 
and  the  clarionet^  were  produced,  and  he  was  forced  to 
listen  till  dawn  to  tales  of  ancient  prowess,  to  legends  of 
Iskandar  and  Timur,  those  twin  heroes  of  Central  Asian 
romance.  And  there  was  a  strain  of  inbred  nobility  in 
the  nomad  characters.  They  were  robbers  on  occasion ; 
but  they  scorned  to  pilfer.  Espionage  was  unknown 
amongst  them.  Rarely,  indeed,  was  the  foul  abuse  so 
common  in  Mohammedan  countries  heard  from  Tekke 
lips.  His  most  scathing  epithet  was  "  coward."  His 
faults  were  those  of  other  races  which  have  not  come 

in  this  Christian  country  in  the  name  of  justice.  We  see  our  own  manners 
at  earlier  stages  of  our  growth  reflected  in  those  of  contemporary  savages, 

^  Pilaw,  a  dish  which  has  now  spread  over  the  Eastern  world,  had  its 
origin  in  Central  Asia.  It  is  a  stew  composed  of  hot  mutton-iat  into  which 
meat  has  been  shredded,  carrots  and  rice,  and,  cooked  as  only  a  Turkoman 
knows  how  to  prepare  it,  is  a  dish  fit  for  a  royal  table. 

-  Moser,  p.  332. 

^  The  efforts  of  Tekke  musicians  can  only  be  described  as  grotesque. 
They  perform  on  long  bamboo  trumpets,  called  tvridak,  with  an  accompani- 
ment of  bowings  and  contortions  which  is  in  ridiculous  contrast  to  the  bird- 
like  notes  emitted. 


282  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  i86i. 

into  contact  with  civilisation.  He  was  greedy,  self- 
indulgent,^  and  prone  to  take  every  advantage  possible 
of  a  wealthy  stranger.  His  childish  curiosity  and  utter 
disregard  of  that  which  is  conventionally  termed  good 
manners  were  equally  conspicuous.  In  one  essential, 
indeed,  which  is  rightly  considered  to  indicate  an  ad- 
vanced culture,  he  shone  by  contrast  with  the  people  of 
every  other  country  governed  by  the  Koran.  His 
women-folk  were  free  from  those  restraints  which  dwarf 
the  intelligence  and  degrade  the  moral  sense.  They 
went  unveiled,  and  associated  freely  with  the  tribesmen 
and  even  with  sojourners  in  their  tents.  And  yet  the 
standard  of  chastity  was  comparatively  high ;  while  in 
times  of  stress  the  Tekke  girls  fought  desperately  by 
their  husbands'  side.  It  must  be  admitted  that  mis- 
deeds were  punished  with  a  dagger-thrust,  and  that,  in  a 
Tekke's  affections,  a  wife  ranks  far  below  a  horse.  She 
rose  early  to  bake  her  husband's  bread,  cooked  and 
fetched  water  for  him,  and  presumed  not  to  eat  till  he 
had  finished  his  meal.  Her  industry  was  extraordinary.^ 
Her  embroidery  was  once  a  marvel  of  good  taste,  and 
she  still  weaves  carpets  which  are  unrivalled  in  Asia  for 
beauty  and  durability.  The  superintendent  of  the  state 
domains  at  Bahram  'All,  near  Merv,  has  specimens  which 
are  more  than  three  centuries  old  and  are  yet  as  brilliant 
as  if  they  had  just  left  the  loom.^  The  method  of 
manufacture  can  be  watched  in  every  Turkoman  village. 

^  No  Tvirkoman  troubled  his  head  about  the  ordinary  business  of  life  after 
fifty.  His  work  was  then  done  by  the  women  and  younger  men ;  and  his 
attitude  was  one  of  ease  with  dignity.  In  raids,  however,  and  warfare,  he  was 
always  ready  to  take  an  active  part  up  to  an  advanced  age  (O'Donovan,  p.  306). 

^  O'Donovan,  pp.  307,  308  ;  Moser,  pp.  330,  331. 

'  A  small  mat  costs  ;^40,  and  a  work  of  larger  size  sometimes  as  much 
as  ;[{i^400  (Moser,  p.  331).  The  ordinary  kinds  were  made  of  sheep's  wool 
and  camel's  hair,  with  a  little  cotton  ;  the  better,  wholly  of  silk.  O'Donovan 
saw  one,  eight  feet  square,  priced  at  ;i^50  (p.  308).  Carpets  of  the  highest 
quality  are  now  not  procurable.     They  are  cherished  as  heirlooms,  and  all 


TURKOMAN'    MUSICIANS 


A.D.186I.]  TURKOMANIA        .  283 

The  warp  is  merely  a  piece  of  canvas  pegged  out  on 
the  ground,  with  the  transverse  threads  removed.  The 
weaver,  who  crouches  over  her  handiwork,  takes  a  pinch 
of  coloured  wool  and,  with  a  deft  twist  of  her  fingers, 
attaches  it  to  one  of  the  horizontal  threads,  pressing  it 
afterwards  into  position  with  a  heavy  wooden  comb.  It 
is  a  curious  fact  that  the  intricate  patterns  are  never 
committed  to  paper,  and  have  been  handed  down  from 
mother  to  daughter  from  generations  unnumbered.  The 
marriage  customs  of  the  Turkomans  are  unique.  Poly- 
gamy is  permitted  by  the  Mohammedan  law,  but  rarely 
can  a  Tekke  afford  the  separate  kibitka  and  establish- 
ment which  any  wife  is  entitled  to  demand.  Wedded 
life  begins  early — at  fourteen  or  fifteen  for  males,  and 
in  the  case  of  girls  before  the  age  of  puberty.  As 
married  women  wear  no  veils,  a  youth  has  little  difficulty 
in  selecting  his  future  bride.  When  a  damsel  has  found 
favour  in  his  eyes  he  waits  on  her  father  and  offers  a 
given  price  for  her — slaves,  horses,  or  cattle  to  the  value 
of  ;^40  to  ;6^8o.  This  essential  once  agreed  upon,  the 
father-in-law  presents  the  young  couple  with  a  new 
kibitka,  dk  ev,  untarnished  by  smoke,  in  which  the 
relatives  assemble.  Then  a  mulla  recites  a  few  verses 
from  the  Koran — and  the  wedded  pair  are  left  to  them- 
selves.^ Should  the  price  agreed  on  be  not  paid,  at  once 
the  bride  returns  to  her  parents  after  a  brief  honeymoon. 
In  old  times  her  absence  stimulated  the  youthful  hus- 
band to  prowess  in  distant  raids,  which  afforded  the 
only  opportunity  of  gaining  the  needful  wealth. 

are  essential  parts  of  a  Turkoman  maiden's  dowr>-.  Those  of  the  second 
grade,  but  coloured  with  honest  native  dyes,  fetch  13s.  a  square  yard. 

^  Marvin,  quoting  \'ambery  and  Conolly,  mentions  more  ancient  forms  of 
marriage  customs — the  simulated  abduction  of  the  bride  and  the  pursuit  of 
her  on  horseback.  These,  however,  are  obsolete.  For  a  considerable  time 
after  the  fall  of  Geok  Teppe  the  price  of  Tekke  spouses  sank  to  a  low  ebb, 
owing  to  the  fearful  slaughter  of  eligible  males. 


CHAPTER    V 

The  Last  Step  in  Advance 

The  ignominious  campaign  of  1861  was  the  last  organ- 
ised effort  put  forward  by  Persia  to  protect  her  northern 
provinces.  Secure  in  a  splendid  strategic  position/  the 
Tekkes  extended  their  devastations  far  and  wide.  When, 
in  1 87 1,  a  fearful  famine  ^  more  than  decimated  the 
population  of  Khorasan,  bands  of  Tekke  horsemen  took 
advantage  of  their  neighbours'  weakness  to  sweep  the 
entire  province  with  their  marauding  parties.  It  would 
have  been  an  easy  task  to  check  the  aggression  which 
depopulated  the  richest  province  of  Persia  and  caused 
incredible  misery  to  the  people.  But  so  utterly  corrupt 
was  the  administration  of  the  Shah  that  the  governing 
class  found  its  account  in  encouraging  the  perpetrators. 
Troops  were  paid  for  by  Government  which  existed  only 
on  paper,  and  the  local  authorities  shared  in  the  Tekkes' 
booty.  The  first  effectual  blow  struck  at  this  gigantic 
machinery  for  plunder  and  oppression  was  the  direct 
result  of  the  Khivan  campaign  of  1873.  General  Kauff- 
man  had  encountered  some  opposition  from  the  Yomud 

^  The  Merv  oasis  is  a  wedge  driven  between  Persia  and  Afghanistan. 
Meshed  is  only  150  miles  from  the  centre,  Herat  about  240;  and  the  Paro- 
pamisus  range  which  intervenes  was  no  deterrent  in  the  eyes  of  Tekke 
horsemen. 

2  According  to  the  agents  employed  by  a  London  relief  committee,  a 
fifth  of  the  population  perished  (Petrusevitch,  quoted  by  Marvin,  Merv, 
p.  326). 

284 


AD.  1877.1         THE  LAST  STEP  IN  ADVANCE  285 

Turkomans  who  ranged  the  desert  of  Khiva,  and  he  was 
not  a  man  to  tolerate  half-measures.  He  waged  a  war 
of  extermination  against  this  once  powerful  tribe,  and 
the  ruthless  cruelty  that  attended  it  struck  terror  through- 
out the  southern  steppes.  The  Gokhlan  Turkomans, 
inhabiting  the  estuary  of  the  Atrak  and  the  rich  valleys 
behind  it,  had  been  brought  to  heel  by  an  energetic 
governor  of  the  Persian  province  of  Bajnard  in  1869,^ 
and  their  piracies  on  the  Caspian  had  been  put  down 
with  a  strong  hand  by  the  Russian  naval  authorities.^ 
With  the  pacification  of  Khiva,  too,  came  the  formation, 
in  1874,  of  a  Transcaspian  military  district,  subordinate 
to  the  Caucasus,^  which  was  placed  under  the  governor- 
ship of  Major-General  Lomakin.  On  the  north-west  the 
Tekkes  saw  an  iron  wall  arise  which  checked  their 
aggressions  and  was  a  standing  menace  to  their  inde- 
pendence. Nor  were  the  prospects  in  the  west  of  their 
habitat  more  encouraging.  The  Russian  treaties  with 
Khiva  and  Bokhara  forbade  slavery,  and  closed  the 
principal  markets  for  the  captives  of  their  bow  and  spear. 
In  1877  the  Tekkes  turned  to  Persia,  and  made  her  an 
offer  of  their  allegiance  in  return  for  support  against  the 
white  man's  encroachments.  This  contingency  was  not 
to  be  regarded  with  equanimity  by  the  Russians,  for 
they  rightly  considered  the  Turkomans  as  within  the 
sphere  of  influence  of  the  Transcaspian  district*  Nor 
were  commercial  considerations  wanting.  Russia  was 
by  this  time  the  virtual  mistress  of  the  Khanates,  and 
was  directly  interested  in  the  development  of  their  trade ; 
but  caravans  were  unable  to  cross  the  Turkoman  Desert 
while  the  nomads  remained  untamed,  and  were  driven  to 

^  Petrusevitch,  quoted  by  Marvin,  Alerv,  p.  321. 

-  Astrabad  Consular  Report  for  1879. 

^  Provisory  Ordinance  of  the  2ist  March  1874,  quoted  by  Ney,  p.  225. 

*  Ney,  p.  225. 


286  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a. d.  1877. 

take  circuitous  routes  in  order  to  reach  the  commercial 
centre  of  Orenburg.^  And  the  authorities  in  St.  Peters- 
burg were  still  dominated  by  the  schemes  first  promul- 
gated by  Peter  the  Great  for  diverting  the  course  of  the 
Oxus  into  the  Caspian,  and  regarded  the  Turkoman  Desert 
as  a  potential  breeding-ground  for  cattle  which  would 
supply  the  home  markets  with  hides.  The  Tsar  Alex- 
ander II.  was  thus  led,  much  against  his  wish,  to  permit 
his  lieutenants  to  adopt  a  forward  policy  against  the  one 
obstacle  to  the  Russification  of  Central  Asia.  In  the 
spring  of  1877  General  Lomakin  received  orders  to 
occupy  the  Tekke  fortress  of  Kizil  Arvat,^  200  miles 
east  of  Krasnovodsk.  He  set  out  on  the  1 2th  of 
April  with  9  companies  of  infantry,  2  squadrons  of 
Cossacks,  and  8  guns,  and  soon  came  to  blows  with 
the  Tekkes.  His  artillery  and  arms  of  precision  struck 
terror  into  their  hearts.  They  dispersed  and  afterwards 
sent  delegates  from  every  village  of  the  Akkal  oasis  to 
offer  submission ;  but  Lomakin  did  not  wait  to  receive  it. 
Seized  with  a  sudden  panic,  he  retreated  on  the  9th  of 
June.  Then  came  the  Russo-Turkish  War,  and  the  Tsar 
had  more  than  enough  to  occupy  his  attention  nearer 
home.  The  Turkomans  were  left  unmolested  for  a 
while,^  but  hardly  had  peace  been  restored  ere  measures 
were  concerted  against  the  tribesmen.     In  April  of  that 

^  In  1875  ^  caravan,  fitted  out  by  the  energetic  Colonel  Glukhovsky,  was 
destroyed  between  Krasnovodsk  and  Khiva.  In  1877  the  Turkomans  looted 
one  proceeding  northwards  from  the  Atrak  ;  and  a  little  later  they  cut  up, 
near  Krasnovodsk,  some  of  their  brethren  who  had  accepted  Russian  rule,  and 
intercepted  many   postal   couriers  (Petrusevitch,  quoted   by  Marvin,  J\fei-v, 

P-  331). 

^  Ney,  p.  226.     It  is  now  the  site  of  a  great  railway  workshop. 

^  In  1878,  when  Russia  was  within  an  ace  of  going  to  war  with  England 
on  the  Eastern  question,  it  was  arranged  that  columns  from  Turkestan  and 
the  Caspian  should  meet  at  Merv  and  subdue  that  almost  unknown  region  ; 
but  the  Congress  of  Berlin  rendered  the  measure  unnecessary  (Ney, 
p.  227). 


A.D.  .877]         THE  LAST  STEP  IN  ADVANCE  287 

year  General  Lazareff  advanced  with  an  expeditionary 
force  from  Chikisliar,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Atrak,  and 
on  his  death,  which  took  place  at  Chat,  higher  up  that 
river,  command  was  assumed  by  General  Lomakin.  The 
Kopet  Dagh  Mountains  were  crossed  by  the  Bendesen 
Pass;  and  on  9th  September  an  attack  was  delivered  on 
the  Turkomans'  entrenched  camp  at  Dangil  Teppe,^ 
which  contained  15,000  Tekke  warriors,  with  5000 
women  and  children.  The  kibitkas,  crowded  within  its 
clay  ramparts,  were  raked  by  artillery  fire,  and  the 
fugitives  were  driven  back  into  this  hell  on  earth  by 
Russian  cavalry.  On  9th  September  an  attempt  was 
made  to  storm  the  stronghold,  but,  maddened  by  their 
losses,  and  inspired  by  their  women  to  resist,  the  Tekkes 
fought  like  demons.  Lomakin  was  defeated  with  a  loss 
of  450  killed  and  wounded,  and  retreated  on  Chikisliar 
with  the  remains  of  his  shattered  force.  The  news  of 
his  reverse  was  carried  at  lightning  speed  through  the 
length  and  breadth  of  Central  Asia.  Turkoman  bands 
made  their  appearance  on  the  Amu  Darya,  proclaiming 
the  victory  with  all  the  hyperbole  which  is  a  special  gift 
of  Asiatics.  They  even  presented  the  Khan  of  Khiva 
with  Russian  rifles  and  revolvers  abandoned  during  the 
abortive  siege  of  Dangil  Teppe,  alleging  that  the  spoils 
of  war  were  so  abundant  that  they  had  no  use  for  them.^ 
Their  raids  were  carried  on  with  greater  activity  than 
ever.  At  the  commencement  of  1880  a  horde  3000 
strong  swept  the  banks  of  the  Amu  Darya  in  Bokharan 
territory  and  plundered  some  villages  close  to  the  fortress 
of  Charjuy.     The  shock  to  Russian  prestige  can  be  com- 

'  Geok  Teppe,  which  will  for  ever  be  associated  with  the  final  struggle 
for  independence,  is  the  name  of  a  district ;  Dangil  Teppe,  that  of  the  famous 
entrenched  camp.  It  was  originally  that  of  a  mound  at  the  north-western 
angle. 

'  Ney,  p.  240, 


288  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1877. 

pared  only  to  that  suffered  by  ourselves  when  the  news 
of  the  Mirat  rising  in  1857  was  flashed  by  telegraph 
over  India.  Even  the  dauntless  Skobeleff  began  to 
despair  of  the  destinies  of  his  country.  "  If  we  consider 
our  position  during  the  last  six  years,"  he  wrote  to  St. 
Petersburg,  "  we  cannot  avoid  regarding  the  abyss  which 
opens  before  us  with  terror,  for  it  may  well  disorganise 
the  economic  and  political  condition  of  the  empire.  The 
English  ^  have  succeeded  in  convincing  Asiatics  that  they 
have  forced  us  to  stop  before  Constantinople  and  abandon 
the  Balkan  peninsula.  Thanks  to  their  agents'  zeal,  a 
version  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  very  disadvantageous  to 
ourselves,  has  been  spread  throughout  Asia.  Great  God, 
what  sacrifices  of  blood  and  honour  will  this  peace,  so 
painful  to  Russian  hearts,  entail ! "  To  this  illustrious 
soldier  the  Tsar  turned  in  his  perplexity.  A  better 
choice  could  not  have  been  made.  Michael  Dmitriavitch 
Skobeleff  was,  at  this  epoch,  in  the  prime  of  life,^  and  at 
the  zenith  of  his  preternatural  activity.  His  military 
career  had  begun  at  the  age  of  twenty,  and,  two  years 
later,  he  won  his  spurs  during  the  Polish  Rebellion. 
Between  1871  — 1875  he  was  in  the  thick  of  Central  Asian 
affairs,  one  of  the  leaders  against  Khiva,  and  the  con- 
queror of  Kokand.  The  Russo-TurkishWar  ofi877-i878 
found  employment  for  him  nearer  home.  He  commanded 
the  left  wing  at  the  storming  of  Plevna,  and  afterwards 
took  Adrianople ;  but  experience  and  military  genius  are 
of  small  avail  without  that  magnetic  personal  attraction 
which  is  inborn  only  in  the  greatest  leaders.     Skobeleff 

^  Skobeleff  was  in  politics  an  Anglophobe,  though  his  relations  with  our 
countrymen  individually  were  cordial.  There  is  not  an  iota  of  truth  in  his 
belief  that  Lomakin's  failure  was  due  to  British  intrigue.  It  is  fully  accounted 
for  by  his  incapacity.  The  result  was  only  what  might  have  been  expected, 
Russian  authority  in  Central  Asia  was  ill  cemented,  and  it  needed  but  the 
news  of  a  crushing  reverse  to  produce  the  wildest  hopes  in  the  Khanates. 

^  He  was  born  in  1841. 


A.D..880.1         THE  LAST  STEP  IN  ADVANCE  289 

possessed  this  heaven-sent  gift.  "  He  was  the  God  of 
War  personified,"  said  his  trusted  lieutenant,  General 
Kurapatkine ;  and  his  troops  loved  him  with  a  passionate 
ardour  which  no  general  has  inspired  since  the  days  of 
Napoleon.  A  conference  took  place  in  January  1880 
between  the  Tsar  Alexander  II.  and  his  brilliant  subject, 
followed  by  others  at  the  Ministry  of  War  presided  over 
by  General  Miliutine.  The  ways  and  means  were  fully 
discussed.  It  became  clear  that  the  failure  of  1879  was 
due  to  defective  transport.  The  camels  on  which  General 
Lomakin  relied  perished  by  thousands  in  the  desert,  and 
he  found  himself,  at  a  critical  moment,  without  the  means 
of  continuing  the  siege  of  Geok  Teppe.^  By  one  of 
those  happy  inspirations  which  flash  on  the  brain  of  men 
of  genius,  Skobeleff  was  led  to  invoke  the  aid  of  steam. 
He  knew  that  the  desert  was  a  dead  level,  without  rivers 
to  bridge,  and  that  a  scarcity  of  water  was  the  only 
difficulty  before  his  engineers.  Nay,  his  eagle  eye 
ranged  far  beyond  the  needs  of  the  moment,  and  clearly 
foresaw  the  advantages  which  would  flow  from  a  railway 
connecting  the  Caspian  and  the  Amu  Darya."  A  special 
railway  battalion  was  formed,  and  materials  for  a  port- 
able line  on  the  Decauville  system  were  brought  to  Uzun 
Ada,  the  base  on  the  Gulf  of  Michaelovsk.  Before  the 
close  of  1880  the  section  between  that  post  and  MuUa 
Karl,  a  distance  of  thirteen  miles,  was  completed.  The 
control  of  the  expedition  was  vested  in  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  Caucasus,  but  a  free  hand  was  practically 
given  to  Skobeleff,  who  was  named  "  Temporary  Com- 

^  General  Lomakin  started  from  his  base  with  I2,cxxd  camels,  and  had  lost 
the  whole  of  them  by  the  twentieth  day  of  his  march  (Ney,  p.  315). 

-  He  wrote  from  Krasnovodsk  in  June :  "  If  we  wish  to  recoup  our  immense 
expenditure  in  Asia  we  must  popularise  the  desert  journey  between  the 
Caspian  and  the  basin  of  the  Amu  Darya ;  and,  after  rendering  the  steppes 
safe  for  transit,  we  must  make  a  railway  to  Askabad  and  on  to  the  Amu 
Darj'a"'  (Ney,  p.  286). 

19 


290  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  ia.«.  isso. 

mander  of  Troops  operating  in  Transcaspia."  He 
obtained  full  powers  to  prepare  and  execute  military 
operations,  to  negotiate  with  the  neighbouring  native 
states,  and  to  organise  the  administration  of  conquered 
territories.  Skobeleff  knew  that  Orientals  attach  an 
exaggerated  importance  to  artillery.  "  To  conquer,"  he 
said,  "  is  to  astonish."  Nothing  has  so  marked  an  effect 
in  Asia  as  the  thunder  of  great  guns  and  the  havoc 
wrought  by  shell-fire.  He  stipulated  for  ten  pieces  of 
artillery  for  every  1 0,000  of  numerical  strength.  Lomakin's 
abortive  attack  on  Dangil  Teppe  had  demonstrated  the 
power  possessed  by  dense  masses  of  felt-covered  kibitkas 
to  resist  artillery  fire.  Skobeleff  asked  for  and  obtained 
a  large  supply  of  shells  charged  with  petroleum,  which 
masters  the  least  inflammable  materials.  Lastly,  a  plentiful 
supply  of  water  is  essential  in  a  tract  where  the  heavens 
are  clear  for  many  consecutive  months.  A  complete 
distillery  was  established  at  Krasnovodsk,  and  it  supplied 
no  less  than  750,000  gallons  daily  to  the  troops.  But 
the  personal  equation  overrides  the  most  complete 
material  equipment.  "  In  war,"  said  Napoleon,  "  men 
are  nothing;  a  man  is  everything."  The  general  be- 
thought him  of  one  who  had  been  the  chief  of  his  staff 
in  the  recent  struggle  with  Turkey,  and  had  shown  in 
the  darkest  days  of  Plevna  the  noblest  form  of  courage — 
that  which  stands  undismayed  in  the  presence  of  disaster. 
This  was  Colonel  Alexis  Kurapatkine,  who  is  now 
Minister  of  War  at  St.  Petersburg.  He  was  resting  at 
Samarkand  from  the  fatigues  of  a  recent  campaign  in 
Kulja,  on  the  Chinese  frontier,  but  he  hastened  to  obey 
his  loved  master's  call.  Starting  from  Samarkand  in 
November  1880,  with  a  detachment  500  strong,  he 
hurried  through  Bokhara  to  Charjuy,  barely  three  days' 
ride  from  the  Tekke  lair  at  Merv ;  then,  fetching  a  long 
detour  by  way  of  Khiva  to  avoid  the  Tekke  bands  with 


A.D.I880.1         THE  LAST  STEP  IN  ADVANCE  291 

which  the  desert  swarmed,  he  joined  headquarters  on 
24th  December.  Well  might  Skobelefif  say  of  him, 
"  Kurapatkine  is  the  only  man  capable  of  performing  so 
dangerous  a  mission."  The  general's  staff  was  strength- 
ened by  other  great  authorities  in  Central  Asian  war- 
fare— Petrusevitch,  unrivalled  for  his  knowledge  of  the 
Turkomans ;  Grodekofif,  and  Leokovitch,  professor  at  the 
War  Academy.  Meantime  Skobeleff  had  reached 
Chikisliar  in  May,  and  after  a  general  survey  of  the 
situation  had  pushed  forward  to  Bami,  a  Turkoman  post 
at  the  entrance  of  the  Akkal  oasis,  which  commands  the 
route  by  way  of  Chikisliar  and  Krasnovodsk,  and  is  only 
seventy  miles  from  the  capital,  Geok  Teppe.  He  occupied 
this  stronghold  on  the  loth  of  June,  and  on  the  13th  of 
the  following  month  advanced  at  the  head  of  looo 
men  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy's  central  settlement. 
Arriving  on  the  fourth  day  at  £gman  Batir,  a  Tekke 
village  six  miles  from  Geok  Teppe,  he  formed  an 
entrenched  camp  there  and  sallied  forth  to  inspect  the 
Tekkes'  position.  He  found  them  crowded  into  three 
camps,  surrounded  by  clay  ramparts.  The  fort  at  the 
base  of  the  hills  was  known  as  Yangi  Kal'a ;  the  second, 
or  central  position,  Dangil  Teppe,  from  a  mound  at  the 
north-western  corner ;  the  third  was  an  insignificant 
collection  of  huts,  called  Geok  Teppe,  which,  by  a  process 
akin  to  that  which  has  produced  the  nomenclature  of 
Arbela  and  Waterloo,  has  given  its  name  to  the  scene  of 
the  last  great  battle  of  Central  Asia.  Having  ascertained 
that  the  hornets'  nest  could  be  taken  only  after  a  regular 
siege,  Skobeleffs  little  band  returned  to  Bami,  which 
had  been  christened  Fort  Samursk.  He  was  harassed 
during  retirement  by  clouds  of  Turkomans,  whose  activity 
in  checking  the  arrival  of  supplies  extended  far  into  the 
rear  of  the  Russian  advanced  base  at  Kizil  Arvat.  The 
ensuing  months  were  occupied  in  active  preparation  for 


292  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  ,880. 

the  siege.  A  force  of  12,000  men  and  100  guns  had 
been  summoned  from  the  Caucasus,  and  the  Russians 
were  engaged  in  completing  the  railway  and  providing 
the  vast  mass  of  stores  needed  for  a  march  through 
300  miles  of  desert.  In  the  beginning  of  December 
1880  all  preparations  were  completed,  and  Skobeleff 
advanced  in  force,  occupying  all  the  Tekke  settlements 
in  succession  between  Bami  and  Egman  Batir,  or 
Samursk.  He  arrived  at  this  point  of  vantage  on  the 
1 6th  December.  A  reconnaissance  made  on  the  follow- 
ing day  showed  the  majority  of  the  foe  massed  in  Dangil 
Teppe,  the  central  encampment,  an  irregular  parallelogram 
with  an  area  of  a  square  mile.  It  was  surrounded  by  a 
mud  wall  with  a  profile  1 8  feet  thick,  and  i  o  feet  high 
on  the  interior  side,  the  exterior  varying  with  the  soil, 
but  averaging,  perhaps,  i  5  feet ;  a  ditch  which  could  not 
have  been  more  than  4  feet  deep.  At  the  north-west 
corner  was  the  mound  from  which  the  fortress  derived  its 
name,  on  which  was  planted  the  only  piece  of  artillery 
possessed  by  the  Turkomans — an  antiquated  smooth-bore 
captured  from  the  Persians.  The  30,000  Tekkes  massed 
within  these  rude  entrenchments  obtained  water  from  a 
stream  which  flowed  through  the  place.  This  the 
Russians  intentionally  refrained  from  diverting,  lest  the 
quarry  should  desert  its  lair  under  cover  of  the  night. 
No  forward  movement  was  made  for  more  than  a  week. 
The  interval  was  probably  spent  in  forming  dep6ts  for 
supplies ;  but  it  is,  perhaps,  more  than  a  coincidence  that 
the  next  movement  took  place  on  the  24th  December — 
the  day  of  Kurapatkine's  arrival  from  Samarkand.  It 
was  a  reconnaissance  in  force,  which  encountered  a  huge 
mob  of  Turkomans,  and  was  hard  pressed  until  the 
arrival  of  reinforcements.  A  further  delay  of  eight  days 
followed,  and  then,  on  ist  January  1881,  a  fierce  attack 
was  delivered  on  Yangi  Kal'a,  the  encampment  at  the 


A.D.188I.]         THE  LAST  STEP  IN  ADVANCE  293 

foot  of  the  cliffs,  by  8000  troops  in  three  columns, 
with  5  2  pieces  of  cannon  and  1 1  Hotchkiss  machine 
guns.  The  southern  column,  commanded  by  General 
Kurapatkine,  forced  the  entrenchment  in  the  rear,  and 
compelled  the  Tekkes  to  evacuate  Yangi  Kal'a  under  a 
terrific  artillery  fire  and  join  the  main  body  at  Dangil 
Teppe.  Twice  did  the  garrison  sally  forth  to  their 
countrymen's  help,  and  when  night  fell  they  made  a 
determined  attempt  to  recapture  Yangi  Kal'a,  but  on  each 
occasion  they  were  driven  back  by  the  Russian  artillery. 
On  the  3rd  January  the  Russians  removed  their  camp 
from  Samursk  to  that  abandoned  by  the  foe  at  Yangi 
Kal'a,  and  the  following  day  saw  the  first  parallel  laid 
against  Dangil  Teppe,  at  a  distance  of  800  yards  south 
of  the  fortress.  This  movement  provoked  a  sortie  of  the 
garrison,  who  had  been  reinforced  by  5000  warriors  from 
Merv.  They  fell  with  fury  on  the  besiegers,  and,  seizing 
their  rifles  with  one  hand,  hacked  them  with  their  razor- 
like blades,  covering  the  soil  in  places  with  heads  and 
limbs.  Nothing  can  be  conceived  more  terrible  than 
their  death-struggle  at  close  quarters,  from  which  arose 
the  clash  of  steel,  shrieks,  oaths,  and  shouts  of  "  Allah," 
or  "Hurrah."! 

On  the  Russian  left  flank  more  than  300  dead  bodies 
remained  as  witnesses  of  the  Tekkes'  heroic  but  useless 
courage.  This  encounter  cost  the  besiegers  one  of  their 
best  and  most  valiant  officers,  Colonel  Petrusevitch,  to 
whom  we  are  indebted  for  most  of  our  knowledge  of 
Turkomania  at  the  eve  of  its  conquest.  The  second 
parallel  was  laid  on  the  4th  January,  and  five  days  later 
another  determined  sortie  was  made  by  the  beleaguered 
Tekkes.  At  dusk  they  poured  into  the  second  parallel, 
which  was  held  by  2600  men,  and  took  possession  of 
the  outworks  and  trenches,  destroying  the  artillerymen 
^  Moser,  p.  315. 


294  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  iss.. 

and  capturing  four  mountain  guns  and  three  regimental 
standards.  But  the  reserves  were  hurried  up  from  the 
camp  at  Yangi  Kal'a,  and  after  a  fearful  struggle  the 
trenches  were  reoccupied,  and  all  but  one  of  the  lost  guns 
were  regained.  On  the  loth  of  January  the  Tekke  out- 
posts were  seized  after  severe  fighting ;  but  at  half-past 
eight  the  besieged  made  a  third  sortie.  They  stormed  a 
redoubt  on  the  left  flank,  cut  to  pieces  the  artillerymen 
and  a  company  of  Transcaspian  rifles  who  defended  it, 
and  dragged  the  two  cannon  which  it  contained  towards 
the  trenches.  The  Russian  reserves  again  deprived  them 
of  the  fruit  of  victory ;  for  one  mountain  gun  only, 
rendered  useless  by  the  removal  of  the  breech-piece,  was 
carried  off  by  the  Tekkes.^  The  time  chosen  by  the 
besieged  for  these  very  effective  operations  was  always 
the  dark  hour  between  sunset  and  the  rise  of  the  young 
moon.  They  inspired  such  terror  that  it  was  difficult  to 
induce  the  young  soldiers  to  await  the  Tekkes'  onslaught. 
The  night  of  the  i6th  January  was  marked  by  the  last 
of  these  mighty  encounters,  but  experience  had  taught 
the  Russians  many  a  bitter  lesson,  and  their  tactics 
rendered  the  heroic  bravery  of  their  opponents  useless.^ 

^  According  to  the  official  accounts,  the  artillery  taken  by  the  Turkomans 
included  six  mountain  guns  and  three  mortars,  two  of  which  were  actually 
dragged  within  the  entrenchment.  General  Kurapatkine,  however,  has  stated 
the  number  of  cannon  captured  by  the  Tekkes  as  fourteen.  All  of  them, 
save  one,  were  recaptured  by  the  reserves.  The  fourteenth  remained  in  the 
enemy's  hands  until  the  final  assault,  when  it  was  retaken,  decked  with  green 
boughs,  and  paraded  through  the  lines,  accompanied  by  music  and  the  frantic 
cheers  of  the  troops. 

^  Skobeleff  relates  that,  during  one  of  his  nightly  rounds,  he  heard  a 
private  soldier  remark  to  another  that  the  Russians  were  at  a  great  dis- 
advantage, for  they  were  huddled  in  the  trenches,  while  the  enemy  hacked  and 
stabbed  them  from  above.  He  suggested  that  the  trenches  should  be  left 
empty,  and  the  troops  be  posted  ten  paces  to  the  rear.  The  hint  was  acted 
on  with  brilliant  results,  for  the  Turkomans  on  the  following  night  sallied  out 
in  force  and  leapt  into  the  trenches,  where  they  were  shot  and  bayoneted  with 
ease  (Moser,  p.  315). 


A.D.,88.]         THE  LAST  STEP  IN  ADVANCE  295 

On  the  1 6th  the  sap  had  been  pushed  within  twenty- 
four  yards  of  the  east  side  of  the  entrenchments. 
Breaching  began  on  the  20th ;  and  while  a  heavy  fire 
was  concentrated  on  a  spot  near  the  south-eastern  angle, 
a  perfect  hail  of  petroleum  shells  was  thrown  on  the 
dense  mass  of  kibitkas  packed  into  the  Tekke  enclosure. 
Fearful  must  have  been  the  sufferings  of  the  7000 
women  and  children  who  had  sought  refuge  there. 
Every  part  of  the  works  was  searched  by  the  fragments 
of  shell  and  streams  of  unextinguishable  flame.  The 
traveller  who  visits  the  scene  of  this  battle  of  the  giants  is 
filled  with  wonder  that  an  undisciplined  mob  should  have 
held  out  for  three  weeks  with  defences  so  paltry.  Their 
stubbornness  inspired  respect  in  Skobeleff  himself,  who 
was  as  ready  as  all  really  brave  men  are  to  render  justice 
to  a  gallant  foe.  In  a  proclamation  addressed  to  his 
troops  on  the  eve  of  the  final  ass'ault,  he  told  them  that 
they  were  face  to  face  with  a  people  "  full  of  courage  and 
honour."^  But  the  end  was  drawing  near.  Not  only  was 
the  breach  reported  to  be  practicable  on  the  23  rd,  but  a 
mine  had  been  driven  under  the  eastern  face  about  one 
hundred  yards  from  the  angle,  which  was  charged  with 
dynamite  by  a  party  of  volunteers  after  nightfall.  At 
seven  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  January  1881  four 
columns  formed  for  the  assault,  commanded  respectively 
by  General  Skobeleff  in  person,  and  by  Colonels 
Kozelkoff,  Kurapatkine,  and  Gaidaroff.  The  signal  was 
given  by  a  vast  column  of  smoke  attended  by  a  dull  roar 
which  rose  from  the  eastern   front.      It   proclaimed  the 

^  He  was  much  impressed  by  the  punctilio  with  which  the  Tekkes  had 
obser\-ed  an  armistice  agreed  on  for  the  purpose  of  burjnng  the  dead  on  the 
19th  January.  SkobelefTs  appreciation  of  the  really  noble  qualities  elicited 
by  severe  trial  is  shared  by  General  Kurapatkine,  who  humorously  alludes  to 
Tokma  Sardar,  the  commander  of  the  entrenchment,  as  mmi  vainqueur^  and 
styles  him  un  magnifiqiie  soldai.  An  account  of  a  visit  paid  by  this  leader  to 
O'Donovan  shortly  after  the  siege  will  be  found  at  p.  274. 


296  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  iss,. 

explosion  of  the  mine,  which  levelled  300  feet  of  the 
rampart,  and  overwhelmed  several  hundreds  of  the 
defenders.  Instantly  the  force  under  Gaidaroff  sprang 
forward  and  escaladed  the  parapet  on  the  south-western 
angle.  This  was  intended  to  be  a  feigned  attack,  but  it 
soon  developed  into  a  serious  one.  Pushing  northwards, 
Gaidaroff  captured  the  mound  which  commanded  the 
camp,  and  thus  convinced  the  defenders  of  the  impossi- 
bility of  further  resistance.  In  the  meantime  the  other 
columns  had  swarmed  through  the  breaches  caused  by 
the  mine  and  the  artillery  fire,  and  climbed  the  parapet  on 
the  southern  side  between  the  two.  The  hand-to-hand 
encounter  was  brief,  for  the  position  was  clearly  un- 
tenable. O'Donovan,  who  watched  the  attack  from  a 
spur  of  the  Kopet  Dagh  twelve  miles  off,  saw  a  cloud  of 
horsemen  issuing  in  disorder  from  the  northern  side, 
followed  by  a  confused  mass  of  fugitives.^  The  Russian 
flag  waved  on  the  mound  which  gave  Dangil  Teppe  its 
name.  It  was  planted  at  a  cost  to  the  assailants  of 
I  200  men  ^  killed  and  wounded,  out  of  a  total  engaged 
of  8000.  That  undergone  by  the  garrison  will  never  be 
accurately  known.  Four  thousand  bodies  were  found  in 
the  enclosure,  and  Skobeleff  admitted  that  a  flying 
column  pursued  and  hacked  the  fugitives  for  ten  miles.' 
General  Kurapatkine  estimates  that  the  enemy  lost  9000 
out  of  a  total  of  30,000.  He  strenuously  denies  the  oft- 
repeated  allegation  that  Tekke  women  and  children  were 

1  The  Story  of  Merv,  p.  155. 

^  The  official  list  admits  only  937  casualties  during  the  siege,  including 
268  killed  (Marvin,  Merv,  p.  401).  An  iron  tablet  on  a  white- washed  mound 
in  the  little  cemetery  behind  the  site  of  the  Russian  camp  substantiates  these 
figures,  but  the  extent  of  the  three  burial-places  which  lie  to  the  east  of  the 
entrenchment,  including  separate  ones  for  the  Cossacks  and  the  Stavropol 
Regiment,  would  imply  a  much  greater  sacrifice  of  life.  General  Kurapatkine 
states  the  total  casualties  to  have  been  1200,  including  4CX>  killed.  The 
Russians  in  Central  Asia  have  adopted  Napoleon's  system  of  minimising  losses. 

^  Telegram  quoted  by  Marvin,  p.  399. 


A.D.  i8s..]         THE  LAST  STEP  IN  ADVANCE  297 

intentionally  slaughtered.  The  Russians,  he  states,  did  not 
wilfully  kill  a  single  non-combatant,  though,  of  course, 
many  must  have  perished  from  the  hail  of  petroleum 
shells  which  were  poured  for  three  weeks  into  the  doomed 
enclosure.  So  anxious,  he  affirms,  were  his  countrymen 
to  avoid  shedding  innocent  blood,  that  on  the  eve  of  the 
assault  the  garrison  were  formally  summoned  to  send 
their  families  to  a  distance.  The  Turkomans'  reply  was 
characteristic :  "  If  you  want  our  wives  and  children," 
they  said,  "you  must  step  over  our  corpses  to  seize 
them."  Fireside  theorists  are  apt  to  reprobate  the 
bloodshed  of  Geok  Teppe  and  the  slaughter  of  the 
wounded  foe  at  Omdurman  as  unworthy  of  civilisation. 
A  superficial  acquaintance  with  the  Asiatic  character 
would  convince  them  that  an  extreme  application  of  the 
Virgilian  debellare  superbos  is  the  least  cruel  policy  which 
can  be  adopted  in  dealing  with  the  forces  of  savagery 
and  fanaticism.  Geok  Teppe  was  the  last  stronghold  of 
Central  Asian  independence,  and  its  capture  must  rank 
among  the  decisive  battles  of  the  world.  While  civilisa- 
tion gained  by  the  Russian  victory,  it  is  impossible  to 
refuse  sympathy  to  those  who  were  crushed  by  its  giant 
forces.  With  the  conquest  of  Turkomania  a  national 
entity  disappeared  for  ever  which  had  been  preserved 
intact  during  ages  of  change  and  retained  many  noble 
qualities.  The  world  is  the  poorer  by  the  disappearance 
of  such  types,  and  by  the  gradual  reduction  of  all  mankind 
to  a  dead  level  devoid  of  colour  and  charm.  The  news 
was  received  with  dismay  by  the  population  of  the 
Khanates,  who  still  cherished  hopes  of  regaining 
independence.  Geok  Teppe  inspired  the  most  bigoted  of 
Russia's  foes  with  a  conviction  of  the  hopelessness  of 
battling  against  the  decree  of  fate ;  and  to  the  lesson  thus 
learnt  is  due  the  unbroken  tranquillity  which  reigned  for 
eighteen  years  in   Central   Asia.     The   Shah  of   Persia 


298  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1883. 

hailed  the  extirpation  of  the  hornets'  nest  with  joy.  He 
saw  his  northern  provinces  delivered  from  a  terrible 
scourge,  and  peace  restored  to  a  rich  territory  which  the 
corruption  and  incapacity  of  his  own  government  was 
unable  to  protect.  Thus  he  at  once  acceded  to  a  sug- 
gestion made  by  the  Russian  ambassador,  M.  Zinovieff, 
that  the  left  bank  of  the  Atrak,  which  had  been  virtually 
annexed,  should  be  ceded  to  Persia  in  return  for  the 
abandonment  of  her  rather  shadowy  rights  as  suzerain 
over  the  Merv  oasis,  and  for  authority  to  push  the 
Transcaspian  Railway  through  territory  which  was  still 
nominally  subject  to  her  sway.^  The  absorption  by 
Russia  of  the  whole  area  inhabited  by  the  conquered  race 
was  but  a  matter  of  time.  The  Akkal  oasis  was  hers 
by  right  of  conquest,  and  it  remained  to  add  that  of 
Merv  to  the  long  list  of  her  conquests.  The  way  was 
paved  for  this  measure  by  diplomacy,  the  agent  being 
an  astute  Mohammedan  named  Alikhanoff.^  He  was  a 
native  of  Daghistan  in  the  Caucasus,  and  had  won  the 
rank  of  colonel  by  gallantry  in  the  field.  Alikhanoff 
found  a  potent  ally  in  the  person  of  the  once  beautiful 
Gul  Jamal,  widow  of  the  last  great  chieftain,  Nur  Verdi 
Khan,  who  enjoyed  universal  respect,  due  alike  to  her 
own  force  of  character  and  the  memory  of  her  husband's 
exploits.  Her  persuasion  was  seconded  by  a  military 
demonstration  which  took  place  on  December  1883, 
under  Colonel  Masloff;  and,  on  the  31st  January  1884, 
124  delegates  from  the  various  settlements  of  the  Merv 
oasis,  headed  by  the  four  tribal  chiefs,  met  at  Askabad, 
which  had  been  recently  created  the  headquarters  of  the 
Transcaspian  military  district.  Here  they  solemnly  swore 
fidelity  to  the  Tsar  in  the  presence  of  the  governor- 
general,  Komaroff.  A  recrudescence  of  the  old  lawless 
spirit  followed,  which  was  prompted  by  an  Afghan  ad- 
1  Ney,  p.  249.  '^  Moser,  p.  343. 


A.D..884.]         THE  LAST  STEP  IN  ADVANCE  299 

venturer,  but  it  was  stifled  on  the  3rd  of  March  by  military 
force.  In  the  following  May,  Prince  Dondukoff-Korsakoff, 
governor-general  of  the  Caucasus,  paid  a  formal  visit  to 
the  latest  and  not  the  least  valuable  trophy  of  Russian 
diplomacy,  and  was  able  to  report  to  his  imperial  master 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  oasis  had  willingly  acknow- 
ledged his  sway.  Soon  afterwards  the  Sarik  tribe, 
numbering  65,000,  who  inhabited  the  Yolatan  oasis  thirty- 
six  miles  south  of  Merv,  tendered  their  submission,  and 
that  of  the  tribes  between  Giaour  and  Sarakhs  followed. 

The  tract  over  which  Russia  had  gained  mastery  was 
a  parallelogram  lying  between  the  Oxus  and  the  Harl 
Rud,  which  washes  the  walls  of  Herat,  and  in  Turkomania 
is  known  as  the  Tajand.  The  western  boundary  marched 
with  that  of  Persia,  and  at  its  northern  extremity  was 
defined  by  Old  Sarakhs,  a  Turkoman  village  perched  on 
an  elevation  which  commanded  a  once  thickly  peopled 
country  extending  northwards  to  Merv.  Old  Sarakhs 
was  easily  accessible  by  wheeled  traffic  from  Puli  Khatan, 
a  village  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Harl  Rud,  thirty-three 
miles  from  the  Zu-1-Fikar  Pass,  through  which  the  Tekke 
hordes  had  often  poured  into  Khorasan.  To  the  east 
of  this  defile  lay  the  Paropamisus  range,  a  double  spur  of 
the  Kuh-i-Baba  Mountains,  which  consists  of  low  rolling 
hills  covered  with  asafoetida  and  thistles.^  The  northern 
flank  of  the  Paropamisus  gives  rise  to  the  Murghab, 
which  fertilises  Merv,  and  its  confluent  the  river  Kushk. 
The  country  between  these  streams  and  the  Hari 
Rud  was  known  as  the  Badghls,"  and  is  described  by 
Lessar  as   presenting  the  appearance  of   a   stormy  sea 

'  See  Moser,  p.  344.  M.  Paul  Lessar,  who  was  chained  by  the  Russian 
authorities  with  the  duty  of  surveying  the  debatable  land  in  1884,  was  the 
first  to  dissipate  the  "  Paropamisus  myth,"  which  made  these  insignificant 
hills  an  impenetrable  barrier  to  the  passage  of  troops. 

^  The  meaning  of  Badghls  is  "windy."  It  was  suggested  by  the  storms 
which  sweep  over  the  plateau  in  winter. 


300  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  ,884. 

suddenly  reduced  to  solidity.  In  1884  it  had  been 
ruined  by  Tekke  incursions.  A  few  thousand  Jamshldls 
still  clung  to  the  rich  valley  of  the  Kushk,  where  they 
had  been  planted  by  Nadir  Shah  in  the  eighteenth 
century  as  a  bulwark  against  Turkoman  aggression, 
and  are  described  as  a  peaceable  nomad  race  famed  for 
their  breed  of  horses.^  On  the  north-west  of  this  forlorn 
tract  stood  Bala  Murghab,  an  Afghan  fortress  command- 
ing the  road  to  Maymena;  and  thirty-five  miles  farther 
north  the  village  of  Panjdih  towered  above  an  oasis 
with  an  area  of  170  square  miles,  peopled  by  the  Sarik 
Turkomans.  Afghanistan  lay  to  the  south  of  the 
debatable  land.  Its  natural  boundary  was  defined  by 
the  Paropamisus,  and  only  eighty  miles  beyond  them 
lay  Herat.  This  city  had  played  a  great  part  in  history. 
It  was  regarded  as  the  key  to  Afghanistan ;  the  only 
serious  obstacle  to  a  successful  invasion  of  India  from 
the  north-west;  and  its  citadel  had  been  fortified  in 
1838  under  the  supervision  of  British  officers.  Nor  was 
the  importance  of  Herat  confined  to  its  strategic  position. 
It  was  the  emporium  of  Central  Asian  trade,  and  the 
centre  of  a  well- watered  and  fertile  country.  Thus  the 
value  to  Russia  of  her  latest  acquisition  was  immense. 
In  Merv  she  possessed  a  region  which  had  been  once  the 
most  fertile  on  the  world's  surface,  and  needed  but 
settled  government  to  resume  its  ancient  importance. 
The  ill-defined  area  which  she  claimed  to  the  south  of 
the  Merv  oasis  commanded  the  richest  province  of 
Persia  and  the  north  of  Afghanistan.  It  was  inevitable 
that  the  news  of  its  impending  appropriation  should 
excite  a  storm  of  indignation  in  England,  where  every 
step  of  the  Russian  advance  was  watched  with  the 
keenest  suspicion.  An  attempt  to  propitiate  public 
feeling    had   been    made    as    far    back  as    1882,   when 

1  Moser,  p.  345. 


A.D.,884.)         THE  LAST  STEP  IN  ADVANCE  301 

Russia  proposed  a  joint  commission  to  demarcate  the 
northern  boundary  of  Afghanistan,  and  at  that  time 
she  would  doubtless  have  accepted  a  line  drawn 
from  Khwaja  Salih  on  the  Oxus  to  Sarakhs.  But  the 
Government  then  in  power  was  not  inclined  to  raise  so 
delicate  a  question,  and  it  was  not  until  June  1884, 
when  the  situation  had  been  radically  modified  by  the 
conquest  of  Turkomania,  that  the  proposal  found  accept- 
ance. A  joint  commission  was  appointed  in  July, 
charged  with  the  duty  of  laying  down  the  disputed 
boundary.  It  was  headed  on  the  British  side  by  General 
Sir  Peter  Lumsden,  who  had  won  distinction  in  India  ; 
while  General  Zelenoi  was  directed  to  watch  over  the 
interests  of  Russia.  Sir  Peter  traversed  Afghanistan, 
with  the  Amir  'Abd  er-Rahman's  permission,  escorted 
by  a  little  army  of  500  strong  with  twice  as  many 
camp  followers.  This  demonstration,  for  such  it  was, 
excited  the  suspicion  of  Lieutenant- General  Komaroff,^ 
the  military  governor  of  Transcaspia,  and  General 
Zelenoi  was  directed  to  return  to  Tiflis.  In  the  mean- 
time the  explorations  of  Lessar  in  the  valleys  of  the 
Murghab  and  Kushk  had  led  Russia  to  modify  her 
claims.  It  was  contended  at  the  conference  which 
followed  that  she  should  be  allotted  an  ethnological 
frontier,  based  on  the  submission  rendered  by  the 
Sariks  inhabiting  the  Panjdih  oasis.  The  British 
representative,  on  the  other  hand,  declined  to  recognise 
any  other  boundary  than  one  based  on  natural  condi- 
tions which  excluded  from  Russian  sway  all  territory 
south  of  an  imaginary  line  drawn  from  Old  Sarakhs  to 

^  This  very  distinguished  officer  had  been  educated  at  the  Petersbuig 
Military  Academy.  He  had  seen  much  service  in  the  Caucasus,  when  he  had 
been  governor  of  Southern  Daghistan,  and  afterwards  of  Darbend.  He  had 
gained  eminence  in  the  fields  of  archaeology  and  ethnology.  As  an  administrator 
he  was  equally  successful ;  and  Askabad,  the  present  capital  of  Transcaspia, 
owes  much  to  his  genius. 


302  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  isss. 

Khwaja  Salih  on  the  Oxus.  The  Gordian  knot  was 
cut  by  the  Afghans,  who,  encouraged  by  the  presence 
on  the  Murghab  of  the  small  British  force  attending  Sir 
Peter  Lumsden,  moved  northwards  and  occupied  Bala 
Murghab  and  the  disputed  oasis  of  Panjdih.  This 
aggression  elicited  warm  protests  from  Russia ;  and, 
according  to  her  wont,  she  brought  material  force  to  the 
aid  of  diplomacy.  General  Komarofif  occupied  Pul-i- 
Khatun,  the  Zu-1-Fikar  Pass,  and  Ak  Rabat ;  and,  on 
February  1885,  he  took  possession  of  Pul - i - Kishti,  at 
the  edge  of  the  Panjdih  oasis.  The  alarm  excited  in 
England  was  intense.  Engineers  were  despatched  to 
place  the  fortifications  of  Herat  in  a  state  of  defence ; 
arms  and  ammunition  were  poured  into  Afghan  arsenals, 
and  troops  were  massed  under  General  (afterwards  Lord) 
Roberts  on  the  north-western  boundary  of  India.  The 
match  was  laid  to  the  train  by  Lieutenant-General 
Komaroff.  On  the  30th  of  March  1885  his  httle  force 
of  1 200  men  all  told  ^  attacked  and  routed  an  Afghan 
mob  46,000  strong  with  six  guns,  which  latter  fell  into 
Komaroff's  hands.^  The  discomfited  Afghans  at  once 
retired  to  Meruchak,  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the 
oasis.  The  skirmish,  for  such  it  was,  aroused  a  storm 
in  England,  and  war  was  considered  inevitable.  Parlia- 
ment voted  unanimously  a  credit  of  .^11,000,000 
sterling  for  military  preparations  ;  while  Russia  called  into 
existence  a  Volunteer  Fleet,  with  the  object  of  preying 
upon  our  commerce.  Happily  for  the  tranquillity  of  Asia, 
the  two  greatest  Powers  were  led  to  pause  ere  they 
appealed    to    the    awful    arbitration    of   arms.     General 

^  It  was  composed  of  four  companies  of  Transcaspian  Chasseurs,  three 
squadrons  of  Cossacks  from  the  Kuban,  one  of  Turkoman  militia,  and  four 
guns  (Ney,  p.  252,  note). 

*  Four  of  them  now  adorn  a  monument  on  the  Askabad  parade-ground 
commemorating  Geok  Teppe, 


A.D.  I885.J         THE  LAST  STEP  IN  ADVANCE  303 

Lumsden  and  his  ablest  coadjutor,  Captain  Yates,  used 
their  influence  with  the  Afghans  to  prevent  a  recurrence 
of  the  untoward  accident  of  the  30th  of  May ;  while  the 
tact  of  the  latter  prompted  him  to  open  overtures  which 
were  completely  successful.  Diplomacy,  thus  assisted, 
won  a  peaceful  triumph,  and  a  basis  for  the  demarcation 
of  the  frontier  was  agreed  upon.  The  process  was 
completed  at  the  close  of  1886,  and  in  the  April  of  the 
following  year  the  British  and  Russian  representatives 
met  at  St.  Petersburg.  The  outcome  of  their  delibera- 
tion was,  on  the  whole,  favourable  to  Russia.  She 
obtained  the  right  bank  of  the  Harl  Rud  as  far  as  the 
Zu-1-Fikar  Pass,  and  the  valleys  of  the  Badghls  south  of 
and  including  the  Panjdih  oasis. 

The  southern  boundary  of  her  Asiatic  possessions 
has  advanced  to  a  point  within  fifty-three  miles  of  Herat 
as  the  crow  flies,  and  separated  by  no  natural  obstacle 
of  importance  from  that  great  commercial  and  strategic 
centre.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Amir  of  Bokhara  sur- 
rendered to  the  Afghans  the  rich  pastures  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Amu  Darya  south  of  Khwaja  Salih.  Russia 
has  loyally  accepted  the  work  performed  by  the  Boundary 
Commission,  and  has  concentrated  her  energies  during 
the  eleven  years  which  have  intervened  in  developing 
the  commerce  and  improving  the  administration  of  the 
rich  possessions  thus  added  to  her  empire. 

The  successful  issue  of  this  enterprise  led,  in  1895, 
to  the  appointment  of  a  mixed  commission  to  demarcate 
the  spheres  of  English  and  Russian  influence  on  the 
Pamirs.  The  boundaries  of  the  three  Asiatic  empires 
meet  in  those  stupendous  hills,  but  their  difficulty  of 
access  had  hitherto  precluded  any  attempt  to  lay  them 
down  authoritatively.  The  English  representatives, 
under  the  direction  of  Sir  M.  G.  Gerard,  K.C.S.I., 
left  India  on  the   30th  June ;  and,  a  month  later,  they 


304  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  ia.d.  1895. 

met  their  Russian  colleagues  on  the  shore  of  Lake 
Victoria,  a  wild  mountain  tarn  which  gives  birth  to  the 
Oxus.  No  time  was  lost  in  tracing  the  boundary  pre- 
scribed in  an  agreement  entered  into  between  the  two 
Powers.  Starting  from  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake,  it 
follows  the  crest  of  the  Sarikol  range  until  the  Chinese 
frontier  is  reached.  "  From  the  sixth  mile,"  wrote  Sir 
T.  Holdich,  K.C.I.E.,  the  chief  survey  officer,  "  a  rugged 
and  inaccessible  spur  of  the  Sarikol  range  carried  the 
boundary  into  regions  of  perpetual  ice  and  snow  to 
its  junction  with  the  main  range.  Here,  amidst  a 
solitary  wilderness,  20,000  feet  above  sea-level,  abso- 
lutely inaccessible  to  man,  and  within  the  ken  of  no 
living  creature  except  the  Pamir  eagles,  the  three  great 
empires  actually  meet.  No  more  fitting  tri-junction 
could  possibly  have  been  found." 

The  cordiality  which  marked  the  relations  between  the 
subjects  of  Queen  and  Tsar  was  even  more  marked  than  on 
the  earlier  occasion.  On  their  arrival  at  the  scene  of  action 
the  travel-worn  Britons  were  hospitably  received  in  the 
Russian  camp,  and  a  feeling  of  good-fellowship  was  then 
and  there  engendered  which  never  afterwards  grew  cold. 
The  scanty  leisure  left  the  commissioners  by  their  duty 
of  traversing  ninety  miles  of  the  most  difficult  country 
in  the  world  was  devoted  to  races  and  shooting-matches. 

The  Kirghiz  of  the  Russian  escort  astonished  our 
countrymen  by  their  prowess  at  ulak,  a  struggle  on 
horseback  for  a  goat,  similar  to  the  Bokharan  game 
of  baigha.  The  Cossacks,  too,  displayed  their  won- 
drous equestrian  skill.  August  3rd,  the  name-day  of 
the  Dowager-Empress  of  Russia,  was  the  occasion  of 
an  outdoor  service,  and  the  sweet  plaintive  melody  of 
the  anthems  of  the  Greek  Church  never  sounded  so 
impressively  as  it  did  on  those  remote  mountain  heights.^ 

*  The  Englishmen  were  particularly  struck  by  the  eagerness  shown  by  their 


AD.  1895.]         THE  LAST  STEP  IN  ADVANCE  305 

Every  lover  of  his  country  will  re-echo  the  hope  expressed 
by  the  Russian  commissioner  at  a  farewell  banquet  given 
to  his  colleagues  on  iith  September  1895,  that  "the 
agreement  just  concluded  would  be  the  beginning  of  more 
cordial  relations  between  the  two  countries,  and  of  a 
better  understanding  of  their  national  aims  and  desires." 

rivals  to  support  the  national  sports  of  the  nomads,  the  liberal  prizes  awarded 
and  the  careful  observance  of  ceremony  in  their  official  intercourse  with 
Asiatics, — a  policy  which  inspired  the  latter  with  a  sense  of  their  liberahty  and 
power.  This  is  an  attitude  which  would  do  much  to  consolidate  our  own 
power  in  India  {Report  of  tht  Pamirs  Boundary  Commissioit). 


20 


CHAPTER  VI 

The  Central  Asian  Railways 

The  conception  of  a  railway  between  the  Caspian  and  the 
heart  of  Asia  took  shape,  as  we  have  seen,  during  the 
campaign   of  Geok   Teppe,  when    a   little  portable  line 
between  the  base  and  a  point  thirteen  miles  inland  was 
of   good    service    to    the    transport.     The   new    railway 
battalion  redoubled  its  efforts  after  the  fall  of  the  Tekke 
stronghold,  and  before  the  close  of  1885   the  line  had 
been  carried  as  far  inland  as  the  large  Turkoman  village 
of  Kizil  Arvat,  135  miles  from  the  Caspian.     A  mighty 
impulse  was  given  to  schemes  for  railway  extension  by 
the   cession    of  the    Merv   oasis   in    1884.      The   entire 
area  between  the  Caspian  and  the  Amu   Darya  was  now 
in   Russian  hands,  and  there  were  no  political  and  fewi 
natural  obstacles  to  delay  the  construction  of  a  railway] 
which  should  connect  the  great  arteries  of  traffic.     But] 
the  advisers  of  the  Tsar  were  by  no  means  unanimous  1 
in  approving  of  the  enterprise.     A  strong  party  favoured  j 
the  canalisation  of  the  Amu  Darya,  and  an  attempt  tol 
divert  its  stream  to  its  ancient  channel,  which  entered  thej 
Caspian  at  Krasnovodsk.     Another  faction  pointed  to  the ' 
vast  results  achieved  in   India  by  the  network  of  rail- 
ways, which  enables   a   European    military  force  barely 
60,000  strong  to  dominate   250,000,000  Asiatics;  and 
urged    the    necessity  of  providing   the   means   of   rapid 
transport  of  troops  and  material  between  the  Caucasus 

306 


DIVANIS  OR  DERVISHES 


A.D.  ,88s.i  CENTRAL  ASIAN  RAILWAYS  307 

and  the  new  strategic  bases.  Foremost  among  the  latter 
was  General  Annenkoff,  who  enjoyed  great  influence  at 
St.  Petersburg,  due  less  to  family  connections  than  to 
his  experience  in  the  construction  of  railway  lines.^ 
His  opinion  was  reinforced  by  events  in  the  Merv  oasis, 
for  the  collision  with  Afghanistan  in  1884  convinced  the 
stubbornest  advocates  for  water-carriage  that  a  post  of 
vital  importance  could  not  be  held  without  the  assistance 
of  a  railway.  In  April  1885  an  imperial  ukase  directed 
the  construction  of  a  line  on  the  standard  gauge  between 
the  Caspian  and  the  new  territories,  and  charged  its 
designer  with  the  duty  of  carrying  it  into  execution  and 
studying  the  question  of  extensions.  General  Annenkoff 's 
first  care  was  to  devise  a  system  calculated  to  economise 
time  and  transport,  and  peculiarly  adapted  to  countries 
which  present  few  obstacles  to  the  engineer.  A  tem- 
porary line  was  to  be  laid  with  the  utmost  speed,  over 
which  the  materials  and  labour  for  completing  the  task 
might  be  conveyed  at  leisure.  The  accommodation  of  the 
personnel  was  of  equal  importance.  The  supervising 
staff  consisted  of  three  engineers-in-chief  and  an  army  of 
subordinates,  military  and  civil,  selected  for  their  excep- 
tional ability  and  vigour.  Under  their  orders  were  two 
battalions  of  railway  operatives  on  a  strictly  military 
basis.  The  second  of  these  was  recruited  at  Moscow  by 
the  general  himself ;  and  both  corps  showed  a  devotion 
to  their  arduous  duties  which  it  would  be  difficult  to 
parallel.  The  scarcity  of  water  in  the  desert  precluded 
the  possibility  of  forming  camps  at  intervals  or  working 

^  The  late  Major-General  L.  M.  Annenkoff  was  then  in  the  prime  of  life. 
He  had  won  his  spurs  as  a  railway  engineer  by  the  rapid  construction  of  a 
strategic  line  in  Lithuania,  and  was  afterwards  appointed  chief  of  the  mobilisa- 
tion department  in  the  Ministry  of  War.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Tekke  cam- 
paign he  volunteered  for  service  under  General  Skobeleff,  and  was  wounded 
at  Geok  Teppe.  On  returning  to  Russia  he  was  appointed  superintendent  of 
transport  throughout  the  empire  (Ney,  En  Asie  Ctntrale,  p.  283). 


3o8  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  rA.D.1885. 

in  sections.  By  a  brilliant  intuition  Annenkoff  conceived 
the  idea  of  a  camp  on  wheels,  which  would  move  onwards 
as  the  work  progressed,  and  be  furnished  with  provisions 
and  material  by  construction  trains.  It  contained  every- 
thing needful  for  comfort  and  efficiency.  There  were 
carriages  for  the  office  staff;  dormitories  and  restaurants 
in  two-storeyed  cars,  a  telegraph  carriage,  and  a  saloon  for 
the  director,  resembling  the  cabin  on  a  man-of-war  in  the 
compactness  and  modest  luxury  of  its  fittings.  Each 
vehicle  communicated  with  the  others  by  means  of 
covered  passages  ;  and  due  attention  was  paid  to  ventila- 
tion and  warming.  Work  began  on  the  30th  of  June 
1885.  The  rails  ^  were  spiked  down  to  the  sleepers 
without  the  aid  of  chairs,  and  the  rolling  camp  moved 
forwards  at  a  speed  which  was  ultimately  four  miles  a 
day.  When  Kizii  Arvat  had  thus  been  reached  the  soil 
ahead  was  levelled  by  22,000  Tekke  labourers,  whom 
stern  necessity  had  compelled  to  exchange  their  long 
knives  for  spades  and  sacks.^  The  rails  and  sleepers, 
brought  from  the  base  daily  by  a  portable  railway  on  the 
Decauville  system,  were  rapidly  laid  on  the  soil  thus 
prepared.  Water  in  this  dry  and  thirsty  land  is  of 
prime  importance.  It  was  provided  at  Uzun  Ada,  the 
Caspian  terminus,  by  a  huge  distilling  apparatus.  At 
other  points  the  streams  issuing  from  the  distant  hills 
were  diverted  into  reservoirs,  whence  the  precious  liquid 
was  carried  to  the  line  in  pipes.     At  Merv  the  source  of 

^  The  rails  were  steel,  flat-footed,  weighing  68  pounds  to  the  yard,  and 
cost  ;[^i6  a  ton.  The  sleepers  came  from  the  Baltic  and  Caucasus.  The 
rolling  stock  consisted  of  80  locomotives  on  the  Siegl  system,  and  1400  cars 
and  waggons.     Everything  was  produced  in  Russian  workshops. 

^  They  earned  rather  less  than  £2  per  mensem.  They  were  allowed  to 
work  in  their  own  fashion,  just  as  if  they  were  repairing  their  arlks^  or 
irrigation  canals.  It  is  said  that  in  India,  when  the  contractors  insisted  on 
the  use  of  wheelbarrows,  the  native  labourers  carried  the  vehicles  and  their 
contents  on  their  heads. 


A.D.  ,885.)  CENTRAL  ASIAN  RAILWAYS  309 

supply  was  a  canal  connected  with  the  Murghab.  The 
waterless  tracts  were  supplied  from  the  nearest  spring  in 
immense  wooden  tubs  placed  on  trucks.  To  avoid  the 
interruption  in  the  flow  of  materials  due  to  the  closure  of 
the  Volga  by  thick-ribbed  ice,  great  depots  were  formed 
at  Merv,  Charjuy,  and,  later,  at  Bokhara,  while  the 
minutest  care  was  given  to  perfecting  every  portion  of 
the  complicated  mechanism. 

The  comfort  and  efficiency  of  the  directing  and  the 
subordinate  staff  were  the  subject  of  equal  anxiety.  The 
labourers,  whether  Russian  soldiers  or  natives  of  the  soil, 
worked  in  shifts  of  six  hours,  and  were  free  for  eighteen 
hours  out  of  the  twenty-four  to  enjoy  repose  in  their 
moving  barracks  and  kibitkas.  The  sleepless  activity  of 
the  chief  was  contagious,  and  his  behests  were  obeyed 
with  a  devotion  which  few  generals  on  the  field  have 
commanded.  But  when  the  arduous  day's  work  in  the 
burning  sun  or  the  icy  blast  was  done,  the  sturdy 
Russians  were  wont  to  break  into  song.  Beautiful, 
indeed"  was  the  effect  of  their  melody  wafted  on  the 
still  desert  air ;  and  finer  still  the  spectacle  afforded  by 
groups  of  the  toilers,  their  faces  glowing  with  the  ruddy 
bivouac  fire,  while  from  their  midst  came  the  rhythmic 
strain  of  some  chant,  now  breathing  profound  melancholy, 
and  anon  rising  high  in  notes  of  fierce  martial  passion. 
General  Annenkoff  justly  said  that  "  one  of  the  sources 
of  Russian  strength  is  that  we  are  a  singing  people."  ^ 
And  thus  the  work  of  piercing  these  hitherto  unknown 
steppes  was  pushed  onwards  with  a  rapidity  which  was 
the  wonder  and  envy  of  Europe.  Merv,  352  miles  from 
Kizil  Arvat,  was  reached  in  fourteen  months.  The 
arrival  of  the  latest  product  of  civilisation  at  the  old 
robbers'  lair  was  made  the  occasion  of  brilliant  fetes,  and 
six  weeks  of  rest  were  given  to  the  toil-spent  men. 
» Ney,  p.  321. 


3IO  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  1886. 

The  works  on  the  section  between  Merv  and  Charjuy 
began  on  August  1886.  Here  the  engineers  had  to 
encounter  an  obstacle  even  more  formidable  than  Chat 
Moss  presented  to  George  Stephenson.  This  was  the 
famous  sandy  tract — a  stretch  of  nearly  sixty  miles 
extending  to  a  strip  of  land  fertilised  by  the  great  river. 
It  resembles  nothing  so  closely  as  the  mountains  of  the 
moon  as  seen  through  a  powerful  telescope.  The  eye 
ranges  over  a  boundless  expanse  of  sandhills  covered  in 
the  near  foreground  with  camels'  grass.  Here,  when  the 
wind  blows  fresh,  the  air  becomes  charged  with  sand, 
which  blinds  the  drivers  and  accumulates  in  deep  drifts 
on  the  line  of  rail.  At  such  times  night -running  is 
suspended,  and  detentions  of  several  days  are  frequent. 
The  construction  of  stone  galleries  was  at  first  considered 
inevitable,  but  the  expense  involved  was  prohibitive. 
The  desired  object  has,  to  some  extent,  been  achieved  by 
planting  the  saxaul,  a  gnarled  shrub  which  thrives  on 
the  desert  soil  and  throws  out  spreading  roots  for  many 
feet.  On  the  Merv  and  Charjuy  section,  too,  the'  earth- 
work was  far  heavier  than  had  hitherto  been  encountered,^ 
and  it  is  highly  creditable  to  the  engineering  staff  that 
141  miles  should  have  been  completed  in  little  more 
than  four  months. 

Hitherto  the  bridging  operations  had  been  of  no 
great  importance.  The  river  Tajand,  at  the  434th  mile, 
had  been  spanned  by  a  wooden  viaduct  of  348  feet  water- 
way ;  and  the  Murghab,  at  Merv,  by  a  similar  structure 
with  an  opening  of  197  feet.  Charjuy  is  664  miles  from 
the  Caspian,  and  stands  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Oxus,  or 
Amu  Darya,  incomparably  the  mightiest  river  in  Central 
Asia,  and  worthy  to  rank  with  the  Ganges  and  the  Nile. 
At  Charjuy  it  is  a  mile  and  a  quarter  wide,  and  in 
all  characteristics  it  resembles  the  Mississippi  and  the 
^  It  cost  6Jd.  per  cubic  yard. 


A,D.  ,888.1  CENTRAL  ASIAN  RAILWAYS  311 

rivers  of  the  Gangetic  Delta.  All  have  the  same  wide 
fringe  of  sand  on  either  side,  covered  in  portions  with  fer- 
tilising silt,  the  same  islands  clad  with  long  reeds  and 
juniper,  the  same  tendency  to  shift  their  banks.  At  present 
the  Amu  Darya's  main  channel  has  swung  to  the  eastern 
bank,  and  its  dull  red  stream  surges  with  a  perilous 
velocity.  The  cost  of  a  steel  viaduct  at  so  vast  a  distance 
from  the  manufacturing  centres  was  not  to  be  faced,  and 
nothing  remained  but  to  attempt  a  wooden  structure. 
Happily  for  the  Russian  engineers,  a  stratum  of  tenacious 
clay  underlies  the  sandy  bed  at  no  great  depth,  and 
afforded  a  secure  resting  -  place  for  the  timber  piles. 
These  numbered  3330,  and  were  all  brought  from  Russia 
by  rail.  The  first  was  driven  into  the  river  bed  in  June 
1887,  and  so  intense  was  the  energy  of  the  working  staff 
that  on  the  1 8th  January  1888,  little  more  than  six 
months  after  its  commencement,  'the  Amu  Dar}*a  was 
opened  for  traffic.^  In  spite  of  its  fragile  construction, 
this  work  must  rank  with  the  greatest  feats  of  modem 
engineering.  The  vast  distances  from  which  every 
portion  of  the  material  was  brought,  the  rapidity  and 
treacherous  nature  of  the  stream,  and  the  unforeseen 
difficulties  grappled  with  at  every  step,  conspire  to  render 
the  Amu  Darya  bridge  a  conspicuous  triumph  of  skill  and 
energy  over  the  blind  forces  of  nature.  The  Englishman 
cannot  view  this  grand  work,  dwindling  to  a  mere  point  as 
its  interminable  length  spans  the  broad  river,  without  a 
feeling  of  respect  for  the  men  who  carried  it  into  execu- 
tion. We  have  shown  the  world  that  nothing  is  impos- 
sible to  modern  science,  and  we  can  best  appreciate  the 

*  The  moral  effect  produced  by  the  spanning  of  the  Amu  Darj-a  was 
immense  and  far  reaching.  General  Annenkoff  told  the  members  of  the  St. 
Petersburg  Technical  Society  that  when  the  first  locomotive,  draped  with  the 
imperial  flag,  crossed  the  river,  loud  cheers  echoed  from  the  hosts  that  lined  the 
banks  (Ney,  p.  304). 


312  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  isss. 

noble  qualities  evinced  by  General  Annenkoff  and  the 
devoted  band  which  toiled  to  execute  his  grandiose 
conceptions. 

The  Amu  Darya  bridge  is  4600  yards  in  length, 
including  the  approaches.  The  water-way  is  2270 
yards,  and  a  permanent  way  is  laid  35  feet  above  the 
mean  river-level.  The  small  cost  of  the  structure  is  not 
its  least  recommendation.  Official  statistics  place  it  at 
;^44,ooo,  without,  however,  reckoning  the  cost  of  trans- 
port and  the  pay  of  the  railway  battalion  engaged  in 
erecting  it.  The  whole  is  of  wood ;  and  it  is  impossible 
to  look  down  on  the  rapid  current  swirling  round  the 
piles  without  a  feeling  of  wonder  that  so  frail  a  structure 
should  have  borne  the  strain  of  eleven  years.  But  fire  is 
a  far  more  dangerous  foe  than  water.  The  rainfall  at 
Charjuy  is  insignificant,  and  the  mass  of  bristling  piles  as 
dry  as  touchwood.  It  is  crossed  daily  by  trains  drawn 
by  locomotives  burning  petroleum  fuel,  and  boats  loaded 
with  inflammables  constantly  pass  beneath.  There  are  six 
fire-stations,  and  the  bridge  is  patrolled  night  and  day  ; 
but  all  protective  measures  would  be  useless  if  the  flames 
once  took  hold.  It  is  this  consideration  which  has 
induced  the  authorities  to  face  the  immense  expense 
involved  in  a  steel  girder  bridge. 

A  pause  of  three  months  followed  the  conquest  of 
this  great  barrier;  and,  in  September  i8|[7,  the  engineers 
attacked  the  last  portion  of  their  task — the  216  miles 
between  the  Amu  Darya  and  Samarkand.  They  were 
aided  by  a  third  railway  battalion  1000  strong,  incor- 
porated in  1886,  and  posted  at  Charjuy  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  following  year.  The  final  section,  however, 
was  mere  child's  play  as  compared  with  those  already 
traversed.  After  passing  through  28  miles  of  desert,  the 
line  enters  at  Kara  Kul  on  a  cultivated  zone,  watered  by 
the  river  Zarafshan  and  its  affluents,  which  extends  as 


AD.  1888.]  CENTRAL  ASIAN  RAILWAYS  313 

far  as  the  terminus  at  Samarkand.  The  capital  of 
Tamerlane  was  reached  in  May  1888,  and  on  the  ist  of 
the  succeeding  month  trains  began  running  with  regularity 
between  the  Caspian  and  Samarkand,  a  distance  of  879 
miles.^  General  Annenkoff' s  achievement  was  rewarded 
with  the  generous  appreciation  meted  out  to  every  Russian 
servant  of  the  state  who  distinguishes  himself  by  devo- 
tion to  duty.  "  During  three  years,"  wrote  his  imperial 
master  in  a  rescript  dated  5th  July  1888,  "you  have 
worked  with  the  energy  which  distinguishes  you  in 
accomplishing  the  task,  sparing  neither  health  nor 
strength  in  a  constant  struggle  with  natural  obstacles 
which  seemed  almost  insuperable.  In  just  recompense 
for  the  service  you  have  rendered  to  the  state,  we 
have  granted  you  the  insignia  in  diamonds  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Alexander  Nevsky,  which  we  command  you  to 
wear  according  to  regulations." "  In  thus  hailing  the 
completion  of  a  line  linking  the  Caspian  with  Samarkand 
the  Tsar  could  hardly  have  foreseen  the  vast  economic 
results  of  General  Annenkoff's  enterprise.  Its  incep- 
tion was  due  to  considerations  of  politics  and  strategy, — 
if  the  Central  Asian  Railway  would  rob  the  desert  of  its 
terrors,  strengthen  Russia's  hold  on  the  newly  conquered 
territory,  and  give  the  means  of  overawing  Persia  and 
Afghanistan  ;  and  so  it  was  treated  as  a  military  work 
and  placed  under  the  governor  of  Transcaspia,  who  was 
himself  subordinate  to  the  Minister  of  War.  But  trains 
had  hardly  begun  to  run  ere  merchants  and  passengers 

^  It  is  interesting  to  compare  the  cost  of  the  Russian  Asiatic  railways  with 
that  of  Indian  lines  constructed  under  similar  conditions.  It  averaged  ^6144 
per  mile.  The  report  of  the  Director  of  Indian  Railways  for  1872-1873  gives 
that  of  the  earlier  lines  as  ;[^i8,ooo  to  ;^20,ooo.  It  is  probable  that  the 
cost  of  the  three  railway  battalions  has  not  been  taken  into  account.  But, 
allowing  for  that  item,  we  must  admit  that  the  Russian  railways  were  far 
cheaper  than  our  Indian  trunk  lines. 

'  Ney,  p.  305- 


314 


THE  HEART  OF  ASIA 


lA.D.  1893. 


flocked  to  the  station ;  goods  accumulated  in  masses 
which  defied  the  slender  means  of  transport.  In  1893, 
185,000  tons  of  merchandise  and  material  were  carried; 
and  in  1897  the  volume  dealt  with  aggregated  249,000,^ 
Trade  left  its  old  channels  and  poured  into  that  which 
gave  merchants  steamer  communication  with  the  great 
consuming  centres  and  the  seaboard.  Tea,  which  cheers 
the  nomad  as  well  as  his  civilised  brother,  no  longer 
enters  Central  Asia  through  Afghanistan.  It  is  tran- 
shipped at  Bombay  into  steamers  which  convey  it  to 
Batum.  Thence  it  crosses  the  Caucasus  by  rail  and 
the  Caspian  by  steamer,  and  finds  the  terminus  of  the 
Central  Asian  Railway  at  Krasnovodsk.  This  trade  is  of 
very  recent  growth.  In  1893  none  travelled  by  rail; 
in  1897  no  less  than  6,192,000  pounds.  The  commerce 
with  Russia  has  been  equally  affected.  The  wool  and 
cotton  worked  up  in  Moscow  factories  no  longer  reaches 
them  by  camel  caravan  ;  while  the  manufactured  beet- 
sugar  and  drugs  so  largely  in  demand  in  the  Khanates 
travel  by  the  new  route.  That  the  railway  should  have 
profoundly  modified  the  whole  course-  of  Central  Asian 

*  The  following  statistics  for  1897  have  been  furnished  by  Colonel  Brunelli, 
the  much  respected  commandant  of  the  railway  battalion  stationed  at 
Merv  : — 


Revenue,  gross 
, ,        nett 


Train  mileage 


Expoiis. 


Raw  cotton 

Wool. 

Dried  fruit  . 

Barley 

Skins  and  hides 

Salt    . 

Miscellaneous 

Grand  total 


;^7Si.ooo 
615,000 

2,402,625 


81,000  tons 
8,000 
5,000 
2,000 
5,000 
3,000 
5,000 


109,000  tons 


Imports. 
Manufactures      .         .       15,000  tons 
Sugar         .         .         .       12,000    ,, 
Tea    ....  6,192,000  lbs. 
Metals        .         .         .         5,000  tons 
Kerosene  oil        .         .         5, 000    „ 
Wool  .         .         ,         8,000    ,, 

Miscellaneous,  includ- 
ing tan,  naphtha,  rice, 
spices,  wine,  brandy, 
beer,  and  thread 


22,000    ,, 


Grand  total 


.       70,000  tons 

Intermediate  traffic      .       70,000  tons 
Total  movement  of  goods  249,000    ,, 


A.D.X897.)  CENTRAL  ASIAN  RAILWAYS  315 

commerce  is  a  natural  outcome  of  the  line  selected  by 
the  Tsar's  advisers.  It  follows  the  principal  channel 
whence  the  silks,  sugars,  and  stuffs  of  India  and  China 
poured  into  Europe  during  the  ages  illumined  by 
Greek  culture,  and  moulded  by  the  governing  instincts  of 
Rome.  Balkh  in  Northern  Afghanistan  was  a  rendezvous 
for  caravans  from  the  south  and  east.  Thence  the  goods 
find  water-way  to  the  Oxus,  and  so,  by  its  ancient  course, 
to  the  Balkan  Bay  on  the  Caspian.  The  precious  wares 
were  carried  in  small  vessels  across  that  sea  to  the 
embouchure  of  the  Cyrus,  now  the  Kura,  90  miles  south 
of  the  modern  town  of  Baku.  Here  they  were  tran- 
shipped into  canoes  and  dragged  up  stream  to  the  foot 
of  the  Suran  Pass.  At  this  point  the  light  vessels  were 
carried,  with  their  contents,  40  miles  over  the  mountain 
to  the  river  Kvirilla,  a  confluent  of  the  Phasis,^  now 
called  the  Riom,  which  discharges  into  the  Black  Sea 
near  the  fever-haunted  port  of  Poti.  A  glance  at  the 
map  will  reveal  the  identity  of  this  ancient  highway  of 
trade  with  that  followed  by  the  railway  systems  of  the 
Caucasus  and  the  regions  beyond  the  Caspian.^  The 
revolution  has  been  recognised  by  the  Russian  authorities, 
and  the  Central  Asian  railways  have  now  lost  their 
exclusively  military  character,  and  have  passed  under 
the  direction  of  the  Minister  of  Ways  and  Communica- 
tions.   They  will  eventually  have  a  central  administration 

^  Phasis,  ^dffLs,  a  river  of  Colchis  emptj-ing  itself  into  the  Euxine.  Its  banks 
are  clothed  with  forests  whence  pheasants  were  brought  to  delight  Roman 
epicures  (Mart.  Ep.  xiii.  45,  72). 

2  See  an  interesting  paper  read  before  the  London  Chamber  of  Commerce 
in  1866,  by  Colonel  C.  Stewart,  C.B.,  H.B.M.  Consul-General  at  Odessa.  Sir 
W.  W.  Hunter,  K.C.S.I.,  the  brilliant  historian  of  India,  has  also  pointed 
out  the  striking  correspondence  between  the  former  paths  of  trade  and  those 
mapped  out  by  Russian  engineers.  It  is,  he  explains,  a  question  of  corre- 
spondence rather  than  identity  of  work,  but  the  section  between  the  Black  Sea 
and  the  Caspian  follows  the  ancient  ways  verj-  closely  {History  of  British 
India,  p.  32). 


3i6  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1897. 

at  Tashkent,  and  be  managed  by  the  governor-general 
at  Turkestan.^  The  unlocked  -  for  success  which  has 
attended  the  opening  of  the  trunk  line  has  given  a  great 
impetus  to  extensions.  In  1895,  works  were  commenced 
for  branches  connecting  Samarkand  with  Tashkent,  the 
Calcutta  of  Central  Asia,  and  Andijan  in  Farghana,  a 
point  near  the  Chinese  frontier,  and  little  more  than 
300  miles  due  north  of  Chitral.  The  length  of  these 
sections  is  401  miles;  their  cost  has  been  ;^2, 743,000, 
or  ;^6840  for  each  running  mile,  exclusive  of  rolling  stock. 
The  line  to  Andijan  follows  pretty  closely  the  old 
trade  -  route  eastwards,  crossing  the  Zarafshan  by  a 
viaduct  392  feet  long,  near  the  remains  of  the  famous 
bridge  attributed  to  Timur,  and  passing  the  towns  of 
Jizak,  Khojend,  and  Kokand.  At  Khavast,  iio  miles 
west  of  Samarkand,  a  branch  runs  to  Tashkent  which 
traverses  the  Sir  Darya  at  Chinaz  by  a  wooden  bridge,  on 
the  Oxus  model,  11 20  feet  in  length.  Another  bifurca- 
tion connects  the  main  line  at  Khwaja  Maghiz  with  New 
Marghilan.  The  engineers  have  encountered  enormous 
difficulties  in  the  construction  of  these  branches,  arising 
from  the  fact  that  they  run  at  right  angles  to  the  water- 
shed of  the  country.  The  innumerable  torrents  which 
pour  down  the  mountain  flanks  on  either  side  cause 
extensive  inundations  during  the  rainy  season.  The 
water-way  on  this  section  is  greater  than  on  any  other 
portion  of  the  line  of  equal  length,  and  heavy  protective 
works  have  been  deemed  necessary  to  divert  the  floods 
into  the  channels  provided  for  them.  The  activity  with 
which  the  construction  was  pushed  forward  may  be 
gauged  by  the  fact  that  63,000  tons  of  railway  material 

^  Extensive  additions  to  the  station  accommodation  and  rolling  stock  are 
contemplated.  Estimates  have  received  sanction  which  place  the  cost  at  two 
millions  sterling.  The  question  will  shortly  be  studied  by  a  committee  of 
experts. 


A.D.  1899.1  CENTRAL  ASIAN  RAILWAYS  317 

were  carried  over  the  trunk  line  between  July  1897  and 
May  of  the  following  year.  The  extensions  will  serve  a 
rich  and  thickly  peopled  country,  and  open  up  the  vast 
mineral  wealth  of  the  mountain  system  whence  the 
Zarafshan  takes  its  rise.  An  annual  movement  of  goods 
to  the  extent  of  240,000  tons  is  predicted,  which  will 
increase  by  leaps  and  bounds  when  the  great  irrigation 
works  now  under  construction  in  Farghana  are  com- 
pleted. Another  branch  line  has  been  constructed 
between  Merv  and  Kushk,  on  the  Afghan  frontier,  a 
distance  of  192  miles.  It  follows  the  left  bank  of  the 
Murghab  as  far  as  Pul-i-Kishti  at  the  embouchure  of  the 
river  Kushk,  and  the  latter  up  to  the  Russian  canton- 
ment bearing  that  name.^  The  economic  advantages  of 
this  line,  which  was  thrown  open  for  through  traffic  in 
January  1 899,  are  enormous.  It  ^passes  through  a  tract 
which  was  once  among  the  richest  in  the  world,  and 
will  soon  regain  a  share  of  its  ancient  fertility  when 
the  irrigation  projects,  which  have  received  favour, 
become  accomplished  facts.  Its  strategic  value  is  equally 
indisputable,  for  it  will  enable  troops  and  supplies  to  be 
massed  in  a  few  days  within  striking  distance  of  Herat. 
For  Englishmen,  however,  the  importance  of  the  Merv- 
Kushk  branch  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  designed  to  serve 
as  a  link  in  a  project  which  germinated  in  General  Annen- 
koff' s  fertile  brain — that  of  uniting  England  with   India 

^  An  officer  in  command  of  the  post  at  Kushk  told  one  of  the  writers 
that  the  friendliest  relations  prevailed  between  the  Russians  and  Afghans. 
On  one  occasion  the  staff  of  the  Amir's  Regiment,  invited  to  a  banquet  by 
their  brethren  in  arms,  arrived  in  a  gratide  tentie  of  second-hand  railway 
uniforms.  Thus  the  colonel's  collar  exhibited  the  magic  words  ' '  Ticket 
collector,"  and  a  major  strutted  proudly  with  a  label  of  "  Guard."  The 
Russians  were  under  the  impression  that  a  portion  of  our  ally's  subsidy  was 
taken  out  in  cast-off  accoutrements,  but  the  fact  is  that  His  Highness,  being 
a  prince  of  frugal  mind,  is  a  bidder  by  proxy  at  the  periodical  sales  of 
unserviceable  railway  stores  held  in  Upper  India. 


3i8  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  rA.D.1899. 

by  railway.  A  glance  at  the  map  of  the  eastern  hemi- 
sphere will  show  that  the  shortest  practicable  line  of 
communication  between  London  and  the  Indus  passes 
through  Russia  and  Central  Asia.  The  direction  would 
be  vtd  Calais,  Berlin,  Warsaw,  Rostov-on-Don,  Petrovsk, 
Baku,  Krasnovodsk,  Merv,  Kushk,  Girishk,  and  Kandahar. 
The  whole  of  this  distance  has  now  been  covered  by 
railway,  with  the  exception  of  the  195  miles  of  Caspian 
between  Baku  and  Krasnovodsk,  and  the  gap  of  450 
miles  which  still  separates  Kushk  from  Chaman.  If  the 
last-named  hiatus  were  bridged  the  journey  from  London 
to  the  Indus  would  easily  be  performed  in  seven  days, 
assuming  that  the  present  rate  of  speed — thirty-two 
miles  an  hour  on  the  European  and  twenty-five  on  the 
Asiatic  lines — were  maintained.  The  net  saving  in  time, 
if  the  railway  were  completed,  would  be  ten  days,  while 
the  horrors  of  the  Red  Sea  and  the  monsoon  would  be 
bad  dreams  to  the  Anglo-Indian  traveller.  The  country 
between  Kushk  and  Chaman  presents  no  obstacle  to  the 
engineer.  The  Paropamisus  range  would  be  crossed  by 
the  Khombau,  or  the  Chashmi  Sabz  Pass,  neither  of 
which  is  more  than  3400  feet  above  sea-level,  or  1000 
higher  than  that  on  the  tableland  on  either  side.^ 
From  this  point,  Herat,  the  garden  and  key  of  Afghan- 
istan, is  only  30  miles  ;  and  thence  the  line  would  be 
carried  by  way  of  Sabzawar,  Farrah,  Girishk,  and 
Kandahar  to  Chaman.  India  is  now  awaking  from  her 
long  sleep,  and  is  permeated  by  new  and  unsuspected 
forces.  If  the  tie  which  binds  her  to  ourselves  is  to  be  a 
lasting  one,  it  must  be  drawn  more  tightly. 

That  the  line  which  is  being  carried  across  Siberia  will 
eventually  be  linked  with  the  Central  Asian  system  admits 
of  no  doubt  whatever.     Expert  opinion,  however,  is  by 

^M.  P.  Lessar,  who  surveyed  these  hills  in  1884-1885,  states  their  height 
above  sea-level  as  3140  feet. 


A.D.  1899.J  CENTRAL  ASIAN  RAILWAYS  319 

no  means  in  accord  as  to  the  route  by  which  the  junc- 
tion should  be  effected.  General  Kurapatkine,  while 
governor  of  Transcaspia,  had  detailed  surveys  made  for 
a  line  between  Merv  and  Orenburg.  A  strong  faction 
advocates  one  which  would  commence  at  Tashkent  and 
run  by  way  of  Chimkent,  Turkestan,  Turgai,  Nicholaievsk, 
and  Troitzk  to  Chelyabinsk,  the  starting-point  of  the 
Trans  -  Siberian  Railway.  Another  party  urges  the 
superior  advantages  of  a  route  via  Turkestan,  Albasar, 
Kokchetav,  and  Petropavlovsk  to  Ishim.  Prince  Khil- 
koff,  the  Director  of  Ways  and  Communications,  favours 
a  railway  starting  from  Tashkent,  and  traversing  Verni, 
Semipalatinsk,  and  Barnaul,  to  end  at  Tomsk.  The 
country  which  would  thus  be  opened  up  presents  no 
serious  obstacles  to  the  engineer.  It  has  great  fertility, 
and  abounds  in  coal  and  other  forms  of  mineral  wealth. 


CHAPTER    VII 

Transcaspia  in   1898 

The  intense  activity  displayed  in  railway  construction 
did  not  imply  neglect  of  the  primary  duty  of  a  civilised 
state  towards  subject  peoples — that  of  giving  them  peace 
and  order.  The  problem  before  the  Russian  administra- 
tion bristled  with  difficulties,  for  lawless  habits  were 
ingrained  in  the  population  of  Turkomania.  The  lesson 
taught  by  Geok  Teppe  was  the  first  step  in  the  civilising 
process,  for  it  inspired  the  Tekkes,  who  outnumber  all 
other  tribes  combined,  with  a  wholesome  dread  of  the 
white  man.^  Their  marauding  instincts  were  controlled 
by  overwhelming  military  forces  cantoned  near  the 
Persian  and  Afghan  frontiers  in  posts  connected  by  the 
line  of  rail  which  traverses  the  heart  of  the  conquered 
territory.  Thus  the  Turkoman  tribes  had  to  choose 
between  starvation  and  honest  labour.  They  unwillingly 
adopted  the  latter  alternative,  and  their  good  resolutions 
were  strengthened  by  the  immense  demand  for  unskilled 
labour  entailed  by  the  construction  of  the  Transcaspian 
Railway.  The  erstwhile  robbers  may  now  be  seen 
toiling  at  cotton  -  presses,  and  tilling  their  fields  as 
assiduously  as   Indian  peasants.     But  the  demeanour  of 

*  Colonel  Arandarenko,  district  chief  of  Merv,  states  that  only  two 
assassinations  of  Russian  officials  had  occurred  during  the  last  thirty  years. 
General  Kurapatkine,  too,  gives  numerous  instances  of  kindness  and  respect 
shown  to  disabled  Russians  by  Turkomans  (see  Appendix  II.). 

S20 


AD.  1898.1  TRANSCASPIA  IN  1898  321 

the  elder  men  show  that  they  have  not  been  effectually 
tamed ;  and  until  the  generation  which  harried  Persia 
and  defied  the  "  Great  White  Tsar  "  has  passed  away,  the 
old  leaven  will  still  prevail  in  Turkoman  breasts.  The 
influence  of  the  hereditary  chieftains  was  the  great  obstacle 
in  the  path  of  reform.  The  Russians  resolved  to  suppress 
the  tribal  organisation  with  its  general  councils,  and  make 
the  village  the  administrative  unit.  In  other  respects  the 
Whig  watchword,  the  "  Government  of  the  People  by 
the  People,"  is  that  of  the  Russian  Government. 

Transcaspia,  for  so  the  land  of  the  Turkomans  is 
officially  styled,  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Khivan 
and  the  Kirghiz  steppes.  Southwards  it  is  separated  by 
mountain  ranges  from  Persia  and  Afghanistan ;  while  the 
Amu  Darya  and  the  Caspian  define  its  limits  on  the  east 
and  west.  In  length  it  averages  600  miles,  in  breadth 
350;  the  area  being  230,000  square  miles,  or  rather 
more  than  that  of  France.  It  is  a  land  of  startling 
contrasts.  The  northern  portion,  amounting  to  four- 
fifths  of  the  whole,  is  a  trackless  desert ;  the  remainder  is 
made  up  of  the  oases  of  Akkal  and  Merv,  and  the  high- 
lands watered  by  the  Atrak  and  Gurgan.  The  only 
minerals  hitherto  discovered  are  rock-salt,  sulphur,  and 
naphtha,  and  the  latter  alone  has  any  commercial  import- 
ance. The  south-east  corner  of  the  Caspian  is  a  region 
of  geysers,  petroleum  springs,  and  hills  of  asphalt,  which 
may  in  time  rival  the  wonderful  tract  surrounding  Baku 
on  the  western  shore.  At  present,  attempts  at  explora- 
tion are  confined  to  Cheleken  Island,  in  the  Bay  of  Kras- 
novodsk,  and  have  met  with  indifferent  success.^  In  the 
absence  of  mineral  wealth,  local  industries  are  restricted 
to  agriculture  and  stock-raising.  Hea\'y  crops  of  barley, 
juwari  {sorghum),  and  cotton  are  produced  by  irrigated 

^  Messrs.  Nobel  have  works  there  which  produce  a  thick  ropy  petroleum. 
The  out-turn  in  1890  was  nearly  3000  tons,  but  had  fallen  in  1895  to  I3C». 


322  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  ia.d.  1898. 

land  everywhere,  and  the  exports  of  the  latter  to  Russia 
are  enormous.^  The  bulk  of  the  live  stock  belongs  to 
the  nomad  tribes,  and  it  is  rising  in  value.  The  Turko- 
mans owned  £$,  ys.  worth  per  head  of  the  population  in 
1890;  £y  worth  in  1896,  This  growth  has  taken  place 
in  spite  of  epidemics  due  to  the  terrible  winters  of  the 
northern  steppes.  The  Mangishlak  peninsula,  embracing 
the  Ust  Urt  Desert,  so  fatal  to  Bekovitch's  expedition,  lost 
40  per  cent,  of  its  cattle  and  sheep  from  cold  and  starva- 
tion in  1890.  Horses,  on  the  other  hand,  are  decreasing 
in  number  and  quality,  for  the  repression  of  raids  by  the 
strong  arm  of  the  law  has  destroyed  the  demand  for 
them.  The  deterioration  has  engaged  the  serious  atten- 
tion of  the  Russian.  A  committee  appointed  to  inquire 
into  the  cause  recommended  that  the  Turkoman  breed 
should  be  encouraged  by  prize  competitions  and  the 
introduction  of  English  and  Arab  blood.  But  the  law 
governing  supply  and  demand  cannot  be  long  evaded, 
and  we  are  within  measurable  distance  of  the  extinction 
of  this  incomparable  strain.  Domestic  industries,  as 
in  old  times,  are  confined  to  the  women,  for  their 
lords  and  masters  disdain  sedentary  labour.  The  manu- 
facture of  carpets  heads  the  list.  Three-fourths  of  these 
are  still  made  at  Merv,  where  the  variety  of  designs, 
handed  down  from  long-past  generations,  and  never 
committed  to  paper,  is  bewildering.  Here,  too,  the 
Russian  conquest  has  brought  with  it  a  blight,  for  the 
hideous  aniline  dyes  exported  from  German  chemical 
works  are  supplanting  the  beautiful  and  durable  colours 
extracted  from  indigo  and  other  vegetable  substances. 
Exports  have  fallen  considerably  during  the  last  seven 

^  The  movement  by  rail  in  1896  was  upwards  of  60,000  tons.  Trans- 
caspian  cotton  is  rapidly  ousting  the  American  product,  thanks  to  protec- 
tive tariff.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  market  price  of  cotton  is  higher 
in  Transcaspia  than  at  Manchester. 


■<^? 


s1!^^ 


t/f*   /t^y0^^C<y^x^y»^if^^ 


GENERAL   KUKAPATKINE 


A.D.1898.]  TRANSCASPIA  IN  1898  323 

years,^  and  the  case  is  the  same  with  the  embroidery, 
shawls,  and  dress  fabrics  once  produced  in  thousands  by 
the  deft  fingers  of  Turkoman  maidens.  The  nomads, 
who  constitute  the  vast  bulk  of  the  population,  have  not 
yet  taken  kindly  to  commerce.  The  people  of  Merv, 
indeed,  accompany  the  caravans  which  still  ply  between 
the  oasis,  Persia,  and  Khiva,  but  3  per  cent,  only  of  the 
merchants  and  shopkeepers  of  Transcaspia  are  Turkomans." 

Until  I  890  Transcaspia  was  a  province  of  the  Caucasus, 
but  in  that  year  it  was  constituted  a  government,  and 
intrusted  to  the  care  of  General  Alexis  Kurapatkine. 

No  living  soldier  has  had  a  more  brilliant  career. 
It  began  at  the  storming  of  Samarkand  in  1868,  when, 
as  a  sub-lieutenant  of  the  Turkestan  Rifles,  he  won  the 
Orders  of  St.  Stanislaus  and  St.  Anne  for  special  gallantry. 
Three  years  later  he  was  premoted  lieutenant-captain, 
and  entered  the  Military  Staff  College  for  a  course  of 
special  training,  which  lasted  till  1874.  Then,  having 
attained  the  rank  of  captain,  he  was  posted  to  the 
Turkestan  Staff.  In  the  following  year  he  was  despatched 
on  a  special  mission  to  Germany  and  France,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  took  part  in  an  expedition  from 
Algiers  into  the  Sahara,  and  became  a  Knight  of  the 
Legion  of  Honour.  Returning  to  his  old  love,  Turkestan, 
he  was  employed  in  1876  in  the  reduction  of  Tashkent, 
and  gained  the  crosses  of  St.  George  and  St.  Vladimir. 
In  the  same  year  he  was  sent  as  envoy  to  Ya'kub  Beg,  a 
Mohammedan  chieftain  who  had  wrested  Kashghar  from 
the  Chinese,  and  obtained  the  cession  of  the  town  and 
district  of  Karashara.     In  1877  came  the  Russo-Turkish 

^  The  value  of  exported  carpets  and  rugs  in  189 1  was  i6o,cxx>  roubles.  In 
1894  it  had  fallen  to  60,000,  and  is  now  probably  25,000  only. 

'  The  official  statistics  for  1896  give  the  following  percentages  : — Persians, 
39.2;  Armenians,  32.2;  Tartars,  11. 7;  Russians,  6.8;  Jews,  5.0;  Turko- 
mans, 3  ;  and  "others,"  2.1. 


324  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1898. 

War,  and  the  Tsar  needed  the  help  of  his  best  and  bravest 
soldiers  to  hold  his  own  against  the  stubborn  Nizams. 
Kurapatkine  became  lieutenant-colonel  and  chief  of  the 
Staff  under  General  Skobeleff,  commanding  the  i6th 
Division.  He  covered  himself  with  glory  at  Lovsha,  in 
the  expedition  to  the  Green  Mountain,  and  at  Plevna ; 
and  gained  the  rank  of  colonel,  with  more  of  those 
baubles  so  dear  to  the  military  heart.  In  1879  he 
exchanged  the  sword  for  the  pen,  and  became  professor 
of  Military  Statistics  at  the  Staff  College.  But  he  pined, 
as  all  true  soldiers  must,  for  active  service,  and  his  wish 
was  speedily  gratified.  He  was  appointed  commandant 
of  his  old  corps,  the  Turkestan  Rifles,  and  in  1880  com- 
manded as  brigadier-general  in  the  reduction  of  Kulja. 
Towards  the  close  of  that  year  he  was  sent  in  charge  of 
reinforcements  to  General  Skobeleff,  then  engaged  in  a 
death-struggle  with  the  Tekkes  of  the  Akkal  oasis.  His 
prowess  in  that  memorable  campaign  has  been  already 
noticed.  In  the  next  eight  years  he  was  attached  to  the 
St.  Petersburg  Staff,  and  was  employed  in  framing 
schemes  for  mobilisation  and  the  defence  of  the  western 
frontier  of  the  empire.  He  also  gained  the  Tsar's  special 
thanks  for  his  services  on  a  commission  for  settling 
the  system  of  government  in  Turkestan.  As  governor 
and  commander-in-chief  of  Transcaspia  he  showed  that 
he  possessed  a  rare  combination  of  the  qualities  which 
adorn  civil  life  as  well  as  win  battles. 

His  methods  were  based  on  an  intimate  knowledge  of 
native  character,  and  a  keen  appreciation  of  its  noble 
qualities ;  and  on  his  translation,  in  the  beginning  of 
1898,  to  the  great  office  of  Minister  of  War,  he  left 
behind  him  the  reputation  of  a  firm  but  sympathetic 
ruler.^       The    charge    for    which    he    had    laboured    so 

^  Mr.  E.  C.  Ringler  Thomson,  late  assistant  agent  to  the  Governor- 
General  of  India  in  Khorasan,  who  knows  General  Kurapatkine  well,  wrote 


A.D.  ,898.  TRANSCASPIA  IN  1898  325 

strenuously  then  became  a  province  of  Turkestan,  and 
was  placed  under  the  control  of  the  governor-general 
residing  at  Tashkent. 

Transcaspia  is  divided  for  administrative  purposes 
into  five  districts — Mangishlak  and  Krasnovodsk,  on  the 
Caspian  littoral ;  Askabad,  which  includes  the  Akkal 
oasis  ;  Taj  and,  watered  by  the  river  of  that  name ;  and 
Merv.  At  the  head  of  each  is  a  military  officer,  termed 
the  district  chief,  who  is  responsible  for  the  executive 
and  fiscal  administration.    The  districts  are  parcelled  out 


thus  of  him  in  the  Naiiotial  Review  for  February  189S  :  "  He  is  still  in  the 
prime  of  life,  not  yet  fiftj-  years  of  age,  has  ser\-ed  firom  the  commencement  of 
his  career  in  Central  Asia,  has  taken  a  leading  part  in  its  conquest,  and  has 
made  some  important  contributions  towards  its  literature.  He  thoroughly 
knows  the  various  countries,  and  thoroughly  understands  the  people  inhabiting 
them,  and  their  modes  of  diplomsrcy  and  warfare.  He  was  chief  of  the 
Stafif  to  the  great  SkobelefF  during  the  Russo-Turkish  War,  and  greatly 
distinguished  himself  in  it.  Indeed  there  is  little  doubt  that  some  of 
SkobelefFs  laurels  were  won  by  him.  Skobeleff  was  the  dashing,  impetuous, 
reckless  leader ;  Kurapatkine  the  cool,  patient,  calculating  corrective  who 
restrained  him.  He  is  a  man  of  indomitable  will,  of  untiring  industr)-, 
master  of  his  profession  as  a  soldier,  a  great  civil  administrator,  deliberate  of 
speech,  exceedingly  gentle  and  modest  in  manner,  and  with  a  temper  always 
under  control.  He  wears  the  first  class  of  the  Order  of  Saint  George 
(equivalent  to  our  Victoria  Cross),  and  his  courage  is  of  the  type  which  does 
not  comprehend  fear.  He  is  the  strictest  of  disciplinarians,  but  beloved  and 
respected  by  all,  and  his  own  good  qualities  are  perforce  in  a  great  measure 
reflected  in  those  ser\'ing  under  him.  He  is,  indeed,  the  equal  in  every 
respect  of  any  commander  we  could  place  in  the  field  to  oppose  him. 
General  Kurapatkine  has  brought  Transcaspia  in  all  matters,  both  civil  and 
militar)-,  to  a  high  state  of  perfection.  He  works  from  sunrise  till  late  into 
ihe  night,  inquires  personally  into  the  minutest  details,  and  finds  time  to  be 
constantly  making  long  and  fatiguing  journeys  of  inspection  throughout  his 
extensive  command.  This  man,  if  he  took  the  field  against  us,  would  be 
hard  to  beat.  He  has  told  me  more  than  once  that  he  has  seen  too  much 
of  war  not  to  hate  it,  that  neither  he  nor  his  Government  have  the  least 
desire  to  fight  us,  and  to  suggest  that  they  wish  to  invade  India  is  absurd. 
I  believe  him.  But  all  the  same,  he  is  a  Russian  of  Russians,  and,  if  he 
thought  there  was  just  cause  for  it,  would  delight  in  trying  conclusions  with 
us.  In  diplomacy,  of  course.  General  Kurapatkine  is  a  thoroughbred 
Russian." 


336  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [ad.  ,8,8. 

into  pristatvos,  or  subdivisions,^  created  in  order  to 
facilitate  police  work,  and  again  into  groups  of  twenty- 
five  villages  for  judicial  purposes.  The  village,  which,  as 
we  have  remarked,  is  the  administrative  unit,  is  called,  if 
permanent,  volost;  and  if  inhabited  by  nomads,  aiil.  It 
is  governed  by  a  mayor,  on  the  old  Russian  model,  termed 
volostnoi,  or  aiilnoi,  as  the  case  might  be,  but  more 
commonly  stars hina?  The  village  chiefs  who  replaced 
the  Khans  of  old  time  are  elected  by  the  inhabitants, 
subject  to  the  governor's  veto.  General  Kurapatkine's 
attention  was,  at  an  early  stage,  directed  to  the  defects 
of  the  judicial  mechanism,  which  was  wholly  independent 
of  the  executive  power,  and  directed  by  a  pro- 
fessional lawyer  sent  out  from  St.  Petersburg,  The 
Supreme  Court  sat  at  Baku,  and  appellants  had  then 
to  face  a  journey  of  200  miles  across  the  stormy 
Caspian. 

In  1892  General  Kurapatkine  formed  a  Supreme 
Court,  which  sits  at  Askabad  and  disposes  of  appeals  from 
the  decisions  of  the  lower  tribunals.  It  consists  of  five 
judges,  and  observes  the  rules  of  procedure  and  evidence 
current  in  Revision  Courts.  In  causes  involving  native 
law  arrd  custom,  popular  judges  from  the  Courts  below 
are  summoned  to  attend  as  assessors  ;  while  Kazis,  natives 
versed  in  Mohammedan  law,  are  called  in  as  experts 
when  questions  of  marriage  and  inheritance  are  concerned. 
The  sentences  in  cases  of  gravity,  such  as  murder,  are 
subject  to  the  governor's  approval.  Next  in  order  to 
the  Judicial  Commission,  as  that  body  is  called,  are  the 
District  Courts,  consisting  of  the  chief  aided  by  five 
"  popular  judges  "  selected  from  the  personnel  of  the  lower 
Courts.     These  latter  hold  session  weekly  at  the  head- 

^  Krasnovodsk  has  two.     They  are  administered  by  subordinate  executive 
officers  called  pristavs. 

^  The  Russian  equivalent  for  mayor. 


A.D.i«9i)  TRANSCASPIA  IN   1898  327 

quarters  of  each  group  of  twenty-five  villages.  They  are 
comprised  of  five  "  candidates,"  judges  elected  by  the 
inhabitants  of  every  village,  who  sit  in  rotation.  These 
Courts  of  first  instance  bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  the 
panchayat  system  of  ancient  India,  which  has  been  so 
cruelly  shorn  of  its  powers  for  good  by  a  mistaken  policy 
of  centralisation.  Their  capacity  in  criminal  cases 
extends  to  the  infliction  of  fines  of  100  roubles  and 
three  weeks'  "  imprisonment."  On  the  civil  side  they 
try,  without  appeal,  cases  in  which  the  value  of  the 
subject-matter  is  less  than  200  roubles.  Further  reforms 
are  in  contemplation.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  lower 
Courts  will  be  extended  —  Kazis  will  be  excluded, 
and  local  experts  summoned  in  cases  of  marriage  and 
inheritance.  But,  such  as  it  is,  the  Russian  system 
has  worked  with  remarkable  smoothness.  It  recognises 
the  innate  capacity  for  self-government  which  every 
Eastern  race  possesses,  while  the  village  organisation 
remains  intact;  and  has  thus  gained  the  entire  confid- 
ence of  the  people.  The  duty  of  preserving  order  and 
execution  of  the  Courts'  decrees  vests  in  the  district 
chief,  the  pristatvos  and  the  starshinas  in  their  several 
degrees.  In  the  quinquennial  period  ending  with 
1895  they  brought  3436  offenders  to  justice,  a  pro- 
portion of  nearly  25  per  cent,  of  the  population. 
It  is  undeniable  that  in  the  eastern  districts  crime  is 
far  more  rife  than  on  the  Caspian.  Merv  had  1450 
offenders  during  the  five  years,  as  compared  with 
419  convicted  at  Krasnovodsk.  The  classification  of 
crimes  affords  curious  results.  The  offences  against 
person  and  property  nearly  balanced  each  other  in 
the  Caspian  districts,  while  the  contrary  is  the 
case  at  Merv.  Charges  of  theft  constituted  the  great 
bulk  of  Transcaspian  crime;  cattle-lifting  came  next 
in    order    of    importance,    followed    by   wounding    and 


328 


THE  HEART  OF  ASIA 


[a.d.  i8 


murder.^  Capital  punishment  has  been  abolished  through- 
out the  empire,  except  in  cases  of  treason.  Murderers 
are  transported  by  rail  and  steamer  to  the  Russian  penal 
settlements  on  the  North- West  Pacific.^  As  is  the  case 
in  India,  the  volume  of  crime  varies  directly  with  that 
of  population.  The  tract  in  the  Caspian  is  sparsely 
inhabited,  while  in  Merv  the  population  is  comparatively 
thick.  Broadly  speaking,  the  numbers  rise  with  the 
distance  from  the  barren  seashore.  The  total  population 
of  the  province  was  235,600  in  1890,  and  300,769  in 
1895,  showing  an  increase  of  65,169,  or  nearly  26 
per  cent.  The  growth  of  the  Kirghiz  community  during 
the  same  period  was  no  less  than  60  per  cent.  The 
Tekke  Turkomans  are  still  the  most  numerous  class  of 
the  population  ;  ^  then,  at  a  long  interval,  the  Sariks  and 

^  The  statistics  for  1890- 1895  are  given  below  : — 


District. 

Crimes  against 

Percentage  of 

Crime  to 

Population. 

23 
14 
27 
41 
22 

the  Person. 

Property. 

Mangishlak 

Krasnovodsk 

Askabad    .... 

Tajand       .... 

Merv          .... 

273 
147 
213 
104 

537 

239 
315 
206 
416 
913 

Total     . 

1271 

2089 

25 

^  Murderers  are  sometimes  sent  to  serve  their  term  of  imprisonment  at 
Chikisliar,  a  dismal  place  on  the  south-eastern  Caspian  shore,  made  to 
enhance  the  penalty  and  also  to  lessen  the  opportunity  for  vendetta,  to  which 
the  Turkomans  are  greatly  given. 

^  They  numbered,  in  1895,  161,618  souls.  It  is  curious  to  compare  these 
figures  with  former  calculations.  Burnes,  in  1832,  estimated  the  number  of 
Tekkes  as  200,000  ;  Vambery,  in  1863,  as  180,000  ;  and  Petrusevitch,  writing 
in  1878  on  the  eve  of  the  Russian  conquest,  at  240,000.     But  these  figures 


A.D.  i8g8.]  TRANSCASPIA  IN  1898  329 

the  Yomuds,  a  large  proportion  of  whom  roam  over 
Persian  as  well  as  Russian  territory.  Persistent  attempts 
have  been  made  of  late  years  to  encourage  Russian 
immigration,  but  with  indifferent  success.  Each  family 
of  new-comers  is  allowed  a  subsidy  of  100  roubles, 
besides  seed-corn  and  land  rent  free.  But  the  climatic 
conditions  are  unfavourable,  and  the  water-supply  is 
unsuited  to  the  European  constitution.  In  1892  one- 
fifth  of  the  immigrants  succumbed  to  cholera,  and  they 
suffer  terribly  from  malarial  fever.^  As  traders  the 
Russians  cannot  compete  successfully  with  the  astute 
Armenian  and  Persian  exploiters  of  Transcaspia.  The 
Russian  immigrants,  who  are  mostly  railway  servants, 
are  3452  in  number,  not  reckoning  labourers  who  arrive 
at  the  beginning  of  winter  and  return  home  before  the 
fearful  tropical  heats  set  in.  The  rest  are  scattered  in 
the  mountains  south  of  Askabad  on  the  Afghan  frontier 
and  the  Caspian  shore.  There  are  ten  colonies  of 
agriculturists,  and  three  of  fishermen,  with  a  total 
strength  of  2174  souls.  The  besetting  curse  of  these 
little  settlements  is  drunkenness.  General  Kurapatkine, 
who  strove  during  his  whole  term  of  office  to  foster 
Russian  colonisation,  endeavoured  to  check  this  vice  by 
prohibiting  the  sale  of  spirits ;  but  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
enforced  abstinence  has  only  made  the  exiles'  lot  more 
forlorn,  and  their  periodical  outbursts  more  bestial.  A 
semi-tropical  climate  and  a  soil  either  barren  or  saturated 
with  malarial  poison  is  not,  and  can  never  be,  adapted 
to  the  children  of  the  icy  north. 

The   increase   in   population,   large   as   it    has    been 

are  mere  guesswork.  They  are  based  on  an  average  of  five  persons  to  each 
kibitka,  or  tent,  while  experience  shows  that  four  is  nearer  the  mark 
(chap.  iii.  Mar\4n's  Merv). 

^  The  families  of  the  operatives  of  the  Kizil  Arvat  Railway  workshops, 
especially  the  children,  are  pallid,  anaemic,  and  a  prey  to  skin  diseases. 


330  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  iSgs. 

under  Russian  rule,  would  have  been  still  greater  but  for 
the  prevalence  of  intermittent  fever.  That  this  scourge 
is  connected  with  irrigation  is  beyond  doubt,  for  the 
western  districts,  where  water  is  scarce,  are  comparatively 
free  from  it;  while  in  Tajand  30,  and  in  Merv  85,  per 
cent,  of  the  applications  for  medical  relief  were  due  to 
intermittent  fevers.^  The  conditions  prevailing  in  the 
irrigated  tracts  are  precisely  the  same  as  those  in  Central 
Bengal,  which  is  in  process  of  being  slowly  depopulated 
by  malarial  fevers.  In  both  countries  we  have  a  water- 
logged subsoil,  due  in  the  one  case  to  excessive  rainfall  and 
inundations  from  the  rivers ;  in  the  other,  to  the  presence 
of  a  network  of  irrigating  channels.  The  lesson  to  be 
learnt  by  administrators  of  both  provinces  is  the  necessity 
of  providing  drainage.  Smallpox  was  as  fatal  in  Trans- 
caspia  as  malarial  fever.  Epidemics  recurred  almost 
annually,  and  50  per  cent,  of  the  children  were  slain 
or  disfigured  by  the  pest.  One  of  the  first  steps  taken 
by  the  Russians  was  to  introduce  vaccination.  They 
encountered  a  vast  amount  of  prejudice,  especially  among 
the  priesthood,  but  the  value  of  the  boon  conferred  on 
suffering  humanity  by  Jenner  has  long  been  recognised. 
Vaccination  is  decidedly  popular,  and  as  a  consequence 
smallpox  is  almost  unknown.^  Enteric  fever,  which  is 
increasing  in  an  alarming  ratio  in  Indian  garrisons,  is  rare 
in  Transcaspian  cantonments,  and  unknown  elsewhere  in 
that  province.      Epidemics  of  cholera  are  also  uncommon. 

^  The  percentages  in  1895  were — in  Mangishlak,  1 1  per  cent. ;  Krasnovodsk, 
1 1  per  cent.  ;  Askabad,  1 1  per  cent.  ;  Tajand,  30  per  cent.  ;  and  Merv, 
85  per  cent.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  hospitals  and  dispensaries 
maintained  so  generously  by  Russia  at  the  administrative  centres  have  con- 
quered the  prejudice  entertained  at  first  for  European  treatment.  The 
applicants  for  medical  and  surgical  relief  in  1890  were  only  6000.  In  1895 
the  number  had  risen  to  34,950. 

2  This  would  be  an  object-lesson  for  the  "  Conscientious  objector,"  were 
it  not  that  fanaticism  is  impervious  to  teaching  or  argument. 


A.D.  1898.1  TRANSCASPIA  IN  1898  331 

The  last  took  place  in  1892,  when  the  infection  was 
introduced  from  India  by  way  of  Herat.  It  ravaged 
Meshed,  the  capital  of  Khorasan,  in  May,  and  reached 
Askabad  on  the  ist  June,  having  travelled  1 00  miles  in 
eighteen  days  ;  thence  it  followed  the  line  of  rail,  causing 
a  mortality  of  1859  out  of  3471  attacks.  The  health 
of  the  Russian  troops  in  Central  i\sia  is,  as  might  be 
expected,  less  satisfactory  than  that  of  the  civil  popula- 
tion. The  annual  admissions  to  hospital  during  the  six 
years  ending  with  1895  were  no  less  than  705  per  mille ; 
the  deaths,  12.5  ;  while  20.2  were  discharged  as  unfit  for 
further  service.  Thus  the  loss  by  death  and  incurable 
disease  to  the  Russian  army  serving  in  Transcaspia 
exceeds  3  per  cent,  annually. 

Readers  who  have  fallowed  our  description  of  the 
physical  conditions  encountered  in  Transcaspia  will  have 
grasped  the  fact  that  its  tillage  depends  wholly  on  the 
timely  supply  of  water  by  artificial  means.  The  Turko- 
man farmer  is  not,  like  his  European  comrade,  at  the 
mercy  of  the  seasons,  for  he  taps  the  rivers  and  streams 
descending  from  the  Persian  and  Afghan  highlands, 
which  enjoy  a  fairly  constant  rainfall.^  Dams  erected  in 
channels  give  a  "  head  "  of  water  which  is  drawn  off  into 
distributories  or  arlks,  and  these,  again,  are  subdivided 
into  tiny  rills  which  afford  to  every  plot  of  cultivated  land 
its  portion  of  the  precious  fluid.  The  parent  stream 
thus  gradually  loses  its  speed  and  volume,  and  finally 
disappears  in  the  arid  desert  sands.  Where  visible 
water  is  not  met  with,  the  springs  on  the  mountain 
flanks  are  reached  by  a  system  of  tunnelling.  A  well 
is  sunk  at  a  higher  level  than  the  area  to  be  irrigated, 
and,  when  water  is  found,  a  lateral  tunnel  is  excavated 

^  For  the  system  of  irrigation  before  the  Russian  conquest,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  chap,  xviii.  of  O'Donovan's  Story  of  Men;  and  p.  8i  of  Marvin's 
Merv. 


332  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  ,898. 

which  carries  the  subterranean  water  several  hundred 
feet  nearer  its  object.  At  its  extremity  another  well  is 
dug,  and  the  piercing  process  is  repeated  till  the  thirsty- 
tract  is  reached.  A  well-known  natural  law  compels  the 
water  in  the  last  of  the  chain  of  wells  to  rise  to  the 
level  of  that  first  sunk ;  and  thus  a  head  is  formed  which 
supplies  a  system  of  distributors.  The  method  is  known 
as  the  Persian,  and  is  of  extreme  antiquity.  So  great  is 
the  skill  of  the  older  labourers  practising  it  that  the  mole- 
like excavations  in  which  they  work  are  barely  two  feet 
in  diameter  by  four  in  height. 

On  assuming  the  government  of  Transcaspia,  the 
Russians  made  a  special  study  of  this  all-important  ques- 
tion, and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  impossible 
to  improve  on  the  methods  evolved  by  ages  of  practical 
experience.  Their  policy,  therefore,  as  regards  irrigation, 
has  been  one  of  non-interference.  Steps  were  taken  to 
prevent  cultivators  in  the  Persian  and  Afghan  territory 
from  tampering  with  the  sources  of  the  water-supply. 
A  chief  engineer  is  posted  at  the  provincial  capital, 
Askabad,  and  subordinate  ones  at  the  district  head- 
quarters ;  but  their  functions  are  limited  to  suggesting 
improvements  and  supervising  the  repairs  to  canals  and 
distributories.  The  task  of  allotting  the  water-supply 
was  left  in  the  hands  of  the  Mlrab,^  a  native  official 
elected  by  the  inhabitants  of  every  village  dependent  on 
irrigation.  His  operations  are  guided  by  the  average 
quantity  of  water  required  by  individual  peasants.  The 
unit  is  termed  5z7,"  and  is  by  no  means  a  constant 
quantity.  In  some  parts  it  implies  the  volume  of  water 
sufficient  to  irrigate  a  given  area,  varying  between  one 
and  five  acres.     In  Merv  the   Su  implies  the  quantity 

^  Mirab,  lord  of  water,  an  old  Persian  title. 

2  S77  is  a  Turkish  word  for  water.     It  is  met  with  in  the  nomenclature 
of  many  streams  near  Constantinople. 


A.D.1898.]  TRANSCASPIA  IN  1898  333 

which  flows  in  two  hours  through  a  distributory  dis- 
charging water  at  the  rate  of  i  ^  quarts  per  second.  In 
Tajand  it  is  equivalent  to  the  needs  of  an  average  garden, 
or  to  a  discharge  of  half  a  gallon  per  second.  In  many- 
parts  of  the  Merv  and  Akkal  oasis  the  process  is  simpli- 
fied by  the  existence  of  associations  of  peasants,  termed 
Artel,  each  of  whom  receives  a  Sarkdr}  or  head  of  water, 
consisting  of  8  to  36  Su.  The  ordinary  irrigation 
channels  are  held  in  common  by  the  villages  which  they 
supply,  but  wells  and  underground  aqueducts  vest  in  the 
person  who  excavates  them  and  in  his  heirs.  The 
Russians  have  shown  great  practical  wisdom  in  avoiding 
unnecessary  interference  with  a  system  so  complex ;  for 
an  attempt  at  stringent  control  would  bring  them  in 
contact  with  fierce  prejudices  and  lead  to  loss  of  prestige. 
Turning  from  the  system  to  its  operation,  we  find 
the  most  important  works  connected  with  the  Murghab, 
that  ancient  source  of  Merv's  prosperity.  It  rises  in 
Afghanistan,  as  do  its  confluents,  the  Kashan  and  Kushk, 
a  fact  which  places  the  Merv  oasis  at  the  mercy  of  the 
Amir.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  the  next  rectifica- 
tion of  frontier  demanded  by  Russia  will  comprise  the 
whole  watershed  of  these  streams.  The  course  of  the 
Murghab  in  Russian  territory  is  530  miles  long;  its 
breadth  at  Merv  is  84  feet,  and  its  depth  7.  The 
Panjdih  oasis,  with  a  cultivated  area  of  75,000  acres, 
owes  its  fertility  to  this  river,  whose  waters  are  confined 
by  a  dam  called  the  Kawshut  Khan  Band.  Farther  north 
we  have  the  Yolatan  oasis,  inhabited  by  Sarik  Turko- 
mans, with  another  huge  dam,  known  as  the  Kazi 
Keui  Band,  affording  water  to  125,000  acres,  at  a 
velocity  of  1500  feet  per  second.  Near  its  site  are  the 
ruins  of  the  Sultan  Band,  a  work  far  vaster  than  any  of 

^  A  Persian  word  meaning,  primarily,  government ;  secondarily,  an  estate 
or  property. 


334  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a. d.  1898. 

the  present  day.  It  gave  a  head  of  28  feet,  and  made 
the  fields  and  gardens  of  Old  Merv  the  most  fertile 
region  on  the  globe's  surface.  The  Sultan  Band  was 
destroyed  in  1784  by  the  Amir  Murad  of  Bokhara/ 
a  piece  of  vandalism  which  ruined  Merv's  prosperity 
and  made  it  a  robbers'  lair.  Just  a  century  later  the 
Tsar,  to  whose  private  estates  the  site  of  Old  Merv 
belongs,  ordered  the  construction  of  an  anicut  1 3  miles 
up  stream.  The  work  was  carried  out  by  Colonel  Kash- 
talinski,  superintendent  of  the  state  domains  at  Bahram 
'Ali,  the  first  railway  station  east  of  modern  Merv.  It 
includes  a  dam  which  gives  a  14  feet  head  of  water, 
and  is  connected  with  a  series  of  storage  basins  feeding 
a  central  canal  20  miles  long.  This,  in  its  turn, 
supplies  35  miles  of  secondary  canals  and  105  of  dis- 
tributories.  The  area  thus  irrigated  amounts  to  15,000 
acres,  5000  of  which  are  under  cotton,  and  3675  grow 
wheat  and  barley.  The  whole  is  let  out  to  Turkomans 
and  Bokharans,  and  the  mountains  of  cotton  waiting  for 
transport  by  rail  in  the  season  are  a  standing  proof  of 
the  excellence  of  the  crops ;  the  return  is  indeed  said 
to  be  not  far  short  of  a  hundredfold.  So  great  is  the  de- 
mand for  farms  that  the  natives  compete  for  the  privilege 
of  holding  one  at  a  rent  in  kind  amounting  to  a  quarter 
of  the  gross  produce.  In  spite  of  prohibitions,  sub- 
letting is  very  rife,  and  the  same  plot  supports  several 
families.  The  cost  of  these  splendid  operations  was 
about  ;^ 1 05,000,  an  expenditure  which  was  declared  by 
an  eminent  English  authority  on  irrigation  to  be  one- 
fifth  of  what  a  similar  work  would  entail  in  India.  It 
is  in  contemplation  to  restore  the  Sultan  Band,  at  a  cost 
estimated   at   i^2 10,000.      There  can   be  few  better  in- 

^  Marvin's  Merv,  p.  263.  The  date  is  there  given  as  1 787  ;  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  invasion  of  Murad,  alias  Ma'sum,  commonly  styled  "  Begi  Jan,"  took 
place  three  years  earlier. 


A.D.I898.)  TRANSCASPIA  IN  1898  335 

vestments  for  capital  than  one  which  will  restore  to  the 
brightest  jewel  of  Russia's  Asiatic  diadem  a  portion  of 
her  ancient  splendour. 

The   policy   of  laissez-faire   has    been    extended    by 
Russian   administration    to    popular    education.       Every 
village  of  importance  has  its  Maktab,^  or  primary  school, 
where  a  modicum  of  corrupt  Persian  and  Arabic  is  com- 
bined with  an  inordinate  amount  of  parrot-like  repetition 
of  passages  from  the  Koran.     In  1893  these  numbered 
179,  with  an  attendance  of  2629  boys  and    331  girls. 
The  teachers  generally  belong  to  the  priestly  class,  which 
in  old  days  enjoyed  less  authority  than  in  any  Moham- 
medan country.      Since  the  Russian  invasion  their  occult 
influence   has    increased, ,  and    it    is   not   exerted    in    the 
invaders'  favour.      Throughout  Islam,  indeed,  the  mullas 
are   irreconcilable   enemies   to   Western   progress,  and   a 
recent  rebellion   in   Farghana  has   led   many  experts  to 
doubt  whether  tenderness  to  indigenous   institutions  has 
not  been  carried  too  far ;   for  the  Maktabs  are  forcing- 
grounds  for  the  Madrasas,  or  colleges,  which  are  to  be 
found  at  every  district  headquarters,  and  are  centres  of 
obscure   intrigue.      Russian    education    has    indeed    ad- 
vanced with  giant  strides.     The  first  school  in  which  the 
difficult  tongue  of  the  conqueror  was  taught  dates  from 
1882,  when  this  was  opened  at  Kizil  Arvat  for  the  rail- 
way staff.     Mdlle.  Komaroff,  daughter  of  the  first  military 
governor,  founded  one  in  that  headquarter  in  1884.      It 
has  now  become  the  "  Town  School,"  with    1 84  pupils, 
including  62  natives.      In  1890  there  were  but  5  schools 
throughout  the  provinces,  with  an   attendance  of   395. 
General    Kurapatkine   has   spared    no   effort   during   his 
long  term  of  office  to  promote  Russian  education ;  but, 
until    1 894,  he  encountered  sullen  opposition.     In  that 
year  the  tide  began  to  turn,  and  in  1896  there  were  no 

^  Maktab,  an  Arabic  word  meaning  school. 


336  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  iSgs. 

fewer  than  69  Russian  schools,  with  an  attendance  of 
1 196.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  in  the  best  interest  of  Trans- 
caspia,  that  the  mistake  which  has  had  such  sinister 
results  in  India  will  not  be  repeated  there.  Vernacular 
education  under  close  Russian  supervision  is  far  prefer- 
able to  a  system  which  encourages  a  mechanical  study  of 
an  alien  tongue  by  classes  which  can  never  be  rendered 
better  or  happier  by  its  acquisition. 

The  method  of  collecting  revenue  in  Transcaspia 
displays  the  simplicity  and  reliance  on  native  agency 
which  are  seen  in  other  branches  of  the  administration. 
The  principal  tax  is  one  levied  on  each  "  kibitka,"  a  term 
which  conventionally  includes  fixed  as  well  as  movable 
dwellings.  The  rate  in  force  at  the  present  day  is  six 
roubles,  or  nearly  thirteen  shillings ;  and  the  incidence 
per  head  of  the  population,  assuming  the  kibitka  to 
shelter  five  persons,  is  only  two  shillings  and  sevenpence. 
The  starshina  is  held  responsible  for  the  realisation  of 
an  amount  equivalent  to  the  number  of  kibitkas  in  the 
village  multiplied  by  six,  and  he  pays  the  sum  directly 
into  the  district  treasury.  In  practice  the  tax  is  treated 
as  one  on  income,  and  a  wide  latitude  is  left  to  the 
starshina.  He  reduces  the  demand  from  widows  and 
daily  labourers  to  a  few  pence,  and  exempts  paupers 
altogether;  while  wealthy  families  are  made  to  pay  as 
much  as  £22.  As  the  kibitka  tax  amounts  to  no  more 
than  a  twenty-fifth  of  the  average  family's  earnings,  there 
is  rarely  any  difficulty  in  collecting  the  entire  demand. 
Malversation  is  extremely  rare,  and,  in  one  case  at  least, 
the  villagers  voluntarily  subscribed  a  sum  sufficient  to 
cover  its  mayor's  defalcations.  In  the  Sarakhs  district 
a  different  system  is  in  force.  There  a  tax  is  levied  pro- 
portionately to  the  Su,  or  unit  of  water,  used  in  irrigation. 
Small  excise  duties  are  levied  on  tobacco,  matches,  and 
kerosene  oil,  and  the  owners  of  cattle  driven  from  Persian 


A.0. 1898.1  TRANSCASPIA  IN   1898  337 

territory  to  Transcaspian  grazing-grounds  pay  a  trifle  on 
each  head.  The  only  other  tax  is  one  on  trade,  which 
has  long  been  current  in  the  Central  Asian  Khanates. 
Merchants  who  are  not  Russian  subjects  pay  Government 
one-fortieth  of  the  value  of  wares  received  or  despatched 
by  caravans.  No  budgets  as  we  understand  the  term 
are  published  by  the  provincial  governor ;  for  the  im- 
mense cost  of  the  garrisons  maintained  in  Central  Asia 
should  fairly  be  set  off  against  the  receipts  from  taxation. 
It  is  tolerably  certain,  however,  that  Russia  finds  her 
Asiatic  possessions  a  source  of  heavy  expenditure  from 
the  imperial  treasury,  which  she  is  content  to  endure 
in  view  of  indirect  advantages  which  she  reaps  from 
them.  Their  strategical  value  is  incalculable,  for  they 
place  Persia,  Afghanistan,  and  Western  China  at  her 
mercy ;  while  the  benefit  to  Russian  commerce,  by  the 
daily  increasing  movement  of  goods  on  the  Transcaspian 
railway  system,  is  equally  conspicuous. 

The  proceeds  of  taxation  are  allotted  to  local  as  well 
as  imperial  purposes.  Among  the  former,  roads  are  of 
the  greatest  importance.  The  province  possesses  458  miles 
of  metalled  roads,  exclusive  of  one  constructed  in 
1888  between  Askabad  and  Meshed,  the  capital  of 
Khorasan.  On  this  a  waggon  service  plies  daily,  and 
every  high-road  has  its  line  of  telegraph  wires.  The 
latter  are  connected  with  17  offices,  which  dealt  in  1896 
with  113,434  messages.  There  are  25  postal  stations, 
connected  by  a  series  of  hand  vehicles,  which  in  the  same 
year  cost  nearly  ;!6^5 0,000  sterling.^ 

The  entire  system  of  transport,  however,  is  in  a 
transition  state,  for  the  railway  has  already  revolutionised 
the  mechanism  of  commerce.     Its  length  in  Transcaspian 

^  The  income  from  posts  and  telegraphs  is  increasing,  though  the  statistics 
are  still  insignificant.  It  was  82,832  roubles  in  1890,  and  133,005  roubles  in 
1895. 


338  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a. d.  1898. 

territory  is  663  miles,  and  an  extension  from  Merv  to 
Kushk,  on  the  Afghan  frontier,  a  distance  of  192  miles, 
will  be  completed  before  the  ist  June  1899.  The  old 
caravan  roads  southward  lay  through  Persia  and 
Afghanistan  ;  but  the  insecurity  which  reigns  there,  and 
the  transit  duties  levied,  have  driven  merchants  to  adopt 
the  longer  but  safer  route  by  steamer  and  railway. 
Thus  goods  for  China  and  India  travel  by  way  of 
Bombay,  Batum,  and  Baku.  The  Caspian  is  traversed 
by  steamer,^  and  at  Krasnovodsk  the  railway  is  met  with. 
The  whole  line  was  placed  under  the  charge  of  General 
Kurapatkine  in  1892;  but  on  his  transfer  in  the 
beginning  of  1898  to  the  Ministry  of  War  it  passed 
under  the  control  of  the  Minister  of  Ways  and  Com- 
munications. 

This  necessarily  brief  sketch  of  Transcaspian  ad- 
ministration reveals  an  honest  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
Russians  to  promote  the  material  welfare  of  her  former 
foes.  It  is  too  often  repeated  by  writers  who  are  blinded 
by  political  passion,  or  have  no  personal  knowledge  of 
Central  Asia,  that  the  subject  peoples  there  are  groan- 
ing under  the  heel  of  a  ruthless  military  oppression. 
Englishmen  who  have  visited  the  heart  of  the  great 
continent,  and  mixed  freely  with  every  class  of  the 
population,  agree  in  denying  the  truth  of  these  charges. 
General  Kurapatkine,  when  on  the  eve  of  laying 
down  his  high  office,  declared  that  Russian  policy  might 
be  defined  as  the  maintenance  of  peace,  order,  and 
prosperity  in  every  class  of  the  population.  Those,  he 
went  on  to  say,  who  fill  responsible  positions  are  expressly 
informed  by  Government  that  the  assumption  of  sover- 
eignty over    other  nationalities  must  not  be  attempted 

^  Three  steamer  companies  ply  on  the  Caspian  ;  the  oldest  is  the  ' '  Caucasus 
Mercury,"  and  the  others  are  termed  the  "  Caspian  "  and  "  Eastern."  The 
steamers  are  better  suited  for  goods  than  passengers. 


A.D.  .898.1  TRANSCASPIA  IN   1898  339 

without  very  serious  deliberation,  inasmuch  as  such 
become,  on  annexation,  Russian  subjects,  children  of  the 
Tsar,  and  invested  with  every  privilege  enjoyed  by 
citizens  of  the  empire.^  These  noble  words  reflect  the 
attitude  of  General  Kurapatkine  and  his  lieutenants. 
Many  of  the  latter  had  a  lifelong  experience  of  native 
manners  and  mode  of  thought ;  and  one  at  least,  Colonel 
Arandarenko,  district  officer  of  Merv,  is  adored  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  oasis.  That  the  forces  of  disorder 
have  been  rendered  impotent  is  certainly  not  the  case. 
The  contrast  between  the  prosaic  present  and  the  wild 
romance  of  that  past  which  is  fast  fading  into  legend 
must  be  bitter  indeed  to  the  half-tamed  Turkomans. 
Nature,  we  know,  nihil  facit  per  saltunt ;  and  governments, 
however  despotic,  are  incapable  of  suddenly  changing  the 
trend  of  a  nation's  instincts,  the  legacy  of  unnumbered 
generations.  It  may,  however,  be  said  with  perfect  truth 
that  the  Russians  in  Central  Asia  strive  earnestly, 
and  with  a  great  measure  of  success,  to  promote  the 
greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number. 

^  A  verbatim  reproduction  of  this  remarkable  utterance  is  to  be  found  in 
the  Appendix.  General  Kurapatkine's  great  master,  Skobeleff,  was  equally 
explicit  in  a  proclamation  issued  to  his  troops  on  the  day  after  his  victory  at 
Geok  Teppe.  "  A  new  era,"  he  said,  "  has  opened  for  the  Tekkes — an  era  of 
equality  and  of  a  guaranteed  possession  of  property  for  all,  without  distinction. 
Our  Central  Asian  policy  recognises  no  pariahs.  Herein  lies  our  superiority 
over  the  English  "  (Ney,  En  Asie  Centrale,  p.  248). 


CHAPTER   VIII 

ASKABAD    AND    MERV 

Krasnovodsk,  the  western  terminus  of  the  Trans- 
caspian  Railway,  stands  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
Balkan  Bay,  through  which  the  Oxus  once  discharged 
into  the  Caspian.  It  is  protected  from  the  ground- 
swell  by  a  natural  breakwater  of  jagged  rock  which 
stretches  nearly  twenty-five  miles  southwards  ;  and  from 
icy  Siberian  blasts  by  a  range  of  barren  limestone  hills. 

The  little  town  which  nestles  in  this  bleak  amphi- 
theatre is  of  recent  origin,  for  it  was  only  in  1897  that 
it  superseded  Uzun  Ada,  a  shallow  and  insecure  port  on 
the  south  of  the  bay.  The  Government  offices,  substan- 
tially built  of  a  warm  brown  freestone,  surround  a  central 
square,  where  a  patch  of  grass  and  a  few  scraggy  trees 
strive  in  vain  to  relieve  the  desolation  which  recalls  the 
surroundings  of  Aden  to  the  Eastern  traveller.  Nor  is  the 
parallel  confined  to  externals,  for  Krasnovodsk  is  dependent 
on  distillation  for  its  water-supply.  The  building  where 
the  precious  fluid  is  manufactured  from  the  briny  Caspian 
is  well  worth  a  visit,  inasmuch  as  its  designer,  M.  Yagen, 
has  solved  the  problem  how  to  extract  a  maximum  of 
fresh  water  at  a  minimum  expenditure  of  fuel.  The  steam, 
generated  in  tubular  boilers  heated  by  a  roaring  fire  of 
petroleum  refuse,^  passes  through  a  series  of  iron  vats 

^  This  is  a  by-product  of  petroleum  distillation,  and  termed,  in  Russian, 
astatki.      After  the  more  volatile  illuminants  have  passed  over,   a  residue 

S40 


A.D.I898.)  ASKABAD  AND  MERV  341 

sheathed  with  felt,  losing  some  of  its  heat  and  aqueous 
particles  in  each.  But  the  chief  ornament  of  Krasnovodsk 
is,  strange  to  say,  the  railway  terminus.  Unlike  those 
which  disgrace  so  many  English  towns,  it  is  a  highly 
successful  effort  to  blend  the  ornamental  with  the  useful. 
The  trains  which  leave  Krasnovodsk  for  the  heart  of 
Central  Asia  twice  a  week  are  made  up  of  second  and 
third-class  carriages  on  the  corridor  system.  They  are 
warmed  in  the  abominable  fashion  peculiar  to  Russia,  by 
air  heated  in  a  roaring  stove,  and  their  lavatories  are  on 
the  most  primitive  model.  The  stuffy  compartments 
contain  narrow  wooden  benches ;  and  upper  berths, 
which  let  down  at  night,  form  very  indifferent  beds.  In 
one  of  these  little  purgatories  the  traveller  bound  for 
Samarkand  ensconces  himself  at  4.30  p.m.,  after  a  sub- 
stantial meal  at  the  railway  buffet,  which  differs  in  no 
wise  from  those  met  with  on  the  Caucasian  railways. 
But  the  jolting  and  discomfort  are  soon  forgotten  in  the 
novelty  of  the  surroundings.  For  seventy  miles  the  line 
skirts  the  deep  blue  Caspian,  which  is  covered  in  winter 
with  wild  fowl,  a  living  contradiction  to  the  travellers' 
tales  which  represent  the  great  lake  as  nearly  destitute  of 
animal  life.  The  northern  horizon  is  hemmed  in  by  the 
rugged  outlines  of  the  Great  Balkans,  a  range  as  desolate 
and  forbidding  as  the  mountains  of  the  moon.  Then  the 
train  plunges  into  a  boundless  plain  covered  with  sparse 
tufts  of  wiry  grass.  This  is  the  great  Turkoman  Desert, 
the  habitat  of  that  splendid  race  which  inspired  terror  in 
the  Roman  legionaries  and  defied  the  greatest  military 
power  of  modern  Europe.  But  soon  the  rugged  outlines 
of  the  Kopet  Dagh  Mountains  open  southward,  and  at 

remains  in  the  shape  of  a  ropy  greenish-brown  fluid,  which  in  former  days 
was  considered  valueless.  It  is  now  rapidly  superseding  coal  as  a  steam 
raiser,  and  the  recent  rise  in  the  market  price  of  crude  petroleum  is  in  great 
measure  due  to  the  constantly  extending  use  of  astatki  on  steamers  and  rail- 
ways. 


342  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1898. 

6.22  on  the  following  morning  the  train  halts  at  Kizil 
Arvat,  the  workshops  of  the  Transcaspian  Railway,  which 
break  the  wild  poetry  of  hill  and  desert  by  their  prose  of 
Western  industry.  They  were  founded  ten  years  ago  by 
General  Annenkoff,  whose  modest  bungalow  is  still 
pointed  out  with  the  respect  instinctively  rendered  to 
genius  everywhere.  The  works  on  the  south  side  of  the 
railway  are  as  complete  in  their  degree  as  those  at  Crewe. 
The  forges  and  fitting  shops  come  first  in  order.  They 
occupy  two  masonry  sheds,  exhibiting  lines  of  blacksmiths' 
forges,  in  each  of  which  an  astatki  fire  burns  without  the 
smallest  attention  from  the  operatives.  The  installation 
in  the  turning-shop,  with  its  lathes  and  steam  hammers, 
would  interest  an  Englishman  more  if  it  was  not  too 
evident  that  the  appliances  were  of  German  origin.  It 
is  a  relief  to  pass  into  the  engine-room  and  find  one  of  the 
five  machines,  with  a  horse-power  of  52  nominal,  bearing 
the  honoured  name  of  Tangye.  The  foundry  will  be 
next  visited.  It  can  furnish  castings  up  to  a  maximum 
of  two  tons.  In  point  of  fact,  locomotives  of  the  latest 
pattern  may  be  turned  out  at  Kizil  Arvat ;  though  in 
practice  it  is  found  expedient  to  import  them  from 
Moscow.  The  carpenters'  shops  are  lofty  structures, 
with  a  floor  area  of  36,000  feet,  where  cars  and  waggons 
are  turned  out  with  great  rapidity.  The  inspecting 
carriages  are  marvels  of  compactness,  containing  a  saloon 
upholstered  with  luxurious  settees,  a  bedroom,  bath,  and 
kitchen.  The  storehouses  are  specially  worth  visiting. 
Their  sides  are  lined  with  masonry  compartments,  con- 
taining tools,  with  "  plus  and  minus "  slips  enabling 
stock  to  be  taken  in  in  a  few  hours.  With  the  exception 
of  a  few  files  which  bear  Sheffield  trade-marks,  the  tools 
are  all  the  products  of  Russian  and  German  workshops. 
Nor  has  our  declining  metallurgic  industry  any  share  in 
the    supply  of   raw    material,  for    the    tariff  practically 


A.D.  18981  ASKABAD  AND  MERV  343 

excludes  its  products  from  the  empire  in  the  absence  of 
a  special  authorisation  of  the  Ministry  of  Commerce. 
Some  attention  is  paid  to  the  comfort  of  the  workmen 
employed  at  Kizil  Arvat.  There  is  an  institute,  styled  a 
Casino,  containing  a  restaurant,  where  meals  can  be  had 
at  an  absurdly  low  tariff,  and  a  ballroom  large  enough 
to  accommodate  the  700  workmen  and  their  wives.  Some 
distraction  is  a  sheer  necessity,  for  the  surroundings  of 
Kizil  Arvat  are  calculated  to  drive  a  European  to  despair. 
The  town  stands  in  a  dreary  plain  two  miles  from  the 
mountains,  which  supply  an  abundance  of  water.  Nothing 
would  be  easier  than  to  produce  vegetation  of  surpassing 
beauty,  for  the  desert  soil  needs  but  irrigation  to  furnish 
everything  that  could  delight  the  eye.  The  People's 
Park  only  serves  to  make  the  aspect  of  the  town  more 
forbidding ;  and  the  ugly  square  boxes  serving  as  married 
quarters  are  entirely  destitute  of  a  garden.  The  place  is 
said  to  be  healthy,  in  spite  of  a  summer  heat  rising  to  1 10 
degrees ;  but  another  tale  is  told  by  the  crowd  which  are 
attracted  by  the  band  of  the  2nd  Railway  Battalion, 
stationed  here.  The  adults  are  generally  ill-favoured 
and  stunted,  and  the  repulsive  sores  on  their  faces  are 
evidence  of  bad  water  and  insufficient  nutrition.  The 
working  population  is  Russian,  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  Turkomans,  who  are  admitted  as  apprentices,  and 
exhibit  a  mechanical  bias  which  ought  to  be  more 
encouraged.  Wages  and  working  hours  would  hardly  be 
approved  of  by  the  pampered  British  artisan.  Foremen 
draw  a  salary  of  £1 10  to  ;i^i30  annually,  but  the  rank 
and  file  are  paid  on  the  piece-work  system.  A  carpenter 
of  average  industry  can  earn  5  s.  6d. ;  a  fitter,  4s.  4d.  per 
diem.  The  hours  of  work  are  from  6  p.m.  till  noon,  with 
a  break  at  7.30  for  breakfast;  and  again  from  1.30  till 
7  p.m. — an  eleven  hours'  day. 

Geok  Teppe,  the  scene  of  the  crowning  mercy  of  1 88 1 , 


344  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  isgs. 

is  the  next  halting-place.  In  this  dry  atmosphere  the  ves- 
tiges of  the  Tekkes'  last  refuge  enables  the  traveller  to  con- 
jure up  the  fearful  scenes  enacted  there  eighteen  years  ago. 
A  hundred  yards  north  of  the  railway  stretches  a  long 
earthen  rampart  i  2  or  15  feet  high,  broken  near  its  south- 
east angle  and  on  the  eastern  face  by  huge  gaps,  through 
which  the  infuriated  Russian  soldiers  pressed  on  the 
memorable  24th  of  January  1881.  The  interior  of  the 
rude  fortress  is  still  scored  with  funnel-shaped  holes,  and 
strewn  with  fragments  of  iron  left  by  the  exploding 
shells.  The  whole  scene  comes  vividly  before  him  who 
ascends  Dangil  Teppe,  a  mound  at  the  north-west  corner 
whence  the  Turkomans  plied  their  only  gun  during  the 
siege.i  He  seems  to  see  beneath,  the  dense  mass  of  dark 
felt  kibitkas  lit  up  by  the  explosion  of  missiles  charged 
with  petroleum.  His  ears  are  stunned  by  the  shrieks 
of  the  agonised  women  and  children  who  seek  shelter  in 
vain  from  these  messengers  of  death,  the  hoarse  cries  of 
the  combatants  locked  in  a  death-struggle,  the  roar  of 
musketry  and  the  clash  of  steel.  While  he  is  fain  to 
admit  that  civilisation  has  gained  by  the  issue  of  the 
tremendous  struggle,  the  Englishman  bares  his  head  in 
honour  of  the  brave  men  who  bled  for  freedom  here. 
The  Russian  lines  can  still  be  distinguished  to  the  east 
of  the  crumbling  ramparts  ;  and,  as  if  to  point  Gray's 
sad  moral,  "  the  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave," 
three  graveyards  alone  remain   where  the  pulse  of  war 

'  This  ancient  piece,  a  prize  taken  from  the  cowardly  Persians,  very  nearly 
cost  SkobelefF  his  life.  Moser  relates  that  the  general,  while  reconnoitring  the 
defences,  became  a  mark  for  a  brisk  fusilade  which  wounded  several  of  his 
staff.  He  was  implored  not  to  expose  himself  unnecessarily  ;  but  his  only 
reply  was  to  call  for  a  chair  and  a  glass  of  tea.  There  he  sat  indulging 
calmly  in  a  cigarette  while  the  bullets  whistled  round  him.  When,  however, 
the  cannon  spoke,  and  its  projectile  plunged  deeply  into  the  soil  close  to  his 
chair,  Skobeleff  adopted  the  "best  part  of  valour."  He  rose,  saluted  the 
Tekke  gunners,  and  walked  slowly  back  to  his  quarters  (A  Travers  I'Asie 
Cent  rale,  p.  315). 


A.D.  1398]  ASKABAD  AND  MERV  345 

once  beat  highest,  tenanted  by  the  bones  of  those  who 
died  at  their  Tsar's  behest.  The  Cossack  and  the 
Stavropol  Regiments  have  their  own  God's  acre,  and  in 
a  third,  which  stands  near  the  site  of  Skobeleff' s  camp, 
is  a  white-washed  mound  with  an  iron  plate  recording 
the  number  of  the  slain.  A  little  museum  of  relics  of  the 
siege  has  lately  been  opened  between  the  rugged  earthen 
wall  and  the  railway  line.  The  contrast  between  past  and 
present  is  placed  in  a  startling  light  by  a  large  cotton- 
pressing  factory  which  has  been  established  by  a  Jew 
near  the  western  face  of  Geok  Teppe.  Here  gangs  of 
Turkomans,  some  of  whom  were  doubtless  once  eager  in 
war  and  foray,  may  be  seen  toiling  at  the  screw-presses 
under  the  sharp  spur  of  necessity. 

Askabad,  the  capital  of  Transcaspia,  is  322^  miles 
from  Krasnovodsk,  and  is  reached  in  twenty  hours.  The 
town  dates  only  from  1883,  and  now  has  a  population  of 
about  16,000,  including  a  garrison  of  10,000.  It  stands 
on  the  broadest  part  of  the  Akkal  oasis,  at  the  foot  of 
the  Kopet  Dagh  range,  which  affords  a  refuge  to  the  Euro- 
pean in  the  fierce  summer  heats.  There  are  two  sanitaria, 
— Firuza,  in  a  pleasant  valley  2800  feet  above  sea-level, 
and  Khayrabad,  3000  higher,  a  Transcaspian  Simla 
sacred  to  the  Di  Majores  of  the  official  Pantheon.  The 
broad  streets  are  lined  with  vigorous  young  trees,  and 
cut  each  other  at  right  angles.  The  Anglo-Indian 
traveller  is  forcibly  reminded  of  the  cantonments,  which 
are  believed  to  have  furnished  the  founder,  General 
Komaroff,  with  a  model  for  his  headquarters.  In  the 
matter  of  roads,  the  Russian  stations  of  Central  Asia 
would  give  points  to  any  town  in  the  European  domin- 
ions of  the  Tsar.  They  show  no  break-neck  holes,  no 
boulders  which  only  a  droshky  can  negotiate ;  and  their 
excellence  at  Askabad  is  vouched  for  by  the  existence  of 
a  flourishing  bicycle  club,  which  is  the   centre  of  social 


346  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  ia.d.  1898. 

life  for  the  non-military  population.  On  leaving  the 
station  the  tourist  passes,  on  the  left,  the  offices  of  the 
railway  staff,  with  Oriental  arcades  surrounding  a  pretty 
garden,  a  technical  school,  which  has  recently  been 
enlarged,  and  a  pro-gymnasium,  and  thus  reaches  the 
barracks,  which  stand  at  the  north-east  corner  of  the 
town,  and  accommodate  four  active  and  one  reserve  bat- 
talion of  Transcaspian  Rifles,  a  regiment  of  Cossacks 
from  Terek  in  the  Caucasus,  three  batteries  of  field  and 
one  of  mountain  guns,  and  a  squadron  of  200  Turkoman 
militia.  Their  quarters  have  been  arranged  on  purely 
Indian  lines.  Every  company  or  squadron  has  a  lofty 
one-storeyed  building  allotted  to  it,  containing  a  dormi- 
tory with  a  double  row  of  beds,  a  chapel,  and  a  hall  for 
recreation  and  military  instruction.  The  latter  contains 
two  rifles  on  stands  with  targets  for  aiming-drill,  which  is 
illustrated  by  books  containing  photogravures  of  the 
different  positions.  Here,  too,  are  always  seen  oleograph 
portraits  of  the  reigning  Tsar  and  his  consort.  So  vast 
is  his  empire,  that  unless  the  personality  of  the  sovereign 
were  not  brought  home  to  the  people  by  these  perpetual 
reminders  there  would  be  some  risk  of  its  becoming  a 
mere  abstraction. 

Every  care  is  taken  to  keep  alive  the  traditions  of 
the  army  by  coloured  prints  portraying  acts  of  bravery 
and  self-devotion  in  past  campaigns.  Thus  the  story 
of  the  soldier  Ossipoff  is  told  in  nearly  every  barrack- 
room.  He  belonged  to  a  garrison  which  defended  a 
redoubt  in  the  Caucasus  during  Schamyl's  insurrection. 
Besieged  by  an  overwhelming  force,  the  little  band  held 
out  to  the  last  extremity  ;  and  when  the  position  was 
taken  by  storm,  Ossipoff  exploded  the  magazine,  blow- 
ing himself  and  hundreds  of  the  enemy  into  the  air. 
To  this  day  his  name  is  borne  on  the  muster-roll  of  his 
battalion,  and   when  it   is   called  the  man  next  on   the 


A.D.  ,898.]  ASKABAD  AND  MERV  347 

list  replies :  "  He  has  died  for  the  honour  of  the  Russian 
army  !  "  In  the  company  kitchens  the  soldiers'  cabbage 
soup  may  be  tasted.  It  is  made  with  stock  provided 
by  the  half-pound  of  fresh  meat  which,  with  three 
pounds  of  rye  bread,  constitutes  the  daily  ration.  On 
gala  days  the  men  have  a  mess  of  rice  boiled  with  butter 
and  raisins.  The  fare  would  probably  excite  loathing 
in  the  British  private,  but  the  physique  of  the  troops  is 
a  sufficient  proof  that  it  is  abundant  and  nutritious. 
The  means  of  developing  muscle  are  not  wanting ;  for 
every  barrack-ground  has  a  gymnasium  as  well  as  a 
miniature  fort,  which  is  formed  by  competing  companies 
at  the  word  of  command.  The  parade-ground  adjoins 
the  barracks.  It  is  overshadowed  by  the  cathedral,  a 
splendid  structure  built  three  years  ago  in  an  ornate 
Byzantine  style,  which  contains,  on  the  left  of  the  altar, 
a  beautiful  eikon  in  enamel  of  the  soldier's  saint,  Alex- 
ander Nevsky,  in  full  panoply,  placed  there  in  memory 
of  the  late  Tsar.  In  the  centre  of  the  Champ  de  Mars 
is  a  pillar  commemorating  Geok  Teppe,  flanked  at  each 
corner  by  an  Afghan  cannon  captured  at  Dash  Keupri 
in  1885.  Manoeuvres  take  place  weekly  on  the  broken 
ground  between  the  town  and  the  lower  spur  of  the 
Kopet  Dagh  Mountains.  British  officers  who  have 
witnessed  one  of  these  field  -  days  are  unanimous  in 
praising  the  workmanlike  appearance  of  the  troops. 
The  riflemen  in  their  tunics,  knickerbockers,  and  long 
Russian  boots  are  sturdy,  if  rather  undersized  ;  and  the 
Cossacks  are  picturesquely  clad  in  long  caftans  and 
closely  fitting  astrakhan  shakoes.  The  artillery  come 
into  action  at  3500  yards,  and  show  a  fair  amount  of 
dash ;  but  the  Cossacks'  performance  is  disappointing. 
A  water-course  encountered  during  a  charge  will  reduce 
a  regiment  to  a  disorderly  mob,  and  the  ponies  are 
blown   long   before  the  objective  is  reached.     It  is  the 


348  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1898. 

belief  of  good  judges  that  a  cavalry  regiment  of  Upper 
India  would  be  quite  a  match  for  a  similar  Cossack 
force.  The  infantry  show  that  they  have  been  drilled 
assiduously,  and  their  movements  are  executed  with 
mechanical  precision.  It  is,  however,  unaccompanied 
by  the  spirit  and  keen  enjoyment  which  the  British 
soldier  imports  into  mimic  warfare.  In  point  of  fact, 
the  rank  and  file  in  Russia  are  taught  to  look  too  ex- 
clusively to  their  officers  for  example  and  support,  and 
self-reliance  is  not  encouraged.  In  stubborn  endurance 
they  are  as  unsurpassed  to-day  as  they  were  at  Borodino, 
where  the  victorious  legions  of  Napoleon  found  their 
match.  But  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  the  myriads  of 
the  Tsar  winning  a  "  soldier's  battle  " — wrestling  from 
the  foe  a  victory  imperilled  by  the  incapacity  of  their 
chiefs.  Reviews  are  more  frequent  in  Russian  than  in 
English  armies.  On  specially  solemn  occasions,  such  as 
the  birthday  of  the  sovereign,  they  are  preceded  by  a 
Te  Deum  at  the  garrison  church,  which  is  attended  by 
the  chief  military  and  civil  officials.  The  connection 
between  Church  and  State  are  far  closer  than  with  us. 
We  have  seen  that  the  imperial  power  owes  its  evolution 
quite  as  much  to  priestly  influence  as  to  the  ambition 
of  the  princes.  The  obligation  has  never  been  forgotten 
by  the  Tsars,  who  are,  literally  as  well  as  figuratively, 
heads  of  the  Church,  and  regard  its  hierarchy  as  the 
mainstay  of  the  whole  fabric  of  their  Government. 
Brilliant  is  the  display  of  uniforms  at  these  official 
devotions.  Combative  officers  are  distinguished  by  gold 
lace,  those  of  the  scientific  branches  by  silver  ;  but  all 
are  gorgeously  attired,  while  galaxies  are  frequent  of 
fifteen  or  twenty  medals  and  crosses  on  the  same  manly 
breast.  The  review  which  follows  is  a  mere  march- 
past  ;  and  as  each  company  files  before  the  general  he 
exclaims,    "  Good  day,  my  children,"   a   greeting    which 


A.D.  r898.)  ASKABAD  AND  MERV  349 

elicits  the  reply  in  chorus,  "  We  are  pleased  to  render 
you  service."  ^ 

The  Askabad  Government  House  is  a  straggling 
one-storeyed  edifice  resembling  an  overgrown  Indian 
bungalow,  but  it  is  well  adapted  for  ceremonial.  The 
other  public  buildings  are  a  library  with  1 2,000 
volumes,  a  military  printing  -  office,  and  that  of  the 
Turkestan  Gazette — a  daily  paper  edited  by  a  member 
of  the  governor's  staff,  which,  unlike  its  Indian  con- 
temporary, is  no  dry  catalogue  of  promotions,  transfers, 
and  official  acts. 

The  railway  between  Askabad  and  Merv  fol- 
lows the  now  familiar  Kopet  Dagh  range  for  105 
miles,  and  then,  at  a  roadside  station  named  Dushak, 
trends  sharply  to  the  north  -  east.  Here  the  great 
mountain  barrier  between  Transcaspia  and  the  domin- 
ions of  the  Shah  attains  the  height  of  9000  feet; 
and  its  spurs,  clad  with  rich  verdure,  offer  an  ever- 
changing  succession  of  graceful  outlines.  The  inter- 
vening plain  is  covered  with  thorny  camel-grass,  varied 
by  patches  of  cultivation,  where  mountain  torrents 
afford  the  means  of  irrigation.  A  wider  expanse  of 
green  betrays  the  vicinity  of  the  river  Taj  and,  better 
known  to  fame  as  the  Hari  Rud,  which  laves  the  walls 
of  Herat.  It  is  crossed  by  a  girder  bridge  347  feet 
in  length.  Merv  is  reached  in  thirteen  hours  from 
Askabad.  Nowhere  in  Central  Asia  is  the  contrast 
more  marked  between  the  present  and  a  comparatively 
recent  past  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  this  pale 
copy  of  an  Indian  junction  can  have  been  the  robbers' 
den   so   elaborately  described   by  Marvin   from    hearsay, 

^  This  little  ceremony  is  of  ancient  date  in  the  Russian  army.  There  is  no 
hard-and-fast  rule  as  to  the  wording  of  the  general's  greeting.  In  some 
favoured  corps,  such  as  the  Nijni  Dragoons,  etiquette  ordains  that  it  shall  be 
followed  by  the  name  of  the  regiment. 


350  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  1898. 

and  by  O'Donovan  from  bitter  personal  experience. 
A  broad  metalled  road,  parallel  with  the  line  of  railway, 
leads  to  the  Murghab,  a  canal-like  stream  crossed  by  a 
bridge  with  ninety-six  feet  water-way.  On  the  right 
bank  of  this  ancient  source  of  Merv's  prosperity  are 
the  remains  of  a  stupendous  line  of  ramparts,  which, 
O'Donovan  tells  us,^  were  commenced  in  hot  haste  by 
the  Tekkes  in  the  vain  hope  that  they  might  serve  as 
a  bulwark  against  the  Russian  advance.  From  their 
crest,  thirty  feet  above  the  plain,  the  barracks  of  the 
garrison  are  seen  embowered  in  stately  trees.  Merv 
has  immense  strategic  value,  and  is  therefore  the  head- 
quarters of  a  force  far  larger  than  would  be  necessary 
to  overawe  the  scanty  population  of  the  oasis.  There 
are  four  battalions  of  Transcaspian  Rifles,  one  of 
sappers,  a  railway  battalion,  and  two  batteries  of  field 
artillery.  On  the  east  of  the  Murghab,  too,  is  the 
Russian  town,  laid  out  with  the  same  depressing  re- 
gularity as  Askabad.  But  the  bungalows  which  line 
the  dusty  streets  are  redeemed  by  no  wealth  of  tropical 
foliage.  The  humanising  effects  of  gardening  are  not 
appreciated  by  Russians,  and  the  jealously  watered 
compounds  of  the  officials  enclose  only  scraggy  trees 
and  stuccoed  buildings.  The  interiors  are  less  for- 
bidding. The  rooms  have  polished  floors,  but  little  in 
the  way  of  furniture  save  low  divans  spread  with 
Turkoman  carpets  and  tiger  skins.^ 

'  The  Story  of  Merv,  p.  194. 

-  The  Central  Asian  tiger  has  a  shaggier  coat  than  his  Bengal  relative, 
and  his  disposition  is  less  truculent.  He  never  molests  human  beings  or 
shows  fight  unless  attacked.  About  a  year  ago  one  strayed  during  the  noon- 
day heat  into  a  kibitka  near  the  Sir  Darya,  pushed  aside  the  occupant,  a 
woman  who  was  spinning  at  the  door,  and  coiled  himself  up  in  a  dark  corner 
for  a  nap.  Alas  for  outraged  hospitality  !  Information  was  given  at  the 
nearest  post,  and  a  party  of  riflemen  soon  arrived  and  did  the  poor  beast  to 
death. 


A.IXI898.]  ASKABAD  AND  MERV  351 

The  climate  of  Merv  is  detestable.  In  summer  the 
temperature  rises  to  100  degrees,  and  the  houses 
must  be  sealed  hermetically  between  8  a.m.  and  sunset. 
No  punkahs  mitigate  the  sweltering  heat,  and  ice  is 
tabooed  on  the  ground  that  it  increases  the  liability 
to  fever.  This  latter  is  the  bane  of  Merv,  as  it  is  of 
all  irrigated  tracts  without  subsoil  drainage.  In  1896 
nearly  5  000  of  the  population  perished ;  and  so  high 
was  the  death-rate  in  the  Russian  garrison  that  it  was 
in  contemplation  to  remove  the  troops  temporarily  to 
healthier  quarters.  In  no  place  are  health  -  giving 
diversions  more  necessary,  but  such  are  unknown  even 
to  the  younger  officers.  A  respectable  bag  of  the 
brilliant  Central  Asian  pheasant  may  be  made  in  the 
brushwood  cover  three  miles  from  Merv.  In  India 
the  environs  of  a  military  station  are  swept  as  bare  of 
game  as  the  Plaine  de  St.  Denis  by  Parisian  gunners. 
Polo  is  unknown,  though  the  ground  in  all  directions 
is  suited  to  the  noble  pastime,  and  ponies  can  be  picked 
up  for  i^  10  or  ;^ I  2.  The  scanty  leisure  left  the  young 
fellows  by  the  absorbing  round  of  duty  is  g^ven  up  to 
billiards  and  dancing.  Balls  take  place  on  Sundays 
at  the  Casino,  an  institution  which  takes  the  place  of 
our  messroom  and  club.  It  belongs  to  Government, 
and  is  maintained  by  subscriptions  levied  from  all 
civil  and  military  officers.  At  the  entrance  is  a  buffet 
covered  with  bottles  and  the  usual  components  of  the 
zakouska.  Adjoining  it  is  a  restaurant,  which  offers 
an  extensive  menu  at  prices  much  below  those  of  the 
railway  refreshment  -  rooms  and  the  miserable  hotels. 
This  opens  on  to  a  fine  ballroom  adorned  with  por- 
traits of  Tsars  and  Tsarinas  past  and  present.  Guests 
are  received  on  their  arrival  by  two  members  of  the 
Casino  committee,  and  make  their  way  through  a  hall 
crowded    with   officers   in   undress   uniform  to   the  ball- 


352  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.p.  1898. 

room,  at  the  upper  end  of  which  the  great  ladies  of 
the  place  sit  in  state  round  a  table  covered  with  dishes 
of  apples  and  bonbons.  After  making  his  obeisance, 
the  visitor  is  free  to  enjoy  himself — if  haply  he  can 
secure  a  partner,  for  the  dearth  of  the  fair  sex  at 
Central  Asian  balls  is  more  marked  than  in  India. 
Mazurkas  and  cotillons  are  practised  with  a  zeal  which 
would  perhaps  be  considered  "  bad  form "  at  Simla ; 
while  the  majority  unable  to  participate  in  their  ardent 
pleasures  block  the  doorways  and  find  solace  in  fre- 
quent adjournments  to  the  buffet,  which  is  always 
thronged  with  hosts  only  too  willing  to  pledge  their 
friends  in  rassades  of  vodka  and  fiery  liqueurs.  The 
close  resemblance  between  Central  Asian  and  Indian 
cantonments  extends  to  the  bazaars.  The  lines  of 
small  open  shops,  the  dusty  trees,  the  open  drains, 
even  the  indescribable  but  never-to-be-forgotten  odour, 
all  are  common  to  British  and  Russian  possessions  in 
the  East.  The  trade  of  Merv  is  not  confined  to  the 
permanent  bazaar.  A  weekly  market  is  held  on  a 
plain  to  the  east  of  the  town.  The  roads  converging 
thither  are  thronged  on  Mondays  with  Turkomans  riding 
double  on  their  ill-fed  ponies  and  two-wheeled  Persian 
carts  piled  high  with  goods.  The  latter  are  exposed 
for  sale  in  long  lines  of  covered  booths,  where  Hebrew, 
Persian,  and  Armenian  vendors  squat,  surrounded  by 
dried  fruits,  rice  from  Meshed,  coarse  beet-sugar  from 
Russia,  and  rocky  almond  paste.  The  fruit  would  win 
a  first  prize  at  any  English  show.  Nowhere  are  melons 
cheaper  or  more  fragrant,  apricots  and  grapes  nowhere 
more  choice.  The  cheap  cutlery,  trinkets,  leather  goods, 
and  samovars  are  much  the  same  as  one  sees  in 
Russian  markets  west  of  the  Caspian,  but  the  prices 
are  at  least  100  per  cent,  dearer.  The  embroidery, 
shawls,   and   carpets   for   which    Merv   was   famed   have 


^i.MU 


A.D.I898.]  ASKABAD  AND  MERV  353 

lost  in  value  and  quality  since  the  Russian  conquest. 
Vast  is  the  concourse  of  Turkomans  from  all  parts  of 
the  oasis  at  these  weekly  gatherings ;  but  there  is  far 
less  of  the  babel  of  sounds  and  the  eager  bargaining 
than  is  seen  at  Indian  bazaars.  It  is  in  vast  crowds 
that  national  spirit  is  unconsciously  displayed.  If  that 
of  Merv  be  reflected  in  the  thousands  of  big-boned, 
slouching  Turkomans  in  sheep-skin  hats  and  flowing 
garments  who  flock  hither  to  lay  in  their  weekly  sup- 
plies, then  it  is  evident  that  their  spirit  has  been  crushed 
by  conquest. 

The  ruins  of  the  ancient  cities  which  successively 
bore  the  name  of  Merv  stand  in  a  dismal  plain  covered 
with  tamarisk  and  camels'  thorn  ten  miles  from  the 
modern  cantonments.  The  railway  station  whence  they 
may  be  visited  is  called  Bahram  'All,  after  an  eighteenth 
century  chieftain  who  held  the  neighbouring  robber 
tribes  under  stern  control,  until  his  overthrow  by  Amir 
Murad,  the  founder  of  the  Bokharan  dynasty.  Trim 
orchards  and  broad  roads  surround  the  halting-place,  and 
on  all  sides  may  be  seen  huge  piles  of  cotton  awaiting 
transport.  For  Bahram  'All  is  the  centre  of  the  Tsar's 
private  domains,  which  have  of  late  years  received  a 
plentiful  supply  of  water  from  one  of  the  old  irrigation 
works  now  restored  by  imperial  enterprise.  Leaving 
this  smiling  oasis,  one  enters  on  a  scene  of  desolation 
which  can  be  matched  only  by  the  environs  of  Delhi. 
Like  that  vast  tomb  of  empires,  Old  Merv  is  a  series 
of  ruined  cities,  each  built  of  its  predecessors'  materials.^ 
The  most  recent  is  the  citadel  so  stoutly  defended  by 

^  Three  have  been  identified — Giaur  Kal'a,  Sultan  Sanjar,  and  Bahram 
'All.  Some  entrenchments  are  fabled  to  represent  a  fourth,  older  than  the  rest, 
built  by  Alexander  the  Great.  But,  as  is  well  known,  Iskandar  Zu-1-Karnayn, 
"  Alexander  the  Two-homed,"  shares  with  Timur  and  the  Amir 'Abdullah  the 
credit  of  having  built  nearly  everything  worth  seeing  in  Central  Asia. 

23 


354  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1898. 

Bahram  'All  in  1784.  It  is  an  irregular  quadrangle 
of  about  250  yards  square,  surrounded  by  a  wall  with 
circular  towers  of  brick.  Within,  amid  a  mass  of  ruins, 
is  a  mosque  with  a  cupola  still  standing,  and  in  the  court- 
yard of  the  citadel,  at  the  north-east  corner,  are  the 
remains  of  the  founder's  palace,  a  quadrangle  of  three- 
storeyed  buildings  in  fair  preservation.  Passing  out  of 
Bahram  'Ah  by  the  eastern  portal,  one  sees,  a  mile  off, 
two  arched  recesses  standing  side  by  side,  conspicuous 
by  their  ornamentation  of  blue  enamelled  bricks.  In 
front  of  each  is  a  tombstone  of  grey  marble,  showing 
extracts  from  the  Koran  in  raised  Arabic  lettering. 
According  to  tradition,  they  cover  the  remains  of  two 
standard-bearers  of  the  Prophet.  Hard  by  is  a  fine 
vaulted  well ;  and  the  group  are  the  sole  exceptions  to 
the  tale  of  ruin  told  by  the  heaps  of  crumbling  bricks 
which  stretch  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see.  The  oldest  of 
the  ruined  cities  of  the  plain,  called  Giaur  Kal'a,  stood 
eastwards  of  these  monuments.  It  was  destroyed  in 
the  seventh  century,  when  the  Caliph  'Omar's  lieutenants 
carried  their  creed  through  Central  Asia  by  fire  and 
sword.  Giaur  Kal'a  is  identified  by  its  vast  earthen 
ramparts,  which  have  proved  more  durable  than  the 
bricks  and  mortar  of  a  much  later  age.  As  in  the  case 
with  Bahram  'All,  there  are  the  remains  of  a  citadel  at  its 
north-eastern  angle,  from  which  an  extended  view  can 
be  had  of  the  poor  relics  of  vanished  splendour.  North- 
west of  Giaur  Kal'a  are  the  only  buildings  of  ancient  Merv 
which  continue  to  serve  the  purposes  of  man.  They  are 
a  serai  and  mosque,  which  have  clustered  round  the  ugly 
tomb  of  a  saint  named  Yusuf  Hamadani.  It  contains 
the  usual  vaulted  chambers  for  the  accommodation  of 
travellers,  ranged  in  a  square  in  which  their  goods  and 
camels  find  standing  room.  Beyond  it  is  the  tomb  of 
Sultan  Sanjar,  exactly  in  the  centre  of  the  site  of  the 


A.D.  i898.]  ASKABAD  AND  MERV  355 

second  of  the  towns  which  successively  bore  the  name  of 
Merv.  It  is  said  to  have  been  modelled  on  that  of 
Firdawsi  near  Meshed,  but  it  closely  resembles  the  g^eat 
mausolea  of  Upper  India.  All  are  alike,  quadrangular 
buildings  topped  with  an  echoing  dome,  which  gives  a 
sense  of  vastness  and  solemnity  beyond  anything  that 
the  "  long-drawn  aisle  and  fretted  vault "  can  compass. 
Even  in  its  ruin  the  splendid  edifice  shows  feats  of 
workmanship  in  brick  and  mortar  which  it  would  be 
difficult  to  imitate  with  all  the  appliances  of  modern 
science.  The  Sultan  who  sleeps  below  was  the  best  of 
the  Seljuk  Turks ;  and,  to  judge  from  the  abundance  of 
offerings  piled  on  the  rude  clay  mound  which  covers  his 
remains,  he  still  lives  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  The 
noble  work  was  seen  in  all  its  majesty  by  only  two 
generations ;  for  in  1 2  2 1  the  city  of  the  good  Sultan 
Sanjar  was  razed  to  the  ground,  with  a  fearful  slaughter 
of  the  inhabitants,  by  Tuluy  Khan,  a  worthy  son  of  the 
ferocious  Chingiz.  Here  the  ground  is  strewn  with 
fragments  of  pottery  exhibiting  strangely  beautiful  de- 
signs, iridescent  glass  and  enamelled  tiles ;  and  no  one 
can  doubt  that  systematic  researches  would  yield  more 
substantial  tokens  of  a  buried  civilisation.  The  source 
of  the  fabulous  wealth  of  Old  Merv  stands  revealed  in 
the  numerous  irrigating  channels  with  which  the  site  is 
scored.     This  is  the  land  where — 

" fairest  of  all  streams,  the  Miu^a  roves, 

Amongst  Merou's  bright  palaces  and  groves."  ^ 

The  source  of  supply  was  an  immense  dam  erected 
across  the  stream  thirty- five  miles  southwards,  called 
Sultan  Band,  the  destruction  of  which  1 1 4  years  ago  by 
the  Amir  Murad  brought  utter  ruin  on  the  oasis.  The 
mischief  wrought  by  that  fanatic  has  already  been,  in 

*  Moore's  Veiled  Prophet  of  Khorasan. 


356  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a. d.  1898. 

part,  repaired  by  the  Russians ;  and  the  charming  house 
of  Colonel  Kashtalinski,  superintendent  of  the  state 
domains,  is  embowered  in  gardens  and  orchards  which 
will  soon  restore  to  this  much  harassed  spot  some  share 
of  its  ancient  prosperity. 


CHAPTER    IX 

Bokhara,  a  Protected  Native  State 

The  141  miles  which  separate  Merv  from  the  Bokharan 
frontier  were  the  costliest  and  the  most  depressing 
section  of  the  Transcaspian  Railway.  It  includes  that 
terror  of  Russian  engineers  known  as  the  Sandy  Tract,^ 
and  no  trace  of  cultivation  is  met  with  until  the  weary 
eye  finds  solace  in  the  restful  green  which  marks  the 
course  of  the  mighty  Oxus.  The  border  stronghold, 
Charjuy,  crowns  a  hill  to  the  south  of  the  railway  line, 
and  bears  in  its  rugged  outlines  a  faint  resemblance 
to  Edinburgh  Castle.  The  little  town  which  nestles  at 
its  foot  is  garrisoned  by  a  Russian  force  consisting  of  a 
battalion  of  Turkestan  Rifles  and  a  squadron  of  Cossacks. 
At  Kerki,  i  10  miles  up  stream,  three  more  rifle  battalions 
and  a  regiment  of  Cossacks  serve  as  a  reminder  of  the 
power  of  Russia.  The  source  of  the  Amu  Darya  is 
Lake  Victoria,  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water  embosomed  in 
the  Pamirs  15,600  feet  above  sea-level,  which  was  visited 
by  Marco  Polo,  and  rediscovered  in  1838  by  Captain 
Wood  of  the  Indian  Marine.^  The  bed  of  the  great 
river  is  350  yards  wide  at  the  point  where  it  leaves  the 
hills  at  Khwaja  Salih,  90  miles  north-west  of  Balkh ;  and 
200  miles  down  stream  it  swells  to   650  yards.      The 

^  A  description  of  the  difficulties  encountered  has  already  been  given. 
'  Khanikoft''s  Bokhara,  p.  i8  ;  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society^ 
8th  June  1840. 

357 


358  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  tA.D.1898. 

mean  velocity  is  3^  miles  an  hour,  the  average  depth 
9  feet,  increasing  to  a  maximum  of  29  in  August 
after  the  annual  rains.  The  course  of  the  Oxus  in  our 
day  is  north-westerly,  and  it  discharges  into  the  Sea  of 
Aral  above  Khiva.  The  stream  once  before  bifurcated  at 
Kohna  Urganj,  70  miles  south  of  the  great  inland  lake ; 
and  one  branch  flowed  south-westwards,  entering  the 
Caspian  by  the  Balkhan  Bay.  At  some  period  in  the 
fifteenth  or  sixteenth  century  the  Khivans  attempted  to 
restrain  the  course  by  a  dam,  and  so  caused  a  diversion 
of  the  western  channel,  which  can  still  be  traced  through 
the  Turkoman  Desert.^  To  restore  it  has  been  the  dream 
of  the  Russians  since  the  days  of  Peter  the  Great. 
Elaborate  surveys  have  demonstrated  that  the  operation 
is  perfectly  practicable;  and  those  who  advocated  it 
urged  with  truth  that  the  canalisation  of  the  river  would 
turn  many  thousands  of  square  miles  of  desert  into  a 
garden.  The  railway  has,  however,  won  the  day ;  and 
the  only  use  made  of  the  Amu  Darya  by  the  Russian 
authorities  is  to  support  a  steam  flotilla.  This  service 
was  inaugurated  in  1887,^  and  is  now  carried  on  by 
steel-built  steamers  drawing  2  feet  of  water,  and  carry- 
ing 200  tons  of  cargo.  Its  chief  value  lies  in  the 
means  it  gives  for  the  transport  of  troops  and  munitions 
of  war,  for  the  river  is  navigable  up  to  the  Afghan 
frontier,  700  miles  from  its  mouth.  The  Amu  Darya, 
however,  cannot  be  made  to  serve  the  needs  of  com- 
merce, for  the  channel  is  constantly  shifting,  sand-banks 
are  thrown  up  and  disappear  in  a  few  hours,  and  the 
navigating  officers  are  in  the  hands  of  native  pilots,  who 
divine  obstructions  by  observing  the  colour  of  the  water. 
We    have    already   described    the    great    viaduct   which 

^"Memoire  sur  I'ancien  cours  de  I'Oxus,"  par   M.  Jaubert,   Nouveau 
Journal  Asiatique,  Dec.  1833. 

'  Ney,  En  Asie  Centrale,  p.  300. 


A.D.1898.]         A  PROTECTED  NATIVE  STATE  359 

spans  the  Amu  Darya  near  Charjuy.  It  is  admittedly 
but  a  make-shift,  and  will  soon  be  replaced  by  a  girder 
bridge.  The  traveller  glances  uneasily  at  the  current 
swirling  round  the  slender  piers,  and  feels  inwardly 
relieved  when  his  train  has  crept  safely  to  the  opposite 
bank.  On  either  side  of  the  line  there  now  stretches  a 
dead  level  of  parched-up  loam,  broken  here  and  there 
by  hillocks  covered  with  the  outlines  of  some  ancient 
citadel.  There  are  many  of  these  Central  Asian 
Pompeiis,  deserted  owing  to  the  failure  of  the  water- 
supply,  or  overwhelmed  by  the  ever-encroaching  sand. 
Mosques,  market-places,  and  palaces  stand  as  they  did 
centuries  back,  but  the  narrow  streets  show  no  signs  of 
human  life.  But  the  desert  yields  again  to  cultivation, 
and  the  train  speeds  through  fields  of  cotton  and  millet, 
overshadowed  by  splendid  trees.  The  fair  domains 
irrigated  from  the  river  Zarafshan  have  been  reached, 
and  its  centre,  Bokhara  the  Noble,  comes  into  view.  A 
canon  of  Russian  policy  ordains  that  the  European 
quarters  shall  be  placed  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  great  cities.  Thus  the  effect  of  sudden  waves  of 
fanaticism,  which  are  always  to  be  feared  in  Mohammedan 
countries,  is  lessened,  and  time  is  given  to  organise 
defence.  The  railway  station  is  eight  miles  by  road 
from  the  capital,  and  is  the  centre  of  a  Russian  town 
called  New  Bokhara.  Its  broad  thoroughfares  are  des- 
titute of  trees  and  flowers,  for  nothing  will  grow  in  this 
ill-chosen  site.  Among  many  mean  buildings  of  the 
bungalow  type  are  some  with  architectural  pretensions — 
a  handsome  residency,  built  by  M.  P.  Lessar  during  his 
term  of  office  as  representative  at  the  Bokharan  Court,  a 
palace  in  a  hybrid  Byzantine  style  lately  erected  for 
the  Amir,  the  new  buildings  of  the  Imperial  Bank,  and 
the  offices  of  the  3rd  Railway  Battalion.  The  Russian 
quarter  already  numbers  6000  inhabitants,  and  is  daily 


36o  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a. d.  1898. 

growing  in  importance  at  the  expense  of  its  older  rival. 
The  highway  leading  to  the  latter  passes  through 
a  country  which  is  evidently  much  subdivided,  and 
cultivated  with  extreme  care.  The  fertile  belt  is  watered 
by  distributories  from  the  Zarafshan,^  which  passes 
Samarkand  and  pours  a  flood  of  wealth  into  Bokhara's 
lap.  These  canals  are  popularly  attributed  to  Alexander 
the  Great  and  Timur,  heroic  figures  which  serve  as  a 
spur  to  the  imagination  of  poets  and  professional  story- 
tellers throughout  Central  Asia.  They  are,  in  point  of 
fact,  the  inevitable  result  of  the  natural  conditions  en- 
countered. The  soil  in  Bokhara  is  either  a  rich  yellow 
loam  or  sandy  waste,  and  the  latter  is  ever  encroach- 
ing. The  rainfall  is  scanty ;  and,  but  for  the  help  of 
irrigation,  mankind  would  long  since  have  given  up 
the  incessant  struggle  for  existence.  Nowhere  in  the 
world  are  the  contrasts  between  desolation  and  plenty 
more  startling.  A  caravan  approaching  the  capital  finds 
itself,  after  weary  months  spent  in  the  sands,  suddenly 
surrounded  by  waving  crops,  and  trees  laden  with 
luscious  fruit,  while  its  ears  are  greeted  by  the  ripple  of 
water.  The  mechanism  by  which  this  wondrous  change 
is  effected  would  excite  the  derision  of  a  European 
engineer.  The  surveyor  lies  prone  upon  his  back  in  the 
direction  from  which  he  wishes  to  bring  water,  looks 
over  his  forehead,  and  notes  the  point  when  ground  is 
last   seen.      This  rude  substitute   for    the  theodolite   in- 

^  The  Zarafshan,  called  by  the  ancients  Polytimtetus,  takes  its  rise  in  a 
tremendous  glacier  of  the  Kharlatau  Mountains,  270  miles  due  east  of 
Samarkand.  Its  upper  reaches  are  little  but  a  succession  of  cataracts,  and  it 
is  too  rapid  and  shallow  for  navigation.  The  average  width  is  210  feet. 
More  than  100  canals  are  supplied  by  this  source  of  Bokhara's  prosperity, 
some  of  which  are  140  feet  broad.  The  capital  is  watered  by  one  of  them, 
called  the  Shari  Rud,  which  is  35  feet  wide,  and  supplies  innumerable 
smaller  distributories  (KhanikofiTs  Bokhara,  p.  39;  MeyendorfTs  Bokhara 
(Paris,  1820),  p.  148). 


A.D.,898.]         A  PROTECTED  NATIVE  STATE  361 

volves  a  great  deal  of  misplaced  labour,  but  its  results 
are  as  marvellous  as  those  of  the  Egyptian  irrigation 
department.  The  precious  fluid  is  brought  from  the 
mountains  in  canals,  carried  round  spurs,  and  crossing 
ravines  in  pipes,  which,  like  those  of  our  old  London 
water  companies,  are  often  mere  hollow  trees.  When 
the  plain  is  reached  the  gradient  is  very  slight ;  and 
so  tenacious  is  the  soil  that  streams  30  feet  in  breadth 
are  restrained  by  banks  3|  feet  high  and  3  feet  broad 
at  the  base.  The  whole  adult  village  population  are 
the  labourers,  their  only  implements  being  a  clumsy 
hoe,  the  lap  of  their  long  flowing  robe,  and  a  hurdle 
of  plaited  branches.  The  administration  of  the  canals 
is  on  a  popular  basis.  The  superintendents,  called 
"  aksakals,"  are  elected  by  the  cultivators ;  and  every 
village  has  its  own  "  mirab,"  who  watches  over  the 
repairs  and  distributories,  and  is  remunerated  by  a  fixed 
proportion  of  the  harvests.  In  years  of  plenty  the 
task  is  an  easy  one ;  but  it  is  far  otherwise  at  the 
critical  weeks  which  precede  the  spring  melting  of  the 
snows.  Every  drop  of  water  is  then  worth  its  weight 
in  gold,  and  it  must  be  so  divided  that  each  plot 
may  get  its  just  proportion.  Complications,  too,  occur 
owing  to  the  privileges  which  certain  villages  enjoy 
by  royal  grant  or  immemorial  prescription,  and  by  the 
absence  of  any  satisfactory  method  of  measuring  dis- 
charges.^ The  Russians  have  shown  wisdom  in  leaving 
the  canals  in  native  hands  in  the  territory  administered 
by  them.  In  Bokhara,  of  course,  there  has  never  been 
any  question  of  introducing  reform.  The  Bokharan 
cultivator  manures  his  fields  heavily  after  harvest,  and 
until  they  receive  the  life-giving  water.  In  the  city 
streets,  old  men  and  boys  may  be  seen  gathering  every 
particle  of  refuse ;  and,  in  spite  of  the  constant  supply, 

*  Moser,  A  Trovers  VAsu  Centrale,  p.  120. 


362  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D.1898. 

the  hungry  soil  is  still  unequal  to  the  incessant  demands 
upon  it.  Then  the  task  of  preparation  begins.  The 
fields  are  turned  up  lengthways  and  again  transversely 
by  a  plough  clumsily  built  of  wood,  its  share  only  being 
tipped  with  iron.  A  pair  of  oxen  can  plough  rather 
more  than  one  acre  during  the  cool  hours  between 
midnight  and  9  a,m.^  The  soil  is  then  manured  and 
drenched  with  water.  Spots  which  show  effervescence, 
that  curse  of  irrigated  soil,^  are  dug  up  by  hand  and 
dressed  with  lime  picked  out  of  the  ruins  which  abound 
in  these  ancient  seats  of  population.  The  harrow,  a 
plank  two  feet  wide  studded  with  iron  nails,  is  next 
passed  over  the  sodden  soil  in  two  directions.  The  enu- 
meration of  the  crops  thus  raised  would  be  as  tedious 
as  Homer's  catalogue  of  men  of  war.  The  stand-by  of 
the  poor  is  juwari  {holcus  sorghum  vel  saccharatunt)^  a 
species  of  millet  which  yields  two  hundredfold  of  coarse 
grain.  Cotton  is  amongst  the  most  lucrative ;  and  a  vast 
impetus  has  been  given  to  its  growth  by  the  railway, 
which  carries  the  raw  material  to  Russian  mills.  Wheat, 
barley,  and  pulse  are  also  staples,  and  the  vine  is  made 
to  produce  a  heady  fluid,  like  immature  sherry,  by 
Armenians  and  Jews,  who  have  the  monopoly  of  a 
manufacture  forbidden  to  true  believers.  The  entire 
cultivated  area  of  Bokhara  is  not  much  in  excess  of 
8000  square  miles,  and  the  population  which  it  main- 
tains is  at  least  2\  millions.  Thus  the  price  of  land 
is  high,  and  it  is  much  subdivided.^ 

1  Khanikoff,  p.  188. 

'  Throughout  Central  Asia  the  unit  of  surface  measure  is  the  tanap,  which 
is  equivalent  to  44, 100  square  feet.  This  pest  is  termed  reh  in  India,  and 
is  fought  in  a  very  half-hearted  way  by  the  ryots. 

'  Khanikoff,  Bokhara,  p.  9.  This  author,  who  wrote  in  1845,  gives  as  the 
average  price  of  good  land  a  sum  equivalent  to  ;[^20  of  our  currency  (p.  154). 
Forty  years  later  the  Russians  paid  ;^  16  per  acre  for  land  required  for  their 
railway  (Ney,  En  Asie  Cenirale,  p.  311). 


i 


A.D.,898.]         A  PROTECTED  NATIVE  STATE  363 

When  viewed  from  a  height  the  country  resembles 
a  huge  shawl  of  a  specially  intricate  pattern.  The  eight 
miles  of  dusty  road  which  separate  the  capital  from  the 
Russian  quarter  run  through  fields  which  are  exact 
replicas  of  those  of  Upper  India,  and  the  parallel  ex- 
tends to  the  villages  of  flat-roofed  houses  with  wooden 
verandahs,  and  the  shops  displaying  piles  of  sticky 
sweetmeats.  The  traveller's  progress  is  impeded  by 
rows  of  ponies  tethered  in  the  narrow  streets.  In  Bok- 
hara everyone  rides.  The  poorest  can  afford  the  hire 
of  a  moiety  of  a  donkey,  and  beggars  on  horseback 
excite  no  remark.  The  approach  to  the  city  is  lined 
with  the  gardens  in  which  Bokharan  citizens  delight. 
They  are  walled  in  or  sheltered  from  the  wintry  blast 
by  rows  of  silver  poplars.  A  quadrangular  pond  marks 
the  centre  of  four  paths  at  right  angles  connected  by 
smaller  ones,  and  overshadowed  by  fruit  trees  which  are 
a  mass  of  tender  hues  when  spring  showers  bring  out 
the  blossom.  Flowers  are  few :  the  rose,  the  blue  iris, 
sunflower,  and  poppy  well-nigh  exhaust  the  list.  The 
cultivation  of  fruit  is  well  understood.  The  melons 
have  a  more  delicate  aroma  than  those  of  any  Eastern 
country.  Dried  apricots  are  known  in  India  as  the 
"  Alu-i-Bokhara  " ;  and  every  variety  of  fruit  familiar  to 
the  European  palate  is  to  be  had  in  a  perfection  and  at 
prices  which  would  excite  wonder  in  Covent  Garden. 

This  setting  of  brilliant  vegetation  adds  dignity  to 
the  crumbling  ramparts  of  Bokhara.  The  town-wall,  28 
feet  high  and  7|  miles  in  circuit,  encloses  an  area  of  1760 
acres,  which  seems  disproportionate  to  the  dwindling 
population,  now  amounting  to  no  more  than  65,000 
souls.^     Entering  one  of  the  eleven  gates,^  unchallenged 

^  According  to  Wolff,  it  numbered  180,000  in  1843  {Bokhara,  p.  163). 
'  They  are  named  Imam,  Samarkand,  Mazar,  Karshi,  Salahkhana,  Nama- 
ziyya,  Shaykh  Jalal,  Karakul,  Shlr-Giran,  Talipash,  and  Oghlan. 


364  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D.1898. 

by  the  slouching  sentry,  the  traveller  finds  himself  in  a 
daedalus  of  narrow  lanes,  swarming  with  human  beings 
more  suggestive  of  the  unadulterated  East  than  any 
other  city  in  Asia  can  show.  Sart  is  the  Russian  term 
for  the  sedentary  population  throughout  Central  Asia; 
but  the  variety  of  types  which  it  includes  is  immense. 
The  Tajiks  are  a  tall  well-favoured  race,  with  clear  olive 
complexions  and  black  eyes  and  hair.^  Their  origin  is 
the  subject  of  much  controversy ;  but,  according  to  a 
tradition  among  them,  they  migrated  to  Bokhara  from 
the  west,  and  reclaimed  a  reedy  swamp  which  became  the 
city's  site.^  They  were  subdued  by  the  fierce  Arabs  in 
the  eighth  century,  and  adopted  the  Mohammedan  re- 
ligion. As  each  tide  of  conquest  swept  the  country  the 
Tajiks  bent  their  necks,  and  acquired  all  the  vices  of  a 
race  inured  to  foreign  dominion.  They  are  polished, 
laborious,  and  intelligent,  with  a  genius  for  commerce, 
but  their  greed  and  faithlessness  are  as  notorious  as  their 
cowardice.^  Thus  the  Tajik  is  regarded  v/ith  supreme 
contempt  by  the  Uzbegs,  who  for  three  centuries  have 

^  For  the  ethnology  of  Bokhara  the  reader  should  consult  Meyendorff, 
p.  189  ;  Khanikoff,  chaps,  vii.,  viii.,  and  ix.  ;  and  Moser,  A  Travers  I'Asie 
Centrale,  p.  68. 

■■'  The  etymology  of  Bokhara  is  also  a  moot  point.  There  can  be  little 
doubt,  however,  that  the  word  is  derived  from  the  Sanskrit  vihdra,  or  hermit- 
cell,  which  was  adopted  by  the  Buddhists  and  became  biihdra  in  Mongolian. 
The  city  clustered  round  the  retreat  of  an  early  ascetic. 

2  Ujfalvy  states  that  the  Tajiks  of  the  plains,  as  distinguished  from  their 
brethren  of  the  hills,  and  the  branch  called  Galchas  inhabiting  the  Pamirs, 
have  a  triple  origin.  They  are  {a)  descendants  from  the  Iranian  aborigines 
of  Bactriana  and  Soghdiana,  who  remained  in  the  level  country  throughout  the 
successive  invasions  of  Turko-Tartars,  Mongols,  and  Arabs  ;  they  accepted  the 
domination  of  each  new-comer,  and  were  compelled  to  give  their  daughters 
in  marriage  to  the  conquerors  ;  {b)  immigrants  who  from  time  to  time  arrived 
in  Bokhara  from  Khorasan ;  {c)  mixed  alliances  between  the  wealthier  in- 
habitants of  the  Khanate  and  Persian  slaves  brought  thither  during  many 
centuries  by  Turkoman  freebooters.  This  author  adds  that  many  Tajiks  show 
signs  of  Arab  blood  in  their  aquiline  noses  and  brilliant  eyes  {Les  Aryens, 
Paris,  1896). 


i 


A.D.I898.]         A  PROTECTED  NATIVE  STATE  365 

been  the  dominant  race.^  They  are  a  stem  of  the  great 
Turkish  family  which,  starting  from  the  steppes  north  of 
the  Gobi  Desert,  brought  half  the  world  under  their 
sway.  They  are  middle-sized  but  sturdy,  with  high 
cheek-bones,  ruddy  complexions,  and  dark  auburn  hair. 
In  character  they  resemble  the  Osmanlls — not  the  scum 
of  the  Levant  now  encountered  at  Constantinople,  but 
the  rude  warriors  who  supplanted  the  Cross  by  the 
Crescent  there  in  the  fifteenth  century.  They  are  brave 
and  independent,  with  the  grossness  of  manners  and 
something  of  the  inborn  dignity  of  the  unadulterated 
Turk.  Like  the  Kirghiz,  who  are  also  met  with  in 
Bokhara,^  and  the  Turkomans,  Uzbegs  are  either  seden- 
tary or  nomads.  The  first  class  resemble  the  Tajiks  in 
their  greed  for  gain,  but  they  are  not  so  civilised ;  the 
second  tend  their  flocks  and  herds,  dwelling  in  tents  of 
dark  grey  felt  hung  with  bright  carpets.  The  reigning 
dynasty  is  of  this  race,  and  belongs  to  a  division  of  the 
Mangit,  the  chief  of  the  97  clans  ^  into  which  Uzbegs 
are  divided.  At  the  opposite  pole  stand  the  Jewish 
community,  which  is  traditionally  believed  to  have 
migrated  hither  from  Baghdad.  Half  a  century  ago 
they  numbered  10,000,*  but  they  have  dwindled  to 
perhaps  half  as  many  under  the  grinding  persecution  to 

^  An  Uzbeg  proverb  has  it :  "  When  a  Tajik  tells  the  truth  he  has  a  fit  of 
colic  ! " 

*  The  Kirghiz  style  themselves  Kazak,  "warriors."  They  roam  over  the 
Khanates,  and  love  to  shelter  themselves  from  the  icy  blasts  in  the  long 
reeds  lining  the  banks  of  the  Sir  Darya.  They  are  cruel,  treacherous,  and 
given  to  rapine.  Government  is  exercised  by  hereditary  Khans,  but  the 
personal  equation  is  everything,  and  the  Khan  who  derogates  is  lost.  Fighting 
men  are  called  Bahadurs  ;  the  relatives  of  the  tribal  Khan,  Sultans. 

*  A  native  chronicle  called  "Nassed  Nameti  Uzbekia,"  giving  a  catalogue 
of  these  clans,  is  quoted  by  Khanikoff,  Bokhara,  p.  74. 

^  Wolff's  Bokhara,  p.  163.  The  doctor  states  that  their  sjTiagogue  pos- 
sesses an  ancient  version  of  the  Prophet  Daniel,  giving  the  variant  "2400" 
in  the  place  of  "  2300"  in  chap.  viii.  ver.  14. 


366  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1898. 

which  they  have  been  subjected.  Bokhara*  is  not  a  whit 
in  advance  of  mediaeval  Europe  in  its  treatment  of  this 
forlorn  colony.  The  time,  indeed,  has  gone  by  when 
Jews  might  be  savagely  assaulted  by  a  true  believer,  and 
even  killed  with  impunity.  But  they  are  still  relegated 
to  a  filthy  and  crowded  Ghetto.  They  are  forbidden  to 
ride  in  the  streets,  and  must  wear  a  distinctive  costume, 
a  small  black  cap  edged  with  two  fingers'  breadth  of 
sheep-skin,  a  dark  dressing-gown  of  camels'  hair,  and  a 
rope  girdle,  a  survival  of  a  time  when  it  might  at  any 
moment  be  required  for  its  wearer's  execution.  This 
tyranny,  tenfold  worse  than  that  endured  by  the  Tajiks, 
has  ranged  the  Jew  on  the  side  of  the  white  man. 

In  the  earlier  days  of  their  empire  in  Central  Asia 
the  Russians  received  a  good  deal  of  valuable  informa- 
tion as  to  popular  feeling  from  these  despised  auxiliaries. 
The  blind  hatred  which  superiority  excites  in  minds  of 
the  lower  type  is  universal  in  Bokhara,  and  the  Jews  of 
the  Khanate  still  groan  under  disabilities  which  are  more 
degrading  to  their  oppressors  than  to  themselves.  The 
Persian  element  is  a  strong  one,  and  the  slim  figures, 
dark  eyes,  and  regular  features  of  the  children  of  poor 
worn-out  Iran  are  conspicuous  in  the  motley  crowd  that 
fills  the  streets.  They  are  descended  from  slaves  sold 
by  Turkoman  raiders,  or  from  40,000  Persian  families 
transplanted  from  Merv  by  Amir  Murad  in  1784. 
Being  Shf  as,  they  cordially  detest  the  Uzbegs  and  Tajiks, 
who  belong  to  the  rival  Sunni  sect.^  Under  former 
Amirs,  notably  the  treacherous  Nasrullah,  who  murdered 

^  As  is  well  known,  the  Mohammedans  everywhere  are  ranged  into  two 
sections.  The  Sunnis  are  the  orthodox,  and  owe  their  name  to  their  adhesion 
to  the  traditionary  teaching,  Sunna,  of  the  Prophet.  The  Shi'as  reject  it ;  and 
are  also  champions  of  the  claim  to  succeed  Mohammed  of ' Ali,  his  cousin  and 
son-in-law,  and  of  his  sons  in  their  turn,  Hasan  and  Husayn.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Persians,  who  are  Shi'as,  almost  the  whole  of  the  Mohammedan 
world  is  Sunni.    The  two  sects  hate  each  other  with  the  true  odium  theologium. 


A.D.I898.]         A  PROTECTED  NATIVE  STATE  367 

our  countrymen  Stoddart  and  Conolly,  the  Persians 
gained  commanding  influence.^  They  are  now  peaceable 
traders,  whose  patriotism  stops  at  day-dreams  of  reviving 
the  glories  of  the  greatest  and  most  ruthless  of  their 
royal  line,  Nadir  Shah.  Broad-shouldered  Afghans, 
lithe  bright-eyed  Arabs,  who  have  the  secret  of  dressing 
the  real  Astrakhan  lamb-skin,  and  Indian  subjects  of  Her 
Majesty,  are  common  in  Bokhara.  The  latter  are  styled 
by  the  natives  Multanis,  though  most  of  them  hail  from 
Haydarabad  in  Sindh.  They  are  betrayed  by  their  dark 
complexion  and  the  flame-shaped  caste-marks  on  their 
swarthy  brows.  The  Hindu  shares  with  the  Jew  the 
immense  profits  derived  from  money-lending,  which  is 
forbidden  to  true  believers,  and  they  are  eager  and 
rapacious  traders.  The  large  commerce  in  tea  is  in  the 
hands  of  some  wealthy  Peshawar  Mohammedans.  The 
Indian  colony  devote  a  few  years  to  money-grabbing, 
living  the  while  in  serais  of  their  own,  consisting  of  a 
courtyard  surrounded  with  unfurnished  cells,  in  which 
the  traveller  spreads  his  bedding,  while  his  goods  and 
camels  occupy  the  centre  of  the  square.  They  profess 
to  be  well  satisfied  with  the  existing  order  of  things  at 
Bokhara,  but  have  some  reason  to  complain  of  the 
absence  of  any  British  consular  agency.- 

The  variety  of  features  shown  by  a  Bokharan  crowd 
hardly  extends  to  the  costumes.  The  wealthier  wear 
gorgeous  khal'ats,  or  long  dressing-gowns  of  cashmere  or 
cloth  of  gold.     In  the  middle  class  the  universal  garment 

^  These  unhappy  victims  were  British  officers  sent  to  Bokhara  on  diplo- 
matic service.  After  a  long  imprisonment  they  were  cruelly  beheaded  by 
order  of  the  Amir  Nasrullah  in  1843.     See  Wolflfs  Bokhara,  passim. 

*  This  neglect  of  one  of  the  chief  duties  of  government — the  protection  of 
its  subjects  abroad — is  universal  in  Central  Asia.  We  have  no  consul  farther 
east  than  Baku.  The  Russians  excuse  their  persistent  refusal  to  grant  an 
exequatur  to  a  consul  at  Tiflis  by  the  allegation  that  we  would  not  permit 
them  to  establish  such  agencies  on  our  Indian  frontiers, 


368  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1898. 

is  of  coloured  silk,  with  a  curious  pattern  of  concentric 
lines ;  while  the  populace  is  content  with  blue  or  striped 
cotton.  All  have  huge  turbans  of  white  muslin,  the  size 
of  which  is  an  evidence  of  their  wearers'  rank.  Sometimes 
as  many  as  twenty  yards  are  used.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that,  in  spite  of  crushing  protective  duties,  the  produce  of 
Manchester  looms  is  preferred  by  all  who  can  afford  the 
luxury.^  The  feminine  element,  which  gives  the  greatest 
charm  to  the  crowds  of  Western  cities,  is  entirely  absent 
in  Bokhara.  Such  women  as  venture  into  the  streets  are 
muffled  in  a  hideous  smock  ^  and  a  thick  horse-hair  veil. 
It  must  be  admitted  that  the  beauties  thus  concealed  lie 
chiefly  in  splendid  dark  eyes,  the  lustre  of  which  owes 
much  to  the  aid  of  henna,  and  arched  eyebrows  which 
are  deemed  indicators  of  passion,  and  therefore  heightened 
by  artificial  means.  The  emancipation  of  women  has 
not  begun  in  Bokhara.  Marriage  is  a  sale  conducted 
with  as  little  delicacy  as  the  cattle-dealer  imports  into 
his  transactions.  The  child-wife  never  gains  her  hus- 
band's love  or  confidence,  and  is  deserted  while  her 
charms  are  at  their  zenith.  Custom,  in  fact,  moulds 
the  Bokharan's  inmost  being,  and  the  degraded  position 
assigned  to  women  by  its  teaching  places  him  beyond 
the  pale  of  civilisation.  Home-life  in  the  Central  Asian 
Khanates  exists  no  more  than  it  did  in  ancient  Rome. 
The  citizens'  houses  are  ranges  of  dark  and  cheerless 
cells  surrounding  a  central  courtyard,  and  presenting 
blind  walls  to  the  street.  The  intense  cold  of  the  winter 
months  is  mocked  rather  than  mitigated  by  charcoal 
braziers.^      Music  is  unknown  in  the  cheerless  interior, 

^  The  local  phrase  for  turban  is  "salla."  A  Russian-made  one  costs 
i^  roubles;  the  cheapest  Manchester  turban  being  3^,  and  the  dearest  15 
roubles. 

*  Called  "  paranji."     It  has  balloon  sleeves  meeting  at  the  shoulders. 

*  Bokhara  stands  in  lat.  39°  46'  N.,  in  the  same  parallel  as  Northern  Spain, 
Naples,  and  Philadelphia.     It  is  1200  feet  above  sea-level,  and  exposed  to 


A.D.  .898.1         A  PROTECTED  NATIVE  STATE  369 

and  tobacco  was  till  lately  tabooed  by  the  arrogant 
priests.  When  an  envoy  of  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  made 
his  state  entry  into  the  city  his  use  of  a  long  amber- 
tipped  pipe  caused  universal  consternation.  Nor  do  the 
pleasures  of  a  refined  table  solace  the  tedium  of  life. 
After  attending  morning  prayers  at  his  mosque  the 
citizen  swallows  a  mess  of  tea  boiled  into  the  consistency 
of  thick  soup,  with  salt  and  milk,  and  at  his  second  meal, 
taken  at  5  p.m.,  the  standing  dish  is  the  pillau  of  mutton, 
rice,  and  vegetables.  The  craving  for  amusement  so 
deeply  implanted  in  human  nature  finds  an  outlet  in  the 
performances  of  bachas} — lads  of  between  eight  and 
fifteen  with  long  flowing  locks,  who  dance,  posture, 
and  sing  with  a  brio  which  excites  frenzy  in  Bokharan 
spectators.  They  supply  the  place  of  our  opera-singers, 
ballet-girls,  and  actresses.  The  names  of  bacJias  pre- 
eminent for  beauty  and  languishing  graces  are  as  often 
pronounced  as  those  of  the  extinct  race  of  Divas  were  by 
Englishmen  of  the  last  generation.  They  sometimes 
rise  to  high  positions  in  the  state,  and  oftener  amass 
great  wealth  after  a  few  years'  practice  of  their  degrading 
trade.  The  Amir  maintains  a  troupe  of  bachas ;  and 
without  their  aid  an  entertainment  of  any  description 
would  be  as  a  performance  of  Hamlet  without  the  Prince 
of  Denmark.  The  European  who  attends  one  of  these 
ceremonies  feels  instinctively  how  wide  is  the  gulf  between 
East  and  West,  when  he  remarks  the  enthusiasm  excited 
by  the  phases  of  passion  depicted  by  these  children. 

To  Englishmen  an  exhibition  of  the  national  game  of 

Siberian  blasts  which  make  the  winter  climate  very  severe.  The  average 
winter  temperature  of  London  is  nearly  twice  that  of  Bokhara.  In  February 
heav}'  rains  usher  in  a  springtime  as  glorious  as  that  which  clothes  our  English 
woods,  but  suffocating  summer  heats  follow  which  are  broken  by  a  fortnight's 
rain  in  October.  The  climate  is  one  of  extremes  (Khanikoff,  Bokhara^ 
chap.  v). 

*  Bacha,  a  Persian  word  signifying  the  young  of  any  animal. 

24 


370  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D.1898. 

baigha  is  more  interesting.  It  is  a  scramble  by  mounted 
players  for  the  carcass  of  a  goat.  When  all  are  ready 
for  the  fray,  the  umpire  beheads  the  creature  and  throws 
its  bleeding  body  into  the  arena.  Then  follows  a  scrim- 
mage which  reminds  one  of  Rugby  football.  The  goat's 
remains  become  the  centre  of  a  dense  mass  of  men  and 
horses  locked  in  a  desperate  struggle,  in  which,  wonderful 
to  relate,  players  are  rarely  unseated,  and  still  more  seldom 
do  the  animals  injure  each  other.  The  object  of  each  is 
to  monopolise  the  Bokharan  substitute  for  a  ball,  and  carry 
it  far  from  the  scene  of  action,  outstripping  all  competitors. 
The  great  bazaar  of  Bokhara  makes  some  amends 
for  the  dulness  long  drawn  out  of  domestic  life.  It  is, 
indeed,  a  relief  to  pass  from  the  garish  sunshine  into  the 
cool  gloom  of  these  lofty  arcades,  which  extend  for  at 
least  seven  miles  in  all  their  ramifications.  The  roof  is 
generally  of  beaten  clay,  laid  upon  undressed  timber; 
and  on  either  side  is  an  endless  vista  of  booths,  displaying 
every  article  of  luxury  and  use  in  demand  among  Asiatic 
people.  Carpets  and  rugs  of  harmonious  tone,  piles  of 
gaudy  shawls  and  dress  pieces,  snuff-boxes  of  polished 
gourd  to  hold  the  pungent  green  powder  affected  by  the 
Bokharans,  and  cutlery  and  trinklets  of  every  description. 
Europe  here  struggles  with  Asia  for  mastery,  and  seems 
about  to  gain  the  battle  ;  for  though  all  the  European 
goods  bear  Russian  labels,  the  great  bulk  is  the  produce 
of  German  workshops.  The  stimulus  given  to  the  trade 
of  the  Fatherland  by  the  payment  of  the  French  indem- 
nity in  1 87 1  has  led  to  a  constant  movement  of  Teutons 
across  the  Russian  frontier.  They  retain  their  German 
citizenship,  while  they  turn  out  cheap  and  nasty  wares 
under  the  aegis  of  a  protective  fiscal  system.  One  sec- 
tion of  the  vast  bazaar,  roofed  by  a  dome  of  ancient  brick- 
work, is  sacred  to  literature,  and  the  counters  of  its  shops 
are  piled  high  with  standard  works  in  lithograph  editions. 


A.D.I898.]        A  PROTECTED  NATIVE  STATE  371 

and  here  and  there  a  manuscript.  Great  bargains  may 
sometimes  be  obtained  by  connoisseurs,  though  there  are 
still  enough  native  bibliophils  in  Bokhara  to  render  good 
finds  by  Europeans  exceptional.  Money-changers'  stalls 
are  frequent,  with  tempting  heaps  of  silver  and  copper 
discs  for  exchange  against  Russian  money.  The  state 
has  been  allowed  to  retain  its  own  coinage,  a  prerogative 
more  valued  than  any  other  by  Eastern  sovereigns.  The 
unit  is  the  tanga,  a  silver  piece  which  fluctuates  as 
violently  as  did  the  Indian  rupee  before  Sir  David 
Barbour  closed  the  mints.  It  is  at  present  worth  1 5 
kopeks,  but  sudden  oscillations  of  a  kopek  and  even 
more  are  common.^  The  gold  coin  in  circulation  is 
styled  tila,  and  is  of  unusual  purity.  It  is  worth  21 
tangas.  For  the  needs  of  the  proletariat  there  are  tiny 
brass  dumps,  44  of  which  go  to  the  tanga.  Another 
quarter  of  the  bazaar  displays  the  silks  and  velvets  for 
which  Bokhara  was  once  so  famous.  The  trade  is  a 
dwindling  one,  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  disease  among 
the  worms ;  and  the  chief  beauty  of  the  fabrics  lies  in 
their    faintly    stamped,    flowered    patterns.^       The    vast 

*  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  M.  P.  Lessar,  while  Resident  at  Bokhara, 
anticipated  Sir  D.  Barbour's  financial  policy  in  India  by  inducing  the  Amir  to 
close  his  mint.  The  stiffening  effect  which  might  have  been  expected  was 
not  attained.  Before  the  great  recoinage  of  1834  Indian  silver  underwent 
similar  oscillations.  The  difference  in  weight  and  intrinsic  value  between 
rupees  of  different  descriptions  gave  native  brokers  an  opportunity  of  feathering 
their  nests.  They  met  in  secret  conclave  periodically,  and  decided  how  many 
copper  coins  should  be  exchanged  against  each  species  of  rupee.  A  recoinage, 
or  adoption  of  the  Russian  monetary  system,  is  the  only  possible  remedy. 

-  In  1872  M.  Petrofsky,  agent  of  the  Minister  of  Finance,  visited  Bokhara 
in  order  to  study  the  commercial  system.  He  stated,  in  the  European 
Messenger  for  March  1873,  that  the  city  was  then  an  entrepot  for  English  and 
Afghan  wares.  Green  tea  in  those  days  arrived  by  way  of  Afghanistan,  and 
was  distributed  throughout  the  Khanates  from  Bokhara.  "  WTio  can  guarantee," 
he  asks  plaintively,  ' '  that  with  our  carelessness  with  regard  to  the  Bokharan 
market,  all  the  trade  with  Central  Asia  will  not  pass  into  the  hands  of  the 
English  and  Afghans?"  This  fearful  contingency  has  been  obviated  by 
protective  tariffe  and  the  Transcaspian  Railway. 


372  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a. d.  1898. 

crowd  of  loungers  in  these  arcades  shows  none  of  the 
loathing  for  the  Giaur  which  the  appearance  of  one  in 
this  hotbed  of  fanaticism  once  excited.  They  civilly 
make  way  for  the  European's  droshky,  and  his  eyes  rarely 
encounter  an  unfriendly  glance  in  those  of  the  shop- 
keepers squatting  impassively  in  a  setting  of  rich  carpets 
and  dazzling  weapons,  or  the  throng  of  customers  who 
watch  every  phase  of  the  bargaining.  But  the  old  spirit 
has  been  scotched,  not  killed,  by  Russification.  The 
European  who  allows  his  shadow  to  flit  on  a  mulla 
lolling  on  his  pile  of  cushions  will  be  roundly  cursed  for 
his  impudence.  The  crowd  intent  on  buying  and  selling 
find  the  wherewithal  to  assuage  their  hunger  in  the 
eating-houses,  which  exhibit  huge  caldrons  of  bubbling 
pillau,  flat  cakes  of  unleavened  bread,  and  heaps  of  coarse 
sweetmeats  made  from  Russian  beet-sugar.  The  sam- 
ovar, which  hisses  in  every  eating-house,  reveals  the  Bok- 
haran's  predilection  for  tea.  The  green  variety  is  alone 
consumed,  and  it  retails  at  2s.  lod.  per  pound,  in  spite  of  a 
Russian  import  duty  of  is.  lod.  In  pre- railway  days  it 
was  imported  through  Afghanistan,  but  the  line  connect- 
ing Bokhara  with  the  Caspian  has  superseded  the  old 
camel  caravans,  with  their  leisurely  movements  and  lia- 
bility to  pillage  and  exactions.  Tea  now  comes  into  Bok- 
hara by  way  of  Bombay  and  Batum.  China  still  supplies 
the  great  bulk  of  the  demand  ;  but  Indian  and  Ceylon 
teas  are  slowly  making  their  way  even  in  remote  Bokhara. 
Their  progress  would  be  far  more  rapid  but  for  the 
crushing  import  duty  levied  by  the  Russian  Government. 
The  Transcaspian  Railway  has,  in  point  of  fact,  robbed 
Peter  to  pay  Paul.  Russians  and  Russo-Germans  find 
a  ready  sale  in  Central  Asia  for  their  wares,  but  Bokhara 
is  no  longer  a  great  centre  for  the  distribution  of  English 
and  Indian  goods,  as  it  was  a  quarter  of  a  century  back. 
They  will   live  in    the   memory   of  the   denizen   of  the 


A.D.  .893.1         A  PROTECTED  NATIVE  STATE  373 

prosaic  West,  those  Bokhara  bazaars,  with  their  long  lines 
of  shops  rich  in  dazzling  colours,  the  blue  sky  peeping 
through  rents  in  the  time-worn  vaulting,  and  the  sunshine 
flecking  the  kaleidoscopic  crowd  in  the  galleries  below. 
Though  the  chief  interest  of  Bokhara  centres  in  its 
bazaars,  it  has  many  public  buildings  which  repay 
examination.  In  the  north-west  quarter  is  the  Rigistan, 
a  market-place  surrounded  by  shops  which  are  cleared  of 
their  contents  at  nightfall.  On  its  west  side  is  a  tank 
overshadowed  by  trees,  which  are  as  rare  in  Bokhara  as 
in  the  city  of  London,  and  surrounded  by  tea  and  barbers' 
shops,  the  resort  of  a  host  of  idlers  during  the  daylight 
hours.  One  side  of  the  Rigistan  is  occupied  by  the  Ark, 
or  citadel,  which  stands  on  a  vast  artificial  mound,  and  is 
walled  by  crenellated  ramparts  forming  a  square  of  450 
yards.  It  dates  from  the  era  of  the  Samanides.  The 
great  gate,  built  by  Rahim  Khan  in  1742,  is  flanked  by 
towers  1 00  feet  high  showing  traces  of  faience  ;  and 
opens  on  a  vaulted  corridor  leading  to  the  Amir's  palace, 
treasury,  and  state  prison.  In  old  days  this  was  a  loath- 
some dungeon  full  of  ticks  and  other  vermin  ;  but  the 
story  so  oft  repeated,  that  the  insects  received  rations 
of  raw  meat  in  the  absence  of  human  victims,  is  probably 
untrue.^  Here  dwells  the  Kushbegi,  or  prime  minister, 
of  whom  more  anon  ;  but  the  buildings  of  the  citadel  are 
by  no  means  imposing  in  size  or  architectural  merit.  In 
a  shed  on  the  right  of  the  gateway  is  the  Artillery  Park, 
containing  about  fifty  pieces,  all  of  antiquated  make.  A 
smaller  market-place,  which  serves  for  dealings  in  raw 
cotton,  is  surrounded  by  the  most  imposing  of  Bokhara's 
public  edifices. 

On  one  side  is  the  great  mosque,  called  the  Masjid-i- 
Jami*,  as  are  those  of  Delhi  and  Agra,  because  it  was 
built  to  hold  the  immense  crowd  attending  a  Jum'a,  or 

^  Schuyler,  Turkestan^  voL  u.  p.  9a 


374  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1898. 

Friday  service.  The  front  is  a  vast  recessed  portal 
covered  with  arabesques  in  faience ;  its  gates  give  access 
to  a  courtyard  spacious  enough  to  contain  10,000 
worshippers/  surrounded  by  a  vaulted  cloister.  Near  it 
is  the  Minar  Kalan,  or  Great  Minar,  a  round  tower  36  feet 
at  the  base,  and  tapering  upwards  to  a  height  of  210. 
The  whole  surface  is  covered  with  beautiful  designs  in 
carved  brick,  which  show  that  it  dates  from  Bokhara's 
golden  age.  From  the  summit  criminals  were  pre- 
cipitated into  the  market-place  beneath  ;  but  access  to 
it  is  now  forbidden,  lest  curious  visitors  should  pry  into 
the  scores  of  courtyards  which  it  commands.  Opposite 
to  the  city  mosque  is  the  Madrasa  Mir-i-'Arab,  a  stately 
college  with  a  tall  recessed  gateway,  which  ranks  first 
among  the  103  of  which  Bokhara  boasts.  The  entrance 
is  through  a  door  on  the  left,  which  opens  on  a  vaulted 
corridor  leading  to  a  quadrangle  surrounded  by  a  double 
tier  of  cells,  called  hujrats,  in  which  the  pupils  reside. 
Each  has  its  bed-place  on  a  dais  spread  with  carpets  and 
pillows,  and  niches  in  the  wall  for  his  books  and  clothes. 
Here  the  more  promising  lads  from  the  elementary 
schools  spend  fifteen  or  twenty  years  in  mastering  the 
legal  and  religious  system  of  Islam.  This  education  is  so 
alien  to  all  that  is  associated  with  the  process  in  Western 
countries,  and  its  results  are  so  far-reaching,  that  a  de- 
scription of  its  mysteries  will  interest  those  who  aim  at 
reading  aright  the  signs  of  the  times  in  Central  Asia. 
Primary  schools  are  to  be  found  in  every  Bokharan 
village,  and  they  abound  in  the  capital.  They  may  be 
known  from  afar  by  the  hum  of  childish  voices,  which 
resounds  from  morn  till  dewy  eve  in  the  narrow  sunless 
streets.  The  course  of  teaching  embraces  the  Koran, 
the  Farz-i-  Ayn,  and  other  books  of  a  religious  tendency, 
written  in  Tajik!,  a  dialect  of  Persian,  and  Turki,  the 
^  Schuyler,  p.  92. 


THE  MIXAR    KAIAX  AT   BOKHARA 


A.D.  ,898.]         A  PROTECTED  NATIVE  STATE  375 

language  of  the  Uzbegs.  Those  who  wish  to  pursue 
their  studies  further  pass  into  the  Madrasas,  which  are 
maintained  from  the  rents  of  great  landed  estates 
assigned  to  them  by  rulers  of  past  ages.  The  cur- 
riculum here  embraces  theology,  Arabic,  law,  and  "  worldly 
,  wisdom."  ^ 

Students  who  are  conscious  of  a  vocation  for  the  priest- 
hood are  subjected  to  a  probation  severer  than  that 
which  is  prescribed  to  candidates  for  admission  to  La 
Trappe  or  Chartreuse.  They  must  obey  all  the  precepts 
of  Mohammed's  code,  and  learn  by  long  and  painful 
practice  to  pronounce  the  shibboleth,  La  Allah  ill  Allah, 
thousands  of  times  without  drawing  breath.  Thus  they 
attain  to  the  coveted  degree  of  Ishan,  are  qualified  to 
instruct  others,  and  receive  the  blindest  devotion  from 
the  lower  orders.  No  training  can  be  conceived  which 
is  more  calculated  to  inspire  self-conceit  and  fanaticism. 
Now  the  priesthood  of  Bokhara  and  the  other  cities  of 
Central  Asia  have  all  been  subjected  to  these  sinister 
influences  at  a  period  of  their  lives  when  the  plastic  mind 
receives  impressions  which  can  never  be  effaced ;  and  the 
schools  and  colleges  are  officered  exclusively  from  the 
sacerdotal  caste.  Before  the  advent  of  the  Russians  to 
power,  the  mullas  directed  the  whole  mechanism  of 
government.  The  most  cruel  and  treacherous  of  the  old 
Amirs  respected  their  lives  and  liberties  and  shaped  his 
conduct  on  their  counsels.  The  mullas'  political  influ- 
ence has  been  destroyed  by  the  Russians'  advent  to 
power,  for  the  theory  on  which  Mohammedan  states  are 
ruled  is  utterly  at  variance  with  Western  conceptions ; 
and  the  insidious  energies  of  the  priesthood  are  restricted 
to  education  and  religious  observances.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  the  wave  of  sedition  which  is  sweeping 

*  For  a  detailed  account  of  the  curriculum  the  reader  is  referred  to  Khani- 
koff,  chap.  xxix. 


376  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.iSqs. 

over  Central  Asia  ^  is  due  to  the  teachings  of  men  who 
desire  the  restoration  of  Islam  as  a  predominant  factor 
in  government.  The  Russian  masters  of  Central  Asia, 
like  we  ourselves  in  India,  are  stepping /^r  ignes  suppositos 
cineri  doloso,  and  a  mistaken  educational  policy  is,  in  both 
cases,  at  the  bottom  of  the  mischief  that  is  brewing. 
The  other  Madrasas  of  Bokhara  are  more  remarkable  for 
size  than  architectural  merit.  One  of  them  was  erected 
at  the  end  of  last  century,  at  the  cost  of  the  Empress 
Catherine  of  Russia,  who  came  under  Voltaire's  influence 
and  displayed  a  Catholicism  which  outran  that  of  the 
philosopher  of  Ferney.^  Adjoining  the  Great  Minar  is 
the  only  public  building  in  Bokhara  which  has  not  seen 
the  march  of  centuries — the  Baths  of  the  Chief  Justice, 
thrown  open  to  the  public  in  1897  by  the  generosity  of  the 
official  who  held  that  rank.  The  innermost  chamber  is 
a  huge  oven  surrounded  by  marble  divans,  on  which  the 
bather  reclines  while  an  attendant  cracks  every  joint  in 
his  body,  scours  him  with  a  piece  of  hair-cloth,  and 
sluices  him  with  cold  water.  Thence  he  passes  to  a  room 
heated  to  a  temperature  of  about  80  degrees,  where  he 
dresses  and  proceeds  to  a  spacious  hall  opening  on  the 
street.  Here,  reclining  on  a  dais  spread  with  carpets  and 
pillows,  he  sips  his  tea  in  the  blissful  lassitude  which 
follows  the  Turkish  bath.  The  Zindan,  or  state  jail,  is  a 
dilapidated  structure  of  brick,  perched  on  a  mound  to  the 
east  of  the  citadel.  The  entrance  is  through  a  dirty 
guardroom  which  gives  on  a  courtyard.  A  door  to  the 
left  leads  to  the  abode  of  petty  offenders — a  smoke- 
stained    shed,    tapestried    with    bundles    containing    the 

^  The  leader  in  the  serious  rising  in  Farghana  last  spring  was  named  Ishan 
Mohammed  'Ali  Khalifa.  In  July  1898  a  Russian  was  murdered  at  New 
Bokhara,  and  the  life  of  another  was  attempted  by  one  of  these  fanatics. 

2  Schuyler  retails  an  old  scandal  to  the  effect  that  the  40,000  roubles  which 
the  Madrasas  cost  were  bestowed  by  the  empress  on  a  Bokharan  envoy  at  her 
Court  after  a  liaison  with  him  ( Tiirkestan,  ii.  p.  93). 


A.D.I893.J         A  PROTECTED  NATIVE  STATE  377 

property  of  the  inmates.  The  latter  squat  on  the  floor 
apparently  in  good  health  and  spirits,  albeit  that  their 
rations  would  not  be  approved  of  at  Wormwood  Scrubbs. 
They  receive  from  Government  1 1  pounds  of  bread  every 
other  day,  but  visitors  are  allowed  to  distribute  as  much 
food  as  they  please.  On  the  right  of  the  courtyard  is  a 
vaulted  room  lit  by  a  barred  opening  in  the  ceiling, 
which  serves  as  a  ward  for  heinous  offenders.  Here  will 
generally  be  found  twenty  or  thirty  wretches  fastened 
together  by  a  heavy  chain  attached  to  an  iron  ring  on 
the  neck  of  each.  They  are  all  murderers  or  banditti 
under  trial  or  awaiting  the  Amir's  confirmation  of  the 
death  sentence ;  and  their  sullen  despair  is  but  too 
evident.  Punishments  were  terribly  severe  in  pre-Russian 
days.  Prisoners  were  riveted  to  the  wall  by  iron  collars 
for  years  together,  and  shrunk  under  the  torture  to  living 
skeletons.  Twice  a  week  they  were  dragged  to  the 
Rigistan,  where  the  Amir  in  person  pronounced  sen- 
tence ;  and  the  spectacle  of  the  poor  half-naked  wretches 
shivering  in  the  snow  was  piteous  indeed.^  Happy  were 
those  condemned  to  decapitation,  which  was  always  per- 
formed with  the  knife,  to  the  gratification  of  the  market 
crowd.  Empalement  and  flinging  from  the  summit  of 
the  Great  Minar  were  usual  forms  of  destruction,  and 
women  taken  in  adultery  were  stoned.  The  prison,  bad 
as  it  is  when  judged  by  European  standards,  is  an  abode 
of  bliss  when  compared  with  those  of  the  native  regime. 
Beneath  the  Zindan  is  a  deep  vault,  now  filled  up,  which 
hardly  a  decade  back  served  as  an  oubliette  for  human 
beings  condemned  to  a  lingering  death,  attended  by 
horrors  which  no  pen  can  describe.  Truly,  these  dark 
places  of  the  earth  owe  much  to  the  softening  influence 
of  a  higher  civilisation. 

Slavery  is  another  practice  which  has  lost  its  terrors 

1  Moser,  p.  151  ;  Khanikoff,  pp.  101-2. 


378  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  ,898. 

since  the  advent  of  the  Russians.  Bokhara  was  once  the 
greatest  market  in  Asia  for  the  produce  of  Turkoman 
and  Kirghiz  raids.  Eighty  years  ago  40,000  Persians 
and  more  than  500  subjects  of  the  Tsar  were  detained 
there  in  bondage.  There  was  a  regular  tariff  for 
these  human  cattle.  A  labourer  fetched  £2<^,  a  skilled 
artisan  £6\,  and  a  pretty  girl  nearly  ;6^ioo.  The  treat- 
ment meted  out  to  them  by  Bokharan  taskmasters  was 
more  atrocious  than  anything  recorded  by  Mrs.  Beecher 
Stowe.  Meyendorff  met  a  Russian  who  had  endured 
unheard-of  tortures,  inflicted  in  order  to  make  him  reveal 
the  route  by  which  a  comrade  in  affliction  had  escaped.^ 
Half  a  century  later  the  effect  of  European  precept  and 
example  was  already  evident.  Mr.  Schuyler  found  the 
traffic  in  human  flesh  conducted  with  some  approach  to 
secrecy,  but,  after  much  bargaining  and  intrigue,  he  was 
able  to  purchase  the  freedom  of  a  Persian  lad  for  a  sum 
equivalent  to  £2^.  It  would  be  saying  too  much  to 
aver  that  the  "  peculiar  institution  "  is  extinct  in  Bokhara. 
The  needs  of  the  harem  and  the  profound  mystery  with 
which  wealthy  families  enshroud  their  domestic  life  render 
it  impossible  that  slavery  should  be  stamped  out  in  any 
Mohammedan  country.  India  itself  is  not  free  from 
the  canker-spot,  though  every  possible  means  have  been 
taken  to  eradicate  it.  But  the  great  source  of  supply 
was  cut  off  when  the  Turkomans  were  forbidden  to  raid 
into  Persia,  and  the  lot  of  those  who  have  been  held  in 
slavery  is  rendered  endurable  by  the  vigilance  of  the 
Russian  Resident.  His  influence  has  been  limited  to 
the  correction  of  flagrant  abuses,  and  Bokhara  is  the 
only    Mohammedan    state    in   Russian   Asia  which    has 

^  Meyendorff  writes:  "The  lot  of  slaves  in  Bokhara  is  terrible.  Nearly 
all  the  Russians  complain  of  being  badly  fed  and  severely  beaten.  I  met  one 
whose  master  had  cut  off  his  ears,  driven  nails  through  his  palms,  flayed  his 
back,  and  poured  boiling  oil  on  his  arms  "  (p.  286). 


A.D.  ,898.]         A  PROTECTED  NATIVE  STATE  379 

been    permitted    to    retain    intact     its     own    system    of 
administration. 

The  sovereign,  whose  official  style  and  title  is  Khan 
of  Bokhara  and  Commander  of  the  Faithful,^  is  nominally 
absolute  master  of  his  realm  and  of  the  lives  and  fortunes 
of  his  subjects.  In  practice  his  power  is  subject  to 
considerable  limitations.  As  a  Mohammedan  prince  he 
is  bound  to  obey  the  injunctions  of  the  Koran  and  the 
canonical  law  of  Islam.^  The  clergy  were  all-powerful 
under  the  last  independent  Amir,  and  their  influence  is 
still  widely  felt,  the  more  so  in  that  it  is  occult.  The  ruler 
is  surrounded  by  greedy  and  venal  followers,  and  his  Court 
is  a  centre  of  intrigues.  His  prime  minister,  answering 
to  the  vezir  of  the  Turkish  monarchy,  is  here  styled 
Kushbegi,  and  stands  next  in  rank  to  the  sovereign.  He 
is  official  guardian  of  the  state  jewels,  which,  to  judge 
by  the  display  made  by  the  Amir  on  state  occasions, 
must  rival  the  figments  of  the  Arabian  Nights.^  He  is 
responsible  for  the  collection  of  taxes  and  customs  duties, 
and  is  master  of  the  palace,  where  he  always  resides,  and 
keeps  the  keys  of  the  city  gates.  Beneath  him  is  a  vast 
hierarchy  of  executive  and  Court  officials,  whose  rank  is 
bestowed  by  patents  under  the  Amir's  seal,  or  symbols 
such  as  horse  -  tails,  hatchets,  flags,  and  maces.*  The 
struggle  for  these  baubles  amongst  the  crowd  of  courtiers 
versed  in  all  the  arts  of  fawning  and  flattery  would 
arouse  our  pity  and  contempt,  were  we  not  conscious  that 
such  sordid  aims  are  still  the  levers  of  human  action 
nearer  home. 

^  "  Amir  111  Mu'minln,"  the  title  adopted  by  the  Caliphs. 

*  Fath  'All,  Shah  of  Persia,  asked  a  European,  who  told  him  that  his 
sovereign's  acts  were  subject  to  public  approbation:  "Wherein  lies  the 
pleasure  of  ruling  if  one  can't  do  exactly  as  one  pleases  ?  " 

'  Moser,  p.  i6o. 

*  A  very  elaborate  description  of  the  old  Court  regime  is  given  in  chaps. 
xxiv.  and  xxv.  of  KhanikofFs  Bokhara. 


38o  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [ad.  1893. 

For  administrative  purposes  the  Khanate  is  divided 
into  thirty-six  provinces,  each  under  its  governor,  called 
Beg,  who  is  intrusted  with  the  collection  of  revenue  and 
the  execution  of  judicial  decrees.  He  reports  as  to  the 
state  of  his  charge  weekly,  and  submits  death  sentences 
for  the  Amir's  confirmation.  Below  the  Beg  are  the 
Amlakdars ;  who  exercise  similar  functions  in  the  amlaks, 
or  districts.  The  state  is,  in  theory,  the  owner  of  the 
soil,  and  the  bulk  of  its  revenue  is  derived  from  the  land 
tax,  an  impost  which  has  many  features  common  with 
feudalism.  Estates  belong  to  four  categories.  Milk 
lands  are  free  of  rent,  because  they  were  originally 
bestowed  by  the  sovereign  in  fee  simple  on  successful 
generals.  Milk-i-Khdrdj  are  tenures  which,  at  the  period 
of  conquest,  were  owned  by  non-Mohammedans,  and 
remained  in  their  possession  subject  to  the  payment  of  a 
land  tax.  This,  in  the  case  of  irrigated  soil,  amounts  to 
one-fifth,  and  in  that  of  dry  fields  to  one-tenth  of  the 
gross  produce.  The  third  description  is  Dash  Yak,  so 
styled  because  one-tenth  of  the  produce  is  set  apart  for 
the  support  of  a  mosque ;  and  the  fourth  Vakf,  which  is 
an  endowment  wholly  devoted  to  religious  uses.  The 
Amir's  proportion  of  the  fruits  of  the  soil  is  assessed  by 
the  Amlakdars  and  their  underlings,  after  actual  inspection 
of  each  field  just  before  the  harvest  is  gathered  in.  If 
the  cultivator  objects  to  the  Government  estimate  he 
may  demand  a  re-measurement.  The  other  sources  of 
revenue  are  one-fortieth  of  the  value  of  goods  exposed 
for  sale ;  and  the  jazya,  or  infidel  tax,  from  which 
Russian  subjects  are  exempt,  ranging,  according  to  the 
assessee's  wealth,  between  one  and  four  tangas.  The 
administration  of  justice  is  in  the  hands  of  Kazis — 
native  judges  appointed  by  the  Amir  after  an  examina- 
tion in  the  laws  of  Islam,  who  are  assisted  by  Muftis,  or 
registrars    in    charge   of  the  Court's    seal.       The   Kazi 


A.D.I89S.1         A  PROTECTED  NATIVE  STATE  381 

posted  at  Bokhara  has  two  of  these  subordinates,  and  is 
styled  Kaldn,  or  chief,  though  he  has  no  power  to  revise 
his  colleagues'  decisions.  Legal  procedure  is  cumbrous 
and  ineffectual,  and  litigants  in  Bokhara  learn  by  sad 
experience  what  "  hell  it  is  in  suing  long  to  bide." 
Public  morals  and  the  due  observance  of  religious  rites 
are  supposed  to  be  safeguarded  by  an  official  styled 
Rd'Is.  This  censor's  insignia  of  office  are  a  scimetar- 
shaped  strip  of  leather,  with  which  he  is  legally  em- 
powered to  administer  *'  forty  stripes  save  one "  to  evil- 
doers, without,  however,  raising  his  arm  above  the 
shoulder.  He  drives  the  faithful  to  public  prayers  like  a 
flock  of  sheep,  meddles  in  family  affairs,  levies  black- 
mail, and  has  elevated  delation  to  the  rank  of  a  science. 
With  the  KazI  he  serves  as  a  spy  on  the  executive 
officers,  and  is  an  object  of  universal  dread.  These  social 
pests  have  been  abolished  by  the  Russians  in  the  dis- 
tricts under  their  administration,  and  they  have  won 
more  gratitude  by  this  obvious  measure  than  by  any  of 
their  reforms.  It  has  been  often  said  that  an  Eastern 
prince's  rule  is  tempered  by  the  fear  of  assassination. 
In  Bokhara  the  permanent  army  was  once  the  skeleton  at 
the  Amir's  banquet.  In  order  to  maintain  his  authority 
and  overawe  turbulent  neighbours  he  was  compelled  to 
pay  a  large  standing  force,  of  which  he  stood  in  as  much 
dread  as  the  Csesars  did  of  their  Pretorian  Guard.  In 
the  days  of  independence  the  regulars  mustered  1 0,000 
men,  armed  with  matchlocks,  and  there  were  about 
40,000  men  on  an  irregular  footing,  of  whom  perhaps  a 
third  carried  serviceable  weapons.^  At  the  present  time 
the  army  is  little  more  than  a  plaything,  for  the  "  Great 
White  Tsar"  has  garrisons  at  the  principal  strategic 
points,  and  Bokhara  under  his  segis  is  secure  from  foreign 
aggression.     The  troops  now  number  only  10,000  men, 

^  KhanikofT,  p.  233. 


382  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.o.  1898. 

of  whom  1 000  are  armed  with  Berdan  rifles,  presented  to 
the  Amir  some  years  ago  by  the  Russians,  and  the  rest 
with  percussion  muskets.  They  are  drilled  and  clad  on 
European  models,  but  here  the  parallel  ceases.  Inefficient 
as  is  the  Bokharan  army,  the  paramount  power  is  anxious 
to  effect  a  deduction  in  its  strength,  which  will  ultimately 
not  exceed  3000  men.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  while 
the  civil  officers,  from  the  Kushbegi  down  to  the  Amin 
who  measures  the  crops,  receive  no  remuneration  beyond 
what  they  can  squeeze  from  the  people,  the  Amir's 
forces  are  well  and  regularly  paid.  The  company  officers 
draw  about  £^  per  mensem  ;  the  private  soldiers,  6s.  6d. 
in  our  money.  In  the  official  intercourse  between  the 
Amir  and  his  suzerain  we  detect  the  influence  of  Anglo- 
Indian  example.  For  many  years  the  Khanates  were 
represented  at  Tashkent,  the  administrative  capital  of 
Turkestan,  by  envoys  selected  from  their  own  subjects; 
but  the  growth  of  commerce  with  Russia,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  drawing  closer  the  bonds  uniting  the  protected 
state  with  its  master,  led  to  the  appointment  of  a 
Russian  officer  of  rank  as  Resident  with  the  Amir.  His 
political  relations  with  the  latter  are  nominally  confined 
to  tendering  advice  in  administrative  matters.  When, 
some  years  back,  frauds  were  prevalent  in  the  packing  of 
cotton  for  export  to  Russia,^  the  Resident  approached 
the  Amir  through  an  unofficial  channel  as  to  the  means 
of  checking  practices  ruinous  to  trade.  The  outcome  of 
these  negotiations  was  the  appointment  of  three  cotton 
inspectors,  whose  function  it  is  to  visit  the  markets  and 
report  to  the  Kazi  all  cases  in  which  they  suspect  that 
rubbish  is  inserted  in  bales  exposed  for  sale.  Again,  the 
Russians  have  deemed  it  to  be  their  duty  to  foster  the 

^  Since  the  opening  of  the  Transcaspian  Railway  this  has  become  a  staple 
export,  and  it  has  ousted  the  produce  of  the  United  States.  The  term  for 
unripe  cotton  is  £^ilza ;  that  for  pods  ready  for  export  is  pakhta. 


i 


1 

1 

B 

S^l 

A    BOK.HARAX    BEAU IV   AND   HER   TWO   CHILDREN 


» 


A.D.X898.]         A  PROTECTED  NATIVE  STATE  383 

production  of  wine.  The  grapes  of  Bokhara  are  as  fine 
as  her  peaches  and  apricots — which  is  saying  a  good 
deal — and  a  potent  fluid  resembling  Amontillado,  with  a 
pleasant  sub-acid  after-taste,  is  retailed  at  fourpence  a 
bottle.  But  intoxicants  are  denounced  in  the  Koran  as 
things  accursed,  and  the  prohibition  has  much  worldly 
wisdom,  because  Asiatics  drink,  not  in  order  to  cheer  the 
heart  of  man,  but  to  drown  the  senses  in  brutish  oblivion. 
A  compromise  between  religious  duty  and  worldly  interest 
has  been  arrived  at.  Bokharans  may  not  make  wine 
themselves,  but  they  are  at  liberty  to  sell  the  grapes 
to  Armenians  and  Jews,  who  have  a  monopoly  of  the 
manufacture.  A  dealer  vending  wine  or  spirits  to  a 
Mohammedan  is  punished  with  a  fine  of  1000  roubles. 
The  Resident  has  a  court  of  his  own  for  the  decision  of 
civil  and  criminal  cases  in  which  the  injured  party  is  a 
foreigner.  His  jurisdiction  is  unlimited,  and  his  sentences 
without  appeal.  Documentary  evidence  is  insisted  on  as 
a  basis  of  money  claims.  The  Russian  law  is  adminis- 
tered, as  modified  by  local  custom,  and  no  advocate  is 
allowed  to  intervene  between  the  tribunal  and  the  parties. 
Where  the  defendant  belongs  to  that  category,  the  case 
comes  before  a  judge  of  the  peace,  who  is  independent 
of  the  Resident  and  a  subordinate  of  the  Ministry  of 
Justice  at  St.  Petersburg.  His  sentences  run  through  a 
gamut  of  appeals,  precisely  as  those  tried  by  the  courts 
of  the  mother  country.  This  alien  jurisdiction  is  highly 
popular,  and  subterfuges  are  adopted  in  order  to  bring 
cases  triable  by  the  native  judges  within  its  purview. 
The  post  and  telegraph  services  are  in  Russian  hands ; 
and  a  hospital  is  maintained,  under  European  manage- 
ment, which  costs  the  Amir  ;^2000  annually.  Those 
who  are  cognisant  of  the  perennial  friction  between  Chief 
and  Resident  at  many  Indian  courts  will  be  surprised  to 
learn  that  the  relations  between  suzerain  and  vassal  in 


384  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1898. 

Bokhara  have  invariably  been  cordial.  The  Amir,  Sayyid 
'Abd  ul-Ahad,  is  now  in  his  thirty-seventh  year.^  He  is 
tall  and  muscular,  and  would  be  handsome  but  for 
growing  corpulence,  that  curse  of  Eastern  princes.  He 
is  still  devoted  to  hawking  and  other  forms  of  sport, 
affable  and  dignified.  Every  year  he  visits  one  of  the 
hot  springs  in  the  Caucasus,  and  often  winters  in  the 
Crimea.  The  heir-apparent,  Sayyid  Mir  'Allm,  has  been 
educated  in  St.  Petersburg,  and  holds  the  rank  of 
lieutenant  in  a  Cossack  regiment.  In  early  youth  the 
Amir  had  convincing  proof  of  the  resistless  power  of 
Russia.  He  saw  his  haughty  father  die  broken-hearted 
of  the  humiliation  entailed  by  his  abortive  effort  to  roll 
back  the  tide  of  European  aggression.  He  knows,  too, 
that  the  capital  is  at  the  Russians'  mercy,  for  they  own 
the  rich  province  of  Samarkand,  through  which  the 
Zarafshan  flows  to  fertilise  his  thirsty  fields,  and  that  it 
would  be  an  easy  matter  to  divert  its  course ;  and  so  he 
is  always  ready  to  anticipate  his  master's  wishes.  There 
was  a  spice  of  truth  in  the  late  governor-general's 
remark,  "  the  Amir  of  Bokhara  is  the  most  zealous  of 
my  lieutenants."  While  a  ruler  so  pliant  continues  to 
sit  on  the  throne  of  Bokhara  he  need  not  fear  annexation. 

^  The  genealogy  of  the  reigning  house  is  not  quite  so  clear  as  such  matters 
usually  are  in  Eastern  countries.  The  founder  was  an  Uzbeg  general  of  the 
tribe  of  Mangit,  named  Mahammad  Rahim  Bi.  He  was  succeeded  by  his 
nephew,  Daniyal  Bi,  whose  son,  Shah  Murad,  ahas  Ma'sum,  commonly 
styled  "  Begi  Jan,"  was  a  soldier  of  the  type  of  Chingiz  Khan.  He 
conquered  Merv  in  1784,  and  raised  Bokhara  to  a  pinnacle  of  glory  to  which 
it  had  never  attained  since  the  spacious  days  of  the  Amir  'Abdullah,  a 
contemporary  of  our  own  Elizabeth.  Murad  attained  sovereignty  in  1796, 
and  died  about  1801.  His  successor,  Mir  Haydar,  was  a  capable  soldier,  and 
the  military  caste  had  things  entirely  their  own  way  during  his  reign,  which 
ended  in  1826.  His  successor  was  Nasrullah,  a  moody  and  treacherous  tyrant, 
who  gained  an  infamous  reputation  in  England  by  the  cruel  slaughter  of  our 
envoys  Stoddart  and  Conolly.  His  son  Muzaffar  resembled  his  father  in 
cruelty  and  fanaticism.  The  story  of  his  overthrow  by  the  Russians  has 
already  been  told. 


A.D.,89S.]        A  PROTECTED  NATIVE  STATE  385 

The  Russians  are  well  aware  that  the  people  of  the 
Khanate  prize  the  measure  of  national  life  allowed  them, 
and  prefer  the  rough-and-ready  methods  of  an  Amir  of 
their  own  race  to  the  highly  developed  mechanism 
imported  from  the  West.  They  dread  the  responsibility 
of  granting  citizenship  to  two  and  a  half  millions  of 
Asiatics,  spread  over  an  area  of  So,ooo  square  miles, 
which  costs  them  nothing  to  administer,  while  its 
products  swell  the  growing  volume  of  the  empire's 
commerce. 


25 


CHAPTER    X 

SAMARKAND 

Samarkand  is  150  miles  by  rail  from  Bokhara.  The 
line  follows  the  course  of  the  Zarafshan,  and  passes 
through  a  carefully  tilled  country,  a  large  proportion  of 
which  is  under  cotton.^  Rather  less  than  two-thirds  is 
grown  from  acclimatised  American  seed  {gorsypium 
hirsutum)  introduced  by  the  Russians,  whose  persistent 
aim  it  has  been  to  render  their  mills  independent  of  the 
United  States.  The  seed  is  sown  in  April,  on  soil  which 
has  been  well  ploughed  and  harrowed,  the  proportion 
allowed  being  2 1  pounds  per  acre.  The  fields  are  irrigated 
thrice  and  kept  scrupulously  free  from  weeds.  Towards 
the  end  of  September  the  ripe  pods  are  picked  and 
exposed  in  heaps  for  sale.  In  average  years  an  acre 
yields  1400  pounds,  and  gives  a  net  return  of  £^,  los., 
considerably   more   than    other   crops.       But    the   culti- 

^  The  official  figures  for  each  district  in  1896  were — 

■n*o»,:,.t  Dessiatines  of  2J  acres 

^'*''*"-  under  cotton. 

Samarkand 5.252 

Katta  Kurgan 8,920 

Jizak 1,188 

Khojend 2,784 

Total     .         .         .        18,144 

In  round  figures,  45,000  acres.  This  is  about  5  per  cent,  of  the  entire  cultivated 
area  of  the  province  of  Samarkand,  which  is  officially  stated  as  364,200 
dessiatines. 

389 


AD.  1899-1  SAMARKAND  387 

vator  has  to  face  extraordinary  fluctuations  in  market 
prices.  In  1895,  though  the  harvest  was  exceptional  in 
bulk  and  quality,  the  price  advanced  to  4d.  per  pound, 
and  the  acre  yielded  ;!^8.  This  flood  of  wealth  thus  poured 
into  the  cultivator's  lap  was  the  better  appreciated  because 
the  lowering  of  railway  rates  has  rendered  the  production 
of  bread  stuffs  unremunerative.  In  point  of  fact,  the 
Central  Asian  farmer  is  suffering,  like  his  comrade  of 
the  West,  from  the  efiect  of  free-trade  dogmas.  The 
Russian  Empire  is  a  world  within  itself,  blessed  with 
every  variety  of  soil  and  climate,  and  gives  ample  scope  for 
Cobden's  theories.  But  cotton  is  essentially  an  object 
for  petite  culture.  Plantations  have  been  tried  without 
success,  and  few  who  raise  this  lucrative  crop  devote  to  it 
more  than  one-eighth  of  their  farm  ;  in  other  words,  a  plot 
of  three-fourths  of  an  acre.  The  intense  pressure  of  popu- 
lation on  the  soil  causes  a  keen  demand  for  cotton  lands, 
and  speculators  take  advantage  of  the  limited  supply 
to  engross  large  areas,  and  sublet  them  in  plots  to 
tenants  who  agree  to  bring  them  the  whole  produce. 
The  profits  are  supposed  to  be  divided  equally,  but  the 
landlord  of  course  retains  the  lion's  share.  The  raw 
cotton  is  sold  in  open  market,  and  is  either  exported  in 
the  pod  or  purchased  by  capitalists  owning  cotton-clean- 
ing mills.^  Speaking  generally,  the  prospects  of  the 
cultivator  in  the  rich  valley  of  the  Zarafshan  are  not  very 
promising.  The  soil  is  a  yellow  loam  of  great  natural 
richness,  but  the  incessant  demands  of  a  teeming  popula- 
tion, continued  for  hundreds,  nay  thousands,  of  years, 
have  brought  it  within  measurable  distance  of  exhaustion. 
Manuring  is  an  imperative  necessity,  but  cattle  are  few 
owing  to  the  absence  of   grazing  grounds  and  fodder; 

^  There  were,  in  1896,  twenty,  nine  of  which  were  worked  by  steam  or  oil 
engines,  ten  by  water,  and  one  by  horse-power.  Three  hydraulic  and  seventeen 
hand-screw  presses  were  at  work. 


388  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1899. 

and  the  process  can  be  repeated  only  once  in  three,  or 
even  six  years.  Thus  corn  shows  an  ominous  decrease 
in  weight;  a  pound  now  contains  only  16,800  grains, 
compared  with  nearly  20,000  a  couple  of  decades  back. 
The  Russians  have  to  face  a  problem  as  difficult  in  its 
degree  as  that  which  will  one  day  cause  a  cataclysm  in 
British  India,  the  ever-growing  tendency  of  population  to 
outstrip  the  means  of  subsistence. 

Soon  after  passing  the  spick-and-span  Russian  town 
of  Katta  Kurgan,  the  growing  freshness  of  the  air  pro- 
claims a  higher  level ;  and,  in  point  of  fact,  Samarkand 
is  more  than  2000  feet  above  the  sea.  At  last  the  eye, 
which  so  eagerly  scanned  the  eastern  horizon,  lights  upon 
a  sea  of  verdure,  from  which  a  fluted  dome  rises  just  as 
St.  Paul's  seems  to  float  like  a  vast  balloon  over  London 
fogs.  There  are  a  few  cities  which  touch  a  chord  in  him 
who  sees  them  for  the  first  time.  The  glamour  of  their 
fallen  majesty  is  heightened  rather  than  destroyed  by  the 
railway;  for  it  brings  before  us,  as  if  by  magic,  a 
panorama  often  seen  in  spirit,  and  its  prosaic  surround- 
ings serve  as  a  foil  to  the  halo  of  romance  which  still 
lingers  over  the  seat  of  a  vanquished  empire.  Who 
will  ever  forget  the  flood  of  associations  that  overpowered 
him  when  he  first  heard  "  Roma  "  shouted  by  a  railway 
porter,  or  when  he  exchanged  the  roar  of  the  train  for 
the  peace  which  broods  over  the  vista  of  palaces  on  the 
Grand  Canal  ?  The  famous  city  is,  as  in  other  cases,  at 
a  distance  of  several  miles  from  the  railway  station,  the 
environs  of  which  are  crowded  with  the  mean  shops  and 
drinking-dens  usually  found  in  such  places.  The  road 
thither,  as  all  the  chief  thoroughfares,  is  of  great  width, 
and  overshadowed  by  splendid  trees.  It  is  this  feature 
of  Samarkand  landscapes,  not  less  than  the  innumerable 
gardens  and  vineyards  in  which  one  treads  knee-deep 
in  luscious  grapes,  that  stirred  the  imagination  of  Eastern 


A.D.  ,899.1  SAMARKAND  389 

poets.  In  melodious  strains  the  eternal  city  is  styled 
the  "Mirror  of  the  World,"  "the  Garden  of  Souls," 
"  the  Fourth  Paradise."  But  Samarkand  was  great  and 
glorious  ages  before  the  good  Harun  er-RashId  reigned 
in  Baghdad,  or  Sa'adi  planted  flowers  of  poesy  in  his 
Garden  of  Roses.  At  Maracanda,  in  Transoxiana, 
Alexander  of  Macedon  paused  in  his  mad  career,  and 
there  he  slew  his  faithful  Clitus.  Centuries  glided  by,  and 
it  became  Sa-mo-kien,  the  most  western  province  of  the 
Celestial  Empire.  Then  the  tide  of  Mohammedan  con- 
quest rolled  over  Samarkand ;  followed  by  the  rule  of 
the  Seljuk  Turks,  destined  five  centuries  later  to  extend 
their  sway  from  Mongolia  to  Constantinople.  The  old 
city  now  became  what  Moorish  Spain  was — a  chosen 
abode  of  all  the  arts  that  adorn  and  sweeten  life.  The 
whole  fabric  of  civilisation  was  drowned  in  blood  by  the 
ruthless  Chingiz  Khan,  and  the  ruin  of  Samarkand 
seemed  irretrievable.  It  was  lifted  from  the  dust  by  a 
greater  genius  than  Chingiz.  Timur  made  Samarkand 
the  "  eye  and  star  "  of  an  empire  which  extended  over  a 
third  of  the  known  world ;  and  to  his  loving  care  belong 
the  works  of  art  which,  in  hopeless  ruin,  still  excite  the 
admiration  of  mankind.  Their  glories  were  soon 
obliterated  by  the  uncouth  Uzbegs ;  and  150  years 
ago  the  city  site  was  a  waste  scored  with  mounds 
and  caverns  from  which  the  ruined  churches  and  colleges 
of  a  happier  age  soared  heavenwards  in  desecrated 
majesty.  It  became  a  province  of  Bokhara  and  the 
residence  of  the  Amirs  during  the  summer  heats, 
and  commerce  slowly  revived.  The  story  of  the  last 
wave  of  invasion  which  swept  over  Samarkand  has  already 
been  told  in  these  pages. 

Chief  among  the  monuments  of  this  war-worn  city 
is  the  tomb  of  Timur,  spoken  of  throughout  Central 
Asia  as   Gur  Amir — the  Amir's  sepulchre,  just  as  our 


390  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a. d.  1899. 

fathers  styled  Wellington  "  the  Duke."  It  is  approached 
through  a  double  avenue  of  poplars,  which  terminates  at 
a  gateway  ornamented  with  faience  and  flanked  by 
ruined  minarets.  Behind  these  stands  an  octagonal 
structure  with  a  deeply  fluted  dome.  The  entrance  on 
the  left  of  the  tomb  leads  to  a  vaulted  corridor,  and 
then  to  a  chamber  3  5  feet  square,  with  a  cupola  115 
feet  from  the  floor.  On  each  side  there  is  an  arched 
recess  with  Alhambresque  mouldings,  and  the  walls  are 
covered  with  six-sided  plates  of  transparent  gypsum. 
The  interior  is  severely  simple,  as  becomes  the  last 
resting-place  of  so  great  a  man.  "  Only  a  stone," 
whispered  the  dying  emperor ;  "  and  my  name  upon  it !  " 
And  so  he  rests  beneath  a  block  of  dark-green  jade — the 
largest  in  the  world.^  On  the  right  of  the  conqueror's 
memorial  stone  is  one  of  grey  marble  commemorating 
his  grandson  Ulugh  Beg,  a  distinguished  astronomer, 
who  compiled  tables  showing  the  position  of  the  fixed 
stars,  admitted  to  be  the  best  which  have  come  down 
to  us  from  Mohammedan  times.  In  the  recess  facing 
Mekka  there  hangs  a  large  standard  with  a  pendant 
of  horse-hair,  emblem  of  a  militant  faith  ;  and  between  it 
and  Timur's  tomb  is  a  grey  marble  slab  dedicated  to  his 
friend  and  tutor,  Mir  Sayyid  Baraka,  for  whom  he  built 
this  mausoleum  in  1386.^  The  recess  in  the  east 
contains  a  slab  of  granite  erected  to  a  descendant  of  the 
Prophet,  named  Hajjl  Imam  'Umr.  The  central  group  of 
cenotaphs,  numbering  eight  in  all,  is  surrounded  by  a  balus- 
trade in  fretwork  of  transparent  gypsum.  The  actual 
tombs  are  in  a  crypt  of  exquisite  proportions,  which  is 

^  The  exact  measurements  of  this  stone  are  6'  4^"  x  1'  3|"x  l'  5^"  deep. 
Round  the  edge  is  an  Arabic  inscription  giving  Timur's  style  and  title,  his 
genealogy,  and  the  date  of  his  death, — 807  a.h.,  or  1405  of  our  era. 

*  M.  Schuyler  states  this  man's  name  as  Mir  Seid  Belki  Shaikh,  and  the 
date  of  his  death  as  two  years  after  Timur's,  i.e.  1407  (ii.  p.  253). 


J 


A.D.  1899.1  SAMARKAND  391 

reached  by  a  flight  of  55teps.  Here  lies  all  that  is  mortal 
of  one  whose  empire  extended  from  the  Vistula  to  the 
China  Seas,  who  in  the  brief  intervals  between  his 
conquering  expeditions  found  time  to  embellish  his 
capital  with  structures  which,  even  in  their  decay,  rank 
among  the  wonders  of  the  world. 

The  centre  of  Samarkand  life  is  the  great  open 
market-square  called  the  Rigistan.  Its  southern  side  is 
open  to  the  street,  and  the  other  three  are  occupied 
by  as  many  great  colleges,  or  madrasas.  That  which 
stands  on  the  east  side  was  built  in  the  time  of  Imam 
Kull  Khan  (1648),  and  is  known  as  the  Shir  Dar  (or  the 
Lion-bearing),  from  uncouth  representations  of  the  Lion 
and  Sun  of  Persia  on  the  four  corners  above  its  gigantic 
recessed  portal.  At  either  extremity  of  the  facade  rise 
melon  -  shaped  domes  and  tall  minarets  leaning  out- 
wards. That  nearest  the  street  exhibits  a  frieze  of 
dog's-tooth  mouldings,  resembling  those  which  occur  in 
our  oldest  Norman  churches.  A  cloister-like  passage 
gives  access  to  an  immense  courtyard  surrounded  by 
cubicles  and  classrooms  in  two  storeys,  each  pair 
under  an  enamelled  arch.  A  flight  of  brickwork  stairs 
leads  to  the  summit  of  the  lofty  gateway,  whence  one 
has  a  view  which  is  second  to  none  in  Asia.  The  eye 
ranges  over  a  leafy  sea,  from  which  vast  raised  arches 
and  domes  emerge,  and  rests  on  snow-clad  mountains 
which  close  the  horizon  on  the  north  and  east.  The 
madrasa  of  Tila  Karl,  on  the  north  side,  is  so  styled 
from  a  plating  of  gold  -  foil  under  translucent  enamel 
which  covers  the  holy  place  of  a  mosque  on  the  left 
of  its  courtyard.^  That  founded  by  Timur's  astronomer 
grandson,  Ulugh  Beg,  is  opposite  Shir  Dar,  and  is 
the  smallest  but  most  beautiful  of  the  group.  Un- 
happily, it  has  suffered  even  more  than  the  others  from 

*  Schuyler,  ii.  p.  252.     Tila  =  gold. 


392  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.D.iSgg. 

earthquakes.  Of  the  five  minarets  which  once  adorned 
its  angles,  that  on  the  south-east  has  fallen,  and  the 
rest  are  much  out  of  the  perpendicular.  This  universal 
tendency  of  Samarkand  minarets  is  a  standing  enigma 
to  visitors.  That  these  minarets  are  out  of  the  per- 
pendicular may  be  easily  proved  by  ascending  one  of 
them  and  lowering  a  plumb-line ;  but  it  will  probably 
continue  to  excite  controversy  till  these  forlorn  towers 
have  crumbled  into  ruins.  Such  has  already  been  the 
fate  of  the  grandest  of  Samarkand's  monuments,  the 
Bibi  Khanum,  which  stands  on  rising  ground  north-east 
of  the  Rigistan.  Like  the  Taj  Mahal  of  Agra,  it  records 
a  widowed  husband's  passionate  sorrow;  for  she  who 
sleeps  below  was  Timur's  most  loved  wife,  the  daughter 
of  the  emperor  of  China.  The  actual  tomb  is  a  mass 
of  shapeless  ruins,  for  centuries  of  gross  neglect  have 
done  their  work,  and  a  climax  was  given  to  the  work 
of  Time's  destroying  hand  by  an  earthquake  which  shook 
Samarkand  on  the  5th  November  1897.  The  approach 
lies  through  a  gateway  which  scarcely  retains  a  trace 
of  the  original  design.  This  opens  on  a  garden  with 
a  mosque  on  either  side,  while  the  front  is  occupied 
by  a  building  which  still  inspires  awe  by  its  grandeur  and 
perfect  proportions.  The  front  exhibits  a  recessed  portal, 
sixty  feet  wide  and  higher  than  that  of  Peterborough 
Cathedral,  and  an  octagonal  minaret  at  either  extremity. 
Between  them  rises  a  stupendous  dome,  with  a  double 
frieze  of  blue,  green,  and  yellow  enamel,  on  which  texts 
from  the  Koran  gleam  brightly  in  gold  lettering.  The 
interior  is  a  square  of  fifty  feet,  adorned  with  arabesques. 
In  the  centre  once  stood  a  colossal  7'ahla,  or  lectern  of 
white  marble,  which  once  held  a  Koran,  spreading  over 
fifty-four  square  feet  when  open.  A  tradition  has 
it  that  Bibl  Khanum,  who  founded  this  noble  mosque, 
was    wont   to  read  it  from  a    window   set  high  in    the 


A.D.  1899-1  SAMARKAND  393 

wall.^  The  rahla  is  supported  by  nine  pillars  just  high 
enough  to  admit  of  a  man  crawling  under  it — a  painful 
process  often  undergone  as  a  cure  for  lumbago  and 
sciatica.  It  has  now  been  removed  to  the  courtyard, 
to  avert  the  destruction  which  would  result  from  a 
collapse  of  the  entire  structure.  For  the  blue  sky  is 
seen  through  a  rent  extending  over  a  third  of  the  sur- 
face of  the  mighty  dome ;  and  a  side  view  reveals  an 
outer  and  an  inner  skin,  like  those  of  St.  Paul's,  with 
the  staircase  leading  to  the  summit.  The  portal  is  in 
worse  plight ;  but  so  solid  was  the  old  builders'  handi- 
work that  the  arch  is  still  intact  though  the  brickwork 
is  a  mere  shell.  The  Russians  must  be  held  responsible 
for  the  forlorn  state  of  the  Bibi  Khanilm.  When  they 
entered  on  their  glorious  inheritance  the  power  of  dis- 
integration might  have  been  arrested.  But  they  were 
content  to  see  the  stately  mosque  degraded  to  the 
base  uses  of  a  cotton-market  and  a  stable,^  and  the 
vast  revenues  bequeathed  by  the  piety  of  another  age 
diverted  from  their  proper  uses  by  a  horde  of  greedy  and 
callous  priests.  They  may,  however,  plead  in  mitigation 
of  the  world's  censure,  that  lack  of  funds  has  impeded 
their  efforts  to  preserve  these  relics  of  a  mighty  past.' 
If  Generals  Kauffman  or  Abramoff  had  been  asked  to 
vouchsafe  a  grant  for  archsological  purposes  they  would 
doubtless  have  replied,  as  William  Pitt  did  to  Benjamin 
Haydon's  suggestion  that  a  national  gallery  of  paintings 
should  be  established :  "  We  want  all  the  money  we  can 
scrape  together  to  buy  powder  and  shot  with." 

*  Khanikoff,  p.  1 34.  In  a  note  he  adds  that  a  Russian  named  Efremoff, 
who  visited  Samarkand  in  1770,  saw  this  gigantic  book. 

'  Schuyler's  Turkestan,  i.  p.  250. 

'  This  Philistinism  has  its  parallel  in  India.  We  believe  it  to  be  a  fact 
that  a  Viceroy  proposed  the  sale  of  the  Taj  Mahal  at  Agra  to  serve  as  a 
quarry  for  marble.  The  same  Vandal  had  a  vast  number  of  seventeenth- 
century  cannon  at  Allahabad  broken  up  and  disposed  of  as  old  metal. 


394  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D.1859. 

In  a  suburb  half  a  mile  north-east  of  the  BibI 
Khanum  stands  a  sepulchre  of  a  different  type.  It  is 
that  of  Kasim  ibn  'Abbas,  a  saint  who  endured  martyr- 
dom in  an  attempt  to  convert  the  fire-worshippers  of 
Samarkand.  Tradition  adds  that  he  picked  up  his 
severed  head,  like  St.  Denis,  and  retired  with  it  to  a 
well,  whence  he  is  destined  to  emerge  in  the  hour  of 
Islam's  triumph.  The  Shah  Zindah,  "  Living  Saint," 
has  a  tomb  erected  by  Timur,^  which  is  entered  by  a 
brick  gateway  rich  in  blue  and  white  faience,  open- 
ing on  a  street  of  tombs  with  some  resemblance  to  the 
Appian  Way.  On  either  side  of  a  flight  of  steps,  which 
once  were  of  marble,  ascending  the  side  of  a  ravine, 
are  a  series  of  mausolea  erected  in  honour  of  members 
of  Timur's  family,  his  generals,  and  trusted  servants.  The 
gates  and  fagades  are  encrusted  with  glorious  faience. 
A  photograph  might  convey  a  faint  impression  of  the 
exquisite  form  of  pillars  shaped  like  palm-trees,  the 
artistic  design  of  the  scrollwork  and  tracery.  A  con- 
summate master  of  colouring  alone  could  reproduce  the 
harmony  in  dark  blue,  turquoise,  yellow,  and  green 
of  this  unrivalled  panelling.  The  common  belief  is 
that  the  porcelain  which  is  seen  in  such  perfection  at 
the  Shah  Zindah  was  evolved  in  ancient  Persia.  It 
was  undoubtedly  brought  by  the  Mongols  from  China.^ 
The  decoration  of  the  Constantinople  mosques,  especially 
those  dating  from  the  golden  age  of  Sulayman  the 
Magnificent,  is  similar  to  the  specimens  so  much 
admired    at    Samarkand.     The    vista    closes    with    the 

^  Not,  however,  in  1323,  as  Schuyler  asserts  (i.  p.  247),  for  he  was  not 
born  till  fourteen  years  afterwards. 

2  M.  Simakoff,  a  distinguished  Russian  archaeologist,  and  the  author  of 
Central  Asian  Art,  has  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  Persian  ornamenta- 
tion, which  has  hitherto  been  considered  original,  is  but  an  imitation  of  that 
introduced  by  the  Mongols  into  Central  Asia.  Moser,  A  Travers  VAsie 
Centrale,  p.  Ii8. 


A.0. 1899.1  SAMARKAND  395 

holy  man's  tomb,  which  is  approached  by  a  suite  of 
halls  adorned  with  arabesques  and  beautifully  carved 
wooden  pillars.  It  is  a  mosque  hung  with  offerings 
from  the  faithful.  Visitors  are  allowed  by  the  attendant 
priests  to  peer  through  a  carved  screen  into  a  sombre 
vault,  in  which  the  faint  outline  of  a  funeral  stone  is 
seen,  covered  with  costly  shawls.  Shah  Zindah  has 
suffered  less  than  its  unfortunate  neighbours  owing  to 
its  smaller  dimensions ;  but  systematic  repairs  carried 
out  by  experts  are  urgently  needed.  All  that  has  been 
done  by  the  present  masters  of  Samarkand  is  to  prevent 
the  wholesale  pilfering  of  coloured  tiles. 

The  ancient  citadel  of  Samarkand  is  still  called 
by  the  people  Urda.  This  "  encampment "  occupies  a 
commanding  position,  and  is  secured  on  three  sides 
by  scarped  ravines.  Its  walls  are  upwards  of  two  miles 
in  circumference,^  and  have  been  adapted  to  suit  the 
exigencies  of  modern  warfare.  In  Russian  eyes  it  is 
as  sacred  as  the  theatre  of  a  defence  as  glorious  as  that 
of  our  Lucknow  Residency  in  1857.'  In  those  of 
the  antiquarian  it  is  precious  as  the  repository''  of  the 
Kok  Tash,  a  coronation  stone  of  the  Bokharan  sovereigns, 
and  of  an  old  Arabic  inscription.  The  former  is 
in  the  courtyard  of  a  mean  building  which  once 
served  as  the  Amir's  residence.  It  is  an  oblong 
block  of  grey  marble,  with  arabesques  at  the  sides, 
measuring  10'  ^"  by  4 '  g"  by  2'  in  height. 
According  to  tradition,  it  fell  on  this  spot  from  heaven, 
and  for  ages  past  it  was  venerated  as  the  aegis  of 
Bokharan  royalty.  No  Amir  was  considered  worthy 
of  his    subjects'  homage  till    he  had   sat  on   this    rude 


^  Three  versts  and  100  sajenes  in  circuit  (Khanikoff,  Bokhara,  p.  131). 
'  For  a  detailed  account  of  this  splendid  feat  of  arms  the   reader  is 
referred  to  Schuyler's  Turktstan,  i.  p.  224. 


396  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a-d.  1899. 

throne.  Behind  it  is  an  oval  metal  plaque  bearing  a 
funeral  inscription  dating  as  far  back  as  A.H.  550,  or 
1 1 5  5  of  our  era. 

The  Russians'  quarter  of  Samarkand  lies  to  the  south 
of  the  native  city.  Their  occupation  has  lasted  for  thirty 
years,  and  their  dwellings  have  lost  the  garish  newness 
which  strikes  a  jarring  note  at  Askabad  and  Merv. 
Broad  avenues,  at  right  angles  to  each  other,  a  leafy  park, 
and  a  splendid  Boulevard,  which  Samarkand  owes  to  its 
good  genius.  General  Abramoff,  who  was  governor  in 
1874,'^  such  are  the  pleasant,  if  somewhat  prosaic,  features 
of  Russian  Samarkand.  Government  House  has  the 
vast  reception-rooms  met  with  in  such  places  throughout 
the  empire,  and  it  has  a  large  garden,  which  has  trees, 
water,  statues — everything  except  flowers.  The  officials' 
bungalows  mostly  face  the  Abramovsky  Boulevard,  and 
are  planned  on  the  familiar  Anglo-Indian  lines.  Then 
there  is  the  obligatory  military  casino,  which  eclipses  the 
finest  of  our  mess-houses  and  has  a  splendid  ballroom. 
Hard  by  is  the  garrison  church,  a  clumsy  erection,  which 
seems  the  more  insignificant  by  reason  of  its  juxtaposition 
with  the  glorious  remains  of  Mohammedan  days.  The 
museum  is  still  more  unworthy  of  a  provincial  capital. 
It  contains  the  dreary  array  of  stuffed  beasts  and  wide- 
mouthed  bottles  familiar  nearer  home.  No  region  in 
the  world  is  richer  in  memorials  of  past  ages  than  the 
valley   of  the  Zarafshan.     Heaps   of  small   clay  figures, 

^  Schuyler  gives  a  very  brief  biography  of  this  excellent  man  at  p.  267  of 
his  Turkestan.  Like  Kurapatkine,  he  was  equally  great  in  war  and  in  civil 
life,  and  of  that  very  high  type  of  officials  produced  only  in  the  Panjab  and 
Turkestan.  The  earnestness  and  keen  sympathy  with  the  people  which 
characterised  Henry  Lawrence,  Montgomery,  and  Herbert  Edwardes  shine 
conspicuous  in  the  "  Chernaieff  school,"  so  called  from  an  illustrious  soldier 
and  statesman  who  inspired  his  lieutenants  with  his  own  devotion.  His 
unmerited  disgrace,  which  followed  a  display  of  splendid  moral  courage,  and 
his  old  age  spent  in  the  cold  shade  of  imperial  neglect,  are  not  the  most 
creditable  episodes  in  Central  Asian  annals. 


A.D.1899.)  SAMARKAND  397 

supposed  to  represent  the  horse,  show  that  Hinduism 
prevailed  there  at  some  remote  period,  for  they  are 
identical  in  shape  with  those  deposited  as  ex  votos  at 
many  Indian  shrines.  Crosses  figuring  on  rude  bas-reliefs 
serve  as  a  reminder  of  another  vanished  faith.  The 
Nestorians,  hounded  as  heretics  from  Europe  in  the 
fifth  century,  spread  over  the  Asiatic  Continent,  and 
established  bishoprics  in  Samarkand,  Merv,  and  Herat.^ 
With  a  degree  of  moderation  which  belied  their  un- 
compromising tenets,  the  Caliphs  protected  the  pro- 
fessors of  this  rival  faith.  Its  golden  age  was  the 
twelfth  century ;  but  Timur  was  not  a  man  to 
tolerate  any  dissidence  in  his  empire.  His  ruthless 
persecution  stamped  out  Christianity  in  Central  Asia. 
The  museum  also  exhibits  vessels  of  beautiful  iridescent 
glass  and  pottery,  the  spoils  of  Afrasiyab,  a  city  of 
immemorial  antiquity,  which  covered  the  hills  and  ravines 
between  Samarkand  and  the  Zarafshan.  The  semi- 
mythical  king  whose  name  it  bears  ^  lived,  according 
to  tradition,  in  the  eleventh  century  before  Christ  That 
a  high  degree  of  civilisation  was  attained  by  the  people 
of  his  long  buried  realm  is  proved  by  the  exquisite 
designs  of  the  lamps,  urns,  and  pottery  exhumed  there. 
A  rich  harvest  awaits  systematic  exploration.^  The 
collection  of  mineral  specimens  is  equally  unworthy  of 
Samarkand,  for  the  mountains  to   the  east  of  the   city 

^  Nestorius,  a  SjTian  priest,  became  Patriarch  of  Constantinople  in  the 
fifth  century ;  but  his  views  as  to  Christ's  personality  were  declared  heretical 
by  a  General  Council  held  at  Ephesus  in  431.  He  was  deposed  from  his 
high  office,  and  his  followers  were  driven  firom  Europe. 

*  Afrasiyab  is  synonymous  in  Persian  legend  for  anything  of  ejrtreme 
antiquity. 

'  Moser  was  present  when  the  Russian  researches  began.  Everj'  stroke  of 
the  spade,  he  sa}'s,  revealed  new  treasures.  Enamelled  bricks  of  the  finest 
designs,  coins,  a  lamp  like  those  exhumed  at  Pompeii,  but  covered  with 
brilliant  enamel,  an  um  splendidly  adorned,  and  many  other  discoveries 
worthy  to  occupy  a  savant^  were  made  in  twenty-foiu  hours  (p.  1 16). 


398  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  lA.v.xz^g. 

contain  the  potentialities  of  wealth  beyond  the  dreams  of 
avarice.  There  is  a  mountain  of  fine  coal  not  twenty-five 
miles  from  the  walls ;  and  metals  of  all  kinds  abound.^ 
The  other  modern  institutions  at  Samarkand  are  more 
creditable  to  Russian  enterprise.  The  jail,  a  large 
castellated  structure  resembling  our  own  prison  at 
Holloway,  is  scrupulously  clean,  and  has  most  modern 
appliances  for  enforcing  labour.  The  convicts  are  em- 
ployed in  weaving  cotton,  and  all  are  healthy  and  well 
nourished.  But  the  jail  population  in  Central  Asia  is 
a  fluctuating  one ;  for  criminals  sentenced  to  long  terms 
of  imprisonment  are  deported  by  rail  and  steamer  to 
Saghaleen,  in  the  North-West  Pacific.^  Two  orphanages 
for  Russian  children  flourish ;  and  the  little  inmates  are 
happy,  clean,  and  not  depressed  by  that  badge  of 
servitude,  a  uniform. 

Samarkand  is  still  a  great  emporium  of  trade, 
though  it  no  longer  serves  as  a  depot  for  the  produce  of 
British  India  and  Afghanistan.  The  roads  are  thronged 
with  shaggy  camels,  and  carts  perched  on  two  gigantic 
wheels,  which  preserve  their  contents  from  the  thorough 
wetting  which    an    ordinary    vehicle    would    give    them 

^  No  attempt  has  yet  been  made  to  exploit  these  regions  ;  but  the  Russian 
Government  is  ready  and  wiUing  to  encourage  prospectors.  An  EngHshman 
is  now  engaged  in  searching  for  the  precious  metals,  and  has  met  with  every 
possible  assistance  from  the  authorities. 

2  During  Mr.  Skrine's  stay  at  Samarkand  a  large  gang  started  for  this  remote 
destination.  Most  of  them  were  native  bandits,  who  regarded  their  expatria- 
tion with  true  Oriental  phlegm.  But  among  the  group  who  squatted  on  the 
station  platform  in  their  sheep-skin  cloaks,  from  which  their  heavy  manacles 
protruded,  were  several  who  inspired  more  sympathy :  a  young  European 
girl,  who  clung  piteously  to  her  only  treasure — a  China  teapot ;  a  middle- 
aged  man,  evidently  belonging  to  a  higher  social  stratum  than  the  rest,  was 
deeply  moved  by  the  prospect  of  exile.  The  cause  was  but  too  apparent,  for 
a  little  son  clung  to  him,  a  sharer  in  his  grief ;  while  among  the  silent  crowd, 
which  was  kept  at  a  distance  by  a  ring  of  soldiers  with  fixed  bayonets,  was 
his  unhappy  wife,  come  with  her  three  young  daughters  to  bid  him  a  long 
farewell. 


AD.  X899.1  SAMARKAND  399 

while  traversing  the  innumerable  streams.  The  bazaars 
are  not  under  cover  as  are  those  of  Bokhara,  but  the 
contents  are  quite  as  varied.  Hides  are  a  speciality 
of  those  parts — Astrakhans,  prepared  from  the  covering 
of  the  unborn  lamb  by  Arabs,  beautiful  silky  goats'  skin, 
and  nearly  every  kind  of  furs  are  to  be  purchased  at  very 
moderate  prices.  An  English  merchant,  who  has  been 
engaged  for  three  years  in  this  trade,  avers  that  the 
profits  exceed  40  per  cent.  The  manufactures  of  silk 
and  cotton  are  still  important,  in  spite  of  the  com- 
petition of  Russian  looms. 

According  to  local  tradition,  the  art  of  weaving  dates 
back  to  the  expulsion  of  our  first  parents  from  Paradise. 
The  Archangel  Michael,  in  pity  for  their  forlorn  state, 
brought  Adam  a  supply  of  cotton,  and  taught  Eve  how 
to  fashion  the  fibre  into  cloth.  Russian  yam  has  now 
entirely  banished  this  native  product.  Before  use  it 
is  boiled  with  soda,  dyed,  generally  with  aniline,  and 
sized  with  wheaten  starch.  The  looms  are  worked  by 
hand,  and  the  largest  can  turn  out  muslin  nearly  4  yards 
wide.  The  wholesale  price  is  1 3s.  6d.  for  ten  pieces 
with  an  aggregate  length  of  90  yards.  Silk  velvets 
and  mixed  fabrics  are  also  produced  in  small  factories 
with  very  inadequate  light  and  ventilation.  Each  loom 
produces  16,000  yards  annually,  worth  about  £60,  and 
giving  a  net  profit  of  £^2.  Capital  fares  better  than 
labour ;  for  the  journeyman  weaver  works  ten  hours  a 
day  for  a  weekly  pittance  of  4s.  6d.  Viticulture  is  a  far 
more  lucrative  industry ;  for  Samarkand  vineyards  are 
three  times  as  productive  as  those  of  any  other  part 
of  the  empire.  The  out-turn  per  acre  is  134  cwt.,  as 
compared  with  40  cwt.  yielded  in  the  Caucasus  and  the 
Crimea.  The  cost  of  cultivation  is  proportionately  less, 
and  hardly  exceeds  ;^2  2,  as  compared  with  ^60  in  the 
western    provinces.      Thus    the    area    under    vines    has 


400  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [A.D.1899. 

trebled  since  the  Russians  gave  Samarkand  a  just  and 
settled  government.  In  1895  it  had  reached  15,000 
acres,  and  is  now  probably  20  per  cent,  greater. 
Attempts  have  been  made  of  late  years  to  introduce 
foreign  stock ;  but  the  native  varieties,  of  which  24 
are  grown,  are  more  prolific  and  give  produce  of  greater 
body.^  The  soil  selected  for  vineyards  is  composed 
of  equal  parts  of  sand  and  loam.  Three  hundred  and 
seventy  vines  are  planted  to  the  acre.  They  begin  to 
yield  in  their  fourth  year,  and  are  at  their  best  between 
the  8th  and  25  th.  The  tops  are  laid  in  trenches,  and 
covered  with  earth  at  the  beginning  of  winter ;  and 
when  spring  comes  round  they  are  uncovered  and 
allowed  to  trail  on  the  ground  without  the  support  of 
poles  or  trellis-work.  The  vine  requires  higher  cultiva- 
tion than  any  other  plant  which  ministers  to  our  needs  or 
luxury.  In  Samarkand  manure  is  applied  in  the  pro- 
portion of  4  cwt.  an  acre,  and  the  vineyards  are  thrice 
drenched  with  water.  At  the  end  of  October  the  grapes 
are  fit  to  gather.  The  return  is  enormous,  and  in  one 
district  it  reaches  26  tons  an  acre.  The  bulk  of  the 
fruit  is  dried  and  exported  as  kishmish,  or  raisins. 
Though  the  cost  of  transport  by  rail  makes  this  delicacy 
dearer  than  the  Persian  product,  it  commands  a  higher 
price;  no  less  than  7300  tons  were  sent  to  Russia  by  rail 
in  1896. 

The  manufacture  of  brandy  is  a  new  industry  at 
Samarkand.  About  155,000  gallons  are  made  annually 
for  local  consumption.  The  out-turn  of  wine  is  on 
nearly  the  same  scale.  In  the  opinion  of  French  experts, 
the  produce  of  a  Central  Asian  grape  is  at  least  as  good 
as  that  of  the  Medoc  and  Burgundy  districts.  The  wine 
is  of  high  alcoholic  strength,  and  mellows  rapidly.  In 
this  costly  process,  however,  large  capital  is  required,  and 

*  Khanikoff  enumerates  13  as  grown  in  his  time  {Bokhara,  p.  156). 


A.D.  1899.]  SAMARKAND  401 

the  manufacture  languishes  in  its  absence.  Casks,  bottles, 
and  corks  are  imported  at  great  expense  from  Russia  ; 
and  a  reduction  of  railway  rates  is  urgently  called  for. 
We  have  not  yet  exhausted  the  uses  of  Central  Asian 
grapes.  Those  which  are  fit  for  nothing  else  are  boiled 
into  a  syrup  which  ser\es  to  sweeten  green  tea,  ices,  and 
confectionery.^ 

Samarkand  resembles  Bokhara  in  the  character  of  its 
population,  which  does  not  exceed  50,000.  The  Rlgis- 
tan  is  a  happy  hunting-ground  for  the  ethnologist 
Here  one  may  listen  unmolested  to  the  professional  story- 
teller, who  holds  his  audience  enthralled  by  oft-repeated 
tales  of  ancient  chivalry. 

There  are  two  classes  of  public  reciters :  the  tnadddh, 
who  stands  while  he  relates  edifying  or  amusing  anecdotes  ; 
and  the  risdlachi,  who,  seated  on  the  ground,  recites  tales 
and  legends  in  verse  to  a  monotonous  accompaniment  on 
the  two-stringed  lute.  Among  these  public  entertainers 
there  exists  a  systemx  of  organised  applause.  Two  or  three 
men  or  boys  (very  often  themselves  entertainers  taking 
an  interval)  sit  down  at  a  distance  of  some  ten  yards 
facing  the  story-teller,  and,  throughout  the  entertainment, 
ejaculate  at  fixed  intervals  (as  it  were  punctuating  the 
commas  and  full  stops  in  the  story)  such  words  as  Iiakkan^ 
"  of  a  truth,"  and  khiish^  "  bravo,"  etc. 

At  the  close  of  every  recitation  they  are  warned  that 
"  Amin  "  must  be  said,  and  in  pronouncing  it  they  place 
their  hands  with  fingers  clasped  beneath  the  chin.  Then 
follows  a  collection,  and  as  the  tiny  brass  coin  rain  into 
the  performer's  cap  he  acknowledges  the  generosity  of 
each  giver  by  a  nicely  graduated  meed  of  thanks. 

^  The  local  term  is  Chay  Kabud,  or  blue  tea,  a  more  faithful  rendering  of 
the  colour.  Like  that  dnmk  in  Bokhara,  it  is  imported  from  China  by 
steamer  and  rail ;  and  absorbed  from  porcelain  bowls,  whence  the  spent  leaves 
are  deftly  thrown  on  the  floor  by  a  practised  jerk. 

26 


402  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  u.d.  1899. 

The  legends  of  Samarkand  which  these  performers 
have  at  their  finger-ends  are  very  curious.  The  popular 
hero  is  a  Bokharan  Amir  named  'Abdullah,  who  is  credited 
with  most  of  the  ancient  buildings  of  the  provinces. 
Once,  so  the  story  goes,  he  marched  against  this  city 
with  a  great  army,  to  crush  a  rebellious  governor,  but  was 
foiled  by  its  triple  ramparts.  He  sat  down  before  it  and 
waited  in  vain  for  the  surrender.  At  last  his  troops 
began  to  suffer  the  pangs  of  hunger  ;  and  the  Amir  him- 
self found  provisions  running  short.  One  evening,  while 
wandering  incognito  in  the  suburbs,  he  came  upon  an  old 
woman  preparing  her  evening  porridge,  which  smelt  so 
good  that  the  Amir  cast  his  dignity  to  the  winds  and 
begged  permission  to  share  the  repast.  It  was  granted, 
but  his  impatience  did  not  permit  him  to  wait  till  the 
smoking  mess  was  properly  served.  He  thrust  a  spoon 
into  the  pot  and  conveyed  the  contents  to  his  mouth, 
burning  that  sensitive  organ  severely.  His  hostess  roared 
with  laughter  at  his  grimaces,  and  said :  ''  Now  thou 
resemblest  'Abdullah  !  Hadst  thou  taken  the  porridge 
from  the  edge  of  the  dish,  thou  wouldst  not  have  suffered 
thus.  So,  if  our  Amir  had  begun  by  closely  investing 
Samarkand,  and  allowed  the  citizens'  passions  to  be  cooled 
by  hunger,  he  would  not  have  burnt  his  fingers  as  he  has 
done."  The  sovereign  took  the  jest  to  heart,  and  starved 
out  the  rebels.  In  gratitude  to  his  monitress,  he  bestowed 
on  her  a  strip  of  land  on  either  bank  of  the  Ak  Darya 
in  fee  simple. 

A  lofty  hill  called  Chupan  Ata,  which  commands 
Samarkand  on  the  east,  is  the  subject  of  another  legend. 
According  to  tradition,  a  cruel  king  invaded  Samarkand 
and  pitched  his  tents  on  a  plain  where  Chupan  Ata  now 
rears  its  head.  Here  he  waited  for  three  days  in  order  to 
give  the  people  time  to  concentrate  with  their  treasures 
within    the    city    walls.      The    Samarkandis    were   then 


A.D.  18991  SAMARKAND  403 

heathen,  but  the  imminence  of  peril  made  them  turn  to  the 
true  God.  From  the  ruler  downwards  all  ascended  the  flat 
house-roofs  and  wrestled  in  earnest  prayer  for  deliverance. 
Their  sight  fell  on  the  camp  of  the  enemy,  glittering  with 
lights  and  resounding  with  martial  music.  The  besieged 
trembled,  for  they  knew  that  the  morrow  was  the  day 
fixed  for  the  assault.  When  the  sun  rose  all  was  still, 
and  instead  of  a  plain  covered,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
range,  with  tents,  a  mountain  raised  its  head  heavenwards. 
They  timidly  ventured  beyond  the  walls,  but  the  only 
trace  of  life  was  a  husbandman  in  strange  attire  sleeping 
with  a  spade  for  his  pillow.  On  being  waked  he  rubbed 
his  eyes,  stared  around  him  with  astonishment,  and  asked 
where  he  was.  Learning  that  he  was  in  the  heart  of 
Asia,  he  told  his  interlocutors  that  he  was  a  Syrian.  On 
the  previous  evening  he  had  betaken  himself  to  the 
mountain-side  with  his  spade,  for  on  the  morrow  his 
turn  for  irrigation  would  come  round.  Spent  with 
fatigue  he  had  fallen  asleep  and  been  wafted  1500 
miles,  with  his  farm  and  the  mountain  on  which  it  stood ! 
Then  the  Samarkandis  saw  that  God  had  hearkened  to 
their  prayer,  and  that  their  foes  lay  buried  in  the  bowels 
of  the  mountain.  Confirmation  is  found  in  the  fact  ^ 
that  the  conformation  of  Chupan  Ata  is  the  same  as  that 
of  Syrian  hills,  and  that  lethal  weapons  are  often  turned 
up  there  by  the  plough.  A  variation  of  the  legend  has 
it  that  the  Syrian  waif  belonged  to  that  calling,  and  was 
discovered  sleeping  peacefully  among  his  flock.  The 
hill  once  bore  a  three-storeyed  observatory,  built  by  the 
astronomer  Ulugh  Beg,  which  has  been  replaced  by  a 
shrine  with  faience  decorations  of  the  patron  saint  of 
shepherds.  It  stands  at  the  edge  of  the  valley  of  the 
Zarafshan,  which  is  here  crossed  by  a  timber  viaduct  on 

^  See   the  description  of  ancient  Samarkand  by  the  Emperor  Baber  in 
Schuyler's  Turkestan,  p.  239. 


404  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1899. 

the  line  connecting  Samarkand  with  Andijan  and 
Tashkent.  At  this  point  stands  a  much  more  curious 
piece  of  engineering,  which  dates  back  to  the  time  of 
Timur.  At  right  angles  to  the  new  railway  line  a 
gigantic  brick  arch  juts  into  the  shallow  spreading 
stream.  It  is  100  feet  in  height,  and  at  least  as 
broad ;  and  traces  of  two  similar  arches  are  to  be  seen  in 
the  river-bed  beyond.  The  intention  of  the  designer  is 
not  by  any  means  clear.  It  could  hardly  have  been  to 
throw  a  roadway  over  the  Zarafshan,  which  is  not  navig- 
able, and  would  not  require  a  bridge  more  than  twenty 
feet  in  height.  In  the  opinion  of  savants,  this  huge  work 
was  built  to  serve  as  a  regulation  of  the  current,  forcing  a 
certain  proportion  of  the  water  into  a  channel  reserved 
for  the  exclusive  use  of  Bokhara,  which  is  entirely  at  the 
mercy  of  Samarkand  in  the  matter  of  irrigation. 

The  administration  of  Samarkand  offers  much  interest- 
ing material  for  study.  We  see  in  Transcaspia  a  system 
of  local  government  imposed  on  the  unsophisticated 
Turkomans.  At  Bokhara  we  observe  the  rules  on  which 
the  paramount  Power  conducts  its  relations  to  the  ruler 
and  people  of  a  protected  state.  It  remains  to  sketch  the 
means  taken  by  our  rivals  in  Asia  to  improve  a  mecha- 
nism evolved  in  a  comparatively  civilised  community. 

Samarkand  is  a  province  of  Turkestan,  and  under  the 
control  of  the  governor-general  at  Tashkent.  It  em- 
braces the  four  districts  of  Samarkand  proper,  Katta 
Kurgan,  Jizak,  and  Khojend.  The  first-named  has  an 
area  of  12,300  square  miles,  with  a  population  of  rather 
more  than  300,000.  It  is  administered  by  a  chief  who 
is  a  military  officer  of  field  rank,  aided  by  a  personal 
assistant.^       Under    him   are    officers    styled    pristas,    in 

^  Colonel  Kulchanoff  now  holds  these  functions.  He  is  a  Tartar  from 
Orenburg,  and  is  a  perfect  mine  of  information  on  the  history  and  usages  of 
the  province.     Though  a   Mohammedan,  he  lives  in  European  style,  and 


AD.  1899.]  SAMARKAND  405 

charge  of  subdivisions,  which  are  again  split  up  into 
volosts,  or  groups  of  2000  to  2500  houses,  governed  by 
officers  termed  volostnois.  Every  village  in  the  volost 
has  its  mayor  (starshina).  The  duties  of  this  class 
of  officials  are  purely  executive,  and  confined  to  the 
repression  of  crime,  the  execution  of  judicial  decrees,  and 
the  collection  of  revenue.  They  form,  too,  the  police 
force.  On  the  occurrence  of  an  offence  it  is  reported 
to  the  starshina,  who  sends  information  to  the  volostnoi. 
An  investigation  follows,  and,  should  the  charge  be  con- 
sidered/rzV«^ /hrzV  true,  it  is  reported  to  one  of  the  two 
judges  of  instruction  stationed  at  Samarkand.  These 
officers  are  subordinate  to  the  Ministry  of  Justice  at 
St.  Petersburg,  and  have  charge  of  all  steps  in  criminal 
inquiries  up  to  the  actual  trial.  When  their  work  is 
complete  the  case  comes  before  the  judge  of  the  peace, 
who  is  also  an  officer  of  the  Ministry  of  Justice,  and  is 
disposed  of  under  the  Russian  criminal  code.  Civil  causes 
in  which  either  party  is  a  foreigner  are  tried  by  this 
functionary,  whose  tribunal  is  also  that  for  suits  referred 
to  him  by  both  litigants,  though  both  may  be  natives  of 
Turkestan.  The  ordinary  tribunals  for  this  latter  are 
those  of  the  Kazis  —  native  judges  stationed  at  the 
volost  headquarters,  who  are  guided  in  their  decisions  by 
the  Mohammedan  law.  The  executive  officials  are  also 
responsible  for  the  collection  of  revenue.  Its  chief  source 
is  the  land  tax,  for  Samarkand  was,  before  its  conquest, 
a  province  of  Bokhara,  and  the  state  in  all  Mohammedan 
countries  is  theoretically  the  owner  of  the  soil.  In  this 
department  things  are  not  yet  on  a  sound  footing. 
When  the  Russians  assumed  the  administration  of  the 
country  they  were  compelled  to  trust  to  the  information  as 
to  the  demand  from  each  villager  furnished  by  the  officers 

associates  freely  with  his  colleagues.  Madame  Kulchanoff  presides  at  table, 
and  converses  with  a  charming  grace  with  strangers  who  know  Russian. 


4o6  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1899. 

of  the  late  Government.  The  statistics  thus  obtained 
were,  of  course,  vitiated  by  the  corruption  of  public  ser- 
vants universal  throughout  the  East ;  ^  but  they  still 
form  the  basis  of  the  annual  demand  which  is  assessed 
collectively  on  each  village  by  the  district  chief,  and 
paid  into  the  treasury  by  the  starshinas.  The  rate 
ranges,  with  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  facilities 
for  irrigation,  between  2s.  and  3  s.  46..  per  acre.  The 
Russians  are  therefore  in  much  the  same  predicament 
as  were  the  EngHsh  masters  of  Bengal  in  1793,  when 
the  annual  demand  was  crystallised  for  ever  by  that 
gigantic  fiscal  blunder,  the  Permanent  Settlement.  They 
possess  the  advantage  of  having  a  free  hand ;  and  for 
several  years  past  a  commission  has  been  incubating  a 
scheme  adjusting  the  burdens  on  land  with  some  regard 
to  its  actual  produce.^  The  imposts  on  merchandise  and 
the  poll-tax  levied  on  non-Musulmans  under  the  old  regime 
have  been  abolished,  and  traders  are  classified  in  guilds 
according  to  the  scale  of  their  operations,  and  pay  a  licence 
tax  on  a  graduated  scale.  Irrigation  has  been  left  in 
native  hands,  and  every  village  has  its  ak-sakdl  (white- 
beard),  or  superintendent,  who  has  the  power  to  demand 
the  service  of  the  entire  male  population  for  work  on  the 
canals.^  Vernacular  education  has  not  made  much 
progress  since  the  conquest ;  and  the  system  is  subject 

^  Lord  Cornwallis  encountered  similar  difficulties  in  fixing  the  demand  on 
which  the  Permanent  Settlement  in  Bengal  was  based.  An  eminent  Hindu 
reformer,  who  at  that  period  (1793)  was  head  native  officer  in  the  district  of 
Rangpur,  is  said  to  have  received  a  bribe  of  a  lakh  of  rupees  {£\0,<xo)  for 
omitting  a  cipher  in  the  reported  gross  revenue  of  a  single  estate. 

"^  By  far  the  best  work  done  by  the  Civil  Service  of  India  is  that 
which  is  known  as  Settlement,  i.e.  the  land  valuation  on  a  vast  scale.  The 
Russians  would  gain  enormously  could  they  obtain  the  service  of  a  few  of 
the  younger  men  who  have  taken  up  this  branch  of  executive  duty. 

*  The  dimensions  of  some  of  the  ancient  works  in  Samarkand  are  stupen- 
dous. In  one  case  the  wells  attain  a  maximum  depth  of  420  feet,  and  are 
connected  by  a  tunnel  in  which  a  man  can  walk  upright. 


A.D.  X899.1  SAMARKAND  407 

to  the  same  defects  as  those  which  render  Bokhara  a  hot- 
bed of  fanaticism.  Many  years  ago  an  attempt  was  made 
by  Government  to  introduce  the  study  of  Russian ;  but 
priestly  influence  ran  counter  to  the  reform,  and  the 
classes  were  poorly  attended.  An  administrative  order 
was,  however,  issued  in  1897  which  made  a  knowledge 
of  the  conqueror's  tongue  obligatory  on  candidates  for 
the  posts  of  volostnoi  and  kazi ;  and  self-interest  has 
already  modified  the  popular  attitude  towards  the  innova- 
tion. Those  who  wish  well  to  Russian  rule  must  see  to 
it  that  the  pendulum  is  not  allowed  to  swing  in  the 
opposite  direction.  No  greater  mistake  could  be  made 
than  to  force  a  superficial  study  of  Russian  on  classes 
rendered  unfit  to  profit  by  it  by  social  status  or  inherited 
defect. 


CHAPTER    XI 

Friends  or  Foes? 

It  has  been  acutely  observed  that  we  bring  back  from 
foreign  countries  no  more  than  we  take  thither.  In 
other  words,  we  view  them  through  the  medium  of 
our  own  personaHty,  which  is  the  growth  of  heredity,  edu- 
cation, and  environment.  It  is  almost  impossible  for 
an  Englishman  to  judge  the  subjects  of  the  Tsar 
dispassionately.  Forty  -  five  years  ago  a  friendship 
which  had  lasted  for  centuries  was  shattered  by  that 
greatest  blunder  of  the  century,  our  Crimean  cam- 
paign ;  and  the  fierce  passions  which  it  engendered  have 
not  yet  spent  their  force.  The  Russian  advance  in  Asia, 
which  we  have  described  as  a  movement  automatic  and 
uncontrollable,  has  been  interpreted  by  an  influential 
school  of  writers  as  a  menace  to  our  position  in  India. 
Twice  of  late  years  have  we  been  landed  on  the  very 
brink  of  war  by  a  public  opinion  goaded  to  frenzy  by 
such  baseless  fears.  For  it  may  be  affirmed  with 
perfect  truth  that  the  absorption  of  India  is  a  dream 
too  wild  for  the  most  aggressive  adviser  of  the  Tsar. 
Such  is  the  geographical  position  of  the  peninsula,  that 
it  can  be  held  by  no  European  Power  which  is  not 
Mistress  of  the  Seas.  How,  it  may  well  be  asked, 
would  it  profit  Russia  to  assume  the  responsibility  of 
governing  three  hundred  million  of  Asiatics  whose 
ignorance  of  Malthusian  doctrines  renders  them  a  prey 

408 


A.D.I899.]  FRIENDS  OR  FOES?  409 

to  perennial  pestilence  and  famine  ?  Our  prestige, 
indeed,  is  vitally  concerned  in  upholding  an  empire 
which  is  the  wonder  and  the  envy  of  the  world,  and  we 
reap  solid  advantage  from  owning  so  considerable  an 
outlet  for  our  manufactures  and  the  redundant  energies  of 
our  middle  class.  In  Russia  social  and  economic  con- 
ditions diflfer  widely  from  our  own  ;  and  her  conquests 
in  Eastern  Asia  will  absorb  her  surplus  activity  for 
many  years  to  come.  It  is  true  that  the  path  opened 
by  nature  for  her  expansion  leads  southwards.  Peter 
the  Great's  famous  will  is  a  forgery,^  but  no  one  can 
doubt  that  its  promptings  have  sunk  deeply  into  the 
hearts  of  the  Russian  people.  In  their  eyes  the  Tsar 
is  the  heir  of  the  Byzantine  Empire  which  gave  them 
laws  and  religion,  and  they  are  firmly  convinced  that  a 
day  will  come  when  the  Greek  Cross  will  replace  the 
Crescent  which  desecrates  the  summit  of  St.  Sophia. 

Twice  has  the  road  to  Constantinople  been  blocked 
by  England.  In  1854  she  drew  the  sword  in  order 
to  keep  the  Key  of  the  World  in  Turkish  hands ;  and  a 
quarter  of  a  century  later  she  turned  back  the  Tsar's 
victorious  legions  when  the  splendid  quarry  was  within 
their  grasp.  Baffled  in  an  ambition  which  educated 
Russians  deem  legitimate,  their  eyes  are  turned  to  the 
Far  East ;  and  here,  again,  England  has  set  limits  to 
their  expansion.  It  is  this  latent  antagonism,  ever 
ready  to  burst  into  uncontrollable  fury,  which  con- 
stitutes the  chief  danger  to  the  stability  of  our  rule  in 
India.  The  latter  is  our  one  vulnerable  point,  and, 
when  national  interests  are  become  divergent,  it  is 
in  Russia's  power  to  create  a  diversion  by  foment- 
ing trouble  in  Afghanistan,  in  the  highlands  which 
separate    the    two    empires,    and    within    the    limits    of 

^  See    a    very    interesting    note  at   pp.    258-9,   vol.    ii.    of  Schuyler's 
Turkestan. 


4IO  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a. d.  1899 

India  itself.  Every  friend  of  humanity  must  deplore 
the  existence  of  a  gulf  between  two  forces  which,  if 
united,  would  give  civilisation  to  Asia  and  assure  the 
peace  of  the  world.  When  we  pass  from  the  tendency 
of  Russian  policy  in  the  heart  of  Asia  to  the  results 
achieved  there,  we  are  on  firmer  ground — in  politics 
nothing  happens  but  the  unexpected,  while  ocular 
evidence  can  hardly  be  impeached.  We  left  home  full 
of  prejudices,  the  result  of  a  course  of  Central  Asian 
literature.  The  Cassandra  notes  of  Vambery  were 
ringing  in  our  ears,  and  the  latent  chauvinism  of  Lord 
Curzon  of  Kedleston  ^  had  prejudiced  the  Russians  in 
our  eyes.  But  unfavourable  prepossessions  vanished 
when  we  had  seen  the  results  of  their  rule  in  Central 
Asia,  and  had  gathered  estimates  of  its  character  in 
every  class  of  the  population.  We  are  convinced  that 
the  Tsar's  explicit  instructions  to  his  lieutenants  to 
exercise  a  fatherly  care  over  his  Asiatic  subjects  are 
scrupulously  obeyed.^  The  peoples  of  Asia,  from  the 
Caspian  to  China,  from  Siberia  to  the  borders  of  Persia 
and  Afghanistan,  enjoy  as  large  a  measure  of  happiness 
and  freedom  as  those  of  any  part  of  our  Indian 
dominions.  The  fiscal  policy  of  the  conquering  race  is 
one  of  extreme  moderation.  Imperial  and  local  taxa- 
tion are  indeed  too  light ;  and,  in  Samarkand  at  least, 
a  turn  might  be  given  to  the  screw  with  great  advantage 
to  an  exchequer  which  finds  these  Asiatic  possessions  a 
serious  drain  on  its  resources.  The  problem  of  local 
self-government  has  been  solved,  and  indigenous  institu- 
tions have  not  been  ruthlessly  trampled  upon.  Respect 
for  the  dominant   race   has   been  inculcated  by  prompt 

^  Lord  Curzon's  great  work  on  Central  Asia  is  considered  by  the  Russians 
themselves  as  a  text-book,  though  they  vigorously  combat  his  views  on  their 
policy. 

^  See  Appendix,  p.  425. 


A.D.,899.]  FRIENDS  OR  FOES?  411 

and  severe  punishment  meted  out  for  revolt  or  outrage 
on  a  European's  person  or  property.  Every  picture 
has  its  shadows,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  point  to 
defects  in  the  administrative  machine.  Russia  has 
carried  an  attitude  of  laissez-faire  to  an  extreme  limit 
in  dealing  with  education,  and  it  has  been  left  in 
the  hands  of  a  class  which  must  always  be  bitterly 
hostile  to  infidel  rule.  The  process  of  Russification  has 
been  pushed  with  excessive  zeal.  Local  colour  and 
racial  characteristics  have  been  swept  away,  which  were 
precious  indeed  in  times  when  mankind  was  oppressed  by 
a  deluge  of  commonplace  throughout  the  Eastern  world. 
Structures  which  made  the  cities  of  Central  Asia  the 
theme  of  Eastern  poets  have  been  suffered  to  lapse  into 
hopeless  ruin.  And  what  shall  be  said  of  a  commercial 
policy  framed  on  principles  exploded  a  century  ago  by 
Adam  Smith,  and  proved  by  the  history  of  our  own 
East  India  Company  to  be  positively  injurious  to  the 
Government  which  cherishes  them  ?  That  policy  aims  at 
nothing  less  than  the  maintenance  of  a  Chinese  Wall 
round  the  Russian  Empire,  albeit  that  railways  and 
steam  navigation  have  made  the  whole  world  kin  and 
brought  about  a  solidarity  between  nations  which 
renders  each  unit  sensitive  to  the  injuries  inflicted  on 
the  commerce  and  manufactures  of  the  rest.  The 
heavy  protective  tariff,  the  unwillingness  to  admit  con- 
sular agents  for  the  protection  of  English  trade,  and 
the  jealous  restrictions  on  the  movements  of  Europeans 
are  strangely  out  of  date  at  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth 
century.  An  Anglo-Indian  official  travelling  in  Central 
Asia  would  find  it  difficult  to  avoid  instituting  com- 
parisons between  our  own  methods  of  dealing  with 
Orientals  and  those  employed  by  the  Russians.  The 
dissimilarity  of  the  conditions  encountered  deprives  the 
process  of  half  its  value.     We  have  in  India  a  swarming 


412  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a. d.  1899. 

population,  which  overtaxes  the  productive  power  of 
the  soil  and  yet  shows  no  sign  of  having  reached  its 
utmost  limits.  In  the  bitter  struggle  for  life  an 
enormous  criminal  class  has  been  evolved,  which  is  a 
perpetual  thorn  in  the  side  of  authority.  And  then, 
we  are  face  to  face  with  a  civilisation  more  ancient  than 
our  own,  and  on  its  own  lines,  as  complex,  presenting 
features  which  baffle  the  closest  study.  Nor  must  the 
religious  problem  be  left  out  of  account.  Hinduism 
is  stirred  to  its  inmost  being  by  a  revival,  and  displays 
an  elasticity  and  a  militant  spirit  which  appear  incom- 
patible with  its  principles.  The  forces  of  Islam  are 
also  equipped  for  a  coming  struggle.  A  Puritan  move- 
ment, inaugurated  by  Wahabi  missionaries  eighty  years 
ago,  has  spread  far  and  wide,  and  the  Mohammedans 
of  India  have  formed  secret  societies  which  are  ex- 
ploited by  wirepullers  for  their  own  ends.  Thus  we 
find  arrayed  against  us  millions  who  firmly  believe  that 
a  good  Government  must  necessarily  be  a  theocracy. 
Our  own  institutions,  founded  as  they  are  on  a  sincere 
regard  for  the  good  of  subject  races,  have  conspired  to 
bring  about  a  state  of  things  which  is  full  of  political 
danger.  The  dissemination  of  the  English  language 
and  of  the  half-truths  with  which  our  political  literature 
teems  has  produced  aspirations  which  can  be  gratified 
only  by  the  abdication  of  our  supremacy.  Thus  the 
prestige  of  the  conquerors,  which  must  be  upheld 
if  200,000  white  men  are  to  govern  three  hundred 
millions  of  their  fellow  -  creatures,  has  been  declin- 
ing for  many  years  past.  And  we  labour  under 
the  immense  disadvantage  of  being  aliens  in  blood, 
language,  and  traditions  from  the  Asiatics  whom  we 
are  called  upon  to  rule.  For  communities  which  have 
arrived  at  a  high  pitch  of  civilisation,  conquest  is  an 
anachronism,  and  assimilation   with    a    subject  race    an 


A.D.  .899.1  FRIENDS  OR  FOES?  413 

impossibility.  We  can  have  no  sympathy  with  the 
workings  of  these  enigmatic  Oriental  minds,  for  we  view 
every  problem  that  presents  itself  from  an  entirely 
different  standpoint.  Thus  we  must  always  be  so- 
journers in  India,  and  our  dominion  can  never  strike 
its  roots  deeply  into  the  soil.  But  for  the  bayonets 
on  which  our  throne  is  supported  it  would  fall,  even  as 
those  of  our  predecessors  in  the  purple  have  fallen. 
Central  Asia,  on  the  other  hand,  is  thinly  peopled,  and 
the  standard  of  comfort  is  comparatively  high.  The 
conquerors  and  conquered  are  connected  by  the  ties  of 
blood,  and  there  is  a  latent  and  unconscious  sympathy 
between  them  which  renders  the  task  of  government 
easy  and  assures  its  stability.  In  one  point  the  differ- 
ence between  British  and  Russian  methods  of  adminis- 
tration is  very  marked  —  the  relations  between  the 
judicial  and  executive  functions.  Our  readers  are 
doubtless  aware  that  in  India,  under  the  native  rule, 
there  was  an  entire  separation  between  the  judge  and 
the  ruler.  This  divorce  continued  till,  under  the  regime 
of  Lord  William  Bentinck,  functions  apparently  dis- 
sonant were  united.  It  was  considered  essential  in  a 
country  so  peculiarly  constituted  as  India  that  the 
Central  Government  should  have,  in  every  district,  a 
single  representative  in  whose  hands  all  the  threads  of 
administration  are  gathered.  In  Russian  Asia,  on  the 
other  hand,  offences  against  the  state  and  individuals 
alike  come  within  the  purview  of  courts  entirely  inde- 
pendent of  the  executive,  which  is  on  a  military  basis 
and  concerns  itself  only  with  obedience  to  these  tri- 
bunals' behests.  Some  friction  occurred  between  the 
rival  branches  when  the  country  was  first  invaded  by 
Judges  of  Instruction  and  of  the  Peace,  free  from  the 
control  of  local  authorities  and  subordinate  to  the 
Ministry  of   Justice   at   St.   Petersburg.     This   agitation 


414  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  1899. 

was  calmed  by  a  hint  from  a  high  quarter  that  it  was 
puerile  and  displeasing.  Nowhere  is  discipline,  both  in 
the  army  and  civil  service,  maintained  so  sternly  as  in 
the  Russian  Empire.  The  relations  between  the  execu- 
tive and  the  judicial  branches  are  now  as  cordial  as 
can  be  expected,  and  the  system  in  force  gives  the 
utmost  satisfaction  to  the  people.  It  would  carry  us 
too  far  from  our  subject  to  discuss  the  merits  and 
defects  of  the  respective  methods.  One  thing  is  certain, 
that  a  compliance  with  the  demand  of  the  Indian  Con- 
gress, that  our  district  officers  should  be  relegated  to 
the  station  of  mere  rakers-in  of  revenue,  would  involve 
a  fatal  weakening  of  the  principle  of  authority.  But 
imitation  is  the  sincerest  flattery,  and  that  so  much  of 
the  Russian  edifice  is  built  on  Anglo-Indian  models  is 
the  strongest  proof  of  their  intrinsic  excellence.  We 
were  pioneers,  and  had  difficulties  to  encounter  with 
which  our  neighbours  were  never  perplexed ;  and  they 
have  profited  by  our  experience  and  mistakes.  The 
last  word  of  the  memorable  seventeenth-century  con- 
troversy, Ancients  against  Moderns,  was  said  when 
someone  remarked  that  a  dwarf  could  see  farther  than 
a  giant  if  perched  upon  his  shoulders.  We  believe 
that  the  cause  of  civilisation  would  be  furthered  by  a 
frank  understanding  between  the  two  great  Asiatic 
Powers.  The  Russians  have  their  faults,  which  are 
often  a  little  exasperating  to  the  perfervid  Briton.  The 
Oriental  strain  renders  them,  to  say  the  least  of  it, 
leisurely  in  business  transactions.  Their  standard  of 
comfort  is  not  exalted ;  social  etiquette  is  not  without 
a  tinge  of  barbarism.  But  they  are  a  young  and 
vigorous  race,  imbued  with  a  passionate  love  of  their 
country,  a  steadfast  belief  in  its  high  destinies,  both  rare 
and  precious  in  these  days  of  flabby  cosmopolitanism. 
And  there  is  a  great  deal  in  their  work  in  Central  Asia 


BAZAAR  POLITICS 


A.D.  i899.  FRIENDS  OR  FOES  ?  415 

which  should  inspire  our  admiration  and  sympathy. 
Their  raihvays  are  the  fruit  of  a  dogged  perseverance, 
and  appeal  forcibly  to  the  fellow-countrymen  of  George 
Stephenson  and  Brunei.  The  broad  realm  which  they 
govern  consists  of  little  but  deserts  and  swamps,  and 
the  isolation  of  those  who  administer  it,  their  banish- 
ment from  the  sweets  of  home,  give  them  a  special 
claim  on  our  regard.  When  we  come  to  the  indi- 
viduals we  find  still  more  in  common.  That  Englishmen 
and  Russians  are  made  to  understand  and  appre- 
ciate each  other  was  proved  during  the  operations  of 
Boundary  Commissions  of  1885  and  1895,  fo^  the  per- 
sonnel on  both  sides  parted  on  terms  of  cordial  friendship. 
Once  given  a  union  of  hearts  between  the  two  greatest 
Powers,  how  much  anxiety  would  not  our  statesmen 
be  saved  ! 

But  the  Russians  must  set  their  own  house  in 
order  ere  a  consummation  be  reached  which  will  give 
tranquillity  to  this  distracted  world  of  ours.  Autocracy 
has  some  advantages  over  any  system  of  popular 
government ;  but  it  has  a  drawback  equally  obvious. 
It  gives  a  preponderance  to  the  personal  equation 
which  sometimes  menaces  the  peace  of  the  world.  The 
dynasty  of  the  Romanoffs  during  the  last  century  has 
produced  more  men  of  talent  and  public  spirit  than 
any  other  royal  house  in  Europe ;  but  Russians  should 
remember  that  a  Catherine  the  Great  was  followed  by 
a  Paul.  What  if  a  Tsar  should  arise  inspired  by 
dreams  of  military  glory  and  longing  to  use  the 
immense  forces  at  his  disposal  in  a  career  of  universal 
conquest?  England,  the  august  mother  of  self-govern- 
ing nations,  the  chosen  home  of  freedom,  may  well 
pause  ere  she  throws  in  her  lot  with  a  state  whose 
political  future  is  in  the  hands  of  a  single  human 
being.     The  radical  difference  between   our  commercial 


4i6  THE  HEART  OF  ASIA  [a.d.  iSgg. 

policies  is  another  obstacle  to  a  close  Anglo-Russian 
alliance.  We  English  are  essentially  a  manufacturing 
people,  dependent  on  our  foreign  commerce  for  the 
wherewithal  to  feed  a  redundant  population  and  sup- 
port the  burden  of  world-wide  empire.  Having  found 
by  centuries  of  experience  that  perfect  freedom  of 
trade  and  travel  are  as  essential  to  a  people's  healthy 
development  as  the  air  we  breathe,  we  so  govern  that 
empire  that  the  human  race  profits  by  its  existence. 
Nations  are  subject  to  the  same  laws  as  those  which 
govern  the  growth  and  well-being  of  individuals ;  and 
true  progress  is  impossible  unless  their  policy  be  swayed 
by  a  scrupulous  regard  for  the  interests  of  others. 


APPENDIX    I 

Translation  of  Prince  Gortschakoffs  Circular  to  the 
Great  Powers,  dated  St.  Petersburg,  2ist  November 
1864. 

"  The  Russian  newspapers  have  described  the  military 
operations  which  have  been  carried  out  by  a  detachment 
of  our  troops  in  the  regions  of  Central  Asia,  with 
remarkable  success  and  vast  results.  It  was  inevitable 
that  these  events  should  excite  attention  in  foreign 
countries,  and  the  more  so  because  their  theatre  lies  in 
regions  which  are  hardly  known. 

"  Our  august  Master  has  directed  me  to  explain 
succinctly,  but  with  clearness  and  precision,  our  position 
in  Central  Asia,  the  interests  which  prompt  our  action  in 
that  part  of  the  world,  and  the  aims  which  we  pursue. 
The  position  of  Russia  in  Central  Asia  is  that  of  all 
civilised  states  which  come  into  contact  with  half-savage, 
wandering  tribes  possessing  no  fixed  social  organisation. 

"It  invariably  happens  in  such  cases  that  the  interests 
of  security  on  the  frontier,  and  of  commercial  relations, 
compel  the  more  civilised  state  to  exercise  a  certain 
ascendency  over  neighbours  whose  turbulence  and  nomad 
Instincts  render  them  difficult  to  live  with.  First,  we 
have  incursions  and  pillage  to  repress.  In  order  to  stop 
these  we  are  compelled  to  reduce  the  tribes  on  our  frontier 
to  a  more  or  less  complete  submission.  Once  this  result 
is  attained  they  become  less  troublesome,  but  in  their 
turn  they  are  exposed  to  the  aggression  of  more  distant 
27 


4i8  APPENDIX  I 

tribes.  The  state  is  obliged  to  defend  them  against 
these  depredations,  and  chastise  those  who  commit 
them.  Hence  the  necessity  of  distant  and  costly- 
expeditions,  repeated  at  frequent  intervals,  against  an 
enemy  whose  social  organisation  enables  him  to  elude 
pursuit.  If  we  content  ourselves  with  chastising  the 
freebooters  and  then  retire,  the  lesson  is  soon  forgotten. 
Retreat  is  ascribed  to  weakness,  for  Asiatics  respect 
only  visible  and  palpable  force ;  that  arising  from  the 
exercise  of  reason  and  a  regard  for  the  interests  of 
civilisation  has  as  yet  no  hold  on  them.  The  task 
has  therefore  to  be  performed  over  again. 

"In  order  to  cut  short  these  perpetual  disorders 
we  established  strong  places  in  the  midst  of  a  hostile 
population,  and  thus  we  obtained  an  ascendency  which 
shortly  but  surely  reduced  them  to  a  more  or  less  willing 
submission.  But  beyond  this  line  there  are  other  tribes 
which  soon  provoke  the  same  dangers,  the  same  re- 
pression. The  state  then  finds  itself  on  the  horns  of  a 
dilemma.  It  must  abandon  the  incessant  struggle  and 
deliver  its  frontier  over  to  disorder,  which  renders  property, 
security,  and  civilisation  impossible ;  or  it  must  plunge 
into  the  depths  of  savage  countries,  where  the  difficulties 
and  sacrifices  to  which  it  is  exposed  increase  with  each 
step  in  advance.  Such  has  been  the  lot  of  all  countries 
placed  in  the  same  conditions.  The  United  States  in 
America,  France  in  Algiers,  Holland  in  her  colonies, 
England  in  India, — all  have  been  inevitably  drawn  into 
a  course  wherein  ambition  plays  a  smaller  part  than 
imperious  necessity,  and  where  the  greatest  difficulty 
is  in  knowing  where  to  stop. 

"  Such  are  the  reasons  which  have  induced  the 
Imperial  Government  to  establish  itself,  on  the  one  side, 
on  the  Sir  Darya,  and,  on  the  other,  on  the  Lake  of 
Issik-Kul,  and  to  consolidate  the  two  lines  by  advanced 


APPENDIX  I  419 

forts  which,  little  by  little,  have  penetrated  the  heart  of 
these  distant  regions,  but  have  not  sufficed  to  secure 
tranquillity  on  the  frontier.  The  cause  of  this  instability 
lies,  firstly,  in  the  existence  between  the  extremities  of  this 
double  line  of  forts,  of  a  vast  unoccupied  tract  where  the 
incursions  of  robber  tribes  continue  to  neutralise  our 
attempts  at  colonisation  and  our  caravan  traffic.  It  is,  in 
the  second  place,  due  to  perpetual  changes  in  the  political 
aspect  of  the  countries  to  the  south  of  our  border. 
Turkestan  and  Kokand  are  sometimes  united,  sometimes 
separated,  but  are  always  at  war,  either  with  each  other 
or  with  Bokhara,  and  offer  no  probability  of  settled 
relations  or  regular  transactions  with  them. 

"  Thus,  in  its  own  despite,  the  Imperial  Government 
finds  itself  reduced  to  the  dilemma  already  stated  :  it  must 
allow  an  anarchy  to  become  chronic  which  paralyses  all 
security  and  all  progress,  and  involve  distant  and  expen- 
sive expeditions  at  frequent  intervals  ;  or,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  must  enter  on  a  career  of  conquest  and  annexation 
such  as  gave  England  her  Indian  Empire,  in  view  of 
dominating  in  succession  the  petty  independent  states 
whose  turbulent  habits  and  perpetual  revolts  leave  their 
neighbour  neither  truce  nor  repose.  Neither  of  these 
alternatives  is  in  consonance  with  the  object  of  my  august 
Master's  policy,  which  aims  at  restricting  the  extent  of 
the  countries  subject  to  his  sceptre  within  reasonable 
limits,  while  it  places  his  rule  thereon  on  firm  foundations, 
guarantees  their  security,  and  develops  their  social 
organisation,  their  commerce,  well-being,  and  civilisation. 

"  Our  task,  therefore,  has  been  to  seek  a  system  fitted 
to  attain  the  triple  object.  In  this  view  the  following 
principles  have  been  formulated  : — 

"(i.)  It  has  been  considered  indispensable  that  the 
two  fortified  frontier  lines,  the  one  stretching  from  China 
to  Lake  Issik-Kul,  the  other  from  the  Sea  of  Aral  along 


420  APPENDIX  I 

the  lower  course  of  the  Sir  Darya,  should  be  linked 
together  by  a  chain  of  strongholds,  so  that  each  fort 
should  be  in  a  position  to  afford  mutual  support  and 
leave  no  space  open  to  the  incursions  of  nomad  tribes. 

"  (2.)  It  was  essential  that  the  line  of  forts  thus  com- 
pleted should  be  placed  in  a  fertile  country,  not  only  in 
order  to  assure  supplies,  but  to  facilitate  regular  colonisa- 
tion, which  alone  can  give  an  occupied  country  a  future 
of  stability  and  prosperity,  or  attract  neighbouring  tribes 
to  civilised  life. 

"  (3.)  It  was  a  matter  of  urgency  to  fix  this  line  in  a 
definite  manner,  in  order  to  escape  the  danger  of  being 
drawn  on  from  repression  to  reprisals,  which  might  end  in 
a  limitless  extension  of  our  empire. 

"  With  this  object  it  was  necessary  to  lay  the  founda- 
tions of  a  system  founded  not  merely  on  considerations  of 
expediency,  but  on  geographical  and  political  data  which 
are  fixed  and  permanent, 

"  This  system  was  disclosed  to  us  by  a  very  simple 
fact,  the  result  of  long  experience,  namely,  that  nomad 
tribes  which  cannot  be  overtaken,  punished,  or  kept  in 
hand  are  the  worst  neighbours  possible ;  while  agri- 
cultural and  commercial  populations,  wedded  to  the  soil, 
and  given  a  more  highly  developed  social  organisation, 
afford  for  us  a  basis  for  friendly  relations  which  may 
become  all  that  can  be  wished. 

"  Our  frontier-line  then  should  include  the  first,  and 
stop  at  the  boundaries  of  the  second, 

"  These  three  principles  afford  a  clear,  natural,  and 
logical  explanation  of  the  recent  military  operations 
accomplished  in  Central  Asia. 

"  Moreover,  our  old  frontier,  stretching  along  the  Sir 
Darya  to  Fort  Perovski  on  one  side,  and,  on  the  other,  as 
far  as  Lake  Issik-Kul,  had  the  disadvantage  of  being 
almost  at  the  edge  of  the  desert.      It  was  interrupted  by 


APPENDIX  I  431 

an  immense  gap  between  the  farthest  points  on  the 
east  and  west.  It  offered  very  insufficient  supplies  to 
our  troops,  and  left  beyond  it  unsettled  tribes  with  which 
we  could  not  maintain  stable  relations. 

"  In  spite  of  our  repugnance  to  give  a  wider  scope  to 
our  dominion,  these  conditions  were  powerful  enough  to 
induce  the  Imperial  Government  to  establish  a  frontier 
between  Lake  Issik-Kul  and  the  Sir  Darya  by  fortifying 
the  town  of  Chimkent,  recently  occupied  by  us.  In 
adopting  this  line  we  obtain  a  twofold  result.  First,  the 
country  which  it  includes  is  fertile,  well- wooded,  and  watered 
by  numerous  streams ;  it  is  inhabited  in  part  by  Kirghiz 
tribes  which  have  already  acknowledged  our  supremacy, 
and  therefore  offers  conditions  favourable  to  colonisation 
and  the  supply  of  our  garrisons.  Then,  it  gives  us  the 
agricultural  and  commercial  population  of  Kokand  as 
our  neighbours. 

"  Thus  we  find  ourselves  confronted  by  a  more  solid 
and  compact  social  organisation, — one  less  shifting  and 
better  arranged.  This  consideration  marks  with  geo- 
graphical precision  the  limit  where  interest  and  reason 
command  us  to  stop.  On  the  one  hand,  attempts  to 
extend  our  rule  will  no  longer  encounter  such  unstable 
entities  as  nomad  tribes,  but  more  regularly  organised 
states,  and  will  therefore  be  carried  out  at  the  cost  of  great 
effort,  leading  us  from  annexation  to  annexation  into 
difficulties  the  end  of  which  can  not  be  foreseen.  On 
the  other  hand,  as  we  have  as  our  neighbours  states  of 
that  description,  in  spite  of  their  low  civilisation  and 
nebulous  political  development,  we  hope  that  regular 
relations  may  one  day,  in  our  common  interest,  replace 
the  chronic  disorders  which  have  hitherto  hampered  their 
progress. 

"  Such  are  the  principles  which  are  the  mainspring  of 
our  august   Master's  policy  in  Central  Asia;   such   the 


422  APPENDIX  I 

final  goal  which  His   Imperial  Majesty  has  prescribed  as 
that  of  his  Cabinet's  action. 

"  There  is  no  necessity  to  insist  on  the  palpable 
interest  of  Russia  in  restricting  the  growth  of  her  territor}^ 
and  preventing  the  advent  of  complications  in  distant 
provinces  which  may  retard  and  paralyse  our  domestic 
development. 

"  The  programme  which  I  have  just  traced  is  in  strict 
accord  with  this  policy. 

"  People  of  late  years  have  been  pleased  to  credit  us 
with  a  mission  to  civilise  neighbouring  countries  on  the 
continent  of  Asia.  The  progress  of  civilisation  has  no 
more  efficacious  ally  than  commercial  relations.  These 
require,  in  all  countries,  order  and  stability  as  conditions 
essential  to  their  growth ;  but  in  Asia  their  existence 
implies  a  revolution  in  the  manners  of  the  people. 
Asiatics  must,  before  all  things,  be  made  to  understand 
that  it  is  more  advantageous  to  favour  and  assure  trade  by 
caravans  than  to  pillage  them.  These  elementary  prin- 
ciples can  penetrate  the  public  conscience  only  when 
there  is  a  public ;  that  is  to  say,  a  social  organisation  and 
a  government  which  directs  and  represents  it.  We  are 
accomplishing  the  first  portion  of  this  task  in  extending 
our  frontier  to  points  where  these  indispensable  con- 
ditions are  to  be  met  with.  We  accomplish  the  second 
when  we  undertake  the  duty  of  proving  to  neighbouring 
states,  by  a  policy  of  firmness  as  regards  the  repression 
of  their  misdeeds,  but  of  moderation  and  justice  in  the 
employment  of  armed  strength  and  of  respect  for  their 
independence,  that  Russia  is  not  their  foe,  that  she 
cherishes  no  designs  of  conquest,  and  that  peaceful 
and  commercial  relations  with  her  are  more  profitable 
than  disorder,  pillage,  reprisals,  and  chronic  warfare.  In 
devoting  itself  to  this  task  the  Russian  Cabinet  has  the 


APPENDIX  I  423 

interests  of  the  empire  in  view ;  but  we  believe  that  its 
accomplishment  will  also  serve  those  of  civilisation  and 
humanity  at  large.  We  have  a  right  to  count  upon  an 
equitable  and  loyal  appreciation  of  the  policy  which  we 
follow,  and  the  principles  on  which  it  is  framed. 

"  GORTSCHAKOFF." 


APPENDIX    II 

The  present  Minister  of  War,  General  Kurapatkine, 
delivered  an  address  at  Askabad,  on  the  25  th  November 
1897,  to  some  members  of  a  party  of  English  tourists, 
which  is  really  a  remarkably  frank  enunciation  of  the 
policy  of  his  Government  in  Central  Asia.  The  full 
text  runs  as  follows : — 

"  The  policy  of  our  Government  in  Central  Asia, 
since  the  accession  of  the  late  Tsar,  has  been  eminently 
one  of  peace ;  and  recourse  has  never  been  had  to  arms 
until  every  other  means  of  gaining  a  given  object  had 
failed.  Before  the  extension  of  the  railway  and  telegraph 
to  these  remote  regions,  a  considerable  measure  of  initi- 
ative was  necessarily  left  in  the  hands  of  local  officers. 
Generals  Chernaieff,  Skobeleff,  and  Kauffman  were 
repeatedly  compelled  by  circumstances  to  undertake 
expeditions  without  sanction ;  and  their  action  was 
sometimes  in  opposition  to  the  views  of  the  Central 
Government.  There  has  been  a  radical  change  in  our 
administrative  system  since  the  Transcaspian  provinces 
were  united  to  Europe  by  these  powerful  civilising 
influences.  Every  case  of  friction  on  the  frontier  is 
reported  to  St.  Petersburg,  and  instructions  are  obtained 
before  active  measures  are  adopted.  It  is  now  impossible 
that  there  could  be  a  repetition  of  the  events  of  1865, 
when  General  Chernaieff  took  Tashkent,  and  then  re- 
ported having  done  so  to  his  Imperial  Master.  No 
operations   likely   to   produce   serious   consequences   can 

421 


I 


APPENDIX  II  425 

now  be  undertaken    without  the  previous  sanction  of  His 

Majesty.     I  wish  to  be  particularly  explicit  on  this  point, 

because  my  nomination  as  governor  of  Transcaspia  was 

regarded  by  many  journals,  both  in  England  and  India, 

as  a  presage  of  what  is  called  a  "  forward  policy."      It  is 

the  custom  of  the  present  Tsar,  as  it  was  of  his  lamented 

father,  to   furnish   detailed  instructions   on   questions   of 

internal   organisations   as   well   as   those   which   concern 

foreign  affairs.     The  principles  which  govern  the  policy 

of  Russia  are  very  simple.     They  are  the  maintenance  of 

peace,  of  order,  and  of  prosperity  in  all  classes  of  the 

population.      The    means    employed    to    compass    these 

ends    are    equally  free    from    complexity.      Those    who 

fill  responsible  positions  are  expressly  informed  by  our 

Government    that    the    assumption   of   sovereignty   over 

alien  nationalities  must  not  be  attempted  without  very 

serious     deliberation,     inasmuch     as     such     become,     on 

annexation,  Russian  subjects,  children  of  the  Tsar,  and 

invested  with  every  privilege  enjoyed  by  citizens  of  the 

empire.      His  Majesty  has  enjoined  on  his  representatives, 

as  their  first  duty,  the  fatherly  care  of  his  Asiatic  subjects. 

In  order   to  prevent  the  possibility  of  internal  discord, 

we  have  disarmed  the  natives,  and  no  pains  have  been 

spared  to  induce  them  to  adopt  peaceful  pursuits.     The 

fruits    of   this    action    are    already    visible.     A    solitary 

traveller  can  now  cross  Central  Asia,  from  the  Caspian  to 

the  Siberian  frontier,  without  incurring  the  smallest  risk 

of  attack.     A  few  years   ago    I    furnished  weapons   for 

purposes  of  defence  to  the  Russian  colonists  in  seventeen 

villages  established  by  me,  and   I   warned  them  that  it 

might   be   unsafe   to   undertake   journeys  without   arms. 

They  have,  however,  disregarded  this  advice,  and  never 

carry  arms  when  at  a  distance  from  their  homes.      Last 

winter  a  Russian  peasant  fell  on  the  roadside  in  a  state 

of  helpless  intoxication  near  the  Afghan  frontier  south  of 


426  APPENDIX  II 

Merv ;  but  the  Turkomans,  so  far  from  molesting  him, 
covered  him  with  carpets  and  brought  him  on  a  camel 
before  the  district  chief.  Similar  occurrences  are  reported 
from  Askabad. 

"  We  may  boast  with  perfect  truth  that  the  thirty-five 
years  during  which  Central  Asia  has  enjoyed  the  blessings 
of  a  firm  and  civilised  rule  have  been  years  of  sustained 
progress,  of  daily  -  increasing  strength  in  the  bonds  of 
attachment  and  goodwill  which  unite  these  subject  peoples 
to  the  inhabitants  of  other  Russian  provinces.  As  com- 
pared with  India,  our  territories  in  that  part  of  the  world 
are  still  poor  and  sparsely  populated ;  but  there  has  been 
a  considerable  increase  in  the  country's  wealth  since  the 
conquest  of  Turkestan  in  1863,  The  trading  classes  are 
now  the  staunchest  supporters  of  our  authority  ;  next,  the 
cultivators ;  lastly,  the  women.  Should  any  mischief 
arise,  it  will  be  due  to  the  intrigues  of  the  mullas,  whose 
powers  for  evil  are  great,  owing  to  the  ignorance  rather 
than  the  fanaticism  of  the  population. 

"  The  large  measure  of  progress  attained  could  not 
have  been  hoped  for  did  we  not  possess  settled  frontiers 
with  which  we  are  perfectly  content.  Every  country  in 
Central  Asia  has  had  its  period  of  war ;  but  it  is  the 
fixed  policy  of  our  Tsar  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  its 
horrors  arising  from  our  initiative.  In  the  case  of  the 
territory  most  recently  acquired,  the  disturbances  lasted 
for  seven  years — from  1878  to  1885.  Between  the 
latter  year  and  1888  we  established  a  stable  and  logical 
frontier  with  the  aid  of  Great  Britain ;  and  in  the 
twelve  years  which  have  since  elapsed  there  have 
been  no  expeditions  throughout  its  length  of  600  miles 
bordering  on  Persia,  and  400  on  Afghanistan.  The 
latter  country  contains  much  inflammable  material, 
but  we  have  taken  every  means  in  our  power  to  ensure 
that  the  internal  disorders  of  that  state  shall  not  react 


APPENDIX  II  427 

on  our  frontier.  So  scrupulous  is  our  regard  for  the 
status  quo,  that  whole  tribes  have  cast  themselves  on  our 
protection  in  vain.  The  Piruzkuhis,  Khezaris,  and  Jam- 
shidis  have  crossed  our  borders  in  troops  of  as  many  as 
1000  families,  but  we  have  always  repatriated  such 
refugees.  There  have  been  similar  cases  in  our  dealings 
with  Persian  subjects.  The  whole  population  of  Khelat, 
in  Khorasan,  came  to  us  with  entreaties  to  protect  them 
against  the  oppression  of  the  Shah's  officers.  Our  reply 
was  the  despatch  of  troops  who  conducted  them  across 
the  frontier,  but  we  took  diplomatic  steps  to  assure  a 
pardon  for  those  to  whom  we  had  been  obliged  to  refuse 
our  protection.  Turkestan  proper  has  been  free  from 
war  since  the  occupation  of  Farghana — twenty-one  years 
ago.  The  Bokhara  frontier  has  remained  intact  since  the 
capture  of  Samarkand  in  1868.  It  is  true  that  within 
the  last  few  years  the  Pamirs  Question  has  been  re- 
opened, and  slight  modifications  have  been  made  in  our 
boundaries  towards  Afghanistan  ;  but,  as  far  as  we  are 
concerned,  the  operations  have  been  carried  out  against 
our  wishes — I  may  almost  say,  under  compulsion.  For 
the  Amir  'Abd  er- Rahman  infringed  the  terms  of  the 
arrangement  entered  into  between  England  and  ourselves 
in  1873,  when  it  was  agreed  that  the  Afghans  should 
not  cross  the  Oxus,  by  pushing  his  boundary  beyond 
that  river  and  occupying  Shugnan  and  Roshan  on  its 
right  bank.  The  last  complication  on  the  Persian  frontier 
dates  from  1829 — nearly  seventy  years  ago.  Through- 
out our  frontier  conterminous  with  China  we  have  had 
no  disturbance  for  more  than  a  centur}'.  I  am  led  to 
mention  these  significant  facts  in  order  to  show  that  our 
policy  in  Asia  is  essentially  a  peaceful  one,  and  that  we 
are  perfectly  satisfied  with  our  present  boundaries.  And 
I  may  claim  to  speak  with  authority,  apart  from  my 
official  position,  for  I  have  been  personally  concerned  in 


428 


APPENDIX  II 


all  our  important  military  and  political  movements  in 
Central  Asia  for  many  years  past.  In  1868,  when  only 
twenty,  I  took  part  in  the  storming  of  Samarkand.  In 
1875  I  was  employed  in  the  reduction  of  the  Khanate  of 
Kokand.  In  1880  I  led  the  advance  guard  in  the 
conquest  of  Farghana ;  and  in  1881  I  commanded  the 
reinforcements  sent  to  General  Skobeleff  from  Turkestan, 
in  his  struggle  with  the  Tekke  tribes,  and  led  one  of  the 
assaulting  columns  at  the  capture  of  Geok  Teppe." 


i 


INDEX 


Abbas  the  Great,  Shah,  267. 

'Abbasids,  the,  genealogy  of  'Abbas, 
80  note ;  rise  of  djmasty  and  in- 
crease in  power,  78,  80-85  ?  emis- 
saries sent  to  Khorasan,  75  ;  black 
standard  raised  in  Khorasan  by 
Abu  Muslim,  80;  Abu -1 -'Abbas 
(Es-Saffah)  proclaimed  Caliph,  85. 

'Abd  el  'Aziz,  196-98. 

'Abd  el-Jabbar,  revolt  against  El- 
Mansur,  91. 

'Abd  el-Melik,  43-^4- 

'Abdel-Melik  11.,  n8 

'Abd  er- Rahman  (brother  of  Kutayba), 
57,  59,  65. 

'Abd  er- Rahman  ibn  Muslim  {see 
Abu  Muslim). 

'Abd  ul-Ahad,  257. 

'Abd  ul-Kerim,  cited  20^  note,  passim. 

'Abd  ul-Latif,  176,  177. 

'Abd  ul-LatIf  the  Uzbeg,  191  note. 

Abd  ul-Mumin,  assassinated,  204. 

Abd  us-Samad  Khan,  215,  218,  219. 
Abdullah  (brother  of  Kutayba),  65. 

'Abdullah  ibn  'Amir,  38. 

'Abdullah  ibn  Kazghan,  166. 

'Abdullah  ibn  Khazim,  38,  43. 

'Abdullah  ibn  Rabi',  39. 

'Abdullah  ibn  Tahir,  100,  lOl. 

'Abdullah  ibn  Zobayr,  43. 

'Abdullah  Mirza,  177. 

'Abdullah  A'aine  oi  Hafiz  ibnTanish, 
cited  186  }wte. 

'Abdullah  (uncle  of  Abu-1-' Abbas),  85, 
86,  87. 

'Abdullah  I.,  191  note. 

'Abdullah  II.,  genealogy  of,  190; 
reign,  191-92. 

Abramoff,  General,  defence  of  Yani 
Kurgan,  252 ;  appointed  governor 
of  Samarkand,  255 ;  Katti  Tura 
defeated  and  completion  of  Bok- 
haran  conquest  256. 


Abu  'All  Simjur,  117. 

Abu  Bekr,  36. 

Abu  Daud  Khalid  ibn  Ibrahim,  88, 

91- 
Abu  Ja'far  {see  El-Mansur). 
Abu-1-' Abbas  {see  Es-Saffah), 
Abu-1-Fayz,  199. 
Abu-1-Ghazi  Khan  (grandson  of  Abu- 

1-Fayz),  205. 
Abu-lGhazi,  Khan  of  Khiva,  revolt 

against  Bokhara,  197. 
Abu-1-Husaj-n  Nasr  i.  {see  Ilik  Khan). 
Abu-1-Khayr,  183,  190. 
Abu   Muslim,    early   life,    81  ;   black 

baimer  raised  in  Khorasan  by,  80 ; 

entry  into    Mer^",    82 ;    enmity   of 

Caliph  towards,  86 ;  murder,  88. 
Abu  Said  Khan,  189,  190. 
Aba  Salama,  84. 
Afrasiyab  identified  with  Buku  Khan, 

^"5.  397. 

Agha  Mohammad,  267. 

Ahmed  ibn  Asad,  lOi. 

Ahmed  Khan,  121. 

Ahmed,  Sultan,  178. 

Akkal  Oasis,  265,  268. 

'Ala  ud-Dawle,  war  with  Ulugh  E^ 
176. 

Ala  ud  -  Din  Mohammad,  revolt 
against  the  Gur-Khan,  147,  148, 
1 56 ;  extent  of  possessions  on  down- 
fall of  Kara-Khitays,  157  ;  rupture 
with  Chingiz  Khan,  157  ;  flight  and 
death,  159. 

Alakush-Tekin,  155. 

Alexander  the  Great,  conquest  of 
Persian  Empire,  4-9. 

Alexander  II.,  Tashkent  captured  con- 
trary to  orders  of,  248  ;  annexation 
of  Kokand  authorised  by,  260 ;  con- 
ference with  Skobeleff,  289. 

Alexandria,  7,  n. 

Al-Hakam  ibn  'Amir  al-Ghiftri,  38. 


430 


INDEX 


'All  ibn  'Isa,  96,  99. 

'All  ibn  Talha,  loi. 

'Ali,  Sultan,  178. 

Alikhanoff,  298. 

Almaligh,  made  his  capital  by  Chagha- 

tay,  161. 
Alp  Arslan,  130, 
Alptagin,  112. 
Altagin,  132. 
Altuntash,  123. 
Amin,  96,  99. 
y\mTr  "Abd  ul-Ahad,  257, 
Amir  Bayazld  Jala'ir,  167. 
Amir  Haydar  (Sayyid  Haydar  Tura), 

208-10,  384  note. 
Amir  Husayn,  169. 
Amir  Kazghan,  165. 
Amir  Timur  {see  llmur  Leng). 
'Amr   ibn   Layth,    Ya'kub   succeeded 

by,    105 ;   career   and  death,   105, 

109-11. 
Amu   Darya,  crossed   by  Alexander, 

6  ;  boundary  between  Turkish  and 

Persian  dominions,  30 ;  Al-Hakam 

first  Arabian  general  to  cross,  39  ; 

course,  358  ;  shifting  of  bed,  263  ; 

navigation,  358  ;  viaduct  over,  310- 

312,  359. 
Amuya,    ancient   name   for   Charjiiy, 

144. 
Amyntas,  10. 
Andakhuy,  8. 
Andaral  (Drapsaca),  6. 
Andijan,  Kokandis  defeated  at,  260. 
Annenkoff,      General,     Transcaspian 

railway  constructed  by,  307-10. 
Antes,  225. 

Antiochus  I.  and  II.,  II. 
Aniisha  Khan,  Bokhara  invaded  by, 

197. 
Anushirawan  {see  Chosrau  i. ). 
Aornos    (Gori,    Khulum),    taken    by 

Alexander  the  Great,  6. 
Apaoki  (T'ai-tsu),  137  note. 
Arabia  Felix,  origin  of  name,  34  note. 
Arabs,  rise   of  Islam  and  spread  of 

conquests,  34-44  ;  Arabic  literature, 

180. 
Arachosia  {see  Kandahar). 
Arbela  (Gaugamela),  battle  of,  5. 
Ardashir,  22. 

Ardavan  (Artaban),  battle  with  Arda- 
shir, 23. 
Arimazes,  8. 


Arsaces,  Andragoras  overthrown  by, 
1 1  ;  Arsacidrc  dynasty  founded  by, 
12 ;  Kabul  partly  possessed  by 
Arsacidre,  19. 

Arslan  Khan,  120. 

Artabanus  li.,  12. 

Artaxerxes  I  v.  (Bessus),  5. 

Aryan  race,  Pamirs  birthplace  of,  3. 

Asad  ibn  "Abdullah  el-Kasri,  71,  75- 

77- 
Ashras  ibn  'Abdullah  (the  Perfect),  72. 
'Asim  ibn  'Abdullah,  75. 
Askabad,  345-9. 
Astatke,  340  note. 

Astrakhan  conquered  by  Russia,  236. 
Astrakhan  dynasty,  194-203. 
Atsiz,  revolt  against  Sanjar,  138,  139; 

death,  140. 
Ayaz  Topchi-bashi,  2 II,  213. 

Baber  {see  Zahir  ud-Din  Baber). 

Bachas,  definition,  369. 

Bactria  (district),  ancient  extent,  3  ; 
conquered  by  Cyrus  I.,  sovereignty 
assumed  by  Bessus,  6 ;  conquered 
by  Alexander  the  Great,  4-10; 
Graeco-Bactrian  kingdom,  founder 
of,  1 1  ;  districts  ceded  to  Parthia, 
12 ;  invasion  by  Sakas,  16,  18 ; 
downfall,  18 ;  Yue-Chi  invasion, 
19;  partition  among  clans,  19; 
Kushans  expelled,  20  ;  Ephthalite 
settlement,  20 ;  expedition  of  Bah- 
ram  Gur,  24;  annexed  by  Persia,  30. 

Bactria  (town)  {see  Balkh). 

Badakshan  incorporated  with  Trans- 
oxiana,  192. 

Badghls,  definition,  299  note. 

Baghdad  captured  by  Tahir,  99. 

Bahram  'Ali  Khan,  slain  in  battle 
with  Ma  sum,  206 ;  Merv  railway 
station  named  after,  353. 

Bahram  Chubin,  32. 

Bahram  Gur,  24. 

Baigha,  Bokharan  national  game,  370. 

Bakhdi  {see  Balkh). 

BakI  Mohammad,  195. 

Balasaghun,  built  by  Buku  Khin, 
116;  capital  chosen  by  Ye-liu  Ta- 
shi,  137. 

Balash,  26. 

Balkategin,  136. 

Balkh  (Bactria,  Bakhdi),  3  note; 
taken  by  Alexander  the  Great,  6 ; 


INDEX 


431 


included  in  Tokharistan,  18 ;  an- 
nexed by  Persians,  30  ;  Islam  intro- 
duced into,  38 ;  reduced  by  Rabi' 
ibn  Ziyad,  39 ;  Kutayba's  expedi- 
tions to,  46,  57 ;  coalition  with 
Nizek,  56 ;  temporary  Mohammedan 
capital  of  Central  Asia,  76 ;  Sam- 
ananatire  of,  lOl  ;  siege  and  capture 
by  Ismail,  1 10  ;  centre  of  Moham- 
medan learning,  131 ;  defeat  of 
Sanjar,  141  ;  'Ala  ud-Din  master 
of,  147  ;  Chaghatay  in  possession  of, 
160. 

Bamian,  19. 

Barmecides,  fall  of,  95. 

Barmek,  95  note. 

Barthold,  M.,  150  note. 

Batanieff,  Major,  mission  to  Bokhara, 
217. 

Batu  Khan,  183,  233. 

Bayan  Kull,  166. 

Bayan  Selduz,  166. 

Bayazld  Jala'ir  Amir,  167. 

Bayazid  i.,  Sultan  of  Turkey,  171. 

Baykand  (City  of  Merchants),  identifi- 
cation with  Zariaspa,  8  twte ;  im- 
portance of,  50 ;  partial  conquest 
by  'Ubaydullah  ibn  Ziyad,  39 : 
tattle  and  siege  of,  47-49  ;  restora- 
tion, 49. 

Baysunkur,  178. 

Begi  Jan  {see  Shah  Murad). 

Bektuzun,  118. 

Bi,  definition,  204  }ioie. 

Bishkand,  identified  with  Panjakand, 
187  note. 

Bellew,  Dr.,  cited ^l  note,  passim. 

Bendoe,  32. 

Beni  Rabta,  79. 

Berkiyaruk,  133  note,  134,  144. 

Bessus  (Artaxerxes  iv.),  5. 

Bistam,  32. 

Boghra  Khan,  brother  and  successor 
of  Arslan  Khan,  12c. 

Boghra  Khan,  first  Uighur  Khan  of 
Turkestan,  117. 

Bokhara  (Sherif  or  "the  Noble"), 
settlement  of  Bactrians  in  confines 
of,  18 ;  conquered  by  Arabs,  40, 
41  ;  king  defeated  by  Habib,  44 ; 
Kutayba's  expeditions,  46-55  ;  Is- 
ma'il  sent  to  and  superseded  by 
Ishak,  106,  107  ;  capital  of  Trans- 
oxiana  and  Khwarazm,  109,   III  ; 


centre  of  Mohammedan  culture  and 
learning,  1 1 1 ;  destroyed  by  Chingiz, 
158;  rising  in,  during  reign  of 
Chaghatay,  161  fwte;  loss  of  posi- 
tion as  capital,  189 ;  sub-djniasty 
abolished,  191  ;  Astrakhan  d}'nasty 
in,  194-203;  prosperity  regained  in, 
195 ;  Khivan  revolt  against,  197, 
198 ;  Mangit  dynasty  in,  204-21  ; 
effect  of  Ma'sum's  rule  on,  208 ; 
besieged  by  Nasrullah,  212 ;  English 
and  Russian  missions  to,  217-18; 
Russian  conquest,  250-56;  climate, 
soil,  and  productions,  360  -  63  ; 
varied  character  of  population,  364- 
367  ;  women  of,  368  ;  customs  and 
amusements,  368-70;  bazaar,  370; 
public  buildings,  373-77  ;  coinage, 
371  ;  Islamic  education,  374;  gov- 
ernment, 379-85  ;  decline  of  slave- 
market,  378;  dialect,  180. 

Bolars  (Boyars),  rise  of,  230 ;  influence 
of,  shaken  off  by  Ivan  iv.,  236. 

Bosphorus,  Caucasian  (Straits  of 
Yenekale),  13. 

Bretschneider,  cited  139  tiote. 

Browne,  E.  G.,  cited  133  7iote. 

Browning,  Oscar,  cited  242  note. 

Bukayr,  43. 

Bukii  Khan,  115. 

Bumes,  Alexander,  mission  to  Bok- 
hara, 217  ;  cited  zo"]  note  ;  passim. 

Buj-ide  (Daylamite)  dj-nasty,  increase 
in  power,  112  ;  overthrow  by  Tog- 
hrul  Beg,  129. 

Buyr-Niir,  China  im-aded  by,  153. 

Caliphs,  the— Abu  Bekr  first  to 
assume  title,  36 ;  rise  and  fall  of, 
36-102  ;  various  caliphs  {see  their 
names). 

Cawder  (Kawurd,  Kurd,  Kadurd), 
131  note. 

Chaghatay  dialect,  180. 

Chaghatay  Khanate,  160-64  >  over- 
thrown by  Timur,  170. 

Chakir,  125,  127,  128. 

Chandra  Gupta,  Seleucus  defeated  by, 

ID. 

Chang-Kien,  17. 

Charjuy,  310,  357. 

Chemaieff,  Colonel,  Chimkent 
stormed  by,  246  ;  siege  of  Tash- 
kent,  247,    248  ;  advance  on  and 


432 


INDEX 


retreat  from  Jizak,  25 1 ;  super- 
seded by  General  Romanovski, 
251. 

Chi  Hwang-ti,  Tsin,  14. 

Chighan,  60. 

Children,  custom  concerning  naming 
of,  in  Merv,  42. 

Chimkent,  stormed  by  Russians,  246  ; 
burnt  by  Kokandis,  248. 

China — Han  dynasty,  founder  of, 
16 ;  Chow  dynasty,  fall  of  and 
subsequent  events,  14  ;  Great  Wall, 
15 ;  march  against  Mothe,  16 ; 
alliance  with  Yue-Chi,  17  ;  direct 
commercial  intercourse  with  West, 
17  ;  Hans  defeated  by,  and  enrolled 
in  empire,  19;  Umayyads  aided, 
85  ;  Buyr-Nur  invasion,  153  ; 
partial  conquest  by  Chingiz,  1 56  ; 
Yuen  dynasty,  founder  of,  182  ; 
Ming  dynasty,  founder  of,  182. 

Chingiz  Khan,  birth  and  early  life, 
151,  152-54,  232  ;  war  with  Tai 
Yang,  155 ;  with  Guchluk,  157 ; 
with  Khwarazm  Shah,  157-59  ;  Dar 
ul-AJ^Airat  destroyed  hy,  143;  con- 
quests of,  159,  160,  232  ;  death, 
160. 

Chosrau  i.  (Anushirawan  "the  Just"), 
27  and  nofe,  29-31. 

Chosrau  II.  (Parviz  "the  Victorious"), 

32. 

Christianity  —  Persecution  pro- 
hibited during  reign  of  Bahram 
Gur  by  truce  with  Rome,  24  ; 
Christians  induced  to  embrace 
Islam,  72  ;  Holy  War  against 
Christians  of  Taraz,  109  ;  crusades 
contemporaneous  with  Mohammed, 
sonofMelik,  134;  Black  Mongols 
converted  to,  152;  persecution  by 
Nasrullah,  219  ;  introduction  into 
Russia,  and  subsequent  influence  of 
priests  upon  government,  229  ; 
authorities  on  Christianity  in 
Central  Asia  in  ancient  times,  109 
noie. 

Chupan  Ata,  176,  402,  403. 

Chu  Yuan  Chang,  founder  of  Ming 
dynasty,  182. 

Cleitus,  death  of,  9. 

Confucius  (Kung-fu-tse),  14  no/e. 

ConoUy,  Captain  Arthur,  imprisoned 
and  killed  by  Nasrullah,  217-18. 


Cossacks,  Siberians  attacked  by,  238  ; 
raiding  expedition  into  Siberia  and 
Khwarazm,  239 ;  Kokandis  re- 
pulsed, 248. 

Cotton,  cultivation  of,  in  valley  of 
Zarafshan,  386. 

Crusades  contemporaneous  with  Sultan 
Sanjar,  134. 

Ctesias,  ci'led  4. 

Cube  (Ka'ba),  the 

Cunningham,  General,  cited  15,  20 
notes, 

Cyropolis,  4,  7. 

Cyrus  I.,  conquest  of  Bactria,  4. 

Damascus,  conquered  by  Parviz,  32  ; 
taken  by  Arabs,  37  ;  stormed  by 
Timiir,  171. 

Daniyal  Bi,  205,  384  fwte. 

Dangil  Teppe,  287. 

Daneshmandja,  166. 

Ddr  iil-Akhirat,  143. 

Darbend,  building  of,  31. 

Dariel  Pass,  Roman  subsidy  for  forti- 
fication of,  24. 

Darius  Hystaspes,  4. 

Darius  li.  overthrown  by  Alexander 
the  Great,  4,  5. 

Dasht-i-Kipchak,  extent  of  empire, 
182. 

Daiid,  uncle  of  Abu-l-'Abbas,  instru- 
mental in  exterminating  Umayyads, 

85. 
Dawlat  Bi,  204,  205. 
Dawlat  Giray  (Bekovitch  Cherkaski), 

expedition  to  Khiva,  240-42, 
Dawlat  Giray,  Khan,  237. 
Dawlat  Shah,  quo.  113  note, 
Daylamite  (Buyide)  dynasty,  increase 

in  power,  112  ;  overthrow  by  Tog- 

hrul  Beg,  129. 
De  Bode,  cited  393  note, 
De    Guignes,    cited   30,    137    notes, 

passim, 
De   Maynard,    C.  Barbier,  cited  207 

tiote. 
Defile,  battle  of  the  (Ash-Shi'b),  73. 
Dervishes,  various  orders  in  Samar- 
kand, 171  note, 
D'Herbelot,    cited    16,     102     notes; 

passim. 
Dhirar  ibn  Haspan,  47. 
Dihakan,  definition,  46  note. 
Din  Mahammad,  195. 


INDEX 


433 


Diodotus,  II. 

Direm,  value  of,  40  note. 

Dirgham,  battle  in  valley  of,  139. 

Dirham  ibn  Nasr,  104. 

Dmitri,  Prince,  attempt  to  throw  off 

Mongol  yoke,  235. 
D'Ohs«)n,     cited    137,     146    notes ;  \ 

passim.  \ 

Don  (Tanais),  Jaxartes  mistaken  by  | 

Alexander  for,  7.  I 

Douglas,  R.  K.,  cited  149  note. 
Drangiana  {see  Sistan). 
Drapsaca  (Andarab),  6. 
Drouin,  E.,  cited  11  note  ;  passim. 

Eagle,  regarded  as  bird  of  ill-omen, 
220  note. 

Edighei,  Khan,  236. 

El-'Abbas  el-Ash'ath,  95. 

El  Barm  (Yusuf  ibn  Ibrahim),  94. 

El-Fadhl  ibn  Sulayman  Tusi,  94. 

El-Fadhl  ibn  Yahya,  95. 

El-Ghatrif  ibn  'Ata,  95. 

El-Hadi,  94- 

El-Mahdi,  91,  93,  94. 

El-Mansur  (Abu  Ja'far),  Es-Safiah 
succeeded  by,  86  ;  enmity  towards 
and  murder  of  Abu  Muslim,  86-88  : 
revolts  against,  90-93  ;  death,  93. 

Engfland  —  missions  to  NasruUah, 
216-17;  Russia  and,  Siberian 
advance  viewed  with  disfavour, 
246  ;  appropriation  of  territory 
south  of  Mer\-;  English  indignation, 
300;  appointment  of  joint  commis- 
sion to  decide  boundary,  301-303  ; 
commission  to  demarcate  spheres 
of  influence  on  Pamirs,  303-305  ; 
route  of  Indian  overland  railway, 
317-19 ;  methods  of  dealing  with 
Orientals  contrasted,  410-15  ;  de- 
sirability of  union,  414-16. 

Ephtlialites,  origin,  20 ;  Kushans 
expelled  from  Baccria,  20,  21  ;  de- 
feated by  Bahram  Gur,  24 ; 
Yezdijerd  II.  defeated,  25  ;  Firuz 
aided,  25  ;  rupture  with  Rruz,  26  ; 
Persia  ovemm,  26  ;  Kobad  re- 
ceived, 28 ;  territory  divided  be- 
tween Turks  and  Persians,  30. 

Erdmann.  cited  149  note. 

Es-Saffah  (Abu-l-'Abbas),  85-86. 

Ersaris,  the,  268. 

Euthydemus,  II. 
28 


Fadhl  ibn  Sahl,  97,  98,  99,  100. 

Fa'ik,  117. 

Farghana,  besieged  by  El-Harashi, 
71  ;  Mohammedan  governor  ap- 
pointed to,  77  ;  railway  to  Andijan, 
316  fjee  also  Kokand). 

Fath  'Ali  Shah,  267. 

Fazil  Bi,  208. 

Ferengis,  115  yiote. 

Feudalism,  introduced  into  Russia 
from  Germany,  231, 

Forsyth,  Mr.,  cited  119  note. 

Fraser,  James  Baillie,  quo.  264 
note. 

Gandhara  {see  Kandahar). 
Gardner,  quo.  11,  12  notes,  passim. 
Gaugameia  (Arbela),  battle  of,  5. 
Gengis,  Genghiz  {see  Chingiz). 
Geok  Teppe,  battle  of,  291-97. 
Gerard,      Major  -  General     M.     G., 

303. 

Gersiwaz,  115  note. 

Ghassan,  100  note,  loi. 

Ghaza,  definition,  109. 

Ghazna\ades,  .4lptagin  ruler  in 
Ghazna,  112;  Sabuktagin,  113, 
1 1 7-18;  Mahmud  of  Ghazna  {see 
that  title);  Masud,  126-28;  truce 
with  Seljuks,  128. 

Ghujduvan,  battle  of,  187. 

Ghuz,  the,  migrations  of,  124  ;  incur- 
sions into  Khorasan,  126 ;  Sanjar 
defeated,  and  Merv  and  Khorasan 
laid  waste,  141-42. 

Ghuzek,  60. 

Gibbon,  cited -^"j,  127  notes,  passim. 

Giray,  Sultan,  183. 

Glukhovsky,  Colonel,  251  note,  286 
note. 

Golden  Horde,  the,  182. 

Gori  (Aomos,  Khulum)  taken  by 
Alexander  the  Great,  6. 

Gortschakoff',  Prince,  circular  to  Great 
Powers,  247  and  Appendix  I. 

Graeco-Bactrian  Empire  {see  under 
Bactria). 

Grigorieff,  cited  6,  8  notes,  passim. 

GrodekofF,  cited  272  note. 

Guchluk,  155. 

Giir,  definition,  24  note. 

Giir  Amir,  Tamerlane's  tomb,  389. 

Gar  KhSn,  title  assumed  by  Ye-liu 
Ta-shi,  137. 


434 


INDEX 


Gutschmid,  cited  lO  note. 
Guyard,  S.,  cited  133  tiote. 

Haji  Biklas,  166. 

Hajjaj,  Khorasan,   appointments  by, 

44;   instructions  to  Kutayba,    51, 

52  ;  death,  61  note,  63. 
Hakim  Bi,  211. 
Haloxylon    Ammodendron    (Saxaul), 

263. 
HamduUah  Mustawfi,  quo.  125  note. 
Hami  (Khamil),  15. 
Hamza  el-Khuzai,  95. 
Hamza  Sultan,  1 86. 
Harith    ibn     Surayj,    revolt    against 

'Asim,     75 ;     against     Nasr,     79 ; 

death,  79. 
Harthama,  despatched  to  Samarkand, 

96  ;  Samarkand  taken,  98. 
Hasan  Beg,  177. 
Hasan    ibn    'Ali    (Nizam   ul-Mulk), 

131- 

Hasan  ibn  Kahtaba,  84. 

Hasan  ibn  Sabbah,  the  Assassin,  131 
note. 

Hashimites  (j«  'Abbdsids),  80. 

Harun  (governor  of  Khwarazm)  re- 
volt, 126. 

Harun  er-Raschid,  95-97. 

Hayathila  {see  Ephthalites). 

Hayyan,  the  Nabatgean,  54. 

Hegira,  the,  35  and  note. 

Herat,  importance  of,  300 ;  con- 
quered by  Ya'kub,  104 ;  acquired 
by  'Abdullah  II.,  I17 ;  'Ala  ud- 
Dln,  master  of,  147  ;  plundered  by 
Turkomans,  176. 

Hexapolis,   settlement  of  Sakas    in, 

15.  17. 

Hezarasp,  identity  with  Zariaspa 
suggested,  8  note. 

Hisham,  Yezid  11.  succeeded  by,  71  ; 
Asad  dismissed,  72 ;  reinforce- 
ments sent  to  Junayd,  74  ;  Junayd 
dismissed,  75 ;  'Asim  dismissed, 
75  ;  death,  78. 

Hiung-nu  {see  Huns). 

Holwan,  64. 

Horde,  derivation,  233. 

Hormuz  11.,  23. 

Hormuz  III.,  25. 

Hormuz  IV.,  31. 

Howorth,  Sir  Henrj',  cited  149,  155 
notes,  passim. 


Huen-Tsang,  31. 

Humayd  ibn  Kahtaba,  93. 

Huns  {see  also  Ephthalites  or   White 

Huns),   war    with    Tung-nu,     15 ; 

Kaotsu's    troops    surrounded,    16 ; 

defeated  and  enrolled  in   Chinese 

Empire,  19  ;  Slav  progress  impeded 

by,  226. 
Hunter,  Sir  W.  W.,  cited  ^i^  note. 
Husayn,  Amir,  169. 
Husayn  Khan,  211. 
Husayn  Mirza  (Sultan  Husayn  Bay- 

kara),  184. 
Hyacinth,  Father,  cited  149  note. 

Ibn  Hobayra,  84. 

Ibrahim,  121. 

Ikran,  X45  note. 

Il-Arslan,  140,  144. 

Ilbars,  193. 

Il-Kilij,  138  note. 

Ilik  Khan,  I17-19,  123. 

Iliyas  Khwaja  Oghlan,  169,  170. 

Iltuza  Khan  of  Khiva,  209. 

Ilyias,  1 01. 

Imam  Kuli  Khan,  195. 

India — Alexander's  conquest  of,  date 
of  setting  out,  9  ;  Seleucus  defeated 
by  Chandra  Gupta,  10 ;  Saka  in- 
vasion, 17,  18  ;  Parthian  char- 
acteristics on  Saka  coins,  16  ;  Shah 
Kator,  title  of  chief  of  Chitral,  20 ; 
Kashmir  lost  by  Kushans,  20 ; 
Gangetic  delta  and  Panjab  overnm 
by  Tlmiir,  171  ;  invasion  by  Nadir 
Shah,  200 ;  Peacock  Throne,  the, 
201;  England  in — "Permanent 
Settlement,"  the,  406;  methods 
compared  with  Russian  in  Central 
Asia,  410-15;  fears  of  Russian  ab- 
sorption baseless,  408 ;  route  of 
overland  railway    from    England, 

317-19- 

Irjai,  battle  of,  252. 

Irkutsk  founded,  239. 

Ishak,  107. 

Ishan  Mohammad  'All  Khalifa,  260. 

Iskandar  the  Uzbeg,  191  note. 

Iskander  Kul,  9  note. 

Islam — definition,  36  note  ;  origin 
and  rise,  34-44;  spread  of,  on 
downfall  of  Samanides,  119;  estab- 
lished in  Kabul,  105 ;  sectarian 
dissensions,  78  ;  Kutayba's  zeal  for. 


INDEX 


435 


45,  66 ;  Guchluk's  intolerance  of, 
156  ;  embraced  by  immigrant  Tibe- 
tan Turks  to  Balasaghun,  120 ; 
Moslems  subject  to  enemies  of 
faith,  139;  education,  374;  in- 
fluence of  mullas  on  government, 
375  ;  impression  left  by  Alexander 
the  Great,  9  ;  persecution  of  Chris- 
tians {see  Christianity). 

Isma'il  el-Muntazir,  iiZ  note. 

Ismail  ibn  Ahmed,  sent  to  Bokhara, 
106 ;  defeat  of  Nasr,  107 ;  Nasr 
succeeded  by,  109  ;  hostilities  with 
'Amr,  1 10 ;  campaign  against  Turks, 
III  ;  death,  112. 

Ismail,  Shah,  the  Safavi,  185,  186. 

Ispahbad,  definition,  56. 

Issus,  overthrow  of  Darius  II.,  4. 

Istakhr,  capital  of  Persia  under 
Ardashir,  23. 

Istakhri,  qtio.  46  tiote. 

Ivan  IV.  (the  Terrible),  236. 

Ta'far  el-Ash'ath,  95. 

Ja'far  ibn  Yahya,  95. 

Jahwar  ibn  Marrar  el-'ljll,  90,  91. 

Jalal-ud-Din,  159. 

Jamasp,  28. 

Jani  Khan,  194. 

Janibeg,  Sultan,  descent  traced,  190  ; 
battle  with  Baber,  187 ;  made 
Kalgha,  189;  territory  of,  191. 

Jarrah,  69. 

Jaxartes  {see  Sir  Darya). 

Jerusalem,  conquered  by  Parviz,  33. 

Jews,  condition  in  Bokhara,  365. 

Jighaya,  56,  57,  59. 

Jizak,  404. 

Jomandes,  cited  225  note. 

Juday*  el  Kirmani,  79,  82. 

Juen-Juen,  conquests,  2 1 ;  subdued 
by  Tumen  and  Mokan-khan,  30. 

Juji  Khan,  158,  182. 

Junayd  (Jandab)  ibn  'Abder- Rahman, 

72-75- 
Jurjan,  importance  of,  67. 
Justin,  cited  11,  12  notes. 
JuvajTii,  cited  115. 
Juzajan,  king  of,  56,  59. 

Ka'ba  (Cube),  the,  34. 

Kabul,    overrun    by    Kushans,     19 ; 

Islam  established  in,  105. 
Kadir  (Kadr)  Khan,  120,  121. 


Kahtaba  ibn  Shebib,  S3,  84. 

Ka'im,  Caliph,  130. 

Kalgha,  title  of  heir-apparent  among 

the  Uzbegs,  189. 
Kamaj,  141. 

Kandahar     (Arachosia,       Gandhara, 
Kiphin),  18,  19,  20. 
'  Kao-tsu,  Emperor,  16. 
Karachar  Nuyan,  ancestor  of  Timur 

Leng,  168. 
Kaxa-Khitays  —  origin    of   empire, 
137;  Transoxiana  tributary  to,  1 37  ; 
Sanjar   defeated,    139 ;  Khwarazm 
invaded,    144 ;  Tekish  aided,  145  ; 
rupture  with  Tekish  and  reconcilia- 
tion,    145-47 ;     independence    of, 
I      asserted  by  Mohammad  Shah,  147, 
148 ;     Gur-Khan     dethroned     by 
I      Guchluk,  155-56;  downfall  of  king- 
dom, 157  ;  urban  life,  163. 
I  Kara-Khanides  {see  ITighurs). 
i  Karma,  146. 

I  Kashghar — ^Juen-Juen  masters  of,  21 ; 

i      occupied  by   Great  Yue-Chi,    16; 

conquered    by    Kutayba,    62 ;    by 

Kadir  Khan,  120  ;  by  the  Tufghaj, 

120;  by   Ye-liu  Ta-shi  and   made 

,      capital,  137,  138  ;  Seljuk  suzerainty 

recognised,    132 ;  in   possession  of 

I      Guchluk,  156,  157;  part  of  Mongol 

Empire,  160;  dialect,  180. 
\  Kasim  Mohammad,  197. 
{  Kasimovski,  183  note. 
I  Katti  Tura,  256. 
Kauffman,   General,    appointed  gov- 
ernor-general  of  Turkestan,    253  ; 
Samarkand   taken,    254 ;    Kokand 
invaded,    260 ;    war  with   Yomud 
Turkomans,  284. 
Kavadh  {see  Kobdd). 
Kawurd   (Kurd,     Kadurd,    Cawder), 
,       131  note. 
'  Kay-Khosru,  115. 
Kays  ibn  al-Haytham,  38. 
Kazaks,  the,  183. 
Kazan  (Karan)  Khan,  165. 
Kazghan,  Amir,  165. 
Kerbela,  battle  near,  84. 
Kerz,  siege  of,  58. 
Kesh  {see  Shahrisabz). 
Khadija,  35. 
Khalid,  37. 

Khalid  ibn  'Abdullah  al-Kasri,  71. 
Khalid  ibn  Bannek,  95  note. 


43^ 


INDEX 


Khalifa  {see  Caliphs). 

Khalil  Sultan,  173-76. 

Khamil  (Hami),  15. 

Khanikoff,  triled  207  no/e,  passim, 

Khansalar,  definition,  141  note. 

Kharashar,  21. 

Kharijites,  78,  80,  81. 

Khatun,  Princess,  40-42. 

Khatun  Turkan,  133. 

Khazars,  force  sent  against  Darbend, 

31- 

Khazim  ibn  Khuzayma,  90,  91,  93. 

Khidhr  Khan,  121. 

Khita'i,  115  note. 

Khitan,  definition,  150  note. 

Khitays  (Khita'i)  harassed  by  Kara- 
Khanides,  115,  120. 

Khiva  (Khwarazm)  —  definition  of 
Khwarazm,  233  7iote  ;  Persians  de- 
feated by  Ibn  Amir,  38;  Mufaddhal's 
expeditions  against,  44 ;  Chighan 
aided  by  Kutayba,  60 ;  conquered 
byMahmud,  123;  bySeljuks,  136; 
anarchy  in,  138;  Khwarazm  Shahs, 
136,  144-48  ;  tribute  paid  to  Kara- 
Khitays,  147  ;  conquered  by  Chin- 
giz,  159  ;  overrun  by  Abu-1-Khayr, 
184  ;  conquered  by  ShaybanI  Khan, 
184 ;  made  an  independent  prin- 
cipality, 193  ;  revolt  against  Bok- 
hara, 197 ;  invasion  of  Bokhara 
and  subservience  to,  198  ;  conflict 
with  Haydar,  209 ;  conquered 
by  Nadir  Shah,  202  ;  NasruUah's 
hostile  relations  with,  216;  w;ir 
with  Turkomans,  269 ;  Russian 
conquest,  Cossack  invasion,  239  ; 
expedition  against,  244 ;  treaty 
concluded,  245 ;  negotiations  in 
reign  of  Peter  the  Great,  240-42  ; 
treacherous  conduct  of  Khivans, 
241  ;  Bokharan  campaign  joined 
by  Khiva,  250  ;  final  conquest,  258. 

Khodaydad,  revolt  against  Khalil 
Sultan,  175. 

Khojend,  surrender  to  Nasrullah, 
215,  216;  siege  of,  252. 

Khoras§.n  (Ta-hia) — conquered  by 
Yue-Chi,  17  ;  Caliph  suzerain  over, 
38-127  ;  rising  in,  85  ;  massacre  of 
inhabitants  by  'Abdullah,  87  ;  dis- 
order in,  91  ;  rising  under  Ustadsis, 
92  ;  various  revolts,  93,  94  ;  rule  of 
Tahirides,    102-5  ;    Ya'kub  master  | 


of,    105;    Ghaznavide   rule,     118; 

Seljuk  rule,  127  ;  ravaged  by  Atziz, 

139 ;    laid   waste   by   Ghuz,     142 ; 

acquired  by  Khwarazm-Shahs,  144; 

overrun    by     Chingiz,     1 59,    233 ; 

acquired  by  Shah   Rukh,    174;  in 

possession  of  Husayn  Mirza,  184; 

conquered  by  Shaybani  Khan,  185  ; 

by  Shah  Isma'Il,  185  ;  by  'Abdullah 

II.,    192 ;    incursions   by   Ma'sum, 

207  ;  overrun  by  Tekkes,  271,  284  ; 

famine,  284. 
Ivhorazmia,  4  {see  also  Khwarazm  and 

Khiva). 
Khorzad,  60. 
Khotan,  Juen-Juen   masters    of,  21  ; 

occupied   by  Great  Yue-Chi,    16 ; 

Sultan  harassed  by  Toghan  Khan, 

120;    conquest  by  Ye-hu   Ta-shi, 

137. 
Khuda  Yar,  220. 
Khulayd    ibn   'Abdullah    el-Hanafi, 

39- 

Khulum  (Gori,  Aornos),  6. 

Khunuk-Khudat,  51. 

Khwaja  Ahrar,  Nakshabandi,  171 
note. 

Khwaja  Baha  ud-Din,  founder  of  the 
Nakshabandis,  1 70  note. 

Khwaja  Nefes,  240. 

Khwarazm  {see  Khiva). 

Kibitka,  definition,  268  note. 

Kipchaks,  struggle  with  Timfir,  171; 
revolt  against  Khuda  Yar,  220, 
221. 

Kiphin  {see  Kandahar). 

Kirghiz,  origin  and  haunts  of,  242  ; 
characteristics,  365  ;  conflict  with 
Cossacks,  239 ;  submission  of 
Middle  Horde  to  Russia,  242 ; 
raids  on  caravans,  243. 

Kitolo,  20. 

Kizil  Arvat,  workshops,  342. 

Klaproth,  cited  1 16  note. 

Kobad,  26-29. 

Kokand — invaded  by  Mozafiar  ud- 
Dln,  221 ;  Kipchak  rebellion  against 
Khuda  Yar,  220-21  ;  Bokhara  suze- 
rain over,  215,  216;  RussicUi 
conquest,  Ak  Mechet  taken,  245  ; 
Chimkent  stormed,  246  ;  Tashkent 
attacked  and  taken,  247-49;  in- 
vasion of,  and  annexation,  259-61. 

Ko-lo,  30. 


INDEX 


437 


Komaroff,  General,  A^hans  attacked 
and  routed,  302  ;  Askabad  founded 

by.  345- 

Kophin,  21. 

Koran,  the,  36. 

Krasnovodsk,  340. 

Kubilay  Khan,  founder  of  Vuen 
dynasty,  182. 

Kuchinji  Khan,  189  ;  descent,  190. 

Kuhistan,  Turks  defeated  by  Arabs 
at,  39- 

Kulchanoff,  Colonel,  404  note. 

Kung-fu-tse  (Confucius),  14  note. 

Kurapatkine,  Colonel  Alexis,  sent  with 
reinforcements  to  General  Skobe- 
left",  290 ;  sketch  of  career,  323  ; 
policy  of  Russia  in  Central  Asia, 
338  and  Appendix  II. 

Kurd  (Kawurd,  Kadurd,  Cawder), 
131  note. 

Kunnaghaniin,  Prince,  51. 

Kursul,  77. 

Kushans  {^see  Yue-Chi). 

Kutayba  ibn  Muslim  el-Bahili, 
appointed  governor  of  Khorasan, 
44,  46 ;  expeditions  to  Bokhara, 
46-55  ;  Nizek's  rebellion,  56-59  ; 
hostages  of  king  of  Juzajan  put  to 
death,  59 ;  Chighan  aided,  60  : 
Sc^hdiana  invaded,  60 ;  Shash, 
Khojend,  and  Kashan  reduced, 
61 ;  first  Arab  leader  to  establish 
Islam  in  place  of  Zoroastrian 
religion,  45  ;  zeal  for  Islam,  66  ; 
Kashghar  conquered,  62 ;  fall  and 
death,  63-66. 

Kutb  ed-Dln  Mohammad,  136,  137. 

Kuthik,  194. 

Kwei-shuang  {see  Yue-Cki). 

Languages  spoken   in    Samarkand 

and  Bokhara,  180. 
Lao-tse,  14  note. 
Leignitz,  battle  of,  124. 
Lessar,  M.  P.,  cited 26^  note. 
Liao-chi,  139  note. 
Lohrasp,  115. 
Lomakin,  General,  governor  of  Trans- 

caspian     military     district,      285 ; 

expedition  against  Turkomans,  286. 
Lumsden,  Sir  Peter,  301. 

Maddah,  public  entertainers,  401.      j 
Mabmud  Bi,  208.  j 


Mahmud  ibn  Mohammad,  134,  137. 

Mahmud  ibn  Melik,  133. 

Mahmud  Khan,  122. 

MahmiidofGhazna,  117,  118,  125-26. 

Malcolm,  cited  24,  104  notes,  passim. 

Ma'mun,  95,  96,  98-102. 

Mangit  d\Tiasty  (see  under  Uzbe^). 

Mansur  el-Himyari,  95. 

Mansiir  I.,  112. 

Marcanda  {see  Samarkand). 

Margiana,  annexed  by  Cjtus  I.,  4  ; 
overrun  by  Alexander  the  Great, 
8 ;  Greeks  deprived  of,  18  (see 
also  Men'). 

Marvin,  cited  270  Ttote. 

Maslama,  70. 

Massagetie,  4. 

Mas'ud  ibn  Mahmud,  126-2S. 

Mas'ud  ibn  Mohammad,  178. 

Mas'ud  Khan,  121. 

Ma'sum  (Shaih  Murad),  205-8,  384 
note. 

Mausoleum  of  Sanjar,  142. 

Mavara-un-Nahr  [see  Transoxiana). 

MajTnena,  8. 

Mazdak,  27,  28,  29. 

Mecklenburg,  Grand  Dukes  of, descent 
claimed  from  Wends,  226  note. 

Medina,  Mohammed's  flight  to,  35. 

Mekka,  capital  of  Arabia,  34 ; 
Mohammed's  flight  from,  35. 

Melik  Shah,  121,  131-33. 

Melik  Shah  11.,  134. 

Mencius  (Meng-tse),  14  fwte. 

Meriichak,  8. 

Merv,  "Queen  of  the  World,"  origin 
of  title,  44  note ;  custom  regarding 
naming  of  children,  42  ;  capital  of 
Khorasan  under  Arab  rule,  42,  45  ; 
Muhallab,  governor  of,  43,  44 ; 
Yezid,  governor  of,  44 ;  entry  of 
Abu  Muslim  into,  82  ;  standard  of 
Harith  set  up  in,  79  ;  made  capital 
of  Caliphate,  99 ;  laid  waste  by 
Ghuz,  142  ;  conquered  by  Ma'sum, 
206 ;  Russia  made  suzerain  over, 
298  ;  railway  to  Samarkand,  310- 
313  ;  branch  of  railway  to  Kushk, 
317  ;  irrigation  of,  206,  333 ; 
general  description,  265,  349-56. 

Merv  er-Rud,  storming  of,  57. 

Merwan  I.,  43. 

Merwan,  governor  of 'Irak,  82,  85. 

Meyendorf,  cited  244  twte. 


438 


INDEX 


Mika'il,  125. 

Miklositch,  cited  226  ttote. 

Mir  'All  Shir,  181. 

Mirab,  definition,  332  note. 

Mirkhwand,  cited  loi  note,  passim. 

Mirza  Haydar,  cited  188. 

Mirza  Husayn  (Husayn  Mirza),  184. 

Mirza  Sikandar,  cited  185  note. 

Mithridates  I.,  12. 

Mithridates  II.  (the  Great),  13. 

Mo'awiya  II.,  42,  80. 

Modharites,  war  with  Yemenites,  78  ; 

divisions  of,  79. 
Mohammad      (great  -  grandson      of 

'Abbas),  81. 
Mohammad   'Ali,    Khan   of    Khiva, 

215- 

Mohammad  Amln  Khan,  269. 

Mohammad  Rahim  Bi,  198,  199,  200, 
202,  204. 

Mohammad  ibn  Abu  Said,  178. 

Mohammad  ibn  el-Ash'ath,  91. 

Mohammad  ibn  Mahmud,  126,  127. 

Mohammad  ibn  MeUk,  133  note,  134, 
144. 

Mohammad  Khan  ibn  Nasr,  122. 

Mohammad  Khan  ibn  Sulayman,  121. 

Mohammad  Khwarazm  Shah,  145 
note. 

Mohammad  Shaybani  (Shahi  Beg), 
179,  184. 

Mohammed  (Prophet),  34. 

Mohammedanism  [see  Islam). 

Mokan-khan,  30. 

Mokanna  (veiled  prophet  ot  Kho- 
rasan),  94. 

Mokhallad,  68. 

Molla  Khan,  220. 

Mongols — early  historj',  150  ;  divi- 
sions of,  151  ;  religions,  152  ; 
civilisation  of,  attributed  to  Tata- 
tungo,  155  ;  nomadic  habits,  161, 
162,  232  ;  invasion  of  Central 
Asia,  155-60;:  Russia  invaded, 
233 ;  influence  on  Russian  char- 
acter and  characteristics,  234 ; 
dissensions  among,  234 ;  Russian 
attempts  to  throw  off  Mongol 
yoke,  235  ;  decline  of  power,  236. 

Moscow,  rise  of,  234 ;  Mongol 
attacks  on,  235,  236,  237. 

Moser,  cited  262  note,  passim. 

Mostadhhir,  134. 

Mothe,  15. 


Mu'ayyad,  governor  of  Nishapiir,  145. 
Mu'ayyad  ud-Dawle,  133. 
Mu'az  ibn  Muslim,  94. 
Mufaddhal,  44. 

Mughal,  first  use  of  word,  150. 
Muhallab,  42,  43. 
Muir,  cited  38  note,  passim. 
Mukim  Khan,  199. 
Muktadi,  Caliph,  death  of,  134. 
Mulabbab  esh-Shaybani,  90, 
Miiller,  cited  39  7iote,  passim. 
Murghab,  the,  333-35. 
Musa)'yah  ibn  Zobayr,  94. 
Muslim  ibn  Said,  the  Kilabite,  71. 
Mu'tadhid,  109-10. 
Mu'tamid,  Caliph,  104-05. 
Mutawakkil,  Caliph,  103. 
Muwaffak,  104,  105. 
Muzaffar    ud-Din    (Sayyid    Muzaffar 
ud-Din),  219-21. 

Nadir  Shah,  200-3,  267. 
Nahavend,   Zoroastrians  defeated  by 

Arabs  at,  37  ;  captured  by  Hashi- 

mite  troops,  84. 
Nakshabandi,  order  of  dervishes,  170 

note. 
Naphthalites  {see  Epht halites). 
Narshakhi,    cited  41,    42,    43    notes, 

passim. 
Nasir,  Caliph,  157. 
Nasr  ibn  Ahmed,  105-8. 
Nasr  ibn  Sayyar,  75,  77-83. 
Nasrullah  Khan,  211-19. 
Nautaca,  district  covered  by,  6. 
Nawruz  Ahmed,  191  note. 
Nazir  Mohammad,  196. 
Nestorius,    followers    persecuted    by 

Tamerlane,  397. 
Ney,  cited  249,  257  notes,  passim. 
Nicator  (Seleucus  i.),  10. 
Nijni  Novogorod,    building   of,  231  ; 

a  principality,  234. 
Nishapur,      conquest      ascribed      to 

Shapur,  23  ;  passim. 
Nizak  Tarkhun,  39. 
Nizam    ul-Mulk    (Hasam    ibn   'Ali), 

131.  132. 
Nizek,  peace  concluded  with  Kutayba, 

47  ;  rebellion  and  death,  56-59. 
Noldeke,  cited  22  note,  passim. 
Novogorod,  a  republic,    230  ;  added 

to    Russia    by   Vassili    III.,    236; 

Vladimir  of,  229. 


INDEX 


439 


Nuh  III.,  117. 

Nuh,  Amir  of  Samarkand,  lOI. 
Nur  Verdi  Khan,  273. 
Nushtegin,  136. 

O'DONOVAN,  cited  42  note. 

Ogday,  158,  162,  166  note. 

Oliver,  W,  E.  E.,  cited  161  note. 

'Omar  Bi,  208. 

'Omar,  Caliph,  assassination  of,  38. 

'Omar  ibn  'Abd  ul-'AzIz,  69. 

'Omar  ibn  Hoba\Ta,  70. 

'Omar  Khan,  212,  213. 

'Omar  Khajyam,  131  note. 

'Omar  Shaykh,  178. 

'Omara  ibn  Iloraym,  73. 

Omsk  acquired  by  Russia,  242. 

Orenburg,  founding  of,  and  importance 

for    caravans,    242  ;     defective    as 

basis  for  expeditions,  245. 
Orkhon  inscriptions,  29  note. 
Oshrusana,  95. 
Osman,    prince   of  Samarkand,   I47, 

156. 
Osmanlis,  origin  of,  124. 
Ossipoff,  story  of,  346. 
'Othman,  Caliph,  37. 
Oxus  {see  Amu  Darya). 
Oxyartes,  fathei  of  Roxana,  8. 

Palestine,  conquest  by  Arabs,  37  ; 
Damascus  and  Jerusalem  con- 
quered by  Par\Iz,  32,  33  ;  Damascus 
stormed  by  Timur,  171. 

Pamirs,  birthplace  of  Arj'an  race,  3  ; 
commission  to  demarcate  English 
and  Russian  influence  on,  303-5. 

Panchao,  20. 

Panjakand,  identified  with  Bishkand, 
187  note. 

Papek,  22. 

Paropamisus  mountains,  boundary  of 
Bactria,  3. 

Parthia,  11-13;  Greeks  deprived  of 
Margiana  by,  18  ;  encounters  with 
the  Yue-Chi,  19 ;  overthrow  of 
djmasty  by  Ardashir,  23  ;  Parthians 
identical  with  Turkomans,  266 ; 
characteristics  on  early  Indian 
Saka  coins,  16. 

Parviz,  "the  Victorious"  (Chosrau 
II.).  32. 

Pasargada,  5. 


Perofski,  Count,  expedition  against 
Khiva,  243,  244. 

Persepohs,  plundered  by  Alexander,  5. 

Persia — Bactria  annexed  to,  4  ;  con- 
quered by  Alexander  the  Great.  4 ; 
condition  in  third  century,  22 ; 
Ardashir,  king  of,  23 ;  famine  in, 
25  ;  loss  of  eyesight  a  bar  to  ruling, 
27  ;  Arab  conquest,  37  ;  acquired 
by  Turks,  129;  overrun  by  troops 
of  Timiir,  171  ;  war  with  Baki 
Mohammad,  195 ;  Nadir  Shah, 
200-3  ;  ^■^''  "^^^  Turkomans,  267, 
269-72 ;  Persian  literary  language 
in  time  of  Tahirides,  180;  Parthia 
{see  that  title). 

Peter  the  Great,  240-42. 

Petra  Oxiana,  8. 

Petrofsky,  M.,  cited  y]\  note. 

Petruse\atch,  cited  270,  271,  272 
notes. 

Philippus  of  Elymeus,  10. 

Phraates,  12. 

Pir  Mohammad,  173. 

Pit  Mohammad,  grandson  of  Timur, 
the  Uzbeg,  191  note. 

Piriiz,  25. 

Pishagar,  destroyed  by  NasruUah,  215. 

Polotsk,  230. 

Poole,  Mr.  S.  Lane,  cited  60  note, 
passim. 

Powers,  the  Great,  Russian  circular 
to,  249,  Appendix  I. 

Price,  Major,  cited  161  note,  passim. 

Pskov,  230, 

RABf  IBN  ZiYAD  EL-HaRITH!,  39. 
Rafi'      ibn      Harthama,      appointed 

governor  of  Khorasan,  105 ;  peace 

between  Nasr  and  Isma'il,  obtained 

by,  107  ;  murder  of,  no. 
Rafi'  ibn  Layth,  96. 
Rahim  Bi,  199,  202,  384  note. 
Railways  {see  under  Russia). 
Ramtlna,   conquered  by  UbayduUah 

ibn  Ziyad,  39. 
Rapson,  cited  16  note. 
Ravandis,  the,  92. 
Raverty,  cited  120  note. 
Riazan,  Russian  principalit}',  234- 
Risalachi,  public  entertainers,  401. 
Romanovski,  General,  General  Cher- 

naieff  superseded   by,  251  ;  battle 

of  Irjai,  252. 


440 


INDEX 


Romans,  struggle  with  Mithridates, 
13  ;  Kushan  Empire  recognised  by, 
19 ;  Shapur  i.  at  war  with,  23  ; 
war  with  Bahrain  Gur,  and  truce, 
24 ;  rupture  between  Piruz  and 
EphthaHtes  attributed  to,  26  ;  hos- 
tilities with  Kobad,  28 ;  war  with 
Hormuz  iv.,  31,  32;  alliance  be- 
tween Turks  and  Persians  regarded 
with  apprehension  by,  31  ;  defeated 
by  Arabs,  37 ;  first  Turkish  in- 
vasion of  Rome,  131. 

Roxana,  8. 

Russia  —  ethnological  origin  of 
Russians,  225  ;  influence  of  physical 
surroundings,  227  ;  growth  of  cities, 
227  ;  origin  of  serfs,  228  ;  origin, 
customs,  and  territory  of  Slavs,  225, 
226 ;  growth  of  princely  rule, 
228-31  ;  introduction  of  Christi- 
anity and  influence  of  priests  upon 
government,  229  ;  feudalism  intro- 
duced from  Germany,  231  ;  Mongol 
invasion  and  results,  233-34  5  Mon- 
golian yoke  thrown  off  by  Vassili 
the  Great,  235  ;  growth  of  Moscow, 
234 ;  Cossack  invasion  of  Siberia, 
238-39  ;  Khiva,  Bekovitch  expedi- 
tion, 240-42 ;  Perofski  expedition, 
244 ;  treaty,  245 ;  conquest,  257-59; 
Kokand,  invasion  of,  245  ;  Tash- 
kent taken,  247-49  !  action  with 
Khan  of  Bokhara,  250  ;  annexation, 
259-61  ;  Bokhara,  mission  to, 
217;  conquest,  250-57;  general 
description,  357-85  ;  Samarkand, 
annexation,  255  ;  general  descrip- 
tion, 386-407 ;  Turkomania,  con- 
quest of,  285-97  ;  battle  of  Geok 
Teppe,  292-97 ;  Merv  acquired, 
298  ;  administration  in  Transcaspia, 
325-39 ;  Afghanistan,  joint  com- 
mission with  England  to  demarcate 
northern  boundary,  301  ;  skirmish 
with  Afghans,  302 ;  result  of 
deliberations,  303  ;  commission  to 
demarcate  English  and  Russian 
influence  on  Pamirs,  303-5  ;  con- 
dition of  roads  in  Central  Asia, 
345 ;  methods  of  dealing  with 
Orientals  compared  with  English, 
410-15  ;  desirability  of  union  with 
England,  414-16;  Railways,  used 
by  military  transport  between  Cas- 


pian and  Amii  Darya,  289  ;  over- 
land route  to  India,  317-19 ; 
Transcaspian  Railway,  construction, 
307-13  ;  branch  lines,  261,  316-17  ; 
importance  of  and  effect  on  Central 
Asian  commerce,  313-15  ;  journey 
described,  341,  349,  357,  386. 

Sabuktagin,  113,  117,  118. 

Sacae  {see  Scythians,  Sakas). 

Sadr-i-shariat,  influence  of,  in  towns 
of  Transoxiana,  163. 

Saghir  Beg,  122. 

Sa'id  ibn  'Abd  ul-'AzTz,  70. 

Sa'id  ibn  'Amr  el-Harashi,  71. 

Sa'id  ibn  'Othman,  40. 

Salih  ibn  Nasr,  103. 

Salm  ibn  Ziyad,  41. 

Salors,  the,  territory  of,  266,  268 ; 
settlement  at  Zarabad,  270. 

Saman,  loi, 

Samanides,  the,  109-18 ;  Trans- 
oxiana wrested  from,  and  territory 
subsequently  owned  by,  119. 

Samarkand  (Marcanda)  —  besieged 
by  Spitamenes  and  relieved,  7-8  ; 
stormed  by  Sa'id  ibn  'Othman,  40, 
41  ;  taken  by  Harthama,  98 ;  be- 
sieged and  taken  by  Chingiz,  159  ; 
taken  by  Khan  of  Jatah,  169 ; 
improvement  under  Timur,  171  ; 
capital  transferred  to,  166  ;  throne 
seized  by  Khalil  Sultan,  174;  plun- 
dered by  Uzbegs,  176;  beautifying 
of,  176,  178;  fall  of  Timur's  dynasty 
and  accession  of  Mohammad  Khan 
Shaybani,  179;  captured  by  ZahTr 
ud-Dln  Baber,  184 ;  sub-dynasty 
abolished,  191  ;  surrender  to 
Russians,  254 ;  citadel  defended 
against  Sarts,  255 ;  incorporated 
with  Turkestan,  255  ;  railways  from 
Merv,  310-13;  to  Tashkent,  316; 
height  above  sea,  388  ;  the  Rigistan, 
391  ;  mosques  and  tombs,  391-95  ; 
Unda,  395  ;  Russian  quarter,  396  ; 
mineral  wealth,  398 ;  trade  and 
industries,  398-401  ;  professional 
story  -  tellers  and  legends,  401-3  ; 
administration,  404-7  ;  summary  of 
history,  389 ;  dialect,  180. 

Sanjar,  Sultan,  parentage,  133  note; 
governor  of  Khorasan,  134;  Mah- 
miid  succeeded  by,  135  ;  revolt  of 


INDEX 


441 


Atsiz,  138-40 ;  defeat  of  Kara- 
Khitays,  139  ;  by  Turkomans,  266  ; 
irrigation  of  Merv,  work  of,  206 ; 
fall  and  death,  140-42  ;  tomb,  354. 

Sarakhs,  269. 

Sardar,  definition,  274  iwte. 

Sarikhs,  the,  268. 

Saripul,  established  by  Alexander,  8. 

Sarkar,  definition,  333  tiote. 

Sarts,  definition,  245  note,  364. 

Sasanides,  the,  22-33 ;  death  of 
Yezdijerd,  37. 

Satuk  Boghra  Khan,  119. 

Saura  ibn  el-Hurr,  73. 

Saxaul  (haloxylon  ammodendron), 
263. 

Sa)7id  'Abdul  Ahad,  384. 

Sa}yid  el-Harashi,  94. 

Sayyid  Haydar  Tura,  208-ro,  384 
note. 

Sa}'yid  Mir  'Allm,  384. 

Sa}'yid  Muzaffar  ud-Din,  219 ;  ex- 
pedition against  and  submission  to 
Russia,  250-56. 

Schefer,  Ed. ,  cited  50  note,  passim. 

Schuyler,  cited  254  note. 

Scythians — Arsaces  {see  that  title), 
defeated  by  Alexander,  8  ;  Thogari, 
the,  13  ;  Sakas,  Phraates  slain  by, 
12 ;  portion  of  Bactria  wrested 
from,  13  ;  settlement  in  Hexapolis, 
15;  expulsion  from  Soghdiana  and 
subsequent  fate,  16,  17  ;  settlement 
in  Bactria  and  subsequent  expul- 
sion, 18  ;  driven  from  Kiphin  by 
Kushans,  19. 

Se  {see  Scythians,  Sakas). 

Sefldjanugdn,  followers  of  Mokanna*, 
94- 

Seljuks,  the,  districts  invaded  by, 
124 ;  origin  of,  and  founders,  125  ; 
Mahmud's  expedition  against,  126  ; 
rise  of,  127  ;  treaty  with  Ibrahim  ; 
Khwarazm  conquered,  136 ;  di- 
vision into  various  branches,  and 
dowTifall  of  authority,  144,  146 ; 
various  rules  {see  their  ttaims). 

Seleucus  I.  (Nicator),  10. 

Semirechensk,  extent  of,  253. 

Serikul,  settlement  of  Sakas  in,  1 7. 

Shaba,  31. 

Shabuigan,  8. 

Shad  Alulkh,  174. 

Shah  Isma'il,  the  Safari,  185,  186. 


i  Shah  Kator,  20. 
j  Shah  Mahmud  Sultan,  145. 
I  Shah    Murad   (Ma'siim),  205-8,  384 
i      note. 

i  Shah  Rukh,  174-76,  1 80. 
j  Shahi   Beg   (Mohammad    Shaybani), 
1       184. 

;  Shahrisabz,  'Abdullah  (son  of  Amir 

i      Ka^han)  defeated  at,  166;  attacked 

byNasrullah,  214  ;  conquered,  219  ; 

revolt,  220  ;   subdued  by  General 

Abramoff,  256. 

Shapur  (brother  of  Ardashir),  22. 

Shapur  i.,  23. 

Shapur,  conquest  of,  ascribed  to 
Shapur  i.,  23. 

Shash,  king  of,  6r. 

.Shaybani  Khan  (Shahi  Beg),  184  ; 
Shaybanides  {see  Uzbegs). 

Shaykh  Nur-ed-Din,  revolt  against 
Khalil  Sultan,  175. 

Shen-Yu,  title  borne  by  Juen-Juen 
chiefs,  21  note. 

Shi'ites,  origin  of,  81  ;  revolt  in 
Khorasan,  91  ;  in  Day  lam,  95  ; 
Ma'miin,  Shah  Isma'il,  etc.  {see 
those  titles). 

.Shugnan,  Sakas  established  in,  17. 

Shukovski,  Prof.,  cited  141  note. 

Sibir  captured,  239. 

Sihiin  {see  Sir  Darya). 

Sinbad,  90. 

Sir  Darya,  northern  boundary  of 
Turkestan,  3 ;  chain  of  Russian 
forts  on,  245. 

Sistan  (Drangiana),  occupied  by  Sakas, 
18  ;  Piriiz  made  governor,  25  ;  Arab 
expedition,  38  ;  conquered  by  Shah 
Rukh,  174. 

Siyawush,  115  fiote. 

Skobeleff,  Michael  Dmitriavitch,  gov- 
ernor of  Kokand,  260  ;  Russian 
policy  in  Central  Asia,  339  note  ; 
anecdote,  344,  note  ;  exploits,  288. 

Smolensk,  230. 

Soghd,  assistance  rendered  to  Bok- 
hara, 42  ;  war  with  Kutayba,  and 
treaty,  51,  54 ;  revolt  against  chief, 
60  ;  captured  by  Zahir  ud-Din 
Baber,  1S4. 

Soghdiana — annexation  by  Cyrus  i., 
4  ;  revolt  against  Alexander,  7  ; 
subdued  by  Alexander,  9 ;  loss  of 
Grecian  power  in,  18  ;  expulsion  of 


442 


INDEX 


Sakas  by  Yue-Chi,  and  re-occupa- 
tion,   1 6,    17,    18;   revolt   in,   and 

invasion  by  Kutayba,  60 ;  retreats 

of  Asad,  72. 
Spitamenes,   Bessus  betrayed  by,   6 ; 

rebellion     against     Alexander    the 

Great,  7-8 ;  death,  9. 
Stadium,  definition,  7  note. 
Stasanor,  10. 

Stewart,  Colonel  C,  cited  ■^^i^  note. 
Stoddart,  Colonel,  mission  to  Bokhara, 

and  death,  217-18. 
Stolietoff,       General,      Krasnovodsk 

founded  by,  262. 
Strabo,  cited  13  note. 
Strogonoff,  238. 
Stumm,  Ilugo,  cited  238,  244  notes, 

passim. 
Stylites,  Joseph,  cited  26. 
Su  {see  Scythians,  Sakas). 
Sil,  definition,  332. 
Suljhan  KulT  Khan,  196,  197,  198. 
Sukhra  (Zermihr),  26. 
Sulayman  Shah  (governor  of  Khwar- 

azm),  138. 
Sulayman  (son   of   "Abd   ul-Melik), 

accession  to  Caliphate,  61 ;  Kutayba's 

letters  to,  61  ;  death,  64. 
Sultan 'Ali,  178. 
Sultan  Gjray,  183. 
Sultan  Hamza,  186. 
Sultan     Husayn     Baykara     (Husayn 

Mirza),  184. 
Sultan  Janlbeg  (see  Janibeg). 
Sultan  Khalll,  173-76. 
Sultan  Mohammad  Khwarazm  Shah, 

145  7iote. 
Sultan  Shah  Mahmud,  145. 
Suyunjik,  189. 
Suzdal,  234. 
Syria,  conquered  by  Arabs,  37. 

Tabari,  cited  25  note,  passim. 

Tabaristan,  67,  68. 

Tahlr  ibn 'Amr,  iii. 

Tahirides,  the,  Tahir,  99,  100;  Talha 

and 'Abdullah,  loo  ;  Tahir  11.,  103; 

defeated  by  Ya'kub,  105  ;  length  of 

rule,  102  ;  Persian  literary  language 

in  time  of,  180. 
Taigur,  Ye-liu  Ta-shi,  also  known  as, 

137- 
T'ai-tsu  (Apaoki),  137  note. 
Tai  Yang,  Khan,  155. 


Tajiki  dialect,  181. 

Tajiks,  the,  origin  and  characteristics, 
364  ;  Iranian  branch  of  Aryans 
represented  by,  3. 

Talha,  100,  loi. 

Talikan,  battle  at,  57, 

Tanais  (Don),  Sir  Darya,  mistaken  for, 
by  Alexander  the  Great,  7. 

Tanap,  definition,  362  note. 

Tandar,  47. 

Tanga,  value  of,  212  note. 

Tarikh-i-Rashidi,  cited  1 16,  119, 
passim. 

Taskhent,  siege  and  storming  of,  by 
Colonel  Chernaieff,  247,  248  ;  made 
capital  of  Turkestan,  249  ;  railway 
to,  316. 

Tatatungo,  155. 

Tchinghiz  {see  Chingiz). 

Tea,  importation  of,  to  Bokhara,  372  ; 
Chay  Kabiid,  401. 

Tekish,  145-47. 

Tekkes  {see  Turkotnans). 

Temuchin  {see  Chingiz). 

Thogari,  the,  13. 

Thomson,  E.  C.  Ringler,  cited  324 
7iote. 

Timur  Leng  (Tamerlane),  168-72  ; 
conquests,  235  ;  brilliancy  of  age, 
179-82  ;  fall  of  dynasty,  179. 

Timur  Shah  Oghlan,  166. 

Tiridates,  12. 

Tiu-ping,  30. 

Tobolsk,  building  of,  239. 

Toghan  Khan,  119. 

Toghrul  Beg,  parentage,  125;  Mas'ud 
defeated  by,  127  ;  conquests  and 
death,  129-30. 

Toghrul,  Khan  of  the  Keraits,  153. 

Toghrul  III.,  overthrown  by  Tekish, 
146. 

Tokharistan,  Yue-Chi  settlement  in, 
18  ;  Persians  masters  of,  30  ;  occu- 
pied by  Al-Hakam,  39  ;  incor- 
porated with  Transoxiana,  192. 

Tokhtamish  Khan,  171,  183  w/c,  235. 

Transcaspia — boundaries  and  physi- 
cal features,  321  ;  productions  and 
industries,  322;  administration,  325; 
taxation,  336;  transport,  337;  irriga- 
tion methods,  33 1  -34;  education,  335 ; 
drunkenness,  329;  statistics  of  crime, 
327-28;  epidemics,  330;  Turkomans 
{see  that  title). 


INDEX 


443 


Transoxiana — Yue-Chi  powerful  in,  | 
17  ;  Ephthalites  in,  21  ;  tribes  de-  i 
feated  by  Bahram  Gur,  24 ;  Turks 
masters  of,  30  ;  suggested  conquest 
by  Anushirawan,  30  fwte;  Kutayba's 
expeditions  to,  47-55  ;  Turks  driven 
out,  75  ;  revolt  of  NTzek,  56 ;  re- 
duced by  'Oinara  ibn  Horajin,  73  ; 
Rafi'  master  of,  97  ;  governorship 
held  by  Samanides,  105-13  ;  fall 
of  Samanides,  119;  Melik  Shah 
master  of,  132 ;  Kara-Khitays  in 
possession  of,  1 37,  139  ;  inherited 
byChaghatay,  160;  Amir  Ka^han 
master  of,  166  ;  Bayan  Selduz  and 
Haji  Birlas  rulers  of,  167  ;  invaded 
by  Khan  of  Jatah,  167,  169  ;  Sultan 
KhalU  in  possession  of,  174  ;  Ulugh 
Beg  governor  of,  175  ;  invasion  by 
'Abd  ul-Latlf,  177;  Abii  Sa'Id 
master  of,  177  ;  condition  under 
Sultan  Ahmad,  178  ;  Uzbeg  rule 
in,  184-92  ;  Baber  master  of, 
186  ;  Tokharistan  and  Badakshan 
incorporated  w4th,  192  ;  Astrakhan 
dj-nast>'  in,  192-203  ;  dialect  in, 
180  {see  also  Bokhara,  Samarkand, 
etc.). 

Tsin  Chi  Hwang- ti,  14. 

Tufghaj,  the,  121. 

Tughluk  Timiir  Khan,  167. 

Tuka  Timiir,  183  7Wte. 

Tu-kine,  29. 

Tukta,  155. 

Tfdi,  158. 

Tulun,  21. 

Tumen,  29. 

Tung-nu  (Eastern  Tartars),  war  with 
Hiung-nu,  15  ;  Yue-Chi  {see  that 
title). 

Turkan,  Queen,  142-45. 

Turkestii — boundaries  and  earliest 
references,  3 ;  Turkish  migration 
to,  124 ;  conquered  by  Ye-liu  Ta- 
shi,  137  ;  social  conditions  under 
successors  of  Chaghatay,  162;  partly 
overrun  by  Abu  - 1  -  Khayr,  184  ; 
attacked  by  Kokandis,  248 ;  made 
frontier  district,  249 ;  governor- 
general  appointed  to,  253 ;  Sam- 
arkand incorporated  with,  255 ; 
Kokand  incorporated,  260  ;  dialect, 
180. 

Turk!  dialect,  180. 


Turkomans — derivation,  266;  branch 
of  Western  Turks,  124,  265  ;  migra- 
tion, 265  ;  various  tribes,  266-68  ; 
government  of,  272 ;  growth  of 
hereditar}-  principle,  273 ;  raids, 
274-76 ;  slaver)-,  276 ;  horses  of, 
276 ;  appearance  and  dress,  279 ; 
characteristics,  280  ;  wea\'ing,  282  ; 
extent  and  physical  features  of  ter- 
ritorj-,  262-65  ;  defeat  by  Uzbegs, 
188  ;  conflicts  with  Persia,  267-68, 
269-70,  272 ;  conflict  with  Kliiva, 
269 ;  Mer\'  occupied  by,  269-72  ; 
Russian  conquest,  war  of  exter- 
mination by  General  Kauffman, 
284;  expedition  of  Lomakin,  286-87; 
of  Skobeleff,  289-99  ;  battle  of 
Geok  Teppe,  291-97  ;  Transcaspia 
{see  that  title). 

Turks — divisions  of,  29,  123  ;  migra- 
tions, 124,  129 ;  relations  with 
Persians,  30-32  ;  defeated  by  Rabi' 
ibn  Ziyad,  39 ;  Islam  embraced  by 
Turks  in  Balasaghun,  120  ;  Kirghiz, 
Turkomans,  Uzbegs,  etc.  {see  those 
titles). 

Tver,  234. 

'Ubayddllah  ibx  ZiyAd,  39. 
'Ubaydullah    (son    of    Subhan    KuII 

Khan),  199. 
'Ubaydullah,   Sultan,    186,    189,   190, 

191  note. 
Uighurs    (Kara-Khanides),     114-22; 

first  mention  of  name,  1 16  ;  Sakas 

intermixed   with,    1 7 ;    urban   life, 

163. 
Ujfah-y,  ctted  17  note,  passim. 
Ulugh  Beg,  governor  of  Transoxiana, 

175;     proclaimed    emperor,     176; 

murdered  by  son,  1 77 ;  arithmetician 

and  astronomer,  180. 
Uma)ya   ibn  'Abdullah   ibn  Khalid, 

43- 
Umavyads,      the,     various      Caliphs 
[see  their  titles)  ;   descent  of  Um- 
ayya  traced,  80 ;  origin  of  dispute 
with     'Abbasids,     80  ;     downfall, 

85- 
I  Urdu  Balik,  115. 
'  Ustadsls,  93. 

Usuns,  territorj-  of,  1 5. 

Uzbegi  dialect,  180. 
,  Uzbegs,  the,   183-93  5  Kazaks,   183  ; 


444 


INDEX 


characteristics,  365 ;  Samarkand 
plundered  by,  1 76  ;  mastery  gained 
over  Sultan  Ahmad,  178;  Mangit 
dynasty,  204-21,  365. 

Valerian,    Emperor,    captured    by 

Shapur  I.,  23. 
Vali  Mahammad,  195. 
Vambeiy,  cited  39  note,  passim. 
Vardan,  battle  of,  52-54. 
Vardan-Khudat,  the,  king  of  Bokhara, 

51,  52. 

Varka,  49  note. 

Vassili  I.,  236. 

Vassili  III.,  236. 

Vassilief,  Prof.,  cited  149  note. 

"Veiled  Prophet  of  Khorasan"'  (Mo- 
kanna'),  94. 

Veliaminof-Zernof,  M.,  cited  iS^}  i^S 
se^. 

Veneti,  plains  of  Eastern  Europe  in- 
vaded by,  225. 

Vine  cultivation  in  Samarkand,  399- 
401. 

Vladimir,  building  of,  231. 

Vladimir  of  Novogorod,  229. 

Von  Hammer,  J.,  cited  133  note. 

Von  Struve,  Colonel,  251  note. 

Waki",  67. 

Weaving,  tradition  concerning,  399. 
Weil,  t/teo.  87  note,  passim. 
Wei-wu-rh,  Kara-Khanides  known  to 

Chinese  as,  116. 
WelTd,  Caliph,  46,  61. 
Wends,  the,  225. 
Wheeled  traffic  on  Persian  roads,  27 

note. 
White  Horde,  the,  182. 
White  Huns  {see  Ephthalites). 
Wolff,  cited  170  note,  passim. 
Wu-ti,  Emperor,  alliance  with   Yue- 

Chi,  17. 

Yadgar  MIrza,  177. 

Yahya,  Amir  of  Shash,  loi. 

Ya'kiib  ibn  Layth,  103-5. 

Yamuds,  the,  268. 

Yani  Kurgan,  conquered  by  Russians, 

252. 
Yar  Mohammad  Khan,  194. 
Yarkand,    occupied    by    Great    Yue- 

Chi,    16;  conquered  by  Ye-liu  Ta- 

shi,  137  ;  dialect  of,  180. 


Yarkand  Darya,  Sakas  driven  to 
upper  valleys  of,  1 7. 

Yaroslav  the  Wise,  230. 

Yatlmatu  'd-Dahr,  cited  III  note. 

'N'e-liu  Ta-shi,  137,  138. 

A'emenites,  war  with  Modharites,  78. 

\'enekale,  Straits  of  (Caucasian  Bos- 
phorus),  13. 

Yelha  {see  Ephthalites). 

Yezdijerd  ll.,  25. 

Yezdijerd  in.,  37. 

Yezld  ibn  Mazyad,  94. 

Yezld  ibn  Merwan,  41,  42. 

Yezld  ibn  Muhallab,  44,  63,  64-70. 

Yezld  II.,  69-71. 

Yissugay,  150,  152. 

Y-li,  139  note. 

Yu6-Chi — extent  of  empire,  1 5  ;  divi- 
sions of,  16 ;  alliance  with  China, 
17 ;  Bactria  in  possession  of,  18, 
19  ;  encounters  with  Parthians,  19  ; 
Kushan  clan,  sovereignty  of,  recog 
nised,  19,  20 ;  founder  of  Little 
Yue-Chi,  20  ;  fall  of,  20. 

Yule,  Colonel,  cited  19  note. 

Viisuf,  Alp  Arslan  killed  by,  131  no'c. 

\"usuf  ibn  Ibrahim  (El-Barm),  94. 

Zab,  battle  of  the,  84. 

Zafar-Naml',  Life  of  Tamerlane,  two 

works  of  that  name,  168  note. 
Zahir  ud-Din  Baber,   179,   180;   war 

with  Uzbegs,  184,  186,  187. 
Zarafshan,  Bokhara  watered  by,  360  : 

cultivation  of  cotton  on  banks  of, 

3.86- 
Zariaspa,  identification  of,  8. 
Zelenoi,  General,  301. 
Zermihr  (Sukhra),  26,  27. 
Zernof,  Veliaminof,  M.,  cited  183,  1S5 

notes. 
Zingis  {see  Chingiz). 
Ziyad  (brother  of  Caliph  Mo'awiya), 

38.  39-  „     „ 

Ziyad,  governor  of  Samarkand,  85,  86. 

Zoroastrianism,  toleration  of,  pro- 
vided in  truce  between  Rome  and 
Bahram  Gfir,  24 ;  supplanted  by 
Islam,  45  ;  revolt  of  Sinbad,  90. 

Zotenberg's  translation  of  Tabarl, 
cited  67  notes,  passim. 

Zu-1-Karnayn,  or  Two  Horned,  title 
of  Alexander,  9. 

Zungaria,  Sakas  driven  to,  16. 


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Bulley  (Miss).    See  S.Q.S. 

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tions by  R.  Anning  Bell.  Cr.  Svo.  6s. 
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Burch  (Q.  J.),  M.A.,  F.R.S.  A  MANUAL 
OF  ELECTRICAL  SCIENCE.  Illus- 
trated.    Cr.  &VO.     JS. 

Burgess  (Qelett).  GOOPS  AND  HOW  TO 
LE  THEM.    Illustrated.     Small ^to.     6s. 

Burke  (Edmund).     See  Standard  Library. 

Bum  (A.  E.),  D.D.,  Rector  of  Handsworth 
and  Prebendary  of  Lichfield. 
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Bum  (J.  H.),  B.D.    See  Library  of  Devotion. 

Buraand  (Sir  F.   C).      RECORDS  AND 
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H.  V.  Herkomer.      Cr.  %vo.     Fourth  and 
Chea/er  Edition.     6s. 
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Burnside  (W.  F.).  >LA.  OLD  TESTA- 
MENT  HISTORY  FOR  USE  IN 
SCHOOLS.  Second  Edition.  Cr.  Zvo. 
3^.  6d. 

Burton  (Alfred).     See  I.P.L. 

Butler  (Joseph).      See  Standard  Librarj". 

Caldecott  (Alfred),  D.D.  See  Handbooks 
of  Theology. 

Calderwood  (D.  S.),  Headmaster  of  the  Nor- 
mal School,  Edinburgh.  TEST  CARDS 
IN  EUCLID  AND  ALGEBRA.  In  three 
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Dryhurst  (A.  R.).     See  Little  Books  on  Art. 

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Dunn  (J.  T).,  D. Sc. ,  and  Mundella  (V.  A.). 
GENERAL  ELEMENTARY  SCIENCE. 
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Danstan(A.  E.),  R.Sc  See  Junior  School 
Books  and  Textbooks  of  Science. 

Dnrbam  (The  Eari  of).  A  REPORT  ON 
C.ANAD.\.  With  an  Introductory  Note. 
Denty  Zvo.     ^s.  td.  net. 

Dutt  (W.  A.).  A  POPULAR  GUIDE  TO 
NORFOLK.     Medium  %vo.     6d.net. 

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Edwards  (W.  Douglas).  See  Commercial 
Series. 

Egan  (Pierce).    See  I.P.L. 

Egerton  (H.  E.),  M.A.     A  HISTORY  OF 
BRITISH  COLONL\L  POLICY.     New 
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Ellaby  (C.  0.).     See  The  Little  Guides. 

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Epictetus.     See  W.  H.  D.  Rouse. 

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THE  FIVE  NATIONS.  4"''  Thousand. 
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General  Literature 


II 


Knowlins:  (R.  J.).  M-A.,  Professor  of  New 
Testament  Exegesis  at  King's  College, 
London.     See  Westminster  Osmmentaries. 

Lamb  (Charles  and  Mary),  THE  WORKS 
OF.  Edited  by  E.  Y.  Lucas.  Illustrated. 
In  Seven  Volurtus.  Demy  ?,va.    7s.  dd.  tack. 

THE  LIFE  OF.     See  E.  V.  Lucas. 
See  also  Little  Library. 

Lambert  (F.  A.  H.).    See  Little  Guides. 

Lambros  (Professor).   See  Byzantine  Texts. 

Lane- Poole  ('Stanley).  A  HISTORY  OF 
EGYPT  IN"  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.  Fully 
Illustrated.     Cr.  Zvo.     dr. 

Langbrid?e(F.),M..\.  BALL.^DSOF THE 
BRAVE  :  Poems  of  Chivalry,  Enterprise, 
Courage,  and  Constancy.  Second  Edition. 
Cr.  %vo.     -zs.  6d. 

Law  (William).  See  Library  of  Devotion 
and  Standard  Librarj-. 

Leach  (Henry).  THE  DUKE  OF  DEVON- 
SHIRE.    .A.  Biography.     With  12  Illustra- 
tions.    DemyZvo.     I2j.  6d.  net.  _ 
A  Colonial  Edition  is  also  published. 

Le  Braz  (Anatole).  THE  LAND  OF 
PARDONS.  Translated  by  Fr.\nces  M. 
GosTLiKC.  Illustrated  in  colour.  Second 
Edition.     Crown  8o'0.     6f. 

Lee  (Captain  L.  Melville).  A  HISTORY 
OF  POLICE  IN  ENGL.\ND.  Cr.  Bw. 
3^.  6d.  net. 

Leigh (Perdval).  THECOMIC  ENGLISH 
GRAMMAR.  Embellished  with  upwards 
of  30  characteristic  Illustrations  by  John 
Leech.    Post  i6}no.    2s.  6<i.  net. 

Lewea  (V.  B.),  M.  A.  AIR  AND  WATER. 
Illustrated.     Cr.  Zvo.     2J.  6d. 

Lewis  (Mrs.  Qwyn).  A  CONCISE 
HANDBOOK  OF  GARDEN  SHRUBS. 
Illustrated.     Fcap.  %vo.     -^s.dd.  net. 

Lisle  (Fortun^ede).    See  Little  Bookson  Art. 

Littlehales(H.).     See  .-Vntiquary's  Books. 

Locic  (Walter),  D.D.,  Warden  of  Keble 
College.  ST.  P.\UL,  THE  MASTER- 
BUILDER.  Second  Edition.  Cr.  Svo. 
3-r-  ^■ 

THE  BIBLE  AND  CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 
Ct.  tvo.    6s. 

See  also  Leaders  of  Religion  and  Library 
of  Devotion. 

Locker  (F.).     See  Little  Library. 

Longfellow  (H.  W.).     See  Little  Library. 

Lorimer  (George  Horace).  LETTERS 
FROM  A  SELF-M.A.DE  MERCHANT 
TO  HIS  SON.  Fifteenth  Edition.  Ctown 
Svo.     6s. 

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OLD  GORGON  GRAHAM.  Second  Edition. 
Cr.  %vo.    6s. 
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Lover  (Samuel).    See  I.  P.  L. 

E.  V.  L.  and  C.  L.  Q.  ENGLAND  D.\Y  BY 
D.A.Y  :  Or,  The  Englishman's  Handbook  to 
Efficiency.  Illustrated  by  Gborgb  Morrow. 
Fourth  Edition.    Fcap.  ^to.     is.  net. 


Lucas  (E.  v.).   THE  LIFE  OF  CHARLES 

L.\MB.  With  numerous  Portraits  and 
Illustrations.  Third  Edition.  Two  Vols. 
Demy  Zvo.     21s.  net. 

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A  WANDERER  IN   HOLLAND.      With 
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Cr.  Svo.    6s. 
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THE  OPEN  RO.A,D  :  a  Little  Book  for  Way- 
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THE  FRIENDLY  TOWN  :  a  Little  Book 
for  the  Urbane.  Third  Edition.  Fcap. 
Zvo.     5J. ;    India  Paper,  -js.  6d. 

Lucian.     See  Classical  Translations. 

Lyde(L.  W.),  M.A.     See  Commercial  Series. 

Lydon(Noel  S.).     See  Junior  School  Books. 

LytteIton(Hon.  Mrs.  A.).  WO.MEN  .\ND 
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TORICAL ESSAYS.  Edited  by  F.  C  Mon- 
tague, M.A.   Three  Volumes.   Cr.  Zvo  i8r. 
The  only  edition  of  this  book  completely 
annotated. 

M'AUen  (J.  E.  B.),  M.A.  Sec  Commercial 
Series. 

MacCulloch    (J.    A.).       See     Churchman's 

MacCunn(norenceA.).  MARY  STUART. 
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iQS.  6d.  net, 

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McDermott  (E.  R.).    See  Books  on  Business. 

M'DowaIl(A.  S.).    See  Oxford  Biographies. 

Mackay(A.  .M.).    See  Churchman's  Library. 

Magnus  (Laurie),  M.A.  A  PRIMER  OF 
WORDSWORTH.     Cr.  Zvo.     is.  6d. 

Mahaffy  (J.  P.),  Litt.D.  A  HISTORY  OF 
THE  EGYPT  OF  THE  PTOLEMIES. 
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Maitland  (F.  W.),  LL.D.,  Downing  Professor 
of  the  Laws  of  England  in  the  University  of 
Cambridge.  CANON  LAW  IN  ENG- 
LAND.    RoyalZvo.     ys.  6d. 

Maiden  (H.  E.),  M.A.  ENGLISH  RE- 
CORDS. A  Companion  to  the  History  of 
England.     Cr.  Zz'o.     3J.  6d. 

THE  ENGLISH  CITIZEN  :  HIS  RIGHTS 
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house,  Cambridge.  A  GREEK  ANTHO- 
LOGY     Second  Edition.     Cr.  Zro     y.  6d. 

Marchant(C.  E.)),  M..A..,  and  Cook(A.  M.), 
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TRANSLATION.  Third  Edition.  Cr. 
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Minchin(H.  C.),M.A.     See  R.  Peel. 

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Moore  (H.  E.).     See  S.  Q.  S. 

Moran  (Clarence  G.).  See  Books  on  Business. 

More  (Sir  Thomas).    See  Standard  Library. 

Morfill  (W.  R.),  Uriel  College,  Oxford.  A 
HISTORY  OF  RUSSIA  FROM  PETER 
THE  GREAT  TO  ALEXANDER  II. 
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Morich  (R.  J.),  late  of  Clifton  College.  See 
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Newman  (J.  H.)  and  others.  See  Library 
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General  Literature 


13 


Norre^aard   (B.    W.).     THE    GREAT 

SIEGE  :  The  Investment  and  Fall  of  Port 
Arthur.  Illustrated.  DemyZvo.  ias.6d.net. 

Northcote  (James),  R.A.  THE  CONVER- 
SATIONS OF  JAMES  NORTHCOTE. 
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Demy  Zvo.     10s.  6d. 

Norway  (A.  H.).  NAPLES.  With  25  Col- 
oured Illustrations  by  M.\URicE  Grkiffek- 
HAGEN.     A  New  Edition.     Cr.  Zvo.     &r. 

Novalls.  THE  DISCIPLES  AT  SAIS  AND 
OTHER  FRAGMENTS.  Edited  by  Miss 
Una  Birch.    Fcap.  Svo.    y.  dd. 

Oldfield  (W.  J.)i  Canon  of  Lincoln.  A 
PRIMER  OF  RELIGION.  Fcaf>  8w. 
2J.  6d, 

Oliphant  (Mrs.).    See  Leaders  of  Religion. 

Oman(C.  W.C.),  MA.,  Fellow  of  All  Souls', 
Oxford.  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  ART  OF 
WAR.  Vol.  II.:  The  Middle  Ages,  from 
the  Fourth  to  the  Fourteenth  Century.  Illus- 
trated.    Demy  iz'o.     los.  td.  net. 

Ottley  (R.  L.),  D.D.  See  Handbooks  of 
Theology  and  Leaders  of  Religion. 

Overton  (J.  H.).    See  Leaders  of  Religion. 

Owen  (Douglas).     See  Books  on  Business. 

Oxford  (M.  N.),  of  Guy's  Hospital.  A  HAND- 
BOOK OF  NURSING.  Third  Edition. 
Cr.  %vo.     y.  6d. 

Pakes  (W.  C.  C).  THE  SCIENCE  OF 
HYGIENE.    Illustrated.    Demy&vo.    15^. 

Palmer  (Frederick).  WITH  KUROKI  IN 
M  A  N  C  H  U  R  I  A.     Illustrated.      Third 
Edition.     Demy  8vo.     ys.  6d.  net. 
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Parker  (Gilbert).  A  LOVER'S  DIARY. 
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Parkes  (A.  K,).  S.MALL  LESSONS  ON 
GREAT  TRUTHS.     Fcap.  ivo.     is.  6d. 

Parkinson  (John).  PARADISIIN  SOLE 
PARADISUS  TERRESTRIS,  OR  A 
GARDEN  OF  ALL  SORTS  OF  PLEA- 
SANT FLOWERS.     Folio.    £1,  is.  net. 

Parmenter  (John).  HELIO-TROPES,  OR 
NEW  POSIES  FOR  SUNDIALS,  1625. 
Edited  by  Percival  Landon.  Quarto, 
y.  td.  net. 

Parmentier  (Prof.  Leon).  See  Byzantine 
Texts. 

Pascal.     See  Library  of  Devotion. 

Paston  (George).  SOCIAL  CARICA- 
TURES IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH 
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Willdns  (W.  H.).  B.  A.  Sec  S.Q.S. 
Wilkinson  (J.  Frome).  See  S.Q.S. 
Williams    (A.).      PETROL    PETER:    or 

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Williamson  (M.  Q.).    See  Ancient  Cities. 
Williamson  (W,).      THE    BRITISH 

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\as.  dd. 
Williamson  (W.),    B.A.       See  Junior  Ex- 
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Wilmot-Baxton  (E.  M.).     MAKERS  OF 

EUROPE.     Cr.  8vo.   Sijctk  Ed.    y.  td. 
A  Text-book  of   European  History  for 

Middle  Forms. 
THE  ANCIENT  WORLD.    With  Maps  and 

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W!Ison(  Bishop.).   See  Library  of  Devotion. 
Wilson  (A.  J.).     See  Books  on  Business. 
Wilson  (H.  A.).     See  Books  en  Business, 
Wilton  (Richard),  M.A.      LYRA    PAS- 

TORALIS  :  Songs  of  Nature,  Church,  and 

Home.     Pott  Zvo.     is.  bd. 
WInbolt  (S.  E.),  M.A.    EXERCISES  IN 

LATIN  ACCIDENCE.     Cr.  %vo.     is.  6d. 
LATIN   HEXAMETER  VERSE:  An  Aid 

to  Composition.     Cr,  Svo.     3J.  6d.    Key, 

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quary's  Books,  Little  Guides  and  Ancient 

Cities. 
Winterbotham     (Canon),      M.A.,    B.Sc, 

LL.  B.     See  Churchman's  Library. 
Wood    (J.     A.     E.).        See    Textbooks    of 

Technology. 
Wood  (J,  Hickory).    DAN  LEND.    lUus- 

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HISTORY  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR  IN 

THE    UNITED    STATES.      With    an 

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Wordsworth    (Christopher).       See   Anti- 
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Wordsworth  (W.).      THE  POEMS  OF. 

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Library. 
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Wright  (J.  C).     TODAY.      Fcaf.  t6mo. 

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Wright  (Sophie).     GERMAN   VOCABU- 
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A  Commercial  GEoriRAPHV  os  the  British 

Empire.      By  L.  W.   Lyde,    M.A.      7'V/M 

Edition.     2S. 
A   Commercial    Geography    of    Foreign 

Nations.    By  F.  C.  Boon,  B.A.    2s. 


A   Primer   of    Business.    By  S.  Jackson, 

M.A.     Third  Edition,     is.  6d. 
Commercial  Arithmetic.     By  F.  G.  Taylor, 

M.A.     Eourth  Edition,     js.  6d. 
French  Commercial  Correspondence.    By 

S.   E.    Bally.      With   Vocabulary.      Third 

Edition.     2s. 
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S.    E.   Bally.     With  Vocabulary.     Second 

Edition.     2S.  6d. 
A  French  Commercial  Reader.    By  S.  E. 

Bally.  With  Vocabulary.  Second  Edition.  2s. 
Precis  Writing  and  C)ffice  Correspond- 

ence.     By  E.  E.  Whitfield,  M.A.     Second 

Edition.     2S. 
A  Guide  to   Professions  and   Business. 

By  H.  Jones,     is.  (>d. 
The  Principles  of  Book-keeping  BY  Double 

Entry.     By  J.  E.  B.  M'AIlen,  M.A.     2.?. 
Commercial  Law.  By  W.  Douglas  Edwards. 

Second  Edition.    2s. 


Connoisseur's  Library,  The 

Wide  Royal  Zvo.     2$s.  net, 

A  sumptuous  series  of  20  books  on  art,  written  by  experts  for  collectors,  superbly 
illustrated  in  photogravure,  collotype,  and  colour.  The  technical  side  of  the  art  is 
duly  treated.     The  first  volumes  are — 


Mezzotint.s.     By  Cyril  Davenport.     With  40 

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Porcelain.      By  Edward  Dillon.     With    19 

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General  Literature 


23 


Devotion,  The  Library  of 

With  Introductions  and  (where  necessary)  Notes. 

Small  Pott  Svo,  cloth,  2s. ;  leather,  2s.  6d.  net. 

These  masterpieces  of  devotional  literature  are  furnished  with  such  Introductions 
and  Notes  as  may  be  necessary  to  explain  the  standpoint  of  the  author  and  the 
obvious  difficulties  of  the  text,  without  unnecessary  intrusion  between  the  author  and 
the  devout  mind. 

On  the  Love  of  God.     By  St.  Francis  de 

Sales.     Edited  by  W.  J.  Knox-Little,  M.A. 
A    Manual    of    Consolatio>j    prom    the 

Saints  and   Fathers.    Edited  by  J.  H. 

Bum,  B.D. 
The  Song  of  Songs.   Edited  by  B.  Blaxland, 

M.A. 
The  Devotions  of  St.  Anselm.   Edited  by 

C.  C.  J.  Webb,  M.A. 
Grace  Abounding.  ByJohnBunyan.  Edited 

by  S.  C.  Freer,  M.A. 
Bishop  Wilson's  Sacra  Privata.      Edited 

by  A.  E.  Bum,  B.D. 
Lyra    Sacra  :    A    Book    of  Sacred    Verse. 

Edited  by  H.  C.  Beeching,  M.A.,  Canon  of 

Westminster. 

AD.WBOOK  FROM  the  S4INTS  AND  FATHERS. 

Edited  by  J.  H.  Burn,  B.D. 
Heavenly  Wisdom.     A  Selection  from  the 

English  Mystics.     EditedbyE.  C.  Gregory. 
Light,  Life,  and  Love.   A  Selection  from  the 

German  Mystics.     Edited  by  W.  R.  Inge, 

M.A. 
An   Introduction  to   The  De\'oot  Life. 

By  St.  Francis  de  Sales.     Translated  and 

Edited  by  T.  Barns,  M.A. 


The  Confessions  of  St.  Augustine,  Edited 

by  C.  Bigg,  D.D.     fi/lk  Edition. 
The  Christian   Year.      Edited  by  Walter 

Lock,  D.  D.     Third  Edition. 
The  Imitation   of  Christ.     Edited  by  C. 

Bigg,  D.  D.     Fourth  Edition. 
A  Book   of  Devotions.     Edited  by  J.  W. 

Stanbridge.  B.D.     Second  Edition. 
Lyra    Innocentium.        Edited    by    Walter 

Lock,  D.D. 
A  Serious  Call  to  a  Devout  and  Holy 

Life.     Edited  by  C.  Bigg,  D.D.    Second 

Edition. 
The  Temple.     Edited  by  E.  C.  S.  Gibson, 

D.D.     Second  Edition. 
A  Guide  to  Eternity.     Edited  by  J.  W. 

Stanbridge,  B.D. 
The  Psalms  of  David.    Edited  by  B.  W. 

Randolph,  D.D. 
Lyra  Apostolica.      By  Cardinal    Newman 

and  others.    Edited  by  Canon  Scott  Holland 

and  Canon  H.  C  Beeching,  M.A. 
The  Inner  Way.     By  J.  Tauler.     Edited  by 

A.  W.  Hutton,  M.jV. 
The  Thoughts  of  Pascal.      Edited  by  C. 

S.  Jerram,  M.A. 


Methnen's  Standard  Library 

In  Sixpenny  Volumes. 

The  Standard  Library  is  a  new  series  of  volumes  containing  the  great  classics  of  the 
world,  and  particularly  the  finest  works  of  English  literature.  All  the  great  masters  will  be 
represented,  either  in  complete  works  or  in  selections.  It  is  the  ambition  of  the  publishers  to 
place  the  best  books  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  within  the  reach  of  every  reader,  so  that  the 
series  may  represent  something  of  the  diversity  and  splendour  of  our  English  tongue.  The 
characteristics  of  TheStandard  Library  are  four  : — i.  Soundness  of  Text.  2.  Cheapness. 
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price  which  on  the  whole  is  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  publishing.  Each  volume  con- 
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The  following  books  are  ready  with  the  exception  of  those  marked  with  a  t,  which  denotes 
that  the  book  is  nearly  ready  : — 


The  Meditations  of  Marcus  Aurelics. 
The  translation  is  by  R.  Graves. 

The  Novels  of  Jane  Austen.    In  5  volumes. 
Vol.  I. — Sense  and  Sensibility. 

Essays  and  Counsels  and  The  New 
Atlantis.  By  Francis  Bacon,  Lord 
Vemlam. 


Religio    Medici    and    Urn    Burial.      By 

Sir  Thomas  Browne.     The  text  has  been 

collated  by  A.  R.  Waller. 
The  Pilgrim's  Progress.     By  John  Bunyan. 
Reflections  on  the  French  Revolution. 

By  Edmund  Burke. 
The  Analogy  of  Religion,  Natural  and 

Revealed.     By  Joseph  Butler,  D.D. 

[Continued- 


24 


Messrs.  Methuen's  Catalogue 


The  Standard  Library — continued. 
The  Poems  of  Thomas  Chatterton.    In  2 
volumes. 
Vol.  I. — Miscellaneous  Poems. 
tVol.  II. — The  Kowley  Poems. 
tViTA   Nuova.     By  Dante.     Translated  into 

English  by  D   G.  Rossetti. 
Tom  Jones.    By  Henry  Fielding.    Treble  Vol. 
Cranford.     By  Mrs.  Gaskell. 
The  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of 
THE  Roman  Empire.     By  Edward  Gibbon. 
In  7  double  volumes. 
Vol.  V.  is  nearly  ready. 

The  Text  and  Notes  have  been  revised  by 
J.  B.  Bury,  Litt.D.,  but  the  Appendices  of 
the  more  expensive  edition  are  not  given. 
fTHE   Vicar  of   Wakefield.       By    Oliver 

Goldsmith. 
The  Poems  andPlays  OF  Oliver  Goldsmith. 
The  Works  of  Ben  Jonson. 

tVoL.  I. — The  Case  is  Altered.  Every  Man 
in  His  Humour.  Every  Man  out  of  His 
Humour. 

The  text  has  been  collated  by  H.  C.  Hart. 
The  Poems  of  John  Keats.  Double  volume. 
The  Text  has  been  collated  by  E.  de 
Selincourt. 
On  THE  Imitation  of  Christ.  By  Thomas 
h  Kempis. 

The  translation  is  by  C.  Bigg,  DD.,  Canon 
of  Christ  Church. 
A  Serious  Call  to  a  Devout  and  Holy 

Life.     By  William  Law. 
The  Plays  of  Christopher  Marlowe. 
tVol.  I. — Tamburlane  the  Great.     The  Tra- 
gical History  of  Dr.  Faustus. 
The  Plays  of  Philip  Massinger. 
fVol.  I.— The  Duke  of  Milan. 


The  Poems  of  John  Milton.     In  z  volumes. 

Vol.  I. — Paradise  Lost. 
The  Prose  Works  of  John  Milton. 

Vol.  i. — Eikonoklastes  and  The  Tenure  of 
Kings  and  Magistrates. 
Select  Works  of  Sir  Thomas  More. 

Vol.  I. — Utopia  and  Poems. 

The    Republic    of    Plato.     Translated  by 

Sydenham  and  Taylor.     Double  Volume. 

The     translation    has    been     revised     by 

W.  H.  D.  Rouse. 

The    Little   Flowers    of    St.    Francis. 

Translated  by  W.  Heywood. 
The  Works  of  William  Shakespeare.     In 
10  volumes. 
Vol.  I.— The  Tempest;  The  Two  Gentlemen 
of  Verona  ;  The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor; 
Measure  for   Measure ;   The   Comedy  of 
Errors. 
Vol.  11. — Much  Ado  About  Nothing ;  Love's 
Labour 's   Lost ;    A   Midsummer   Night's 
Dream  ;  The  Merchant  of  Venice ;  As  You 
Like  It. 
Vol.  III. — The  Taming  of  the  Shrew  ;  All's 
Well  that  Ends  Well;  Twelfth  Night ;  The 
Winter's  Tale. 
Vol.  IV.— The  Life  and  Death  of  King  John ; 
The  Tragedy  of  King  Richard  the  .Second  ; 
The  First  Part  of  King  Henry  iv.  ;  The 
Second  Part  of  King  Henry  I  v. 
Vol.  v. — The  Life  of  King  Henry  v.  ;  The 
First  Part  of  King  Henry  vi.  ;  The  Second 
Part  of  King  Henry  vi. 
The  Life  of  Nelson.     By  Robert  Southey. 
The  Natural  Historyand  Antiquities  of 
Selborne.    By  Gilbert  White. 


Half-Cro-WTi  Library 

Crown  Svo.     2s.  6d.  net. 


The  Life  of    John    Ruskin.      By  W.   G. 

Collingwood.M.A.  With  Portraits.     Sixth 

Edition. 
English  Lyrics.    By  W.  E.  Henley.   Second 

Edition. 
The  Golden  Pomp.    A  Procession  of  English 

Lyrics.     Arranged  by  A.  T.  Quiller  Couch. 

Second  Edition. 

Chitral  :  The  Story  of  a  Minor  Siege.  By 
Sir  G.  S.  Robertson,  K.CS.I.  Third 
Edition.      Illustrated. 


Strange  Survivals  and  Superstitions.  By 
S.  Baring-Gould.     Third  Edition. 

Yorkshire  Oddities  and  Strange  Events. 
By  S.  Baring-Gould.     Fourth  Edition. 

English  Villages.  By  P.  H.  Ditrhfield. 
M.A.,  F.S.A.     Illustrated.  Second  Edition. 

A  Book  of  English  Prose.  By  W.  E. 
Henley  and  C.  Whibley. 

The  Land  of  _  the  Black  Mountain. 
Being  a  Description  of  Montenegro.  By 
R.  Wyon  and  G.  Prance.  With  40  Illustra- 
tions. 

Illustrated  Pocket  Library  of  Plain  and  Coloured  Books,  The 

Fcaf  Svo.     35.  6d.  net  each  volume. 
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general  literature.      These  are  faithfully  reprinted  from  the  first  or  best  editions 
without  introduction  or  notes.     The  Illustrations  are  chiefly  in  colour. 

COLOURED    BOOKS 

Old  Coloured  Books.     By  George  Paston.  I       By  Nimrod.     With  18  Coloured  Plates  by 
With  16  Coloured  Plates.  Fcaf>.  &vo.  zs.  net.  Henry  Aiken  and  T.  J.  Rawlins.  Fourth 


The  Life  and  Death  of  John  M  ytton,  Esq. 


Edition. 


[Continued. 


General  Literature 


25 


Iu.DSTRATED  PoCKET  LIBRARY  OF  PlaIN  AND 

Thb  Life  of  a  Sportsman.  By  Nimrod. 
With  35  Coloured  Plates  by  Henry  Aiken. 

Handley  Cross.  By  R.  S.  Surtees.  With 
17  Coloured  Plates  and  100  Woodcuts  in  the 
Text  by  John  Leech.     Second  Edition. 

Mr.  Sponge's  Sporting  Tour.  By  R.  S. 
Surtees.  With  13  Coloured  Plates  and  90 
Woodcuts  in  the  Te.\t  by  John  Leech. 

JoRROCKs'  Jaunts  and  Jollities.  By  R.  S. 
Surtees.  With  15  Coloured  Plates  by  H. 
Aiken.     Second  Edition. 

This  volume  is  reprinted  from  the  ex- 
tremely rare  and  costly  edition  of  1843,  which 
contains  Aiken's  very  fine  illustrations 
instead  of  the  usual  ones  by  Phiz, 

Ask  Mamma.  By  R.  S.  Surtees.  With  13 
Coloured  Plates  and  70  Woodcuts  in  the 
Text  by  John  Leech. 

The  .Analysis  of  the  Hunting  Field.  By 
R.  S.  Surtees.  With  7  Coloured  Plates  by 
Henry  Aiken,  and  43  illustrations  on  Wood. 

The  Tour  of  Dr.  Syntax  in  Search  of 
THE  Picturesque.  By  William  Combe. 
With  30  Coloured  Plates  byT.  Rowlandson. 

The  Tour  of  Doctor  Syntax  in  Search 
of  Consolation.  By  William  Combe. 
With  24  Coloured  Plates  by  T.  Rowlandson. 

The  Third  Tour  of  Doctor  Syntax  in 
Search  of  a  Wife.  By  William  Combe. 
With  24  Coloured  Plates  by  T.  Rowlandson. 

The  History  of  Johnny  Quae  Genus  :  the 
Little  Foundling  of  the  late  Dr.  Syntax. 
By  the  Author  01" '  The  Three  Tours."  With 
24  Coloured  Plates  by  Rowlandson. 

The  English  D.\nce  of  Death,  from  the 
Designs  of  T.  Rowlandson,  with  Metrical 
Illustrations    by    the  Author    of   'Doctor 
Syntax.'     Two  Volumes. 
This  book  contains  76  Coloured  Plates. 

The  Dance  of  Life  :  A  Poem.  By  the  Author 
of  '  Doctor  Syntax.'  Illustrated  with  26 
Coloured  Engravings  by  T.  Rowlandson. 

Life  in  Londo.v:  or,  the  Day  and  Night 
Scenes  of  Jerry  Hawthorn,  Esq.,  and  his 
Elegant  Friend,  Corinthian  Tom.  By 
Pierce  Egan.  With  36  Coloured  Plates  by 
I.  R.  and  G.  Cnikshank.  With  numerous 
Designs  on  Wood. 

Real  Life  in  London  :  or,  the  Rambles 
and  Adventures  of  Bob  Tallyho,  Esq.,  and 
his  Cousin,  The  Hon.  Tom  Dashall.    By  an 


Coloured  Books — continued. 

Amateur  (Pierce  Egan).  With  31  Coloured 
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The  Life  of  an  Actor-  By  Pierce  Egan. 
With  27  Coloured  Plates  by  "Theodore  Lane, 
and  several  Designs  on  Wood. 

The  Vic.\r  of  Wakefield.  By  Oliver  Gold- 
smith. With  24  Coloured  Plates  by  T.  Row- 
landson. 

The  Military  Adventures  of  Johnny 
Newcome.  By  an  OflScer.  With  15  Coloured 
Plates  by  T.  Rowlandson. 

The  National  Sports  of  Great  Britain. 
With  Descriptions  and  51  Coloured  Plates 
by  Henry  Aiken. 

This  book  is  completely  different  from  the 
large  folio  edition  of  '  National  Sports '  bj* 
the  same  artist,  and  none  of  the  plates  are 
similar. 

The  Adventures  of  a  Post  Captai.n.  By 
A  Naval  Officer.  With  24  Coloured  Plates 
by  Mr.  Williams. 

Gamonia  :  or,  the  Art  of  Preserving  Game  ; 
and  an  Improved  Method  of  making  Planta- 
tions and  Covers,  explained  and  illustrated 
by  Lawrence  Rawstome,  Esq.  With  15 
Coloured  Plates  by  T.  Rawlins. 

An  Academy  for  Grown  Horsemen  :  Con- 
taining the  completest  Instructions  _  for 
Walking,  Trotting,  Cantering,  Galloping, 
Stumbling,  and  Tumbling.  Illustrated  with 
27  Coloured  Plates,  and  adorned  with  a 
Portrait  of  the  Author.  By  G«o£frey 
Gambado,  Esq. 

Real  Life  in  Ireland,  or,  the  Day  and 
Night  Scenes  of  Brian  Boru,  Esq.,  and  his 
Elegant  Friend,  Sir  Shawn  O'Dogherty. 
By  a  Real  Paddy.  With  19  Coloured  Plates 
by  Heath,  Marks,  etc. 

The  Adventures  of  Johnny  Newcome  in 
the  Navy.  By  .A.Ifred  Burton.  With  16 
Coloured  Plates  by  T.  Rowlandson. 

The  Old  English  Squire  :  A  Poem.  By 
John  Careless,  Esq.  With  20  Coloured 
Plates  after  the  style  of  T.  Rowlandson. 

•The  English  Spy.  By  Bernard  Black- 
mantle.  With  72  Coloured  Plates  by  R. 
Cruikshank,  and  many  Illustrations  on 
wood.     TiJL'O  Volumes. 


PLAIN    BOOKS 


The  Grave  :  A  Poem.  By  Robert  Bkiir. 
Illustrated  by  12  Etchings  executed  by  Louis 
Schiavonetti  from  the  original  Inventions  of 
William  Blake.  With  an  Engraved  Title  Page 
and  a  Portrait  of  Blake  by  T.  Phillips,  R.  A. 
The  illustrations  are  reproduced  in  photo- 
gravure. 


Illustrations  op  the  Book  of  Job.     In- 
vented and  engraved  by  William  Blake. 

These  famous  Illustrations — 21  in  number 
—are  reproduced  in  photogravure- 

jEsop's    Fables.      With    380   Woodcuts   by 
Thomas  Bewick. 

\Continutd. 


26 


Messrs.  Methuen's  Catalogue 


Illustrated  Pocket  Library  of  Plain  and 
Windsor  Castle.  ByW.  Harrison  Ainsworth. 

With  22  Plates  and  87  Woodcuts  in  the  Text 

by  George  Cruikshank. 
The  Tower  of  London.      By  W.  Harrison 

Ainsworth.  With  40  Plates  and  58  Woodcuts 

in  the  Text  by  George  Cruikshank. 
Frank  Fairlegh.    By  F.  E.  Smedley.  With 

30  Plates  by  George  Cruikshank. 
Handy  Andy.     By  Samuel  Lover.    With  24 

Illustrations  by  the  Author. 


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The  Compleat  Angler.  By  Izaak  Walton 
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This  volume  is  reproduced  from  the  beauti- 
ful edition  of  John  Major  of  1824. 

The  Pickwick  Papers.  By  Charles  Dickens. 
With  the  43  Illustrations  by  Seymour  and 
Phiz,  the  two  Buss  Plates,  and  the  32  Con- 
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A  Class-Book  of  Dictation  Passages.  By 
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The  Gospel  According  to  St.  Matthew. 
Edited  by  E.  Wilton  South,  M.A.  With 
Three  Maps.     Cr.  S7)o.     is.  6d. 

TheGospel  AccordingtoSt.  Mark.  Edited 
by  A.  E.  Ruble,  D.D.  With  Three  Maps. 
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A  Junior  English  Grammar.  By  W.William- 
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duction  by  L.   Binyon,  and  Notes  by  J. 

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36 


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Fiction 


37 


Methnen's  Shilling  Novels 

Cr.  %vo.      Cloth,  IS.  tut. 

ExcOHRAGED  by  the  great  and  steady  sale  of  their  Sixpenny  Novels,  Messrs.  Methuen  hare 
determined  to  issue  a  new  series  of  fiction  at  a  low  price  under  the  title  of  'The  Shilling 
Novels."  These  books  are  well  printed  and  well  bound  in  cloth,  and  the  excellence  of  their 
quality  may  be  gauged  from  the  names  of  those  authors  who  contribute  the  early  volumes  of 
the  series. 

Messrs.  Methuen  would  point  out  that  the  books  arc  as  good  and  as  long  as  a  six  shilling 
novel,  that  they  are  bound  in  cloth  and  not  in  paper,  and  that  their  price  is  One  Shilling  net. 
They  feel  sure  that  the  public  will  appreciate  such  good  and  cheap  literature,  and  the  books  can 
be  seen  at  ail  good  booksellers. 
The  first  volumes  are — 


Balfour    (Andrew).      VENGEANCE    IS 

MINE. 
TO  .\RMS. 
Baring-Qould(S.).    MRS.  CURGENVEN 

OF  CURGENVEN. 
DOMITI.^. 
THE  FROBISHERS. 
Barlow    (Jane),     Author  of  '  Irish   Idylls. 

FROM     THE     E.A.ST     UNTO     THE 

WEST 
A  CREEL  OF  IRISH  STORIES. 
THE  FOUNDING  OF  FORTUNES. 
Barr  (Robert).    THE  VICTORS. 
Bartram  (George).    THIRTEEN  EVEN- 
INGS. 
Benson  (E.  F.),  Author  of 'Dodo.'    THE 

CAPSINA. 
Bowles  (0.  Stewart).    A  STRETCH  OFF 

THE  L.\ND. 
Brooke  (Emma).    THE  POET'S  CHILD. 
Bullock  (Shan  F.).     THE  BARRVS. 
THE  CHARMER. 
THE  SQUIREEN. 
THE  RED  LE.\GUERS. 
Barton  (J.  BloundeUe).     ACROSS  THE 

SALT  SEAS. 
THE  CL.\SH  OF  ARMS. 
DENOUNCED. 
FORTUNE'S  MY  FOE. 
Capes    (Bernard).      AT    A    WINTER'S 

FIRE. 
Cbesney  (Weatherby).     THE  BAPTIST 

RING. 
THE  BR.\NDED  PRINCE. 
THE  FOUNDERED  GALLEON. 
JOHN  TOPP. 
Clifford  (Mrs.   W.    K.).      A    FLASH    OF 

SUMMER. 
CoUingwood   (Harry).      THE   DOCTOR 

OF  THE  'JULIET.' 
Comford  (L.  Cope).    SONS  OF  ADVER- 

SITV. 
Crane   (Stephen).     WOUNDS  IN  THE 

RAIN. 
Denny  (C.    E.).      THE    ROMANCE   OF 

UPFOLD  MANOR. 
Dickson  (Harris).    THE  BLACK  WOLFS 

BREED. 
Dickinson     (Evelyn).       THE    SIN    OF 

ANGELS. 


Duncan  (Sara  J.).    "THE  POOL  IN  THE 

JDESERX 
A  VOYAGE  OF  CONSOLATION. 
Embree  (C.  F.).    -\  HEART  OF  FLAME. 
Fenn   (G.    ManviUe).     AN    ELECXRIC 

SPARK 
Findlater  (Jane  H.).    A  DAUGHTER  OF 

STRIFE. 
Findlater  (.Mary).     OVER  THE  HILLS. 
Forrest    (R.     E.).      THE    SWORD    OF 

A2RAEL. 
Francis  (M.  E.).     MISS  ERIN. 
Gallon  (Tom).     RICKERBYS  FOLLY. 
Gerard     (Dorothea).       THINGS    THAT 

HAVE  HAPPENED. 
Gilchrist(R.  Murray).  WILLOWBRAKE. 
GlanviUe   (Ernest).      THE  DESPATCH 

RIDER. 
THE  LOST  REGIMENT. 
THE  KLOOF  BRIDE. 
THE  INC.VS  TREASURE. 
Gordon  ( J uUen).     MRS.  CLYDE. 
WORLD  S  PEOPLE. 
Ooss  (C.  F.).     THE  REDEMPTION  OF 

DAVID  CORSON. 
Gray  (E.   M 'Queen).       MY  STEWARD- 
SHIP. 
Hales  (A.  Q.).    JAIR  THE  APOSTATE. 
Hamilton  (Lord  Ernest).  M.A.RY  HAMIL- 

ION. 
Harrison  (Mrs.  Burton).     .A.  PRINCESS 

OF  THE  HILLS.     Illustrated. 
Hooper  (I.).    THE  SINGER  OF  MARLY. 
Hough  (Emerson).     THE  MISSISSIPPI 

BUBBLE. 
'Iota'  (Mrs.  Caffyn).     ANNE  MAULE- 

VERER. 
Jepson  (Edgar).       KEEPERS  OF  THE 

PEOPLE. 
Kelly  (Florence  Finch).    WITH  HOOPS 

OF  STEEL. 
Lawless  (Hon.  Emily).     M.\ELCHO. 
Linden  (Annie;.   .\  WOMAN  OF  SENTI- 

.MENT. 
Lorimer  (Norma).    JOSI.-VHS  WIFE. 
Lush  (Charles  K.).     THE  AUTCXIRATS. 
Macdonell    (Anne).      THE    STORY   OF 

TERES.A. 
Macgrath    (Harold).       THE     PUPPET 

CROWN. 


38 


Messrs.  Methuen's  Catalogue 


Mackie  (Pauline  Bradford).  THE  VOICE 

IN  THE  DESERT. 
Marsh    (Richard).      THE    SEEN    AND 

THE  UNSEEN. 

GARNERED. 

A  METAMORPHOSIS. 

MARVELS  AND  MYSTERIES. 

BOTH  SIDES  OF  THE  VEIL. 

Mayall  (J.  W.).  THE  CYNIC  AND  THE 
SYREN. 

Monkhouse  (Allan).     LOVE  IN  A  LIFE. 

Moore  (Arthur).  THE  KNIGHT  PUNC- 
TILIOUS. 

Nesbit  (Mrs.  Bland).  THE  LITERARY 
SENSE. 

Norrls  (W.  E.).    AN  OCTAVE. 

Oliphant  (Mrs.).    THE  LADY'S  WALK. 

SIR  ROBERT'S  FORTUNE. 

THE  TWO  MARY'S. 

Penny  (Mrs.  Prank).  A  MIXED  MAR. 
AGE. 

Phillpotts  (Eden).  THE  STRIKING 
HOURS. 

FANCY  FREE. 

Pryce  (Richard).  TIME  AND  THE 
WOMAN. 

Randall  (J.).  AUNT  BETHIA'S  BUTTON. 

Raymond  (Walter).  FORTUNE'S  DAR- 
LING. 

Rayner  (Olive  Pratt).     ROSALBA. 

Rhys  (Grace).  THE  DIVERTED  VILL- 
AGE. 


Rlckert  (Edith).  OUT  OF  THE  CYPRESS 

SWAMP. 
Roberton(M.  H.).  A  GALLANT  QUAKER. 
Saunders  (Marshall).      ROSE  A  CHAR- 

I  ITTK 

Sergeant'  (Adeline).      ACCUSED    AND 

ACCUSER, 
BARBARA'S  MONEY. 
THE  ENTHUSIAST. 
A  GREAT  LADY. 
THE  LOVE  THAT  OVERCAME. 
THE  MASTER  OF  BEECHWOOD. 
UNDER  SUSPICION. 
THE  YELLOW  DIAMOND. 
Shannon  (W.  P.).    JIM  TWELVES. 
Strain  (E.  H.).  ELMSLIE'S  DRAG  NET. 
Stringer  (Arthur).  THE  SILVER  POPPY. 
Stuart  (Esmfe).     CHRISTALLA. 
Sutherland  (Duchess  of).     ONE  HOUR 

AND  THE  NEXT. 
Swan  (Annie).     LOVE  GROWN  COLD. 
Swift  (Benjamin).     SORDON. 
Tanqueray  (Mrs.  B.  M.).     THE  ROYAL 

QUAKER. 
Traf  ford -Taunton  (Mrs.  E.W.).  SILENT 

DOMINION. 
Upward  (Allen).    ATHELSTANE  FORD. 
Walneman  (Paul).    A  HEROINE  FROM 

FINLAND. 
Watson  (H.  B.  Marriott).    THE  SKIRTS 

OF  HAPPY  CHANCE. 
'Zack.'  TALES  OF  DUNSTABLE  WEIR. 


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Only  a  Guard-Room  Dog,  By  Edith  E. 
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The  Doctor  op  the  Juliet.  By  Harry 
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Little  Peter.  By  Lucas  Malet.  Second 
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Master  Rockafellar's  Voyage.  By  W. 
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The  Secret  op  Madame  db  Monluc.    By 

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Syd  Belto.v  :  Or,  the  Boy  who  would  not  go 

to  Sea.     By  G.  Manville  Fenn. 
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Mann, 


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The  Castle  of  Eppstein, 

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Cbcilb  ;  or,  The  Wbdimng  Gown, 

AcT^. 


Fiction 


39 


The  Black  Tulip. 

The  Vicomte  de  Bragelonke. 

Part  1.   Louise  de  la  Valliire.     Double 

Volume. 
Part  II.    The   Man   in    the    Iron    Mask. 
Double  Volume. 
Thb  Convict's  Son. 
Thb  Wolf-Leader. 
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volume, 
Pauline;  Murat;  and  Pascal  Bruno. 
The  Adventures  or  Captain  Pamphile. 
Fernandb. 
Gabriel  Lambert. 
Catherine  Blum. 
The    Chevaliek    D'Harmental.       Double 

volume. 
Sylvandire. 
Thk  Fencing  Master. 
Thb  Reminiscsnces  op  Antony. 
Conscience. 
Pere  La  Ruink. 
Henri  op  N.avarre.      The  second   part   of 

Queen  Margot. 
The  Great   Massacre.    The  first  part  of 

Queen  Margot. 
The  Wild  Duck  Shooter. 

ninstntad  Edition. 
Dtmy  Sz'O.     Clotk. 
The    Thueb    Musketeers.      Illustrated   in 
Colour  by  Frank  Adams,    is.  dd. 


Thb   Princb   op   Thie\'es.      Illustrated  in 

Colour  by  Frank  Adams,     it. 
Robin    Hood  the   Outlaw.     Illustrated  in 

Colour  by  Frank  Adams,     af. 
The    Corsican    Brothers.       Illustrated   in 

Colour  by  h.  M.  M'Lellan.     ii.  td. 
The  Wolf-Le.ader.       Illustrated  in  Colour 

by  Frank  Adams,     ts.  f>d. 
Georges-   Illustrated  in  Colour  by  Munro  Orr. 

ii. 
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by  Frank  .\dams.     jr. 
Amaurv.      Illustrated  in  Colour  by  Gordon 

Browne,     ar. 
The  Snowball,   and   Sultanetta.      Illus- 
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Colour  by  Frank  Adams. 

Part  I.  Louise  de  la  Valliire.     jr. 
Part  II.  The  Man  in  the  Iron  Mask.     jr. 
Crop-F;ared   Jacouot  ;  Jane  ;  Etc.     Illus. 

trated  in  Colour  by  Gordon  Browne,    a*. 
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Browne,     is.  td. 
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trated   in    Colour    by  D.    Murray   Smith. 

If.  6d. 
The  Adventures  op  Captain  Pamphilb 

Illustrated    in    Colour  by  Frank    Adams. 

is.td. 


Methnen's  Sixpenny  Books 


Austen  (Jane).  PRIDE  AXD  PRE- 
JUDICE. 

Bagot  (Richard).   A  ROMAN  MYSTERY. 

Balfour  (Andrew).  BY  STROKE  OF 
SWORD. 

Barine-Goold  (S.).     FURZE  BLOOM. 

CHE.\P  J.ACK  ZITA. 

KITTY  ALONE. 

URITH. 

the  broom  squire. 

in  the  roar  of  the  se.-v. 

no6mi. 

A  BOOK  OF  FAIRY  TALES.    lUnstrated. 

LITTLE  TU'PENNY. 

THE  FROBISHERS. 

Barr     (Robert).       JENNIE      BAXTER, 

JOURNALIST. 
IN  THE  MIDST  OF  ALARMS. 
THE  COUNTESS  TEKLA. 
THE  MUTABLE  MANY. 
Benson  (E.  P.).    DODO. 
Bronte  (Charlotte).     S  H I  RLE  Y. 
Brownell    (C.     L.).     THE    HEART   OF 

J.AP.AN. 


Barton  (J,  Bloundelle).     ACROSS  THE 

SALT  SEAS. 
Caffyn  (Mrs).,  ('Iota').    ANNE  MAULE- 

VERER. 
•Capes  (Bernard).    THE    LAKE    OF 

WINE. 
Clifford  (Mrs.   W.    K.).    A    FLASH    OF 

SUMMER. 
MRS.  KEITH'S  CRIME. 
Connell  (F.   Norreys).     THE   NIGGER 

KNIGHTS. 
Corbett    (JuUan).         A    BUSINESS    IN 

GREAT  WATERS. 
Croker  (.Mrs.  B.  M.).     PEGGY  OF  THE 

HARTONS. 
A  STATE  SECRET. 
-ANGEL. 
JOHANNA. 
Dante   (Allghleri).       THE    VISION    OF 

DANTE  (GARY). 
Doyle  (A.  Conan).    ROUND  THE  RED 

LAMP. 
Duncan  (Sara  Jeannette).      A  VOY-AGK 

OF  CONSOLATION. 
THOSE  DELIGHTFUL  AMERIGANS. 


40 


Messrs.  Methuen's  Catalogue 


EHot  (George).     THE  MILL  ON  THE 

FLOSS 

Flndlater"  (Jane  H.).  THE  GREEN 
GRAVES  OF  BALGOWRIE. 

Gallon  (Tom).     RICKERBY'S  FOLLY. 

Ga8kell(Mrs.).    CRANFORD. 

MARY  BARTON. 

NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 

Gerard  (Dorothea).  HOLY  MATRI- 
MONY. 

THE  CONQUEST  OF  LONDON. 

MADE  OF  MONEY. 

Gissing  (George).  THE  TOWN  TRAVEL- 
LER. 

THE  CROWN  OF  LIFE. 

Glanville  (Ernest).  THE  INCA'S 
TREASURE. 

THE  KLOOF  BRIDE. 

Glelg  (Charles).     BUNTER'S  CRUISE. 

Grimm  (The  Brothers).  GRIMM'S 
FAIRY  TALES.     Illustrated. 

Hope  (Anthony).    A  MAN  OF  MARK. 

A  CHANGE  OF  AIR. 

THE  CHRONICLES  OF  COUNT 
ANTONIO. 

PHROSO. 

■IHE  DOLLY  DIALOGUES. 

Hornung  (E.  W.).  DEAD  MEN  TELL 
NO  TALES. 

Ingraham  (J.  H.).  THE  THRONE  OF 
DAVID. 

LeQueux(W.).  THE  HUNCHBACK  OF 
WESTMINSTER. 

Levett- Yeats  (S.  K.).  THE  TRAITOR'S 
WAY. 

Linton  (E.  Lynn).  THE  TRUE  HIS- 
TORY OF  JOSHUA  DAVIDSON. 

Lyall(Edna).     DERRICK  VAUGHAN. 

Malet  (Lucas).     THE  CARISSIMA. 

A  COUNSEL  OF  PERFECTION. 

Mann  (Mrs.  M.  E.).  MRS.  PETER 
HOWARD. 

A  LOST  ESTATE. 

THE  CEDAR  STAR. 

Marchmont  (A,  W.).  MISER  HOAD- 
LEY'S  SECRET. 

A  MOMENT'S  ERROR. 

Marryat  (Captain).    PETER  SIMPLE. 

JACOB  FAITHFUL. 

Marsh  (Richard).  THE  TWICKENHAM 
PEERAGE. 

THE  GODDESS. 

THE  JOSS. 

Mason  (A.  E.  W.).     CLEMENTINA. 

Mathers  (Helen).     HONEY. 

GRIFF  OF  GRIFFITHSCOURT. 


SAM'S  SWEETHEART. 

Meade  (Mrs.  L.  T.).     DRIFT. 

Mitford  (Bertram).    THE  SIGN  OF  THE 

SPIDER. 
Montresor  (F.  P.).     THE  ALIEN. 
Moore  (Arthur).  THE  GAY  DECEIVERS. 
Morrison    (Arthur).      THE    HOLE    IN 

THE  WALL. 
Ne8bit(E.).     THE  RED  HOUSE. 
Norris(W.  E.).     HIS  GRACE. 
GILES  INGILBY. 
THE  CREDIT  OF  THE  COUNTY. 
LORD  LEONARD. 
MATTHEW  AUSTIN. 
CLARISSA  FURIOSA. 
Oliphant  (Mrs.).    THE  LADY'S  WALK. 
SIR  ROBERTS  FORTUNE. 
THE  PRODIGALS. 
Oppenheim  (E.  Phillips).     MASTER  OF 

MEN. 
Parker  (Gilbert).     THE  POMP  OF  THE 

LAVILETTES. 
WHEN  VALMOND  CAME  TO  PONTIAC. 
THE  TRAIL  OF  THE  SWORD. 
Pemberton  (Max).     THE    FOOTSTEPS 

OF  A  THRONE. 
I  CROWN  THEE  KING. 
Phillpotts  (Eden).     THE  HUMAN  BOY. 
CHILDREN  OF  THE  MIST. 
Ridge  ( W.  Pett).  A  SON  OF  THE  STATE. 
LOST  PROPERTY. 
GEORGE  AND  THE  GENERAL. 
Russell  (W.  Clark).     A  MARRIAGE  AT 

SEA. 
ABANDONED. 

MY  DANISH  SWEETHEART. 
Sergeant  (Adeline).     THE  MASTER  OF 

BEECHWOOD. 
BARBARA'S  MONEY. 
THE  YELLOW  DIAMOND. 
Surtees    (R.    S.).      HANDLEY    CROSS. 

Illustrated. 
MR.     SPONGE'S     SPORTING     TOUR. 

Illustrated. 
ASK  MAMMA.     Illustr.-ited. 
Valentine  (Major  E.  S.).    VELDT  AND 

LAAGER. 
Walford  (ftlrs.  L.  B,).     MR.  SMITH. 
THE  BABY'S  GRANDMOTHER. 
Wallace  (General  Lew).     BEN-HUR. 
THE  FAIR  GOD. 

Watson  (H.  B.  Marriot).     THE  ADVEN- 
TURERS. 
Weekes  (A.  B.).     PRISONERS  OF  WAR. 
Wells  (H.G.).  THE  STOLEN  BACILLUS. 
White    (Percy).      A     PASSIONATE 

PILGRIM. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO, 
LIBRARY 


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