The Successors of Genghis Khan - Robert Bedrosian's Armenian ...

THE SUCCESSORS OF GENGHIS KHAN
ordered him to be supplied with relay horses and other facilities for
transport. The old man said: "Many friendly and unfriendly territories
lie across my path. How shall I get these bdlish to my own country?"
Qa'an gave him ten Mongols as an escort to bring him and the
money safely through to friendly territory. The man died upon the
way and they informed Qa'an. He ordered them to take the bdlish
to Baghdad, deliver them at his house and say that the Emperor had
sent alms so that husbands might be found for those daughters.
[xliv] The daughter of one of his courtiers was being married. He
had given her for her dowry a casket of pearls that had to be carried
by eight persons. When it was brought before him he was carousing
and making merry. He ordered the lid to be taken off. All the pearls
were unique, varying in weight between a mithqal393 and two-sixths of
a mithqal. He distributed them all amongst those present. It was
represented to him that this was the casket which they had brought,
at his command, for the dowry of such-and-such a maiden. "Give her"
he said, " the casket that is the fellow of this one."
[xlv] The atabeg of Shiraz394 sent his brother Tahamtan to Qa'an
with gifts and presents, amongst which were two carboys of extremely
fine pearls. When they were shown to Qa'an and he learnt that the
pearls were of value in the eyes of him that sent them, he ordered his
attendants to bring in a long casket filled with royal pearls. The envoy
and all present were dumbstruck at the sight. Qa'an ordered these
pearls to be tossed into the wine cup during the feast so that they were
all shared out amongst those present.
[xlvi] There was a Mongol called Minquli who had a flock of sheep.
One night a wolf fell upon that flock and destroyed the greater part of
it. The next day the Mongol came to Court and told about his flock.
Qa'an asked where the wolf had gone. It so happened that at this
juncture some Muslim wrestlers arrived bringing a live wolf with its
jaws bound which they had caught in those parts. Qa'an bought the
wolf from them for 1,000 balish, and said to the Mongol: "No good
will come to thee from killing this animal." He ordered him to be
given a thousand sheep and said: "We will release this wolf so that it
393 Equivalent in Persia, until the late Middle Ages, to 4.3 grams. See Hinz, pp.
5-7-
*» Abu Bakr (1226-1260).
92