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

THE SUCCESSORS OF GENGHIS KHAN
built many houses and rooms with their various appurtenances, and
there are many slaves and servants in attendance on them.
The details of the arrangement and organization of those Divans
are extremely fine and subtle. It is their custom to put some criminals
and offenders to death and to separate others from their homes, goods,
and property and send them to dig clay, pull wagons, and carry stones,
so that the people seeing emirs and important persons in such a position
may take warning therefrom. Their yasaq and organization is of many
kinds, and there are all sorts of stories about those countries, but since
the history of those regions will be given separately in the appendix
to this book,170 we have limited ourselves here to what is stated above.
«i THE BORDERLANDS OF THE Q,A AN S EMPIRE: AN
account of the princes and emirs who are stationed with armies on the
frontiers to defend the realm
The Qa'an has no enemies in the Southeast, for all the countries
lying in that direction are included in his Empire as far as the Ocean-
Sea, except that near the coast of Jiirche and Goli in the middle of the
Ocean-Sea there is a large island called Jimingu,171 which is nearly
400 parasangs in circumference. There are many towns and villages
there; it has its own ruler and is still now, as before, in rebellion. The
people are short in stature with short necks and large bellies. There are
many mines there.
From the East to the shores of the Ocean and the borders of the
Qirqiiz country he has no enemies.
In the southwest of Manzi, between the provinces of *Kongi172
and Zaitun,173 there is a very large forest. A son of the ruler of Manzi
has fled thither and although he has no strength or power he passes
his time in brigandage and knavery.
170 That is, in the History of China.
171 That is, Japan, Jimingu, like Polo's Cipingu, representing the Chinese Jih-pen
kuo. See Polo I, pp. 608-609. Curiously enough, Rashid al-Din makes no mention of
Qubilai's attempt at an invasion of Japan, on which see Franke, IV, pp. 432 ff.,
and Steppes, pp. 356-57.
172 See above, p. 283, note 161.
173 See above, p. 282, note 158.
284