The Bondage and Travels of Johann Schiltberger, a Native of Bavaria, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1396-1427

(1.) “Sant Masicia.”—This is the ancient Amastris, now called Amasserah. The architecture of its walls of defence bears witness to Genoese occupation, the earliest date of which...

(1.) “Thaures.”—Tabreez, founded by Zobeide the wife of Haroun-al-Rashid, was long distinguished for the extent of its commercial relations, in which the Genoese and Venetians t...

(1.) “I went twice to Jherusalem with a koldigen.”—Schiltberger’s commentators have not been able to identify the word “koldigen”, to which Koehler (_Germania_, vii, 371–380) pu...

(1.) “and on the spike he must rot.”—Among those who had reigned or assumed the supreme power in Egypt, appear the names of “Marochloch” and “Jusuphda”, intended for Barkok and...

(1.) “Edil, which is a great river.”—The large river here called “Edil”, the Turkish for river, could have been no other than the Oxus or Amu-Darya. Orden cannot in any manner b...

(1.) “Pera, which the Greeks call Kalathan, and the Infidels call it the same.”—The Genoese were already established at Constantinople when Manuel I. ascended the throne (1143)....

(1.) “Then came many people from all countries to help him.”—The army of King Sigismund, made up of contingents from various states, consisted of about 100,000 men at the siege...

(1.) “and the people he took away, and some he left in Greece.”—Baron Hammer points out, that Styrian historians have not noticed this fact, with which, in all probability, is c...

(1.) “Lasia.”—The territory of the Lazi was part of Colchis, and lay between the Phasis and Armenia. The mountainous country belonged at that time to the empire of Trebizond.—BR...

like Astrahan, was bathed by the waters of the Volga, though the Turk name of that river is actually Etel, or Edil, a designation that may have been applied to some other river,...

(1.) “Gregory taught the Christian faith ... as is above stated.”—The Armenians believe, and are prepared to prove, that none of the dogmas of their faith, as they were received...

(1.) “but he was killed in a battle.”—Tchadibek Khan was raised to the throne by Ydegou or Edekou in 1399, upon the death of his brother, Timour Koutlouh. The coins struck durin...

(1.) “the city of Lambe, in a forest called Lambor.”—Pepper was cultivated in Malabar, the country indicated by these two names, long before Schiltberger’s time. Kazvini, who di...

(1.) “Kallacercka.”—The author does not here allude either to Galata, as Jirecek (_Gesch. d. Bulgaren_, 324) supposes, or to Callatis, as believed by Fallmerayer, but rather to...

(1.) “Marburtirudt.”—These measurements agree so exactly with the dimensions to be found in Herodotus, who gives the height of the walls of Babylon at 200 cubits and their thick...

(1.) “the village of Mambertal.”—“Mambertal” for Mamre, by which name Hebron also was known (Gen. xii, 18; xxxv, 27), and was probably so called after Mamre the Amorite, the fri...

(1.) “had I not seen it, I would not have spoken or written about it.”—I do not think I can be far out in attributing this gigantic bone to Alexander of Macedon, not only becaus...

(1.) “The cities I have named are chief cities in Syria.”—These cities in Syria fell into Timour’s hands in the year 1400, but the order of their conquest, as given in the text,...

(1.) “the Winden tongue, which they call Arnaw.”—Schiltberger was not wrong in saying that the Venede tongue was known to the Turks as the Arnaut; at least it appears in Pianzol...

(1.) “Great Tartaria.”—The details entered into by Schiltberger in this chapter, demonstrate that he includes in Great Tatary the possessions of the three branches of the Jujy....

(1.) “Scarcely had Tämerlin returned to his own country.”—After the fall of Sebaste, Timour proceeded to Syria, where he took several cities, Damascus being of the number; and h...

(1.) “Malathea.”—Malatia, the ancient Melitene, on the Euphrates, was the station of the xiith Legion. Marcus Aurelius surnamed it “Fulminatrix”, in consequence of a miracle tha...

(1.) “those from Venice likewise.”—In his admirable treatise on the establishment of Italian commercial depôts in Egypt, Heyd (_d. Ital. Handelscolon._, etc., in the _Zeitschrif...

(1.) “when Saint Silvester was Pope at Rome.”—The Armenian Church teaches that St. Thaddeus, one of the seventy-two disciples of our Lord, and St. Bartholomew, one of the twelve...

(1.) “Lesser India.”—Under this name Schiltberger includes the northern portion of the peninsula on this side of the Ganges, giving to the southern part the designation of Great...

(1.) “Of these four rivers I have seen three.”—Well versed as Schiltberger was in the Holy Scriptures, he could not but have been aware that the Euphrates and Tigris were includ...

his journey into Egypt took place in 622, the year of the prophet’s flight from Mecca to Medina. Schiltberger evidently confuses that memorable event with a journey undertaken b...

(1.) “that it might be said that thirty Greeks were given for an onion.”—This battle between the Armenians and Greeks has reference in all probability to the triumph of Thoros I...

(1.) “Wurchanadin.”—It has already been noticed that Bourhan uddin was prince of Sebaste or Sivas. The Turkish lord named Otman in this chapter, was Kara Yelek, chief of the Tur...

(1.) “because in the same place there is a breakwater.”—“Wann es an der selben stat ein getüll hat.” The identical word “getüll” appears in the editions of 1475 (?) and 1549, bu...

(1.) “Hannsen of Bodem.”—The Marshal Boucicault (Petitot _Collect._, 465, 471) confirms Schiltberger’s statement, to the effect that Bajazet consented to spare the lives of a ce...

(1.) “Samabram.”—Ibn Haukal describes Shabran as being, in his time, a small place, but “pleasant, and well supplied with provisions”. This town appears as Sabran, in Castaldo’s...

(1.) “Lemprie; in it is a mountain that is so high, it reaches to the clouds.”—French and Italian names commencing with a vowel, commonly became transformed by the addition of t...

(1.) “The Infidels call the mountain Muntagi.”—Hushan dagh, the correct name given by the Arabs, is here handed down to us as “Muntagi”, which differs so widely from the native...

(1.) “Italians of Genoa.”—It is not known when the Genoese founded a colony at Samsoun, which they called Simisso. Heyd (_d. Ital. Handelscolon_, etc., in the _Zeitschrift f. d....

(1.) “kocken.”—The koggen was a vessel with rounded bow and stern, perhaps similar to the γαῦλος alluded to by Epicharmus and Herodotus. The kind of vessel actually in question...

(1.) “Then he left her.”—Virgin’s towers are by no means uncommon in the East. Rich (_Residence in Kourdistan_, i, 172) mentions a Kiz-Kalesi—girl’s castle—as being on a hill ab...

(1.) “Thus Joseph expelled his rival, and became a powerful king.”—Upon the death of the Sultan Barkok, his son Al-Melyk Al-Nazr Abou-Saadat Faradj, aged thirteen, ascended the...

(1.) “Karawag.”—This must have been the plain of Karabagh, between the rivers Kour and Araxes, where Shah Rokh spent the winter of 1420, being accompanied by his vassals; Khalyl...

(1.) “Saint Silvester.”—Agathange, secretary to Tiridates, and Zenobius, a disciple of Gregory, speak of a journey to Rome that was undertaken by those two personages circa 318–...

(1.) “Scharabach.”—According to Bishop Aïvazoffsky, this plain of “Scharabach” is to be identified with the plain of Karabagh, near the town of Bajazid, in Asiatic Turkey. Neuma...

(1.) “Soltania.”—Or Soultanyà—Royal city—so named by Oljaïtou, son of Arghoun Khan, the founder (1305), once the metropolis and largest city in the kingdom. Chardin (_Langlès ed...

(1.) “Of the Infidel’s Easter-day.”—This is the first of the two Baïrams, the only religious festivals of the Mahomedans. The first, called Id Fitr—feast of the termination of t...

(1.) “took the city by force, although there were in it five thousand horsemen sent by Weyasit.”—The walls of Sebaste, originally constructed by Aladin Kekobady, a Seljouk king,...

(1.) “Karanda.”—This city, on the site of ancient Laranda, is now known as Karaman, so named after the son of a certain Sophy, upon whom it was bestowed (1219-46) by Ala uddin,...

(1.) “and the king kept his treasure there.”—This, in all probability, is the fortress of Alinjy or Alindsha, some miles to the south of Nahitchevan. In 1394, Ahmed ben Oweis se...

Leavened bread for the celebration of the Eucharist, is now ordinarily made and sold by bakers. It is called προσφορὰ, “prossura” in the text, and is administered to the people...

(1.) “city of Samson.”—This is the ancient Amisos, still called Samsoun by the Turks. Fallmerayer (_Gesch. d. K. v. T._, 56, 289) observes, that the Byzantines frequently added...

(1.) “Machmet is his true messenger.”—This invocation in Arabic, in general use among Mussulmans, reads thus: La Illaha illa Allah!—No Gods, but God!—Illaha being the plural of...

(1.) “after which, he can take another wife, and she another husband.”—The obscene and demoralising customs attributed to the Jassen or Yasses are fully and minutely described b...

(1.) “Achtum.”—The author says nothing of the neighbourhood of Nahitchevan, for which Neumann gives him credit, nor of that of Erzeroum, which Bishop Aïvazoffsky believes to be...

(1.) “and they were all trampled upon.”—This atrocious conduct on the part of Timour, is not the creation of Schiltberger’s brain, but it cannot have reference to the capture of...

(1.) “Others believe in one who was called Molwa.”—If, as Neumann supposes, a Molla or Mussulman priest is here implied, I would venture to suggest that allusion is made to Hass...

(1.) “with whom I also remained.”—Pir Mohammed, son of Jehangir, the eldest son of Timour, died in 1375. Shah Rokh was the youngest of the two sons mentioned by Schiltberger. Af...

(1.) “Abubachir had also a brother called Mansur.”—Besides this Mansour, for whose name I have searched in vain in the various works I have been able to consult, Aboubekr had an...

(1.) “Those who are in this fellowship are called They.”—To those who are unfamiliar with the name, says Neumann, the title of Ghasi would scarcely be recognised in that of They...

(1.) “Wirmirsiana.”—According to Chalcocondylas, Orthobulus or Ertoghrul, the eldest son of Bajazet, was made a captive by Timour at Sebaste, in 1400, and shortly afterwards put...

(1.) “Sadurmelickh.”—Sadra, in Arabic, is the feminine of Sadyr—first, foremost. Melyka is queen, and here we have Sadra Melyka, the first of queens; the queen who is prudent ab...

(1.) “because it was very cold in that country.”—Timour was desirous of adding China to the rest of his conquests, and had even embarked on an expedition, placing himself at the...

(1.) “Sebast.”—Sebaste, called Sivas by the Turks, and Sepasdia, Sevasdia, Sevasd, by the Armenians—the capital of Lesser Armenia, after being long subject to Constantinople, wa...