CHAPTER VII.

HOW THE KAAN REWARDED THE VALOUR OF HIS CAPTAINS.

So we will have done with this matter of Nayan, and go on with our

account of the great state of the Great Kaan.

We have already told you of his lineage and of his age; but now I must

tell you what he did after his return, in regard to those barons who

had behaved well in the battle. Him who was before captain of 100 he

made captain of 1000; and him who was captain of 1000 men he made to

be captain of 10,000, advancing every man according to his deserts

and to his previous rank. Besides that, he also made them presents of

fine silver plate and other rich appointments; gave them Tablets of

Authority of a higher degree than they held before; and bestowed upon

them fine jewels of gold and silver, and pearls and precious stones;

insomuch that the amount that fell to each of them was something

astonishing. And yet ’twas not so much as they had deserved; for never

were men seen who did such feats of arms for the love and honour of

their Lord, as these had done on that day of the battle.{1}

Now those Tablets of Authority, of which I have spoken, are ordered in

this way. The officer who is a captain of 100 hath a tablet of silver;

the captain of 1000 hath a tablet of gold or silver-gilt; the commander

of 10,000 hath a tablet of gold, with a lion’s head on it. And I will

tell you the weight of the different tablets, and what they denote.

The tablets of the captains of 100 and 1000 weigh each of them 120

_saggi_; and the tablet with the lion’s head engraven on it, which is

that of the commander of 10,000, weighs 220 _saggi_. And on each of

the tablets is inscribed a device, which runs: “_By the strength of

the great God, and of the great grace which He hath accorded to our

Emperor, may the name of the Kaan be blessed; and let all such as will

not obey him be slain and be destroyed_.” And I will tell you besides

that all who hold these tablets likewise receive warrants in writing,

declaring all their powers and privileges.

I should mention too that an officer who holds the chief command of

100,000 men, or who is general-in-chief of a great host, is entitled to

a tablet that weighs 300 _saggi_. It has an inscription thereon to the

same purport that I have told you already, and below the inscription

there is the figure of a lion, and below the lion the sun and moon.

They have warrants also of their high rank, command, and power.{2}

Every one, moreover, who holds a tablet of this exalted degree is

entitled, whenever he goes abroad, to have a little golden canopy, such

as is called an umbrella, carried on a spear over his head in token of

his high command. And whenever he sits, he sits in a silver chair.{3}

To certain very great lords also there is given a tablet with

gerfalcons on it; this is only to the very greatest of the Kaan’s

barons, and it confers on them his own full power and authority; so

that if one of those chiefs wishes to send a messenger any whither,

he can seize the horses of any man, be he even a king, and any other

chattels at his pleasure.{4}

NOTE 1.—So Sanang Setzen relates that Chinghiz, on returning from

one of his great campaigns, busied himself in reorganising his

forces and bestowing rank and title, according to the deserts of

each, on his nine _Orlok_, or marshals, and all who had done good

service. “He named commandants over hundreds, over thousands, over

ten thousands, over hundred thousands, and opened his treasury to

the multitude of the people” (p. 91).

NOTE 2.—We have several times already had mention of these tablets.

(See Prologue, ch. viii. and xviii.) The earliest European allusion

to them is in Rubruquis: “And Mangu gave to the Moghul (whom he

was going to send to the King of France) a bull of his, that is

to say, a golden plate of a palm in breadth and half a cubit in

length, on which his orders were inscribed. Whosoever is the bearer

of that may order what he pleases, and his order shall be executed

straightway.”

These golden bulls of the Mongol Kaans appear to have been

originally tokens of high favour and honour, though afterwards they

became more frequent and conventional. They are often spoken of by

the Persian historians of the Mongols under the name of _Páïzah_,

and sometimes _Páïzah Sir-i-Sher_, or “Lion’s Head Paizah.” Thus,

in a firmán of Ghazan Khan, naming a viceroy to his conquests

in Syria, the Khan confers on the latter “the sword, the august

standard, the drum, and _the Lion’s Head Paizah_.” Most frequently

the grant of this honour is coupled with _Yarlígh_; “to such an

one were granted _Yarlígh_ and _Páïzah_,” the former word (which is

still applied in Turkey to the Sultan’s rescripts) denoting the

written patent which accompanies the grant of the tablet, just as

the sovereign’s warrant accompanies the badge of a modern Order.

Of such written patents also Marco speaks in this passage, and

as he uttered it, no doubt the familiar words _Yarlígh u Páïzah_

were in his mind. The Armenian history of the Orpelians, relating

the visit of Prince Sempad, brother of King Hayton, to the court

of Mangku Kaan, says: “They gave him also a _P’haiza_ of gold,

_i.e._ a tablet whereon the name of God is written by the Great Kaan

himself; and this constitutes the greatest honour known among the

Mongols. Farther, they drew up for him a sort of patent, which the

Mongols call _Iarlekh_,” etc. The Latin version of a grant by Uzbek

Khan of Kipchak to the Venetian Andrea Zeno, in 1333,[1] ends with

the words: “_Dedimus_ baisa _et_ privilegium _cum bullis rubeis_,”

where the latter words no doubt represent the _Yarlígh al-tamghá_,

the warrant with the red seal or stamp,[2] as it may be seen upon

the letter of Arghun Khan. (See plate at ch. xvii. of Bk. IV.)

So also Janibek, the son of Uzbek, in 1344, confers privileges on

the Venetians, “_eisdem dando_ baissinum _de auro_”; and again

Bardibeg, son, murderer, and successor of Janibeg, in 1358, writes:

“Avemo dado comandamento [_i.e._ Yarlíg] cum le bolle rosse, et lo

_paysam_.”

[Illustration: Seljukian Coin with the Lion and Sun.]

Under the Persian branch, at least, of the house the degree of

honour was indicated by the _number_ of lions’ heads upon the

plate, which varied from 1 to 5. The Lion and Sun, a symbol which

survives, or has been revived, in the modern Persian decoration so

called, formed the emblem of the Sun in Leo, _i.e._ in highest power.

It had already been used on the coins of the Seljukian sovereigns

of Persia and Iconium; it appears on coins of the Mongol Ilkhans

Ghazan, Oljaïtu, and Abusaid, and it is also found on some of those

of Mahomed Uzbek Khan of Kipchak.

Hammer gives regulations of Ghazan Khan’s on the subject of the

Paizah, from which it is seen that the latter were of different

_kinds_ as well as degrees. Some were held by great governors

and officers of state, and these were cautioned against letting

the Paizah out of their own keeping; others were for officers

of inferior order; and, again, “for persons travelling on state

commissions with post-horses, particular paizah (which Hammer says

were of brass) are appointed, on which their names are inscribed.”

These last would seem therefore to be merely such permissions to

travel by the Government post-horses as are still required in

Russia, perhaps in lineal derivation from Mongol practice. The

terms of Ghazan’s decree and other contemporary notices show that

great abuses were practised with the Paizah, as an authority for

living at free quarters and making other arbitrary exactions.

The word _Paizah_ is said to be Chinese, _Pai-tseu_, “a tablet.”

A trace of the name and the thing still survives in Mongolia. The

horse-_Bai_ is the name applied to a certain ornament on the horse

caparison, which gives the rider a title to be furnished with

horses and provisions on a journey.

[Illustration: “TABLE D’OR DE COMMANDEMENT,”

THE PAÏZA OF THE MONGOLS

FROM A SPECIMEN FOUND IN

E. SIBERIA.]

Where I have used the Venetian term _saggio_, the French texts

have here and elsewhere _saics_ and _saies_, and sometimes _pois_.

_Saic_ points to _saiga_, which, according to Dupré de St. Maur, is

in the Salic laws the equivalent of a denier or the twelfth part of

a sol. _Saggio_ is possibly the same word, or rather may have been

confounded with it, but the saggio was a recognised Venetian weight

equal to ⅙ of an ounce. We shall see hereafter that Polo appears to

use it to indicate the _misḳál_, a weight which may be taken at 74

grains Troy. On that supposition the smallest tablet specified in

the text would weigh 18½ ozs. Troy.

I do not know if any gold Paizah has been discovered, but several

of silver have been found in the Russian dominions; one near the

Dnieper, and two in Eastern Siberia. The first of our plates

represents one of these, which was found in the Minusinsk circle

of the Government of Yenisei in 1846, and is now in the Asiatic

Museum of the Academy of St. Petersburg. For the sake of better

illustration of our text, I have taken the liberty to represent

the tablet as of gold, instead of silver with only the inscription

gilt. The moulded ring inserted in the orifice, to suspend the

plate by, is of iron. On the reverse side the ring bears some

Chinese characters engraved, which are interpreted as meaning

“Publication No. 42.” The inscription on the plate itself is in the

Mongol language and Baspa character (_supra_, Prologue, note 1, ch.

xv.), and its purport is a remarkable testimony to the exactness

of Marco’s account, and almost a proof of his knowledge of the

language and character in which the inscriptions were engraved.

It runs, according to Schmidt’s version: “_By the strength of the

eternal heaven! May the name of the Khagan be holy! Who pays him

not reverence is to be slain, and must die!_” The inscriptions on

the other plates discovered were essentially similar in meaning.

Our second plate shows one of them with the inscription in the

Uighúr character.

The superficial dimensions of the Yenisei tablet, as taken from

Schmidt’s full-size drawing, are 12·2 in. by 3·65 in. The weight is

not given.

In the French texts nothing is said of the size of the tablets. But

Ramusio’s copy in the Prologue, where the tables given by Kiacatu

are mentioned (_supra_, p. 35), says that they were a cubit in

length and 5 fingers in breadth, and weighed 3 to 4 marks each,

_i.e._ 24 to 32 ounces.

(_Dupré de St. Maur_, _Essai sur les Monnoies_, etc., 1746,

p. viii.; also (on _saiga_) see _Pertz_, _Script._ XVII. 357;

_Rubruq._ 312; _Golden Horde_, 219–220, 521; _Ilch._ II. 166

_seqq._, 355–356; _D’Ohsson_, III. 412–413; _Q. R._ 177–180; _Ham.

Wassáf_, 154, 176; _Makrizi_, IV. 158; _St. Martin_, _Mém. sur

l’Arménie_, II. 137, 169; _M. Mas Latrie_ in _Bibl. de l’Éc. des

Chartes_, IV. 585 _seqq._; _J. As._ sér. V. tom. xvii. 536 _seqq._;

_Schmidt, über eine Mongol. Quadratinschrift_, etc., Acad. St. P.,

1847; Russian paper by _Grigorieff_ on same subject, 1846.)

[“The History tells us (_Liao Shih_, Bk. LVII. f. 2) that the

official silver tablets _p’ai tzŭ_ of the period were 600 in

number, about a foot in length, and that they were engraved with an

inscription like the above [‘Our imperial order for post horses.

Urgent.’] in national characters (_kuo tzŭ_), and that when there

was important state business the Emperor personally handed the

tablet to the envoy, which entitled him to demand horses at the

post stations, and to be treated as if he were the Emperor himself

travelling. When the tablet was marked ‘Urgent,’ he had the right

to take private horses, and was required to ride, night and day,

700 _li_ in twenty-four hours. On his return he had to give back

the tablet to the Emperor, who handed it to the prince who had the

custody of the state tablets and seals.” (_Dr. S. W. Bushell, Actes

XI. Cong. Int. Orient._, Paris, p. 17.)

“The Kin, in the thirteenth century, used badges of office made

of silver. They were rectangular, bore the imperial seal, and an

inscription indicative of the duty of the bearer. (_Chavannes,

Voyageurs chez les Khitans_, 102.) The Nü-chên at an earlier

date used wooden _pai-tzŭ_ tied to each horseman and horse, to

distinguish them by. (_Ma Tuan-lin_, Bk. 327, 11.)” (_Rockhill,

Rubruck_, p. 181, note.)

“Tiger’s tablets—_Sinice Hu fu_, and _p’ai tsze_ in the common

language. The Mongols had them of several kinds, which differed

by the metal, of which they were made, as well as by the number

of pearls (one, two, or three in number), which were incrusted in

the upper part of the tablet. Falcon’s tablets with the figure of

a falcon were round, and used to be given only to special couriers

and envoys of the Khan. [_Yuen shi lui pien_ and _Yuen ch’ao tien

chang_.] The use of the _Hu-fu_ was adopted by the Mongols probably

from the Kin.” (_Palladius_, _l.c._ p. 39.)

Rubruquis (Rockhill’s ed. pp. 153–154) says:—“And whenever

the principal envoy [of Longa] came to court he carried a

highly-polished tablet of ivory about a cubit long and half a palm

wide. Every time he spoke to the chan or some great personage, he

always looked at that tablet as if he found there what he had to

say, nor did he look to the right or the left, nor in the face

of him with whom he was talking. Likewise, when coming into the

presence of the Lord, and when leaving it, he never looked at

anything but his tablet.” Mr. Rockhill observes: “These tablets

are called _hu_ in Chinese, and were used in China and Korea; in

the latter country down to quite recent times. They were made of

jade, ivory, bamboo, etc., according to the rank of the owner, and

were about three feet long. The _hu_ was originally used to make

memoranda on of the business to be submitted by the bearer to the

Emperor or to write the answers to questions he had had submitted

to them. Odoric also refers to ‘the tablets of white ivory which

the Emperor’s barons held in their hands as they stood silent

before him.’”

(Cf. the golden tablets which were of various classes with a tiger

for image and pearls for ornaments, _Devéria, Epigraphie_, p. 15 et

seq.) —H. C.]

NOTE 3.—_Umbrella_. The phrase in Pauthier’s text is “_Palieque

que on dit_ ombrel.” The Latin text of the Soc. de Géographie has

“_unum pallium_ de auro,” which I have adopted as probably correct,

looking to Burma, where the old etiquettes as to umbrellas are in

full force. These etiquettes were probably in both countries of

old Hindu origin. _Pallium_, according to Muratori, was applied in

the Middle Ages to a kind of square umbrella, by which is probably

meant rather a canopy on four staves, which was sometimes assigned

by authority as an honourable privilege.

But the genuine umbrella would seem to have been used also, for

Polo’s contemporary, Martino da Canale, says that, when the Doge

goes forth of his palace, “_si vait apres lui un damoiseau qui

porte une umbrele de dras à or sur son chief_,” which umbrella had

been given by “_Monseigneur l’Apostoille_.” There is a picture by

Girolamo Gambarota, in the Sala del Gran Consiglio, at Venice,

which represents the investiture of the Doge with the umbrella by

Pope Alexander III., and Frederick Barbarossa (concerning which see

_Sanuto_ Junior, in _Muratori_, XXII. 512).

The word _Parasol_ also occurs in the Petrarchian vocabulary,

(14th century) as the equivalent of _saioual_ (Pers. _sáyában_ or

_sáiwán_, an umbrella). Carpini notices that umbrellas (_solinum

vel tentoriolum in hastâ_) were carried over the Tartar nobles

and their wives, even on horseback; and a splendid one, covered

with jewels, was one of the presents made to Kuyuk Kaan on his

enthronement.

With respect to the honorary character attaching to umbrellas in

China, I may notice that recently an English resident of Ningpo, on

his departure for Europe, was presented by the Chinese citizens,

as a token of honour, with a pair of _Wan min sàn_, umbrellas of

enormous size.

The umbrella must have gone through some curious vicissitudes;

for at one time we find it familiar, at a later date apparently

unknown, and then reintroduced as some strange novelty. Arrian

speaks of the σκιάδια, or umbrellas, as used by all Indians of

any consideration; but the thing of which he spoke was familiar

to the use of Greek and Roman ladies, and many examples of it,

borne by slaves behind their mistresses, are found on ancient

vase-paintings. Athenaeus quotes from Anacreon the description of a

“beggar on horseback” who

“like a woman bears

An ivory parasol over his delicate head.”

[Illustration: Second Example of a MONGOL PAÏZA, with

Superscription in the _Uighúr_ Character, found near the River

Dnieper, 1845.]

An Indian prince, in a Sanskrit inscription of the 9th century,

boasts of having wrested from the King of Márwár the two umbrellas

pleasing to Parvati, and white as the summer moonbeams. Prithi

Ráj, the last Hindu king of Delhi, is depicted by the poet Chand

as shaded by a white umbrella on a golden staff. An unmistakable

umbrella, copied from a Saxon MS. in the Harleian collection, is

engraved in _Wright’s History of Domestic Manners_, p. 75. The fact

that the gold umbrella is one of the paraphernalia of high church

dignitaries in Italy seems to presume acquaintance with the thing

from a remote period. A decorated umbrella also accompanies the

host when sent out to the sick, at least where I write, in Palermo.

Ibn Batuta says that in his time all the people of Constantinople,

civil and military, great and small, carried great umbrellas over

their heads, summer and winter. Ducange quotes, from a MS. of the

Paris Library, the Byzantine court regulations about umbrellas,

which are of the genuine Pan-Asiatic spirit;—σκιάδια χρυσοκóκκινα

extend from the Hypersebastus to the grand Stratopedarchus, and

so on; exactly as used to be the case, with different titles, in

Java. And yet it is curious that John Marignolli, Ibn Batuta’s

contemporary in the middle of the 14th century, and Barbosa in the

16th century, are alike at pains to describe the umbrella as some

strange object. And in our own country it is commonly stated that

the umbrella was first used in the last century, and that Jonas

Hanway (died 1786) was one of the first persons who made a practice

of carrying one. The word _umbrello_ is, however, in Minsheu’s

dictionary. [See _Hobson-Jobson_, s.v. _Umbrella_.—H. C.]

(_Murat. Dissert._ II. 229; _Archiv. Storic. Ital._ VIII. 274, 560;

_Klapr. Mém._ III.; _Carp._ 759; _N. and Q., C. and J._ II. 180;

_Arrian, Indica_, XVI.; _Smith’s Dict., G. and R. Ant._, s.v.

_umbraculum_; _J. R. A. S._ v. 351; _Rás Mála_, I. 221; _I. B._ II.

440; _Cathay_, 381; _Ramus._ I. f. 301.)

Alexander, according to Athenaeus, feasted his captains to the

number of 6000, and made them all sit upon silver chairs. The same

author relates that the King of Persia, among other rich presents,

bestowed upon Entimus the Gortynian, who went up to the king in

imitation of Themistocles, _a silver chair and a gilt umbrella_.

(Bk. I. Epit. ch. 31, and II. 31.)

The silver chair has come down to our own day in India, and is much

affected by native princes.

NOTE 4.—I have not been able to find any allusion, except in our

author, to tablets, with gerfalcons (_shonḳár_). The _shonḳár_

appears, however, according to Erdmann, on certain coins of the

Golden Horde, struck at Sarai.

There is a passage from Wassáf used by Hammer, in whose words

it runs that the Sayad Imámuddín, appointed (A.D. 683) governor

of Shiraz by Arghun Khan, “was invested with _both_ the Mongol

symbols of delegated sovereignty, the Golden Lion’s Head, and

the golden _Cat’s Head_.” It would certainly have been more

satisfactory to find “Gerfalcon’s Head” in lieu of the latter;

but it is probable that the same object is meant. The cut below

exhibits the conventional effigy of a gerfalcon as sculptured over

one of the gates of Iconium, Polo’s Conia. The head might easily

pass for a conventional representation of a cat’s head, and is

indeed strikingly like the grotesque representation that bears that

name in mediæval architecture. (_Erdmann, Numi Asiatici_, I. 339;

_Ilch._ I. 370.)

[Illustration: Sculptured Gerfalcon. (From the Gate of Iconium.)]

----------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] “In anno Simiae, octavâ lunâ, die quarto exeunte, juxta fluvium

Cobam (_the Ḳuban_), apud Ripam Rubeam existentes scripsimus.” The

original was in _linguâ Persaycâ_.

[2] See _Golden Horde_, p. 218.