WHEN therefore we had arranged, as has
been already stated elsewhere, to set
out for the (land of the) Tatars we
(left Lyons on the 16th April, 1245,
and after travelling through Germany)2
came to the King of Bohemia. 3 And
having asked his advice (734), for
were personally acquainted with this lord from of old,
which was the best road for us to go by, he answered that
it were best, it seemed to him, to go by Poland and Russia;
for he had relatives in Poland, with whose aid we could enter
Ruscia ; so having given us his letters and a goop escort to
take us through Poland, he caused also money to be given
us to defray our travelling expenses through his lands and
cities as far as (the court of) Boleslas, Duke of Selesia, his
nephew, with whom also we were personally acquainted. 1
I I. The latter also gave us his letters and an escort and
money for our expenses in his towns and cities, as far as
Conrad, Duke of Lenczy. 2 At that time, through God’s
special grace, the Lord Vassilko, Duke of Russia, 3 had come
there , from whom we learnt more accurately of the Tartars:
for he had sent his ambassadors to them , who had come
back to him and to his brother Daniel, bearing to the lord
Daniel a safe conduct to go to Bati. 4 And he told us that
if we wanted to go to them we must have rich presents to
give them, for they were in the habit of asking for them
most importunately, and if they were not given them (and
this is quite true), an ambassador could not conduct his
business satisfactorily with them ; and that furthermore he
was looked upon as a mere nothing 5 (735). Not wishing
that the affairs of the Lord Pope and of the Church should
be obstructed on this account, with some of that which had
been given us in charity, so that we should not be in wa nt
and for use on our journey, we bought some skins of
beavers and of some other animals. Duke Conrad, the
Duchess of Cracow, 1 some knights and the bi shop of
Cracow, hearing of this, gave us some more of these skins.
Furthermore Duke Conrad , his so n, and the Bishop of
Cracow be sought most earnestly Duke Va ss ilko to help
us as much as he could in reaching the Tartars; and he
replied that he would do so willingly.
I I I. So he took us with him to his country; and as he
kept us for some days as his guests that we might rest a
little, and had called thither his bishops at our request,
we read them the letters of the Lord Pop e, in which he
admonished them to return to the unity of holy mother
Church·; we also advised and (7 36) urged them as much as
we could, as well th e Duke as the Bishops, and all those
who had met there, to that same end. But as at the very
time when this duke had come to Poland, his brother,
Duke Dani el, had gone to Bati and was not present, they
could not give a final answer , but must wait his return
before being able to give a full reply.
IV. After that the Duke sent one of his servants with
us as far as Ki ew.2 . Nevertheless we travelled eve r in
danger of our lives on account of the L ithuanian s, who
often committed undiscovered outr ages as much as possible
in the country of Russia, and particularly in these
places through which we had to pass ; and as the greater
part of the men of Russia had been killed by the Tartars
or taken off into captivity, they were unable to offer them
the least resistance ;1 we were safe , however, from the
Ruthenians on account of this servant . Thence then, by
the grace of God having been saved from the enemies of
the Cross of Christ, we came to Kiew, which is the
metropolis of Russia. And when we came there we took
counsel with the Millenarius, 2 and the other nobles who
were there, as to our route. They told us that if we took
into Tartary the horses which we had, they would all die,
for the snows were deep, and they did not know how to
dig out the grass from under the snow like Tartar
horses, nor could (737) anything else be found (on the
way) for them to eat, for the Tartars had neither straw nor
hay nor fodder. So, on their advice, we decided to leave
our horses there with two servants to keep them ; and we
had to give the Millenarius presents, that he might be
pleased to give us pack-horses and an escort . Before we
reached Ki e w, when in Danilov 3 I was ill to the point ot
death ; but I had myself carried along in a cart in the
intense cold through the deep snow, so as not to int e rfere
with the affairs of Christendom .
V. Having settled then all these matters at Kiew, on the
second day after the feast of the Purification of Our Lady
(February 4, 1246 ) , we started out from Kiew for other
b:ubarous peoples, with the horses of the Millenarius and
an escort . We came to a certain town which was under
the direct rule of the Tartars and is called Canov ;4 the
prefect of the town gave us h01·ses and an escort as far as
another town in which was a certain Alan prefect who was
TO THE COURT OF KUVUK KHAN.
ailed Micheas,1 a man full of all malice and iniquity, (738
:>r he had sent to us to Kiew some of his body-guard, wh,
ringly said to us, as from the part of Corenza, 2 that we
eing ambassadors were to come to him ; and this h,
id, though it “vas not true, in order that he might extor
,resents from us. When, however, ,ve reached him, h,
-.ade himself most disagreeable, and unless we promise,
im presents, would in no “vise agree to help us. Seeing tha
re would not otherwise be able to go farther, we pro,nise,
o give hi1n some presents, but ,vhen \.Ve gave hi1n \.vha
appeared to us suitable, he refused to receive the,n unlcs
.-e gave more ; and so ,ve had to add to them acco1·dini
o his ,vill, and something besides he subtracted fro1n u
deceitfully and maliciously.
VI. After that we left with him on the second day c
)quinquagesima ( 19th February), and he led us as fa,· a
he first camp 3 of the Tartars, and on the first Friday aftc
\.sh Wednesday (23rd February), while we were stoppin!
::>r the night as the sun went down, the Tartars broke i1
,n us in arms in hon·ible fashion asking who we wen
Ve answered them that we we,·e envoys of the Lord Popf
and then, having accepted some food from us, they left a
nee. Starting again at morn, we had only gone a little,
ray when their chiefs who \.Were in the camp came to u~
nd inquired of us why ·we came to them, and ,what was
our business. ‘\A-Te answered them that we ,vere the envoy
f the Lord Pope, who was the lord and father of Chris
ans ; that he had (739) sent us to the King as well a
:, the princes and all the Tartars, because he desired tha
ached three days after leaving T3rother Stephen of Bohemia.
all Christians should be friends of the Tartars and at peace
with them . Moreover, as he wished that they should be
mighty with God in heaven, he, the Lord Pope, advised them
as \~ell through us as by his letters, that they should become
Christians and receive the faith of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
for otherwise they could not be saved. He told them
furthermore that he was astonished at the slaying of
human beings done by the Tartars, and especially of
Christians and above all of Hungarians, Moravians and
Poles, who were his subjects, when they had injured them
in nothing nor attempted to injure them ; and as the Lord
God was gravely offended a t this, he cautioned them to
abstain henceforth from such acts, and to repent them of
those they had done . Furthermore we said that the
Lord Pope requested that they should write to him what
they would do and what was their intention ; and that
they would give answer to him to all the above points in
their lett e rs. Having heard our motives, and understood
and noted them down, they said that, in view of what we
had said, they would give us pack-horses as far as Corenza,
and supply a guide; and at once the y asked for presents
(740) , which we gave them, for we must needs do their
will.
. VII. Having given them the presents, and taken as packhur
ses some from which they go t off, we started und er
their guidance for Corenza ; but they sent ahead a swift
messenger to this chief with what we had told them . This
chief is lord of all those (Tartar s) who are encamped
facing~ the peoples of the West, lest they suddenly and
unexpectedly a tt ac k them. This chief has under him, we
were told, sixty thousand armed men. When we reached
him, he made us put our tents far from him, 1 and sent us
his slave stewards 1 who asked us with what (741) we wanted
to bow to him, that is to say whether we would make him
presents. We replied that the Lord Pope had not sent
any pre se nts , for he was not sure we could reach them ;
and that furthermore we had had to pass through very
dangerous places, exposed to the Lithu a nians , who make
raids along the roads from Poland to near the Tartars,
over which \\’e had had to tra ve l ; but nevertheless with
what we were carrying with us, by the grace of God and
of our Lord the Pope, and for our personal use, 11·e would
show him our respect as well as we could. But when we
had given him a number of things, they were not enough
for him, and he asked for more through intermediaries,
promising to have us conducted most honourably if we
complied with his request, which we had to do since we
wished to live and carry out satisfactorily the order of the
Lord Pope.
VII I. Having received the pre se nts they led us to his
orda or tent, and we were instructed to bend three tim es the
left knee before the door of his dwelling, and to be very
careful not to put our feet on the threshold of th e do or;
and this we were attentive to observe, for sentence of death
is on those who knowingly tread upon the threshold of a
chiefs dwelling. 1 ,\ft er we had entered we were obliged
to repeat on bended knee before the chief and all the other
noble s (742), who had specially bee n con ve ned there for
that purpose, what has been previously said. Vie presented
to him also the letters o f the Lord Pop e ; but as
our interpreter, whom we had brought with us from Kiew,
was not able to translate them for him, nor was th~e any
one else competent to do so, they could not be interpreted.
After this, horses were given us , and three Tartars, two of
whom were chief<; over ten, and the other a man (lzo1110)o f
Bati, guided us with all speed to that latter chief. This Bati
is more powerful than all the other Tartar princes save
the Emperor, whom he is held to obey.
IX. We started (for Bati’s camp) on the Monday after
the first Sunday of Quadragesima (26th February ), and
riding as fast as horses could go trotting, for we had fresh
horses three or four times nearly every day, we rode from
morning to night, and very often even at night, and it was
not before Wednesday in Holy Week (4th April) that we
could get to him. 1 We crossed the whole country of the
Comans, which is all a plain, (743) and has four great
rivers. The first is called the N eper, along which, on the
side of Russia, roams Corenza, and on the other side through
those plains, Mauci, who is mightier than Corenza . Secondly,
the Don, along which roams a certain prince call ed Catan,
who has as wife Bati’s sister. The third is the Volga, a very
big river, along which goes Bati.i The fourth is called
Jaec, along which go two Millenarii, one along one side of
the river, the other along the other. All these (chiefs)
descend in winter time to the sea, and in summer go up
the courses of these rivers to the mountains. Now this
sea is the Mare-Magnum from which goes out the arm of
Saint George which goes to Constantinople. We went
along for many days on the ice on the N eper. These rivers
are bi g , very full of fish, es p ec ia lly th e V olga , and they
fall into the sea o f Greece which is called Maremagnum .
‘vVe we went for many day s a long th e sh o re o f this sea, which
on account o f the ice was very dangerous in several places ;
for it freezes a long th e co a st quite three leagues o ut. 1 But
(74 4 ) before we came t o Ba ti , two of our Tartars went
ahead t o tell him all we had said at Co re n za’s.
X . When then we came to Ba ti o n the borders o f
the Comans’ country , we’re made t o camp a good league
from their tents,2 and before we were taken to his court
we were told we would have to pass between two fires ,
which we refused to do under any consideration. But
they told u s: ” Fear not , we only m a k e you pass between
these two fires lest perchance you think something injurious
to our lord , or if you carry some poison, for the fire will
rem o ve a ll h a rm .” We answered them : “Since it is thus
we will pass through , so that we may not be suspected of
such things .” When we came to th e orda we were questioned by his procurator, who is called Eldcga i, as to what
we wanted to make our obeisance with, that is t o say, what
gifts we desired to give him; we answered him as we had
previously answered Corenza, that the Lord Pope had sent
no presents, but that we ourselves, o f those things which
we had by the grace o f God and th e Lor d P op e for our
expenses, desired to show him our respect as best we
could . Presents having been given and accepted, the
procurator called Eldegai questioned us as to our coming;
and to him we gave the same reasons as we had previously
given to Corenza.
(745) XI. Having been informed of our reasons, they
led us into the dwelling, after having made a bow, and
heard the caution about the threshold, which has been mentioned.
Having entered then we said what we had to say
on bended knees, and then we presented him the letters
(of the Pope), and requested that interpreters be given us
able to translate them. These were given us on Good
Friday (6th April), and we carefully translated the letters
into the Ruthenian, Saracenic, and Tartar languages, and
this latter interpretation was given to Bati, who read it
and noted it carefully. After that we were taken back to
our dwelling, but no food was given us, save once on the
night of our arrival a little millet in a bow 1.
XI I. This Bati holds his court right mag nificently, for
he has door-keepers and all the other officials like unto their
Emperor. He sits also in a raised place, as on a throne,
with one of his wives; but everyone else (of his family ),
as well his brothers and his sons as others of lesser degree,
sit lower down on a bench in the middle (of the tent). All
the other people sit behind them on the ground , the men
to the right, the women to the left. He has tents made of
linen (pannis lineis). (746) They are large and quite handsome,
and used to belong to the King of Hungary. And
no outsider save a servant dare enter the tent, no matter
how grea t and mighty he may be, unless he is called, unless
perchance he knows he is wanted. When we had stated
our object, we took a seat to the left, 1 for thus do all
ambassadors in going, but on coming back from the
Emperor they always placed us on the right. In the
middle of the dwelling near the door is a table, on which
is placed drink in gold and silver vases ; and 13ati never
drinks, nor does any prince of the Tartar s, especially when
they are in public, without there being singing and guitar
playing. And when he rides out, there is always carried
over his head on a pole an umbrella or little awning; and
all the very great princes of the Tartars do likewise. Thi s
Bati is kind enough to his own people, but he is greatly
feared by them. He is, h owe yer, most cruel in fight ; he
is very shrewd and extremely crafty in warfare, for he has
been waging war for a long time.
XIII. On Holy Saturday (7th April) we were called to
his tent and that same procurator of Bati ‘s came out to us,
and told us from him that we were to go to the Emperor
Cuyuc in their country, and that some (7 47) of our party
would be kept there ( with Bati) in the expectation
that they would want to send them back to the Lord
Pope. \\” e gave th em lett ers concerning all we had
done to carry back ( to the Pope ), but when they
had got as far as Mau ci, he detained them until our
ret urn. As for ourselves, on th e day of the Resu rrection
of the Lord (8th April), having said mass an d
se ttled eve rything, accompanied by the two Tartars who
had been detailed to us at Corenza’s, we started out most
tearfully, not knowing whether 11·e were going to life or
deat h.1 We were furthermore so feeble that we could
hardly rid e ; during the whole of that lent our only food
had been millet with salt and water; and likewise on the
other fast days ; nor had we anything else to drink but
snow melted in the kettle.
XIV. Comania hath to the north of it, immediately
after Ruscia, the Morduins, the Eilers, or great Bulgaria,
the Bascarts or great Hungary ; after the Bascarts, the
Parrosits (748) and the Samogeds, after the Samogeds those
who are said to have dog-faces, who live in the deserts
along the coasts of the Ocean. To the south it (i.e.,
Comania) has the Alans, the Circasses, the Gazars, Greece
and Constantinople ; also the land of the lbers, the Cachs,
the Brutaches, who are said to be Jews and who shave their
heads, the country of the Zicci, of the Georgians and of
the Armenians, and the country of the Turks. 1 To the
west it has Hungary and Ruscia. And this country (of
Comania) is extremely long, for we were riding through
it at great speed, having every day fresh horses, five or
seven times a day, except, as I have said, when we were
riding through desert tracts when we got better and
stronger hor ses (749) able to stand more work, and we
kept this up from the beginning of lent to the eighth day
after Ea ster ( 16th April). 1 The Tartars killed these
Comans ; some fled
reduced to slavery.
back to them.
from before them , and others were
Most ·or those who fled have come
XV. After that we entered the country of the Cangitae?
which in many places suffers from a g reat scarcity of
water, and in which but few people remain on account of this
deficiency of water. And so it happ ened that the men of
Ieroslav, Duke of Ruscia, who were go ing to join him in
the country of the Tartars, lost some of their numb er who
died of thirst in this d ese rt. In this country and also in
Comania, we found many human skulls and bones scattered
about on th e ground like cattle-dung. 3 We travelled
through thi s country (of the Cangitae) from the eighth
day afte1· Easter to n ear ly the Ascension of our Lord. 4
Th ese peop le are pagans, and the Co mans as well as
the Cangitae do not till th e soil, but only live on the
produc e of their animals; nor do they build houses, but
live in tents. The Tartars have also annihilated them, and
now occupy their country ; thos e of th em who were left
they have reduced to slavery.
XVI. Leaving the co untry of the Cangitae we en tered
that of the Bisermins. 5 These (750) people used to speak the
Coman language, and do still speak it ; but they hold the
religion of the Saracens. \\’ c found in that country innumerable
ruined cities, overthroll’n villages, and many deserted
towns. There is a great river in that country ll’hosc
name I do not knoll’, and c,n which stands a city called
lanckint, and also another called Barchin, and still another
called Ornas, and many more whose names J do not
know. 1 This country used to have a lord who was called
the Great Soldan,1 and he was put to death by the Tartars
with all his progeny, but I am ignorant of his name. The
country has very high mountains ; to the south of it is
Jerusalem, · Baldach, and the whole country of the Saracens.
Near its borders are stationed the chiefs Burin and Cadan,
who are uterine broth e rs.2 To the north of it is a part of
the country of the Black Kitayans and an Ocean, and in
that quarter is stationed Sitan, a brother of Bati. 3 We
travelled through this country from the fea st of the Ascension
( I 7th May) to about eight days before the feast of
Saint John the Baptist (24th June).
(75 I) XVI I. After that we e ntered the country of the
Black _Kitayans, in whir:h they (i.e., the Mongols) ha\·e
built anew, as it were, a city called Omyl, in which the
Emperor has erected a house where we were invited to
drink; and he who was there on the part of the Emperor
made the nobles of the town and also his own two sons
clap their hands before us (when we drank) .1 Leaving
this place we found a not very large lake, and as we did
not ask its name, we do not know it. On the shore of this
lake was a little hill, in where there is said to be an opening,
whence in winter there issue out such great tempests of
wind that people can barely and at great danger pass by .2
In summer, however, though one always hears the sound
of the winds, but little comes out of the opening, according
to what the inhabitants told us. We travelled along the
shore of this lake for several days ; it has several islands
in it, and it lay upon our left hand. This country has great
abundance of streams, not large ones, however ; on either
bank of these rivers arc woods, but of no great width. 1 Ordu
lives in this country ;2 he is older than Bati, in fact, older
than any (752) of the other chiefs of the Tartars, and the
orda or court is that of one of his wives who rules over it.
For it is a custom among the Tartars that the courts of
their princes and nobles are not broken up (on their death),
but some women are always appointed who govern them,
and the same proportion of presents are given them that
their lord had been in the habit (during his life) of allowing
them. After this we came to the first orda of the Emperor,3
in which was one of his wives ; but as we had not -yet seen
the Emperor they would not invite us nor let us come into
her orda, though they had us well served in our own tent,
according to Tartar fashion ; and they kept us there for a
whole day, so that we might rest.
XVIII. Proceeding thence on the eve of the feast
of Saint Peter (28th June), we entered the country of
the Naiman, who are pagans .4 On the day of the feast
of the apostles Peter and Paul (29th June ) ther e fell in that
place a great snow, and we experienced great cold . This
country is exceptionally mountainous and cold, and (753)
there is very little plain in it. These two nations 1 do not
till the soil, but like the Tartars live in tents . These latter
have nearly exterminated them. \Ve travelled through
th is country many days .
XIX. After that we entered the country of the Mongals ,
whom we call Tartars. :\nd we journeyed through that
country for three weeks, I think riding hard, and on th e
day of the feast of blessed Mary Magdalen (22 nd July )
we arrived at Cuyuc’s, the present emperor. Along all this
(part of the) route we tra v~lled very fast, for our Tartars
had been ordered to take us quickly to the solemn court
which had already been convened for several years for the
election of an empero r,2 so that we might be present at it.
So we had to rise at dawn and tra\·el till night without a
stop ; often we arrived so late that we did not eat at night,
but that which we sho uld have eaten at night was given us
in the morning; and we went as fast as the horses could
trot, for th ere was no lack of horses, havin g usua lly fresh
horses during the day, those which we left being sent back,
as I have stated pre viously ; and in this fashion we rode
rapidly along without interruption .
I I.
Concerning the a rr angement of the Emperor’s court and of
his princes.
(754 ) I. When we reached Cuyuc’s camp, he caused us to
be given a tent and allowances such as the Tartars are in
the habit of giving; but th ey treated us better than they did
the other ambassadors. We were not called (before Cuyuc)
however, for he had not yet been elected, nor had they
settled about the succession ; the translation of the letters
of the Lord Pope, and what else we had said (to Coren za
and Batu), had been sent him by Bati. And when “e ha<l
been there five or six days, he sent us to his mother, 1 where
the solemn court was being held. Wh en ,,·e got ther e
they had alr eady erected a great tent (755) made of white
purple, which in our opinion was lar ge enough to hold
more than two th ousand persons; and around it a ,.vooden
paling had been made, and it was ornamented with dive rs
designs .
On the second or third day we went with the Tartars
who had be en assigned to guard us (to this ten t); and all
the chiefs met there, and each one was riding around in a
circle over hill and daie with his men. On the fii-st day
they were all dressed in white purple; on th e seco nd day,
and th en it was that Cuyuc came to the tent , they we:re
dressed in red (purple); on the third day they were-all in blue
purple, an9- on the fourth day in the fine st baldakins. 2 I 11
the palin g nea r th e te nt were two big gates: one throu :;h
which only the Emperor co uld pa ss, and at which ther e
was no guard th ough it was open, for no one would dare
to go in or out by it ; and the other way by which a ll
th ose who had admitt a nce went in, and a t this one were
guards with swo rd s, bows and arrows, and if anyone came
near the tent o ut s ide of the set bounds, he was beat en if
caught, or shot at with head less arrows if he ran away.
The hor ses were kept at about tw o ar row-fli ght s, I should
sa y, from th e tent. The chiefs went about eve rywh ere with
a number of th e ir men all arm ed ; but nobod y, unle ss a chief,
co uld go to the hors es , \\·ith out get tin g bad ly beate n for
trying to do so. And many (of the horses ) there were which
(7 56) had on their bits, breast-plates, sacldles and cruppers
quite twenty marks worth of gold 1 I should think. And
so the chiefs held counsel beyond 2 the tent-, and discussed
the election, while all the rest of the people were far
away from the tent. And there they remained till about
noon, when they began drinking mare’ s milk, and they
drank till evening so plentifully that it was a rare sight.
III. They called us inside (the tent), and gave us mead,
for we would not drink mare ‘s milk at all; and thi s was
a great honor they showed us ; and they kept on urging
us to drink, but not being in the habit of it, we co uld not
do so , and we let them see that it was distasteful to us, so
they stopped pressing us. In the great square was the
duke Jeroslav of Susdal in Ruscia, and several princes of
the Kitayans and Solanges, also two sons of the King of
Georgia,3 a soldan, the ambassador of the Calif of Baldach,
and more than ten other soldans of the Saracen~,4 I believe,
and as we were told by the procurators. For there were
more than four thousand envoys, as well those bringing
tribute as those offering presents, soldans and other chiefs
who had come to pre sen t themselve s (75 7) in person, those
who had been sent by their (rulers ), and those who
were governors of countries. All these were put together
outside the paling, and drink was give n to them at the
same time; as for ourselves and the duke J eroslav, whenever
we were outside with them they always gave us
a higher place. I think, if I remember rightly, that we
were at that place for a good four weeks ; and I am under
the impr ession that the election was made there, though
it was not proclaimed. It was for the following rea son th at
it was generally believed (that Cuyuc had been chosen) :
when ever Cuyuc came out of the tent, they sang to him ,
and as long as he remained outsid e of it they inclined
before him certain fine staffs on the end s of which were
(tufts of) red wool, which was done to no other chief.
They called this tent (statio) or court the Sira -Orda. 1
IV. Coming out of the tent, we all rode together to
another plac e some three or four leagu es di stant, where
there was a fine large plain near a river flowing between
., ….. …, •• _. __ ……. – ……. . ~ J …………. ‘-” • … – · ··· _…. . _ ._, __ ___ -··-·
mountains,1 where another tent was set up , and it is called
by them the Golden Orda : and here it was that Cuyuc
was to have been plac ed on the throne on the day of the
Assumption o f our Lady (15th August); but it was
deferred on account of the hail which fell, to which I ha ve
referred p revious ly. This tent (758 ) rested on pill ars
cove red with go ld plate s, fas t ened with gold nails and other
woods, and the top and side;; of it were covered with bal da kins;
the outside, howe ver , being of other kinds of stuff.
Herc we rem ained until the feast of Saint Bartholom ew
(24th August), \\·hen there assembled a great multitude,
and th ey all stoo d with th e ir faces turned to the south,
some of them a stone ‘s thro w from oth ers, go ing ever
farther and farther away, maki ng genuAexions tow a rds the
south. As for us, not kn owing whether they were making
incant a tions or bend ing th e ir kn ees to God or what else,
we would not make any genuAexions. 2 After doing thi s
for a long while th ey went back to the tent, and plac ed
Cuy uc on th e imper ial seat, and th e chi efs knelt before
him ; and a fter tha t the whole people did likew ise, excep t
our selves who we re not his subjects. Then they began
drinking, and as is their cust o m, th ey kep t on drinking till
eve nin g. After that the y brou ght in earls of cooked me at,
witho ut salt, and to each four or fi\·e th ey gave a quarter.
To tho se who were in sid e (the te nt ) they gave me a t and
salted brot h for sauce ; and in this fashion they passed
clays in feasting.
V. It wa s at this place (the Golden Orda) th a t we were
called into the Emperor’s pre sence ; after that Chingay 1
(7 59) the prothonotary had written down our name s and the
name s of thos e who had sent us, a nd also th ose of the chief
of the Solanges and o f the others, he repeated th em a ll,
sho u tin g with a loud vo ice before the Emperor a nd all the
chi efs. Wh e n thi s had been done each of us ha d to bend
the left knee foar tim es ,2 and th ey ca uti o ned us not to
touch the thr es hold , and ha ving searc hed us carefully for
kni ves , and not ha vin g found any, we e nt e red the door on
th e east side , for no on e dare enter that on the west side
save the Emperor; and the same rule applies if it is the
t ent of a chief; but th ose of low rank pay little attention to
such matt e rs. And when we entered his tent, it \\·as th e
first occ a sion since he had be e n mad e Emperor (that he
had given an a udi e nce). He rece ived likewise th e a mba ssadors,
but ve ry few pe rso ns en tere d hi s tent. H erc also
suc h g reat qu an titi es of prese nt s were g ive n him by th e
a mba ssado rs, silk s, sa mit es , purples, bald ak in s, s ilk g irdl es
worke d in gol d , sp lendid fur s and ot her thin gs, th a t it 1rn s
a marv el to see. H e re also it was that a kind of umb rel la
or awning (760) that is carried ove r th e Emp eror’s head
wa s pr ese nt ed to him, a nd it was all covered with pr eciou5
stone s.3 Herc a lso a ce rt a in gove rn or of a pro vin ce bro ught
to him many camels covered with baldakin and with
saddles on them, and a kind of arrangement inside of
which people could sit, I think there were forty or fifty of
them; and (he also gave him) many horses and mules
covered with armour, some of hide , others of iron. 1 They
asked us if we wished to make any presents; but we had
already used up near ly everything we had, so we had
nothing at all to give him . It was while here that on a
hill some distance from the tent there were more than five
hundred carts, all full of gold and silver and silken gowns,
all of which was divided up between the Emperor and the
chiefs; and the various chiefs divided their shares among
their men as they saw fit.
VI. Leaving this place, we came to another where there
was a wonderful tent, all of red purple, a present of the
Kitayans. We were taken into it also, and here again when
we entered they gave us mead or wine to drink, and offered
us cooked meat, if we wanted it. There was a high platform
of board s2 in it, on which was the Emperor’s throne (76 1):
and the throne was of ebony, wonderfully sculptured ; and
there were also (on it ) gold, and precious stones, and, if I
remember rightl y , pearls; and one went up to it by steps,
and it was rounded behind. There were benches placed
around the throne, on which the ladies sat in rows on the
le ft side ;3 on the right side no one sat on raised seats,
but the chiefs sat on seats of lesser height placed in the
middle (o f the tent ), and the other people sat behind them
and the whole day there came there a great concourse of
ladies . These three tents of which I have spoken 4 were
very bi g ; but hi s wive s h a d other tents of white fe lt, and
they were quite lar ge and hand so me. It was here also that
the y sepa ra t ed : the mother o f th e Emp e ror we nt in one
dire c tion, the E mp e ro r in an o ther, for the purpose o f
r en derin g justice . The paternal aunt of the E mp ero 1· was
in pri son , for she had kill ed h is father in the time when
th e ir army wa s in Hun ga ry, and it wa s for thi s that, the
army h ad r etr ea ted from th ose countries. She and a
numb er of others were tri ed for thi s, a nd put to d ea th. 1
VII. At thi s same tim e Jero slav, g rand -d uke in a part
of Rus cia called Susdal, died a t th e Emperor’s orda . It
happ ened that h e was invit ed by th e mo th er of the
Emperor (to her tent ), and she gave him to ea t and drink
with h e r ow n hand, as if to hon o ur him ; a nd he went back
to hi s lodgi n gs (762) s tr aig ht wa y and fell ill , and after
seven days h e was deacl, a n d a ll hi s b od y became livid in
s tran ge fashion; so th at everyone beli eved that he had
b ee n poisoned, that they mi g ht ge t fr ee and full po ssess ion
of hi s lands. As an argument in fa vo ur of thi s (s uppos
ition, th e Empress) se nt at once, without the knowledge
of any of h e r p eop le who we re there, an envoy in all h as te
to his son Alexa nd e r in Ruscia to come to her, for she
wish ed to g ive him his father’s lan ds ; but he would not
go , but remaine d there (at hom e) ; in th e mea nwhile (t he
Empress) se nt a lso let te rs for him to come and receive his
father’s land s. It wa s believed by a ll that h e would be put
to d eat h if he s h ould co me, o r impri so n ed perpetually. 2
VIII. It was after this death (of Jcroslav) that our
Tartars took us to the Emperor, if I remember correctly
the time; and when the Emperor heard from our Tartars
that we had come to him, he order ed us to go back to his
mother, for he wanted two days after that to unfurl his
standard against the whole of the western world, as
was emphatically told us by those who knew, as has
been previously stated, and he wished us not to know it.
When we had returned (to the Empress), we remained
there a few days, when we were sent back again to him ;
and we remained with him for quite a month, in such
hunger and thirst that we were barely able to keep alive,
for the allowances which they gave the four of us were
scarcely enough for one ; and we could find nothing to buy,
the market being too far away . Had not the Lord sent
us a certain Ruthenian called Cosmas, a goldsmith, and
a great favourite of the Emperor, 1 who helped us a little,
I verily believe we should have died, unless the Lord
(763) had helped us in some other way . He showed us
before putting it in place the throne of the Emperor which
he himself had made, and also the seal he had manufactured
for him, and he told us the superscription on his
seal.2 We also learnt many private details (secreta) ab out
rnc Jc.m per o r, tr o m tho se who had come with o ther ch 1e ls,
several Ruthcnians and Hun gar ians who knew Latin and
French, also Ruthcnian clerks a nd others ,,·h o h ad been
with them, so me as lo ng as thi rty years, in war and in
other events, and who kn ew all about them as th ey und e rs
to od the Ja n g u;igc , having been co ntinu a lly with them
some twent y , o th ers ten years, more or less. From the se
we were able to lea rn about every thin g : they t o ld us most
fr ee ly of a ll thin gs without o ur having to q u es t ion th em, for
th ey kne w of our desire .
IX. After these things had ha p p e ned th e Emperor se nt
hi s prothonotary Chingay to tell us to write down what
\\·c h a d t o say a nd our bu s in ess, and t o give it to him; this
we did, writing d ow n all we had previously sa id at Bati’s,
as has been stated above. A ft e r an interval of several
day s, he h ad us a ga in ca ll ed, a nd told us, through Kadac,
th e procurator of the whole empire, a nd in the presence of
th e prothonotaries Bala a nd Chingay, (764) and o f m any
o th e rs of hi s sec re tarie s, to say a ll we had to say ; a nd thi s
we did right willin g ly. O ur interpreter on th a t occasion,
as well as o n th e other, was T eme r, a kni g ht o f Jeroslav’s,
now a cler k with him, and another clerk o f th e Emperor’s.’
And h e (i .e., Kaclac ) asked u s on the latter occasion if
thei-e ,,·e re any persons with th e Lord Pope wh o und er stood
th e written lang u ages of th e Ruthenians o r Sarace n s
or T a rt a r s. \\ ‘e replied th at \\ -C did n o t use either the
Ruthenian, Tarta r, o r Sa ra cen ic wr itin g, and th a t th oug h
ther e we re Saracens in th e country, th ey were far distant
fr o m th e Lo rd Pope. \Ve added th a t it app e a red to u s
the be st pla n for th e m t o wri te in Tarta1·, and to h ave it
trnn s lat e cl t0 u s , and thr1t we would ca r ef ully ,nit e it down
in our language, taking both the (original) letter and the
translation to the Lord Pope. On this they left us and
went back to the Emperor.
X. On the feast of Saint Martin (r Ith November)
we were again summoned, and Kadac, Chingay, Bala
and several others of the secretaries came to us, and the
letter was translated to us word for word ; and as we translated
it into Latin 1 they made us explain each phrase,
wishing to ascertain if we had made a mistake in any word ;
and when (765) the two letters were written they made
us read them together and separately for fear we had left
out anything, and they said to us : “Be sure you understand
it all, for it must not be that you do not understand everything,
when you have reached such very distant lands .”
And having told them : “We understand it all,” they
re-wrote the letter in Saracenic, so that it might be read to
the Lord Pope if he could find any one in our part of the
world able to do so.
XI. It is the custom of the Emperor of the Tartars
never to address in person a stranger, no matter how great
he may be; he only listens, and then answers through the
medium of someone, as I have explained . Whenever
they explain any business to Kadac, or listen to an answer
of the Emperor, those who are under him (i.e., his own
subject s), remain on th eir kn ees until the end of the speech,
no matter how great they may be. One may not, for it is
not the custom, say anything more about any question
after it is disposed of by the Emperor .2 This Emperor
has a procurator, pr?thonotaries and secret aries, and also
all the other officers for public as well as private affairs,
exce pt ad voca tes, for th ey ca rry out without a murmur all
jud gments accordin g to the Emperor’ s decision. The
other princes of the Tartars do in like manner as re ga rds
tho se thin gs which pertain to their offices.
XII. This Emperor may be forty or forty-five years or
more old; he is of medium stature, very prud ent and
extremely shrewd, and serious and sedate in his manners;
(766) and he has never been see n to laugh light ly or show
any levity, and of this we we re assured by Christians who
were constantly with him . We were also assured by
Christians who were of his hous ehold that they firmly
believ ed that he was about to beco me a Christian. As
signal evidence of this he keeps Christian clerks and gives
them allowances, and he has always the cha pel of the
Christians in front of his g reat tent, and (th ese priests)
chant publicly and openly and b ea t (a tabl et) according to
the fashion of the Greeks at appointed hours, ju st lik e
other Christians, and th oug h th ere may be ever so g reat
a multitude of Tartars and of ot her people. And the other
chi efs do n ot have this .
XIII. Our Tartar s who were to come back with us told
us th at the Emperor proposed sending his ambassadors
with us. He wished, howeve r, I think , that we should
ask him to do so , for one of our Tartars, the elder of th e
two, told us to ask it; but it not see min g to us good that
th ey should come, we repli ed that it was not for us to ask
it, but that if the Emp ero r of hi s own will sent them, we
would with God’s help g uide them safely. T here were
various reasons, how eve r, for which it seemed to us ine x pedient
that th ey should com e. The first reason was that
we feared they would see the di sse nsions and wars amon g
us, and that it would encoura ge them to march against us .
Th e seco nd reason was th at we fea red they were intend ed
to be spies. Th e third rea so n was th at we fea red lest
th ey be put to death, as our people for th e most part
are arro g ant and ha sty : thu s it was that when th e se rva
nt s who were with us (767) at the request of the
Cardinal Legate in Germany were going back to him in
Tartar dress, they came near being stoned by the Germar.s
on the road, and were forced to leave off that dress.l
And it is the custom of the Tartars never to make
peace with those who have killed their envoys till they
have wreaked vengeance upon them. The fuurth reason
was that we feared th ey would carry us off, as was once
done with a Saracen prince, who is still a captive, unless he
is dead. The fifth reason was that there was no need for
their coming, for they had no other order or authority than to
bring the letters of the Emperor to the Lord Pope and the
other princes (of Christendom), which we (already) had,
and we believed that evil might come of it. Therefore it
pleased us not that they should come. The third day after
this, which was the feast of Saint Brice (13th November ),
they gave us permission to leave (licentiam ) and a letter of
the Emp eror signed with his seal, and then they sent us to
the Emperor’s mother, who gave to each of us a fox-skin
gown with the fur outside and wadding inside, and also a
piece of purple-of which our Tartars stole a palm’s length
from each, and also more than half of another piece which
was given to our servant ; but though it was no secret to
us, we did not choose to make any ado over it.
III.
Concerning the rou te we travelled in coming back.
(768 ) I. So we started on our way back, and we were
travelling the whole winter, resting most of the time in the
snow in the desert, save when in the open plain where there
were no tr ees we co uld scrape a bare p lace \\·ith our feet ;
and o ften when the win d drifted it we wou ld find (on
wa kin g) our bodi es al l cove red with snow .1 And so we
travelled alon g till we came to Bati, on the Ascension of
our L ord (9t h May ), and to him we to ld wh at (t he
Emperor) had an swe red th e L ord Pope . H e rep lied that
he had no thin g to ask ot her than wha t the Emp ero r had
writt en ; but he said that we must ca 1·e fully tell th e Lord
Pope a nd the other lords e \·cry thin g the Empero r had
written. Sa fe condu cts havi ng been g iven us we left him ,
and rea ched l\fa uci on th e Saturday a fte r the octave of
P ent ecos t (2 nd Jun e), wh ere were our companions and
se rva nts who had b een de ta in ed, and wh om we ca used to
be brought back lo us. Thence \\·e \\'<.:nt to Corenza , who
again begge d pre sent s o f us, bu t not havi ng (a nythin g)
we gave nothin g. He gave us two Coma ns, who were
accounted of th e T a rt a 1·s, as far as Ki <.:\\’ (769) in Ru scia. 2
Our O\\’n Tartar did not ka \·c us till we had left the last
Tartar camp. Th e oth ers who had be en give n us by
Co re nza led us in six day s from th e las t camp to Ki cw .
I I. \Ve r eac hed (Kicw) fifte e n clays befo re the feast of
Sain t J ohn the Bap ti st (9 th Jun e). The Ki ewians wbo
had h ea rd of our arrival all ca me out to mee t us rejoic ing,
and congratulated us as if we h ad risen from the dead, and
so they did to us throughout Ruscia, Poland and Bohemia. 1
Daniel and Vassilko his brother received us with great
rejoicing, and kept us, against our will, for quite eight days;
during which time they held counsel between themselves
and the bishops and other notables about those things on
which we had spoken to them when on our way to the
Tartars. And they answered us jointly, saying, that they
wished to have the Lord Pope for their particular lord and
father, and the holy Roman Church as their lady and
mistress, and confirming likewise all they had previously
transmitted on the matter through their abbot; and after
that they sent with us to the Lord Pope their letters and
ambassadors.