国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
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The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.1 | |
マルコ=ポーロ卿の記録 : vol.1 |
50 MARCO POLO BOOK I.
s •rG
CHAPTER IV.
f OF GEORGIANIA AND THE KINGS THEREOF.
1
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IN GEORGIANIA there is a King called David Melic, which
is as much as to say " David King " ; ho is subject to the
Tartar.' In old times all the kings were born with the
figure of an eagle upon the right shoulder. The people
are very handsome, capital archers, and most valiant
soldiers. They are Christians of the Greek Rite, and
have a fashion of wearing their hair cropped, like
Churchmen.
This is the country beyond which Alexander could
not pass when he wished to penetrate to the region of the
Ponent, because that the defile was so narrow and
perilous, the sea lying on the one hand, and on the other
lofty mountains impassable to horsemen. The strait
extends like this for four leagues, and a handful of
people might hold it against all the world. Alexander
caused a very strong tower to be built there, to prevent
the people beyond from passing to attack him, and this
got the name of the IRON GATE. This is the place that
the Book of Alexander speaks of, when it tells us how he
shut up the Tartars between two mountains ; not that
they were really Tartars, however, for there were no
Tartars in those days, but they consisted of a race of
people called COMANIANS and many besides.'
[In this province all the forests are of box-wood.]
There are numerous towns and villages, and silk is pro-
duced in great abundance. They also weave cloths of
gold, and all kinds of very fine silk stuffs. The country
produces the best goshawks in the world [which are
called Avig-i].5 It has indeed no lack of anything, and
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