IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
| |||||||||
|
| IIIF Color HighRes |
| The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.1 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Citation Information
f
w
T
w
~
226
13OOK. I,
MARCO POLO
CHAPTER XLVI.
OF THE CITY OF CARACORON.
~-
•
,►
~
4.
CARACORON is a city of some three miles in compass.
[It is surrounded by a strong earthen rampart, for stone
is scarce there. And beside it there is a great citadel
wherein is a fine palace in which the Governor resides.]
'Tis the first city that the Tartars possessed after they
issued from their own country. And now I will tell
you all about how they first acquired dominion and
spread over the world.'
Originally the Tartars 2 dwelt in the north on the
borders of CHORcIIA.3 Their country was one of great
plains ; and there were no towns or villages in it, but
excellent pasture-lands, with great rivers and many
sheets of water ; in fact it was a very fine and extensive
region. But there was no sovereign in the land. They
did, however, pay tax and tribute to a great prince
who was called in their tongue UNC CAN, the same
that we call Prester John, him in fact about whose
great dominion all the world talks.4 The tribute he had
of them was one beast out of every ten, and also a tithe
of all their other gear.
Now it came to pass that the Tartars multiplied
exceedingly. And when Prester John saw how great
.4 a people they had become, he began to fear that he
should have trouble from them. So he made a scheme
to distribute them over sundry cduntries, and sent one
of his Barons to carry this out. When the Tartars
became aware of this they took it much amiss, and
with one consent they left their country and went off
across a desert to a distant region towards the north,
where Prester John could not get at them to annoy
•
J
4,
r
r104
11K.
41/. ' '.41111
4
~ ~ ?3• •
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright (C) 2003-2019 National Institute of Informatics and The Toyo Bunko. All Rights Reserved.