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| The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
CHAP. LVIII. THE KINGDOM OF EGRIGAIA
28!
CHAPTER LVIII.
OF THE KINGDOM OF EGRIGAIA.
wa;
t
STARTING again from Erguiul you ride eastward for
eight days, and then come to a province called EGRIGAIA,
containing numerous cities and villages, and belonging
to Tangut.' The capital city is called CALACHAN.2 The
people are chiefly Idolaters, but there are fine churches
belonging to the Nestorian Christians. They are all
subjects of the Great Kaan. They make in this city
great quantities of camlets of camel's wool, the finest
in the world ; and some of the camlets that they make
are white, for they have white camels, and these are
the best of all. Merchants purchase these stuffs here,
and carry them over the world for sale.'
We shall now proceed eastward from this place and
enter the territory that was formerly Prester John's.
NOTE I.—Chinghiz invaded Tangut in all five times, viz. in 1205, 1207, 1209 (or according to Erdmann, 1210-1211), 1218, and 1226-1227, on which last expedition he died.
In the third invasion, according to D'011sson's Chinese guide (Father Hyacinth), he took the town of Uiraca, and the fortress of Imen, and laid siege to the capital, then called Chung-sing or Chung-hing, now Ning-hsia.
Rashid, in a short notice of this campaign, calls the first city Erica, Erlaca, or, as
Erdmann has it, Artacki. In De Mailla it is Ulahai.
On the last invasion (1226), D'Ohsson's Chinese authority says that Chinghiz took Kanchau and Suhchau, Cholo and Khola in the province of Liangcheu, and then proceeded to the Yellow River, and invested Lingchau, south of Ning-hsia.
Erdmann, following his reading of Rashiduddin, says Chinghiz took the cities of Tangut, called Arucki, .Kachu, Sichit, and Kamichzu, and besieged Deresgai (D'Ohsson, Derssekai), whilst Shidergu, the King of Tangut, betook himself to his
capital Artackin.
D'Ohsson, also professing to follow Rashid, calls this " his capital Irgkai, which the Mongols call Ircaya." Klaproth, illustrating Polo, reads " Eyircai, which the
Mongols call Eyircayá."
Pétis de la Croix, relating the same campaign and professing to follow Fadlallah,
i.e. Rashiduddin, says the king " retired to his fortress of Arbaca."
Sanang Setzen several times mentions a city called Irrhai, apparently in Tangut ; but all we can gather as to his position is that it seems to have lain east of
Kanchau.
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