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| The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.2 |
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Citation Information
CHAP. XXXV. • THE OSTRICH
437
Y
Makrizi that about A.H. 700, the reigning governor of Aufat under the Hati was Sabreddin Mahomed Valahui ; and that it was 'Ali, the son of this Sabreddin, who first threw off allegiance to the Abyssinian King, then Saif Arad (son of Amda Zion). The latter displaces 'Ali and gives the government to his son Ahmed. After various vicissitudes Hakeddin, the son of Ahmed, obtains the mastery in Aufat, defeats Saif Arad completely, and founds a city in Shoa called Vahal, which superseded Aufat or Ifat. Here the Sabreddin of Makrizi appears to be identical with Amda Zion's governor in Bruce's story, whilst the Hakeddins belong to two different generations of the same family. But Makrizi does not notice the wars of Amda Zion any more than the Abyssinian Chronicles notice the campaign recorded by Marco Polo.
(Bruce, vol. III. and vol. IV., pp. 23-9o, and Salt's Second Journey to Abyssinia, II. 270) etc. ; both these are quoted from French versions which are alone available to me, the former by Castera, Londres, 179o, the latter by P. Henry, Paris, 1816 ; Fr. Th. Rink, Al Macrisi, Hist. Rerum Islamiticarum in Abyssinia, etc., Lugd. Bat. 1798 ; Rüópell, Dissert. on Abyss. Hist. and Chronology in his work on that country ; Quat. Makr. II. 122-123 ; Quat. ßl1 nt. sur l'Égypte, II. 268, 276.)
NOTE 6.—The last words run in the G. T. : "Il ont singles de 'losers maineres. Il ont gat paulz (see note 2, eh. xxiii. supra), et autre gat maimon si devisez qe you s'en faut de tiel hi a ge ne senblent a vix d'ornes." The beautiful cocks and hens are, I suppose, Guinea fowl.
[We read in the Si Shi ki : " There is (in Western Asia) a large bird, above io feet high, with feet like a camel, and of bluish-grey colour. When it runs it flaps the wings. It eats fire, and its eggs are of the size of a sheng (a certain measure for grain). (Bretschneider, 1lfed. Res., I. pp. 143-144.) Dr. Bretschneider gives a long note on the ostrich, called in Persian shutur-murg (camel-bird), from which we gather the following information : " The ostrich, although found only in the desert of Africa and Western Asia, was known to the Chinese in early times, since their first intercourse with the countries of the far west. In the History of the Han ( T'sien Han shu, ch. xcvi.) it is stated that the Emperor Wit-ti, B.C. 140-186, first sent an embassy to An-si, a country of Western Asia, which, according to the description given of it, can only be identified with ancient Parthia, the empire of the dynasty of the Arsacides. In this country, the Chinese chronicler records, a large bird from 8 to 9 feet high is found, the feet, the breast, and the neck of which make it resemble the camel. It eats barley. The name of this bird is to ma tsio (the bird of the great horse). It is further stated that subsequently the ruler of An-si sent an embassy to the Chinese emperor, and brought as a present the eggs of this great bird. In the Hou Han shu, ch. cxviii., an embassy from An-si is mentioned again in A.D. I0I. They brought as presents a lion and a large bird. In the History of the Wei Dynasty, A.D. 386-558,
where for the first time the name of Po-sz' occurs, used to designate Persia, it is recorded that in that country there is a large bird resembling a camel and laying eggs
of large size. It has wings and cannot fly far. It eats grass and flesh, and swallows men. In the History of the T'azzg (618-907) the camel-bird is again mentioned as a bird of Persia. It is also stated there that the ruler of T'u-Jzuo-lo (Tokharestan) sent a camel-bird to the Chinese emperor. The Chinese materia medica, Pen ts'ao Äazzg gnu, written in the 16th century, gives (eh. xlix.) a good description of the ostrich, compiled from ancient authors. It is said, amongst other things, to eat copper, iron, stones, etc., and to have only two claws on its feet. Its legs are so strong that it can dangerously wound a man by jerking. It can run 300 li a day. Its native countries are A-dan (Aden) Dju-bo (on the Eastern African coast). A rude but tolerably exact drawing of the camel-bird in the Pen-ts'ao proves that the ostrich was well known to the Chinese in ancient times, and that they paid great attention to it. In the History of the Ming Dynasty, eh. cccxxvi., the country of Hu-lu-mo-sz' (IIormuz on the Persian Gulf) is mentioned as producing ostriches."—H. I. C. ]
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