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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

267. KESMACORAN (< *KESMOCORAN)

*besmaceran* VL *kesmacora* F, L, Z *resinacorar, resinatora*r G
*cemascherini* VB *kesmacoran* F, Fr, L, Z *resmachoinan, resmocholan,*
*chasmarcha, chesmarcha* TA³ *kesmucoran* F *rismachoran* V
*chesmacora,chesmanchora* TA¹ *quesinaturan* FA, FA⁴ *resmachoram, resmoram,*
*chesmacoran* R *quesinetoran,quesmaturan* FA *rischomorchoram* VA
*ckesmacoran* Z *quesmacuram* FAt, FB *resmacoram* P
*esmacoran* Fr *quesmecoram* FB *resmagoram* LT
*kemacoran* Lr

This has long been recognized as a joint name of the principal town and of its province, the town
being كز Kêz and the province مكران Mukrān. Although Polo provides the earliest example, the
joint name was used shortly after him by Ibn-Baṭṭūṭah, and afterwards by many others (cf. *Y*, II,
402).

The name of the province is often read Makrān or Mekrān, but Ya'qūt and Abū-'l-Fidā vocalize
Mukrān (or Mokrān; cf. BARBIER DE MEYNARD, *Dict. hist.* 538; REINAUD, *Géogr. d'Aboulféda*, II, II,
111), and this reading is confirmed by the Chinese transcriptions which will be quoted below. The
town which was associated with the province at an early date is كز Tīz (cf. *Fe*, 67), but Ya'qūt already
mentions Kêz as the principal city of Mukrān, at five days' journey from Tīz, which is the principal
port; Ya'qūt adds that some write Jīz and Kēj instead of Kêz (BARBIER DE MEYNARD, *ibid.*, 499);
this seems to point to an original *Gêẑ.

In 1225, Chao Ju-kua wrote 木俱蘭 Mu-chü-lan (*HR*, 122, 224), which supposes *Mukurān.
The Chinese map of the early 15th cent. gives, side by side, the two place-names of 客實 K'o-shih,
*Kāš (= Kêẑ), and 木克郎 Mu-k'o-lang, *Mukāräng, = *Mukārān (with *-ā-* nasalized; see
« Badascian »). These pronunciations, which represent the name of the province as read in three
syllables, agree with Polo's spelling.

Most Mss. support « Kesmacoran », but the full agreement of Arabic and Chinese transcriptions
shows that the mediaeval pronunciation of the name of the province which is represented here by
the second half of the word began with *mu-* or *mo-*, not with *ma-*. In one case (although *B*¹, 203,
has read otherwise), F has « Kesmucoran », and the « Quesinetoran » of FA (also in one case) is more
easy to explain by starting from « Kesmocoran » than from « Kesmacoran ». Moreover, the *mo-* is
indirectly confirmed by the Catalan and Medici maps dependent here on Polo. The Medici Map
gives two names « Chechi » and « Nocran », which are « Chesimo » and « Nocran » on the Catalan Map
(cf. HALLBERG, 138, 347, 378; *Y*¹, I, 309). It seems evident that « Nocran » is for « Mocran »
(« Chechmocran » > « Chechinoran » ?), and that « Kesimo » represents a wrong division of

10.