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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

worth noticing that the Franciscan transcriptions with -e- support Abū-'l-Fidā's spelling of Kūm-
mājar without the long ā of the last syllable which he uses in Mājar when it is the name of the Hunga-
rians.

The name of « Mengiar » comes in Polo after that of « Lac », and we know that the « Lac » are
the Lezghians. In the same way, Abū-'l-Fidā says (II, I, 283) that « in the neighbourhood of Kūm-
mājar are the Lakzī (Lezghians) ». It does not seem any more possible to doubt that « Mengiar »
designates in Polo the region of the city of Mājar.

Strange as it may appear, Polo's spelling with an -n- at the end of the first syllable is not without
support from other documents. The Genoese acts published by BRĂTIANU name the Hungarians
when the real Hungarians are meant (although occasionally Rumanians are mixed up with them;
cf. Le commerce génois, p. 229); but a document of 1289 from Caffa refers to the sale of « sclavum
unum de proienie maniar, nominatum Balaban », and another of the same year, from Caffa also,
to the sale of « sclavum unum... de proienie maniar, nominatum Teronda » (Actes des notaires,
178, 258). BRĂTIANU (Le commerce génois, 229) has already seen that « Maniar » must be Majar
on the Kuma, identical with Polo's « Mengiar ». I do not know what « Teronda » means, but balaban
is a good Turkish word designating a kind of falcon, and, as a proper name, has spread widely to
India and to Egypt (although generally read wrongly « Balban »).

285. MERIDIN

meredimi V meridien L meridin Z; R

The Mardin of our maps; Polo couples it with « Mus » as the name of a province (see « Mus »).
The «Meredimi» of V leaves the possibility that Polo had written «Meredin»; on the place, cf. Y,
I, 62; LS, 96.

Hethum always writes « Meredin »; Ricold has « Merdinum »; Fra Mauro's « Merdi » stands
for « Merdi » = « Merdin » (cf. Hist. des Crois., Arm., II, 985; HALLBERG, 351-352). These trans-
criptions suppose *Mārdīn, instead of the usual Arabic spelling Mārdīn.

286. MINGAN

maghan TA³ migan V mingii VA
mangha TA¹ mingam FA, FB mitigan VL
migam LT mingan F; R miungaym P

Mong. Mingyan, which means « thousand »; Rašīdu-'d-Dīn generally transcribes it مكك.
Mingqan = Mingyan. This is a frequent name among the Mongols of the period; WANG Hui-
tsui¹ (19, 11) distinguishes three 明 安 Ming-an in YS alone. The present one is certainly the