国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

322. QUIACATU

acata Ps aghatu TA³ chyacato Z
acatu, cocatu F catu, giacatu Fr chyacatto Zr
accatu L chiacato R quiacatu F, L
achatu F, LT, TA¹, VA, VL chiachatu V quicatu Ft
acra P chiato F, FA, FB

This name was still wrongly read « Kendschatu » all along Ha¹, but, in the Index (II, 466),
an alternative form « Keichatu » has been added, and has been adopted in Ha², 247, for Waṣṣāf's
يخاتو. Recent authors, like BROWNE (Hist. of Pers. lit., III, 37-39), transcribe « Gaykhátu ».
Hethum's various readings suppose « Quaygato » or « Caygato » (Hist. des Crois., Arm., II, 188-190,
315); the « Quegato » of Paolino da Venezia in GOLUBOVICH (Bibl. bio-bibl., II, 95) is derived from
Hethum; the Syriac form is Kaîḥatu. The name has always puzzled me. It looks like a Mongol
name with the adjective suffix -tu; but few Mongol words are transcribed with ḥ, and above all there
is an incompatibility in Mongolian between k and ḥ in a term which is not a compound. In a work
of Uluγ-Bāg quoted in a passage of Abū-'l-Ghāzī which I cannot find in DESMAISONS's edition and
translation, it is said that Gāiḥatu's original name was « Enkatu » (« Unkatu » according to HOWORTH,
III, 357), which is said to mean in Mongolian « wonderful », « astonishing » (Ha¹, I, 396); according
to d'OHSSON (Oh, IV, 82), it is Gāiḥatu itself which would have such a sense. I do not see what
« Enkatu » or « Unkatu » may be. As to Gāiḥatu, there is in Mongolian a verb γaiga-, « to be asto-
nished », a noun γaigal, « astonishment », an adjective γaigaltai, « astonishing », « wonderful »,
but no *γaigatu, which seems an impossible derivation; moreover, I do not remember any case,
for the present, when Mo. γ- was transcribed g- (or k-) in the Mongol period by men like Rašīdu-'d-
Dīn; it is always rendered by γ- or q-. So, while it seems certain that the author of the explanation
had γaiga- in view, it may be for an original name γaigaltu (normal double form of γaigaltai),
but not for gāiḥatu; and the author of the glose, be he Uluγ-Bāg or any other, had a feeling, or
knew, that Gāiḥatu was not the original form. I have thought of a secondary form where the name
would have been have Iranicized by adding the Mongol suffix -tu to Persian kāyāḥān, gāyāhān,
« sweet words » (the dropping of final -n is regular in similar Mongol derived forms); but it is only
a surmise, perhaps too bold. Anyhow, I transcribe Gāiḥatu, provisionally.

Gāiḥatu was Abaya's son and Aryun's younger brother. He succeeded Aryun, but ascended
the throne only on July 22, 1291, four months and a half after Aryun's death. He proved to be a
most dissolute sovereign, and was finally murdered on April 21, 1295, by Baidu (for the date, see
« Baidu »).

Apart from his « Mongol » name, Gāiḥatu was also known under the appellation of Irinjin-
torji or Irānjin-dorji, which was on his paper-money and on his coins; it has long been recognized
as a Mongolized form of Tib. Rin-čh'en rDo-rje, « Jewel Diamond ». According to Waṣṣāf (cf.