Mirabilia Descripta, The Wonders of the East, by Friar Jordanus by Henry Yule

Author:Henry Yule [Yule, Henry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781317095613
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2017-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

1 "The ancient and extensive Dominican mission, which once had its seat in this province, (Nakhchevan) is now no more. It was commenced about 1320 by an Italian papal monk of the Dominican order. Such success attended it that soon nearly thirty Armenian villages embraced the faith of Rome, and acknowledged subjection to a papal bishop, who after being consecrated at Rome resided in the village of Aburan, with the title of Archbishop of Nakhcheván." (Smith and Dwight, p. 257.)

2 At this time a Tartar successor of Hulaku.

3 This Dead Sea is doubtless the Lake of Urumia, the waters of which are Salter than sea water. It appears to be about ninety miles in length from north to south. There are no fish in it. It contains several islands, or peninsulas which are occasionally islands, two of which have been used as fortresses. In one of these Hulaku the Tartar conqueror of Baghdad was said to have stored his treasures. Another is said to be "as old as the days of Zoroaster," who is believed to have been born in the vicinity. I do not find tombs mentioned. (Penny Cyc. in v. Azerbijan, also Monteith in Jour. Geog. Soc. iii. 65, and Smith and Dwight, 348.)

4 "Thaurisium."

5 Sebast is doubtless Sivas, called by Marco Polo Sebastos, anciently Sebasteia (Smith's Dict. of Gr. and Rom. Geo.) south of Tokat, and giving name to a pachalik. The Barcarian mountains appear as Barchal Dagh running parallel to the Black Sea between Trebizond and Kars. (Stieler's Hand-Atlas, 43a.) Mogan is Orogan in the original, but, as we shall see below, this is an error of transcription. The Plain of Mogan is the great plain extending from the eastern foot of Caucasus along the Caspian, and stretching to the south of the Cyrus and Araxes, Here Pompey's career eastward is said to have been arrested by the venomous serpents with which the long grass of the plain is infested. The dread of these serpents still exists. "Their hissing is heard from afar, and they seem to rise from the grass like fish from the sea", Kinneir was told. Here the camp of Heraclius was pitched, as was that of the Tartar hosts for many months during their invasion of Armenia in the thirteenth century, and that of Nadir Shah when he placed the crown upon his head. (Macd. Kinneir's Mem. of Persia, 153; Avdall's Hist. of Armenia.)

1 The Lake appears to be Gokchai or Sevan, north-east of Erivan. There is a small island with a monastery upon it. There are many traditions attached to the monasteries in thie vicinity, but I cannot find this one.

2 Perhaps Erivan, but I cannot trace the name.

3 Sir John Chardin (356) says he may "truly reck'n" the population of Tauris to be 550,000 persons, and that several in the city would have it to be double that number! yet he had said just before that it contained 15,000 houses and 15,000 shops, so that 150,000 souls would be a liberal estimate.

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