mines yield silver and tin, or lead, abundantly; and they are better than the other mines, except those of silver at Penjhir; but Maweralnahr affords the best copper and quicksilver, and other similar productions of mines; and the mines of sal ammoniac (used in tinning and soldering) in all Khorasan (sic) are there. Like the paper made at Samarcand, there is not any to be found elsewhere. So abundant are the fruits of Soghd and Astersheineh and Ferghanah and Chaje (or Shash) that they are given to the cattle as food. Musk is brought from Tibbet, and sent to all parts. Fox-skins, sable, and ermineskins, are all to be found at the bazaars of Maweralnahr. Such is the generosity and liberality of the inhabitants, that no one turns aside from the rites of hospitality; so that a person contemplating them in this light would imagine that all the families in the land were but one house . . . You cannot see any town, or stage, or even desert, in Maweralnahr, without a convenient inn, or stage-house, for the accommodation of travellers, with everything necessary. I have heard that there are above 2000 robats, or inns, in Mawaralnahr, where as many persons as may arrive shall find sufficient forage for their beasts and meat for themselves.'

Ibn Haukal mentions also a palace in the valley of Soghd, the doors of which were fastened back to the wall with nails, and had been so for upwards of a hundred years, to allow strangers to enter at all hours of the day or night. He had heard, too, he says, that in Mawaralnahr there were 300,000 Kulabs, each furnishing one horse and one foot soldier, and the absence of these men when they go forth is not felt, or is not perceptible, in the country.' And though the people were so well-to-do, many farmers possessing from one to five hundred head of cattle, they were remarkable for their docility and orderly conduct. At all time the Turk soldiers had the precedence of every other race, and the Khalifs always chose them on account

of their excellent services, their obedient disposition, their bravery, and their fidelity.'

'In all the regions of the earth,' continues our traveller, 'there is not a more flourishing or a more delightful country than this, especially the district of Bokhara. If a person stand on the Kohendiz (or ancient castle) of Bokhara, and cast his eyes around, he shall not see anything but beautiful green and luxuriant verdure on every side of the country; so that he would imagine the green of the earth and the azure of the heavens were united: and as there are green fields in every quarter, so there are villas interspersed among the green fields. And in all Khorasan and Maweralnahr there are not any people more long-lived than those of Bokhara. It is said that in all the world there is not any place more delightful (or salubrious) than these three: one, the Soghd of Samarcand; another, the Rud Aileh; and the third, the Ghouteh of Damascus.'

For his part, Ibn Haukal gives the preference to the first of the three, which 'for eight days' journey is all delightful country, affording fine prospects, and full of gardens, and orchards, and villages, corn-fields, and villas, and running streams, reservoirs and fountains, both on the right hand and on the left. You pass from corn-fields into rich meadows and pasture lands; and the Soghd is far more healthy than the Rud Aileh, or the Ghouteh of Dameshk; and the fruits of Soghd are the finest in the world. Among the hills and palaces flow running streams, gliding between the trees. In Ferghanah and Chaje (or Shash), in the mountains between Ferghanah and Turkestan, there are all kinds of fruits and herbs and flowers, and various species of the violet; all these it is lawful for any one who passes by, to pull and gather. In Siroushteh there are flowers of an uncommon species.'

Descending to details, Ibn Haukal informs us that 'Bokhara is called Bounheket: it is situated on a plain; the houses are of

wood, and it abounds in villas and gardens and orchards; and the villages are as close to one another as the groves and gardens, extending for near 12 farsang by 12 farsang all about this space is a wall, and within it the people dwell winter and summer; and there is not to be seen one spot uncultivated, or in decay. Outside this there is another wall, with a small town and a castle, in which the Samanian family, who were governors of Khorasan, resided. This kohendiz, or castle, has ramparts, a mosque, and bazaar. In all Maweralnahr, or Khorasan, there is not any place more populous and flourishing than Bokhara. The river of Soghd runs through the midst of it, and passes on to the mills and meadows, and the borders of Beikend and much of it falls into a pond, or pool, near Beikend, at a place called Sam Kous.'

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In the inner wall there were seven gates, in the outer twelve. In all directions flowed canals of irrigation derived from the main stream, on one of which were situated near 2000 villas and gardens, exclusive of corn-fields and meadows.' There is not any hill or desert; all is laid out in castles, villas, gardens, cornfields, and orchards. The wood which they use for fuel is brought from their gardens, and they burn also reeds and rushes. The grounds of Bokhara and of Soghd are all in the vicinity of water; whence it happens that their trees do not arrive at any considerable height; but the fruits of Bokhara are more excellent than the fruits of any part of Mawaralnahr.' There was a saying that never had the coffin, or bier, of a prince been brought out of the kohendiz of Bokhara, and that no one who was once confined within those walls was ever seen again.

Scarcely less ecstatic is Ibn Haukal's description of Samarkand, situated on the south side of the Kohik or Zarafshan. It boasted of a castle, of spacious suburbs, and of extensive fortifications, pierced for four gates. The city was surrounded with a deep ditch, and rivulets of water flowed through the streets

and bazaars. There are many villas and orchards, and very few of the palaces are without gardens, so that if a person should go to the kohendiz, and from that look around, he would find that the villas and palaces were covered, as it were, with trees; and even the streets and shops and banks of the streams are all planted with trees... The houses of Samarkand are made of clay and wood: the inhabitants are remarkable for their beauty: they are gentle and polite in their manner, and of amiable dispositions.'

According to local tradition, a nephew of the king of Yemen, named Samar, had besieged for a whole year a castle on the Jyhoon, but seemed as far off as ever from success. It chanced, however, that the custodian of one of the gates was one day made prisoner, and brought before the prince. In reply to the questions put to him, this man stated that the king was nearly always in a state of helpless inebriety, and that the government was administered by his daughter. Thereupon Samar sent him back to the princess, the bearer of a golden casket filled with gems, and of a letter in which he offered her marriage, and in proof of his sincerity promised to present her beforehand with 4000 chests full of gold. The princess accordingly agreed to open one of the gates, through which defiled one thousand donkeys, with a heavy chest slung on either side, and each driven by a man rudely but sufficiently armed. In each chest, however, instead of gold, two armed men were concealed, and at a given signal, all these descended from their hiding-places and set upon the unsuspicious garrison, making, besides, a hideous uproar with the bells with which they had been sagaciously provided. The place was speedily taken, the king slain, and the princess reduced to captivity. The castle was destroyed, and a city built upon the site, called by Samar after his own name, Samarkand, or Samar's town. It may be here

parenthetically mentioned that the post-fix 'kend,' 'kund,' or 'kanda' signifies 'a town,' as Tashkend, or 'Stonetown.'

Ibn Haukal has also a good word to say for Khiva. 'Khwarezm,' he writes, 'is a town well supplied with provisions, and abounding in fruits. Linen and wool are manufactured there, and also brocade. The inhabitants are people of high reputation and polished manners: the men of Khwarezm are great travellers; there is not any town in Khorasan without a colony of them. The lower parts of the land of Ghuz belong to Khwarezm; the inhabitants are active and hardy. The wealth of Khwarezm is derived from its commerce and merchandise. They have carpets of Siklab and of Khozr, and they bring to Khwarezm from Khozr the skins of foxes and martins, sables and ermines.'

Ibn Mohalhal, a contemporary of Ibn Haukal, also makes mention of the Ghuz, 'whose city is of stone, timber, and reeds. They have,' he continues, a temple, but no images. Their king is very powerful, and trades with India and China. Their clothes are of linen and camels' hair. They have no wool. They have a white stone, which is good for colic, and a red stone which, by touching a sword, prevents it from cutting. The route lay securely for one month through this country,' which Colonel Yule places to the east of the Sea of Aral; and he adds that, in the reign of Constantine Ducas, the Ghuz, or Uz, penetrated into Macedonia, and received large sums of money from that emperor to induce them to retire. On their way home they were cut to pieces by the Pechinegs, called the Bajnak by Ibn Mohalhal, and described as 'a people with beards and moustachios.' The Pechinegs were much dreaded by Constantine Porphyrogenitus, in whose reign they were encamped on the Dnieper and the Dniester, having been driven from their previous settlements on the Volga and the Yaek, or Ural, by the