* (I HAVE copied exactly what the author has written descriptive of Moghulistán). Thus it is written in the Jahán-Kushái, that the dwelling, original seat, and birthplace of the Tátár was a valley devoid of cultivation;* the length and breadth of which was seven or eight months' journey. It is bounded on the east by the country of Khitái, on the west by the province of Uighur, on the north by Kará Kiz and Sálinkái,* and on the south by a side [jánib] of Tangut. Of these four limiting countries [hudud], mentioned in the Jahán-Kushái, Khitái is definitely known, and [can be] speci­fied. But what [the author] calls ‘Uighur’ is quite unknown at the present time; it is not understood which country is meant.* Nor is anything now known of Kará Kiz and Salinkái, nor have any places been discovered with such names. The name of Tangut is frequently mentioned in Moghul histories. At the outset of Chingiz Káhn's conquests, he sent an army thither. Uktái Káán also, when settling his dominions, sent some persons to Tangut, among other places; and from the way it is spoken of in histories, it was evidently a very important province. At that time the king of this country bore the name of Shidarku. Most histories state that his army numbered 800,000 men. However, at the present time it is not even known where it was. Thus it is impossible to say anything about those limiting countries which are specified in books.*

In the same way, some of the towns in Moghulistán are men­tioned by name and described, in standard works. Among them is Balá-Sákun, which in the Suvar-i-Akálim is reckoned among the cities of Khitái, and called ‘Khán Báligh’; while in Moghulistán and Kará Khitái they have written the same ‘Balá Sákun.’ They have applied the name to no other city.* In books of repute and histories, Balá-Sákun is said to have been one of the cities built by Afrásiáb, and [the authors] have praised it very highly. In the Mujmá-ut-Tavárikh it is written: “Balá-Sákun, until the time of the Kará Khitái, was under the rule of the offspring [and descend­ants] of Afrásiáb. The Gur Khán of Kará Khitái took it from one of these descendants, Ilak Khán, and made it his own capital. For ninety-five years Balá-Sákun remained the capital of Kará Khitái, and all the countries on this side of the Jihun—that is, to the east of it—carried tribute to Balá-Sákun. The Moghuls call Balá-Sákun, ‘Ghar-báligh.’ The author of the Suráh-ul-Lughat, in his Supplement, says that his father was one of the traditionists [háfiz] of Balá-Sákun. He gives, in this Supplement, the names of eminent men [afázil] of every town. In Samarkand he reckons fewer than ten. But in Balá-Sákun he mentions the names of a great number of learned and notable persons, and quotes traditions concerning some of them. The mind is incapable of conceiving how there could have been, at one time and in one city, so many men of eminence, and that now neither name nor trace is to be found of Balá-Sákun. Nor have I ever heard of a place called Ghar-báligh.

Another town mentioned in books is Taráz. It is said that the Moghuls call Taráz, ‘Yángi’; and this Yángi is placed in Moghul-istán. There are many men of Yángi in Mávará-un-Nahr who are called ‘Yangiligh.’ Now in those deserts [mafáza], which they call Yángi, there are remains of many cities, in the form of domes, minarets, and traces of schools and monasteries; but it is not evident which of these ruined cities was Yángi, or what were the names of the others.

Another famous town was Almáligh,* which is known at the present day. The tomb of Tughluk Timur Khán is there, together with [other] traces of the city's prosperity. The dome of the Khán's tomb is remarkable, being lofty and decorated; while on the plaster, inscriptions are written. I recall one-half of a line, from one of the books, namely: “This court [bárgáh] was the work of a master-weaver [shar-báf]”—words which show that this master was an Iráki; for in Irák they call a weaver [jáma­báf] ‘shar-báf.’ As far as I can recollect, the date inscribed on that dome was seven hundred and sixty and odd.*

There are many other cities in Moghulistán, in which traces remain of very fine buildings. In some places they still stand intact.* In [the district of] Jud* there are traces of an important town, and remains of minarets, domes, and schools. Since the name of that town is not known, the Moghuls call it ‘Minárá.’ In the same place is also a dome made of stone, into which the following inscription has been cut, in the Naskhi writing: “This is the tomb of [titles omitted] Imám Muhammad Fakih Balá Sákuni [Arabic invocation], who died in the year 711. Written by Khwája Omar Hadávi.” Jud is a district [mauza] of Moghulistán, of a month's journey in length. In it there are many cities like this one.

In Moghulistán there is a place [mausa] called Yumghál,* which is well known. There a dome is to be found, half fallen into ruin. The inscription on it reads: “Sháh Jalil, son of Kism, son of Abbás…” The rest has broken away, so it is not clear whether this was his tomb, or whether the inscription refers to some one else. God alone knows. Such remains as these are to be found all over Moghulistán, but the names of the towns are never known. The tomb of Mauláná Sakkáki, author of “The Key” [Miftáh], has a lofty dome. It is situated on the banks of the River Tiká, which flows from the foot of the lake.* With the exception of this dome, there are no remains in that place. It was either a town of which nothing is left, or else it was there that Chaghatái Khán slew [the Mauláná], the building being afterwards raised [over the spot]. God knows best. The story of Mauláná Sakkáki is told in histories.

Beyond this, nothing is recorded of the districts [hadud] of Moghulistán in the histories and books of former writers, nor does any one know the [above] names nowadays. What is now known as Moghulistán has a length and breadth of seven or eight months' journey. Its eastern frontier adjoins the Kálmák country: that is to say, Báris Kul, Imál, and Irtish. It is bounded on the north by Kukcha-Tangiz, Bum Lish, and Karátál;* on the west by Turkistán and Táshkand; and on the south by the provinces of Farghána, Káshghar, Aksu, Chálish, and Turfán.

Of these four boundaries I have seen the southern. From Tásh-kand to Andiján is ten days' journey; from Andiján to Káshghar, twenty days; from there to Aksu, fifteen days; from Aksu to Chálish, twenty days; from Chálish to Turfán, ten days; from Turfán to Báris Kul, fifteen days;* and Báris Kul is the eastern boundary of Moghulistán. [The whole of the southern boundary] is about three months' march at a medium pace, for it is ninety stages. I have never visited the other three boundaries, but I have learned [something] about them from the descriptions of persons who have travelled in those quarters. The greater part of this country, which is seven or eight months' journey [in circuit], is mountain or desert,* and is very beautiful and pleasant—so much so, that I am incapable of describing it in words. On the mountains and in the plains, grow numberless flowers, whose names no one knows; they are not to be met with outside Moghul-istán, nor can they possibly be described. The summer is, in most parts, quite temperate, so that if a single tunic [tái kurta] be worn, no other covering is required, though even if more be worn, the heat does not make one uncomfortable. However, in some parts of the country, the temperature inclines to be cold.

There are many large rivers in Moghulistán—as large, or nearly so, as the Jihun; for example, the Ila, the Imil, the Irtish, and the Nárin, not one of which is inferior to the Jihun or the Sihun. Most of them flow into the lake of Kukcha Tangiz, which sepa­rates Moghulistán from Uzbegistán. Its length is eight months' journey,* and its breadth, in some parts, thirty farsákhs, by estima­tion. In winter, when it is frozen over, the Uzbeg cross Kuk-cha Tangiz on the ice, and thus enter Moghulistán. By using all possible speed, they can cross in two nights and a day into Moghulistán, and can return in the same time. At the end of winter they cross with the same rapidity; but at that time of the year it is dangerous, and it often happens that the ice gives way. On one occasion a hundred and twenty families, more or less, perished under the ice. The water of this lake is sweet. The same quantity of water that flows into the lake is not discharged from it. What does flow out is about equivalent to one of the rivers which enters it. It flows down through Uzbegistán, under the name of Atal, and empties itself into the Kulzum [Caspian].

Another point of interest in Moghulistán is Issigh Kul, [a lake] into which nearly as much water flows as into Kukcha Tangiz. It is twenty days' journey,* and no water issues from it on any side. It is surrounded by hills. All the water that flows into it is sweet and agreeable, but once it enters the lake it becomes so bitter and salt that one cannot even use it for washing, for if any of it enters the eyes or mouth, severe inflammation is produced; it has also a most unpleasant taste in the mouth. It is remarkably pure and clean, so that if, for example, some is poured into a china cup, no sediment appears at the bottom. The water of the rivers around is delicious. Aromatic herbs, flowers and fruit­bearing trees are plentiful, while the surrounding hills and plains abound in antelopes [áhu] and birds. There are few localities in Moghulistán more remarkable for their climate.

From the year 916 the Kirghiz, for the reasons mentioned above, have rendered it impossible for any Moghul to live in Moghulistán. In the year 928 the Khán resolved to subdue Moghulistán, as shall be explained.