Some have said that Yâfuth became a prophet, appointed by the Almighty. When Nûh took leave of him at the foot of Mount Jûdi, and sent him towards the north and the east, over which he had been appointed, Yâfuth requested his father to teach him a prayer by means of which he might procure rain at any time. Nûh complied, and, after having turned towards the Lord of Glory, Jebrâil brought in response to his request the ineffable Name, which Nûh carved on a stone and gave to Yâfuth. It is called ‘rain-stone,’ but the Turks have named it Jaddatâsh.*
When Yâfuth left the ‘Forum of the eighty,’ he travelled for a long time until he arrived at the limits of his empire, where he pursued a nomadic life and established good customs. When his progeny had greatly increased, he removed his goods and chattels to the abode of perpetuity [i.e. he died]. Some say that he laid the foundation of one of the great cities of China in his dominions. It is related that the Bestower of all good gifts had granted to him eleven sons—namely, Chin, Saqallâb, Kamâri, Turk, Khalj, Kharz, Rûs, Sadsân, A’z, Bâraj, and Manshaj—each of whom he married to one of his own daughters, commanding them to cultivate the land, and to multiply the number of the worshippers of God.
Turk, the son of Yâfuth, his successor, and the most intelligent of his sons, strenuous, upright, and sagacious, also called Yâfuth Oglân, was the first who explored those regions. He arrived at a place called Selûk, where he found a lake with warm water, pleasant springs, and numberless prairies. The locality suited Turk extremely well. He settled therein, erected houses built of wood and grass; after some time he invented tents by sewing together hides of sheep and of other animals. He was a just and excellent king, cared unceasingly for the well-being of his subjects, and the servants of God—w. n. b. e.—reposed in tranquillity under the shadow of his protection. The Bestower of all good gifts presented him with children worthy of himself. One of these, Fûduk by name, who was addicted to hunting, one day roasted and consumed some of the game he had slain, when suddenly a piece of meat slipped from his hand into saline ground. On taking up the meat again he found it to be very savoury; he accordingly began to salt his victuals, and this custom originated from that day among the Turks, who are his descendants.
Kharz travelled in the north, and when he arrived on the Amut [Amûr?] he was so pleased that he built a city, where his sons introduced in the world the art of catching foxes, of the skins whereof they made clothes, according to the instructions of their father, during whose lifetime one of his sons happened to die. For a long time he knew not what to do with the corpse. As, however, Yâfuth, with some of his adherents, had perished in the sea, he kindled fire, which is antagonistic to water, and threw the body into it, causing his followers to play on musical instruments and to sing during the act of cremation; and it is said that this blamable habit is still flourishing in that country. It is said that his descendants followed bees until they arrived in the cavities of mountains, where they found honey, of which they prepared sweetmeats.
After some time Rûs arrived in the vicinity of the country of Kharz, and sent to him a messenger for the purpose of asking permission to settle in the realm. Kharz received the envoy with compliments, and presented his master with several oases possessing a good climate with a fertile soil. When each of the children of Yâfuth had taken up his abode in a separate region, his son A’z went to the outskirts of the country of Bulgâr, constructed edifices, and settled there. A’z was of a cunning and deceitful nature, who carried on great wars against his brother Turk: the reason of which was that when Yâfuth got drowned in some sea, the stone which he had received through Nûh for the purpose of obtaining rain had fallen into the hands of A’z; but as every one of the brothers coveted that stone, A’z made use of his cunning disposition, and, procuring a false stone, which resembled the true one, he carved the ineffable Name on it. In order to settle the dispute who should obtain the stone, the brothers drew lots, and Turk having won, A’z was compelled to surrender it. He did so, but it was the fabricated stone. Turk entertained no suspicion, and, joyfully accepting it, never tried it till several years afterwards, when he stood in need of rain. He produced the just-mentioned stone, but his asking for rain was of no use, wherefore he became convinced that A’z had deceived him. He accordingly collected an army, which mountain and dale were too small to hold, and hastened to meet and to fight his brother for the purpose of recovering the original stone. A’z was likewise ready with numerous troops, and sent his eldest son, Begûr, who was decorated with the ornaments of valour and bravery, to combat Turk. A sanguinary battle ensued, in which Begûr was killed. Turk returned, but it is said that enmity subsists till this day between the descendants of the two families.
Saqallâb intended to settle in a good locality, since his progeny had likewise increased. On one occasion a son was born to him whose mother died in the travail of child-birth. It happened that at the same time a bitch in the hunting-kennel was delivered of pups, and the new-born infant was suckled with dog’s milk; accordingly when he grew up he snapped at everybody like a member of the canine race. His father married him to a female relative, who gave birth to an infant, also named Saqâllab. After some time he went, with all his followers, goods, and chattels, to the country of Rûs, and asked a place from him. Rûs said: ‘This country is very small, and you need much space, because you are so very numerous.’ After being thus disappointed, they applied also to Kumâri and Kharz, but received the same answer. Therefore the fire of war blazed up among them; the Saqallâbas fled, and wandered to the sixty-fourth degree of latitude, which is called the country beyond the seven climates,* where they were compelled to construct subterranean houses, on account of the severe cold; and there they dwelt.
Kamâri, the son of Yâfuth, was a jovial fellow, and a great hunter, who, finding whilst engaged in the chase, on the outskirts of the Bulgâr country, an agreeable prairie with a temperate climate, settled there. The Lord—whose name be glorified—bestowed two sons on him, one of whom he called Bulgâr and the other Bartâs. When both of them had attained mature age, each of them selected a place and cultivated it; they caught foxes, sables, ermines, and squirrels, of the skins whereof they made garments, and the inhabitants of that country are their descendants.
Chin, the son of Yâfuth, was exceedingly circumspect, discerning, and intelligent. He built a city in his country, and called it after his own name, as has been mentioned before; and as Chin was of a refined and aspiring disposition, he invented the arts of drawing, painting, and of weaving variegated stuffs. These arts he imparted to his children. He also reared silkworms, and nearly all the trades current among the Chinese must be ascribed to his ingenuity. Meanwhile his world-embracing eye became illuminated by the birth of a son of happy omen, whom he surnamed Mâchin. This son married when he had attained the age of maturity, and begat a numerous progeny. Then he consulted his father on the propriety of founding a new city, since their children and relatives had increased excessively; and after due permission he built near the capital of Chin a city which he called after his own name; therein he dwelt and prospered greatly. Mâchin took the wool of his sheep and taught his children to spin and to weave cloths. He was also fond of hunting, and one day caught an A’nka, which is a very handsome bird,* took its feathers, and ordered his warriors to put them on in war like plumes. On another occasion he caught a fawn. When it was killed and skinned a black clot of blood flowed from its navel, which Mâchin ordered to be kept and dried; he afterwards observed that it had become even more fragrant than it had been before. He therefore ordered that whenever a deer like this one was killed its navel-bag should be preserved; and in this manner the people obtained musk.
After the lapse of many years the descendants of Yâfuth began to multiply and to differ from each other so greatly that their speech became [also] changed, thirty-six dialects having become current among them, so that they could no longer understand each other. Therefore they separated, and cultivated the land in various parts of the north. Some of them, however, had been so much accustomed to nomadic life that they continued therein, and to this day the various tribes of Turks, Mongolians, Tartars, Kipjaks, etc., are known as his descendants. The Khâns of Turkestân and of the northern country are also of this race. Let it not remain unknown to the intelligent reader that whatever has been said in these pages concerning the numbers and affairs of the children of Yâfuth is quite different from the preface of the ‘Zafar-nâmah,’ which the author himself—may Allah have mercy on him—has not seen, consequently he has made no use of it.*