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AUGUST, 1884.]
CHINGHIZ KHÅN AND HIS ANCESTORS.
219
inhabitants of the various towns to make terms the Yuan-shi, which distinctly says it was. with the invaders, as he was unable to defend According to this account, the Muhammadans them. He probably thought that their inva- had lined the banks of the Gan-mu, i.e., of the sion was only a temporary one, and that they Ama or Oxus, with their best troops, they would speedily retire again. The Mongol in constructed ten entrenchments, and put telligence department was skilfully managed, number of well-armed boats on the river. Ko. and they were no doubt speedily made aware pao-yu was detached to attack these entrenchof Muhammad's flight and its direction. There- ments and boats. He constructed a number of upon, while the siege of Samarkand was pro- Ho-tsien, or fire arrows, which he threw among gressing,.Chinghiz Khân detached an army in the boats, and thus set fire to them. The pursuit of him. This was divided into two Mähammadans having been thrown into dis. divisions, the first tuman was commanded by order, the Mongols attacked the entrenchments Chepe Noyan. This was followed by a second and forced them. The two chiefs now crossed under Subutai Baghatur. They were ordered the Oxas and entered Khorasan, which was then to pursue Muhammad wheresoever he should divided into four provinces, with Balkh, Merv, retire. They were to put Shahnals or governors Herat, and Nishapar as their chief towns. in all the towns that submitted, and to destroy They first approached Balkh, where at the all who resisted. They were given three years in instance of the magnates the citizens supplied which to complete their task, and were ordered them with food. Having left a Shahnah there to rejoin Chinghiz by way of the Desht-i- they moved forward towards Herat, Taishi Kipchak, after rounding the northern end of Baghatur commanding their advance-guard. the Caspian." They set out and first went to Herat submitted freely to them, and they then Penjab, which means the five streams, and advanced to Zawah, whose people refused to finding no boats there they made some large open their gates or to furnish provisions. coffers of wood, which they covered with cow. The Mongols were in too great haste to stop hides to keep out the water, and in which they and besiege the place and were passing on, when put their weapons and goods, then led tbeir they were piqued by the jibes and boasts level. horses into the water and held on to their tails, led at them from the ramparts amidst the beathaving first tied the wooden coffers to them- ing of kettledrams. They accordingly turned selves. Thus, says our author, the horse drew the aside, and after three days' attack captured the man and the man drew the coffer filled with arms town, pat everybody to death whom they met and other necessaries, and all crossed in a body." with, and burnt and destroyed what they could D'Ohsson opportunely quotes the similar de not carry away. The invaders then moved scription given by Carpini of the mode in which on towards Nishapur, obtaining news about the Mongols crossed rivers. The friar adds, Muhammad by applying torture to those whom however, that they sat on the boxes, and steered they captured; they sent messengers into the themselves with two oars." Nicetas Khoniates various towns to annoance the approach of makes a similar statement about the Pechenegs, Chinghiz Khan with the main army, and whom he describes as crossing the Danube on summoned them to surrender, threatening bags of leather containing cork, and sewn so that them with terrible penalties if they refused. not a drop of water could penetrate them. On Those which submitted received a Mongol these they sat, catching hold of the tails of governor, or Shabnah, who was endowed with their horses, holding above them their saddles & special seal." The smaller towns which and arms, and using their horses as shields and resisted they overwhelmed. The larger ones the leathern bags as boats.* The Musalman they passed by, not wishing to delay. historians tell us nothing about the passage of But Muhammad had not waited for them. the Oxas being dispated, but in the Yuan. Leaving Fakhru-ul-Malk, Nizam-ud-din Abulshi-loi-pen there is an account which seems Maali, his secretary, Siau-ul-Mulk Araz Suseni, taken from the biography of Ko-pao-yu in and Majiru-ul-Mulk Kufi-Rakhi, in command * Tabakat-i-Nasiri, p. 988 note.
Stritter, vol. III, p. 929; D'Ohason, vol. I, pp. 244 » Ibn-al-Athir, ad loc.
and 245 note. * Vincent, Spec. Hist., vol. IV, lib. XXXI, Cap. xvii, Gaubil, pp. 36 and 37. p. 450; D'Ohason, vol. I, p. 24, note.
1: Tamgija.
